The Best Of WCW Clash Of The Champions

Image Source: Amazon

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.

Anyway, back to the review. Perhaps the most famous Clash bout is the main event of Clash #1, which opens this DVD: Ric Flair vs. Sting is a 45-minute classic (by the standards of the time, anyway), which automatically elevated the less experienced opponent and ensured that fans viewed him as a future World Champion. This was more crucial by the fact that Clash was conceived as a way to compete with the WWF: Clash was broadcast on the same night and at the same time as WrestleMania IV, and not only drew a high rating, but had a knock-on effect on the WM IV buy rate (I should mention that the WWF had already launched Survivor Series on PPV and the original Royal Rumble television special to compete with NWA PPVs Starrcade 1987 and Bunkhouse Stampede 1988, so this was a reaction rather than a new competitive direction by the NWA).

From the same Clash, we get a Tag Team Title bout between Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard and the combo of Lex Luger and Barry Windham. This and the subsequent Arn/Tully vs. Sting/Dusty match from Clash II illustrate how good a team Anderson and Blanchard were; think of the Revival on NXT today, and you'll find the blueprint set by Arn and Tully. After that, we get a fairly short Chain match between Ricky Morton and Nikita Koloff from Clash III, which has some eventful post-match shenanigans.

Strangely, the classic Flair-Ricky Steamboat 2 Out Of 3 Falls match from Clash VI is not here (the Flair-Sting opener does take up a chunk of disc one, admittedly, so a second lengthy bout may not be ideal, even though longtime fans of Clash will have been more than accustomed to long matches), so we jump ahead to a great Flair-Terry Funk I Quit match from Clash IX, rounding off what Ric's fans consider to be his greatest year ever in the ring. After that, we go to 1990 for a double-header to round off disc one: we get a brief match from Clash X between Mil Mascaras and Cactus Jack Manson, during which Cactus takes a sickening fall that sees the back of his head bounce off the concrete floor (read Foley's first book Have A Nice Day! for an interesting account of the details behind this contest), and a tag match pitting The Rock 'N' Roll Express and The Midnight Express from Clash XI, which I found to be disappointing by the standards of this vintage 1980s tag team rivalry due to some occasional, uncharacteristic sloppiness. (Incidentally, can you believe that the decade began with Rock 'N' Roll vs. Midnight and ended with Edge & Christian vs. The Hardyz? Wrestling changed so much in the 1990s.)

Disc two starts strong with a Lex Luger-Ric Flair match from 1990's Clash XII, with Flair unusually challenging for the United States crown. Both WCW and the Clash would take a dip in quality over the next few months, under the management of Jim Herd, and that comes across on this DVD: The Young Pistols and Tom Zenk against The Fabulous Freebirds from Clash XV in 1991 is alright but can't hold a candle to earlier matches here and has a contrived finish. The subsequent Battle Royal from Clash XVI, whilst a change in pace from other matches on this release, is even worse: there are notable botches, and some of the characters included are so bad that they actually made me laugh out loud when they were introduced. (Of note, Kevin Nash makes an appearance as Oz, a character that you should Google if you're unfamiliar with it; we also get one of Steve Austin's earliest WCW cameos.) Sting vs. Rick Rude from Clash XVII, which also appeared on the recent United States Title DVD, is better but doesn't last very long and is more of an angle than a match.

I can't clarify this because I wasn't regularly watching WCW at the time, but it appears that 1992 must have sucked for Clash Of The Champions (which is saying something based on the 1991 bouts that did make it in), because we have to wait more than 18 months for our next match, although thankfully the quality rises again with said match, a Two Out Of Three Falls match between The Hollywood Blondes and the combo of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson from Clash XXIII in June 1993. Flair is unbelievably over here, and the action is very good; not sure why the Blondes lost in two straight falls, even if the latter was on a disqualification, but that's WCW for you, I guess. The Blondes would be forced to split soon afterwards, to their genuine dismay, leading to the next match on the DVD, Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman from Clash XXV. Disc two ends with two matches from Clash XXVI, held in January 1994: Lord Steven Regal vs. Dustin Rhodes for the Television Title and Sting/Ric Flair vs. Vader/Rick Rude. Bobby Heenan debuted as a WCW commentator on this Clash show, and he comes out with some priceless one-liners during both of these matches, especially during Regal vs. Rhodes.

The seeds of the new WCW were planted at Clash XXVII in June 1994 as Hulk Hogan made his first appearance in a WCW arena (to heavy boos, by the way). That segment isn't here, but disc three does kick off with Sting vs. Flair from the same show, which sets up Hogan confronting Slic Ric in the post-match. After a strong Austin-Ricky Steamboat match from Clash XXXII (which I believe was the match where Steamboat suffered a back injury that ended his career, save for a few appearances in 2009), we once again have a long wait for the next action, which comes from Hogan and Randy Savage taking on Flair and The Giant at Clash XXXII in January 1996. Yes, WCW had now changed a lot, but the biggest change was the introduction of Nitro four months prior. As a result, the Clash no longer held great significance, since Nitro was far more of a priority; for instance, the night before this particular Clash, in the same arena (MGM Grand in Las Vegas), Savage actually beat Flair to win the WCW World Title on Nitro. And yet this show was called Clash Of The Champions, so wouldn't you think ... never mind.

