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15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
For the Smart Mark.Feb 27, 2005
By Bama Boy
"Chad"
I have to tell you, I wasn't sure what to expect from this dvd, considering that WWE has did alot to try to make fans forget the past. Those days are clearly over and Vince McMahon and the WWE are giving the proper respect to there hall of famers that they deserve. Before the induction ceremony, there is a brief rundown on every superstar who was already in the hall of fame, like Ernie Ladd, Andre The Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Lou Albano and many others. Here are a list of the inductees:
Superstar Billy Graham: Had true charisma, laid the ground work for guys like Jesse Ventura and Hulk Hogan. He gives a touching speech, as he received a liver transplant and he points out that the girl who donated her liver, should also have her name by his. HHH introduces the Superstar.
Greg Valentine: Only behind Roddy Piper and Ric Flair in my book when it comes to rating heels(bad guys). At least in the mid 80s when he feuded with Tito Santana. He gives a standard speech. Good to see Greg recognized. Longtime manager Jimmy Hart did the introduction.
Harley Race: Didn't do much when he came to the WWE. Is mostly remembered for what he did before, which was win the NWA title on eight differant occasions. Ric Flair inducts him and gives a touching speech about how Harley was the one that insisted on passing the torch to Flair.
Tito Santana: Was up with Hulk Hogan and Junkyard Dog in WWE popularity in the 1984-1985 era. Didn't get enough respect in his career as far as I am concerned. Tito actually went out before serious injury and now teaches Spainish to 7th graders. Shawn Michaels inducts Tito, they wreslted each other at Wrestlemania VIII.
Don Muraco: One of the most underrated wrestlers ever in my opinion. He had such power and skill, he give Hogan his best matches in my opinion. A long time IC title holder. Had feuds with Tito Santana and Jimmy Snuka. Was inducted by Mick Foley.
Junkyard Dog: Very popular wrestler in the WWE and was very well respected by his peers. Was a influential top draw when in terms of the African American community. Ernie Ladd inducted JYD. Latoya Ritter (Dog's daughter.) accepted on behalf of her late father.
Sgt. Slaughter: One of the most popular wrestlers of the 1980s but after the 1990s, possibly the most hated wrestler of all time. Former WWE champion. He is known for being pro America but was a Iraq sympethizer in the 1990s. Received death threats. Was inducted by Pat Patterson.
John Studd: The greatest rival of Andre The Giant. There matches were way better than the Andre/Hogan matches. Of course, Andre was in worse shape at that time. Was inducted by Paul Wright aka The Big Show. John Minton Jr. (Studds son.) accepted this award on behalf of his late father.
Jesse Ventura: Best known for being governor of Minnesota but he billed as the next Superstar Graham but never lived up to the hype. Best success in wrestling come from tagging with Adrian Adonis for the AWA tag belts, and then later becoming a color commentator for the WWE. Took part of Wrestlemania 1 thru 6 as far as commentating and was the best in my opinion. Was inducted by his son, Tyrel Ventura.
Pete Rose: First celebrity inductee. Was pointless but was fun. Took part in angles with Kane for Wrestlemania 14, 15, 16. Was inducted by Kane.
Bobby Heenan: The best manager in the WWE, period. The most charismatic manager ever, period. Managed numerous wrestlers that included Ric Flair, Andre The Giant, Haku, Rick Rude, The Islanders, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, The Blackjacks, and many more. Was inducted by Blackjack(Jack)Lanza. Gave the most touching, funniest, and longest speech of this DVD. The DVD is worth buying just to see this segment. Don't get me wrong, its a great DVD but if it was 30 bucks and only had this one segment, it would be worth it.
The Extras include interviews and the following matches:
Big John Studd vs. Andre The Giant
Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana in a cage match.
Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter in a alley fight.
Don Muraco vs. Pedro Moralis
Harley Race vs. Junkyard Dog.
