Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

WWE DVDs Planned for 2008


sek69

Recommended Posts

Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin (2/12)

 

This will probably be a a pretty solid set. I'm guessing it will be heavy on the WWF era, but there should be space for some of his WCW work and maybe even a World Class match or two just to complete the picture. This could end up interesting since allegedly Austin was lobbying hard to include some matches with Benoit, so this may end up being a test of the embargo on his likeness appearing on TV/DVD again.

 

 

Triple H: King of Kings (3/25)

 

I think I've reached the point of accepting Triple H is going to be a fixture of WWE for a long time, and it's probably time for him to get the deluxe treatment since his last DVD came out before they started going all out for every release. I hope they include some of his WCW matches as well, since I don't think that's seen the light of day since they originally aired.

 

Evolution of the Hardys (5/6)

 

It occurred to me watching the "Big Bangs and Dazzling Debuts" on WWE 24/7 that the Hardys have been around for a long ass time. Their "official" debut (as the Hardy Boyz) was in 1997 but they were around as a jobber team a while before that. This might end up being the surprise DVD of the year.

 

The Rock (6/3)

 

I can hear it now, people are going to bitch about this having too many promos. Not to mention his whole career was during the Blur-O-Vision era, so my Spider Sense is telling me that people will end up disappointed over this. It should be a pretty solid set if you aren't expecting wall to wall matches.

 

Best of Starrcade (7/8)

 

The best thing about this is that the release date is 3 days after my birthday, so that's a guaranteed gift right there. I guess we can chalk this one up to Dusty's influence, plus it has to be better than the THV releases.

 

Life and Times of Mr. Perfect (8/5)

 

I wonder if this will include the Bockwinkel draw. It's long for a non Bret Hart match to be included on a WWE produced DVD, but it would be a nice thing to have in DVD quality. It'll be interesting to see how they handle his issues in this new "no one in WWE ever had a drug problem" world. I guess we'll find out he made it through the match with Bret with the help of magic pixie dust.

 

SummerSlam Anthology (8/5)

 

Is it just me or is SummerSlam the one "major" PPV that doesn't seem to have that aura of the other ones? I mean, Mania is Mania, the Rumble has Flair winning the title, Survivor Series has the screwjob and the multiple tag matches. SummerSlam just seems to be a regular PPV that's been around a long time. I may end up Netflix'ing it at some point, but I can't see investing in 20 DVDs worth.

 

Edge (11/4)

 

My enthusiasm on an Edge DVD is tempered by the knowledge my favorite segment of his will almost surely not be included (CHRIS BENOIT IS HERE AND HE'S REALLY ANG-RY!). This will probably be one of those DVDs where you think "Really? This guy gets a DVD release?" but it ends up reminding you of all the awesomeness he's been involved in.

 

Randy Savage: Macho Madness (11/18)

 

Depending which way they go, this could either be one of the real top notch releases or a ridiculous hit job. I guess it's hard to not make Savage sound like a nut, but if Vince can make up with other people he's had issues with why not Randy?

 

Sting (12/9)

 

The first impression is that it's hilarious that WWE seems to not even be aware or care that Sting has a contract with TNA. It seems odd that they'd do a DVD of him since he's never had any inclination to sign with WWE. If any DVD on this list ends up not happening, I'd wager this would be the one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some thoughts...

 

Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin (2/12)

 

This will probably be a a pretty solid set. I'm guessing it will be heavy on the WWF era, but there should be space for some of his WCW work and maybe even a World Class match or two just to complete the picture. This could end up interesting since allegedly Austin was lobbying hard to include some matches with Benoit, so this may end up being a test of the embargo on his likeness appearing on TV/DVD again.

I get the sense Austin will lose out on the Benoit matches issue. Since it's a month to go for this, we should be seeing a match listing soon. Doubt you'll see much in the way of Texas stuff. Didn't Austin work there after Jarrett purchased World Class, and when it was USWA? I don't think Vince owns any USWA footage. From my understanding, it'll be the same format as Mysterio's last set (3 disc main program, majority being matches).

