About.com Rating



The '90s saw wrestling become mainstream and reach a height in popularity that threatened Monday Night Football. This boom period for the sport was led by the wrestlers featured on this 3-disc DVD set.

The Review and Recommendation

The three-disc set focuses on the wrestlers responsible for the great wrestling boom of the '90s. Disc one features a documentary and some vignettes while the final two discs only contain matches from the greatest stars of the era.

Since most of the people featured on this DVD already have DVD sets dedicated to them, for the most part you will not be learning anything new about the stars. In addition, for the most part, the matches featured on this DVD selection are good but are not the most iconic matches for these performers. The good thing about that though is there are very few matches on this DVD available elsewhere.

Overall Recommendation: This DVD set is a nice way for newer fans to sample the '90s and then they can further delve into the era by purchasing DVDs of the wrestlers they are interested in. For older fans, it is a nice stroll down memory lane. While I recommend purchasing this DVD, it is not a must-have for your collection.

What's on the DVD?

Disc One
The main program on this disc is a two+ hour documentary hosted by Taz. For the most part, it contains 5-10 minute segments about the biggest stars of the era. The wrestlers that are given full-length profiles are: Shawn Michaels, Yokozuna, The Rock, Kevin Nash, Owen Hart, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Sting, Razor Ramon, Undertaker, and Steve Austin.

While this is an impressive list, there are a few names that have been left off. Just like the '80s DVD that came out a few years ago, Randy Savage is missing from this disc. The other big names of the era that are missing are Goldberg and Sid.

The special features on this disc are 12 vignettes and interviews from the era. Watching these vignettes illustrates the transformation the WWE and wrestling went through in the '90s. It went from being cheesy to being sleazy. I just wish there was a way to watch all of these segments with only one touch of the remote.

Matches on this DVD Set

If a match is available on another non-PPV DVD, I will list the DVD in parenthesis.

Disc Two

• MSG 11/91: Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan - I still can't believe that WCW got this match onto PPV first.
  
• Survivor Series ’92: WWE Champion Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels - This isn't the infamous Montreal Screwjob. That Survivor Series match is available on the Confidential DVD.
  
• King of the Ring ’93: WWE Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna - Following this match, Hulk wouldn't be seen in the WWE until 2002.
  
• WrestleMania X: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (The Bret Hart Story: The Best There Is, Was, and Ever Will Be) - Until No Way Out '09, this was easily considered to be the greatest opening match in WWE history.
  
• Superstars 4/13/94: Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs. Diesel - Someone forgot to tell the WWE that the mullet was out of style for several years at this point.
  
• Slamboree ’94: Sting vs. Vader for the vacant WCW International World Heavyweight Championship - For some reason, this incredible feud has been largely forgotten about.
  
• Royal Rumble ’95: WWE Champion Diesel vs. Bret Hart - These two men had great chemistry in the ring against each other.
  
• RAW 4/3/95: Women’s Champion Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze - Considering the way she left the company, I'm shocked to see Alundra on this DVD.

Disc Three

• In Your House 9/95: WWE Champion Shawn Michaels & Intercontinental Champion Diesel vs. Tag Team Champions Yokozuna & British Bulldog - Regardless of the commentary at the end, the decision of this match was reversed.
  
• In Your House 2/96: Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart - Shawn's WrestleMania title shot was on the line.
  
• SummerSlam ’96: WWE Championship Match Shawn Michaels vs. Vader (Shawn Michaels: Boyhood Dream) - Too bad Vader never brought his smoking armored mask to the WWE.
  
• SummerSlam ’97: Steel Cage Match - Mankind vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Bloodbath: Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches) - I don't know whether I enjoyed their 1997 feud or their 2000 feud better. I do know that I enjoyed both of them immensely.
  
• Nitro 8/4/97: WCW Championship Match Lex Luger vs. Hulk Hogan - Considering that the panelists on the Legends of Wrestling DVD set took every shot they could at Luger, I can't believe a few months later that the highlight of his career is on DVD.
  
• SummerSlam ’98: WWE Champion Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker - The match picked up at the end, but the beginning was slow due to a legitimate and fluke shot to the head Austin suffered.
  
• Halloween Havoc ’98: United States Championship Match Sting vs. Bret Hart - Without a doubt, Sting is the greatest wrestler of this generation not to have been a part of the WWE.
  
• Fully Loaded ’99: Strap Match Triple H vs. The Rock - Thankfully this isn't one of those matches where you win by dragging your opponent to the four corners of the ring.