Ok, I'll be the first to say it: The Bret DVD

[Guest rawmvp]

First, the cover art:

 

 

Horrible. Just horrible. It looks like some rap/hip-hop pose or something.

 

The cover should've been something like this:

 

 

OR

 

 

 

 

Second, let's analyze the match-listing, or better yet, Bret's judgement:

 

Hart Foundation vs. British Bulldogs (Madison Square Garden, 13/07/85) -- Not bad

 

Hart Foundation vs. Killer Bees (Madison Square Garden, 17/02/86) - Ok match, but not incredibly significant or anything

 

 

Bret Hart vs. Ricky Streamboat (Boston Garden, 08/03/86) -- About a ** 1/2 star match, if that. Bret was still growing as a wrestler, here. Any anticipation for seeing one of their very few matches will be quelled by the mediocrity of said match.

 

 

Bret Hart vs. Ted DiBiase (Odessa, TX, 08/03/89) -- Nothing special nor signficant in any shape or form.

 

 

Hart Foundation vs. Rockers (Saturday Night's Main Event, 28/04/90) -- Just a regular *** match. Featuring the phantom title change would've been the much better choice.

 

 

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Hart Foundation vs. Nasty Boys (Wrestlemania VII, 24/03/91) -- Stupid, just stupid. What is Bret smoking?

 

 

WWE Intercontinental Match

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (SummerSlam, 26/08/91) -- Good match, but Bret should've chose between this or the KOTR 93 match.

 

 

WWE Intercontinental Match

Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (SummerSlam, 29/08/92) -- Good choice.

 

 

Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (Barcelona, Spain, 24/04/93) -- What? The KOTR Finals match was better and much more historically significant.

 

 

King of the Ring Semi-Final Match

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (King of the Ring, 13/06/93) -- Good choice

 

 

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania X, 20/03/94) -- Great choice

 

 

WWE Championship Match

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (White Plains, NY, 29/09/94) - Stupid choice, and I can't believe Bret believes this is the best match he's ever had with his brother, Owen. It barely cracks ** 1/2, as it's below the standards of both men.

 

 

Bret Hart vs Hakushi (In Your House, 14/05/95) -- Good match, but forgettable in the grand scheme of Bret's illustrious career. Not to mention, their RAW match was better.

 

 

WWE Championship Match

Bret Hart vs. Diesel (Survivor Series, 19/11/95) -- Good choice

 

 

WWE Championship Match

Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog (In Your House, 17/12/95) -- Good choice, but one British Bulldog match is enough, especially when Final Four and Canadian Stampede are being left out.

 

 

Submission Match

Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (Wrestlemania 13, 23/03/97) -- Good choice, but the Surv Ser 96 match is more germane to Bret's career, since it was his first match in six months, and at MSG, no less.

 

 

WWE Championship Match

Bret Hart vs. Undertaker (One Night Only, 20/09/97) -- Bad judgement on Bret's part, IMO. Just a throwaway Bret-Taker match -- that ends in a DQ no less -- that happened to be a little over ***. Already on the Taker DVD.

 

 

Owen Hart Tribute Match

Bret Hart vs. Chris Benoit (WCW Nitro, 04/10/99) -- Fine, but it's already on Benoit's DVD.

 

So, what did Bret leave out? A TON. He basically left out the best matches of his career and moments of his career.

 

Here's a list of the matches that should've been strongly considered by Bret:

 

Hart Foundation vs. Strike Force - 1987-88

Hart Foundation vs. Steiners (WrestleFest 94)

Hart Foundation vs. Brainbusters -- SS '89 or MSG '88

Hart Foundation vs. Rockers -- Phantom Title change

Bret vs. Shawn from SurvSer 92

Final Four- Bret vs. Vader vs. Austin vs. Taker

Canadian Stampede 10-man tag

Bret vs. Shawn - 1st ever WWF Ladder match

Bret vs. Flair - 1st WWF Title win

Bret vs. Piper - WM 8

Bret vs. Patriot - Ground Zero

Bret vs. Backlund - Surv Ser 94

Bret vs. Jean Pierre Lafeyette

Bret vs. 123 Kid from RAW

Bret vs. Austin - Surv Ser 96

Bret vs. Razor - RR 93

Bret vs. Tiger Mask -- Japan (1984?)

Bret vs. Terry Funk -- Funk Dedication show from 1997

Bret vs. Savage - Saturday Night's Main Event

Bret vs. Yoko - WM 10

Bret vs. Dynamite Kid - Ladder match (Stampede Wrestling)

 

Anyway, what I thought would be a homerun DVD, especially with Bret having 110% creative control over EVERYTHING (including the cover art), I am admittably very disappointed. VERY. Most of the matches he chose are historically insignificant and confounding on many levels.

[Guest fanofcoils]

Stupid photo on the cover of that box. Bret looks fat there. I believe that is mid 80s Bret, and that isn't the Bret look that fans think of him. They should have put a normal Bret picture from the 90s on there, it really isn't that hard. I wonder how much fat Bret in a Cena pose will sell the DVD. I know ppl will still buy the DVD because it is the Bret DVD, but do they really have to make these DVDs so tier 2 in match selection? Just put nearly or all the good stuff on them. Stop giving us like 60-70% or so of what we want, it is annoying. End of my rant.

