A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: 13th May 2013
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
Format Reviewed: DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2 Discs)
What It’s About:
Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart is arguably the greatest technical wrestler ever to step into a wrestling ring. With wrestling knowledge that far outweighed most if not all of his opponents, Bret’s career is second to none and his legacy is one which wrestling should be proud of. This release collects together matches that are supposedly unreleased on DVD before all complimented by stories from Bret Hart himself.
Strengths:
Guiding us through the release, with a funny, interesting or tender story before each match, Bret Hart is simply gleaming as host. Often Hart regales us with stories of behind the scenes or his thoughts on each wrestler he faced on this release and not one tale is boring or dull. Bret’s enthusiasm for what he did, even in 2013, never wavers and is infectious to the point that when the release ends you’re yearning for more Bret Hart stories. The depth and history Bret goes into is joyous to listen to and that trademark ‘Hit Man’ smirk makes everything he says all the more pleasing. You can laugh at these stories, you can cry at these stories but before the end you will be left with a heavy sense of respect and happiness. Hart’s yarn about his match with Andre the Giant in Milan, Italy is a scream. This is a grade ‘A’ job by Hart and one which makes the release all the more appealing.
The first chapter of the release, ‘Untapped Resources’, is very good and a touch inspiring. A quick flick through all the times we know and love in Bret’s career, complimented by some old and unseen photographs, the voice over guy does a very good job to sum up Bret Hart’s career in a short chapter. The line ‘You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you have been’ should shout at Vince McMahon and get him to look where WWE has been in the past so he knows where to take the company in the future without repeating history.
When talking about his early matches with the Dynamite Kid before the first of the matches is relayed to us, Bret’s admission that Tom Billington was always the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be comes across as genuine and very humbling. After years of touting himself with that very catchphrase, it can’t have been easy for Bret to admit that maybe he wasn’t the best ever. In your Wrestling God’s eyes and the eyes of hundreds of millions Bret will always be one of the greatest, but to hear another wrestler broaching the subject of who was the very best without mentioning Ric Flair or Harley Race is somewhat eye opening and uplifting.
Bret Hart vs The Dynamite Kid (Stampede Wrestling, December 1978) is a two out of three falls match which inconveniently cuts in seventeen minutes into the confrontation when Hart is already a fall up. Whilst the encounter is full of technical holds, such as Kid working of Hart’s leg and is engaging when the action picks up, there is a horrible black line down the right of the screen where WWE have failed to clean up the footage and the fact the match isn’t in its entirety stops the viewer from emotionally investing somewhat. Nevertheless, the two do put on a show and if people have never seen Bret in Stampede this is a great place to start.
Bret Hart vs Leo Burke (Stampede Wrestling, January 1983) is strangely better received than the previous Dynamite Kid clash. A reaction which isn’t totally baffling when you get engrossed in the action. Whilst Hart vs Kid was more technical, this match against Burke is harder hitting and the action is smoother. Those watching closely will be able to distinguish Bret Hart’s never say die face character, which he would portray in WWE for most of his career, beginning to emerge. However, like the previous battle this isn’t in its entirety either and cuts into the action ten minutes after the opening bell. For a release which is meant to boast the best of unseen matches, WWE have sabotaged two of them for the sake of time and as you’ll read going along, matches which shouldn’t have made the cut.
Bret Hart vs The Dynamite Kid (Capitol Centre, September 1985) is the second and final match to feature The Dynamite Kid and is miles better than their first clash on the release. Fast, exciting and evolutional for the time, Hart and Kid really turn on the heat and ariel moves for this World Wrestling Entertainment spar. The match is well paced, technically ample and has to be Bret’s best match up to that point in his career. There are shades of what Hart was capable of in singles action when he got to the top of the card in WWE and Dynamite is as precisely brilliant as he ever was during his career. Watching him brings back wonderful memories of watching Chris Benoit wrestle again. It’s eerie, in a good way, how similar the two were in the ring. The commentary on the match also evokes welcome memories with Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes throwing their penny into the mix. I hadn’t heard the pair together for many years and it was a welcome touch. Before the match is shown, Bret speaks about his feelings before stepping into the ring. Looking back on the era, the Hit Man relays us a story of triumph over adversity and a childlike joy that he never thought he’d get to a moment such as this. Upon learning the match would be taped, Bret gives a moment of thought provoking intensity realising it would be captured forever. It is a sobering and poignant thought.
