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About the Flair DVD having so many omissions, I can't help but feel that there will be a second Ultimate Flair set, just based on the success of the first. A second one could feature feuds with Sting (Clash 1 on DVD!), Luger, Savage (it would be awesome to have a DVD quality copy of the Flair victory vs. Savage for his second WWF title), and possibly Hogan. There's definitely tons more stuff that could go on a second set, so I'd bet we'll see one in the near future.

19 is an underrated show, for sure. It may be the last "big stadium" WrestleMania we see for quite a while, at least until business starts to improve. I'm not sure they could fill up a stadium that size for a show with the current product.

I'm a completist, so I've got all the WWE(F) DVD's except for the Diva stuff (and I may even collect those over time) . . . but, if I had to list 5 of the WWE DVD's that would be essential to a collection, it would be: Wrestlemania XX The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection Bloodbath: Wrestling's Greatest Steel Cage Matches SummerSlam 2002 (to this day, I feel it's the best SummerSlam ever, at least work-rate wise) The Rise and Fall of ECW I think these all epitomize what a WWE DVD has been all about over the last couple of years, both from a "feature/documentary" perspective, and from a "great PPV/great workrate" angle. But honestly, if I sat here and thought for another half-hour, I could come up with valid arguments for at least ten more DVD's to be essentials. You can complain all you want about the current TV product, but the DVD crew has been hot, producing some top-notch stuff, and there's so much more left to come, I hope.

I picked it up today at Wal-Mart - $17.87. Best Buy had it for $23.99, which was actually MORE expensive than FYE at $21.99 minus a $5.00 rebate which 50% of the time gets lost in the mail anyway. Around here, Best Buy is usually cheaper than FYE by a long shot, but more expensive than Wal-Mart. I can usually pick up the monthly PPV at Wal-Mart for around $14. Anyway, haven't watched the main feature yet, but I've flipped through many of the extras, and it's all gold. Lovin' it so far . . .

Is it possible that Christian may win the WWE title sometime in the next three weeks, then gets traded or drafted to SmackDown? Vengeance also occurs before the final draft picks happen, I think, so it's entirely possible that, for example, the World Heavyweight Champ will be moved to SmackDown AFTER the Hell in a Cell. Having two championship matches on a RAW PPV may be their way of trying to spike a buyrate for a throwaway show. I could definitely see a double main event of Cena/Christian and the HIAC, then one of those champs moving back to SmackDown in plenty of time for the Great American Bash. You know they're not going to leave both World champs on the same show, plus there's almost 7 weeks left before the next SmackDown PPV, plenty of time to get a champ back to that show. I'm sure we'll have an answer in the next couple of weeks, let's just hope it makes for some entertaining TV.

Well, after visiting our a local Wal-Mart in Bristol, TN, I can tell you that they had the Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80's DVD set. I'm watching it as we speak, and it's been a pretty solid DVD set so far.

That's so sad, isn't it? I'm sure there are tons of wrestling fans who will get confused when the initials WWF are used on a wrestling broadcast, though, considering you really can't tell them apart The whole settlement is such a bunch of crap on both sides of the fence, I really wish Vince could find a way to settle this so we don't have to have a blur-fest on every DVD release with Attitude matches on it . . .

They're usually right on track. Therefore, I'm extremely disappointed with the Undertaker set, I was at least hoping for a couple of "Mean Mark" matches from WCW, but all we're getting is PPV match retreads. I guess, though, with a title like "History of the Undertaker" that we're not going to get anything pre-Undertaker. Silly me.

I think Christian may be an obvious jump, and I think JBL may come over to RAW as I can't see much else for him to do on SmackDown . . . . other than that, it'll be lower-to-mid card guys making switches, and probably not much to be excited about - simply a ratings ploy with a sub-par result, like we're accustomed to getting from WWE these days.

Yeah, I just don't get it - our Wal-Marts (we've got 5 in a 40 mile radius) always carried the WWE DVD's, without fail for the last year +. Starting with WrestleMania 21, the price tag is up below the shelf on the DVD display, but there are no DVD's at ANY of the 5 stores. And the same thing has happened with Backlash '05. Price tag, and they've even got Cena's CD in a sub-shelf thingie below where the Backlash DVD's are supposed to be, but no DVD's at any of the stores. It's just kinda strange, and when you ask someone in electronics if they know anything about it, they're pretty much clueless. I can't imagine someone is coming through and buying every one of them, but why bother putting up the price tag and leaving an empty space for a DVD you're not carrying. Rather odd.

