Step into the Ring

Friday 5 December 2014

REVIEW CORNER: WWE PRESENTS TRUE GIANTS DVD AND BLU-RAY



 

A – Excellent


B – Good


C – Mediocre


D – Avoid 








Release Date: December 1st 2014

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:

WWE’s latest release and final one of 2014 sees them profile the so called greatest giants of professional wrestling history. The main release comprises an in-depth biography on each giant whilst the rest of the release features matches involving those included on this release.

Strengths:

‘Big Show’ is how the release begins, which thankfully exceeds expectations. As you’re not sure what to expect, naturally you believe that thanks to the wealth of giants on display and the short run time which is just one hour and fifty minutes then WWE will revert to type and rush through the majority of the release. However this couldn’t be further from the truth and it begins with Big Show, chronicling his life in immense detail from his problem with gigantism to his childhood and begin told that he had a tumour on his brain. Its heavy stuff to kick off a release with but it all adds to the weight as WWE try to get through not just that these men are giants of the industry but also the struggle they go through on a day to day business. It’s great to see WWE concentrate on something other than a kayfabe career and Big Show is a highlight, coming across as really disappointed that he isn’t the same size as everyone else. He’ll touch you here. As the release moves onto his time in WCW, we’re shown a rarely seen piece of footage which takes in the WCW Power Plant commercial though his time in the development centre and WCW is cut so short it may as well not be here. Instead of focusing on Big Show’s triumphs in WWE, such as his major championship victories, the piece instead turns its attention to his WrestleMania XXIV bout with Floyd Mayweather which isn’t a truly memorable way to end the segment, but it’s not bad either.

‘Gorilla Monsoon’ is a surprise inclusion, especially for those who never saw the agile Monsoon wrestler in his heyday. Wrestling fans of the present may be asking why he has an inclusion here but your questions will be answered once the footage begins rolling. Presenting the angle is Pat Patterson who talks fondly of his friend but in all honesty doesn’t say much of note whilst his stories border on mediocre. Where this segment thrives is on its footage of Monsoon as a wrestler and it’s breathtaking to see how agile he was for such a huge man. Pulling off stunts which wouldn’t look out of place on a cruiserweight, Monsoon really was something special in his time. The footage of Monsoon and Mohamed Ali battling is really something special and when the release turns to his touching relationship with Bobby Heenan you see just what good friends both men were. It was perhaps fitting then that in the storyline, it was Gorilla Monsoon who ended Bobby Heenan’s WWE career by booting his friend out of the company on a Monday Night Raw. Heenan wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The segment ends with a look at the Gorilla position, named after Monsoon. It’s a lovely piece of work.

‘Haystacks Calhoun’ just about scrapes into this section because, like Gorilla Monsoon, his footage is very interesting, more so than anything Bill Apter has to say about him in his talking head piece. Just the sheer size of Haystacks is an immense thing to see though to give Apter credit, he does mention how big the man was in his childhood which makes you think he was a gluttonous pig who didn’t know when to stop eating. Regardless of this, Haystacks does deserve his place on this release though Bill Apter is a source of frustration when he maddeningly says that Haystacks was an excellent wrestler despite his size. This can be disputed by the footage and anyone who ever saw one of his matches and for a critic who is usually so honest about everything it’s ridiculous to see how he can get this so wrong. Still, credit for including Haystacks, when WWE could have replaced him with someone less deserving.

‘Giant Gonzalez’ will raise few sighs amongst the wrestling die hard of you but take it from me, as one of the tallest men ever he deserves his place on this release even though he was a deplorable wrestler. Seeing as Gonzalez passed away a few years ago, the talking head duties go to Harvey Wippleman who has a ball talking about a man he describes as his best friend. The story begins with Gonzalez begin drafted by the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and travelling from Argentina to America just to play the game. It’s an amusing moment when we’re told that Gonzalez couldn’t actually play the game and was drafted for his size. His entry in to wrestling is a coincidental one when we’re informed that Ted Turner owned the team and brought him into WCW as El Gigante who was a much loved babyface before he came to the WWE as Giant Gonzalez. You can’t help but laugh along with Wippleman as looks as Gonzalez’s truly terrible skin suit but at the heart of this segment is a truly gentle giant who everyone seemed to love away from the ring. It’s heartfelt and Wippleman tugs at the heart strings as someone who misses his friend.