[The Dames 0]

That was the exact same thing I was thinking about the cover art.

 

Dames

[Placebo Effect 0]

There's that that is the UK artwork and it'll be something different for the US version, but since WWE distributes their own stuff, it may stick for all regions.

[Guest rawmvp]

It sticks for all regions, if the LOD, Taker, and Warrior DVD's, among others, are any indication.

[Fökai 0]

Hart Foundation vs. Rockers (Saturday Night's Main Event, 28/04/90) -- Just a regular *** match. Featuring the phantom title change, would've been the much better choice.

 

Okay, Bret has creative control over everything, but what's the historical significance of a title match that never aired, held weight or was acknowledged? There's something in Bret's shoot that either has him vetoing the match being aired, or Vince vetoing to Bret's protests. I don't know which way the story went, offhand.

 

Hart Foundation vs. Nasty Boys (Wrestlemania VII, 24/03/91) -- Stupid, just stupid. What is Bret smoking?

 

It was the last match of the original Hart Foundation. Historically significant.

 

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (SummerSlam, 26/08/91) -- Good match, but Bret should've chose between this or the KOTR 93 match.

 

First big match as a singles competitor and his first singles title. Historically significant.

 

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (White Plains, NY, 29/09/94) - Stupid choice, and I can't believe Bret believes this is the best match he's ever had with his brother, Owen. It barely cracks ** 1/2, as it's below the standards of both men.

 

If he believes it's his finest match with Owen, how do we argue it? "No Bret, I'm sorry, that wasn't your best with Owen. Choose another for the DVD, now".

 

 

So, what did Bret leave out? A TON. He basically left out the best matches of his career and moments of his career.

 

I counted four, three of which will make the main program according to the DVD description.

 

Hart Foundation vs. Strike Force - 1987-88 Historical significance?

Hart Foundation vs. Steiners (WrestleFest 94) - ...and you're complaining about non-finishes?

Hart Foundation vs. Brainbusters -- SS '89 or MSG '88 - HS?

Hart Foundation vs. Rockers -- Phantom Title change

Bret vs. Shawn from SurvSer 92 - Not really essential, but a good choice.

Final Four- Bret vs. Vader vs. Austin vs. Taker - Same here.

Canadian Stampede 10-man tag - Don't know how to feel about this one. Does Bret want to look back on this match with what has happened?

Bret vs. Shawn - 1st ever WWF Ladder match - If you go against what has been said about Shawn/Razor, sure.

Bret vs. Flair - 1st WWF Title win - It's probably on the main program. It's too hard to leave out.

Bret vs. Piper - WM 8 - Good choice.

Bret vs. Patriot - Ground Zero -No.

Bret vs. Backlund - Surv Ser 94 - Oh god no.

Bret vs. Jean Pierre Lafeyette - No

Bret vs. 123 Kid from RAW - Good choice.

Bret vs. Austin - Surv Ser 96 - Probably gets a good portion shown of it prior to airing the WM XIII match.

Bret vs. Razor - RR 93 - No

Bret vs. Savage - Saturday Night's Main Event - No. Again, HS?

Bret vs. Yoko - WM 10 - Probably on the main program. Not going to be left out.

Bret vs. Dynamite Kid - Ladder match (Stampede Wrestling)- There's a chapter or two devoted to his Stampede run.

[Guest rawmvp]

The Bret vs. Savage match is HS, because it is said to be somehow set up by Vince. Not only that, but it's the first match when Bret decides to work on an opponent's legs, as opposed to their arms.

 

The Steiners match is incredible. Over 4 stars.

 

The Nasty Boys Title win at WM 7 should've just been covered in the main program.

 

Bret vs. Backlund is one of WWF's few mat wrestling clinics, and it had the best acting by any wrestler ever (Owen).

 

The Strike Force match (es) was, I believe, the match of the year or one of 1987-88's MOTYC.

[UZI Suicide 0]

The Canadian Stampede match isn't on there? That's fucking gay.

[Guest nWoCHRISnWo]

I'm just dissapointed that the WM 8 match and SurSer 96 is left out. I really wanted those on DVD.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Meh despite all this bitching, it could have been worse. Remember that.

[Guest Ransome]

I'm just dissapointed that the WM 8 match and SurSer 96 is left out.  I really wanted those on DVD.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

WM 8 will be on DVD come November for the WM Anthology boxset, which is why I'm glad it wasn't included on the Bret DVD. After all, the people who buy the WM DVDs are most likely going to be the same type of people that buy the Bret DVD anyway, so no need to overlap except where absolutely necessary (Bret vs Owen WM X, I guess).

 

I don't like the cover art either, but they don't exactly have a good track record with good cover design. As great as the Benoit DVD was, the cover for it is just terrible, with the designers chosing a photo that makes Benoit look more like Bushwhacker Butch. The glorious cover of the Flair DVD is an exception.

