WWE: Rey Mysterio The Life of a Masked Man DVD review

July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

Rey Mysterio is considered by many fans and peers as the greatest high flyer ever in WWE history and now you can find out why in WWE’s newest DVD release, Rey Mysterio The Life of a Masked Man.

Not only do you get more than two dozen matches from Mysterio’s days in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and WWE, but matches that have not been shown over and over again on WWE home video. The first disc starts off with the host Matt Stryker asking Mysterio how he got into the business and how big of an impact Konnan had on his start.

Mysterio speaks openly on his rivalry with Juventud Guerrera and his friendship with Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio explains how the WrestleMania 21 match he had with Guerrero did not go as they planned due to Mysterio having problems with his mask in that match. Mysterio states how Guerrero left this world too soon and how hard it was to carry on without him.

Mysterio also speaks openly on his friendship with Batista, how it grew from their personal likes and enjoyment of spending a lot of money. All of Mysterio’s commentary ties into matches as we get matches with Batista and when he talks about his mask we get matches where his mask was in jeopardy against Kane and Chris Jericho.

Watching Mysterio’s matches shows how dangerous his style was earlier in his career. Due to his size, Mysterio was nearly always the underdog who battled back from a huge beating. Once Mysterio makes WWE, he develops a different style that is still battling the odds, but the matches are not completely one-sided for most of the duration.

While not the first Rey Mysterio DVD set to be released, these matches are unique compared to the past release and the new Mysterio interview segments are intriguing enough to make this a must buy for any Mysterio fan or fan of high-flying action. Mysterio has been one of the best high-flyers for so many years now that he could easily fill up another three-disc set. Fans will be more than satisfied with the unique matches shown with Kurt Angle, The World’s Greatest Tag Team, Jericho and how Mysterio battled the odds after losing his partner Hector Garza following a horrible injury.

WWE: Rey Mysterio The Life of a Masked Man

Rated: PG

eOne Films

Released on Jul. 12, 2011

Runtime of almost nine hours

Click here to order the DVD

Match listing–

Disc One

Rey Misterio Jr. & Konnan vs. La Parka & Psicosis
ECW Hardcore TV 28th October, 1995

2 out of 3 Falls Match
Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera
ECW Extreme Bash 9th March, 1996

Experiencing ECW

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera
WCW Pro Wrestling 3rd November, 1996

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr .
WCW Saturday Night 11th January, 1997

Eddie’s Guidance

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero
Nitro 8th September, 1997

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chris Jericho
Nitro 17th November, 1997

The Creation of the Mask

Rey Mysterio Jr., Super Calo & Hector Garza vs. Psychosis, La Parka & Silver King
WCW Saturday Night 17th January, 1998

Rey Mysterio Jr. & Billy Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero & Juventud Guerrera
Nitro 28th December, 1998

Who’s That Jumpin’ Out the Sky?

#1 Contenders Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Rey Mysterio & Edge vs. Eddie & Chavo Guerrero
SmackDown 24th October, 2002

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team
Vengeance 27th July, 2003

6-1-9

Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle
SmackDown 28th October, 2004

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero & Booker T. vs. Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam
SmackDown 30th December, 2004

Disc Two

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero
WrestleMania 21 3rd April, 2005

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Batista vs. MNM
SmackDown 16th December, 2005

On Top of the World

Mysterio’s Opportunity for a World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania 22 is on the Line
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
No Way Out 19th February, 2006

Viva México!

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero
SummerSlam 26th August, 2007

Stretcher Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay
Cyber Sunday 27th October, 2007

Putting the Mask on the Line

If Rey Mysterio Loses, He Must Unmask
Rey Mysterio vs. Kane
No Mercy 5th October, 2008

Intercontinental Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho
Judgment Day 17th May, 2009

The Art of Mysterio

Intercontinental Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. John Morrison
SmackDown 4th September, 2009

Disk Three

#1 Contenders Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio vs. Batista
SmackDown 18th December, 2009

Rey Mysterio vs. Shawn Michaels
SmackDown 29th January, 2010

Coping with Injuries

World Heavyweight Championship Match
The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio
Royal Rumble 31st January, 2010

Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler
SmackDown 5th February, 2010

Alone Time

Rey Mysterio Joins the SES vs. CM Punk ‘s Hair
Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk
Over the Limit 23rd May, 2010

“I Can’t Do It Solo.”