WCW had changed even more by August 1996, due to Hogan's stunning heel turn and the official formation of the nWo at Bash At The Beach the previous month. So, there's a weird vibe to Clash XXXIII as fans are adjusting - yet remain incredibly excited - about the new direction for the company. Strangely, whilst Hogan's contribution to that particular Clash is a DVD extra, three other matches from the same Clash are instead in the main feature: a short Madusa-Bull Nakano bout, an enjoyable yet also brief Diamond Dallas Page-Eddie Guerrero showdown and an intriguing yet confusing three-way tag between Harlem Heat, The Steiners and the team of Sting and Luger (which was a few weeks before Sting temporarily left WCW, only to return as the mysterious Crow character).

After that, we have a great Cruiserweight Title match between Ultimo Dragon and Dean Malenko from Clash XXXIV in January 1997; unlike many Cruiser matches from this era, the fans are well up for it, and go insane when fan favourite Malenko comes out on top. Nevertheless, the Clash felt as insignificant as ever since more would happen on a typical episode of Nitro than all of the year's Clashes combined by this point. This probably explains why Clash XXXV in August 1997 was the final edition, and we get two matches from the last Clash to close this DVD: a good Eddie Guerrero-Chris Jericho showdown and a decent DDP/Luger vs. Savage/Scott Hall tag match, followed by a belated birthday celebration for the nWo which ends with Sting looking on at the new World order whilst holding a vulture. What a weird end to the history of the Clash, especially since it appears that alternate audio is dubbed over this moment (that Sting's real nemesis Hogan wasn't present at the Clash for this angle emphasises how COTC was not at the top of WCW's to-do list by the summer of '97). It would be a lie to say that fans really missed the Clash when it went off the air because Nitro had taken the Clash formula (major matches and big angles on free television) and delivered more excitement than ever for WCW fans, every single week. But it's telling that in August 1997, WCW could afford to drop the Clash, and yet by August 1998, it was consistently losing the Monday Night War to the WWF, and just over 2 ½ years later, the company was a goner.

As mentioned earlier, Hogan's match from Clash XXXIII is here as a DVD extra, as he defends the WCW Title against Flair. It's weird to see a Flair-Hogan match where Ric plays the babyface and Hogan plays heel, but even weirder is how Hogan still Hulks Up, as if it were 1991 and the match were taking place in Madison Square Garden. This combined with the poor ending makes one wonder how Hogan's matches attracted such high ratings for WCW in 1996/1997, since many of his bouts had similarly frustrating outcomes. The other bonus match is The Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics from the first Clash, which starts as an unhinged brawl that seems years ahead of its time, only to suddenly turn into a regular tag bout. How strange.

Unusually, the two bonus matches on the DVD are different to the extra matches on the Blu-ray version. They are Flair and Barry Windham vs. The Midnight Express from Clash IV, Sting/Steamboat vs. Rude/Austin from Clash XVIII (ah, a 1992 match is in then!) and a Thunder Cage match pitting Dustin Rhodes and Sting against Vader, Mr. Wonderful and Barry Windham from Clash XXII. It's a reason for you to buy both the DVD and the Blu-ray, you see, since to have all the matches in your collection, you would require both (or the WWE Network, which has been launched since this was released and includes every Clash event in their entirety). Oh, those cheeky scamps at WWE.

Summing this one up, longtime fans of the NWA/JCP/WCW will love this DVD; there are plenty of high-quality matches, especially in the 1988-1990 period. The in-ring highlights are less frequent as the Clash goes into the 1990s, but selected Sting matches, DDP vs. Eddie and the Cruiserweight matches towards the end are well worth watching too. Not to mention that two of the most famous Clash matches ever - Flair vs. Sting and Terry Funk from March 1988 and November 1989 respectively - are included. It's a shame that the epic Flair-Steamboat showdown from April 1989 isn't here, and for unintentional comedy value if nothing else, I would have enjoyed reliving the Pillman-Guerrero match from January 1996 due to Bobby Heenan's genuine "What the f--k are you doing?" reaction to Pillman going off-script under his Loose Cannon persona and teasing that he would touch Heenan's legitimately injured neck. (By the way, this is on the Network, and is completely uncensored, despite that show having a PG rating on the Network.) But you can't have everything.

On the down-side, some of the action from the early 1990s is very hard to watch, and several matches on the final disc either have a phoned-in feel to them or they have annoying finishes. Mind you, they both embody their respective eras: the 1991 version of WCW was the pits, if we're being honest, and the mass interference during nWo matches was a big part of their appeal in 1996/7, as strange as it may see today. And since the Clash is (obviously) the subject of this DVD, these particular encounters almost had to be included in order to cover these periods of the Clash's history. Oh, and Jesse Ventura's commentary and Michael Buffer's ring announcements are dubbed over, which becomes bizarre when we can see them actually on-screen (in Buffer's case, we get full-on close-ups during certain ring entrances).