‘Sid Vicious’ is maybe one of the most underrated giants in wrestling history because even though he was a man of limited ability and his mic skills weren’t all that hot in the early stages of his career, he could talk the legs of a hind donkey in the late nineties when he reached WWE. WWE have to be given a great load of credit for allowing Sid to do a brand new sit down interview which looked like it would never happen a few years ago and though he doesn’t look like he’s aged one single day it’s still great to see him looking so well in 2014. Following the same pattern as the rest of the inclusions on this release, Sid takes us through his early WCW career and being a part of The Four Horsemen which he correct comments that it was too short and too quick. We get an explanation of where his ‘Ruler of the World’ phrase came from but when it moves on to his WWE career we see a Sid that we’re not used to. He’s not manic and crazed as one would think he would be, but instead humbled and grateful for being able to have the career he’s had. We get an unknown story from 1996, where Sid replaced Vader in the WWE Championship picture after management decided that Sid was more popular. It’s an interesting insight to an overlooked career and its great to see WWE have included his horrific leg break footage which has never been released to the general public before. You don’t see it snap because the footage picks up before and after but for anyone who saw it live, it was sickening.

‘Vader’ is the best segment on the entire release, as the man in question takes us on a very detailed journey of the greatest parts of his career and not just from those companies WWE own the rights to. Beginning with his childhood in Compton, California which Vader describes as the murder capital of the world, we’re treated to a story of someone breaking into his house when he was a child before we’re given insight into how hard his childhood was when his father made him fight his bullies regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Skipping through his complicated football career which you can watch for yourself, we finally arrive at his wrestling life which begins in Japan and we’re given footage of his time which WWE should do more often with wrestler who had career’s in other promotions they don’t own the rights to. I thank WWE for keeping in the story about Vader defeating Antonio Inoki in three minutes after the Japanese star going years without losing but inevitably it moves on to WCW and WWE with the latter beginning with Vader’s agent negotiating a deal which saw him return to the ring before he was ready after an injury. This may explain why Vader’s WWE run was lukewarm when it could have been legendary. Coming to the end of his WWE career, there’s some nice footage of an emotional Vader tearful in the ring and though nothing is said about his post-WWE career we’re given a look at his one night only return in 2012 which Vader calls the greatest moment of his career. Summing up, Vader says that he wants to be remembered as one of the greatest big men the industry ever saw, I think he’ll get his wish.

‘Yokozuna’ is a wrestler whom people believe was an overweight blob who couldn’t wrestle. That couldn’t be further from the truth. For a man of his size Yokozuna could move better than some of the wrestlers who were 200 pounds slimmer than he was. The talking heads here are Jimmy and Jey Uso who are a highlight when talking about their uncle and regaling us with stories of his life which include family barbeques, birthdays and Yokozuna dressing up as Father Christmas of which there is some lovely family footage which the general public will never have been privy to. The footage of his in ring career brings back some wonderful memories of days long since gone but The Usos keep this entertaining. It’s sad to see Yoko towards the end of his career when he was looking tired, heavier than ever and just about done with the whole thing and when The Usos tell us that Yoko couldn’t sleep laying down and had to sit up all night, it hammers home how much pressure he was under from Vince McMahon to look the part. It’s well known that Vince urged him to keep putting on weight. It’s a very fitting tribute in many ways.