Jesse Ventura vs. Bob Backland
Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bruno Sammartino
Also features legendary segments that Pete Rose was in and several segments Bobby Heenan did with Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon.
The Class of 2005 dvd ought to be just as good. Right now, Roddy Piper, Cowboy Bob Orton, Paul Orndorff, The Iron Sheik, Nikoli Volfoff, and Jimmy Hart are slated to be inducted.
To Sum up, this is a great collection for any wrestling fan from the seventies and eighties.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
A true fan's NirvanaJul 10, 2004
By Jeffrey C. Zoerner
WWE has been doing a really good job with its DVD series, and this one stands out as exceptionally good.If you were a fan of professional wrestling before its days of self-acknowledged "sports entertainment"; if you remember when your friends all thought you were nuts, and when to root for the Magnificent Muraco at a live show was to risk your life; if you thought that "Hulkamania" was a huge step down for the sport and that Greg "The Hammer" Valentine was the prototypical role model; then there is no way you won't love this DVD. Perhaps most people will probably by it for the extras - historic matches such as the Sgt. Slaughter vs. Pat Patterson street fight, Big John Studd vs. Andre, Tito Santana vs. Greg Valentine for the IC belt (now THERE was a rivalry), and many others. Additionally, some of the non-match footage - interviews, promos, and the like - will get you a little misty-eyed. You'll see guys you never liked at the time (the late Junkyard Dog is an example in my case), but you'll realize how much they meant to the sport. But really, the induction ceremony is worthy of a DVD unto itself. The tributes are as good as are the acceptance speeches. Use the CHAPTERS option to skip the Pete Rose induction (now there's a situation that's embarrassing to both wrestling and baseball). You could pretty much watch the rest at a sitting. This would probably be an interesting view of wrestling history for younger fans. Old-timers shouldn't miss it. Great stuff.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Hall of Fame 2004 DescriptionMay 18, 2004
From silvervison.co.uk On March 13th 2004 - the night before Wrestlemania XX - World Wrestling Entertainment held a very special ceremony to induct 11 legends, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Don Muraco, Big John Studd, Junkyard Dog,"Superstar" Billy Graham, Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana, Harley Race, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Pete Rose, into its hallowed Hall of Fame. These are highlights of that ceremony. Three Hours of DVD Extras... Seven legendary matches:
-"Superstar" Billy Graham vs. Bruno Sammartino
-Sgt. Slaughter vs. Pat Patterson (with alternate commentary)
-Don Muraco vs. Pedro Morales
-Jesse Ventura vs. Bob Backlund
-Big John Studd vs. Andre The Giant
-Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana
-Junkyard Dog vs. Harley Race Plus: Pete Rose's three Wrestlemania appearences, classic interviews, promos and vignettes.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
An Amazing DVD for Old School Wrestling Fans!!Jun 03, 2004
By Digital
The WWE Hall of Fame DVD is an incredible piece of work. You can feel the mutual admiration not only from the new generation of WWE Superstars, but also among the honorees and those who had the pleasure of inducting them. For people like me who grew up watching all 10 WWE Hall of Famers (not to mention Pete Rose), it's a wonderful way to relive those glory days. Kudos to the WWE who apparently did not cut one bit of the inductees speeches. Bobby Heenan absolutely steals the entire night. He was never funnier. You put this together with the Ric Flair DVD and you have a wonderful library of old-school memories.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Bless these WWE legendsFeb 07, 2006
By Wayne Maye
"Creative Cancer"
This Hall of Fame DVD was a special DVD to watch. These inductees all deserved to be in the hall of fame @ some point in their careers, even if it may have been long overdue. In this DVD, you get the classy ceremony in its entirety, and well as extra matches, which I will review:
Disc One- Chapters:
"Superstar" Billy Graham
Greg Valentine
Pete Rose
Big John Studd (R.I.P.)