Although the Clash was never as memorable or as meaningful as its counter-part Saturday Night's Main Event, it nevertheless had a major role in the WCW calendar for almost a decade, and during its peak years, it was probably the best wrestling television programme that fans who appreciated the actual art of wrestling could find. Maybe WWE will live up to this legacy with its Clash Of Champions (what happened to the "the"?) PPV event on September 25, which promises several potentially great matches that would have been right at home on a Clash show back in the day, as the old-timers would say.

So, should you buy this DVD? If you have a fondness for WCW or you just want to watch some great 1980s wrestling, then this is a very good DVD to purchase. It isn't the best by any means, due to the quality drop-off on discs two and three, but there's plenty to savour for longtime fans, and it completes the WCW set, so to speak, if you already own the Best-Of compilations for Monday Nitro and Starrcade.

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

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

Image Source: Amazon

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.

Hosted by Booker T, the DVD begins with Ronnie Garvin vs. Ric Flair from Starrcade 1987, the first official NWA/JCP PPV (Starrcade had first aired on closed-circuit television in 1983); Booker notes that the WWF aired the inaugural Survivor Series on the same night solely to ensure that Starrcade 87 would not be a huge success. This competition would continue via television in 1988 and 1989, but that's another story. Garvin vs. Flair is okay, but the negative reaction to babyface NWA Champion Garvin is a sign that fans rejecting a top babyface was happening long before the days of John Cena and Roman Reigns. This was also held in a cage, as most Starrcade main event matches were in those early years.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Barry Windham from The Great American Bash 1988 and Dusty teaming with Sting against The Road Warriors (in a rare heel role) from Starrcade 1988 are okay, but neither can hold a candle to the first really good match on the DVD, a classic Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat showdown from Chi-Town Rumble 1989 in the first of their epic trilogy. Given how many great WCW matches were held on PPV in 1989, Lex Luger vs. Brian Pillman from Halloween Havoc is perhaps an odd selection. Definitely worthy of inclusion is Flair vs. Sting from The Great American Bash 1990, which officially marked Sting's permanent ascendancy to the main event level and closes disc one on a high note.

Lex Luger vs. Barry Windham from The Great American Bash 1991 has a weird feel to it as it comes on the heels of Ric Flair leaving WCW; envision a WWE PPV held days after John Cena leaving the company on bad terms and you have an idea of the vibe in the air here. Even without Flair, though, WCW could still provide great supershow battles as evidenced by the next two bouts: a fantastic Jushin Liger-Brian Pillman match from Superbrawl II, and an incredible War Games between Sting's Squadron and The Dangerous Alliance at Wrestle War 1992.

Next up, we finally get an unreleased match, and it's a very violent battle between Vader and Cactus Jack from Halloween Havoc 1993, during which Vader lands with all of his weight on Cactus on the hard ramp in a spot which Mick Foley says in his first autobiography Have A Nice Day that he came up with to deliberately suffer a career-ending injury, having been so miserable in WCW at the time (as we know, Foley would continue wrestling long beyond HH 93). We then get a good Steve Austin-Ricky Steamboat clash from Bash At The Beach 1994, and there's a real big-fight feel to Flair vs. Hulk Hogan from Halloween Havoc 1994 (Muhammad Ali is in attendance for this one), although their initial meeting at BATB 94 was arguably the bigger match and thus perhaps should have been here instead.

Onto disc three and we come to a landmark match: that main event from Bash At The Beach 1996 (you know the one) which sees the official formation of the new World order. Strangely, besides making a cameo later on, we don't see Hollywood Hulk Hogan again on the main DVD, which is odd given that he is the main cover star (some would say that this isn't a bad thing). The topnotch action doesn't end there, though, as we get an intense brawl between Randy Savage and Diamond Dallas Page from Spring Stampede 1997 and the classic Eddie Guerrero-Rey Mysterio Jr battle from Halloween Havoc of the same year.

The next few matches have a filler feeling to them (Booker goes a long time between introducing bouts during this section, suggesting these matches may have been a late addition), but at least Bret Hart vs. Randy Savage (Slamboree 1998) and Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera (Road Wild 1998) are first-time releases. A more familiar match is Goldberg vs. DDP from Halloween Havoc 1998, an infamous match due to that particular PPV running overly long to the point that most fans didn't see it; re-airing it on Nitro the next night earned the show its final ratings win over Raw during The Monday Night War, but upset the fans who had already paid for the match, since this meant that millions more saw it for free.

It's telling that no matches from 1999 are included (the Blu-ray does include Savage vs. Dennis Rodman from Road Wild 99) so we jump right to Jeff Jarrett vs. Booker T at Bash At The Beach 2000, a good match overshadowed by the bizarre situation earlier that night involving Jarrett, Hogan and Vince Russo (a planned Jarrett-Hogan bout didn't happen with Jarrett laying down, Hogan walking out as if it were a shoot, and Russo cutting a genuine shoot interview on Hogan; nobody knew what was real and what wasn't, with the consensus being that Russo's promo wasn't planned and with that leading to a later lawsuit, but confusingly Hulk has since said he didn't even know Jeff would lay down despite Eric Bischoff saying that he did, so who the hell knows for certain?). The DVD ends with an exciting six-man Ladder match from Starrcade 2000 and, fittingly, the final PPV match in WCW history as Scott Steiner battles DDP at Greed in March 2001 (during which Steiner berates fans with a very offensive f-word more than once), with WCW having run its final show under WWF control eight days later.