‘Andre the Giant’ is the final inclusion and if there was ever a predictable inclusion before this was released it would be Ander. We’re talked through Andre’s life by former referee and Andre’s best friend Tim ‘I’ve Put on Twenty Stone’ White who doesn’t take the usual route one would expect him to. Instead of chronicling Andre’s career which has been gone over and over during the years, we get a look at the man behind the legend and see that he was a loving, loyal and wonderful man. The segment is given a slightly sad tone knowing how his story ends, but his life was full of fun and frolics and some one the rare footage is the gem of this release. White is genuinely upset when looking back at the end of Andre’s career and life, and you get a sense of how terrible it was for Andre having to be pushed around in wheel chairs and walk on crutches whilst being in so much pain. White tells us that Andre knew he’d never make it to sixty years old but had a hell of a life whilst he was here. Those who shed tears easily will need their handkerchief ready for this one.

The introduction video to the release isn’t special in its audio moments as the voice over guy gives us the same spiel that you’d find on any other release of this nature, however, where it thrives is in its visual element. Documenting every wrestler to appear on the release with a terrific graffiti picture tattooed onto a brick wall. They really are something special and definitely worth a look.

Ernie Ladd vs Kerry Von Erich (WCCW Star Wars, June 1981) is the best match on the release up to its point of inclusion. It start’s slow but it’s sixteen minute time frame leaves plenty of time for the bout to build and it does so very well. This is heated if a little on the slow side but holds together well thanks to Von Erich and his skill. You don’t really understand how big Ernie Ladd is until you see him against someone of usual height.

Big John Studd vs Hulk Hogan (Madison Square Garden, September 1984) is watchable thanks to the efforts that Hulk Hogan put in. Big John Studd is just about respectable but this wouldn’t be half as good if Hulk Hogan wasn’t a part of it and you don’t hear me saying that often. The bout starts at a pace and with the crowd reaction it lives off of that glory throughout the entire time frame. Its Hulk Hogan’s usual big man routine and Studd is tiresome when in charge but thankfully the good outweighs the bad and this will keep you entertained.

The British Bulldogs vs Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy (All American Wrestling, May 1986) is an excellent five minute tag team encounter in which the giants leave the Brits to do all of the work. Thankfully, Davey Boy and The Dynamite Kid do not disappoint with some lightening fast offence which looks out of this world. They really were ahead of their time. The giants do nothing of note but sell well as do their counterparts who take a real beating in-between high risk manoeuvres. A nice filler for what it is.

Ted Dibiase vs One Man Gang (Power Pro Wrestling, November 1986) is full of pace and lively thanks to Ted Dibiase’s excellent efforts which One Man Gang sells really well. It’s not going to rock anyone’s world but it’s very good whilst it lasts and one of the better television matches on show. You can see why Ted Dibiase was such a draw even as a heel. The final few minutes of the match are powerful, well timed and expertly executed. Had it been ten minutes longer then this could easily have headlined a pay-per view.

Sid Justice and Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper (West Palm Beach, Florida, February 18th 1992) stands up and is bearable because of Ric Flair and Roddy Piper’s collisions which are fast and technically sound. Justice and Hogan don’t fair as well but that was to be expected and for a television match which aired on Prime Time Wrestling it can be classed as a triumph. Flair sells well for Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, in a nice moment which you can’t see Hulk Hogan doing for him.

Yokozuna vs Hulk Hogan (King of the Ring, June 13th 1993) isn’t a thrill a minute but does highlight the very important end of Hulk Hogan in the WWE for nine years. Yokozuna handles the ego well and even though he doesn’t get a clean ending, it’s still an interesting moment when Hogan gets blasted with a fireball. The match itself is respectable considering the participants and Hulk Hogan’s unwillingness to put anyone over on his way out of the promotion. Yokozuna gets a bad reputation for being a terrible wrestler, but for a man of his size he was very good indeed.

Razor Ramon vs Diesel (Superstars, April 30th 1994) is one of the most underrated television bouts in WWE history. It’s a thrill per minute and will keep anyone entertained even if you don’t like this era or weren’t a fan of the duo. Shawn Michaels plays his part perfectly whilst Kevin Nash is on fine form. The star of this bout however is Scott Hall who throws himself around the ring like a gladiator in order to help his opponent get over. This is the best match on the entire release and deserves to be seen over and over again. It’s also features a shock ending as titles rarely changed hands on weekly television.

