7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A collection of the best WCW Pay-Per-View events.
Starring: Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Steve Borden, Eddie GuerreroSport | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Newcomers to the world of professional wrestling or those not really old enough to remember might be surprised to know that there was a time when pro wrestling wasn't just a product with the WWE log attached to it. Longtime fans will fondly remember the old days of rivalries bigger than the most ginormous wrestlers, rivalries built on ever-shifting allegiances, wild swings in ratings, "Monday Night Wars," and more testosterone for the wrestling dollar than found in a Big Poppa Pump drug test. The WWE certainly isn't hurting these days without a major rival, but the decade of the 1990s witnessed an explosion of talent on both ends and a feud for viewership quite unlike anything sports entertainment had seen before or has seen since. That struggle for fandom and the fan's wrestling dollar expanded to the burgeoning and lucrative Pay-Per-View market, kicked off with the very first WrestleMania in 1985 and followed two years later by the NWA's (soon to be the WCW) first foray into pay-to-watch services with its premiere event, Starrcade. WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1 chronicles 21 of the best NWA/WCW PPV matches, spanning the debut event at 1987's Starrcade all the way through to the WCW's final Pay-Per-View, Greed, which aired only days before the WWE's official acquisition of the WCW brand.
And so it begins.
WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1's 1080i high definition transfer is near indistinguishable from other like compilations released through WWE Home Video. The feature is divided into two segments, the first being the dominant classic standard definition footage that retains its original 4x3 broadcast aspect ratio (with WWE-themed "black bars" flanking either side of the 1.78:1 display) and the second the newly minted Booker T commentary snippets that were photographed in HD video, presented in a full 1.78:1 frame. The vintage material looks quite good for its age, despite the plethora of unavoidable technical issues plaguing it, such as imprecise color and murky detail, jagged edges, lessened definition over HD, and so on. This is a classic case of "it is what it is." It's certainly watchable and far better than the old wavy broadcast-recorded VHS tapes fans may have packed away in their closets. The HD interview clips, few as they may be, look fine, offering crisp details, solid colors, and minimal blocking. There's not much here to grade; the SD material satisfies given its constraints, and the limited HD material is in no way offensive.
WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1 features a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. As expected, it's terribly basic. The Booker T commentary plays with smooth accuracy up the middle, nicely capturing the nuance of his guttural speech patterns. The matches enjoy solid presence though they lack the ambition, spacing, and accuracy of the newer presentations. The oldest material is cramped and rather harsh, with minimal clarity and not much presence to anything beyond ringside commentary. The track opens up a bit the further the program marches through time. By the last matches there's a more open spacing and enhanced clarity to not only dialogue but also crowd ambience and wrestling sound effects. Like the video, there's not much here beyond the basics, but those basics are presented about as well as can be expected.
WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1 features all of its extra matches on disc two under the "Blu-ray Exclusives" tab.
WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1 foregoes much in the way of oral history and simply dives straight in for hours upon hours of classic wrestling goodness. There's probably not a better jumping-in point for newcomers to the WCW landscape and for longtime fans, this release should find a place of honor amongst the handful of other WCW-themed Blu-ray releases, including The Best of Monday Nitro Vol. 2, War Games, and Clash of the Champions. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of WCW's Greatest Pay-Per-View Matches, Volume 1 features WWE-standard video and audio for throwback material ported to Blu-ray. Four Blu-ray exclusive bonus matches are included. Highly recommend to all professional wrestling fans.
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