Fatal 4-Way World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jack Swagger vs. Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk vs. The Big Show
WWE Fatal 4-Way 20th June, 2010

Opportunity Knocks

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio
SmackDown 18th October, 2010

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
WrestleMania XXVII 3rd April, 2011

Fantasy Warfare

Special Features

Going Home

Standing Ovation

 

Filed Under: DVD, ECW, Friday Night Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews, Superstars, WWE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WWE: The Very Best of WCW: Monday Night Nitro DVD review

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

WCW: Monday Night Nitro was the greatest threat to WWE in the 90′s and one of the reasons why millions in North America watched a male soap opera every Monday night.

Nearly a decade after the demish of World Championship Wrestling, WWE has released a special 3-disc DVD set entitled The Very Best of WCW: Monday Night Nitro. Best is used in terms of memorable moments; Hulk Hogan beating Kevin Nash with a finger point, Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo taking all the titles away, and the formation of the New World Order.

Although Chris Benoit has been eliminated from WWE history, Benoit is shown many times due to his involvement with the Four Horsemen and the many NWO run-ins. WWE pays a lot more time and effort towards talent they acquired such as Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho and Big Show who was known as The Giant, instead of WCW only stars. DDP, who is a refreshing host for a WWE DVD set, is also featured in a positive light. Special attention is given to WCW mega stars Sting, Lex Luger, Goldberg and Kevin Nash, due to their strong efforts in making WCW a worthy competitor for WWE.

Due to the success and expansion of the NWO angle, most of the Nitro set is focused on the impact NWO had. While cruiserweight matches and special matches like Steven Regal against Fit Finlay in a parking lot brawl are unique and exciting to watch, everything that happens in WCW from mid 96 to 2000 revolved around the NWO. Sad to see that WWE did not give much attention to Raven and his flock or the WCW Hardcore division. Scott Steiner, the last WCW Champion up to the last Nitro is also not given much air-time or matches.

For the most part, one can relive the highs and lows of WCW in these three discs. While not complete, WWE did highlight a considerable amount of WCW history and gives fans who never knew what Nitro was a great appreciation for what WCW accomplished. It’s a shame that WWE highlighted their stars ahead of WCW talent, but when you win the war you get to write the book.

WWE: The Very Best of WCW: Monday Night Nitro

Rated: PG

eOne Films

Released on Jun. 7, 2011

Runtime of 540 minutes

Click here to order the DVD

DVD listing–

Disc 1:

WCW History Lesson

Flyin’ Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
4th September, 1995

Hulk Hogan vs. Big Bubba Rogers
4th September, 1995

“Macho Man” Randy Savage & Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson
8th January, 1996

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Sting and Lex Luger vs. The Road Warriors
5th February, 1996

Parking Lot Brawl
Lord Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser
29th April, 1996

Eddie Guerrero vs. Ric Flair
20th May, 1996

Scott Hall Nitro Debut
27th May, 1996

Kevin Nash Nitro Debut
10th June, 1996

Migrating to Hot’Lanta

WCW World Tag Team Championship Triangle Match
Sting & Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brother vs. Harlem Heat
24th June, 1996

nWo is Taking Over
8th July, 1996

nWo Awoke a Sleeping Giant

The Outsiders attack WCW Superstars
29th July, 1996

Sting & Lex Luger vs. The Outsiders Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
12th August, 1996

nWo takes Over
26th August, 1996

“Sting” attacks Lex Luger
9th September, 1996

The Enigmatic Sting

Sting walks out on Nitro
16th September, 1996

Rowdy Roddy Piper confronts Eric Bischoff
18th November, 1996

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko
30th December, 1996

Disc 2:

Badda Bang!

