A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: September 9th 2013
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)
Format Reviewed:
DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2
Discs)
What It’s About:
A
collection of matches and moments from WWF / WWE’s reign at Madison Square
Garden in New York City, New York. The Garden, reputedly, ‘The World’s Most
Famous Arena’ was a hotspot for Vince McMahon as he built his company in the
early eighties and Vince McMahon Sr. before him. The Garden was a place where
wrestlers like Bruno Sammartino made himself a legend and a building which
holds countless memories for wrestling fans, including the debut of The Rock,
Chris Benoit’s first World Heavyweight Championship victory and that first
Stone Cold Stunner to Vince McMahon which sparked the most famous wrestling
feud in wrestling history.
Strengths:
The
opening recap of WWE’s time at Madison Square Garden, from beginning to end is
a nice little addition. Beginning in black and white with the oldest stars you
can imagine, the video package travels chronologically through the years,
encapsulating many of the historic moments in wrestling history – most of them
can be seen elsewhere on the release – until it reaches the present day – or as
far is it goes up to on the release. For the long times fans like myself it
stirs up a lot of nostalgia and sets the scene for the rest of the release.
As
a talking head, Bruno Sammartino talks about MSG with more passion in two
minutes than host Matt Striker ever manages to muster throughout the release.
The fondness of which he recalls his legendary main event reign at the building
is nice to see, especially considering his relationship with wrestling over the
past few years. It’s also refreshing to see that as a true legend of the
company, Sammartino still holds those years he was WWWF Champion as some of the
best of his life. Now Sammartino and Vince McMahon have rekindled their
relationship maybe its time the company released a Bruno Sammartino three disc
DVD and two disc Blu-ray. Whatever their plans, it’s great to see Sammartino
back on a wrestling release.
Bruno
Sammartino vs ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham (June 27th 1977) is a great fight which
begins with a flurry of moves from Sammartino and unlike other matches on the
release doesn’t get boring when the pair inevitably bring out the submission /
rest holds. Bruno is super over here and the MSG faithful are incredibly vocal
for their hero. It’s no surprise; Bruno was a star here for many years. To add
weight to how good a wrestler he was, Bruno manages to do wonders with a very
limited Graham and pull a respectable match out of his foe whilst making him
look like a top heel. A lot of this match relies on both men’s power and seeks
to exhibit that to the point that some watching this will wonder if the match
is wrestling or just two bodybuilders testing their strength against each other
– but in the 70’s this was the way wrestling was booked. Graham gets a massive
amount of heat every time he touches Bruno but the crowd pop every time Bruno’s
offence comes into play – which looks super hard. The disqualification ending
to the match is dumb but affective for the time to protect Graham as WWWF
Champion. The ending comes when the referee gets in the middle of the action
and wonders why he gets clouted several times. It’s a bum ending but a very good
match.
Bob
Backlund deserves a lot of credit for conducting himself with decorum as a
talking head on this release. It would have been so easy for Backlund to appear
in character as he did at the 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony, however here,
Backlund shows MSG and the sport respect by talking plainly and effectively
about his time as WWF Champion and his experience at headlining ‘The Garden’.
Had Backlund done this at the Hall of Fame ceremony in April then his induction
would have been one of the highlights of the ceremony.
Bob
Backlund vs Ken Patera (May 19th 1980) is a decent Texas Death Match even
though the pair leave it really late before they pull out the hardcore action.
Instead what we get is merely a normal match which is stuffed with submission
moves and some really decent action in between. What strikes one most watching
this match is how much of an impressive physical specimen Backlund was in 1980,
so much so he could give John Cena a run for his money in the body department.
Though large portions of this match are illogical in that the pair don’t even
attempt to garner themselves with a foreign object until the conclusion, the
fans lap up everything the pair do including a dodgy pinfall attempt when it’s
clear Patera’s body is underneath the bottom rope. Backlund executes a good
piledriver – which has been banned in WWE today – but the real bogey in this
match is Patera who looks out of place in a WWF Championship Match such as
this. Patera manages to dispatch Backlund from the ring with a stylish hip toss
over the top rope but lacks any huge moves to his arsenal. We’re meant to
believe that Backlund gets cuts with the softest belt shot you’ll ever see
Patera juices from head first contact with the steel barricade. Backlund wheels
out the famous chair shots and the end comes out of nowhere. Though this isn’t
the most exciting Texas Death Match you will ever see, this is very watchable.
Harley
Race pops up as a talking head ahead of his interpromotional match with Bob
Backlund. Race looks very well in 2013 and has shed some considerable weight.
His dyed hair makes him look younger and unlike some talking heads present,
Race manages to add depth and explanation to the control that Vince McMahon Sr.
had over the WWWF territories in the seventies and eighties.