 

Triple H: King of Kings (3/25)

 

I think I've reached the point of accepting Triple H is going to be a fixture of WWE for a long time, and it's probably time for him to get the deluxe treatment since his last DVD came out before they started going all out for every release. I hope they include some of his WCW matches as well, since I don't think that's seen the light of day since they originally aired.

This will probably be your documentary with matches, with the documentary containing WWE-ized comments on Steph, position in the company, etc. Maybe it'll be like Austin's, but I imagine they'll do something like that.

 

Evolution of the Hardys (5/6)

 

It occurred to me watching the "Big Bangs and Dazzling Debuts" on WWE 24/7 that the Hardys have been around for a long ass time. Their "official" debut (as the Hardy Boyz) was in 1997 but they were around as a jobber team a while before that. This might end up being the surprise DVD of the year.

This is sort of the popular midcarder DVD release this year. Could be very fun, I agree, but I'm struggling to think of matches of theirs that haven't already been released on DVD.

 

The Rock (6/3)

 

I can hear it now, people are going to bitch about this having too many promos. Not to mention his whole career was during the Blur-O-Vision era, so my Spider Sense is telling me that people will end up disappointed over this. It should be a pretty solid set if you aren't expecting wall to wall matches.

I like the Rock, so I think I'll enjoy this. I wonder if the plan will be much different than that match list that appeared some point last year.

 

Best of Starrcade (7/8)

 

The best thing about this is that the release date is 3 days after my birthday, so that's a guaranteed gift right there. I guess we can chalk this one up to Dusty's influence, plus it has to be better than the THV releases.

Unfortunately, I see this only being 2 discs, just like all their other old school releases (AWA, WCCW, Four Horsemen, etc.).

 

Life and Times of Mr. Perfect (8/5)

 

I wonder if this will include the Bockwinkel draw. It's long for a non Bret Hart match to be included on a WWE produced DVD, but it would be a nice thing to have in DVD quality. It'll be interesting to see how they handle his issues in this new "no one in WWE ever had a drug problem" world. I guess we'll find out he made it through the match with Bret with the help of magic pixie dust.

I think it's this set that will tell how they approach the whole Benoit issue with footage, since God knows Hennig's had his share of angles with Benoit in WCW. Unless the title focuses only on Mr. Perfect. ;)

 

SummerSlam Anthology (8/5)

 

Is it just me or is SummerSlam the one "major" PPV that doesn't seem to have that aura of the other ones? I mean, Mania is Mania, the Rumble has Flair winning the title, Survivor Series has the screwjob and the multiple tag matches. SummerSlam just seems to be a regular PPV that's been around a long time. I may end up Netflix'ing it at some point, but I can't see investing in 20 DVDs worth.

Agreed, although it's one of those PPVs that has a lot of hidden gems. I look forward to re-watching a lot of Hart Foundation tag matches, the Shawn-Vader match (for totally different reasons), among others.

 

Edge (11/4)

 

My enthusiasm on an Edge DVD is tempered by the knowledge my favorite segment of his will almost surely not be included (CHRIS BENOIT IS HERE AND HE'S REALLY ANG-RY!). This will probably be one of those DVDs where you think "Really? This guy gets a DVD release?" but it ends up reminding you of all the awesomeness he's been involved in.

Yeah, I'm finding myself not getting too excited about this, except if it has rare stuff like the IC title win over Jarrett.

 

Randy Savage: Macho Madness (11/18)

 

Depending which way they go, this could either be one of the real top notch releases or a ridiculous hit job. I guess it's hard to not make Savage sound like a nut, but if Vince can make up with other people he's had issues with why not Randy?

I can't see this being much more than a Warrior-like DVD. Might be a bit better than that, just because of Savage's longevity in wrestling, but I think it'll be along those lines.

 

Sting (12/9)

 

The first impression is that it's hilarious that WWE seems to not even be aware or care that Sting has a contract with TNA. It seems odd that they'd do a DVD of him since he's never had any inclination to sign with WWE. If any DVD on this list ends up not happening, I'd wager this would be the one.