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Mark Starr
13th January, 1997

Harvey Schiller suspends Eric Bischoff
3rd March, 1997

Sting attacks the nWo
17th March, 1997

The High- Flying Cruiserweights

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Syxx vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
21st April, 1997

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger
4th August, 1997

Disregard for Tradition & Authority

nWo mocks the Four Horsemen
1st September, 1997

Diamond Dallas Page vs. Buff Bagwell
29th September, 1997

Sting Saves DDP from the nWo
27th October, 1997

Sting vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
2nd February, 1998

Jericho’s 1004 Holds
30th March, 1998

Who’s Next?

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Goldberg
6th July, 1998

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Kevin Nash & Sting vs. Scott Hall & The Giant
20th July, 1998

Non-Title Match
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Chris Jericho
3rd August, 1998

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Juventud Guerrera vs. Billy Kidman
14th September, 1998

Tradition Returns!

Ric Flair Returns to the Four Horsemen
14th September, 1998

WCW United States Championship Match
Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page
26th October, 1998

Ric Flair vs. Eric Bischoff
28th December, 1998

Disc 3:

Cracks in the Armour

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kevin Nash vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
4th January, 1999

Goldberg Spears The Hitman
29th March, 1999

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sting vs. Diamond Dallas Page
26th April, 1999

Solidifying a Legacy

Eddie Guerrero vs. Juventud Guerrera
21st June, 1999

Hulk Hogan & Goldberg & Sting vs. Kevin Nash & Sid Vicious & Rick Steiner
9th August, 1999

Billy Kidman vs. Diamond Dallas Page
16th August, 1999

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Goldberg
20th December, 1999

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kevin Nash vs. Sid Vicious
24th January, 2000

Last Ditch Effort

The Bischoff & Russo Era Begins
10th April, 2000

Steel Cage Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Diamond Dallas Page
24th April, 2000

Tag Team Ladder Match
3 Count vs. Jung Dragons
18th July, 2000

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Booker T. vs. Lance Storm
7th August, 2000

Triple Cage War Games Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
4th September, 2000

Vince McMahon Buys WCW
26th March, 2001

Sting vs. Ric Flair
26th March, 2001

Celebrating WCW

Special Features:

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Mr. JL
26th August, 1996

Filed Under: DVD, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews, WWE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask book review

February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

The most famous masked luchadore in this current era of professional wrestling, Rey Mysterio, battled through constant “you’re too small” remarks to become the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania.

Mysterio’s journey to World Wrestling Entertainment, breaking into professional wrestling, and his family life are all documented in his WWE autobiography Rey Mysterio: Behind The Mask. Mysterio’s 30 year plus career is viewed all the way up to 2009. Mysterio explains how dropping out of school to follow his dream was a difficult decision, one he would not let his own children do today.

Written by WWE writer Jeremy Roberts, Mysterio retells his life story with subjects that vary in length. Mysterio is indepth on his friendship with wrestlers Konnan, Eddie Guerrero, and even has a hilarious story on his first meeting with Tommy Dreamer in Extreme Championship Wrestling. While Mysterio has a big fanbase with youths, this book is best suited for teenagers and older as the autobiography contains a lot of vulgar language and mature road stories. “I’m a messenger. I’m God. And you don’t understand. We’re all going to die. Here,” said Juventud Guerrera to Mysterio right before Juvi was released from World Championship Wrestling.

Mysterio touches on a lot of controversial topics such as the wrestling politics in Mexico, how he was suppose to get unmasked in WCW in 1997, how upset he is with himself over eventually get unmasked, the claims that he took steroids, and finding Eddie’s corpse in 2005. “If I didn’t know what had happened, I would have sworn he was sleeping.” Like most subjects, these topics are not given much detail besides a few pages, although his love and respect for Eddie is written throughout the memoir.

Do not expect to get the quality of writing seen in Chris Jericho or Mick Foley books. The writing is simple and the pages contain a lot of one liners, almost like someone called Mysterio and transcribed it all. However, Mysterio’s life and pro wrestling career is an extraordinaire tale. This book could have been at least 500 pages, but it is still highly enjoyable at 368.