I don't know how to react to this news . . . Traditionally, in the TV world, Friday night is the "deathnail" in the proverbial coffin. From that standpoint, it would appear odd, because I'm quite sure WWE is their #1 show at this point, and nothing they've had, short of "America's Next Top Model" or possibly "Star Trek", has even come close to getting the ratings that WWE has for them. It would be like CBS deciding that a ratings mainstay like "Two and a Half Men" would do much better on Friday night at 9:30 or some shit like that. I'm kinda baffled by this - except for the fact that UPN has been touted as becoming a more female-oriented station, it makes no programming sense. It's probably the only way that UPN hasn't gotten their asses kicked even worse on Thursday night, and NONE of what they're proposing for replacing it probably has any chance in hell of doing better ratings. On the flip side, I daresay that 90% of the Smackdown TV audience are die-hards who will either a) tape the show, or b) be home on Friday night to watch it anyway. They may lose a couple tenths of a point overall, but I don't see it being a huge ratings disaster. I think it's just UPN's way of telling WWE "Thanks guys, but don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." The die-hards will follow, as I'm sure the total TV wrestling audience at this point has very few "casual fans." It won't surprise me a bit to see Smackdown end up on USA in '06. I'd say that's where they're headed, but I'm not sure if WWE will want to keep the shows on different networks in order to draw fans who may not get one or the other.

I usually wouldn't plug WWEShop.com, but I was browsing over there a minute or two ago, and they've got the WrestleMania XX DVD and Program on sale for 14.98. That's pretty damned cheap, especially if you tack in on to some other stuff to save on shipping . . . . Here's the link: WM XX DVD and Program Package . . . Just thought some of you may be interested if you haven't already got it.

Hey Guys and Gals, It's not like me to come on here and "plug" something, but I feel like a good cause, and a good night of wrestling, should be celebrated and promoted . . . . With that in mind, I just wanted to give a quick "plug" for the Mark Curtis (Brian Hildebrand) Memorial Show happening this Saturday night, May 7th, at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, TN - belltime of 7:30. Anyone who lives in the area or is going to be around here on Sat. night should come out and see what should be an outstanding show. All proceeds from the ticket sales are being donated to the Children's Miracle Network in Brian's memory. They've got a great lineup of guys scheduled for the show, including Mick Foley, Shane Douglas, Al Snow, Terry Taylor, Dr. Tom Pritchard, Tracy Smothers, Tim Horner, D-Lo Brown, plus many of the local indy stars, and many more of Brian's past Smoky Mountain Wrestling colleagues. It should be a blast! I've been assisting with flyers and such for the show, and I just wanted to let everyone know about it if they haven't already heard. So far as I know, a DVD of the event will be available to purchase in the very near future - I'll try to keep the board up-to-date on that as well. You can check out more info at www.brianhildebrand.com Thanks everyone!

Because they're in PAL format, and I'd need to buy a new DVD player to play PAL discs. I've looked online for a "hack" to make my DVD player region-free, but one doesn't exist. Point being, why in the hell does Vince deem it necessary to give fans in the UK these "Tagged Classics", but they won't get released in America? Seems odd to me . . . .

I believe they did offer several of the older stars a fairly good "up front" check for royalties on any upcoming projects. Plus, Jesse's commentary only has to be edited from WCW matches, or any WWF matches that have never been released on home video in the past. They came to a mutual agreement sometime in the last couple of years that has made the WWF stuff "OK" (don't know why they couldn't agree on WCW stuff). The only editing I can see for WM's 1-13 would be any spoken references of the initials "WWF", which are honestly few and far between. It was almost always spoken out as World Wrestling Federation by announcers and wrestlers alike. WM 14 was the rather humble beginning of the new WWF scratch logo, and WM's 15-21 are already on DVD, so they wouldn't need to be re-released. They've got to know there is a demand for this stuff on DVD, so I'm sure it'll happen sometime . . . won't it? Please?

I have to disagree. With WMIII, you've got fairly good workrate in the opening Can-Am vs. Orton/Muraco, the 6-man with the Hart Foundation/Bulldogs, and unbelievable workrate in one of the greatest IC title matches EVER in Savage/Steamboat. Plus the "historical significance" of the famed "93,173", and an epic WM main event in Hogan/Andre (the match sucked, but it's hard to deny the aura around it), and thus, WMIII is an essential view for any fan. When someone speaks of WrestleMania's legacy to wrestling as a whole, it can't be denied that WMIII was a mega-milestone in the business. It's a blueprint of what the "WrestleMania hype" is all about.

Me too . . . do you think we'll EVER be that lucky? I'd even settle for it if they'd release the old WM's one or two at a time, a la the "Tagged Classics" from the UK.

Hey guys and gals, I just visited highspots.com, and they've got a 2-Disc Set listed, for release on May 10th, entitled The Undertaker's Cemetery. I assume this is a WWE release, but have heard nothing, nor do any other site(s) list this set. Has anyone heard anything about it? If it's got some WCW/early WWF stuff, or some 2000/01 Attitude stuff (yes, I know it'll be blurred), then it would be a pretty good deal. Otherwise, it would probably suck the meat missile with great fervor. Any news or thoughts??

Now THAT I could probably agree with - Souled Out '98 was a great example of a WCW PPV that hit on all cylinders. Only two or three matches on that show were "bleh", the rest were outstanding and the crew brought the workrate in spades for that one. I don't see much historical significance with that one, but I definitely can see it as a top-notch show workrate-wise.

