Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ahhh, The Memories!, April 20, 2007
The reason I am giving this set a 5 star rating is mostly for the bio! True, Arn Anderson is in character for most of this but quite frankly, there is little difference between his in-ring character and the real man so I didn't get upset about that at all.
As for the bio itself, it was great but you can get some negative vibes at times (especially when discussing Ole Anderson, Paul Roma, former WCW Executive Vice President Jim Herd and Eric Bischoff)! I know some fans would've liked to have heard from other former members like Lex Luger, Sting or Ole Anderson but you have to remember something here. Sting currently works for TNA (at the time that I am writing this) so there was no way he was going to be on this project and neither Lex nor Ole are on good terms with WWE. Plus, with the way Ole bashed Ric recently in his own autobiography, I doubt they would've wanted him on the project anyway as a lot of people have grudges against him. Still, I would've rather heard from Ole than ROMA! That guy is VERY DELUSIONAL! Even at near 60, Flair can still work a better match than Paul Roma in his prime! I'll take a 100 year old Flair over Roma any day! You got to hear the comments. This guy is on crack!
As it was, the bio was great as they discussed the different groups and how a lot the changes were made more for political reasons rather than good business sense. They also said that some changes were made by non-wrestling officials (which I tend to believe myself). Overall, just a great trip down memory lane. To paraphrase Jim Ross' words, "WITHOUT THE HORSEMEN, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN NO DX, NO DANGEROUS ALLIANCE AND THERE DAMN SURE WOULD'VE BEEN NO NWO!" Get this to see the rise and fall of the "symbol of excellence."
MINI-UPDATE:
Recently, I read an article in Pro Wrestling Illustrated that WWE 24/7 has re-edited this piece due to their unoffical "DON'T MENTION CHRIS BENOIT" stance.
As a result, however, the Brian Pillman part of the Horsemen saga is shortened and the chapters mentioning Steve McMichael, Jeff Jarrett and possibly the big reunion in 1998 in Greenville, SC have been removed! The DVD release, however, has not been recalled or re-edited yet so for those that want the history with no edits, I would DOUBLY RECOMMEND this release! This isn't an endorsement of Chris Benoit so much as it is an endorsement of telling a story and telling it right!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ahhh...what might have been, April 17, 2007
Let me preface this by saying that I have been a Ric Flair fan since he came on the scene in 1974, and DO remember his first two title belts (Mid-Atlantic tag title with Rip "The Profile" Hawk, and the Mid-Atlantic TV title). This should have been even better than the Ultimate Ric Flair DVD, but as others have already commented, it comes up just a little short.
The GOOD; the always open and honest dialog from Ric Flair. Even after reading his book, I loved hearing him articulate his true feelings about what happened to WCW, and seeing his pain, hurt, animosity, and happiness, especially when he talks about the partying/lifestyle aspect of the Horsemen, very refreshing as always.
The PROMOS; is there any doubt that the original Four Horsemen wrote the book on promo cutting??? Every promo they show, clip or complete is worth watching again and again. I especially enjoyed the cut where Tully acknowledged the Horsemen fans...something you would never expect a villain to do!! The passion of Double A in his words...Ric said it all, the guy can talk, I believe Arn was second only to Ric as a promo cutter. The cool, sinister matter of fact approach Ole had most of the time, loved it even in the 70's with he and Gene. Tully...what can be said...the ultimate antagonist, always saying just enough to piss you off!!! J.J., cool calm, diginified, always a pleasure to listen to. And of course, the Champ...you never knew which Nature Boy was going to show up in a promo...to say he was and is a chameleon on the mic is an understatement. He is the greatest promo cutter in the sport's history.
Seeing Tully, J J, and Barry Windham open up. I actually learned things I did not know in listening to them, not wanting to spoil things, I respect and admire Tully even more now.
With all due respect to the Champ, this is Arn's video. Despite the fact he's kayfabing the entire time, his passion and feelings about the Horsemen show through.
The War Games Match, and the match between Tully/Arn v Barry/Luger. nice to see Dr. Death Steve Williams again...get well soon Doc!!
the Barry Windham "Luger story"...I laughed so hard I had to watch it again.
Seeing Triple H, Stone Cold, and Shawn Michaels paying respectful tribute to the Horsemen, JR said it right, without the Horsemen, there would have damn sure been no DX.
The early footage of Arn, if you look quick, you can see a pre LOD Animal, in his original Road Warrior garb.
The clips of the feud with Magnum TA, who you can see had the potential to be a megastar before his untimely accident.
The footage of the locker room attack of the Rock and Roll Express, and the parking lot ambush of Dusty Rhodes...but if you listen carefully, right before the bat hits his wrist you can see and hear Dusty say, "Make it GOOD!!"...I laughed a lot at that.
Seeing the true friendship of Ric and Arn...I would hope someday to have a friend that strong and close. You can see it in the way they express it on screen and in the promos.
The pride and passion in Chris Benoit when he spoke of his time as a Horseman...Ive always respected him and the way he carries himself like a true champion, with the same class that the Horsemen always presented.
Now the Not so good
WHATS UP WITH THE KAYFABE GENTS???? Its clear that Arn, Rick Steamboat, Michael PS Hayes, and maybe even Dusty and HHH are all speaking in their wrestling characters. WHY??? If most of the people are speaking out of character why is ARN especially speaking in character? Oh well, Im still Arns biggest fan. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!