Harley
Race vs Bob Backlund (September 22nd 1980) is an old school fight which isn’t
for anyone who dislikes marathon matches or bouts centred around submission
holds. At nearly 45 minutes this match does test the resolve of the viewer but
if you can bare to sit through some monotonous headlocks and other rest holds
then you will be rewarded with a great final fifteen to twenty minute
encounter. Backlund shows off his power by almost pressing Race over his head –
no mean feat when you consider the weight of Race in 1980 – and Matt Striker
dubs commentary adding some much needed background to the match and the era. If
Striker could have been this animated and interesting in his links then I
wouldn’t be complaining. Though Striker does manage to get John Cena’s name in
– he couldn’t resist. Ludicrously on commentary, when mentioning Race’s car
accident in which he nearly lost a leg, Striker relays us the information that
a promoter stopped Race having his leg cut off because he could see potential
in him. I doubt anyone but the person whose leg it is can stop an appendage
being amputated. Back to the match, the moves between the rest holds are fast
and furious and Backlund shows some impressive power throughout with big moves
including a standing suplex and numerous press slams. Technically, Harley Race
shows how good he really was and ridiculously, Striker implies that Race was
never that good a wrestler. Power move after power move follows the rest holds
as the pair get into the dying embers of the match including a Backlund flurry
of an atomic drop, piledriver, backdrop and double underhook suplex. Look out
for the Harley Race blade job under apron, just before Backlund’s lovely belly
to back suplex. The match hosts yet another dumb DQ ending when Race barely
taps the ref when locked in a sleeper and the man in the stripes calls for the
bell. Funnily though, Striker does annoy a lot of modern day superstars by
suggesting that wrestlers back then are tougher than wrestlers today.
Hulk
Hogan vs The Iron Sheik (January 23rd 1984) isn’t the most attractive match on
the release but does deserve its inclusion as a piece of history, where Hulk
Hogan wins the WWF Championship for the first time. Whether we like it or not,
this is a defining moment in WWE’s history at MSG. The match itself is short –
7 minutes – and messy in parts. Hogan looks like he’s trying smother the Sheik
when he goes for a clothesline with his robe but makes up for it with a perfect
lifted choke hold. Sheik does nothing of note but has a lot of heat. The match
is worth the watch to say you saw the beginning of Hulkamania and the fans
nearly take the roof off of the Garden when Hogan wins.
Sgt.
Slaughter vs The Iron Sheik (June 6th 1984) is an excellent bloody Boot Camp
Match. The brawl starts at break neck pace as Slaughter peppers Sheik with some
hard stick shots to great applause and the match is kept lively by the
creativity of Slaughter, including a brutal bump over the top turnbuckle and
onto the floor outside which looks excellent. Sheik actually does something of
value in this match leathering Slaughter with some brutal chair shots, hamming
up the heel role which he didn’t even have to try and play. Slaughter is busted
good after a face shot to the spiked boot of Iron Sheik and Sheik himself does
an impressive juice job as well as hitting some good wrestling moves. This
match is the first on the release to feature no rest or submission holds at all
and comes as a breath of fresh air. The ending of the match is well done as
Iron Sheik gets his own boot in the face for Slaughter to get to pinfall. This
was WWF’s way of saying that Iran / Iraq have put their foot in their mouths.
Before the match, as talking head, Slaughter says that the match is one of the
best matches of all time. It’s not, but it certainly is very good.
Vince
McMahon finally deems to talk at length about the first WrestleMania and is
jovial when mentioned that if WrestleMania 1 hadn’t have worked then no one
would be sitting here now recording this release. McMahon breaks character and
laughs and smiles his way through the interview, which he should do more as
it’s nice to see this side of him and one we don’t see enough of. To hear how
desperate McMahon was to conceive and book anything popular on the first Mania is
also invigorating to hear him admit this. It adds a human light on him and for
once we don’t see him as the millionaire owner of a billion dollar company.
He’s just like us.
Hulk
Hogan and Mr. T vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff (WrestleMania 1, March 31st 1985)
is still surprisingly passable all this time later. Though it is a match which
has been replayed more times than we’d like to see it, the encounter does
belong here as another piece of WWE and MSG history. Liberace dancing his way
around the ring has to be seen to be believed and Mohammed Ali as special guest
enforcer gets a rapturous ovation. It isn’t these celebrities that own the
night though, its Mr. T. Roddy Piper being played to the ring by bagpipes and
drums brings back some unforgettable memories and once again the fans almost
blow the roof off for Hogan who doesn’t look like he wants to play. Even though
they couldn’t stand each other and still can’t to this day, Roddy Piper and Mr.
T work well and T’s participation is kept to a minimum which maximises the
affect he has on the match. When inside the ring, T impresses with some capable
wrestling moves including slams and sells for Piper and Orndorff who has a
miniature role to play, like a pro. Piper throws himself around the ring to
sell Hogan and T’s offence and the ending is a complete mess which is almost
ruined by a mistimed referee who doesn’t know where to look for the best.
McMahon did what he set out to accomplish on the night and he should look at
this match, this event and his interview and see what he can garner if just
takes a chance like he used to. This has more historical significance than
anything on the release.