Mysterio’s passion for wrestling and how he describes all of his innovative maneuvers in the ring are great reads for any of his fans new or old. Mysterio’s drive and will to succeed is a true inspiration for any aspiring wrestlers or for people that have been told, “I don’t think you got what it takes.”

Rey Mysterio: Behind The Mask

Simon and Schuster

Written by Jeremy Roberts

368 pp.

Released in Oct. 2010 in paperback, also available in eBook

$16.99

Click here to order the book

Filed Under: Book, ECW, Friday Night Smackdown, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews, WWE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chris Jericho A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex autobiography review

January 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

The tale of Chris Irvine’s transformation from simple Canadian into professional wrestling He-Man Chris Jericho is an interesting and often hilarious journey that has also turned out to be quite a good read.

Although born in the United States, Jericho embraced a true Canadian lifestyle. Living with his dad (NHL star Ted Irvine) in the boring ‘Peg was challenging at times. Jericho was not a good hockey player, he was far from his current self-proclaimed best in the world persona, he did not have much luck with the girls, and his parents broke up during his teen years. Jericho still enjoyed hockey like most Canadians, but thanks to the invention of television, he found a much more intriguing career: professional wrestling.

In his first personal memoirs A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, Jericho goes into great detail about how he entered the wrestling business, even though he was a small guy physically compared to most wrestlers. He also explains how he dealt with the many “ass clowns” who plague the industry and gave him a hard time.

Through all of his trials and tribulations in the ring, outside of it he was hit hard the most when his mom was paralyzed early in his career thanks to her ex-boyfriend. You could imagine what Jericho what to do to the guy.

Watching her struggle and fight to live helped inspire him to follow his dreams no matter how hard it was for him to succeed or how pathetic of a venue he got booked in.

From working birthday parties for cake and soda pop, to wrestling in front of hundreds in Mexico, Germany, and Japan, Jericho eventually got his talent exposed by the right wrestling figureheads to get him some sold work with televised wrestling in the United States. He almost did not make it back from Mexico though. His lust to finally score with a hot chick put him in the middle of nowhere with a gun pointed at him while his life flashed before his eyes. Fortunately, the hijackers only wanted his money and spared him that night.

Jericho was also in constant struggle with his confidence. He keeps referring to his Jericho Curse every time he shows up in a new federation. Usually, each time he debuts in a fed the curse comes back to haunt him and gives him a bad name or a terrible start.

However, Jericho seems to always rise above all the naysayers by pushing himself to pull off death-defying moves like the shooting star press—a move that nearly ended his career.

Wrestling fans will love how Jericho goes into great detail about how he became an international wrestling superstar. His awkward meetings with famous wrestling superstars like Lance Storm, Chris Benoit, Art Barr, Rey Mysterio Jr., and his hate for control-freak wrestlers like Scott Hall and Bill Goldberg are some of the best reads in the book.

At times it is almost like Jericho is cutting a promo on himself on how pathetic he once was. By the time he got to World Championship Wrestling he took advantage of the television time he got and showed wCw management, Hulk Hogan, and Goldberg that he was not going to just take orders and fall in line.

Non-wrestling fans can enjoy this novel more than any other wrestling novel that has come before as Jericho makes numerous pop-culture references and jokes that can help non-wrestling loyalists understand the hardship Jericho went through. Jericho also goes into decent detail on his love for music and his battle between Christian rock and death metal music. The origin of his band Fozzy is mentioned, but their road stories in the music world are unfortunately not.

It is a shame that Jericho stays away from going into greater detail on his personal life and although he talks a little bit about the steroid issue in wrestling, he seems content to not go into controversial problems in wrestling. The biography is focused on creating light humour and a little bit of shock now and then, until he finally makes it to the biggest wrestling federation of all-time.

A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex

By Chris Jericho and Peter Thomas Fornatale

Grand Central Publishing

544 pp.

Click here to order the book


Filed Under: Book, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan DVD review

December 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

Bobby Heenan is considered by his peers and his bosses to be the greatest professional wrestling manager, one of the funniest personalities to ever wrestle in the squared circle, and a brilliant colour commentator. Almost getting shot by a fan did not stop Heenan from being his ‘weasel-like’ character.