It wouldn't shock me if a guy like Flair or Arn may have influence on this one. It might be one of those, "Ric got a DVD, Dusty got a DVD, the Horsemen got a DVD, why not Sting?" deals. On top of that, it's not like the guy isn't spoken positively of in past releases. Might be the surprise release of the year if it's a go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Triple H DVD should be interesting if there's a documentary portion, since they seem to have an alternate universe set up for DVD releases. While the marriage to Steph is teased and hinted at on TV, it's openly discussed on DVDs. One memorable example was Triple H talking about doing the whole "going home to meet your fiancee's parents" deal with Vince and how it was more awkward than usual on the Greatest Families DVD.

 

Not to mention Hunter seems to be the type who gets all kayfabe-ish over the strangest things. He's not quite at the level of an Arn Anderson where it's as if everything in wrestling is a real occurrence, but he seems to slip in and out. I'd wager the Chyna era will be excised from history as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Triple H DVD should be interesting if there's a documentary portion, since they seem to have an alternate universe set up for DVD releases. While the marriage to Steph is teased and hinted at on TV, it's openly discussed on DVDs. One memorable example was Triple H talking about doing the whole "going home to meet your fiancee's parents" deal with Vince and how it was more awkward than usual on the Greatest Families DVD.

The Families DVD covered only a fraction of that. The McMahon DVD (Yes, I've seen it) had Hunter and Vince talking a lot more about their relationship, HHH's marriage with Steph, amongst other things. I think the funniest story was Hunter talking about playing pool with Steph against Vince and Linda, and beating them (albeit in flukish fashion) so often that Vince had to go outside and take a walk to keep from completely blowing a gasket. And, of course, there was the whole "Vince came back from two quad tears quicker than Hunter did with one" stuff.

 

Not to mention Hunter seems to be the type who gets all kayfabe-ish over the strangest things. He's not quite at the level of an Arn Anderson where it's as if everything in wrestling is a real occurrence, but he seems to slip in and out. I'd wager the Chyna era will be excised from history as well.

Hard to say. In the Managers DVD (yes, another obscure set I've seen), Chyna wasn't one of the featured managers, but they had a chapter on female managers, with Chyna being one of them. Hunter was interviewed and everything he mentioned about Chyna was praise. Then again, it was one of those DVDs where nothing negative was mentioned, or if it was, it was very brief. (For example, in the Sunny chapter, they mention her problems, but write it off as being "sad" and left it at that, as opposed to how they talked about guys like Guerrero, Pillman and Hawk.) The 80s Stars DVD was like that too. I doubt HHH's DVD is going that direction unless, of course, there's no documentary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really doubt they'll bury Savage. Warrior was such an unprofessional shit to Vince that it was inevitable. Savage may have some unsaid issue, but professionally he left on good terms. Why would they pick a dvd to bury him when they've never said a bad word publicly about him otherwise?

 

As for Starrcade, it's interesting because most of the good stuff from 1983-87 has already been released on dvd. Honestly, the only really good Starrcade match I haven't seen on another release is Ric Flair/Vader.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really doubt they'll bury Savage. Warrior was such an unprofessional shit to Vince that it was inevitable. Savage may have some unsaid issue, but professionally he left on good terms. Why would they pick a dvd to bury him when they've never said a bad word publicly about him otherwise?

Worst case scenario there would be lots of folks talking about how crazy he could be, but the actual history and quality of matches just doesn't add up to them doing a "Fuck you" DVD on Savage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know, but I'd think that him acting crazy and possibly/probably abusive towards Elizabeth > history and match quality. I mean, it'd be kind of hard for a documentary on him to not paint a negative picture since it seems everyone that ever worked with him is of the opinion he was a crazy sumbitch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for Starrcade, it's interesting because most of the good stuff from 1983-87 has already been released on dvd. Honestly, the only really good Starrcade match I haven't seen on another release is Ric Flair/Vader.

Looks like WCW released every Starcade from 1988-2000 though I don't see Starcade 1996 at prowrestlinghistory.com (possibly he just couldn't track down a reference to it). They also released a Best of Starcade 1983-90 (different from the earlier 1983-87).

 

Whether that stuff is "complete" or in "edited" form, who knows.

 

I don't know how much has made it onto WWE releases.