I really enjoyed this collection a lot more than I thought I would considering that much of the content had previously been released. If you wanted to pick hairs, another Flair vs. Steamboat match, Flair vs. Terry Funk from 1989, Sting/Flair vs. The Steiners from 1991, another Rey Mysterio cruiserweight stunner and Goldberg vs. Steiner from Fall Brawl 2000 should have been included, and for historical purposes Hogan vs. Sting from Starrcade 1997 should have been here too, despite the blown finish (which is a story in itself that I'll recount another time), but one can't complain too loudly about what we get here. There is enough material in the archives to warrant a Volume Two, and the name implies that a sequel would be forthcoming, but the fact that all WCW PPVs can be viewed at one's leisure on the WWE Network makes a second release less likely.

Even if there isn't a follow-up, though, this is a great introduction to WCW for newer fans and a fun trip down memory lane for longtime followers, and a nice reminder that there was far more to the history of WCW than Nitro, The Monday Night War and the weekly adventures of the nWo.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent

Living On A Razor's Edge - The Scott Hall Story

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 436 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 4 2016

The latest WWE DVD features a career retrospective documentary, along with a selection of memorable matches for the subject in question. The usual stuff, right? Actually, no. This set on the life and times of Scott Hall is very different from your usual profile of a legendary wrestling performer due to the topics covered in the main feature.

Yes, the documentary does look back at Hall's in-ring adventures, from his beginnings in the wrestling industry to his early days in Kansas City and the AWA, his original WCW stint as The Diamond Studd, his very successful WWF tenure under the name Razor Ramon, his unforgettable contributions to WCW upon his return as a founding member of the groundbreaking nWo faction, his short-lived 2002 return to the WWF and his 2014 WWE Hall Of Fame induction. The key matches and moments are recapped, although I personally felt that the Razor section was a little bit on the short side, and the recap of his nWo involvement was even more brief; the first two years for the new World order, from Hall's initial promo upon his Nitro debut/return to the summer of 1998 (around which time the faction splintered into two) are all handled within a few minutes, and whilst the impact of the faction and the rise of Hall's status are analysed, it still doesn't quite explain why the nWo was so crucial, from the Hogan heel turn to Nitro battering Raw in the ratings from then on until April 1998. So, whilst the documentary covers the main highlights of Hall's career from an in-ring standpoint (complete with sit-down contributions from Hall, several of his family members, his Kliq buddies Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and X-Pac, and other personalities like Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, Dusty Rhodes and Eric Bischoff, it would be considered a slight disappointment, or at least a bit brief, if we were judging it solely on the retelling of his big matches and moments.

However, the documentary is about far more than the wrestling side, as it examines Hall's well-known personal problems in relation to drinking. Although his alcohol addiction is first referred to during the recapping of his 1998 "Last Call" storyline in WCW, it is only implied that Hall had real-life issues at this point. In reality, Hall had several arrests between 1998 and 2000 as well as other regrettable backstage incidents, which led to Hall being fired from WCW in 2000. In addition, the subject of the Plane Ride From Hell (which is a story in itself) is not broached, meaning that the exact reason for his 2002 termination from WWE is not mentioned. However, Hall's subsequent troubles from 2002 to 2012 are covered in-depth, and the footage, stories, opinions and images from this decade of Hall's life are at times excruciatingly candid. Little did most people know that the source for much of Hall's excess drinking, brought on by depression, was an incident long before Hall jointly founded the nWo, his Ladder match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X or even his initial exposure in the AWA.

In 1983, whilst working as a bouncer at the Doll House strip club in Orlando, Florida, Hall was involved in an altercation with a man who, he quickly learned, had a gun in his possession. The attacker was attempting to shoot Scott, but Hall commandeered the gun and attempted to pistol-whip him. Instead, he ultimately shot and killed the man. Hall was charged with second-degree murder but was not convicted as it was considered an act of self-defence. However, the dark incident (which was only revealed on a 2011 ESPN documentary, although that isn't mentioned here) remained a black cloud over Hall's life, and he spent decades pondering the moment and carrying guilt over what had happened, even though under the circumstances, Hall would have been killed himself had he not tried to defend himself in this manner. It was something that Hall told few about in the business, hence why it only came to light in the last few years, and Shawn acknowledges that it was only touched upon as opposed to ever being discussed in detail, which played a part in Hall carrying the weight of the shooting for so long.

But without this being public knowledge, the perception of Hall outside the ring was that of a buffoon, whose uncontrollable drinking habits had affected his ring work, his marriage and his health. For years, all people heard about was Hall's drinking and arrests stemming from disorderly conduct. At best, he became a punch line for darkly comical jokes. At worst, he was considered the next probable wrestling statistic to die years before his time. He arguably hit rock bottom in 2011 when, working on an independent show for Top Rope Promotions, he appeared in an awful physical condition and needed assistance just to stand up straight. Footage of the moment is shown here, and is hard to watch when you see how far Hall had fallen. Up until around 2012-2013, Hall seemed beyond help despite WWE's assistance through its paid rehab for all employees past and present when required. Triple H acknowledges that he was no longer advised to take calls from Hall because his situation seemed irreparable.