Bret
Hart’s story about Madison Square Garden does what The Miz (who is a talking
head before Hart) couldn’t. Hart gets across how special and vital The Garden
was to WWF wrestling in the eighties and nineties. There is one clear fact
which stems from this interview. If you can’t get what you need from other
wrestlers then go to Bret Hart. He has a story about everything and everyone;
more importantly, they’re all entertaining. Maybe WWE should appoint Hart as
their host on every release he has history with. It’d be much better than
seeing some WWE corporate drone harp on and on in a monotone voice about
something they have no idea about.
Bret
Hart vs Mr. Perfect (SummerSlam 1991, August 29th 1991) is a stunning piece of
work and both Bret Hart’s arrival as a serious singles star and an argument for
both men’s finest singles outing of their entire career. If Mr. Perfect’s theme
tune doesn’t rekindle those childhood feelings then you have no soul and his
work in this match is made even more incredible when you know how much pain he
was in because of his back problems. What Henning gives to Hart in this match
is more than commendable. Gorilla Monsoon tries to make us believe that both
are in great physical condition which isn’t true. Every technical move is
refined and expertly done; every reversal is perfectly timed, whilst Bobby
Heenan is a scream on commentary. Just some of the impressive moves on display
are a beautiful flying headlock takedown, a well times hair throw into the
splits on the ring post and sunset flip from apron into the ring by Hart; a
flying wrap around sleeper hold, a crucifix into a Samoan drop and a sumptuous
‘Perfect Plex’ by Henning which brings a killer near fall. The ending is
superbly times and executed as a Henning leg drop is reversed into a
Sharpshooter for the submission victory. There are just no words to point out
how excellent this match is.
Shawn
Michaels vs Razor Ramon (WrestleMania X, March 20th 1994) is another excellent
match which rose to fame because of the Ladder Match rules. Yes, this also has
been shown to death but once again for historical significance, it belongs on
the release. Had both men played safe with the ladder here or failed to thrill
the audience then it’s a possibility we wouldn’t have ladder matches today. The
match rarely slows from the outset and Ramon hits each move with such ferocity
you can believe that they’re really doing damage to Michaels. As always, HBK
sells like a pro for Ramon and his baseball slide which buries the ladder into
Razor’s mid-section looks painful but first-class. Both men use the ladder well
to the audiences delight and puzzlingly WWE censor Shawn Michaels’ bare bottom
on a release which is filled with blood loss. HBK’s splash from the top of the
ladder is an iconic moment in wrestling history and one which time almost
stands still for, whilst the slingshot of Michaels into the ladder at ringside
and the subsequent falling with it looks sublime. Ramon’s suplex slam from the
top of the ladder looks brutal but technically good as the rest of the outing.
Sadly though neither Shawn Michaels nor Scott Hall are the talking heads before
this match and instead we get Howard Finkel.
Kevin
Nash is thankfully hired as talking head before his ten second burial of Bob
Backlund. Nash is a laugh and unlike other releases, this is a brand new
recorded interview. The man formerly known as Diesel provides history and a
story to his WWF Championship victory in the match we’re about to see, allowing
us to have a few laughs along the way. More talking heads on this release and
others should be allowed to be more candid and funny in their delivery of their
stories. It would make them seem more human and approachable. Unfortunately,
Nash doesn’t mention what Backlund did for him after the match – selling the
Jacknife Powerbomb by crawling up the aisle and into the locker room – but that
is a minor gripe. Although I will say, the years haven’t been kind to Kevin
Nash.
Diesel
vs Bob Backlund (November 26th 1994) isn’t really much of anything as it lasts
only ten seconds from bell to bell but it does belong here, once again because
of the part it played in history. Not only did the match crown a new WWF
Champion at MSG but it’s also the beginning of Nash as a real star, and oh boy
he was excellent in the mid 90’s. The fans explode when Diesel pins Backlund
after the immediate Powerbomb especially as no one expected him to win and
almost certainly not so quickly. It seems such a joyous moment when Diesel
lifts the WWF Championship and the reception the fans give Nash is quite
something to witness. It’s certainly a passing of the torch moment from
Backlund, WWF’s star of the late 70’s and early 80’s to its new figurehead.
There couldn’t have been a more fitting place for Backlund to do this than the
venue he headlined for many years as Champion.
At
last we get a brand new interview with The Rock and not one that has been taken
from a previous release. In the interview, The Rock gives us some background
and insight into the hatred he had for the Rocky Mavia character which is
bracing to hear, instead of how a star loved all the ideas McMahon threw at him
– The Rock did not. The Rock’s humble thanks to everyone on the opposing team
the night of his debut is heartfelt and his parting shot at his hair cut is a
laugh.
Rocky
Mavia, Marc Mero, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and Barry ‘The Stalker’ Windham vs
Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, Crush and Goldust (Survivor
Series 1996, November 17th 1996) isn’t much of a match in the sense that
there’s some must see wrestling here because its not. Certainly, Roberts – who
is unbelievably out of shape here – Barry Windham – who had expired as a must
see wrestler five years before this – The Rock and Triple H either had already
had their time or not yet hit their stride in the business. The rest of the
supporting cast do nothing of note. However this, once again like many matches
good or bad, belongs here for its historical significance for the debut of The
Rock in the WWF / WWE. In the pre-match interview from the 1996 event, I still
don’t know why Hunter Hearst Helmsley is trying to speak in an English accent
when he was clearly announced from Greenwich, Connecticut, it sounds awful.