Vader vs Ric Flair and Arn Anderson (Clash of the Champions, August 1st 1995) goes a long way to showing why Vader was just so good. Though he’s against two excellent technical athletes, Vader holds his own and it’s Flair and Anderson who come out looking like the greenhorns. Though it starts slow, the bout picks up when Arn Anderson catches Vader with a stunning spinebuster and the height he gets on the move is just outstanding. Ric Flair adapts his game to work with Vader’s size whilst Vader is just a tour de force.

Psycho Sid vs Bret Hart (Raw, February 17th 1997) is another very good technical bout though it’s not the pay-per view calibre bout it should have been. Bret Hart works very hard to make sure there are no flaws in Sid’s game whilst the big man holds his own to perfection. It was the smaller opponents who brought out the best in Sid and there’s nothing to prove that wrong here. It’s shaky in places but mostly solid enough to keep you seated.

Big Show vs Eddie Guerrero (No Mercy, October 19th 2003) is decent enough considering Big Show is hideously overweight. Eddie takes a beating here which serves the David vs Goliath motif to perfection but his comebacks are thrilling enough to stop this being a total squash. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the greatest display in the world but you can’t fault it for the effort put in. It’s Eddie Guerrero that makes Big Show look like a star.

Mark Henry vs Rey Mysterio (Smackdown, January 20th 2006) is actually an entertaining watch and that’s not something you hear me say very often. What we have here is similar to the above in that it’s a demolition of the smaller talent but done to great effect. Rey Mysterio makes the most of his comeback but they don’t get him anywhere whilst Mark Henry actually looks really good for a change. The content is on the light side but male fans will want to keep an eye on the stunning Melina, whose very short skirt will make this a must see for any male fan.

The Great Khali vs Shawn Michaels (Raw, May 7th 2007) may be once again on the light side for content but it has to be Khali’s finest ever match in WWE throughout his seven year career. Naturally, it’s all Shawn Michaels’ doing as he jumps around the ring like a man possessed to make Khali look like a monster which he succeeds at. The ending is very good and booked to save Khali’s knees.

Weaknesses:

‘One Man Gang’ shouldn’t really be included on this release when there are at least three more wrestlers who should that aren’t. The Undertaker, Kane and Antonio Inoki are nowhere to be found when they should have taken Gang’s place seeing as he may have been tall but was better known for his weight. On top of that, the inclusion should have been for One Man Gang and Akeem whilst the stories from the man himself are boring and nothing special. It’s almost as if WWE are in a hurry to move onto the next segment and we’re given his story in highlight form. He may gives insight into Akeem and how he hated the character but it’s not enough to keep you engaged.

‘Big John Studd’ may be a giant of wrestling but was in fact one of the most boring wrestlers to ever step into a ring. Which means this segment presented by an unrecognizable Ken Patera struggles to find something for the viewer to latch onto. Studd’s career was as boring as it sounds and even Patera looks jaded talking about it seeing as there is literally nothing exciting to offer up. The segment trawls the usual avenues, desperately searching for anything considered a highlight of his career which means we’re put through his WrestleMania match with Andre the Giant yet again. It’s tedious stuff which severely brings down the tone and pacing of this release. Including audio from a WWE television programme from the day he died is a nice touch, but that’s about the only notable moment from this inclusion.

‘Diesel’ is a perfect candidate for this release though he was smaller than some included here, but where this segment falls down is on its footage and its talking head which of course is Kevin Nash. In an old interview, Nash seems to be in a hurry when explaining his career which begins in WCW as Vinnie Vegas amongst a whole host of other gimmicks which he calls the worst three years of his life. That isn’t the bad part, in fact almost everything that follows send this careering downhill at a steady rate. Considering Nash is on this release under the name Diesel would heighten expectation of most people that the segment would look at his time as Diesel in WWE and nothing else. Instead, his WWE career may as well not be included for all the time that’s dedicated to it and swiftly moves onto his well documented time in WCW under his real name and of course the formation of the NWO. This has been done to death in recent years and we don’t need to hear anymore about it ever. If this is the path WWE were going down with Nash then they should have listed and included him under Kevin Nash instead of Diesel. That way there would be no room for complaint when it focussed on his time in WCW, though the NWO stuff is so familiar you’ll want to fast forward it. Disappointing.

