Search - Classic Superstars of Wrestling: Champions of the Squared Circle on DVD

Old School

Mr. JKW | Honolulu, Hawai'i | 10/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Champions of the Squared Circle" showcases the wrestling stars of yesterday as well as many of today's wrestling stars during their rookie years. This DVD is actually part of the 8-disc "Classic Superstars of Wrestling" DVD set which was put out by Delta Entertainment.All of the matches were pulled from the archives of the old USWA, GWF and Wild West Wrestling promotions of the late 80s/early 90s. The theme for this DVD is "Championship Matches" so each match has a title on the line in it.The video and audio quality varies throughout the tape but the overall presentation by Delta is well done as each match is preceded by an intro by show host Brian Webster.THE MATCHES and CONTENTS1. Match 1: Jerry Lynn (champ) vs. The Lightning Kid for the GWF Light Heavyweight Title. Match is joined in progress. The Kid, a rookie here, of course went on to big fame in the WWE and WCW as 123 Kid/X-pac/Syxx of N.W.O. and DX fame. Jerry Lynn, also a rookie here, went on to indy infamy as the New F'N show in ECW and the NWA:TNA. The match is short but is big on the action you'd expect. It was in fact this very feud that put both men on the map initially. 3 stars.2. Match 2: Jeff Jarrett and "Maniac" Matt Borne (w/ Frank Dusek) vs. Cactus Jack and Sheik Braddock (champs) (w/ Skandor Akbar) for the USWA Tag Team Titles: Before he was Double J in the WWF, or the Chosen One in WCW/NWA TNA, Jeff Jarrett was a babyface cruiserweight. Borne, a long-time star throughout the indys is most famous as having been the first Doink the Clown in the WWF. Jack is of course a rookie Mick Foley long before he gained fame in the WCW and ECW and mega-fame in the WWF. Awesome tag match with tons of crowd heat, great action and dramatic falls. 4 stars.3. Match 3: "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert (champ) vs. Sam Houston for the GWF TV Title. The late Eddie Gilbert was one of the most respected wrestlers of the 80s and early 90s, being a big star in the South and the NWA and a respected booker behind the scenes. Sam Houston, brother of Jake "the Snake" Roberts, was a star in the South and had a brief stint in the late 80s WWF. Gilbert pre-match promo starts things up. This was a full-heel Gilbert match with tons of heel tactics on Gilbert's part to HUGE crowd heat. Pretty dramatic match. 3.5 stars.4. Match 4: "Hollywood" John Tatum and Jack Victory (champs) vs. The Masked Men for the USWA Tag Team Titles: Tatum and Victory were big heels in the Texas and Mid-South territories. Tatum was famous for his relationship with Missy Hyatt and Victory is best known today as "King of Old School" Steve Corino's running buddy. Basic jobber squash for the champs. A Tatum and Victory music video follows the match. 2 stars.5. Match 5: Debbie Combs vs. Rockin' Robin: From the WWW. Combs is a long-time women's star. Robin is best known as the former WWF women's champ from the late 80s. 2 stars.6. Match 6: Jerry "The King" Lawler (champ) vs. Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy for the USWA Heavyweight Title: From the USWA. Before degenerating into the pre-pubescent announcer we all know him as today, Lawler was the god (or is it King?) of Memphis wrestling and true wrestling legend. The late Terry Gordy was a legend throughout the South as part of the "Fabulous Freebirds" tag team and a legend in Japan in his own right. This being Texas, Lawler was in full heel mode here taking on Gordy in a fun match with your typical Lawler heel tactic. 3 stars.7. Match 7: Jerry "The King" Lawler (champ) vs. "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant for the USWA Heavyweight Title: Match is joined in progress immediately after the Gordy one. Valiant was a star in the NWA territories in the 80s. Short clipped match showcasing more Lawler heel shenanigans. Match looked about 2 stars.THE ANALYSIS:Overall, not a bad deal here. The match quality here was a bit higher (being all championship matches) than some of the other matches in this series. Again, seeing many of our favorite stars in their primes/pre-primes is a great treat. Here's the match breakdown:Awesome: Jarret/Borne vs. Foley/Braddock
Great: Kid vs. Lynn, Lawler vs. Gordy
Good: Gilbert vs. Houston
Eh...: Tatum/Victory vs. Masked Men, Combs vs. Robin, Lawler vs. ValiantTHE VERDICT:Overall, the DVD features a nice mixed bag of matches. What makes it great is seeing today's stars during their developmental years. For it's cheap price you actually get a good deal here as the DVD was put together fairly well. The lack of DVD features is made up for in a feature package consisting of 7 matches (4 of which are pretty darn good).Not a bad deal.Recommended"