Alternate Universe: What If WCW Had Survived?

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

In 2001, the wrestling business changed dramatically. Both ECW and WCW went under, the latter being purchased by the WWF. The short-term fall-out included the Invasion angle by what would become a WCW/ECW Alliance, followed by the Brand Extension split of the WWF/WWE which set the course of history on a new path. But what if WCW had remained in existence?

Although ECW had a loyal following, it simply would not and could not have grown into a mainstream powerhouse, unless it was acquired by a larger parent organisation; and if that had been the case, the vulgar style of the company may have been forced to change. However, WCW was a major mainstream wrestling promotion, even during its final months of life. Therefore, its demise had a much bigger impact. But it's interesting to consider how things might have transpired had the company managed to continue.

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Survivor Series 2014

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 185 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 16 2015

The 2014 Survivor Series is a show of two halves, or rather two parts. Much of the first two-thirds is completely missable, with some matches being totally unworthy of being staged on any PPV event, much less a major show like Survivor Series. However, the main event - which takes up almost the entire final hour - is outstanding, with first-class booking and strong performances being topped off by a massive surprise. Therefore, the DVD for this show is a bit, well, uneven.

After a last-push promo to promote the main event opens the show (which I had completely forgotten about until revisiting it here), the card officially gets under way with an enjoyable four-team match for the WWE Tag Team Titles. This is something of a hidden gem as there's some great tag team wrestling here, and we are reminded as to how brilliant the Damien Mizdow gimmick really is. From there, though, the show falters.

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The Best Of WCW Clash Of The Champions

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 393 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: August 6 2012

Clash Of The Champions was the WCW equivalent of Saturday Night's Main Event. COTC was a major television special held a few times per year, showcasing top talent and major main event matches outside of the Pay-Per-View events like Starrcade and The Great American Bash. The difference between Clash and SNME was that the NWA/WCW roster was more inclined to go out and put on a great wrestling match compared to the more entertainment-based action (which I was a huge fan of at the time, by the way) you would find on SNME. Over time, the Clash would reduce in importance, but it was a key WCW occasion for many years.

This DVD, hosted by Dusty Rhodes, showcased more than two dozen of the most memorable Clash matches from its 35 specials, spanning 1988-1997. It's not a factor worth mentioning nowadays, but the DVD was delayed by several weeks in the UK due to apparent issues between Silver Vision and WWE. Whatever difficulties the two parties had must have been significant, because this would be the final year that Silver Vision distributed WWE DVDs for the European market; from January 1 2013, that task went to Fremantle Media.

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United We Slam: The Best Of The Great American Bash

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 430 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 14 2014

Similar to the WCW PPV compilation released a few months earlier, United We Slam (hosted by Dusty Rhodes in his own unique, at times confusing yet ultimately entertaining way) is a straight-forward collection of matches from the history of The Great American Bash. The artwork of the DVD is quite nice and somehow fits with the theme, and I liked the minor touches, such as the fireworks going off during transitional scenes. The DVD does not cover the WWE years (2004-2008, or 2009 when the event was simply renamed The Bash), which is probably a good thing: few fans want to relive the abomination that was the Concrete Crypt, or the excitement of the original Punjabi Prison match (I jest).

Anyway, TGAB actually began in 1985 as a tour of Jim Crockett Promotions/NWA wrestling shows held in the summer rather than a stand-alone card. Some were filmed, and some were not. Of those that did make it onto camera, we get some worthwhile action, as the DVD opens with Ric Flair defending his NWA World Title against Nikita Koloff, following a spectacular helicopter entrance for The Nature Boy. Dusty and Larry Zbyszko provide new commentary for this match, which becomes bizarre when Dusty openly states "I don't care about this match". Better is The Rock 'N' Roll Express challenging The Andersons for the Tag Team Titles in 1986, which is your typical logical and well-executed doubles outing from the mid-1980s NWA that has your classic 1980s post-match hand-slap by Rock 'N' Roll, to celebrate their, erm, non-victory (by the way, Dusty and Larry commentate on this one as well; it's worth remembering that both had announcing experience from the Nitro era of WCW). Next, it's a Flair vs. Dusty Cage match from 1986, but this has clearly the version that we had on Dusty's own DVD, released in 2006, because it has commentary from Rhodes, Steve Romero (who left WWE years ago) and Mike Graham (who passed away in 2012, nearly two years before this DVD was released). It's always amusing to hear Dusty mention his "belly-welly" though, so I'll give them a pass on that.

