There is one very important thing to remember when looking at “The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment” Blu-ray – this is not a history of the wrestlers who have competed in the WWE, but the actual history of the company itself. When looked at in that manner, it touches all the bases and does a great job at presenting how the company went from a smaller regional promotion to the biggest professional wrestling company of all time.
The documentary that is on the first disc checks in at about two hours and starts with the story of how the WWE originally broke away from the National Wrestling Alliance and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). With Verne Gagne taking the title off of “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers, the WWWE under the leadership of Vince McMahon Sr., started their new upstart promotion with Rogers as their champion.
We see how the politics worked back then and how McMahon tried to unsuccessfully hide the fact that Rogers lost his original title so they could start with him as the reigning champion. It didn’t work as the wrestling magazines of the time still reported his loss, but the WWWF quickly bounced back thanks to the star power of Bruno Sammartino, the man who took the title off of Rogers.
We then see how Sammartino built the WWWF into a promotion that was easily competitive with the NWA and AWA and built the foundation for what would become a global phenomenon. It was not easy, but the WWWF was located in New York, which gave them more mainstream publicity than promotions down south.
The real kickoff point for the WWWF came when Vince McMahon decided he wanted to buy the company from his dad. It was not easy, as Vince and Linda McMahon operated their base out of their home, where Sgt. Slaughter remembers that their office was the bedroom where the bed was littered with documents. Linda remembered how they signed a deal to make payments to Vince’s dad, but if they ever missed a payment, they would lose the company and all the money they paid in.
However, the two had a plan and Vince was able to build the WWE into a success with the early highlights being his invention of Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania. A lot of time is taken to talk about how Vince built his company, including how he worked behind the scenes as a director, acting out what his wrestlers would do before they cut their promos. It was something I had not thought as much about when it comes to Vince’s hands on approach to running his company.
They also touched on the PPV expansion and the success of “Saturday Night’s Main Event” bringing in even more money to help Vince and the WWE become self sufficient.
It is also nice to see that the documentary did not skip over more controversial aspects as the steroid trial is discussed in great detail, including interviews with Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan and Roddy Piper all admitting that WWE stars used steroids at one time or another.
It then launches into the Monday Night Wars and showed how WCW was able to take the advantage before finally losing out to the WWE in the end. We get a look at the Montreal Screw Job and the start of the Attitude Era.
There is also a nice touching look at the death of Owen Hart and a discussion with a number of the people looking back at this moment, with Linda McMahon calling it the worst period in WWE history.
The documentary kind of loses focus at the end, skipping around from the brand extension to the stadium appearances, the Hall of Fame, the WWE movies and a look at the technological advances that will ensure the WWE remains relevant in the future. It seems like the producers knew this was not quite as interesting and just gave us a cliff notes version to finish off the “The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment” Blu-ray.
What we got here was a fantastic look at the rise of WWE from a small company into one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. Don’t go in looking for a lot on the individual stars and you will be impressed with the look at the building of an empire.
The first Blu-ray disc also includes two matches that were not part of the DVD release.
WrestleMania XXIV – March 30, 2008: Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Big Show – This match is nowhere near as bad as a lot of people remember, and the crowd was molten hot for the match. Mayweather picked up the win, but if you listen to the crowd, that was not the popular choice. (**)
WrestleMania 25 – April 5, 2009: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels – This was the first of back-to-back matches between Shawn and Undertaker and was a spectacular match with a ton of near falls. This was proof that these are two of the best performers in WWE history. (*****)
Disc 2 is all matches and moments from WWE history. While some of the inclusions seem puzzling from the outside, when you consider this “The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment” Blu-ray is about the company, the matches inclusion makes sense. You won’t get the best matches in WWE history, but will get some of the biggest “moments.”
