WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 13, 2014

It's been three years since WWE Home Video last sent fans into a frenzy with a collection of classic OMG!!! moments in the excellent "OMG! The Top 50 Incidents in WWE History. Now, WWE Home Video has released a second volume, this one ditching the larger selection pool of the WWE and focusing instead on the smaller but just as exciting WCW universe. The program features stars aplenty in fifty of the most insane, head-scratching, dangerous, exhilarating, and flat-out weird moments in WCW's storied history. It's a fast-paced, ultra-exciting collection of vintage goodness sure to satisfy fans as they traverse down a memory lane lined with wrestling gold.

Hulkamania!

WWE Home Video presents OMG 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History in a very basic format. There's no "host," per se, no current or former star or WWE universe personality to introduce each, or even some, of the moments. Instead, a simple numerical introduction is followed by a mixed format of newly crafted interviews and cut-up footage from the moment or match in question. The WWE has amassed a huge selection of talent to sit down and talk about the moments and matches, including Hulk Hogan, Booker T, Cody and Dusty Rhodes, and plenty of other familiar and not-so-famialir faces, including a few "behind the scenes" WCW employees who helped make the moments and matches happen. In that way, it's very much a rapid-fire piece that gets the adrenaline pumped early on and never relents, particularly as the moments get nuttier and more insanely complex and ridiculous as the feature pushes towards number one.

The program contains a nice mix of the hardcore and the bizarre alike, ranging from the appearances of movie characters like Chucky and RoboCop to matches taking place in a junkyard at night and on the back of an 18 wheeler rumbling down the highway during the day. What's truly striking about these, particularly when watching them in hindsight and somewhat out of a greater context as part of a compilation and not caught up in the in the moment when they were first aired a decade or two ago, is thinking about the people who thought all of this up, who decided it might be fun to implement things like forklifts and electric chairs into a wrestling match. For the most part, all of it works on some level, even if that level is the comically absurd, and it all remains rather fun even when viewed in a retrospective context rather than within the heat of the moment. These are not full matches or moments, unfortunately. The piece offers only a sampling of the best highlight reel material from the event in question, but there are some key matches and moments presented in their entirety as supplementary content on disc two.

The following comprise the moments included in this set:

Disc One:

• 50. Junkyard Brawl: From July 11, 1999.
• 49. Canadian Hacksaw: From September 17, 2000.
• 48. Warrior: From August 17, 1998.
• 47. 49ers Match: From October 2, 2000.
• 46. King of the Road: From March 19, 1995.
• 45. Russo: From April 10, 2000.
• 44. Chucky: From October 12, 1998.
• 43. Bad Goldberg?: From June 11, 2000.
• 42. La Parka: From July 7, 1997.
• 41. Caged Horsemen: From September 29, 1985.
• 40. Jericho's Challenge: From November 9, 1998.
• 39. Litigation: From July 9, 2000.
• 38. Helicopter: From March 16, 1998.
• 37. Forklift Match: From August 13, 2000.
• 36. The Debut: From September 4, 1995.
• 35. Demolition: From September 27, 1999.
• 34. Electric Chair: From October 27, 1991.
• 33. Movie Magic: From June 1993.
• 32. RoboCop: From May 19, 1990.
• 31. Who's Better Than Kanyon?: From May 7, 2000.
• 30. Human Torch: From June 11, 2000.
• 29. Ambush: From October 25, 1986.
• 28. Russo Wins WCW Title: From September 25, 2000.
• 27. Chest Protector: From March 29, 1999.
• 26. Powerbomb: From June 16, 1996.
• 25. Finger Poke of Doom: From January 4, 1999.
• 24. Cruiserweight Showcase: From October 26, 1997.
• 23. n.W.....NO!: From January 13, 1997.
• 22. Lost in Cleveland: From April 1993.
• 21. Stir Crazy: From April 1999.
• 20. Piñata: From November 15, 1999.
• 19. Masked Luchador: From May 17, 1998.
• 18. Parking Lot Mess: From July 29, 1996.
• 17. Garbage: From December 18, 1995.
• 16. To Streak? Or Not to Streak?: From December 27, 1998.
• 15. Trailblazer: From August 2, 1992.
• 14. The Decision: From March 16, 1997.
• 13. Piledriver: From May 7, 1989.
• 12. The Worm: From March 16, 1997.
• 11. Parody: From September 1, 1997.
• 10-1. ??????????: In the famous words of the Go-Go's, "our lips are sealed." Buy the Blu-ray. This review isn't spoiling the best surprises!

WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

OMG 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History features a rather unimpressive transfer. The image is comprised of both new interview footage and older stock footage, both of which are presented at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, meaning the older material has been reformatted to stay in-line with the new material. The older footage is what it is, as they saying goes. It features less than ideal detailing, iffy coloring, and plenty of false colors, jagged lines, and other standard definition eyesores. It does not factor into the overall score. The new HD interview footage, however, feels like as step backwards for the WWE. Detail falters in many instances, with facial and clothing lines appearing disappointingly flat up against a green screen WCW logo backdrop. Light noise and compression issues are also evident. It's certainly not as crisp and exciting as most new WWE footage, but it looks good enough for what's asked of it.

WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

OMG 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History features the WWE Home Video-standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Truth be told, there's not much going on here. The introductory Hip-Hop-styled "OMG" music enjoys fair clarity, stage presence, and body, including a nice little bit of surround support. Musical overlays throughout also feature light surround information and suitable front-end range. The track presents a few light background effects, such as crowd cheers and entrance music, but such are usually pushed aside in favor of in-match commentary or new interview sound bytes, both of which are presented with suitably clarity and a front-center presence.

WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

OMG 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History contains the following extra matches and moments on disc two. Unlike the main program, where older material has been reformatted to fit the 1.78:1 frame, this content retains the original 4:3 presentation, placing vertical black bars on either side of the 1.78:1 HD frame. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1.

• WCW Match: Kevin Nash & Scott Hall vs. Sting, Lex Luger & "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Bash at the Beach -- July 7, 1996.
• WCW Moment: Sting Chooses WCW. Uncensored -- March 16, 1997.
• WCW Match: La Parka vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Nitro -- July 7, 1997.
• WCW Moment: n.W.o. Parody of The Four Horsemen. Nitro -- September 1, 1997.
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. Goldberg. Nitro -- July 6, 1998.
• WCW Moment: Chucky Interrupts Rick Steiner. Nitro -- October 12, 1998.
• WCW Moment: Goldberg Spears Bret "Hit Man" Hart. Nitro -- March 29, 1999.
• WCW Moment: Vince Russo Hits the Reset Button. Nitro -- April 10, 2000.
• Human Torch Match: Sting vs. Vampiro. Great American Bash -- June 11, 2000.
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Jeff Jarrett vs. Kevin Nash. Great American Bash -- June 11, 2000.
• Judy Bagwell on a Forklift Match: Buff Bagwell vs. Kanyon. New Blood Rising -- August 13, 2000.
• Steel Cage Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T. vs. Vince Russo. Nitro -- September 25, 2000.
• San Francisco 49ers Match for the Vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Booker T vs. Jeff Jarrett. Nitro -- October 2, 2000.

Blu-ray Exclusives:

• Cruiserweight Battle Royal: Winner Faces Chris Jericho for WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Slamboree -- May 17, 1998.
• Junkyard Invitational Match: Bash at the Beach -- July 11, 1999.
• Piñata on the Pole Match: Silver King vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. El Dandy vs. Psychosis vs. Villano V. Monday Nitro -- November 15, 1999.
• WCW World Heavyweight Championship Ready to Rumble Cage Match: David Arquette vs. Diamond Dallas Page vs. Jeff Jarrett. Slamboree -- May 7, 2000.
• United States Championship Match: Lance Storm vs. General Rection. Fall Brawl -- September 17, 2000.

WWE: OMG! Vol. 2 - The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With the first OMG set already on the marketplace and focusing on the WWE and OMG 2 taking a look at some of the most outrageous moments in WCW history, it seems only logical, if the timetable remains the same, that OMG 3 will hit store shelves sometime in August 2017 and focus on the ECW. If that's the case, here's hoping it comes much sooner than that; there's no shortage of viable content for such a release and it should make for, arguably, the best of the trio. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of OMG 2: The Top 50 Incidents in WCW History is wildly entertaining. A lengthier roster of full matches and moments on multiple bonus discs would have been preferable, but the highlight reel main program offers hours of great WCW content. The image and sound qualities aren't great, but all things considered this is a terrific release that comes highly recommended to pro wrestling fans.