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect (Maple Leaf Gardens, April 1989) is unfaltering in the wrestling department as almost every match between the duos was. Whilst the match is superb after the stalling is out of the way it cannot live up to their stunning spectacle at SummerSlam 1991. Surprisingly though that doesn’t bring this encounter down. Henning is perfect, no pun intended, in the role of villain as he always was and Hart whilst not yet a babyface, was always destined to walk that path. That much is clear. It’s a joy to watch the pair do battle once more and a sheer pleasure. Curt Henning was always the perfect foil for Hart and their wrestling styles complimented each other. When one thinks though, about what could have been between the pair, in that they should have feuded over the WWE Championship, it’s clearly a wasted opportunity.
The Hart Foundation vs The Twin Towers (Duluth, Minnesota – May 1989) is a perfect example of what a great team Neidhart and Bret were. Surprisingly, the match which features an overweight Big Boss Man and Akeem is more than respectable and whilst Boss Man was never a great wrestler, he poses a huge threat because of his weight. Anyone who remembers The Hart Foundation when they were just Hart and The Anvil will be able to attest to what a great tag team they were and it’s the pair in pink and black who guide the Towers through a well put together encounter. Hart’s selling skills are as good as they ever were and only the stupid comments on commentary let the match down slightly. Lord Alfred Hayes at one point states that Boss Man is one of the best wrestlers in the company and could be the very best. FYI – he never was. Boss Man could be very pleasing when he chose to be, sadly though WWE gave him so many crap storyline that he never managed to grab that brass ring. I was surprised to learn though that at the time this match took place, Boss Man was only 24. He looks 44. Usually the count out ending would be slated, however the match was of sufficient quality that both teams deserved protecting with the finish.
Bret Hart vs Tiger Mask II (Tokyo Dome, April 1990) thankfully is saved from being a total bore by the bursts of action in between what become banal rest holds which come thick and fast and last far too long. Had the action lacked between the holds then this match would have been worthless, however mercifully it does pick up the pace towards the end even if it doesn’t capitalize on either man’s skill or depth of knowledge for the business. The match comes with no commentary lending to its different feel. Building to some really great athleticism, this comes as a good advert for Japanese Wrestling which WWE didn’t mean to happen when Hart selected the matches, and I would strongly suggest anyone reading this seeks out some NJPW DVD’s. You won’t be disappointed. During the match Misawa, who is under the Tiger Mask gimmick falls wrongly when Hart executes a forward atomic drop and consequently, Hart’s knee ends up in the small of Misawa’s back as he’s bending backwards. That looks nasty.
Bret Hart vs Ric Flair (New Haven, Connecticut – November 1991) proves to be an entertaining scrap between two men who go on to become legends in our business. Could it have been better? Yes. But I have to point out that this match isn’t even half as bad as a review in a certain wrestling magazine suggests. Both men, with the right incentive could have put on a classic and whilst it’s not quite up to that standard, there really is nothing wrong with what is on display here. Bret’s comments at the beginning of the match that this was a ‘changing of the guard’ moment in wrestling have weight to them and WWE set a new double standard with this outing. Entering the arena with the WCW / NWA World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, Vince McMahon allows Flair to parade the belt on his show as he did for quite a while in 1991. This is exactly what Vince was afraid of Hart doing with the WWE Championship in 1997. Nevertheless, Flair is such a professional that he makes Bret look a million dollars.
Bret Hart vs The Undertaker (Madison Square Garden, January 1992) is by far The Undertaker’s best match up to that point in his career. Up to that point, Taker was always looked upon as a cartoon character with what he wore and the way he wrestled. Every time he stepped into the ring with Hart, another dimension added to Undertaker and this did him no end of good. The match itself is slow at certain points but Bret makes Undertaker seem like a genuine threat and danger which only elevates Undertaker as a wrestler. The fact that Hart allows Undertaker to go over him proves how committed he was to helping talent lower down the card and this certainly went a long way in helping Undertaker push his way up the card. One would expect this to be a drag but it couldn’t be more the opposite. An entertaining and worth entry to this release.