‘Ernie Ladd’ follows suit of Big John Studd in that’s it not very interesting and the interview with Ladd comes from 2003. That’s not a bad thing in itself but WWE once again seem in a rush to whack through it to someone who is alive. It’s too fast to really get a hold of the man and wrestler he was and this makes you uninterested in the era and man in question. WWE should have made a big thing about Ernie Ladd on this release and made him of a star than he comes across here. It’s a shame, but this is what we’ve come to expect from WWE when they lose interest in a star and are then forced to include them on something such as this.

‘Mark Henry’ certainly doesn’t belong here as he’s not a giant, just an overweight disappointment. Instead of trying to convince us of Henry’s eligibility, the segment concentrates on his strength and power and we’re told numerous time that he’s the world’s strongest man when actually, he lost that title a long time ago. To be the current world’s strongest man you have to win the competition every year, Mark Henry hasn’t and is therefore living on past glories. The segment does touch upon his World Heavyweight Championship victory at Night of Champions but is marred by Henry’s piece as talking head, when he appears dull, tired and uninterested in everything he has to say. Henry has the cheek to say that he was a good wrestler who became a great wrestler and seems to believe that he has a legacy. If he does, it’s not wrestling. WWE shouldn’t have reminded people Mark Henry had been with us for eighteen years because it really does make you question what he’s done with all that time.

‘King Kong Bundy’ does belong here, but you wouldn’t know it from Hillbilly Jim’s piece as talking head. Jim seems to believe that want to hear his take on Bundy’s career and his own personal memories when WWE should have informed him that the segment wasn’t about him. The footage is just about okay but that all. There’s little here on his actual wrestling career and WWE seem to want to make us believe that Bundy was a great wrestler but wanted to be an actor more. It’s disjointed and disappointing and there’s no reason for it when other wrestlers get a bigger and better look.

‘The Great Khali’ is undoubtedly a giant and had this piece been as interesting as the one on Giant Gonzalez then it would have been a worthy inclusion. It isn’t. Instead of his time in wrestling which is shunted into the shadows, probably best all around, the segment concentrates on what a hero he was in India and little else. For a release based around a startling amount of truth, there’s nothing here about him accidentally killing a wrestler in his training group whilst his former manager says that he was something special. If so, then we were obviously watching someone different. This would have been much better had people been honest about his wrestling ability and the fact that he could hardly walk towards the end of his career.

Ernie Ladd vs Bruno Sammartino (Madison Square Garden, March 1976) may be historically interesting but it’s also as dull as ditchwater thanks to Ernie Ladd being almost useless against the might of Sammartino and having no answer to his offence. As good as Bruno may have been, he can do nothing with Ladd or his inadequate nature and this match stalls at almost every possible turn, moving too slow and lacking any real flow. The excitement, at least what there is of it comes from the crowd’s love of Sammartino and to make matters worse they rush the ending when they went on slow during the entire match.

Gorilla Monsoon vs ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham (Madison Square Garden, May 1977) starts off promisingly enough with some terrific offence from an agile Monsoon but soon turns into a borefest when both men turn to rest holds to pass the time. Gorilla Monsoon uses a long and dull Bearhug to wear down Graham who then applies the same hold to Gorilla. The parts in between are laughable as Graham’s offence looks weak and the less said about the end the better.

Haystacks Calhoun vs Nikolai Koloff (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 1978) is just plain hideous and proves Bill Apter wrong in that Haystacks Calhoun plainly couldn’t wrestle despite the voice of experience insisting he couldn’t. Both men are just terrible and there’s rarely any movement here let alone pace or flow, which makes you wonder why WWE chose this as an inclusion. You’ll be bored to tears watching this dross and only the big splash from the middle rope is of any importance.