 

Probably something that could be split off into a Projects thread - a more definative Best of Starcade. Don't know how many disks it would need at two hour speed. Maybe 5 to 6. I can't recall how crappy some of the shows got as the 90s went on. BattleBowl was a horrid, show killing concept. But 1992 was saved by non-Battle Bowl stuff like Vader-Sting and the Barry & Pillman vs. Steamboat & Douglas. I remember 1996 having a good card, and even enjoying the weak work of Hogan-Piper as being very effective for what it was.

 

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suspect they're going to bury the fuck out of Savage in the "profile" as being a total nutter... unless Randy plays nice and comes back to Papa Vince. Dave had a comment a while back about Savage being one person that Vince wants nothing to do with.

 

It's really surprising in all this that we still don't have Ric Flair Set #2. The first one sold so well (for the era), and they never did an explicit tie in with the book release (paperback would have been the perfect time for it). It's not been years, and they have dick. We've got Ric's sorta-retirement thing going on, and still dick.

 

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The final match line-ups will be the make or break-it for me, but there's some potential awesomeness to alot of those DVD's, especially the Mr. Perfect and Steve Austin. I'm PRAYING they don't do a Warrior-job on Savages though. :-(

 

HBK got his 2nd DVD set recently, I've always hoped Flair could get another DVD set for him too, especially since this is Flair's last year in the ring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The line-up for the Austin set (from Meltzer):

Brian Pillman & Steve Austin vs. Dos Hombres (Ricky Steamboat & Brad Armstrong) for the WCW tag titles in a cage match (5/23/93 - Slamboree)

Austin vs. Pillman (11/10/93 - Clash of the Champions 25)

Austin vs. Steamboat for the U.S. title (8/24/94 - Clash of the Champions 28)

ECW interviews

Austin vs. Sandman vs. Mikey Whipwreck for the ECW title (12/9/95 - December to Dismember)

Austin vs. Savio Vega (5/28/96 - Beware of Dog retaping)

Austin vs. Bret Hart (11/17/96 - Survivor Series)

Austin vs. Yokozuna (8/18/96 - Summerslam)

Austin vs. Undertaker (5/11/97 - Cold Day in Hell)

Austin & Michaels vs. Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith (5/26/97 - Raw)

Austin vs. Michaels (6/8/97 - King of the Ring)

Austin & Dude Love vs. Owen Hart & Smith (7/14/97 - Raw)

Austin vs. Owen Hart (8/3/97 - Summerslam)

Austin vs. Dude Love (4/26/98 - Unforgiven)

Austin vs. Kane (6/28/98 - King of the Ring)

Austin vs. Kane (6/29/98 - Raw)

Austin vs. Rock (4/25/99 - Backlash)

Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero (11/16/00 - Smackdown)

Austin vs. HHH (11/19/00 - Survivor Series)

Austin vs. HHH 2/3 falls (2/25/01 - No Way Out)

Austin vs. Rock (4/1/01 - Wrestlemania)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I don't get the Dos Hombres love either. Unless it's another way of them ignoring Shane Douglas.

 

Happy that Bret-Austin SS96 is getting DVD treatment.

 

Pretty good listing overall, but I don't get the Eddy match inclusion. Checking old recaps, it was a 3-minute match or so. If they wanted a 3-minute segment with Eddy, they could've thrown in that bar incident instead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

WWE Shop has been updated for the Triple H: King of Kings - There Can Only Be One DVD set and the Twist of Fate: The Hardy Boys DVD set, which takes the interesting twist of having Disc 1 be the Matt story and Disc 2 is the Jeff story.

 

 

The official WWE synopses:

 

**DVD INCLUDES AUTOGRAPHED TRIPLE H KING OF KINGS CARD**

 

Please note: DVDs sold by WWEâ„¢ Shopâ„¢ are encoded for Region 1 (U.S. and Canada) , which is only compatible for the following: U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada, and Bermuda.

 

Please note: This item is not available until 3/25/08. If you order this item along with other items your entire order will be held until the release date for this item.

 

There is only one Triple H, and now for the first time ever,

the King of Kings reflects on his storied WWE career with new exclusive interviews discussing his biggest matches, moments, and rivalries. More than a dozen bouts are presented in their entirety, including some never before released on DVD.