Sgt. Slaughter
Extras:
"Superstar" Billy Graham
Superstar's career (WWE Confidential - 09/06/03)
WWE Championship Match: "Superstar" Billy Graham vs. Bruno Sammartino (Graham wins title, Baltimore, Md. - 04/30/77), **1/2 (Two legends in the ring, pre-Golden Age era. A great moment to see Graham win the title.)
"Superstar" Billy Graham Promo (06/14/77)
Pete Rose
Wrestlemania XIV (Boston, Mass. - 03/29/98)
Wrestlemania XV (Philadelphia, Penn. - 03/28/99)
Wrestlemania XVI (Anaheim, Cal. - 04/02/00)
Big John Studd
Buddy Rogers' Interview (All Star Wrestling - 04/20/83)
Big John Studd vs. Andre the Giant (04/25/83), * (Not the best match in their series. A bad match to be sure, but good for nostagia purposes.)
Sgt. Slaughter
Alley Fight: Sgt. Slaughter vs. Pat Patterson (05/04/81), ***1/2 (Wow, was this match breath taking for the time. Talk about a brutal match. They figurately murdered each other here. A very good match.)
Alley Fight with Alternate Commentary by Michael Cole, Sgt. Slaughter & Pat Patterson
Sgt. Slaughter: "I Want my Country Back"
The Hall of Famers at Wrestlemania XX (03/14/04)
Easter Eggs - Hidden Features - Disc 1:
Go to Extras. Go to Pete Rose. Go to Wrestlemania XVI. Left click. You will be treated with an advertisement for No Mercy 2002 featuring Pete Rose and Kane.
Disc Two- Chapters:
Bobby Heenan
Tito Santana
Harley Race
Don Muraco
Junkyard Dog (R.I.P.)
Jesse Ventura
Vince McMahon
Extras:
Bobby Heenan
Atlantic City (Prime Time Wrestling - 03/21/88)
Yacht (Prime Time Wrestling - 11/22/88)
At Busch Gardens (Prime Time Wrestling - 12/12/88)
Grape squashing with Andre the Giant (Prime Time Wrestling - 02/25/91)
Bobby Heenan Tribute (WWE Confidential - 06/15/02)
Bobby Heenan's 1st night in the business
Greg Valentine & Tito Santana
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana (Santana wins title, Baltimore, Md. - 07/06/85), ***1/2 (Another very good match here. Valentine and Santana had a good series of matches around this time.)
Junkyard Dog & Harley Race
Junkyard Dog vs. Harley Race (Saturday Night's Main Event - 01/03/87)*, (This match is actually from Wrestlemania III. And it's not very good to the least, but for nostalgia purposes, it's great.)
Harley Race Promo (World Wide Wrestling - 06/15/83)
Gene Okerland interviews Junkyard Dog (Wrestling Challenge - 07/18/87)
Don Muraco
WWE Intercontinental Match: Don Muraco vs. Pedro Morales (Muraco wins title, Philadelphia, Penn. - 06/20/81), ** (A semi-decent match.)
Vince McMahon interview (03/20/83)
Jesse Ventura
WWE Championshop Match: Jesse Ventura vs. Bob Backlund (03/14/82), **1/2 (These two legends had a good match here. Don't let the rating fool you though.)
Pat Patterson interview (All Star Wrestling - 01/16/82)
Easter Eggs - Hidden Features - Disc 2:
Go to Extras. Go to Bobby Heenan. Go to Busch Gardens. Right click. You will hear Bobby Heenan explain how "Weasel" became a nickname and what he felt about the nickname.
Go to Extras. Go to Tito Santana & Greg Valentine. Go to Greg Valentine vs. Tito Santana. Right click. You will be treated to Greg Valentine explaining how the nickname "The Hammer" came about.
Overall, this DVD set is special for many reasons, with most of those reasons being these men getting their place in the hall of fame, and the nostalgia factor involved with the extra features. I recommend this DVD set. Make it a companion purchase with the Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80s 3 DVD set!!!!!!
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