WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie Review

Incoming!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 17, 2015

War. What is it good for? Ratings! Monday nights haven't always been about football, and in fact, not too long ago, there was an alternate turf war that didn't feature the likes of Troy Aikman vs. Steve Young but instead Hulk Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Mondays weren't simply Jerry Jones vs. the world but also Vince McMahon vs. Ted Turner. Monday night action wasn't exclusive to Green Bay or Chicago but exploded on USA Network and TNT. Indeed, there was a time when the mighty WWE -- now established as the dominant Sports Entertainment industry in the world -- had its hands full with a big money competitor in Ted Turner and his WCW brand that attempted to overtake McMahon's WWE (then WWF) as the face of professional wrestling. Turner's big money draw and willingness to throw his full weight behind the venture left WWE oftentimes reeling from personnel defections and declining ratings. Spoiler alert: WWE prevailed, and the outfit's Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray looks back on the most tumultuous, arguably most entertaining, and indisputably most important and landscape-defining era in professional wrestling history, and it does so majestically.

It's all about the numbers.

Narrator Keith David guides audiences on a spellbinding journey back in time through a ten-part, ten-hour (or thereabouts) look back at the origins of the "Monday Night Wars" and some of its peak and most important moments from both sides, one of which would face extinction and, the other, emergence from the battlefield, beaten and bruised but carrying the Sports Entertainment banner for generations to come. The program is practically all-encompassing, digging deep into subject matters that aren't always directly related to wrestling but certainly critical in shaping the wars and determining how they would play out, particularly as they related to the television landscape of the mid-1990s and Turner's far-reaching tentacles therein. The piece follows the professional wrestling downturn of the early 1990s and the birth of Monday Night RAW -- which was broadcast "live" -- in an effort to rejuvenate a stale product. The piece examines Hulk Hogan's departure to WCW, which began a steady domino effect of stars to leave McMahon's company for the, almost literally, greener pastures of Turner's WCW, which was now operated by a former C-level broadcaster named Eric Bischoff. Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired looks at the beginnings and rise of WCW's flagship, and competing, program, Nitro, and the very real danger of excess market saturation with two competing products airing simultaneously. Various segments follow to examine some of the critical people and events that further shaped the warring factions and ultimately drove WWE to success, including the rise of the Attitude Era -- the aforementioned Steve Austin, Degeneration X, Mick Foley -- and, on the WCW side, the nWo and Goldberg.

A plethora of talent -- CM Punk, John Cena, Jerry Lawler, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Ryback, Pat Patterson, Eric Bischoff, Gene Okerlund, Ric Flair, Tony Shciovani, The Miz, Michael Cole, Michael Hayes, Mick Foley, William Regal, and Arn Anderson only scratch the roster's surface -- sits down to recall memories of and, in many cases, first-hand experiences in the Monday Night Wars. The film finds a perfect balance between broad history and detailed specifics, digging as deep as necessary but never crowding out information or, on the other hand, leaving a detail unexplored. It's more than wrestling, instead playing as a veritable history of the time, including technology and the television medium and the politics thereof, which is oftentimes more entertaining, particularly in hindsight, than the little bits of tit-for-tat combat that then defined the era but are now more a bullet point than a piercing blow. It's wonderful, fascinating stuff and a wrestling fan's dream come true, and hopefully Part Two will have much more to offer in terms of full-length moments and matches, which this set sorely lacks but more than makes up for by way of narrative content.

The Following segments and sub-segments comprise Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired (Note that each segment ends with a recap by Renee Young, Triple H, and Sting).

Disc One:

The War Begins (1:02:37):

• WWE's Evolution
• NWA to WCW
• Raw Entertainment
• Eric Bischoff's Impact
• Monday Nitro
• Dirty Tactics

The Rise of the nWo (1:04:58):

• Scott Hall & Kevin Nash
• Outsiders Invade WCW
• The Third Man
• Fake Razor & Diesel
• Popularity of the nWo
• Overexpansion
• Making Their Mark

Embracing Attitude (1:01:41):

• A Declaration of Change
• Sex Sells
• Violence Rules
• Audience Participation
• nWo Getting Stale
• Austin vs. McMahon
• Raising the Stakes
• New Heights

A New D-Generation X (1:04:19):