The last World Wrestling Entertainment DVD release of 2010, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, is a fun look back for WWE fans of the 80′s growing up hating Heenan and his wealth of talented wrestlers in his stable known as ‘The Heenan Family.’ Disc one contains a standard WWE documentary on Heenan’s career, memorable moments from his days managing, hilarious segments with Gorilla Monsoon, and the display of his sharp wit while commentating in WWE and World Championship Wrestling. Disc two features a couple of Heenan’s matches, commentary along with Gorilla Monsoon for the Royal Rumble ’92, and the commentary work he did at WrestleMania 17 for the Gimmick Battle Royal.

WWE did not put a lot of time into Heenan’s biography as 50 minutes is far too short for such an amazing talent. However, Heenan has lived an amazing life where he influenced a lot of wrestlers to become champions and is considered by Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. to be the best ever. The bio explains how he made his difficult route into pro wrestling and how he only went to WWE with the blessing of former World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel.

Throughout every organization Heenan showed that he put the business over his own image, as every evil deed he started ended up with him losing in the end. The clips of The Bobby Heenan Show are neat to see, but it’s disappointing there are no highlights from his show in the extras. His entire wCw run is considered a miserable time, although many fans of the 90′s best remember Heenan from wCw. His commentary there was comedy gold, but WWE almost completely ignores it.

Heenan is not interviewed for the biography, although he does have some comments in the extras. Heenan’s jokes about women can easily be taken the wrong way, especially by women who are sensitive about their weight. Heenan’s wife and sobbing daughter show how he is far from a sexist person in real life. Heenan’s partnership with Monsoon is showcased as arguably the greatest commentating duo ever in WWE, even Jerry Lawler admits Heenan and Monsoon are better than Jim Ross and Lawler.

The Heenan DVD set is one that will leaving you wanting more and hopefully this is only one of many Heenan DVDs to be released. If you’re a fan of WWE’s The World’s Greatest Wrestling Managers or preferred wrestling when there was no Monday Night RAW, Heenan was one of the best reasons to watch wrestling in that era.

WWE: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Rated: PG

Entertainment One

Released on Dec. 28, 2010

Disc 1 Documentary Chapters:

Chicago Root

Manage like a Wrestler

Orange Fire

Weasel Suit

Remembering AWA

Bright Lights, Big City

Heenan Family

WrestleMania

I Am Not a Weasel

Manager of Champions

Primetime

The Bobby Heenan Show

Commentating with Gorilla

Leaving WWE

WCW

Health Issues

Hall of Fame

Disc 1 Extras:

The Executioners

AWA Manager of the Year 1976
AWA All-Star Wrestling – 25th December, 1976

The Wrestling Bear

Centerfold

“Honey, I’m Home!”

The Other Weasel Suit

“I Am Not A Weasel”
Tuesday Night Titans – 2nd October, 1984

Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon go to Busch Gardens
Prime Time Wrestling – 12th December, 1988

Get Your Popcorn Ready

Golfing Tips with Bobby Heenan & “Mean” Gene Okerlund
Sterling Farms Golf Course – October 1991

Bobby’s Big Entrance
WrestleMania IX – 4th April, 1993

Gorilla Monsoon Fires Bobby Heenan
RAW – 6th December, 1993

The Humor of Bobby Heenan

A Farewell to Gorilla
Nitro – 11th October, 1999

The Wedding Eulogy

“Freakish Noises”
WrestleMania XX – 14th March, 2004

Bobby Heenan’s Induction into the WWE Hall of Fame
WWE Hall of Fame – 13th March, 2004

Disc 2:

Battle of the Managers
Bobby Heenan vs. Lord Alfred Hayes
AWA St. Paul, MN – 13th January, 1980

Weasel Suit Match
Bobby Heenan vs. Greg Gagne
AWA St. Paul, MN – 17th August, 1980

Handicap Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan
AWA – St. Paul, MN – 2nd May, 1981

Bobby Heenan vs. Salvatore Bellomo
Madison Square Garden – 26th November, 1984

Weasel Suit Match
Bobby Heenan vs. Ultimate Warrior
WrestleFest `88 – 31st July, 1988

The Royal Rumble Match
Royal Rumble – 19th January, 1992
Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon

Gimmick Battle Royal
WrestleMania X7 – 1st April, 2001
Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gene Okerlund

Filed Under: DVD, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews, WWE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Larry Zbyszko autobiography review

November 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

Larry Zbyszko is known in the professional wrestling world as a great villain, a jerk, a backstabber, selfish and a familiar voice on World Championship Wrestling television programming.

