Normally a steel cage match is the main event on a pro wrestling card, the result of a long buildup between two grapplers who need a 15-foot-high structure to contain their rage in the squared circle.
That buzz is lost somewhat on the World Wrestling Entertainment’s DVD “The Greatest Cage Matches of All Time.”
You can only go to the well so many times before the gimmick loses its lustre. But it’s the classic matches from years ago that make the DVD worthwhile.
It was a different era in pro wrestling. In the 1970s and ’80s, cigarette smoke filled the arenas, tuxedo-clad ring announcers used drop-down microphones for introductions, and wrestlers were often out of shape and didn’t bother shaving their bodies.
At the time, most fans truly bought in to the action in the ring.
You could sense the electricity in the air at New York’s Madison Square Garden when Jimmy (Superfly) Snuka climbed to the top of the cage to deliver his trademark flying leap in a match against WWE champion Bob Backlund in May 1980. The energy in Reunion Arena was just as intense for Kerry Von Erich’s NWA title match against Ric (Nature Boy) Flair in Dallas on Christmas Day in 1982.
This DVD isn’t for the squeamish. With the steel mesh surrounding the perimeter of the ring, plenty of blood is spilled.
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Some matches are much worse than others. Abdullah the Butcher was a crimson mess after his bout with Bruiser Brody at the Cotton Bowl in 1986. Same goes for The Brawl in St. Paul later that year when (Playboy) Buddy Rose and (Pretty Boy) Doug Somers engaged in a bloody battle with the Midnight Rockers.
With nine hours of action on the three-disc release, there is something for everyone. “The Greatest Cage Matches of All Time” is priced at $23.99.
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MONDAY NITRO: The pro wrestling business changed dramatically in the mid-to-late 1990s when the Attitude Era ushered in a new style of mat action.
The traditional good guy versus bad guy storylines of yesteryear were replaced by edgier content. Pro wrestling became very popular again and the Monday Night television wars proved it.
World Championship Wrestling went toe to toe with the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) for years with each group’s showcase program on Monday night built to try to outdo the other.
It resulted in some of the more original matches and content in recent memory. The WWE eventually won the war and purchased the WCW in 2001.
Wrestlers like Sting, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page are featured prominently on “The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro,” a three-disc DVD release from WWE.
There are some hits and misses over the eight hours of content. The New World Order content eventually gets a bit tiresome but fans should enjoy seeing the Outsiders at the height of their popularity, the hype of Goldberg, and the rise and fall of the promotion as a whole.
“The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro” sells for $22.99.
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HOGAN BOOK: The number of pro wrestlers who have put pen to paper is too high to count. Several top names in the sports entertainment business have weighed in with a book on their life story and time in the ring.
You know it’s becoming a popular medium when ex-wives of the wrestlers get in on the fun.
Linda Hogan has released “Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes,” a memoir about her life with Hulk Hogan. She touches on her early years with the Hulkster right through to their time on the family’s reality show, “Hogan Knows Best,” and eventually their split after 24 years of marriage.
The book covers the couple’s peaks and valleys and provides some interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes buildup of Hulkamania, a phenomenon that revolutionized pro wrestling.
Naturally there’s much more relationship talk than anything else, making this 236-page effort a good choice for hardcore Hulkamaniacs who simply can’t get enough material on the Hulkster.
“Wrestling the Hulk: My Life Against the Ropes” is published by HarperCollins and has a retail price of $27.99.
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