Fortunately, things would soon take a turn for the better. Hall finally opened up about the 1983 incident that shaped his future woes, which assisted the rehab process because his counsellors could identify the true root of the problems and work on helping Scott to put that fateful night behind him, thus making him less inclined to drink. What really made the difference, though, was that Diamond Dallas Page invited Hall to stay at his home. Through his DDP Yoga programme and generally positive and logical advice on health, DDP had helped Jake Roberts recover from his own addiction problems, and Jake's health and physical condition had improved greatly. When Hall finally accepted Page's invitation, the Bad Guy was bloated and in a wheelchair, almost unable to stand up. Within a few months, Hall had dropped weight, was in shape and had largely kicked his drinking habits. Hall's life (and Jake's too) had undergone a remarkable transformation, so much so that Hall was eventually invited back into the WWE fold, with Hall (and Jake) inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2014. Since then, Hall has made occasional appearances for WWE and hopes to work more closely with the NXT talent at the WWE Performance Center. More importantly, he has put his alcoholism and health problems behind him, and is in better condition and more positive about life than he has been for a long, long time. He still can't truly forget what happened all those years ago (Hall returns to the scene of the crime to discuss what went down), but he is doing a better job of coping with it and coming to terms with the fact that it would have been his life taken that night had he not made the decision to defend himself.

All of this is utterly compelling and quite emotional to watch. Combined with candid talking head comments (those from Page and Jake are particularly vital towards the end) and gripping real-life footage (we see the initial call that DDP and Jake made to Hall, as well as his condition when Scott initially accepted the offer for Page to help him), this ends up being one hell of a documentary. Sure, the wrestling sections are enjoyable, albeit a little brief as mentioned earlier, but the chapters that cover Hall's troubles outside the ring are incredible. It's harrowing at times, but ultimately it has the happy ending of Hall putting his life-threatening problems behind him. (As an aside, Page deserves a Hall Of Fame induction at the very least for helping Hall and Jake in the manner that he did, if not something more prestigious.) I was actually surprised that WWE would even cover the darker parts of this story, although they played a key role in Hall's self-destruction, so they couldn't really be ignored. Actually, the documentary is essentially based around the 1983 shooting, as we open with Hall trying to recap what happened, then we get an explanation a little later on, and the feature continuously refers back to it when investigating the fall of Scott both personally and professionally.

This is the best documentary that WWE has produced for years, and one of the best documentaries that it has ever produced. It is a must-see.

The rest of the DVD has little in common with much of the documentary, as aside from a few bonus stories (one of which is a cool anecdote about Scott's brief time spent with ECW), the focus shifts to Scott's wrestling career. Along with all of the original Razor Ramon vignettes (as well as a series of outtakes from said segments), we get matches that span Hall's career from 1984 to 2002 (Scott's various runs with TNA are not mentioned at any point, by the way).

A squash match from Mid-Atlantic precedes a few AWA bouts, with Scott facing Michael P.S. Hayes, participating in a Battle Royal (which is not exactly a masterpiece; certain eliminations are either ignored or just plain clumsy), and teaming alongside Curt Hennig against The Long Riders in a good old-school doubles bout. There's also a segment where Scott has a verbal confrontation with Larry Zbyszko. It is rarely mentioned, but Hall was clearly positioned as a future star during his AWA stint, and this was in the mid-1980s; so it's fascinating in hindsight that it would be many years before Scott truly made waves in the wrestling business.

We get two short matches from his WCW stint as The Diamond Studd, both of which have a squash feel to them (the latter sees him team alongside DDP, who had just become a wrestler at the ripe age of 35 after years as a manager), and then the bonus material takes a step up as we approach his WWF tenure. His on-screen debut as Razor Ramon is followed by a great WWF Title bout against Bret Hart from Royal Rumble 1993 (his only World Title shot on a WWF PPV, incidentally) and the greatest upset victory ever, when he shocking lost to the 123 Kid from Raw in May 1993. After that, Razor turned babyface (not shown here), but the next match is a match taped for Coliseum Home Video (remember that?) where he challenges Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Title. It's a nice little gem and a good match, albeit one that's overbooked in a confusing manner, and as an aside, this must have taken place right before HBK got suspended. That suspension led to the IC Title being vacated, which would ultimately be snapped up by Razor in an entertaining match, perfect for the era, with Rick Martel (which we are treated to here). Disc two ends with THAT Ladder match against Shawn from WrestleMania X, the most famous of his career from an action standpoint. Their Ladder rematch from SummerSlam 1995 isn't here, which is a minor disappointment.