Bret Hart vs Bam Bam Bigelow (Milan, Italy – April 1993) is top notch from bell to bell. Being arguably the best big man in the history of the business, Bigelow could have done so much more in the WWE had the company got behind him and allowed him to challenge Hart for the WWE Championship. The pair rarely had a bad match and they could have headlined WrestleMania together. Like most of Hart’s matches on this release, it’s well paced and put together succeeding in getting Bigelow over a monster heel. It’s just a shame WWE would undo all of that when they pitted Bigelow against Doink later in the year. Still, for those who want to see a genuinely talent big man compete with those who are a hundred pounds lighter than him, this match and Bigelow is for you.
Bret Hart vs Diesel (King of the Ring 1994, June 19th 1994) was almost epic at the time and hasn’t lost any of its appeal. Hart puts Nash over without losing the match and big Kev can credit the Hit Man with helping make his career as a headliner. Selling with conviction, Hart makes you believe that Diesel really will walk away with the WWE Championship, providing an uplifting moment when he triumphs over adversity. Kevin Nash, though remarkably younger, showed real grit and determination and proved WWE were right to pick him for the main event scene. This match was the forerunner to other matches the pair would have and isn’t quite a masterpiece but it comes mightily close. The only down side comes once again from the commentary table. King of the Ring 1994 featured guest commentator Art Donovan. The guy knew nothing about wrestling and his stupid comments were infuriating. Continuously asking who the wrestlers were and thinking he sounded professional, Donovan brought down Randy Savage and Gorilla Monsoon who regularly had to dumb down their commentary to make Donovan understand what was happening. If there’s ever a way to delete commentary from a wrestling release WWE should start with King of the Ring 1994. Art Donovan brought down an otherwise good pay-per view. He really was the pits.
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart (Stockton, California – March 1995) is as technically flawless as the matches get on this release. For two real life brothers, both Bret and Owen knew how to lay into each other and make it look good. The chemistry is there as it always was and as you’d expect and the action is classy. The match which was taped just six days before WrestleMania 11 was a perfect example of how to build a hot story and a loathsome heel. Owen was born to play the part WWE furnished him with. One certainty comes out of this match and it’s that Owen Hart should have been bigger in WWE and had he not passed when he did and decided to stay in wrestling then maybe he would have been. Almost unquestionably, Owen Hart was the greatest wrestler never to be WWE Champion.
Bret Hart vs Jean Pierre Lafette (In Your House III, September 24th 1995) is as startlingly good as it was eighteen years ago. Age has thankfully not withered the match which features some excellent ariel moves by Lafette, including a tope to the outside which misses and sees Hart’s foil land squarely on his back after coming over the top rope in a stunt which was daring and brave considering the damage it could have done. Near and tense close falls round of an exciting and thoroughly great fight. The match once again illustrates Hart’s star making abilities and it’s Lafette who comes out the other end looking better than he went in. It’s palpable that Lafette could have gone further in WWE had he been furnished with another gimmick. The match highlights his solid ring style but the question whether the fans would have seen him a big star is another question. The audience didn’t seem to appreciate good solid wrestlers back then. It was a time when if you were a heel, you were seen as a bad wrestler.
Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (Sun City Superbowl, September 14th 1996) proves to be a slow burner though that doesn’t detract from it being watchable. Those who have seen Austin and Hart’s Survivor Series 1996 or super WrestleMania 13 bout may find themselves disappointed at the slowness of the action on display. There’s no real flow to the action but seeing as this is a tour show in South Africa, the two have no real incentive to tire themselves out. Had this been pay-per view, I’m sure it would have brought the house down. Austin once again demonstrates his crowd baiting abilities as the villain you love to hate and having been out of action for 5 months concentrating on an acting career, Hart doesn’t look like he’s lost a step and the well timed finish to the match protects Austin’s rise up the WWE ladder well.
Bret Hart vs Booker T (WCW Nitro, January 25th 1999) is strong on both the action and fluidity. Performing amicably with a genuine injury, Hart compliments Booker T’s fast paced style and Booker really does look like a main event star. A colossus even. Even though the action is very good, this match could have been included on the ‘Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2’ instead of the Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage match and been replaced here by another unseen WWE match. I know one of his matches against Razor Ramon would have been a welcome addition. Booker T should have been one of WCW’s main priorities. Sadly though, WCW didn’t care about anyone who wasn’t a washed up WWE reject or Goldberg. Had WCW had the sense they could have turned this into a big feud for both Bret and Booker T, seeing as they never used Hart properly and didn’t have a clue what to do with him.