Vince McMahon’s comments to Sunny on commentary of “You don’t smoke do you?”
and her reply that she’s pure and wholesome are cringe worthy to listen to as
any wrestling fan worth their salt known that Sunny was and to a degree still
is a prolific drug user and alcoholic. However Sunny does get her shots in
about Roberts when she comes out with the amusing “Jake Roberts wanted to be a
lawyer, but he couldn’t pass the bar”, a take on Roberts alcoholism. As for the
match; it’s a shame to see how the company used Marc Mero. The one time ‘Johnny
B. Badd’ had so much potential and talent the company could have done something
meaningful with him. During the confrontation between Mavia and Lawler there
are glimpses of the attitude and determination that would serve Mavia as The
Rock later in life and shows even then there was more than just a grinning
idiot. Unusual for the time, McMahon reveals The Rock’s real name live on air
and for a rookie Rock sells really well for his opponents. To see Roberts
compete is a sad sight. From what he was to what he became here borders on
pathetic and at ringside Harvey Whippleman has to be the only referee in
history to wear glasses whilst officiating. The Stalker vs Goldust segment of
the match can’t hold a candle to their classic Barry Windham vs Dustin Rhodes
bouts in WCW six years previous; by 1996 Barry Windham was too far gone. The
match almost comes to a complete halt when Mero gets worked over by Triple H
and Crush. The trio should have known to deviate from their routine when the
fans tired of it. As Intercontinental Champion, Triple H is buried when he is
eliminated from proceedings half way through the match when he should have been
kept until the end. He was the only relevant member of the opposing team. In
the end the stage is set for a heroic underdog victory when The Rock is left
with Crush and Goldust to dispatch. Whilst the ending is a little messy, Jim
Ross on commentary has no idea how true his words would prove to be when the
arena begins to chant Rock’s name and Ross says “It won’t be the last time they
chant his name”. Who knew?
Appearing
as a talking head for a second time on the release, before the Austin vs
McMahon angle on Monday Night Raw, because the company couldn’t be bothered to
get a two minute sound bite out of Austin; Vince McMahon hits the nail on the
head when he says that Austin was the right character in the right place, at
the right time. The owner of the company is also correct when he says that
Austin would have gone onto the great things without the Mr. McMahon character
but never credits the Montreal Screwjob with the creation of the Mr. McMahon
character.
‘Austin
Stuns the Boss’ (Raw, September 22nd 1997) is a welcome break from the matches
even if it is another overused piece of footage from WWE’s archive. Though it
deserves its place on the release because it is the beginning of the epic
Austin vs McMahon feud and the moment when the Monday Night Wars began to turn
in WWE’s favour. Everyone in the arena can see the Stunner coming which only
heightens the reaction when Austin fells the boss with his finishing move. The
fans go wild for the move and the hilarious double finger whilst Austin is in
handcuffs. It’s also pleasant to see Owen Hart at the beginning of the segment.
He’s left off of too many releases these days.
Cactus
Jack vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Raw, September 22nd 1997) is an excellent
hardcore brawl beginning with ‘The Three Faces of Foley’ segment before the
match kicks off. When Cactus Jack is unveiled the audience go into a frenzy and
Triple H plays his part to perfection. Both men use the weapons and environment
to perfection to pull the most they can out of the audience, from the opening
trash can shot to the final piledriver through a table on the stage this match
was Triple H’s best singles match up to this point in his career. Once again,
as he did in 2000, Cactus Jack made Triple H look like a star and helped him
take the next step up in his career in the same career where Foley would put
Triple H over in a stunning Street Fight at the 2000 Royal Rumble. Foley’s
flying clothesline over the top rope looks fine as does his missed flying elbow
drop from the turnbuckle to a trash can outside. Foley takes some punishment to
make Triple H stand out and it works.
Jim
Ross’ interview is hit and miss before the Tag Team Tables Match at the 2000
Royal Rumble is shown. Ross hugely credits teams like The Dudley Boyz, The
Hardy Boys and Edge and Christian for putting on the matches of the night in
very late 1999 and early 2000. Ross is right. The tag team division thirteen
years ago was head and tails above today’s effort. Tag teams made stars in
those days and didn’t rely on stars to make teams. It’s one of the first times
in years that I’ve heard a WWE official, JR dealt with and signed talent back
then, come out and give credit to those teams for making the company as
appealing as it was. Unfortunately, after that, J.R reverts to the usual WWE
scripted rubbish and claims that the 2000 Royal Rumble he had no idea that Jeff
Hardy was going to hit a Swanton Bomb from the exit balcony, even worse he then
begins to make awful little excuses as to why he didn’t think it would happen.
I’ve said it before and will say it again. J.R was a commentator at the event
and all commentators are privy to vital information about every match –
including planned high spots and the finish – so they can ably call the action.
WWE need to stop treating us like morons with these claims.
