The first disc tells the story starting from 1933 & Jim Crockett Sr.’s style of promoting professional events of all types. We are guided through the Mid- Atlantic days, Georgia, & Vince’s takeover which he called the perfect "1-2 Punch." Then we see the acquisitions of Jim Crockett Jr. gobbling up many of the NWA territories & the UWF. Crockett was all about making money, all about spending money, & then realized in 1988 that he all of the sudden millions behind in his own money & had to sell the company. But within this we are told about the birth of TBS & Ted Turner’s fondness for professional wrestling, and how Vince McMahon and himself joined & ended their relationship on the network. Many things are dated very accurately, but once again this is where something like this is so big & can be talked about for hours, but by twenty-five minutes in we are past how Starrcade’s was changing the business & all the other key elements of the NWA, and we are instead discussing Ted Turners WCW.
In the beginning from what was NWA to now WCW, the group was more-or-less looked at as changing from a Carolina’s group to a Global promotion. The players in the group were great, but the leadership was undoubtedly terrible. We are given the rundown of WCW presidents & bookers and what each one brought to the table, but ultimately shown how each one failed at survival. The list seemed endless of failures & departures, until finally Eric Bischoff was shockingly given his very own opportunity to go to war as the company’s head. With the acquisitions of Hulk Hogan & other big name stars, as well as running head-to-head on Monday nights, this began the turnaround, and gave the Ted Turner owned company a huge lead over their once superior competitors. Through all the sellouts/rises in revenues, many mistakes, & changes behind-the-scenes were being made which started to unsteady the now tall WCW structure. So through all the surprises, the cruiserweights, live Monday Nitro’s, Bill Goldberg, & celebrity appearances, we now have bigger contracts, more ego, Vince Russo, & wrestlers being held back from upward mobility. At this point, we are now focused in on the bad things there were happening like Kevin Nash ruining the streak, Jay Leno, David Arquette, a Pay-Per-View event running over its time limit, & a one finger World Title change in front of nearly 40,000 pissed-off wrestling fans. Hulk Hogan’s last WCW appearance was also shown, as Vince Russo & Jeff Jarrett double-crossed the World Champion (Hulk Hogan) in front of a live paying audience. Time Warner at this point was trying to wash their hands of professional wrestling, and these types of things going on & substantial millions of dollars in the red ultimately led to the sale of this company…and to none other than Vincent Kennedy McMahon. To say all this is portrayed fairly is a huge misconception, because it never ever could be in a quick two-hour rundown. There are also plenty of panelists, but we all could only wish there could have been more of these people for discussion. Selected for this DVD release to tell their stories are the following:
*Jim Ross
*Vince McMahon
*"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
*Jim Crockett
*David Crockett
*Dr. Harvey Schiller
*Dean Malenko
*Mike Graham
*Chris Jericho
*"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
*Bill Goldberg
*Magnum TA
*Barry Windham
*"Cowboy" Bill Watts
*Rey Mysterio
*Michael "P.S." Hayes
*Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
*Shane Helms/The Hurricane
*Ron Simmons
*Road Warrior Animal
*Scott Hall
*The Big Show
*Arn Anderson
*Eric Bischoff, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, & Hulk Hogan are also included from older interviews
****
The Matches:
The matches are fantastic towards the start of the DVD, but towards the end of the WCW promotion you may be scratching your head as to why they would select the choices they have made for these two remaining discs.
$1,000 Challenge Match
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A.
NWA World Championship Wrestling — June 15, 1985
A great look at Magnum, who would have been the future in the NWA if it wasn’t for a tragic automobile accident.
Sting, Lex Luger, & Barry Windham vs. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, & Tully Blanchard (w/JJ Dillon)
The Main Event — April 3, 1988
This was a hot six-man tag from the first-ever broadcast of "The Main Event."
NWA United States Championship Match
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes vs. Barry Windham
The Great American Bash — July 10, 1988
Windham was a hot heel…Rhodes was a top face. This contest saw Ronnie Garvin getting involved.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
"Chi-Town Rumble" — February 20, 1989
A classic…perhaps one of the best WCW matches you will ever see.
The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express vs. The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette)
Wrestle War — February 25, 1990
Tag team wrestling at its finest. Watch the inserts on the theme music though, which will anger the purists out there during their introductions.
NWA United States Tag Team Title Match
The Midnight Express vs. The Southern Boys
WCW’s Great American Bash — July 7, 1990
The Southern Boys were a very underrated team that always worked well with The Midnights.
WCW World Tag Team Title Match
The Steiner Brothers vs. Sting & "The Total Package" Lex Luger
WCW SuperBrawl — May 19, 1991
Booked at the time as a dream match between four of WCW’s most popular wrestlers.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sting vs. Big Van Vader (w/Harley Race)
WCW’s Great American Bash — July 12, 1992
These guys always had some brutal matches that told a great story. This contest was another version of that.
WCW International World Heavyweight Championship Match
"Ravishing" Rick Rude vs. Sting
WCW Spring Stampede — April 17, 1994
An interesting match, and Rude really worked his butt off here.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair (w/Sensuous Sherri) vs. Hulk Hogan (w/Shaquille O’Neal & "The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart)
WCW Bash At The Beach — July 17, 1994
A sold-out crowd, a PPV record, with huge revenue. This was the start of "The Hogan Era" in WCW.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. The Giant
WCW Monday Nitro — April 29, 1996
A match that shocked many, with a rare title change.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko
WCW Clash Of The Champions XXXIII — August 15, 1996
High-flyer vs. Technical expert
War Games Match
Team WCW (Sting, "The Total Package" Lex Luger, "The Nature Boy" Ric Fair & Arn Anderson) vs. Team nWo ("Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & a Mystery Partner)
WCW Fall Brawl — September 15, 1996
Of all the War Games through the years, this was probably the worst one to choose from.
WCW United States Championship Ladder Match
Syxx vs. Eddie Guerrero
nWo Souled Out — January 25, 1997
Weird selection as well. The NWO Pay-Per-View was not that great.
WCW United States Championship No-Disqualification Match
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
WCW Uncensored — March 16, 1997
Great work by the cruisers again.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match ("Title vs. Mask")
Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera
WCW SuperBrawl VIII — February 22, 1998
This was during a time when Bischoff apparently was trying to unmask each of the luchadors one after the other.
WCW Unified World Tag Team Title Match
The Steiner Brothers vs. The Outsiders
WCW SuperBrawl VIII — February 22, 1998
Can’t understand how this made it here. Pretty much just shows a Scott Steiner heel turn & has no other purpose.
Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman
WCW Bash At The Beach — July 12, 1998
A huge mainstream media match. Thank God they didn’t pick the other match with Jay Leno.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page
WCW Halloween Havoc — October 25, 1998
This is the match where the Pay-Per-View ran too long, and as a result, many WCW paying customers never got to see the end of this match until Monday Nitro the following night.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Booker T vs. Lance Storm
WCW Monday Nitro — August 7, 2000
This was the last match on the DVD…This one, a Nitro match. While decent, plenty of fans (including myself) will probably not understand why this one was chosen. Seriously, there are hundreds of other matches we all wish we could have seen here.
The verdict, overall recommendation and final thoughts on page three ….