Zbyszko’s biography, Adventures in Larryland! takes the reader on a trip through the highlights of Zbyszko’s three decades in pro wrestling, minus the bad stuff. His wrestling idol, Bruno Sammartino, plays a huge role in the beginning of the book—Zbyszko starts off stalking him and the two end up feuding for the cameras.

Zbyszko tells about how in the 1970s wrestling was considered real to the general public and that outsiders needed to be dealt with in order to keep the secret alive. This resulted in wrestlers seriously injuring wannabes. Zbyszko was so hated by the fans for turning on his hero that fans would chant “Larry sucks!” One fan went farther, stabbing him in the right butt cheek four inches deep.

Zbyszko tells his side of his World Wide Wrestling Federation career and holds nothing back when talking about his dealings with the McMahon family. Zbyszko had his ups and downs with Vince McMahon Sr., but when it comes to Vince Jr. he recalls a conniving crybaby who always started off conversations with maniacal—not to mention moronic—laughter. Zbyszko also takes credit for helping Hulk Hogan change from a jobber to one day becoming a wrestling god with Hulkamania.

Following his scandalous departure from WWF, Zbyszko found success in WCW and the American Wrestling Association. In the AWA Zbyszko became a world heavyweight champion for the first and only time—with the title victory he finally got to live out his life-long dream.

In retirement, Zbyszko found more success—he became an employee of Ted Turner’s, working as part of Turner Broadcasting. Zbyszko ended up creating a whole new fan base as a commentator and was paid handsomely for his opinion. Zbyszko came out of retirement twice and managed to get on two WCW pay-per-views with some of their highest recorded buy rates.

The road stories that Zbyszko puts in the book are at times funny and emotionally charged. From being a pilot in a plane that was about to crash, to making fun of young wrestlers for using too many clotheslines, wrestling fans get to read about the “New Living Legend” in a whole new light.

Zbyszko’s belief in standing by his booking commitments is somewhat hypocritical—he threatened to miss wrestling shows since he thought he should be WWWF champion and paid more, but when AWA champion Jerry Lawler was not paid by AWA, Zbyszko criticizes Lawler stating that it was “the most unprofessional act in the business.”

For fans wanting to read about Lawrence Whistler, the real-life Zbyszko, you’re out of luck. Zbyszko keeps his private life to a bare minimum—Zbyszko’s born name is only mentioned on the back of the book. Wrestling fans that do not like to read long books are in luck—Zbyszko kept it under 200 pages and keeps chapters short. His opinions on love in wrestling is a mere sentence. Overall, the biography is a unique perspective from a Polish émigré who battled tough wrestling politicians and came out alive.

Adventures in Larryland!

by Larry Zbyszko

ECW Press

240 pp.

$19.95

Click here for more info

Filed Under: Book, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

WWE: Wrestling’s Highest Flyers DVD review

November 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Send to Kindle

Jimmy Snuka’s dive off the top of a cage, Jeff Hardy’s leap of faith at WrestleMania 2000, Evan Bourne nailing his Air Bourne maneuver, all just a small taste of a thrilling three-disc DVD set.

WWE: Wrestling’s Highest Flyers DVD takes a look at 20 superstars in the WWE video library that have dazzled, shocked, and innovated the WWE Universe with their aerial attacks. 27 matches are showcased on the three-disc set. The DVD features a great mix of WWE legends, alumni, current WWE high flyers and even former superstars that compete outside of WWE.