The comment that Bret makes about misjudging Sting adds a nice touch to proceedings. At nearly seven and a half hours into the release and very close to the end, nods to other wrestlers may have passed you by without you knowing it. Hart makes a point of pin pointing those he thought had a big hand in his career. It’s not often you hear another wrestler praising another wrestler and it’s done so not break kayfabe. This is a sincere compliment to a fellow wrestler who like Bret Hart, will surely transcend time.
Bret Hart vs Sting (WCW Mayhem, November 21st 1999) is sadly a choice effort from both men. Fought in the quarter finals of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament, it begins to look like both men have given caring where their WCW careers end up. Hart, who had been in the company well over a year and a half at that point had seen his career nose dive as WCW focused on the NWO and Sting, whilst trying his best to produce something of consequence, doesn’t appear to have the drive for it anymore. The match suffers from lack of time to do anything meaningful with and a run in by Lex Luger. Despite the limitations, the match is just about respectable.
The final chapter of the release, ‘A Tripe Down Memory Lane’, is a touching way to end the release. Watching Bret thanking everyone who made this wonderful career possible and looking back at times gone by, including what the career meant to Bret is a wonderful way to round off the release. A job well done.
Weaknesses:
Bret Hart vs Buzz Sawyer (Georgia Championship Wrestling, September 1979) was strangely said to have been a good match by a certain wrestling magazine who either didn’t watch the release properly or don’t know what they’re talking about. What actually transpires is a parade of headlocks and arm locks which zap every inch of enthusiasm from the encounter. By the time the pair decide to break into something resembling exciting, all the gusto for the match has long since disappeared. It’s a shame because Sawyer was such a great talent. The quality of the footage is less than abysmal, with WWE opting not to try and clean up the, straight from VHS, recording. The constant flickering of the film and the annoying VHS buzzing which lasts for the entire length of the clash is infuriating. Before the footage, Hart touches upon the fact that this time in his career he was used as a jobber, which begs the question why pick a match in which you’re used as a punch bag to be on your personal collection?
The Hart Foundation vs The Islanders (Philadelphia Spectrum, March 1987) is wholly
disappointing considering the amount of time Bret Hart spends hyping it. Selling it to us as a high speed collision, most will expect something much more superior to this. Haku and the Tonga Kid should have done better than this considering their potential as a team and there are no excuses for the Hart Foundation who never truly seem to be in the match. However it is striking to see how much Bret Hart resembles his first WWE action figure here. For two teams who were capable of much more than this, it has to be marked down as a failure. On commentary, the match is made even more galling by former WWE Champion Billy Graham, who seems incapable of telling Haku and the Tonga Kid apart. Graham constantly gets the pair confused calling one the other.
Bret Hart vs Andre the Giant (Milan, Italy – April 1989) comes across as decent but lacks almost everything. Stumbling around the ring, the out of shape Andre should have retired years before this. Bret Hart is playing jobber role again here as Andre throws him around and heroically hits Hart with an elbow drop. Impressive for a man whose knees were knackered beyond repair. Hart does get some shots in and Andre sells for The Hit Man but it isn’t convincing enough to justify this as a must see spectacle. Like most of the early footage on this release, the recording is shoddy for three quarters of the clash. At first it looks like it’s been filmed on a mobile phone which hardly existed back then and suddenly it becomes crystal clear. WWE should have done something about this.
Bret’s comments about Ric Flair as he looks back on their match are unfair and slightly hypocritical. Talking about Flair and those like him relying on repeating the same set of moves to get their match over, Bret totally ignores the fact that his repertoire, whilst vast, consisted of the same set of moves which would usually set up the Sharpshooter. Whilst Bret would vary his moves in different matches, he had a tendency to repeat the same set of finishing moves in the same order as he was prepping his opponent for the Sharpshooter.