• Are You Ready?
• Going Too Far
• Reigns Come Off
• A New D-Generation X
• DX Invades WCW
• Bischoff Calls Out Mr. McMahon
• DX vs. Nation of Domination
• DX Army

Disc Two:

Have a Nice Day (1:04:06):

• Cactus Jack
• Mankind
• Three Faces of Foley
• Foley Goes Through Hell
• Mr. Socko
• Champion
• Rock 'n' Sock
• Stepping Away

The Hart of War (1:04:21):

• Dependable Champion
• Hitman vs. HBK
• Weighing the Options
• Fallout with WWE
• Arrival in WCW
• Return to WWE

Foundations of War (59:19):

• Captivating the Audience
• Changing the Landscape
• Rising to the Top
• Evolving
• Leaders

Disc Three:

The Austin Era (1:04:46):

• "Stunning" Steve Austin
• ECW
• Ringmaster
• Austin 3:16
• Injury to Opportunity
• The Face of WWE
• Trailblazer

Who's Next? (1:00:11):

• A Need for New Stars
• The Look and Presence
• The Streak
• Champion
• 173-1
• WCW's Biggest Creation

Flight of the Cruiserweights (54:08):

• A Need to Stand Out
• Cruiserweight Division
• Top Talent
• Light Heavyweight Division
• Being Ignored
• Land of the Athlete

WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired has repurposed all of its older 4x3 footage to 1.78:1, something WWE Home Video regularly does in "main program" elements but always leaves untouched in full matches and moments. As always, older generation SD footage comes with a myriad of issues, even upconverted to 1080i; such material doesn't factor into the overall review score. The new HD footage, also appearing at 1.78:1, generally impresses but never quite finds the consistency viewers will demand. Generally, the new footage is sharp, well defined, and nicely colored. Unfortunately, various segments suffer from a number of issues, whether softness, digitally inserted backgrounds causing havoc with edges, macroblocking, noise, or even moiré patterns visible on some attire (Vince McMahon's plaid jacket is a mess). Generally, however, the good outweighs the bad and, aside from some really obvious issues, like the aforementioned jacket, the image satisfies its simplest requirements well enough.

WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired blasts onto Blu-ray with a capable but not particularly noteworthy Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The track features light support music, narration, and interviews, all of which play with capable definition and nicely balanced stage presence. The latter two -- the spoken word -- dominate, both yielding natural, effortless clarity up the middle, though certainly the narration and newer interview clips are, technically, the best; some older clips from years gone by can be a little muddled and harsh. Music satisfies the film's requirements, which is, mostly, mild support underneath dialogue and a few wrestling-specific sound effects that are occasionally heard underneath the primary elements. It's a Documentary concerning older material, so the track's simplicity should come as no surprise.

WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All of Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired's supplements appear on disc three under the "Blu-ray Exclusives" label.

• WCW Match (1080i, 13:03): Hulk Hogan vs. Big Bubba Rogers. Nitro -- September 4, 1995.
• No Disqualification Match for the WWE Championship (1080i, 14:34): The Rock vs. Mankind. RAW -- January 4, 1999.
• WCW Match (1080i, 4:45): Goldberg vs. Hugh Morrus. Nitro -- September 22, 1997.
• WCW Press Conference (1080i, 26:05): The Announcement of Monday Nitro. August 14, 1995.
• Nitro Announcement Promos (1080i, 1:34): Hogan, Savage, and Sting talk up Nitro.
• A Montreal Conspiracy? (1080i, 2:46): Was there more to the WWE's most infamous moment, and if so, how did it play in the Monday Night Wars?
• DX Invasion -- "Raw Footage" (1080i, 3:37): More from DX's famous tank-riding shenanigans.

WWE: Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired is, simply, a must-see for every wrestling fan. It's intoxicatingly good in its reconstruction of the era, not just in a broad overview but in a multi-layered, highly intricate retelling of the ins-and-outs from both perspectives, getting to the middle of it all and doing so with a bit of flavor but, more importantly, tremendous depth. It's great stuff, something that might even appeal to non-wrestling fans if only for the historical context of television confrontations, but for wrestling fans this is a goldmine of retrospective excellence. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of Monday Night War Vol. 1: Shots Fired delivers satisfactory video and audio. Extras are unfortunately limited. This release comes very highly recommended based solely on main program content.