The Rise and Fall of WCW DVD Review

The Rise and Fall of WCW - DVD Review


After the success of the ECW set of the same name , it's a wonder how they took so long to come out with this set . As for the documentary on the first disc , people think it's too short . While I think that they missed out on some stuff such as any mention Bret Hart , I still think it had a reasonable length and I enjoyed every minute of watching it . I've seen mixed reactions of the feature with some thinking it's brilliant and some thinking it's awful . I didn't really know much about the history of WCW but this did give me information I never knew about . If you were ever a fan of WCW then this should be one for you to watch . Great stuff and I would easily watch it again . 9/10


The matches look like classics here , so this set should be an awesome one .



Disc 2 Matches :



Magnum TA vs Ric Flair 
If it wasn't for the tragic car accident , Magnum could have been one of the greats and this match helps show it . Magnum puts $1000 on the line . Flair has some nasty scars on his forehead . Very good match for its time . The match ends in a time limit draw . ***1/4



Sting / Lex Luger / Barry Windham vs Ric Flair / Arn Anderson / Tully Blanchard 
Six terrific athletes going at it in a six man tag match . This match was just non-stop excitement all the way through and I thoroughly enjoyed it . Tully pins Windham after hitting him with a foreign object . ***3/4



Barry Windham vs Dusty Rhodes 
I'm not too big a fan of the work of Dusty , but he can have a good match if given the right opponent and he had that in Windham . And yet it still ended up being a little underwhelming . Pretty good match as Windham beats Dusty with the claw manoeuvre . **3/4



Ricky Steamboat vs Ric Flair 
From Chi-Town Rumble 1989 . I have been waiting a while to see this match . The first match in the famous Steamboat/Flair trilogy of matches . I have the other two matches in the trilogy rated at 5 stars each and I'm expecting this one to be the same . And yes this was goddamned incredible . Another all time classic between these two . I'd say it's the worst of the three , but no way in hell is that a bad thing but I don't think I can give it the full five . Very close though . ****3/4



Rock N Roll Express vs Midnight Express
From Wrestlewar 1990 . Two of WCW's best tag teams going at it here . Jim Cornette wants this match to decide who the real express is . This was a very well paced match . The heel heat section was very well done . Awesome match as the Rock N Roll Express win it with a roll up . ***3/4



Midnight Express vs The Southern Boys 
From the Great American Bash 1990 and it is for the USA Tag Titles . I've seen this match receive rave reviews , so lets see what all the fuss is about . This match was fast paced and exciting all the way through . Fantastic tag action here . Midnight Express win with a small package . ****1/4



Steiner Brothers vs Sting & Lex Luger
For the tag team titles and took place at Superbrawl 1991 . This is another match I've seen as being critically acclaimed . I've always enjoyed the Steiners as a tag team . This was a brilliantly fast match , filled with power moves and never seemed to slow down at all . Scott pins Sting after he's hit with a chain to retain the titles . ****



Sting vs Vader 
From the Great American Bash 1992 and is for the World Title . I remember their match from the 1992 Starrcade being a great match , so I'm looking forward to this one . And yes it was a great match . I think Sting might have botched his stinger splash at the finish though . Vader hits a powerbomb to win the title . ***3/4



Sting vs Rick Rude 
World title is on the line at Spring Stampede 1994 . Looking at the participants , this looks like it should be a great match , but it turned out to be mediocre . It started fast , but just really slowed down and started plodding from there . Harley Race ruined the finish too by missing his cue . Sting pins Rude to win the title . **



Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair
From Bash at the Beach 1994 . Finally WCW did what the WWF never could and put this dream match on a pay per view for the World Title . The match was actually a very entertaining one . Could even be one of Hogan's best , but obviously it's nowhere near Flair's best . Hogan hits the leg drop to win the World title . ***1/2



Disc 3 :



The Giant vs Ric Flair 
Why was this match on this DVD . To see early Paul Wight ? To see a misused Flair ? I guess I'll never find out . Giant dominated the match and wins the World title with a chokeslam . 1/2*



Rey Mysterio vs Dean Malenko 
From Clash of the Champions 33 and is for the cruiserweight title . The first cruiserweight match of the disc and a great one at that . I really wish there hadn't been a commercial break because the pacing of this one was off the charts . Rey is able to retain with a roll up . ***1/2



Team WCW vs Team nWo : War Games
From Fall Brawl 1996 . I have to admit , this is the first War Games match I have ever watched and I have to say I did enjoy it . It's a shame it hasn't been brought back ( unless you count TNA's Lethal Lockdown ) . What was the deal with the two Stings though ? nWo wins it after fake Sting puts Luger in a scorpion death lock . ***



Eddie Guerrero vs Syxx : Ladder Match 
From Souled Out 1997 . This is the first one on one WCW ladder match I've seen and I'm glad it features Mr Guerrero . The match was good , but I felt it was a bit sloppy . It didn't help that Eric Bischoff kept talking about other angles . Eddie wins the belt . ***



Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko : No DQ
From Uncensored 1997 . I love the matches between these two . Although I would say that the ECW matches are much better than the WCW ones . This was a great match , but the camera cutting backstage to show an injured Rick Steiner annoyed me . Dean wins by hitting Eddie with a camera . ***3/4




Chris Jericho vs Juventud Guerrera
Chris is putting his cruiserweight title on the line and Juventud is putting his mask on his line . Another great WCW cruiserweight match . I love how Jericho keeps his title on while wrestling . Jericho makes Juventud submit and take his mask off after the liontamer . ***3/4



Steiner Brothers vs The Outsiders 
From Superbrawl VIII and this really wasn't much of a match , more of an angle as Scott decides to turn on Rick and the Outsiders pick up the win . 1/2*



Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone vs Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman
From Bash at the Beach 1998 . This match was meant to get WCW a lot more viewers . Not sure if it did or not . Now this one felt LONG . Pretty dull too , as is the case with quite a few celebrity matches . Shouldn't have been a main event of a PPV . Hogan pins DDP to win . **



Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page 
From Halloween Havoc 1998 . This is the infamous match that no one at home was able to see . Just a minute into the match and the feed cut out . Luckily this is the full match . Awesomely fun match and it did look at times as if DDP could win it . Goldberg hits the jackhammer to retain . ***1/4



Booker T vs Lance Storm 
Not really sure why they ended this set with this World Title match . I think it would have been more appropriate to end it with a match from the final Nitro . The fans were really hot for this though and it was good while it lasted . Booker hits the bookend to retain . **1/2



9/10 . This was an awesome set . Combine a great documentary with a fantastic second disc and a good third disc , you get a must - have three disc set . Highly recommended .