The
Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boys (Royal Rumble 2000, January 23rd 2000) is an
exceptional Tag Team Tables Match which highlights both teams strengths and
makes one look on in some frustration on how good the tag division used to be.
Jeff Hardy’s diving senton to Bubba Ray Dudley on the outside is fantastic and
the table usage is innovative by both teams. The match is so fast paced that
it’s seem mere minutes before it’s over – it’s not. The unprotected chair shots
are uncomfortable to watch though exciting, though pail in comparison to the
brilliant Hardy double leg drop from the top rope and ladder outside putting a
prone Bubba Ray through the table at ringside. The Hardy Boys crack through
tables like missiles and Bubba Ray’s Powerbomb through a waiting table from the
middle turnbuckle on Matt Hardy is flawless. Bubba Ray’s fall from the top of
the exit balcony through double stacked tables is a wonderful and brave moment
considering he was falling backwards and Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Bomb from the
same balcony through D-Von and the table is breathtaking. Bubba Ray and D-Von
were Vince McMahon’s best acquisitions in 1999.
Triple
H vs Kurt Angle vs Chris Jericho (Raw, August 7th 2000) is a fast paced, short
and very well executed triple threat match. On the line is a shot at The Rock’s
WWF Championship at SummerSlam and the trio make the best of the very short
time they have. The match begins with a superb suicide dive to Triple H and
Kurt Angle on the outside and then sees Jericho reverse an Angle Slam into the
‘Walls of Jericho’. Kurt Angle is technically flawless in this brief match and
Chris Jericho comes off as a real star, but bear in mind this was during a time
in which he could be bothered to shine. Triple H and Kurt Angle provide comic
relief as the bickering couple deciding which one should win. The ending brings
about the great triple threat match at SummerSlam 2000 when Triple H and Kurt
Angle simultaneously pin Chris Jericho after a suplex from the top rope, which
Jericho would have otherwise kicked out from. The Rock garners a massive
reaction when he drops Triple H, Kurt Angle and Stephanie with a ‘Rock Bottom’.
Triple
H does MSG some justice as a talking head when he talks about MSG being the
home of all the big matches. Changing tack, Triple H goes on to say that
whenever WWE holds a house show at the garden they always treat it like a
pay-per event and anything else would be disrespectful to the building and its
history. This is how you get a building over. Though the interview was
conducted some time ago as Triple H still has long hair and a ponytail.
‘Triple
H Returns’ (Raw, January 17th 2002) is a momentous moment which sees Triple H
return from an eight month injury. The fans in The Garden welcome him home with
love and a reaction I am yet to witness since. It’s a well documented fact that
Triple H’s theme tune had to be played over and over because the fans in MSG
wouldn’t stop screaming at him – a measure of how much respect they have for
the man. The angle is still a powerful piece of footage eleven years later. The
only thing anyone can possibly compare this to is The Rock’s return in 2011.
John
Cena vs Big Show (WrestleMania XX, March 14th 2004) is night and day when
compared to John Cena’s dismal efforts in 2013. His selling and wrestling still
leave a lot to be desired but he is much better here than he would grow to be.
It’s almost like he degenerated backwards. Just to see how over John Cena was
in 2004 compared to how hated he is today is quite remarkable and his whole
attitude and character are miles better than the merchandise selling goodie two
shoes he is today. Back in 2004 Cena had attitude, he’s use other means to win
matches and just Eddie Guerrero, the fans loved to see this different kind of
face. Cena’s rhyme about Big Show is a cracking piece of work which gets the
fans roused perfectly for the beginning of John Cena’s mega star rise to the
top. Cena was always better as the ‘Dr. of Thuganomics’ as he proved in 2012
when he donned his old gimmick to cut a promo on The Rock. In this match the
whole of MSG are behind Cena and there’s no hint of a ‘Cena Sucks’ chant
anywhere. John Cena sells the best he can for Big Show and actually makes the
overweight and out of shape giant look like a genuine dominant wrecking ball as
he tears through Cena who continuously teases the heroic comeback. This may
have been the last time John Cena was the underdog in a match and his beat down
just makes the eventual victory even sweeter. John Cena’s lack of wrestling and
selling skills didn’t seem to matter here when he was just getting started. Big
Show’s standing leg drop looks superb and Cena’s ‘F-U’ now Attitude Adjustment
was a legitimate ‘Holy Shit’ moment back then, unlike now when it’s almost
expected. The finish, even though he uses his ‘metal knucks’ to win the match
and deceives the referee, which gets a small laugh, paints Cena in good light
as the kind of face who will cheat when its necessary but for the greater good.
It’s just a shame he didn’t stay like this.
Trish
Stratus talks about her final Raw match which took place at Madison Square
Garden six days before her final proper WWE match at Unforgiven 2006. Trish
provides some insight into her thoughts and feelings as well as giving us a
closer look at her affiliation with The Garden.
Trish
Stratus vs Mickie James (Raw, September 14th 2006) is Stratus’ final match on
Monday Night Raw. In truth it is a diminutive affair but historically, as the
final match of one wrestling’s greatest ever female performers, it has
historical value. Trish’s standing headscissors looks a million dollars as does
her final ‘Stratusfaction’ to Mickie James as she uses Lita as a springboard.
