Customer Reviews

WWE: New World Order (nWo) - Back in Black

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

N W O: Back in Black chronicles the rise and fall of the New World Order in WCW in the late 90s and its recent resurgence in the WWF in 2002. The 83 minute feature covers the beginnings of the group very well but is incomplete as glosses over A LOT of ground in between.

THE FEATURE:

The actual feature covers the following:

1. A rundown of the WWF careers of Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon and Big Daddy Cool Diesel.

2. The origins of the Monday Night Wars and the first appearances of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash on WCW Monday Nitro.

3. The formation of the N W O at the Bash at the Beach 1996.

4. The N W Os running roughshod over the WCW roster during the Summer and Fall of 1996 including the parking lot attacks, in-ring attack on the Horsemen and Dungeon of Doom and the Giants joining the N W O.

5. From there the feature TOTALLY glosses over the rest of the N W O storyline alluding to the tons of members that later joined and completely ignoring the rest of the angle. It also quickly glosses over what the WWF did during this time.

6. The feature picks up in the present with Ric Flair joining the WWF in November, 2001 and talks about how the Flair vs. McMahon feud led to McMahon brining back the N W O at Februarys No Way Out PPV. The rest of the feature talks about the N W Os short-lived WWF career up to Wrestlemania X-8.

THE DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:

Once again, the WWE is putting that WCW video library to great use with some GREAT extra matches on here. Here are the DVD extras:

1. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash vs. Randy Macho Man Savage, Sting and Lex Luger from Bash at the Beach 1996: The landmark match and promo that started it all Hogan turns heel and joins the Outsiders to form the New World Organization. 16 minutes. 4 stars.

2. Hall, Nash, Hogan and N W O Sting vs. Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger and Sting from War Games 1996: The match that started the whole Crow Sting angle. 20 minutes. 4 stars.

3. Kevin Nash vs. Bill Goldberg from Starrcade 98: Landmark match as Nash buries Goldberg, killing his heat and winning streak. 15 minutes. 3 ¾ stars

4. Hogan, Hall and Nash vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock from Raw, 3/11/02. Decent Raw Main Event. 9 minutes. 2 stars.

5. Two WWE video promos, one for the N W O, one promoting the No Way Out 2002 Pay Per View.

6. 4 hidden promos including one of the original N W O propaganda promos from 96.

THE CRITICISM:

While the feature is okay, the one limiting thing about it (and this applies to just about ALL WWF/E DVDs) is the hour time limit. There is just SOOOO much more that they can include on this but didnt. The beginning of the feature was just awesome with the chronicling of the 3 mens WWF careers and the origins of the N W O. Everything afterward is ALRIGHT but not that great. I REALLY did not like how they just skipped over everything else that happened in between. To me, this chronicling of the N W O storyline is incomplete for it. They fail to discuss the N W O feuds with Sting, Luger, the Horsemen, Piper and DDP and the split of N W O. Sure as the angle dragged on it sucked, but this revisionist history of the angle is just bad. Some of the other things they could have included:

1. More bonus matches. They could have included more WCW matches including the War Games where the N W O killed the Horsemen. What about the Starrcade 97 match between Hogan and Sting which was the big payoff (though how underwhelming it was) to the N W O angle? What about the celebrity matches with Rodman or Jay Leno? Sure they werent great matches, but they did big business.

2. More WCW footage, less WWF footage. The bonus promos were almost all WWF produced. The N W O was a WCW ANGLE. The focus should have been on the WCW side. More of the WCW promos should have been included including those t-shirt commercials.

THE VERDICT:

Well, the first half of the feature ruled; the second half did not. The included bonus matches were a great extra although that Rock/Austin match didnt really belong, imho.

Overall, the video, while disappointing, is good for historical value as it is an OKAY recap of one of the biggest money making angles in wrestling history. For that reason this is recommended although the product itself could have been WAY better.

Somewhat Recommended

The formation of the nWo in July 1996 changed professional wrestling forever. This DVD does a good job covering the history of the New world order from May 1996 through September 1996...and then it skips directly to the WWE version in 2002, which was just Vince McMahons lame "re-birth", intended to sell T-shirts and this disappointing DVD.

The three plus years that this DVD skips contains the real story of the nWo. From the groups rise to power and glory days from July 1996 to December 1997, to the 1998 nWo split into the wolfpac and nWo Hollywood, to the infamous "finger poke of doom" and the 1999 Wolfpac...to the short lived nWo 2000, which ended the factions run in the old WCW. Some of the highlights of that era was the Sting storyline, Roddy Pipers return to battle the nWo, the nWo Souled out PPV from 1997, Curt Hennig turning against the 4 Horseman & the controversial 4 horseman parody, the nWo nitro from late 97, Starrcade 97, the nWo split, and Bret Harts short leadership of nWo 2000.