Disc three opens with Razor attempting to regain his IC Title from Diesel at SummerSlam 1994. It's a good mid-card match, as is Razor vs. Jeff Jarrett from Royal Rumble 1995. Razor vs. Goldust from the 1996 Rumble isn't quite as good, perhaps because Hall was legitimately unhappy at the Goldust gimmick (which at this early stage played up some strong homosexual tendencies; attitudes towards homosexuality were very different twenty years ago from what they are nowadays). We strangely don't get Hall's famous Nitro promo which kicked off the nWo angle, or the Bash At The Beach 1996 main event which cemented it as the biggest storyline in years, if not ever. But we do see Hall and Nash battle Sting and Lex Luger at Hog Wild 1996 and their WCW Tag Team Title success against Harlem Heat from Halloween Havoc a few months later.

From there, the focus of the DVD turns to Hall wrestling without Big Kev at his side. He battles Scott Steiner in a decent bout from Nitro, and another Monday night showdown with a then-underdog Chris Jericho has a surprising result. The best WCW match on this DVD is his WCW World Title challenge against Sting at Uncensored 1998, but arguably his greatest WCW match - his Ladder match against Goldberg from Souled Out 1999 - is not included (and has yet to be released on any WWE-produced release, for some reason). His WCW run is wrapped up by The Outsiders facing Goldberg and Sid Vicious from a late 1999 episode of Nitro (the highlight of which is commentator Bobby Heenan's ludicrous suggestion that fans should call their friends and turn up late for work the next day just to see previous enemies Goldberg and Sid team up). Completing the DVD are two short matches from Hall's 2002 WWF return: a SmackDown bout with The Rock, and his forgotten WrestleMania X8 showdown with Steve Austin (which doesn't feel like a WrestleMania match, one of many reasons for Austin walking out of the WWF/WWE twice that year, but that's another story). The Blu-ray has a few more matches, as well as Hall's 2014 HOF induction (this should have been on the DVD as well).

Coming just a few months after the release of The Kliq DVD, and at a time when compilations of 1990s personalities are the norm, there was every chance that this would be a forgotten DVD, one that would be classed as "yet another DVD on a name from the past". But whilst most in-ring achievements are tackled in the documentary and the majority of the subject's biggest matches are included within the bonus section, this DVD (the first WWF/WWE home video release on Scott Hall for 22 years, by the way) will not be quickly forgotten by those who watch it due to the refreshing and at times painful honesty of the main feature. For the amazingly candid manner in which Hall's real-life problems are tackled, the documentary is one that you should definitely buy this DVD for. The lighter content on his run as Razor Ramon and his nWo contributions, as well as some high-quality action amongst the extra matches, further boosts the prestige of this set, which will be remembered as one of the best WWE releases all year.

Overall Rating: 9/10 - Outstanding

Eric Bischoff - Sports Entertainment's Most Controversial Figure

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 431 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: June 13 2016

Of all the personalities who have come and gone in the business of professional wrestling, few divide opinion more than Eric Bischoff. For some, he displayed the skills of a pioneer, a visionary, a truly creative promoter. To others, he was lucky, in the right place at the right time as he benefitted from someone else's money, a man who provided minimal input into key storylines and who was viewed as poisonous by a mutinous locker room. If nothing else, Bischoff has built himself an unforgettable career in the genre of sports entertainment, and his life and times are examined in this new DVD.

It's worth wondering why now; why are we getting a Bischoff DVD in 2016 and not in the mid-2000s during his WWE tenure, or even shortly after the demise of WCW in 2001? Well, it's been a long time since we've seen Bischoff in a WWE ring, so there is nostalgic appeal to revisiting Bischoff's career here.

More likely though, this release probably stems from the lack of performers left who WWE hasn't yet released a DVD/Blu-ray on. That would explain why we get this bio on a non-wrestler many years after his peak, even if the documentary still has the potential to be intriguing.

Speaking of which, the main basis of this release is the 90-minute documentary feature which charts Bischoff's early years, during which time he competed in martial arts and worked as a model (where he met his wife Loree), before the opportunity to promote a children's game on AWA television opened the door to what would eventually be a sales position with the AWA in the mid-1980s. Following unforeseen problems with the AWA's announcers, Bischoff was utilised as an interviewer, eventually becoming a fixture of AWA television. It's worth noting that at this point Bischoff was already in his 30s, so it's hard to believe that anybody could have imagined at this point what would await Eric in his future.

His AWA stint had a setback when the company itself struggled to stay afloat, leaving performers such as Bischoff without pay for months. With Bischoff close to bankruptcy, and after an unsuccessful audition as an interviewer for the World Wrestling Federation, he managed to get a job in World Championship Wrestling as an interviewer and a commentator, primarily for WCW's B-shows. However, by 1993, a chain of events and a well-planned pitch involving a potential wrestling-based gameshow unexpectedly propelled Bischoff to the position of Executive Producer in WCW; suddenly, Uncle Eric was in charge of the second biggest wrestling company in America. That being said, WCW was truly struggling at this point, so few had hope that Bischoff could reverse the organisation's fortunes.

But he did: a deal was struck to broadcast WCW television from Disney studios in the Orlando theme park, and with the perception of the promotion growing, he somehow managed to bring Hulk Hogan into the company in summer 1994, followed by Randy Savage at the end of the year. With ratings and PPV buy rates increasing, along with other subtle changes on- and off-screen, Bischoff believed the step towards making WCW profitable was an exciting yet potentially risky TV deal with Star TV in China. But when Eric was pitching the idea, he was interrupted by the head honcho of Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of WCW, Ted Turner, who asked Bischoff how WCW could compete with the WWF. A mumbled response about prime-time TV led to one of the most important decisions in wrestling history: Turner allocated WCW a prime-time TV show on the TNT channel - head-to-head with WWF Raw on Monday nights.