Bret Hart vs The Patriot (In Your House: Ground Zero, September 7th 1997) is saved from being a total mess by Hart’s epic contribution which deserves a standing ovation. The Patriot (Del Wilks) was always a very limited worker and as stiff as a board in the ring. Even more so than John Cena. Every time he tries to sell something here The Patriot looks like he’s been given a nasty electric shock and his offence is just horrible to watch. WWE should have found someone else to portray the character because Wilks was so jacked up on anything and everything that he could hardly bump without making the audience cringe. Bret Hart does an amazing job carrying the match but it’s a waste of time. Both theirs and ours. The eagle eyed will spot a young fan at ringside who constantly gives Hart the middle finger during the match. The kid can’t be more than 10 years old and his disrespectful gesture is applauded and greeted with laughs by his on-watching parents. How proud they must be.
Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:
Dream Matches
Travel Schedule
Sleeping on a Plane
Survivor Series with Bob Backlund
Masked Man
Trumpet Sound
Customs with Owen
Lost at Sea
Prized Possession
Two of the Best in Japan
The Artists
Favourites
Super Skilled, Super Athletic
Raw, November 1993
WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs Yokozuna
Doing it Old School
Albany, New York – October 1994
Bret Hart and British Bulldog vs Owen Hart and Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart
A Good Soul
Raw, July 24th 1995
Bret Hart vs Hakushi
Cement Truck
Friday Night’s Main Event – August 29th 1997
WWE Championship Match
Bret Hart vs Vader
Conclusion:
Whilst the title of the release ‘Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection’ is a little misleading seeing as not one match takes place in the famous Hart Dungeon, on the whole, WWE and Bret Hart have done a fine job in putting together another respectable release. Every box set since the release of ‘The Attitude Era’ has been good or better and this is no exception.
Even though this release has been pushed as matches which have never been released before on DVD, the King of the Ring 1994 – Bret Hart vs Diesel, IYH 3 – Bret Hart vs Jean Pierre Lafitte, IYH Ground Zero – Bret Hart vs Patriot, have all been released on DVD before in the U.K by WWE’s former distributor, Silvervision. WWE either need to stop lying to its audience or keep a close eye on what its British distributors are putting out. One review which I read of this release in a Wrestling magazine in Britain seemed to think that the previous releases of these matches weren’t good enough from Silvervision, which is bullshit. I won’t name the magazine but anyone who has read a review in a British Wrestling Magazine of this release already will know the magazine I refer to. It’s a magazine which clearly doesn’t watch these releases or anything properly and has on numerous occasions given the wrong advice on matches.
Whilst the release doesn’t consist of classic Bret Hart matches, most of the included are a worthy addition even though WWE could have taken some time and cleaned up the earlier recordings. The WCW matches could easily have been left off of the release seeing as they had no bearing on Hart’s career, thanks to WCW not knowing what to do with him, and replaced with two more matches from his WWE days. Bret had a lot of great house show matches during his years as WWE Champion; surely it wouldn’t have been too much trouble for WWE to allow him access to them all in order to produce a truly great release.
For as good as this release is, one gets the feeling that WWE have now exhausted its archive on Bret Hart. We have had numerous releases on ‘The Excellence of Execution’ be it by WWE or other sources (‘The Best There is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be’, ‘The Hart Family Anthology’, ‘Wrestling With Shadows’) plus all the WWE collections which feature other examples of his matches, it feels like there is nothing more WWE can add to his career. Surely the time has come for a box set release on Owen Hart and the British Bulldog as well as concentrating on today’s WWE talent. After all, most of the matches feel like both Hart and WWE were struggling to find something we haven’t seen and I cannot possibly think of anything else WWE could produce on him.
Whilst the above is true though the highlight of this release isn’t the selection of matches. Instead it’s the man himself. Bret proves to be a wonderful host and his stories, as stated leave you wanting more. For a wrestler who was a pretty poor promo guy, Hart has no trouble reeling off memories without trouble and he really makes you feel. Had WWE left off the selection of matches and changed the format to a nine hour release of Hart just telling stories it wouldn’t have mattered. I for one could sit through a nine hour story session with ease. Bret Hart has a way with history that makes it both humorous, nostalgic and tender. It’s a skill most other hosts of these releases could do with but one most lack.
‘Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection’ is yet another release that displays Bret Hart at his very best, both in the ring and in front of the camera. After everything he’s been through it’s great to see Bret looking so well and this release is a must for both Bret Hart fans and those seeking to brush up on their wrestling knowledge. If this is to be the final release on ‘The Hit Man’, then what a fitting end to a truly breathtaking career.
Rating: A
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