WWWF Championship Match: Bruno Sammartino vs. “Superstar” Billy Graham (Baltimore, MD – April 30, 1977) – It is strange that there is only one Sammartino match, and it happens to be one he lost. I would have expected to see Sammartino beating Rogers for the title, but they have us Superstar Billy Graham beating Sammartino for the belt. (**)
WWF Championship Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (WrestleMania III – March 29, 1987) – The match that really changed the WWE was the Hogan vs. Iron Sheik match, but this is the match that made the WWE a global sensation. One note about this match is that it was shown from the previously unseen “hard camera” with no commentators. (**)
Royal Rumble Match: Royal Rumble (January 24, 1988) – This match is much better than many people might suggest, although it is not up to the level of later Rumbles. The event had a lot of tag teams in it, as well as The Ultimate Warrior in an early appearance. Hacksaw Jim Duggan won the match when he eliminated One Man Gang. (***)
First Episode of Raw: Koko B. Ware vs. Yokozuna (January 11, 1993) – This is perfect example of what I meant when I said these matches were not the best, but they were important. This was the first episode of “Raw,” a television show that has become one of the most successful shows of all time. (*)
King of the Ring Finals: Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (King of the Ring – June 23, 1996) – This is the match where Steve Austin became “Stone Cold.” He was still a villain and fans booed him for doing the same thing he did as a hero, but this match was where it all began. The match was really bad, but the interview after the match was great. (*)
WWF Championship Match (Montreal Screw Job): Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series – November 9, 1997) – While this is similar to the King of the Ring match, the match itself was actually pretty good, especially the first half which included a brawl to the back, into the crowd, and back to the ring, all while Vince McMahon yelled at them. This was the match where Bret Hart left the WWE and Vince McMahon became the biggest villain in the WWE. (***)
Mike Tyson and Stone Cold Steve Austin – This was the event on “WWE Monday Night Raw” where Mr. McMahon brought out Mike Tyson to introduce as the referee of the Austin and Shawn Michaels WWE title match. However, Austin interrupted and the two had to be pulled apart. It was a huge event that showed the crossover appeal of the WWE.
WWF Championship Match (First Episode of Smackdown): Triple H vs. The Rock (SmackDown – August 26, 1999) – This match saw new WWE champion Triple H defend his belt against the man SmackDown was named after, The Rock. Commissioner Shawn Michaels was the guest ref and screwed The Rock. (**)
Vince McMahon Buys WCW – This was the moment that saw Vince McMahon and the WWE kill WCW. Vince came out to the “Raw” ring and was simulcast on “WCW Monday Nitro,” where he said he was shutting down WCW until Shane McMahon showed up on “Nitro” and said he was – in fact – the new owner and was going to put the WWE out of business.
The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania X8 – March 17, 2002) – This was the best of one era vs. the best of another era. It was Cena vs. The Rock before that ever happened, and honestly, the match may not be the best but the atmosphere and the importance of the match makes it great. Fans cheered the heel Hogan and booed the face Rock, and what resulted was a special match (****)
Battle of the Billionaires – Hair vs. Hair Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga (WrestleMania 23 – April 1, 2007) – This was another chance to show the crossover appeal as Donald Trump got involved in this WWE match, representing Bobby Lashley, as McMahon had Umaga wrestling for him. The loser’s second gets his head shaved. It was nice to see how smooth that Umaga moved back in the day, and Lashley was a great power wrestler. (***)
John Cena, Batista, & Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho, Big Show & Randy Orton – (Tribute to the Troops – December 20, 2008) – This is here to show how the WWE goes overseas and puts on shows for the troops during the holidays every year, something Jerry Lawler said is more important that even Wrestlemania. The match was solid, but by the books. (**)
The Pipebomb by CM Punk (June 28, 2011) – CM Punk made history when he sat on the stage and told the world how he feels about the WWE holding down the little guys while pushing and coddling their stars. It is what led to Punk becoming the most popular wrestler in the WWE and beating John Cena for the WWE title.
#1 Contender’s Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk (RAW – February 25, 2013) – This was the culmination of a feud that lasted almost two years where John Cena could never beat CM Punk. The winner here got a WWE title match with The Rock at Wrestlemania. Cena won a great match that put him back on top and sent Punk on a new path away from the WWE title. (*****)