Bischoff explains his thought process to ensure that what would become Monday Nitro could stand out from Raw to increase its chances of success, along with his formula for major storylines in general, the biggest of which would be the nWo. This ground-breaking storyline began in May 1996 with Nitro being relatively competitive with Raw, and by the time the plot reached its peak with (the anticlimactic) Hogan-Sting main event at Starrcade 1997, the storyline had turned WCW into a monster, which was handily winning the Monday Night War; the nWo plot had seen the once money-losing company become a hugely profitable financial beast. Add to that other elements of the show, such as the rise of Goldberg and the impact of the cruiserweights, and Bischoff seemed to have the wrestling world at his feet; from the summer of 1996 until early 1998, Bischoff was, as he would say on Nitro in his heel persona (Eric had by now joined the nWo and become something of a mouthpiece for the new World order), the "King" of wrestling. Who could have imagined, even two years earlier, that Bischoff would be defeating Vince McMahon on a weekly basis?

But then it began to unravel. As the WWF transformed its product to incorporate a new "Attitude", Bischoff notes how the Turner/Time Warner merger began to limit what WCW could do in order to remain competitive and, ultimately, their control reached the point where Bischoff could almost do nothing to reverse fortunes. At least, that's what he says. What is only slightly acknowledged is how, by the summer of 1998, WCW's main event crew still largely consisted of WWF headliners who were many years past their prime. For example, Hogan's career had years added onto it when he turned heel in 1996, but by 1998 his heel run had peaked, and he was now in his mid-40s, rarely putting on a good show in the ring. There was no potential for genuine main event ascendency for younger stars, with the exception of Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page (who, despite his high quality skills, was largely viewed as someone who only reached the top due to his friendship with Bischoff), and as the number of WWF stars who WCW were poaching began to dwindle, the storylines became equally illogical. The Hogan/Ultimate Warrior re-run flopped, as did the mismanagement of Bret Hart once he joined the company; then there was the Rick Steiner/Chucky the doll business, the involvement of Jay Leno in a PPV main event, the never-ending and confusing nWo saga and more. It was still a huge company and still strong competition for the WWF, but by the end of 1998, it was obvious that WCW's fortunes were plummeting, as were its morale and its viewership.

Things got much worse in 1999, to the extent that Bischoff was removed from power in September 1999. His replacement Vince Russo flopped so bad that people thought he was still secretly working for the WWF, and after he was fired in January 2000 and his successor Kevin Sullivan couldn't do much better, by which point WCW's ratings and creativity were at toilet level, Bischoff and Russo were made a creative team of sorts in the spring of 2000, and they created a "new beginning" for WCW in a last-ditch attempt to save the now-ailing promotion. But Russo's garbage was just appalling to watch (Viagra On A Pole, anyone?), and after the Bash At The Beach 2000 incident, Bischoff (who was Russo's superior more than he was a partner, meaning that Russo created most of WCW's output) voluntarily left and was essentially waiting for Russo to truly fail and leave for good. During this time, Bischoff approached Time Warner executive Brad Siegel about purchasing the promotion, believing that it could never succeed under Time Warner. That he did, or at least he and Fusient Media Ventures were in a position where they only needed the go-ahead to buy WCW and relaunch it.

Only, it didn't happen; Time Warner managed with AOL, and shortly afterwards, new head honcho Jamie Kellner made the dumb decision to cancel WCW television outright and immediately, rather than allowing the promotion to be sold so AOL Time Warner could at least make some money before removing WCW from TNT and TBS. This meant that Bischoff's "new" WCW wouldn't have a home, and whilst I wonder today why he and Fusient didn't just try to shop around for a new television station for months after this decision, this cancellation essentially killed WCW. Days later, Vince McMahon (or Shane, depending on your point of view) officially announced the purchase of WCW on Nitro, and as of March 26 2001, WCW as a real company, and Bischoff's wrestling career it seemed, had ended.

But after some dabbling into smaller ventures, Bischoff was ultimately signed by what was now World Wrestling Entertainment to work as a non-wrestler and, on July 15 2002, the true "never say never" moment occurred as, live on Raw, Vince McMahon introduced and endorsed Bischoff as the new General Manager of the show. Following several years of on-screen highs and lows, Bischoff was fired in a "trial" on December 5 2005 and, barring the release of his autobiography Controversy Creates Cash in 2006 and selected on-screen appearances in 2006 and 2007, his WWE run ended there.