Junkyard Dog, Dusty Rhodes and Andre the Giant vs Ernie Ladd, Afa and Sika (Mid-South Wrestling, January 1982) is a spirited but doomed effort. The bout begins promising but falls apart when Andre and Ladd enter the ring. The pair are just too big to do anything with and whilst Andre hits some actual wrestling moves neither can drag it back to something watchable. The action between the pair is horrible and Ladd lacks any determination with his punches looking more like strokes. The match deteriorates into a free for all brawl which hosts a comical moment as Andre tries to climb the turnbuckle. With Ernie Ladd, Andre and Junkyard Dog – who adds nothing to the match – the whole thing never stood a chance.

King Kong Bundy vs Dusty Rhodes (Mid-South Wrestling, September 1983) lacks any real star making ability on the part of Dusty Rhodes who just seems focused on taking a rather dull beating from Bundy before executing his usual comeback routine. Bundy looks atrocious when in charge of the bout and Dusty Rhodes even worse with some truly banal offence which drags this match to an even more unsatisfying conclusion, which you’ll be annoyed at having sat through this washout and not being given a conclusive finale.

Andre the Giant vs Kamala (Maple Leaf Wrestling, October 1984) is as bad as it sounds especially once you realize that Vince McMahon was dumb enough to book both men to battle inside a steel cage. There’s no magic of mystery to this bout thanks to Kamala being useless and Andre being as big as the cage. Though I won’t deny there a few laughs, especially when the ring announcer states that to win one man has the option to climb over the top of the ‘fence’. And that is exactly what he says. If either even attempted to climb the thin mesh then you can easily see it giving out under their weight. Full of punches, kicks and chokeholds this is for the diehard fan of eighties wrestling only. It’s actually quite surreal.

One Man Gang vs Shawn Michaels (WCCW, January 1985) is a worthless inclusion as it’s a four minute television squash. A young Shawn Michaels doesn’t get any offence whilst One Man Gang predictably squashes him with his power. What we’re meant to get from this is anyone’s guess. WWE would have been better served putting one his better matches as Akeem on the release.

Andre the Giant vs Randy Savage (Madison Square Garden, September 1988) is another banal outing which is Andre’s third on the release. Why WWE insisted on putting so many of his on here is beyond me. This would have been better had WWE omitted this and his match with Kamala for Yokozuna’s excellent battle with Bret Hart at WrestleMania X and something else entirely. Putting aside the startling seven minutes it takes for the pair to actually touch each other thanks to Bobby Heenan’s presence at ringside, it slow and Randy Savage looks as bored fighting this as we do watching it. Savage really does try but this never comes off.

One Man Gang vs El Gigante (The Great American Bash, July 14th 1991) is another one of those sigh inducing battles which neither man has a clue. They both trudge around the ring and hit each other with very little pace or intrigue. It’s just like Andre vs Kamala except this is worse somehow as neither appear to be trying. The only entertaining thing happening here is One Man Gang’s ridiculous ring entrance in which he looks like a mental homeless dosser whilst Kevin Sullivan rambles on inanely.

Yokozuna vs Earthquake (San Jose, California, January 25th 1993) is as bad as their sumo match which actually happened in 1994. They run into each other for a while until Yokozuna gets the better of Earthquake and squashes him with the Banzai Drop. That really is all there is to it. It’s too short to matter and both needed a small, more agile foe to really look good.

Giant Gonzalez vs The Undertaker (SummerSlam, August 30th 1993) will cure narcoleptics instantly. This wasn’t The Undertaker’s finest hour one he will certainly want to forget. You’ll be hard pushed to find any movement here as Gonzalez hobbles around the ring and The Undertaker has to make the most of his pathetic offence. Paul Bearer’s appearance lifts this towards the conclusion but it’s just dismal in everyway.

Diesel vs Issac Yankem (Superstars, January 20th 1996) is most dreadful, though it’s somewhat comforting to see that Glen Jacobs hasn’t improved any in eighteen years although he is a million times more interesting as Kane. Kevin Nash is respectable and this trumps your usual big man bout, but it’s still just another television match of which we’ve seen hundreds of thousands.