There’s not much else to say about the match as hardly anything happens.
Trish’s final thank you to the fans is short but sweet and her hug with James,
the wrestler she helped get over in her final year of wrestling is a full
circle in her career. The chants of ‘Thank You Trish’ were more than warranted.
For
once, John Cena actually adds to the release with his comments about MSG. Cena
says that MSG is the place you want to be as a fan, a child, an aspiring
wrestler and a professional wrestler. His words and sentiment make perfect
sense and shed an even more important light on the building which made names
famous. Cena should be given credit for this, it would have been easy for him
to be nonchalant and spout any old rubbish, he doesn’t.
Shawn
Michaels reaffirms Triple H’s claims that you’re showing the building
disrespect if you don’t wrestle like it’s a pay-per view. It’s nice to hear
Shawn touch upon how he failed to sell out arenas including Madison Square
Garden, where his first WWF Championship reign came to an end at Survivor
Series 1996 to Sycho Sid to much applause.
Jeri-Show
vs DX vs John Cena and The Undertaker (Raw, November 16th 2009) begins as a
slow triple threat tag team match and only picks up pace when The Undertaker
enters the ring. Michaels and Undertaker take the match up a gear from which it
comes down from. Jericho’s participation is lively and when Triple H and John
Cena come face to face Michael Cole on commentary says that the scene is
reminiscent of the Royal Rumble a couple of years ago. No one told Cole the
Royal Rumble he was talking about was a year before this, either that or he
just didn’t pay attention. On the whole this is a lively match which is kept
going by its frequent tags and a great sequence of finishing manoeuvres. The
Undertaker’s tombstone on John Cena gets huge approval.
Weaknesses:
Devoid
of any life whatsoever, host Matt Striker is a poor choice to front this
release. His voice is permanently monotone and his observations – which are of
course scripted, god forbid a WWE employee have a thought of their own – are all
pointless. Striker is so lifeless and uninterested that he resembles a drone
who displays the odd hand motion when trying to get a point across. If
anything, Striker is off putting with his emotionless face and it’s not hard to
see why WWE released him from his contract. This is a huge oversight by WWE,
who had a whole catalogue of present and former employees to choose from when
selecting this title’s host and all of whom would have had a bigger affiliation
with the building than Striker – who has none. It’s mind boggling why WWE didn’t
choose Bruno Sammartino as the host.
Ivan
Koloff is the first talking head of the release. Whilst it’s good to see Koloff
looking well in 2013, his inclusion is so short and his words so pointless that
WWE could have cut this segment and it wouldn’t have made any difference at
all. Koloff, who is now an old man muffles most of his allocated one minute
talking time and I’m afraid he’s not the last to do so. It’s a shame because as
a true legend of the business, Koloff could have really driven home some facts
about his following match with Pedro Morales and stories about when he defeated
Sammartino for the WWWF Championship. It was an interesting time to be a
wrestler and more so the wrestler who dethroned the uber loved Sammartino. This
is a wasted opportunity by WWE.
Ivan
Koloff vs Pedro Morales (February 8th 1971) is a plod through a routine which
is present elsewhere on this release. Rest holds dominate this match until the
final five minutes when the pair actually change plan and pull out some
wrestling moves, though by this point you will have lost the will to live with
this one. Koloff as WWWF Champion should have put on a better show than this
and Morales as the man who would dethrone him, should have been more over than
he is. As it stands the match adds nothing to either mans career. The footage
is so dated that it breaks up in parts and looks like a dodgy old VHS tape
especially when parts of the match flicker and go black. The sound on the match
dips in an out so much that WWE had to get Jim Ross to dub over the commentary of
the match because it cannot be heard otherwise. On commentary, J.R is forbade
from relating anything important to the audience and where he could have delved
into the history of the match and the WWWF Championship change from Sammartino
to Koloff, leading to this match, he doesn’t. The in ring action is a lot
better as the match comes to a close but you will have lost interest well
before then.
The
amount of times the talking heads refers to Madison Square Garden as ‘the place
known around the world’ is purely infuriating. Once would have been enough, we
can gauge how important the building is from everyone’s different stories
without everyone having to repeat the same thing. If the thing they were
talking about was a person then you would begin to come to the conclusion that
they’re being false for the sake of it.
The
Iron Sheik is almost totally inaudible in his interview about his match with
Hulk Hogan. Sheik, who barely speaks English, anyway gabbles through his story
without the audience barely catching a word of what he’s saying. WWE should
have added subtitles to this part so we can know what he’s trying to tell us. Of
what you can understand, Sheik mentions the fact that he was offered money to
break Hulk Hogan’s leg but WWE won’t allow Sheik to say whom made the offer to
him because they don’t want to be liable, and he has the cheek to say that he
helped make Hulk Hogan. Someone should have told The Iron Sheik that Hulk Hogan
was over before he stepped into the ring with Sheik and it was Vince McMahon
who made Hulk Hogan, no one else.