All of this is covered in the documentary, which is well-structured, paced just right and packed with honest comments from Bischoff and others, such as his wife Loree, key members of WCW's parent company like Bill Shaw and Harvey Schiller, and wrestling personalities including Greg Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho, Kevin Nash, Steve Austin and others. As Bischoff's history is documented, we also get a section where Bischoff answers many criticisms levelled at him, from his lack of focus on younger talent (which he freely admits) to his loss of control involving main event stars such as Hogan (incidentally, the scene which leads into this section is shown twice, for some reason). At times, it feels more like a history of WCW than a history of Bischoff, since we only get a small insight into Bischoff's WWE run, once his first night in the company is covered. Additionally, those (like me) who have read Bischoff's autobiography will be familiar with many of the stories told on this DVD.

That being said, the documentary is entertaining, and very interesting for those keen on knowing about the behind-the-scenes mechanisms of wrestling companies. Its big flaws, to me, are that certain key events are not referenced, such as the Lex Luger debut on the first Nitro, his incredible off-screen struggles with Ric Flair in 1998 (Bischoff actually threatened to sue Flair's family into bankruptcy for real in front of the WCW roster; one could argue that Flair has half-reached that point without Bischoff's input), the BATB 2000 mess involving Hogan and Russo, the "HLA" storyline in WWE (for Hot Lesbian Action; I'm not disappointed that this wasn't covered, but you might be), his on-screen association with his "nephew" Eugene, and his TNA stint from early 2010 to late 2013 (hey, TNA was covered on the Sting and Dudley Boyz DVDs), which saw Bischoff and Hogan provide a grand total of around zero fresh ideas and ultimately cause more harm than good for the promotion.

Harking back to an earlier point, we do not get a proper acknowledgement that a big reason for WCW's decline was that its television product rapidly turned into the s--ts, from early 1999 onwards. WWE is adding Nitro episodes from its final 18 months onto the Network as we speak, and I honestly feel that I couldn't watch them if you paid me. Regardless of the internal struggles with Time Warner, there is no way of explaining WCW's crap storylines and frustrating matches besides the obvious: the people in charge were not competent and/or too lazy to create excitement and logic in their television plotlines. Admittedly, Russo had a more detrimental effect once he arrived, but the slog began with Bischoff in control. Yes, Kevin Nash was the booker for much of 1999, but Bischoff was the man who gave him that role, and did nothing to change things even when it was clear that WCW was sucking more than - well, I was going to insert a rude joke but I won't, so just use your imagination.

Regardless, though, the documentary here is still pretty good, and it does contain some interesting nuggets, from Bischoff discussing his first conversation about Vince concerning his WWE signing in 2002 to Eric's beliefs that he's now happy that WWE beat WCW, since it led to such things as the Network and other future areas for growth which WCW would not have thought of or considered. On this DVD, we also get Bischoff's two-part discussion with John Bradshaw Layfield on Legends With JBL from the Network, which does cover some similar ground, but also allows Bischoff to explain some subjects in greater detail, and to cover topics not featured in the doc (like BATB 2000). Another Network exclusive turns up here as we count down and relive what are supposedly Bischoff's ten most controversial on-screen moments.

Rounding off the DVD are some bonus stories and a selection of on-screen clips from Bischoff's time in the AWA, WCW (of course) and WWE. Since Bischoff was never a wrestler, it stands to reason that they are almost all angles or interviews, although we do get Bischoff vs. Larry Zbyszko from Starrcade 1997. There are more matches on the Blu-ray version, but neither of Bischoff's matches with Steve Austin from 2003 are included at all, which is a strange oversight. Going back to the DVD, the highlights of the "angle extras" are Bischoff being attacked by the Outsiders in 1996, his challenge to Vince McMahon on Nitro in 1998 to counter the attempted "invasion" from D-Generation X, his WWE arrival, his involvement in the Billy & Chuck wedding in September 2002 (by the way, I thought this was tremendous; the presentation was topnotch, and Bischoff's role in the ceremony was a massive surprise when I watched it at the time), some scrapes with Steve Austin (including a Highlight Reel alongside Chris Jericho at InsurreXtion 2003, which I attended and is very entertaining), and the entirety of "The Trial Of Eric Bischoff" from when he was fired as Raw GM in 2005, the comedy of which is hit-and-miss.

It might be stating the obvious here, but this is aimed at fans who were watching WCW and/or are familiar with the Monday Night Wars. Those who have only been watching wrestling over the last decade may have no clue who Bischoff is. If that's the case, this DVD is a good way to get you up to speed into the man who, regardless of one's opinion on him, played a key role in a series of events which changed the WWF/WWE and pro wrestling forever. The documentary is enjoyable, if lacking in big revelations, and the extras are worth watching on the whole (the JBL sit-down interview is arguably more insightful than the doc). Yes, it doesn't cover some vital topics (WCW's sucky on-screen product towards the end, the Bischoff-Flair off-screen turmoil, Bischoff's run in TNA), but for those who watch these DVDs just for entertainment purposes, you'll find it to be a lot of fun. And watching this DVD, one gets the feeling that Raw or SmackDown would be a lot better, and the crowd reaction would be huge, if Bischoff appeared on WWE television once more as part of the upcoming brand extension to become a General Manager again.

This isn't as good as the Paul Heyman DVD, since Heyman's off-screen future was far more explosive and his honesty is almost unparalled on virtually any subject, but it is an entertaining and at times insightful look at one of the most important and influential figures from the most exciting era in wrestling history.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good