 

2 DISC set features Triple H’s Greatest Matches

including:

 

King of the Ring June 8, 1997

King of the Ring Final Match

Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley

 

No Mercy October 17, 1999

No Holds Barred

WWE Championship Match

Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

 

Royal Rumble January 20, 2002

30 Man Royal Rumble Match

 

Armageddon December 15, 2002

2 out of 3 Falls Match for the

 

World Heavyweight Championship

Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H

 

Vengeance June 25, 2005

Hell in a Cell Match for the

World Heavyweight Championship

Batista vs. Triple H

 

Backlash April 30, 2006

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship

John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Edge

 

Plus 6 more matches and never before seen interviews with

Triple H as he reflects on his incredible career.

 

Approximate running time 6 hours

 

eptember 27, 1998 two young wrestlers made their debut on Sunday Night Heat. From their very first match the fans knew they were something special. Risk takers, crash and burners these two performers exemplified the heart and soul of the tag-team division. Simply put, they are artists – both in and out of the ring. SummerSlam 2000, the Hardys’ competed in their first ever Ladder Match, rocketing them through the ranks of the tag team division winning the titles on four occasions and making the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match a staple in the WWE. While they may have gone their separate ways they have managed to capture the Intercontinental, Hardcore, European, Light Heavyweight, WCW Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championships respectfully. Now, relive “Team Extreme” once more as they continue to climb to new heights when you own the Hardys Twist of Fate DVD.

 

Disc 1 The Matt Hardy Story

 

Matt Hardy was born to wrestle—from his earliest days in homemade rings he and his brother created through his unbelievable matches on WWE SmackDown. The road to the top wasn’t always smooth, including some behind-the-scenes battles with other superstars that spilled into the ring. This DVD tells Matt’s complete story, and collects some amazing matches.

 

Matches include:

OMEGA Wrestling Tag Team Title Match

The Hardy Boyz vs. The Serial Thrillaz

No DQ; No Count Out Match: Matt Hardy vs. Kane

 

Steel Cage Match: Matt Hardy vs. Edge

 

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

 

Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy

 

Disc 2 The Jeff Hardy Story

 

Jeff Hardy has ascended from one of the top tag teams in WWE history to a wildly popular singles star with the WWE Championship in his sight. This DVD examines his colorful career in and out of the ring, including his recent spectacular success on Raw.

 

Matches include:

The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudleys

 

Intercontinental Title Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H

 

Steel Cage Match for the Intercontinental Championship Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

 

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match

Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

 

World Tag Team Title Match

The Hardys vs. Cade & Murdoch

 

Winner Gets WWE Championship Title Shot

at Royal Rumble: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H

 

Steel Cage Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga

 

The HHH DVD also has some of his WCW matches, including his debut as Terra Ryzing. I'm kind of bummed that the Taker-Jeff match didn't make the cut for the Hardys set. I hope it gets included as an extra, as that was probably the best match Jeff will ever have in his career.

 

Also, the WWE DVD Releases page lists The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment as a 3 disc set. No matches yet since it's not out til June, but that's gotta sting some egos that the guy who "turned his back" on wrestling gets a bigger release.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I see a list like this, it makes me realize just how underrated the star power of Matt and Jeff Hardy is sometimes.

 

It's easy to forget that those guys have had a really strong WWE run. You have to wonder how much being the most successful and biggest drawing tag team in the history of the company counts for. Austin and Rock appealed to women for sure, but the Hardys brought the teenage girls in huge.

 

They both became less effective for a time because of Jeff's drug issues and that they were overexposed. You think back to the territory system, and those are two guys that as a team would have been huge draws going all over the country and leaving before they got old.

 

Among people I knew who watched wrestling during the boom who no longer watched, the Hardys were discussed every bit as much as Austin, Rock, Foley and HHH. I don't think they were on that level as draws, but they were never really put in that position.

 

At this point, Jeff Hardy is the guy the fans seem to be pushing to get to the next level.

 

Both seem to be more headed for singles stardom at this point, but they were very effective as a tag team, and I'm not sure they get enough credit for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just like how we look back at footage from the 70s and 80s and discover guys who were awesome but flew under the radar, I suspect people 20 years from now will be doing this with the Hardys.

 

I would imagine the big internet discussion then would be "Why didn't they ever put the belt on Jeff Hardy?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...