Another
talking head in Bob Uecker is a totally pointless addition to the release.
Uecker, a celebrity in the real world had one affiliation with the World
Wrestling Federation and Andre the Giant and suddenly people seem to think that
makes Uecker a wrestling personality. It doesn’t. I’m sure Uecker was good at
what he did but he is totally out of place here. On a release which is
dedicated to the company’s time at Madison Square Garden, Uecker does a
remarkable job of hardly mentioning the arena once. Instead, Uecker does give a
story about his time with Andre which he speaks fondly about, and if this had
been a release about wrestling legends then it would have been a worthy
addition. It’s not Uecker’s fault. WWE asked him to appear on the release and therefore
the blame lies with them. As the featured match following this includes Roddy
Piper, Bob Orton and Paul Orndorff, surely one of those three would have been a
better addition talking about the match in MSG.
Roddy
Piper and Bob Orton vs Andre the Giant and Paul Orndorff (August 10th 1985)
turns out to be a so-so effort in which nothing of note ever happens. Andre
does what he can for a man of his size and weight whilst Piper makes up for the
lack of action with his lunatic routine to sell Orndorff and Andre’s offence,
but the match suffers from too much stalling in the middle and the usual parade
of rest holds when Piper, Orndorff and Orton were all capable of contesting a
match without any such holds at all. WWE should have found something else from
their in-exhaustive to replace this; they have hundreds of matches from MSG.
The match isn’t horrible and I can imagine it pleasing enthusiasts of 1980’s
wrestling, but considering there are several other matches on the release, from
around that time which are better, this is one of the weakest of the featured
era.
Bizarrely,
WWE include The Miz as a talking head here before the thirty second Ultimate
Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man match and I still, days after watching it have no
idea why. The Miz has nothing to do with the match, the era or either wrestler
and seeing as Honky Tonk Man still has a good working relationship with the
company there is no reason why the company could not have got his thoughts
about MSG or the match in question. Instead, The Miz fleetingly mentions The
Garden and then goes into his own childhood to tell us his love for The
Ultimate Warrior. If this was a one time thing then it would be forgivable but
it isn’t. Miz has done this before on WWE released which are focussed on a certain
person or time and its getting ridiculous. As if that wasn’t bad enough, The
Miz openly states that The Ultimate Warrior was the best in the late 80’s. What
an over statement that its. The Ultimate Warrior was a very limited wrestler who
only shone when he had someone of higher quality to carry him in the ring. He
was a great character but more times than not a lousy wrestler. This has been
done because of The Ultimate Warrior’s inclusion in WWE2K14 as a downloadable
character and his inclusion back into the WWE family after years of exile, to
not piss him off.
The
Ultimate Warrior vs Honky Tonk Man (SummerSlam 1988, August 29th 1988) is so
short and has very little historical value that it’s a waste of time being here
and certainly is not the best of the company at the arena. After such a great
and long Intercontinental Championship reign, Honky Tonk Man deserved for his
reign to come to and end in a hard fought match which would be remembered by
the fans for its quality. Not a burial which lasts less than thirty seconds. I
can see why the company did it, to get The Warrior over, but it’s a disservice
to a man who carried that gold to greatness in 1987 / 1988. You could say that
this is the beginning of Warrior as a star but that would be questionable.
Certainly it’s true as someone the fans could buy into, but in reality, the
beginning of The Ultimate Warrior as a true star came in his matches with Rick
Rude and Hulk Hogan.
Mick
Foley, speaking before the Cactus Jack vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley match, states
that Vince McMahon brought Cactus Jack back without his notice or any prior
notification. I have a problem with this. When Mick Foley signed with the World
Wrestling Federation he did so as Mankind and the company did not purchase the
rights to the Cactus Jack name until 1998. What this basically means is that
Foley owned the Cactus Jack moniker which he competed under in ECW, Japan and
WCW – if he hadn’t then he wouldn’t have been able to compete under the name in
numerous companies – and that WWF couldn’t have brought the character back
without legally notifying Foley of their intentions. So either WWF broke the
law in 1998 or Mick Foley is bullshitting. I know which one is more likely.
After this, everything Foley says is hard to believe which isn’t a bad thing
seeing as Mick says nothing else of use anyway.
The
talking heads just continue to get even more insane on the release as this time
its Daniel Bryan who takes the chair. Yeah, the man who has such a rich history
in the building (add sighs here). Initially Bryan starts off promising talking
about how harsh the MSG crowd can be if they’re not seeing what they require
from a show, match or wrestler. Unfortunately from there Bryan turns the
conversation into a topic about his career which may be illustrious but is best
left for the ‘Daniel Bryan’ biography release in a few years time. Bryan delves
into his time on the independent circuit and even more astonishingly, no one
behind the camera stops him to remind him this isn’t a release about him. Bryan’s
appearance comes before the triple threat match between Kurt Angle, Triple H
and Chris Jericho begging the question if Vince McMahon can appear on the
release twice then why wasn’t Triple H interviewed for this part or even Chris
Jericho who is totally absent from the release.