However, nWo fans should take a look at this DVD for the early coverage, and the Bash at the beach 1996 & War Games 1996 match. The WWE version was pitiful in the eyes of real nWo fans out there...maybe someday the true story of the new World order will be told.

THIS IS A SHOOT STYLE BIOGRAPHY INTO ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESFUL ANGLES IN MODERN WRESTLING HISTORY.. THIS DVD GOES INSIDE THE MONDAY NIGHT WARS AND EVEN SHOWS RARE FOOTAGE FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN THAT HAS BEEN KEPT AWAY SINCE 1996..

THE 1ST 90 MINUTES IS THE BIOGRAPHY IN THE NWO, HOGAN, HALL & NASH AND MOSTLY WCW FOOTAGE.. TOWARDS THE END IT SHOWS THERE RETURN TO THE WWE..

THE BONUS 90 MINUTES IS FILLED WITH 4 BONUS MATCHES AND 2 PROMO ADS FOR WWE NO WAY OUT.. HERE ARE THE BOUTS

1. BASH AT THE BEACH 1996-SCOTT HALL & KEVIN NASH V. STING, RANDY SAVAGE & LEX LUGER-WCW

2. FALL BRAWL 1996-WARGAMES-SCOTT HALL, KEVIN NASH, HULK HOGAN,THE NWO STING V. ARN ANDERSON, LEX LUGER, RIC FLAIR & STING-WCW

3. STARRCADE 1998-KEVIN NASH V. GOLDBERG-WCW

4. RAW 2002-HULK HOGAN, KEVIN NASH & SCOTT HALL V. THE ROCK & STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN-WWE

OVERALL A GREAT LOOK BACK AT THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF WCW V.WWE..
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT HAS CREATED ANOTHER GREAT DVD

I HOPE THIS WILL HELP YOUR DECISION ON TO PURCHASE THIS DVD

I love the story of the NWO. It was nice to see the old WCW days with the NWO and the WCW storyline. The WWE is good at putting the DVD together with all the music and highlighted matches. The problem was that there wasn't enough WCW NWO and too much WWE NWO. I hated the WWE's version as they killed the whole mystique of the NWO when they were running away from Stone Cold etc. They really should have made them "KINGS" and brought them back NOT as Vince McMahon's goons but against the whole WWE or WWF at the time. That's what made it so great in the past. They came in as outsiders and not as thugs from someone else. Still, it was great to see them but they could have done a better job. The DVD has some good matches from the past and did bring me back so I did enjoy the DVD in that sense. I'm a big wrestling fan and always like Hogan so the story is good to see what they Hogan was thinking in the back and worrying about the fans reactions.

Here's the Rundown of The DVD Contents.

MENU
Hulk Hogan History
Razor Ramon History
Diesel History
Scott Hall On WCW Nitro 5.27.96
Kevin Nash On WCW Nitro 6.10.96
Bash At The Beach 7.7.96
Hog Wild 8.10.96 Hogan Vs The Giant
Spray Paint Truck
The Giant Joins the NWO
Nwo Attacks Ric Flair
Bigger Is Better?
Ric Flairs Back
Injecting Poison
Poisons the Federation
Nwo Destroys the Rock
Nwo Wreaks Havoc
WMX8 Hall vs Stone Cold
WMX8 Hogan Vs The Rock
Nwo:The Future?

Extras -4 Full Matches
Bash At The Beach 7.7.96
Fall Brawl :War Games 9.15.96
Starrcade 12.27.98
Raw 3.11.02

Running Time 3hrs.

Overall an Excellent WWE DVD.

New World Order fans, beware! This DVD may not be for you. Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash are featured on the cover for a very important reason, as the DVD focuses on their history as a trio. It begins in the early days (prior to uniting) to joining forces in WCW, and it flows through WrestleMania X8; however, it skips from late-1996 to November 2001 in an awkward heartbeat. If you were looking for a true NWO chronicle, then check out "NWO 4 Life" which covers from June 1996 through January 1999 (Warner-Bros.).

The bonus matches are very lengthy and they don't end when the match is over. Most of them were the last match of their respective programs, and the extra usually carries through the end of the program on which they occurred.

For those fans that have purchased the DVD, then do not miss the four Easter Eggs. They are found in the "Breakdown" sections, by pushing the >> button on the menu options (next, back, resume) on each of the pages in that section. Also, check out Kevin Nash's impressive one-handed catch of a soda being thrown at him at the 01:49:44-mark of the program itself. Now, that moment was classic "Big Daddy Cool!"

