Customer Reviews

Grand Masters of Wrestling - Featuring: "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, King Kong Bundy & "The Olympian" Ken Patera

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Those of us who watched pro-wrestling in the 80's are sure to recall the names of King Kong Bundy, Jimmy Snuka, Iron Mike Sharp and Ken Patera. These men were stars of the WWF (pre-WWE that is). They wrestled in sold-out collesiums before thousands of screaming fans. Well, this DVD has none of that. It is not a WWF event in a sold-out collesium, but an indy show in a high school gym. The fans are school kids, flanked by their obviously bored parents (don't let the poorly dubbed fan noises fool you). In addition, the event took place in 1997, and the aforementioned wrestlers were, shall we say, clearly no longer in their prime. Ken Patera doesn't even wrestle. He does commentary, a role he seems to have little interest in.

Still, it wasn't that bad.

The first match features Ace Darling and "Dangerous" Devon Storm. Storm does a great pre-match interview, much too good for the amatuer commentator who interviews him. The match itself is quite energetic and fun. The second match features Iron Mike Sharp against King Kong Bundy. Sharp was always an entertaining loud mouth, and although his shape isn't what it used to be, his mic skills haven't lessened a bit. As for Bundy, well, he looks and acts pretty much as I remember from the good old days. The third match features Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka against The Metal Maniac (who looks suspiciously like a member of Demolition). Again, Snuka wasn't a young man anymore, but he was clearly giving his all to put on a good show.

I bought this DVD for a dollar at Wal-Mart, and I can honestly say I am happy with the purchase. Sure the wrestlers were well passed their prime, but they still knew how to put on a decent show. As for the production values, well, they were cheap, but at least you didn't have Vince McMahon trotting out half-naked women and midgets, like he seems compelled to now. If you remember the 80's and appreciate indy shows, take your buck to Wal-Mart and get this DVD.

This is part 1 of a 1997 independent wrestling show in Livingston, NJ. While there are no real mat classics here, this is still an entertaining wrestling show, especially for fans of the legends presented here. The commentary team of Michael Omansky and "The Olympian" Ken Patera call the action on these included match-ups:

1. "Dangerous" Devin Storm (later WCW's Krowbar) with Dawn Marie vs. Ace Darling
2. "Iron" Mike Sharpe vs. King Kong Bundy
3. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka vs. The Metal Maniac

Considering these guys are all either "Up-and-Coming" (i.e. Storm and Darling) or past their prime by several years (Snuka and Bundy), they still put on an entertaining show. The dubbed crowd noise is kind of silly because the crowd is obviously not as ecstatic as the cheers would have you believe, but it doesn't detract that much from the action. No WWE soap opera, just entertaining wrestling matches from some great, though aging, competitors. Well worth the $1 I paid at Wal-Mart.

Releated products:
Grand Masters of Wrestling - Iron Sheik, Classy Freddy Blassie, Bam Bam Bigelow, Ken Patera, the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff
DENNIS RODMAN ~ DVD ~ Rodman Downunder ~ SAME DAY SHIPPING

This video sucks! You can buy it new for one dollar at Wal-Mart stores. That's how terrible it is!