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WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches - Vol. 1

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 437 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: May 5 2014

Back in 2003 or 2004, the concept of a compilation featuring the top Pay-Per-View encounters from the rich history of WCW would have been extremely tantalising. By the time such a DVD was released in 2014, though, so many classic WCW battles had already been released and interest in the WCW brand lies solely with longtime fans wishing for a slice of nostalgia, which reduced the appeal of the three-disc set.

However, whilst the collection feels like it was released a decade too late, this is still a very enjoyable DVD compilation. Around 80-85% of the content has already been seen on past DVDs, but that fact doesn't hinder the entertainment value of this set too much.

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Night Of Champions 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 178 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 16 2015

(To read a full event review of WWE Night Of Champions 2015, click here.)

The 2015 edition of Night Of Champions is now available on DVD. Watching the event a few months down the line provides an interesting insight into how much things have changed for a number of reasons.

The opener between Ryback and Kevin Owens is a decent Intercontinental Title bout, although it's clearly a step down from KO's previous PPV encounters with John Cena and Ryback. The subsequent Dolph Ziggler-Rusev bout continues the love quadrangle storyline which at this point was past its sell-by date, and would soon become known as a calamity when it was abruptly dropped shortly after NOC due to Lana announcing her real-life engagement to RuRu.

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WWE Survivor Series 2014

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: November 23 2014
Location: Scottrade Center, St Louis, Missouri, USA
Attendance: 12,000

The 28th annual Survivor Series was promoted largely as a one-match show, which is exactly what it proved to be. Fortunately, that one match ended up greatly overachieving, both in terms of quality and significance, and one truly unforgettable development at its conclusion ensured that this match, and as a result the card, will never be forgotten.

The Kick-Off show featured two matches, the first of which saw Fandango unveiled with a slightly altered persona prior to his victory over Justin Gabriel. The one-time ballroom dancer is now a Spanish-esque dancer, complete with new attire and - what? - new music. Oh, and he has Rosa Mendes at his side now. Prediction: the new Fandango will not succeed (hey, his old theme song was the highlight of his act, and made so by the fans). In the other Kick-Off match, Jack Swagger beat Fandango (is his push over already?), which was doubly baffling because Swagger was supposedly originally a part of the main event on Team Cena, but an attack by Seth Rollins put him out of commission for the match. Yet he was fit to compete on the night in a different match?!?

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WWE Night Of Champions 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: September 20 2015
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA
Attendance: 14,369

On the surface, the annual WWE Night Of Champions has decreased in importance over the last few years, not because the show itself is inconsequential, but because with fewer titles than at any point since the mid-1990s, WWE now regularly promotes PPV cards where every Championship is at stake. However, if you look closely, that hasn't been the case. Since the WWE World Titles were unified at TLC 2013, reducing the title count to five, we have seen Payback 2014, Hell In A Cell 2014, Survivor Series 2014, TLC 2014 and Fast Lane 2015 without a World Title match; Royal Rumbles 2014 and 2015 featured no other matches for Championship gold; Elimination Chamber 2014, WrestleMania XXX and Extreme Rules 2014 did not feature a United States Championship match, nor did Money In The Bank 2014, Battleground 2014 or SummerSlam 2014; WrestleMania 31, Battleground 2015 and SummerSlam 2015 did not see the Divas Title at stake; the Intercontinental Title wasn't on the line at Extreme Rules 2015 (although it was supposed to be defended, to be fair) or at Payback 2015; and the first two John Cena-Kevin Owens bouts at Elimination Chamber 2015 and Money In The Bank 2015 were not for the U.S. Title.

Therefore, by chance or by design, Night Of Champions remains the only WWE PPV where all five regular titles are on the line. That could change in the future, especially if the Intercontinental and United States Championships are ever unified, as has been rumoured (and desired) for years now. But regardless, for all intents and purposes, NOC is still the one show where all straps are at stake. Phew!

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The Best Of Sting

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 432 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 13 2014

After WCW folded in 2001, the one truly big name who never came to WWE until fairly recently was Sting. Just before his arrival at Survivor Series 2014, we finally got a DVD covering his career, which had been anticipated for many years. Still, whilst it is an enjoyable recap of Sting's highs and lows, the title The Best Of Sting proves to be something of a misnomer.

We begin with a Blade Runners tag team match, an interesting chance to see Sting and The Ultimate Warrior at a very early stage of their careers. Sting appears in another tag bout alongside Rick Steiner which is okay, before the first WCW match of the compilation against Ric Flair for the NWA Title. Sadly, what builds as a promising natch suddenly ends as that TV broadcast concludes; this is very annoying from a DVD viewer's point of view, but more so for fans at the time who must have had to put up with this every week.

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