Big Show vs Rhyno (Raw, May 21st 2001) adheres to the usual David vs goliath battle in that Rhyno is beaten senseless and then pinned with little thought. Fought under hardcore rules, there is very little action of that nature to be seen apart from in the final few moments of a short and mostly dire bout.

Kane vs Mark Henry vs The Great Khali vs Big Daddy V (ECW, October 30th 2007) is a match which you’ll have to take a few minutes to step back and take stock off. Because this did really happen regardless of how ill-advised it was. Fought under over the top rope elimination rules, you have never seen such a calamity in your life when all four terrible wrestlers attempt to make this interesting which fires wide of the mark. Big Daddy V is horrendous, Mark Henry is indifferent, The Great Khali is slow and Kane is wondering what the hell his career has come to. You don’t need me to tell you what type of match this is. I think you already know.

Big Show vs Mark Henry (Raw, September 7th 2009) isn’t even a wrestling match. Instead, fought under Bodyslam challenge rules, where the winner is the first man to slam the other, both look like two big bears hugging each other for the advantage with the odd punch thrown in. It’s ridiculously horrible.

Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:

Superstars
Earthquake
Abdullah the Butcher
Kamala
Bam Bam Bigelow
Giant Paintings by Rob Schamberger

Matches
ESPN Championship Wrestling – October 1985
AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Rick Martel vs Kamala

World Class Championship Wrestling – June 1986
Abdullah the Butcher vs Skip Young

Royal Rumble – January 1993
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Big Boss Man

Madison Square Garden – November 1990
WWE Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs Earthquake

Worcester, Massachusetts – July 1992
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc

Conclusion:

‘WWE Presents True Giants’ is once again a mixed bag from WWE to end the year of varying releases. Its main documentary is almost all worthy in some shape or form though it’s apparent that it’s aimed at those new fans who may not know about those included. This is fine, but then WWE go and throw a spanner in the works by including more recent wrestlers whom these fans will have no interest in. A better way WWE could have gone about this to reach their target audience would have been to make this a purely historical release with old talent included with the newer talent as Blu-ray Extras only. Going on this premise, WWE should have shunted Big Show, Mark Henry and The Great Khali to the Blu-ray Extras whilst promotion Earthquake, Bam Bam Bigelow and Kamala to the main documentary section.

For a release on the true giants of WWE, there are several omissions which are neither explained nor touched upon and these of course include Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, Kane Mable and The Undertaker who can all be classed as giants of the squared circle. There is or was no reason to leave these men out as WWE own all the footage for Kane and The Undertaker whilst they could have stuck a deal with All Japan Pro Wrestling to include something on Inoki which would have been a very nice touch and proved they were willing to acknowledge promotion’s outside their jurisdiction. As for the run time to include these three, WWE could have extended the run time by thirty minutes to fit them all in and make this ‘WWE Presents the Definitive True Giants of Wrestling’.

That this release combines a majority of wrestlers who couldn’t put a decent match together to save their life wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t for the obvious inconsistencies through the release. Because this focuses more on their personal stories rather than their career, WWE should have eased through this with minimum problems but there are notable mistakes throughout the release and just one of them is the ‘In Memory’ pictures which appear at the conclusion of only some deceased wrestlers and not others. It’s a minor gripe but one which would have made this a more compact release. And then of course, there are the varying matches which range from disastrous to quite good depending on what you’re looking for. WWE deserve credit for including bouts from past eras but they really should have made an effort to search for more entertaining outings to compliment the main feature.

At the end of the day, ‘WWE Presents True Giants’ isn’t a must buy but it isn’t terrible either. One of its redeeming qualities is that just when you think you know where it’s going, it tails off down a different path altogether and surprises you. Along with the wealth of historical footage, brand new interviews from wrestlers you haven’t seen for many years and its feel god nature you’ll want to purchase this release and rightly so. Like everything else it has its flaws, but if you can overlook them and many will be able to, this is a worthy addition to the WWE library of releases.

Rating: B

Next Time in Review Corner: WWE Best Pay-Per View Matches 2014 DVD and Blu-ray

Onwards and upwards...