The last WWE documentary style DVD I reviewed was the "Story of Wrestlemania" one, so I had some idea of the tone that the company was using for these now. Again, the actual documentary is far too shallow and one sided to be considered much more than a trip down memory lane for those of us who watched the WWF at the time, but the extras on the blu ray make the overall package more worthwhile.
With the edgier "WCW Nitro" beating the WWF's flagship show "Monday Night Raw" in the ratings every week. The company decides to respond in kind, ditching more cartoony elements, and traditional wrestling concepts for a more adult themed experience, with more violent and titillating content designed to keep the eyeballs on them. The move coincides with the breakout of Stone Cold Steve Austin as the biggest star in the business, with The Rock not far behind him.
So, again, I don't think that the hour or so documentary that was produced for the dvd is very good. It's a quick skim over a number of the characters that featured heavily in this era and some of their key moments. There is little genuine analysis and virtually no criticism - though to be fair Mick Foley does raise some concerns about some of the content, much of which is . . . Lets be kind and say is "of its time". There's no context either, there's no analysis of the movement in ratings over time, just that the WWE eventually wins.
That said, the blu ray version of this comes with eight and a half hours of extras, which are segments and matches from Raw, Smackdown and the Pay Per Views during this era which do a much better job of detailing the ups and downs and the wider variety of characters that made up this time in the business. In fact, if you were at all interested in this time and you could lay your hands on the blu ray, I'd say don't waste your time with the documentary, and just watch these extras.