Like
Daniel Bryan, Booker T adds zilch to the proceedings in an interview inserted
before his angle with Vince McMahon plays. Out of every duff interview on the
release, this is perhaps the one which is the biggest missed opportunity.
Instead of talking about the subject matter at hand, Booker T goes into his
angle with McMahon on Raw in 2001, most of which is uninteresting. As a former
WCW wrestler, Booker T could have talked about how, as a WCW performer he never
got the chance to perform at The Garden until he came to WWE. He could have
talked about how the WCW wrestlers dreamt of putting on a show on MSG thus
getting over how important the building was to wrestlers everywhere and not
just those in WWE. This is another waste of an interview.
‘Booker
T Attacks Vince McMahon’ (Raw, June 25th 2001) is a worthless little angle and
certainly doesn’t fall into the criteria needed for inclusion. If anything it
looks wholly like a filler, with the only real decent material coming from
Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle at WWF New York Restaurant. This could
have been made so much more of seeing as it was the first time WCW talent had
been inside the arena but alas, like the whole invasion angle itself it’s massively
wasted.
Big
Show is painful to listen to as he talks about John Cena, trying his very best
to get Cena over with the fans watching. It doesn’t work. It almost seems like
WWE believe they will force us to love Cena if they continue to hype how much
dedication he has to the business. That is all admirable but until he changes
his style of wrestling and learns to do it properly we will never warm to him.
Show has obviously been given a script to learn and recite as I cannot think of
one current WWE wrestler who would willingly put Cena over like this – he doesn’t
need it. The biggest laugh of the release comes when Big Show tries to hammer
home the fact that John Cena didn’t want to be anything else but a wrestler.
That’s rubbish, Cena may have been a wrestling fan all his life but his dream
was to be a bodybuilder. This segment is rotten.
‘John
Cena Returns at the Royal Rumble’ (Royal Rumble 2008, January 27th 2008) is
here merely to get Cena on the release more than twice. Simple as that. This
isn’t an historical moment in wrestling or MSG history and the match isn’t even
included here in its entirety. The ten minutes we get are mostly dire and
boring as Cena dispatches entrants like they’re going out of fashion,
neglecting to sell anything. As the final two, Triple H and John Cena exchange
some decent move but that’s about as good as it gets. There is never any doubt
who is going to win this match seeing as its Cena’s big comeback which strips
away the excitement element from the match. The ending of the match is
pointless as well seeing as both men would go onto WrestleMania 24 to challenge
Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.
Blu-ray Exclusive
Extras:
Gerald
Brisco:
Steel Cage Match – July
12th 1986
Bruno
Sammartino and Tito Santana vs Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage and ‘Adorable’ Adrian
Adonis
Ted
Dibiase:
WWE Intercontinental
Championship Match – December 29th 1991
Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart vs Ted Dibiase
Alberto Del Rio:
WWE Survivor Series
2011 – November 20th 2011
WWE
Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio vs C.M Punk
Extra
Stories from: Trish Stratus, Ken Patera, Mr Fuji, Road Warrior Animal, Barry
Windham, Ko-Ko B Ware, Ricky Steamboat, Sika, Rocky Johnson, Edge and The
Brooklyn Brawler
Vince
McMahon’s MSG Walk of Fame Induction
Conclusion:
‘The
Best of WWE at Madison Square Garden’ definitely has more good points than bad
and most of its weaknesses come not from the featured matches which range from
good to excellent, but the talking heads chosen to talk about Madison Square
Garden. A few really go a long way to making us understand how much the place
means to wrestlers, but the majority are a waste of time and should have either
been cut from the release or replaced with someone who could have done the job
more effectively. The majority say nothing of note and whilst there is
criticism for the small amount time they are given it doesn’t excuse their ignorance
when it comes to the subject they’ve been hired to talk about. Whilst we’re on
the subject of talking heads, there is no sign of The Undertaker. After all the
memories and matches he’s had at MSG you would have thought he could have found
the time to say something about the arena.
A
huge percentage of the footage chosen for inclusion here has significant historical
meaning, such as the main event of the first WrestleMania, The Rock’s WWE
debut, Kevin Nash stepping up to the main event scene and so on. Whoever
handpicked this release’s footage deserve a huge pat on the back as only a
minor few pieces are called into question as well as some glaring omissions.
The only downside to it all is that only the very early stuff may be unknown to
wrestling fans whilst anything past the middle of Disc 2 (DVD) / Disc 1 –
approx three and a half to four hours in (Blu-ray) will be well known to long
time wrestling fans.
On
the whole this is almost an excellent release which gets across how important
the building is to wrestling history and contains some of the best matches you’ll
find from the arena’s affiliation with WWE. Is it a must buy? Not if you have a
lot of this material in your collection already. If you’re missing some of it
thought – the Raw matches certainly aren’t available anywhere else – then this
is a great release which warrants its asking price and yet another great effort
by WWE.
Rating: B
Next Time in Review
Corner: WWE Legends of Mid-South Wrestling DVD
and Blu-ray
Onwards
and upwards...