I was very pleased to see that the WWE has been making good use of it's newly acquired WCW library of footage and including matches from their superstars days in the other federations. For example, on the DVD "Stone Cold Steve Austin - What?" (which now may be a collectors item as he has apparently left the company) there is a match between Stunning Steve and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat which Austin said was his favorite match ever. Now we get to see that match instead of just taking his word for it. I can only hope that when "Triple H - The Game" is released that we will get to see his brief days in WCW included as a bonus as well. The same goes for Rob Van Dam whenever he gets a retrosepctive DVD - the WWE dare not put one out without having a bunch of ECW matches as bonuses.

With this nWo DVD, you can't discuss them without addressing their time in WCW b/c that's where this whole thing started. The DVD does an excellent job of setting up Nash, Hall, and Hogan's departures from the WWF/E and how the nWo ball got rolling in WCW. Included are Hall's first appearance on Nitro as well as Nash. On the bonus side, many of the major nWo/WCW matches are included, especially Bash at the Beach where Hogan officially joins the group. The DVD chronicles the remaining run of the nWo, their arrival in the WWE, and concludes with X-pac returning to the fold after Hogan's forced departure at the end of WrestleMania X8.

Where I was disappointed in this DVD is that it basically is just a look at Hall, Nash, and Hogan but not really a full-on look at the nWo itself. Where are the infamous battles with Sting and DDP? ...the climactic split of the nWo into the White (led by Hogan) and Red (the Wolfpac led by Nash) factions? ...the shocking reformation of the group after the infamous Nash vs. Hogan "finger felt round the world" match? These are all HUGE events in the life of the nWo, yet all are glossed over in this retrospective look at the group. WWE now owns all of this footage so why not put it to good use and include it? There is a passing mention of the nWo losing it's steam as it grew in numbers, but that's all that's ever eluded to concerning any other members besides the original three (although there is a small bit on the Giant/Big Show joining the group).

Now that Shawn Michaels has returned to WWE television by joining the nWo (Nash and Michaels back together - all that's missing is Triple H and Hall and we have the original Kliq back in one federation), I truly hope that their storylines will be turned in a more interesting direction and that they become the dominant force that they once were. With the current lackluster creative storylines causing top talent to leave and the WWE themselves admitting that they are losing touch with the fans, I genuinely hope they turn things around - and the new nWo might just be the first step.

If that is the case, then I genuinely hope for a follow-up nWo DVD from WWE that would cover everything mentioned in previous paragraphs as well as the new direction that the group is taking. Overall, this is a solid DVD and well worth the purchase for any nWo fan as well as anyone longing for the old days of when this renegade group dominated the world of sports entertainment and, regardless of which company you were a fan of, you'd always tune in to see what they'd do next.

I was pretty satisfied with this DVD for the most part. However, for a DVD that was supposed to chronicle the history of the nWo, it kinda came up short in the "history" department. The very beginnings of the group were covered in great detail, however, the coverage of the WCW "era" of the nWo ended after The Giant joined up with the group in 1996. What about the next 4 years?? Hogan's loss to Sting at Starrcade 97....the split into 2 factions? nWo 2000?? Unfortunately, these and other historically important highlights were left off in favor of coverage of the nWo's return to the WWF. The bonus matches that were included, however, made up for the lack of history in part. Overall, not such a bad DVD, but if you're looking for the *FULL* history of the nWo, this just doesn't cut it.

The nWo may be suffering a slow death at the hands of WWE writers but this DVD brings you back to the glory days when the nWo was running wild and kicking serious ass. The DVD focuses on the early part of the nWo as most of it was from 1996 to early 1997. Thankfully it doesnt discuss in detail the run offs like black and silver. There are great interviews with Nash, Hall and Hogan in which they discuss things like the Kliq and why they left wwf in the first place. There are also 4 full length machtes included:
BASH AT THE BEACH 1996: Hall & Nash vs. Sting, Luger, Savage

FALL BRAWL 1996: Wargames: Hall, Nash, Hogan, Fake Sting vs. Sting, Luger, Arn, Flair

STARRCADE 1998: Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg

RAW: 3/11/02: Rock and Austin vs. nWo

This is 20 something bucks you will well spend. I hope the WWE also releases a four horseman tape set.

Well, I really enjoyed the beginning part of the DVD when they focus on the WCW-nWo war. I didn't get into wrestling until 1998, so it is nice to look back on what I missed. The DVD goes bad once the focus shifts to the WWF invasion of the nWo. They focus to much time on this, rather than devoting more to the WCW days. Plus, it just reminds me of how Vince really droped the ball on this angle. If you enjoy the nWo or want to reminice, you should rent the DVD. If not, don't even bother.