All 20 superstars get their own short bio package, some of them have segments showing a move with a camera strapped to their chest. The features on Steamboat, Pillman, Eddie Guerrero, all look similar to past clips shown on their own WWE documentaries, but the matches featured are not from their DVDs.

For Lucha Libre action, the six-man tag team match from WCW: Bash at the Beach 97 delivers an insane array of moves that you rarely see even in today’s Lucha Libre. Shelton Benjamin’s match is a great reminder that he had all the potential to be a main eventer in WWE.

For a compilation DVD set this is an excellent selection of the high flying wrestling style of North America, Japan and Mexico. While DVD collectors may already have Guerrero VS. Rey Mysterio from Halloween Havoc 97 and Edge & Christian VS. Hardy Boyz VS. Dudley Boyz from WrestleMania 2000, there are still plenty of matches to make this a worthy purchase.

WWE: Wrestling’s Highest Flyers

Rated: PG

Vivendi Entertainment

Run time of 540 minutes

Released on Oct. 12, 2010

$34.95

Click here to order the DVD

DISC ONE:

A Different Stratosphere

Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman
WCW Halloween Havoc October 25, 1992

Evan Bourne
Evan Bourne vs. Zack Ryder
WWE Superstars June 11, 2009

Sky-View with Evan Bourne

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka
Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka vs. Samu
WWF at Madison Square Garden February 20, 1984

New Style

WCW Cruiserweights
Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, Lizmark Jr. vs. La Parka, Psychosis, Villano IV
WCW Bash at the Beach July 13, 1997

Shelton Benjamin
Gold Rush Tournament Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Shelton Benjamin
WWE RAW May 2, 2005

Ultimo Dragon
J-Crown Cruiserweight Championship Match
Ultimo Dragon vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
WCW World War 3 November 24, 1996

Eddie Guerrero
ECW World Television Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
ECW Hardcore TV July 21, 1995

Special Features:

Ultimo Dragon vs. Psychosis
WCW Uncensored March 16. 1997

Chavo Guerrero vs. Jamie Noble
WWE SmackDown April 18, 2008

Sky-Cam with Jamie Noble

Flight Turbulence

DISC TWO:

Degree of Difficulty

Chris Jericho
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. Ultimo Dragon
WCW Bash at the Beach July 13, 1997

1-2-3 Kid
1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi
WWF SummerSlam August 27, 1995

Sky-View with John Morrison

John Morrison
John Morrison vs. Tyson Kidd
WWE Superstars July 30, 2009

High Flying Duos

Tag Teams
WWF Tag Team Championship – Triangle Ladder Match
Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Edge / Christian
WWF WrestleMania 2000 April 2, 2000

Super Crazy
3-Way Dance
Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Little Guido
ECW One Night Stand June 12, 2005

Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright
WCW Great American Bash June 18, 1995

Great Muta
Great Muta vs. Sting
WCW Japan Supershow March 21, 1991

Rob Van Dam
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam
WWF Sunday Night Heat August 5, 2001

Special Feature:

The Hardy Boyz vs. Kai En Tai
WWF Sunday Night Heat September 27, 1998

DISC THREE:

Shawn Michaels
WWF Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Vader
WWF SummerSlam August 18, 1996

Flash Funk
ECW World Television Championship Match
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu
ECW CyberSlam February 17, 1996

Sky-View with Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston
Intercontinental Championship Tournament Finals
Kofi Kingston vs. Christian
WWE SmackDown May 14, 2010

Aerodynamics

WWE Light Heavyweights
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Match
Taka Michinoku vs. Pantera
WWF In Your House: No Way Out February 15, 1998

Lita
WWE Women’s Championship Match
Lita vs. Trish Stratus
RAW December 6, 2004

Sabu
ECW World Television Championship Match
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam
ECW Guilty as Charged January 9, 2000

Jeff Hardy
Steel Cage Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga
WWE RAW January 7, 2008

Rey Mysterio
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero
WCW Halloween Havoc October 26, 1997

Special Feature:

WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match
Juventud Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman
World War 3 November 22, 1998

Filed Under: DVD, ECW, Friday Night Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, Pro Wrestling Uncensored, Reviews, Superstars, WWE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,