BY MIKEY MIGO
I typically don’t review WWE releases as “movies”. Not even the releases that ARE movies. I haven’t seen all the WWE DVD packages. I love wrestling more than anyone could ever comprehend, but I just don’t have the time or desire to own a shit load of WWE DVDs with the same matches and same moments. I pick my spots and go for it. I loved “Rise and Fall of ECW” and the more recent “Wrestlemania” documentary thing. I think the shitty quality old school RF Video VHS tapes spoiled me. Back then I’d watch any and every “wrestling shoot” I could. I think this jaded me because I can’t take WWE’s productions seriously because they’re CLEARLY one-sided. I’ve seen some of the bigger ones like the old HBK one, the Eddie “Cheating Death” one, and others. It’s not really so much a documentary or insider piece, but rather propaganda for Vince’s view. Right on though. It’s his toy box and he can play with his toys however he wants. I’m just not going to get excited over it. I saw the commercial for this new “Greatest Rivalries” DVD and was instantly interested. The whole “Montreal Screw Job” story is one of the biggest and most important milestones in the history of professional wrestling. On top of that, I grew up with these two. As a kid I saw Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels evolve from tag team wrestlers to solid hand mid carders to main eventers. People will say that since they didn’t “draw money” that this era was a weak period, but I say nay! NAY! They had shitty cartoon characters for awhile, but once Bret and Shawn got the top it was time to transition to the “Attitude era”. To me, I almost like the transition from “New Generations/Superstars era” to the “Attitude era” than the actual bulk of the eras themselves. It was awesome to see things evolve in front of my young and very impressionable eyes. This DVD covers their entire run of interactions. It shows montage cuts of their careers before WWF and then cuts of where they were as tag team performers. Then it shows them talking about their tag careers a little and the short lived Rockers vs. Hart Foundation rivalry. There was a mutual respect here because they were both considered “smaller wrestlers” and took pride in showing up the Hogans, Warriors, and “giants” (a term they kept using instead of “roid heads”). From there was Bret’s Intercontential Title runs and Shawn’s break up with Marty. They were still cool at this point. They would be until around the time Bret realized Shawn was his direct competition and Shawn realized that Bret’s mentality wasn’t going to allow wrestling to evolve. From there, it’s all drama. What blew my mind were the little things that set them off. The Wrestlemania “non-handshake” and what not wasn’t an issue but the timing of the famous “wheel chair super kick spot” was? Wow. From what I gather their heat was based on two things. The first was Shawn’s partying and the second was Bret’s paranoia. I can talk about this topic for hours, but I’d rather people watch and experience this for them. This IS wrestling history. You can have your Flairs, Hogans, Austins, and Rocks… this was my wrestling. Shawn Michaels was and will always be my favorite wrestling performer of all time. So I side with him on most cases. I am a forward thinking person more-so than one who will remain idle in the dust of tradition. I think this is why I had a hard time really relating to Bret’s “old school worker” mentality. I know that side of wrestling, but if you know me you’d know I take the extra steps to avoid that monotonous mentality. Bret Hart was not meant to be part of the evolution of wrestling because he’s exactly what wrestling needed to evolve away from. Michaels WAS that guy, but his back injury halted that. I got into a discussion about this recently if it wasn’t for Michaels attitude during THIS time frame there would be no “Attitude era”. Would Austin have had that “career making match” against Hart at Mania 13 if Shawn stuck around? If the “screw job” didn’t happen would Vince had ever become a bad guy? Would WCW have stuck around longer if the WWF went more of a Hart direction and didn’t evolve into the edgier content? These are all just a very few of the “hypothetical’s” that we covered. Things happen for a reason. I’m just grateful to have been able to experience it first hand as a fan. Shawn and Bret both gave their honest opinions, share responsibly, share respect, and have a deep mutual connection to each other. My only complaint about this is that Vince McMahon is nowhere to be found. I’d love his perspective on not only the “Screw Job”, but also their entire runs. I wouldn’t expect that on THIS video though. They pretty much destroy kayfabe and leave it all on the table. I’ve never seen that on a WWE production before. I almost feel like WWE shouldn’t advertise this or maybe should have put it out on a different branding. That said, I recommend this documentary production with full enthusiasm and praise. See this! See this now! A!
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