 

Even though they didn't include all of Bret's important matches (only so much DVD space), I'll probably still buy the DVD. I'm sure the feature itself will be excellent.

[Guest rawmvp]

There was no fear of overlapping or any of that on this DVD, because it was all up to Bret.

[Dark Age 0]

Meh despite all this bitching, it could have been worse.  Remember that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This is the wrong attitude to have.

[Scroby 0]

Looks fine to me. If you don't like the cover art, find a good picture, print the sucker to the right size and slide it on in there. I'm not bitching about the coverart when it comes to all those matches. I'm completely fine with everything.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I was holding out hope the Harts/Strike Force MSG rematch from 11/87 would be on this.

[MikeJordan23 0]

You really care about cover art? Are you mahfuckas serious?

 

The match listing is good, could be better, I agree. But still very good. Same thing I felt about Ric Flair's DVD when I saw the match listing.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Quite frankly, I'm such a Bret Hart mark that almost anything halfway decent would be fine with me, and the fact that Bret picked these himself SHOULD mean something here

[MillenniumMan831 0]

At least the feature is nearly 3 hours long.

[cabbageboy 0]

I think you have to include both of the Bulldog matches. SS 92 is an obvious, top 5 pick for this disc. Also, the 12/95 PPV match is notable for being almost a totally different style match from Wembley, what with Bret's sick bladejob. Matches like this and the Diesel S. Series match shifted the WWF into a more mature, violent promotion.

 

The only real significance of the Strike Force match is that the Harts lost the tag titles to them. It has significance, but perhaps Bret doesn't want to recall losing the belts.

[pochorenella 0]

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (White Plains, NY, 29/09/94) - Stupid choice, and I can't believe Bret believes this is the best match he's ever had with his brother, Owen. It barely cracks ** 1/2, as it's below the standards of both men.

 

If he believes it's his finest match with Owen, how do we argue it? "No Bret, I'm sorry, that wasn't your best with Owen. Choose another for the DVD, now".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

How do we argue it? We're fucking experts at that! Bret has stated a few times that his IronMan match with Shawn at ManiaXII is one of his best EVER (if not THE best) of his career. The smarks response: "Bret's out of his mind", "it barely registered at ***", "worst IronMan ever", "I want what Bret's smoking".

 

As I said in the other thread, I'm getting this DVD no matter what, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed in the match selection, specially considering Bret had 100% say on what went into the set. I still maintain that he should've done a poll on his webpage so he could have a better grasp of what HIS FANS wanted instead of just putting what HE wanted.

[slabinskia 0]

Will there ever be a wwe released dvd that people don't complain about ?

 

I like the matchlistings for the most part.There are only 3 matches left out that I really wanted on there.

 

vs FLAIR (most likely shown in the feature)

vs KID (wishful thinking,great match with no importance)

vs AUUSTIN SS (possibly covered in the feature)

 

Those were 3 great matches but its not like we are getting a bunch of bad matches.Other than the tag match vs nastys everything is good.Btw,am I the only one who thinks the bret-taker match is great and is a nice addition ?

[Perfxion 0]

Bret has a match listings that is great. He has enough matches in his career that were great and to the point that they can make another 2 or 3 disc set.

 

Same with Ric Flair, who will have some of his great 80s match covered in the Horsemen DVD that is going to be coming out soon(I hope).

[AndrewTS 0]

MSRP on this?

 

And any chance of a FYE bonus disc?

[pochorenella 0]

There's talk of an extra disc if you pre-order from FYE, but I think we must confirm this.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

The main problem w/ the list is that most of his die-hard fans already have 75-100% of these matches. The only 2 I don't have out of these is the One Night Only match (which many others have) and the Action Zone match vs. Owen.

[slabinskia 0]

What would really be cool is if there is a hidden easteregg of the bret/flair ironman match from 1/9/93.Who am I kidding ?That would NEVER happen.

[Guest Brian]

Meh despite all this bitching, it could have been worse.  Remember that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

This is the wrong attitude to have.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Are you kidding? They were going to title the DVD "Screwed". It could have been a hell of a lot worse.

[Downhome 0]

MSRP on this?

 

And any chance of a FYE bonus disc?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It's $18.88 at DDD:

 

http://search.deepdiscountdvd.com/click?p=...and&isort=score

 

And did you guys even know they were releasing a UMD of this (which is $13.88 at DDD)? I had no idea about this until I just went over to DDD to check on the price for the DVD, and this came up as well when I searched:

 

http://search.deepdiscountdvd.com/click?p=...and&isort=score

[Jebus 0]

It looks good to me...

 

As for what I'd change, I'd have included Bret vs. 123 Kid and Canadian Stampede somehow and replaced the Hakushi match with the RAW one.

 

I won't complain about the WrestleMania repeats cause if Bret does commentary on him vs. Owen (WM10) and vs. Austin (WM13), it's worth the space its taking up.

 

I'm glad One Night Only is on there cause I ain't buying the Taker DVD and Bret obviously enjoyed working with him and, if one match with Taker had to be included, thank God it's this one.

[pochorenella 0]

Does anyone know if there's alternate commentary by Bret on any of the matches?