Why are Michael Hayes, Teddy Long, Jerry Lawler and especially ERIC FREAKING BISCHOFF in this DVD???? I clearly see no reason for ANY of them to be there. If you wanted more people, you should have spoken to Ole, Lex, Magnum, and even Jimmy Garvin or Jim Cornette. Those four people really have NO REASON to be included!!!! And PLEASE...would someone just put Paul Roma out of his and our misery!!! The biggest thing he would ever do, and he whines and moans about Ric Flair. This from a man who couldnt even hold Mongo McMichaels jockstrap. Someone at WWE must really have a Jones for the not so Pretty Paul to include him on this and not Mongo. Sting I can understand because hes under contract to TNA, but ROMA???? SHEESH!!
The matches could have been a little better selection, showing them against Magnum/Dusty, Arn and Ole winning the National Tag Titles, more footage of them just wreaking overall havoc. I really could have cared less about the cage match with Ricky Morton!
Barry Windham...what happened??? My heart ached when I saw him. I realize hes in his forties like I am, but MY GOD MAN...I was shocked at how he looked.
The two biggest disappointments to me in this overall wonderful production are: Seeing Arn and the guys made to kayfabe their way through the interviews...I just shook my head. Secondly, and to me even more glaring, the failure to include the two most important on camera promos/interviews, the promo where Arn names the group, and the emotional retirement speech he made. Oh well, perhaps the footage to the first one doesnt exist, and the second one probably didnt matter to the PTB (powers that be) at WWE...for that, well, theres always the "eB" word!!!
Overall, Im glad that WWE productions has released this DVD and the earlier AWA tribute DVD. Now if we could only get them to start releasing territory based DVD's. The best of Mid-Atlantic, Florida, Mid-South, Mid Southern, World Class, Pacific Northwest of the 70's and 80's. Can you imagine how well those would sell?? Think about it Vince!!!!!!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
four fingers up!, October 1, 2007
RIC FLAIR AND THE FOUR HORSEMEN
actual documentary is a little over 2 hours
Wow! Or should I say... Wooo! Like many others, I am a big fan of the Horsemen and have been for some time. Due to the fact that the WWE had nothing to do with the legendary stable, I was almost certain that they would mess this DVD up, but to my surprise they delivered a quality product! And yes I believe its still true: The Four Horsemen are the greatest wrestling stable of all time!
The DVD starts off in the pre-Horsemen days, with Gene Anderson and Ole Anderson wrestling together as sibling tag team (the team actually predated Ole but maybe that's another DVD...). Ole was joined by Arn Anderson, who was noticing the potential in a young man who we now know as Ric Flair. Along with their "sparkplug" Tully Blanchard, the group joined to become the Four Horsemen and were managed by J.J. Dillon. The group would famously isolate a certain body part (i.e.- leg, hand, whatever) and "work on it" to wear it down. They were also known as much for their flamboyant lifestyles outside the ring as they were for their wrestling skills. This led to a great combination of exciting interviews and classic arcs in the history of the NWA/WCW where each member held a belt (Ric- World champ, Arn and Tully- Tag champs, 2nd generation member Barry Windham- US champ) amounting to one of the greatest forces in the wrestling industry.
In the way of history, this DVD has most of what you need to know. Naturally we get a large segment dedicated to their historic feud against Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes (another one of my favorite wrestling personalities), not to mention Ric Flair's "open secret" disgust with various WCW figureheads including Eric Bischoff.
But part of why I like this DVD so much is it also devotes considerable time to some things that were just confusing as a fan. For example what about the half-induction of Kendall Windham (Barry's brother) into the group, the brief selection of Hiro Matsuda as manager or the infamous "3 Horsemen" lineup with jobber Paul Roma? You will also hear the Horsemen's thoughts on Lex Luger, Sting and the notorious incident between Arn and Psycho Sid. I am a huge Brian Pillman fan and even though he wasn't as important as some of the other members, I was happy to see his inclusion on this DVD. Finally we get to the late WCW version of the group with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and former Chicago Bear Steve "Mongo" McMichael. The Curt Hennig/nWo angle is covered but after that point the "story" of the DVD kind of disintegrates as the final years of WCW were so fragmented and weird that nobody really knew if the Four Horsemen (or Flair's contract) were still in existence.
It is true that Arn Anderson is in character for this DVD. As a fan who grew up on 1980s wrestling, I like that. Also it is clear that he is giving "real" answers when he needs to, for example when he comments on whether or not he took the nWo skit about him personally. However, there are a couple points when a "shoot" response would've been nice, such as a better explanation about Ole's expulsion from the group. For wrestling reviews, I normally include a list of matches referenced or included. Its true that the shortage of some of the important matches may be the set's only shortcoming. Well that and no recent footage of Ole (although that was probably more his doing that WWE's).
The last thing I will say about this DVD is that I'm very happy that it didn't cover any of the WWE allusions to the Horsemen (like they did on the 'nWo: Back in Black' DVD) and also that somehow it didn't turn into a back-patting session for the McMahons ('Monday Night War' DVD). The closest we get is the needless inclusion of Triple H, but anyone who knows the WWE title history understands the story there. Anyway, I've more or less given up on pro wrestling as any kind of entertainment but this DVD set at least gives me the incentive to buy some of these "retro" DVDs!
THE FOUR HORSEMEN ARE THE GREATEST WRESTLING STABLE OF ALL TIME!
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