Search - Ultimate Warfare, Wrestling Superstars on DVD

You get what you pay for

Mark White | Christchurch New Zealand (CZW) | 10/22/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Its does sound good, 3 DVDs for the price of 1, but they are only 50 minutes long each, and none of them have a really good match on them, there all barely above average. But I suppose this is understandable as they were rookies and all. Get it if you really really like the specified wrestlers (Foley, jarrett and Austin) otherwise I wouldn't bother."

Today?s Stars Waaaaaaay Back Yesterday

Mr. JKW | Honolulu, Hawai'i | 04/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD 3-pack features 3 of today's biggest names in wrestling, Steve Austin, Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett, back in there rookie days (late 80s/early 90s) in the legendary old WCCW/USWA territory that operated out of Dallas, Texas and Memphis, Tennessee. With decent action and a cheap price, these DVDs should be of particular interest to tape collectors, fans of the three men or wrestling nostalgists.Here's a rundown of the contents of each DVD:Disc 1: Cactus Jack - No Holds BarredBefore he was a Hardcore Legend, best-selling author, or heavyweight champion of the world, Mick Foley was a hot rookie named Cactus Jack traveling the country trying to make a name. One of his earliest stops was in the WCCW/USWA. This DVD chronicles 5 of his matches during his stay there.THE MATCHES1. Cactus Jack vs. Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy: Brutal slugfest between two of the best brawler/wrestlers in the business. 5 minutes. 3 stars.2. Cactus promo. Short, but a great highlight showing Foley's legendary mic skills at an early stage in his career.3. Foley (champ) w/ General Skandor Akbar vs. Eric Embry for the Light Heavyweight Title: HOT crowd for this match. Foley basically beat the tar out of Embry. Pretty brutal. 10 minutes. 3 stars.4. Foley w/ Akbar vs. Mike Hernandez: Jobber squash for Foley but the crowd was HOT for this as well. Post-Match run-ins by Embry, Young and Brickhouse Brown. 5 minutes. DUD match but 5 stars for the run-ins.5. Foley and Gary Young vs. Jeff Jarrett and "Gentleman" Chris Adams: Best match on the DVD with a great combination of mat wrestling and high-flying action. Hot crowd. 10 minutes. 4 stars. 6. Foley w/Akbar vs. Jimmy Jack Funk: In this storyline Funk, a proud Texan, was defending Texas pride against anti-American/anti-Texan Akbar. Great back and forth slugfests by two brawlers. Again, the crowd was HOT for this match. 15 minutes. 4 stars. Disc 2: Jeff Jarrett - In Your FaceBefore he achieving worldwide fame in the WWF as "Double J," or making his mark in history as World Heavyweight champion as "The Chosen One," Jeff Jarrett began his career as a hot rookie cruiserweight in the legendary WCCW/USWA. This DVD chronicles 5 of his matches out of his rookie years in the USWA.THE MATCHES1. Jarrett vs. the Botswana Beat (w/ Akbar): The match itself was not much. Tons of stalling, few spots. However, the crowd was hot. 4 minutes. Post-match run-ins by Cactus Jack and Gary Young. 2 stars2. Jarrett vs. Ronnie P. Gossett: Not much of a match, but the fans loved seeing "Porky" get his. Post-match run-ins by his stable of "The Dirty White Boys" (Tony Anthony and Tom Burton). 5 minutes. 1 ¾ stars.3. Jarrett vs. Jeff Gaylord (w/ Akbar): Decent match. 5 minutes. 3 stars.4. Jarrett vs. Billy Joe Travis in the Guitar on the Pole Match: Jerry Lawler was on commentary. GREAT action that sprawled across the ring and ringside area. Post-match antics saw Lawler and Kerry Von Erich get involved. 5 minutes. 4 stars.5. Jeff Jarrett tribute video set to Tina Turner's "Simply The Best."6. Jerry "The King" Lawler tribute video7. Jerry "The King" Lawler (champ) w/ Ronnie P. Gossett vs. Jeff Jarrett for the USWA Heavyweight Championship: Not a scientific classic, but a great study in heel psychology with Lawler resorting to every under-handed trick known to man. 10 minutes. 3 ¾ stars. Disc 3: Steve Austin: Master of MayhemLong before he revolutionized the world of Sports Entertainment as the middle-finger sticking, beer guzzling, "What" yelling, Rattlesnake of the WWF, Steve Williams was "Stunning" Steve Austin, a hot rookie in the legendary WCCW/USWA where he trained and broke into wrestling as a student of Chris Adams. This DVD chronicles 5 of his matches out of his rookie year in the USWA.THE MATCHES1. Eric Embry and Steve Austin w/ Tojo Yamamoto vs. Gary Young and "Superstar" Bill Dundee: Good old-school tag match. Dr. Tom Pritchard, currently a WWF official, was doing color commentary for this match. Among his quotes (paraphrased), "I'm very impressed with this rookie Austin. He'll be big one day." I don't think even Pritchard had any idea... 12 minutes. 3 ½ stars.2. Austin w/ Jeanie Clark vs. "Big" Al Clinton: Clark was Austin's wife/valet at the time. Jobber squash for Austin. Austin delivers a "Superfly" splash for the finish??? 4 minutes. 2 stars.3. Jeff Gaylord, Sheik Braddock and Austin w/ Akbar vs. "Gentleman" Chris Adams, "Maniac" Matt Borne and Eric Embry: Solid match, tons of nice spots and great action. Hot crowd. 12 minutes. 3 stars.4. Austin w/ Jeanie vs. Jimmy James: Another jobber squash for Austin. 3 minutes. 2 stars.5. Austin and Percy Pringle III vs. Chris Von Erich and Chris Adams: Tons of comedy spots with Von Erich and Pringle. All in all, not a great match, but very fun and entertaining. 10 minutes. 3 ½ stars.THE DVD ExtrasThe extras on these DVDs are laughable. Included on each DVD is:1. A slide show of stills from various matches in this series.2. A trivia quiz on the matches featured on the DVD.They're all right for a look but otherwise are throwaways...THE VERDICT:Overall, at the cover price this DVD collection is actually quite the bargain. The matches and extras are a little sparse, but this is golden for wrestling nostalgists. The matches themselves, while not overly great, aren't that bad. The tag matches on these volumes in particular are quite entertaining.This is definitely a rental if you are looking strictly for the action. The action is passable but not a must-see. The true value in this is for collectors, particularly Austin/Foley/Jarrett fans or USWA (Embry, Adams, etc) fans. It's a great look at the genesis of the careers of some of Sports Entertainment's most influential stars.Recommended."