I'll agree that SummerSlam '98 would probably have been a better pick than '00, both from a historical perspective and for being a more solid, well-worked-and-booked card overall. But WrestleMania 1 and Souled Out '97 being better, and more deserving, than SS '00 and WrestleWar '91? I beg to differ. WrestleMania 1, while uber-historic for multiple reasons, was a completely wretched card with a bunch of matches that were borderline-horrible (why did we have to get Valentine/JYD instead of the Valentine/Santana match that made more sense and would've been about 8 1/2 times better?) And as much as I love the energy surrounding the Piper/Orndorff vs. Hogan/T main event, it was nowhere near good. WrestleMania 1 is probably among the five worst WM's ever, so how on Earth can it be one of the top-ten PPV's ever? WM1 has always gotten a "bye" from being slaughtered by the die-hard wrestling community simply for it's historical significance, but that's it. If such a show was presented today, it would be raped by even the most lenient fans on this board. WrestleMania III did much, much more to shape our image of what WrestleMania should be than 1 ever did. Souled Out '97 was wretched, a waste of money, and three hours of my life I'll never get back. It's only historic significance was being the first "completely nWo" PPV, but aside from the Guerrero/Syxx ladder match, that show was bad. Really bad. And speaking of the ladder match from SO '97 - it was by far the match of the night, but as ladder matches go, it's an afterthought to at least a dozen better ones, and it's hard not to stand out on a supercard that has such blockbusters as Jarrett vs. Michael Walstreet and Scotty Riggs vs. Buff Bagwell. Aside from some historical value, I have no idea how you could ever call Souled Out '97 any better than ANY of the shows on the top-ten list we're debating. In comparison, WrestleWar '91 had an outstanding WarGames (definitely one of the ten best WCW matches from the first half of the '90's), plus the Luger/Spivey match which defied all logic as one of both men's best efforts EVER. I'm not quite sure about it being a top-ten PPV overall, but definitely a top-ten WCW PPV. If you can find a copy and fast-forward to the final hour-and-a-half or so of it, you should enjoy it immensely. And SummerSlam '00 had three excellent matches (the main event 3-way, the TLC match, and Jericho/Benoit 2-of-3 falls.). The rest of the card wasn't that good, and didn't carry the booking aura of '98 or '02, but it was still a fairly solid show that deserves good praise. And, undoubtedly, more enjoyable to watch than either WM1 or Souled Out '97. I don't know that I would've included SummerSlam '00 or WrestleWar '91 on the list, but saying that WrestleMania 1 or Souled Out '97 needed to be on the list ahead of those two shows is, as Carlito would say, "not cool." I'll give those two shows the "historical significance" card, but that's it. To me, the "top-ten PPV's" should provide both outstanding workrate, PLUS memorable moments that helped define the industry. Neither WM1 or SO '97 did that.

I agree completely, but sadly enough, a lot of his matches fell in that '99 to '02 window of WWF "Attitude" - henceforth, the blurring and stuff would have to be done to make his matches ready for DVD. I feel like they will do it, but I guess it just takes a little time to make sure everything is ready. There's plenty of matches from '02 'til now that could be put on for an awesome set; but, it seems a shame to do a career retrospective and not be able to put his debut match, first WWF title, the three-way from WM16, and so forth. One thing I wondered, did NBC carry the '96 Atlanta Olympics? If so, and with WWE's new-found deal with them, I wonder how hard it would be to get the complete gold-medal match/ceremony to put on an Angle career retrospective DVD set? I personally think that would rock, but I would imagine the Olympics would frown on such a thing being put on a Pro Wrestling DVD. And BTW, I had no idea that starting this topic would lead to all the fighting it has in here!! Sorry guys, I'll try to make my topics more tame and agreeable.

^^^ "Now that...that's cool!" Orlando's heel, Carlito's heel. I got no problem putting the belt back on Carlito, but I think it'd be better if he wins it off an established worker like Booker T. Have Book enter into a short program with Jordan, then move into a Booker / Carlito program with Booker transitioning the title onto CCC. Fuck that. Carlito vs Cena for the WWE title! Now that's cool! ... I'm quickly jumping on the Carlito bandwagon. I wasn't too fond of him at first, when he won the US belt in his first "official" match, but he's really grown on me in the last couple of months . . and with a little more ring-work and a steady push, I could see a legit run at the WWE title in his future by year's end.

What'll be interesting to see is how they interweave the ECW PPV into WWE programming. Will it be "Oh, and by the way, we're having an ECW reunion show with such-and-such lineup . . . " or will they actually work this into the storylines on both RAW and SmackDown in order to make this a "must see" PPV? Will ECW guys just start randomly showing up on the two shows? Should be some interesting TV during much of May and June . . . or maybe not :-) EDIT: Sorry guys, don't know why this posted twice . . . if an Admin can remove it, I would be greatly indebted LOL

What'll be interesting to see is how they interweave the ECW PPV into WWE programming. Will it be "Oh, and by the way, we're having an ECW reunion show with such-and-such lineup . . . " or will they actually work this into the storylines on both RAW and SmackDown in order to make this a "must see" PPV? Will ECW guys just start randomly showing up on the two shows? Should be some interesting TV during much of May and June . . . or maybe not :-)

Here's hoping that one or more of the War Games matches are released on a Four Horsemen 2 or 3-disc set in the forseeable future. I can at least hope, can't I?