Guest Bruiser Chong Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I refuse to type out the full title to the recently released two-disc compilation from WWE, but I'm more or less through it now and once again, another fine effort from the home video department. The product continues to be uninteresting, but hell if they don't continue to put out great DVDs. This is one of the comps that features a feature program with extras tacked on. Unlike other DVDs of this ilk, this is the way to go, since the Road Warriors have such an interesting story to be told. The main program is surprisingly one of the set's strongest points. We're taken from their humble beginnings in The Gym all the way to the saddening end of Hawk's life. In between, we get a gauge on just how well traveled the duo was and the magnitude of their contributions to the business. As is the norm with WWE releases like this, there's no shortage of vintage footage. Comments from guys like Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash/Repo Man/38 WCW Gimmicks), Steve Keirn (Skinner clean-shaven and wearing a tie!), Cornette, and Michael Hayes are spliced in and contribute heavily to the program. No matter how strong the feature is, we all know that the extras are what sell these things. The first disc features select matches from early in their career and a string of promos from all over. Disc two is more match-oriented, offering goodies from their NWA and WWF days. The set's another longball for WWE and gets a thumbs up for me and is a great buy at its low price tag. Match Listing NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (11/06/83) vs. Joe Young & Randy Barber NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (07/08/83} vs. Arn Anderson & Paul Jones: Total squash. Here just to give everyone an idea of how dominant these guys were, even from the outset of their careers. Funny to see Arn here as little more than a jobber. NWA World Championship Wrestling Omni (28/08/83) Texas Tornado Match vs. The Brisco Brothers: JR and Animal do commentary here, as they do with a couple other matches. They're not bad, but Animal's too quick to stick with kayfabe more often than not, which is almost insulting. Real clash of styles here, and I'd be lying if I said it worked. The Warriors are still real green here and being matched up against old school wrestlers doesn't help. NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (03/01/83) vs. Mike Jackson & Stone AWA All Star Wrestling (25/08/84) AWA World Tag Title Championship vs. Baron von Raschke & The Crusher Promo: NWA Georgia Championship Wrestling (27/08/83) Promo: AWA All Star Wrestling (28/07/84) Promo: AWA ESPN Championship Wrestling (15/10/85) Promo: NWA World Championship Wrestling (03/10/87) Promo: NWA World Championship Wrestling (10/10/87) Promo: NWA World Championship Wrestling (28/01/89) Promo: WCW Wrestle War (25/02/90) Promo: Brutus the Barber Beefcake's BarberShop Wrestling Challenge (28/09/91) Promo: Royal Rumble (21/01/92) Promo: In Your House: Degeneration X (07/12/97) Hawk Tribute Part 1 Confidential (08/11/03) Hawk Tribute Part 2 Confidential (08/11/03) Trophy Room Paul Ellering "Go For It" Michaels Hayes "A Lesson in Striving for Success" Road Warriors Music Video Disc Two AWA All Star Wrestling (21/08/85) vs. Larry 'the Axe' & Curt Hennig Superclash (28/09/85) AWA World Tag Team Title Match vs. The Fabulous Freebirds : Fun match. This took place in the old Comisky Park, which creates a unique atmosphere. The finish didn't flow, but it's clear this was an upset victory for the Freebirds, who get pelted with garbage as they grab their newly-won belts and head for the exit. Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament Cup (19/04/86) vs. Magnum TA & Ronnie Garvin: JR and Animal on commentary here, which means more kayfabe. I know Magnum was the next big thing, but I don't see why. Guy had magnificent charisma, but his work never dazzled me. He had some great matches, but I don't think we ever got to see his full potential. Great American Bash (05/07/86) Russian Chain Match vs. Ivan & Nikita Kolaff : This one's a blast. Real short and just an all out brawl. Exactly the kind of matches the Warriors thrived in. Ivan blades early and man does he bleed. Surprisingly my favorite match on the set. Starrcade (27/11/86) Scaffold Match vs. Midnight Express: These matches suck as a rule of thumb. This particular one's not much different, but hey, can't say I blame them for being cautious 20 or 25 feet off the ground. The fallout of the match is more interesting, as Cornette gets trapped on the scaffold and winds up blowing out both of his knees from the fall because the Big Boss Man doesn't move fast enough to catch him like he was supposed to do (according to Animal, anyway). Starrcade (29/11/87) NWA Tag Team Championship vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson New Orleans (29/10/88) NWA World Tag Team Championship vs. Midnight Express: If you've seen the Summerslam '90 opener with the Rockers and Power & Glory, you've seen this one. It quickly becomes a two-on-one match in favor of the Warriors, who have little trouble in polishing him off to win the titles. Challenge (09/02/91) vs. Demolition : You know, the WWF really dropped the ball when it came to this. For years, people had been wanting a Road Warriors/Demolition feud and when the chance came, it was so dull. No real high-profile matches and I guess this match epitomizes it. Short, generic and upsetting that LOD didn't come in when Demolition was still hot and Ax was able to go in the ring. Wrestlefest (12/03/91) vs. Hart Foundation: Surprisingly great match. Slow at parts, but the finish is real hot. Tons of reversals of both team's signature moves. I'd say this is better than the Rockers/Harts match from Wrestlefest '90. Tokyo Egg Dome (30/03/91) vs. Hulk Hogan & Genichiro Tenryu: Odd to see Hogan taking on the Road Warriors. A little long, but there's some fun brawling to finish off the match. Summerslam (26/08/91) WWE Tag Team Championship vs. Nasty Boys: Short brawl, but a good one for early '90s WWF. Gorilla and Heenan fail to make note of Sags' use of mace, instead talking about the main event later that evening. Markout moment with LOD winning their first WWF tag titles. Summerslam (29/08/92) vs. Money Inc.: Boring opener for SS '92. In the main feature, Animal retells a story about their entrance, which had them coming down on motorcycles. Hawk apparently was under the influence of a couple substances and parked too close to Animal. Because of this, Animal had to get off the wrong side of the bike and injured his calf, which he had to tough out during the match. Superbrawl (02/11/96) WCW Tag Team Championship Match vs. Sting & Lex Luger RAW (13/10/97) WWE Tag Team Championship vs. The Godwinns: Not a bad match. I guess the stips are if they don't win the belts, they must retire. Lawler reminds us he used to be good, throwing ideas out there for what LOD will do after they lose the match. "They'll probably do something creative...like open up a gym, duuuh." Fun to see them win the titles, but bittersweet, since it was a freefall from there. During the post-match celebration, keep your eyes open for the three shirtless guys in the crowd. Each one has a letter on their chest to spell out "WWF." But since the pandas rule the world, the guy with the "F" has his chest blurred out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I can't find the set anywhere. And I'm not happy about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Crucifixio Jones Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 I found it at my local Wal-Mart the day it was released. Oh, what a rush! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Superclash (28/09/85) AWA World Tag Team Title Match vs. The Fabulous Freebirds : Fun match. This took place in the old Comisky Park, which creates a unique atmosphere. The finish didn't flow, but it's clear this was an upset victory for the Freebirds, who get pelted with garbage as they grab their newly-won belts and head for the exit. I miss the days of stadium shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 The thing about stadium shows: any seat not on the floor is too far to see anything, and even if you fill the floor it'll look bad on TV having so many empty seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bruiser Chong Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Yeah, I've yet to see a stadium show that didn't come across looking like some backyard wrestlers came up with the set design. You hear about the attendence records for these shows, but because there's so much room between the ground seats and the ones in the stands, it doesn't have that visual appeal you'd expect from a large volume crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 Wrestlefest (12/03/91) vs. Hart Foundation: Surprisingly great match. Slow at parts, but the finish is real hot. Tons of reversals of both team's signature moves. I'd say this is better than the Rockers/Harts match from Wrestlefest '90. I love, love this match. It's great how both teams play face roles, but when things don't go the Harts' way, they play the heel role, and BOY, do they play it well. They work the tag formula very well here, with the best spot in the match being Bret playing cat and mouse with Animal, eventually leading to the Hart Attack on Hawk. Incredibly fun match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHawk Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Superclash (28/09/85) AWA World Tag Team Title Match vs. The Fabulous Freebirds : Fun match. This took place in the old Comisky Park, which creates a unique atmosphere. The finish didn't flow, but it's clear this was an upset victory for the Freebirds, who get pelted with garbage as they grab their newly-won belts and head for the exit. Here's one thing I don't get about this match, and it's not even the match itself. The decision wound up being reversed (supposedly Verne Gagne ordered the replay to be shown on the Jumbotron), only for the Roadies to lose the belts to Jimmy Garvin and "Mr. Electricity" Steve (not William) Regal. Who the fuck thought that was a good idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 That's Verne for ya, what do you expect from the guy who didn't think Hogan was champ material in 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Local Jobber R Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 What I noticed about this dvd set was the fact that the WWF matches tend to be the better matches of the collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bruiser Chong Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 The Wrestlefest and Summerslam matches are the only ones I'd consider anything above average. The Demolition match is disappointing, the SS '92 contest is dull, and Godwinns match is a fun moment match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Starrcade (29/11/87) NWA Tag Team Championship vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson This is the match with the famed Dusty Finish that killed off Chicago for NWA/WCW isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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