WWE Tagged Classics: WWF The Year In Review 1995 & 1996

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 344 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: April 16 2012

Continuing the Year In Review series back in the day were the 1995 and 1996 instalments, which were also released as part of the Tagged Classics DVD series. These followed the formula of the 1994 edition by mostly spotlighting the biggest supercard matches of the year.

The other similarity with the 1993-4 Reviews collection (which you can read my review of by clicking here) is that the years 1995 and 1996 weren't exactly a vintage time in WWF history. If anything, they are less fondly remembered than 1993 and 1994 were. Indeed, 1995 mostly saw Diesel as WWF Champion in an almost year-long reign filled with very few notable matches, whilst Bret Hart wasn't given much to work with, The Undertaker continued being pitted against monster characters with little in the way of exciting action, Shawn Michaels largely floundered (with the exception of his summer activities, which we'll discuss shortly; I'm talking about activities relating to wrestling, by the way), Razor Ramon mainly feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Dean Douglas in a comedown from his 1994 wars with Shawn and Diesel; and the rest of the mid-card and under-card didn't exactly have career years.

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WWE Tagged Classics: WWF The Year In Review 1993 & 1994

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 352 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: May 16 2011

As part of the Tagged Classics series, the original WWF Year In Review shows for 1993 and 1994 were re-released. Unfortunately, according to UK distributor Silver Vision (who were technically the ones releasing these DVDs rather than WWE), the original master tape for the 1992 Year In Review is unsuitable for re-release (which is a shame since this was a VHS that I did not purchase back in the day), meaning that the YIR series on Tagged Classics begins with the 1993/1994 annums.

This was an interesting time in WWF history, as it marked the dying days of the Hulkamania era and the emphasis on the New Generation. It's clear that while the in-ring quality of WWF action improved over the mid-1990s, but the general popularity of the Federation was in decline. Indeed, the arenas for weekly television were much bigger at the beginning of 1993 than they were by the end of 1994; in fact, large-scale arenas wouldn't host WWF/WWE television shows again until early 1997. In the meantime, many of the big names who departed the WWF were not suitable replaced, so while the crop of talent in the company was generally good, very few were truly over, meaning that there is a smaller cast of memorable characters on the 1994 disc.

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