WWE" Legends Of Wrestling Collection – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

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As a longtime wrestling fan, I’ve often stood around with other fans and discussed the wrestling world with them. We’ve talked about particular feuds going on and even critiqued the performances of certain wrestlers during their time in the ring. We’ve come down harshly when someone doesn’t wrestle well and given plenty of kudos to different superstars whether we like them or not. Our opinions have been thrown about as to whether we feel someone is more suited for the babyface role or the villainous position of a heel. Particular matches are dissected and given our labels as “favorite or all time,” “a great technical bout,” or even “a contest full of nothing but blown spots.” We can discuss everything about wrestling all we want, but it never quite seems as important until it is discussed by those who live in the business.

Jim Ross hosts a panel called “The Legends Of Wrestling” represented by wrestling personalities over time consisting of Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes, Pat Patterson, and Mike Graham. Together they look at clips and matches of different wrestlers and then discuss them. Not only do they critique and discuss the wrestling personalities presented before them, but they also share stories from their history with them. No matter how many different wrestling events I’ve been too and the great number of wrestlers I’ve actually met and shook hands with; those small stories can never even begin to compare to the tales told by those such as Rhodes and Hayes.

Our first disc presents Jerry “The King” Lawler and the late, great Junkyard Dog. JR was sure to enjoy the first discussion about Lawler considering he partnered with him at the announce table for so long. One of the funniest things is JR revealing that Lawler has never had alcohol touch his lips and he has never smoked to which Hayes responds, “Well then you can’t trust him!” That is until Hayes reveals crapping in his pants in an early match against Lawler. All of those on the panel have a great deal of respect for Lawler from his early days in Memphis to his feud with Andy Kaufman and to his years behind the desk as an announcer. Moving onto the Junkyard Dog and the respect continues to roll out from the panel as they have nothing but nice things to say about the man. Not only was he a pleasure to work with in the ring but he always had the best personality outside the ring and backstage making him a person that people simply wanted to be around. JYD passed on way too early and even though his wrestling in-ring career was done; it’s obvious that he could have provided so much more to the business behind the scenes.

The second disc has the panel take a look at perhaps the greatest of all time in Ric Flair and the drill sergeant himself, Sgt. Slaughter. The guys seem to really enjoying sharing stories about Flair and none of them appear to have the least amount of animosity towards him. Rhodes, Hayes, and the rest of them all have the utmost respect for him and the accomplishments he gained throughout his storied career. One of my favorite stories about Flair is the one shared about it being close to 110 degrees outside yet here came Flair decked out in a mink coat and stepping into a casino like it was a freezing day outside. After they have fun with the “Nature Boy,” the fellas move onto the man who was the complete opposite of the jet-flying, limousine-riding Flair and that is the hard-nosed and roughneck Sgt. Slaughter. It is amazing how Slaughter took his persona into the ring and wrestled every single match as it if was real, honest to God boot camp. He wanted his opponents to feel pain and respect those that were inflicting it upon them. The panel has a good time discussing Slaughter and some of the over-the-top traits of his personality, but they know it worked for him and got the job done whether he was a patriotic American or United States turncoat.

The final disc in this set sees some changes in the panel as Jim Ross is still joined by Michael Hayes but they gain Eric Bischoff, Mick Foley, and Jerry “The King” Lawler in place of Rhodes, Patterson, and Graham. I’d say that wasn’t too bad a trade out considering that this edition of the panel would be discussing some matches that didn’t stretch as far back in time as past episodes did. This time around they were talking about “Heatseekers” meaning those wrestlers that not only drew the biggest heel heat in the ring but also in the backstage area with the higher-ups and the boys. As Hayes, JR, and others put it…the “whiners, bitchers, and complainers.” The great thing about this conversation is that not only do the panelists share stories about other wrestlers such as Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, Scott Hall, and more, but they also bring up tales about one another such as Lawler spilling a story about Hayes having a whining fest in Memphis. “Heatseekers” is by far my favorite disc out of this set because it tells stories that aren’t all complimentary and satisfying but actually show the side of wrestlers that they really may not want displayed to the public.

Legends Of Wrestling is a great idea that could have countless episodes and I’d never once get tired of seeing them. Listening to the legends of the sport sharing stories and spinning tales of past events and superstars they’ve had experiences with is just a great time to be had by all wrestling fans. The best part is that they hold nothing back whether it is lush compliments of their friends and enemies or simply ripping those they aren’t that quite fond of to shreds. Each panel discussion lasts just about an hour and if you ask me, that is far too short because these candid talks could go on for hours and I’d listen to every second.

Now special to these releases – because the WWE figured fans wouldn’t want to just see wrestling personalities shoot the breeze – World Wrestling Entertainment has included bonus matches on each disc.

Disc 1 Jerry “The King” Lawler and Junkyard Dog

~ AWA – January 22, 1989: Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Valiant Vs. Kerry Von Erich & Michael Hayes

~ Wrestling Challenge July 6, 1993: Jerry Lawler Vs. Owen Hart

~ King of the Ring June 19, 1994: Jerry Lawler Vs. Roddy Piper

~ In Your House May 14, 1995: Jerry Lawler Vs. Bret “Hit Man” Hart

~ King of the Ring June 25, 1995: “Kiss My Foot” Match Jerry Lawler Vs. Bret “Hit Man” Hart

~ WWE – June 8, 1996: Jerry Lawler Vs. Marty Garner

~ WWE – November 10, 1984: Junkyard Dog & Sgt. Slaughter Vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff

~ WrestleMania March 31, 1985: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match Greg Valentine Vs. Junkyard Dog

~ The Wrestling Classic November 7, 1985: Junkyard Dog Vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

~ Saturday Night’s Main Event March 1, 1986: Junkyard Dog Vs. Adrian Adonis

~ Saturday Night’s Main Event January 3, 1987: Junkyard Dog Vs. “King” Harley Race

~ WrestleMania III March 29, 1987: “Loser Must Bow” Match Junkyard Dog Vs. “King” Harley Race

Disc 2 Ric Flair & Sgt. Slaughter

~ Mid-Atlantic Wrestling – May 12, 1982: Sgt. Slaughter Vs. Mike Rotundo

~ WWE – September 24, 1983: Texas Death Match for the WWE Championship Sgt. Slaughter Vs. Bob Backlund

~ WWE – April 23, 1984: Sgt. Slaughter Vs. Iron Sheik

~ AWA Superclash III December 13, 1988: Boot Camp Match Sgt. Slaughter Vs. Col. DeBeers

~ Starrcade December 26, 1988: NWA Heavyweight Championship Match Ric Flair Vs. Lex Luger

~ Halloween Havoc October 28, 1989: Thunderdome Match Ric Flair & Sting Vs. Terry Funk & The Great Muta

~ WCW Nitro October 11, 1999: Ric Flair Vs. Curt Hennig

Disc 3 – Heatseekers

~ WWE – August 4, 1984: The Freebirds Vs. Ron Shaw, Rene Goulet, & Charlie Fulton

~ Clash Of The Champions March 27, 1988: NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: Lex Luger & Barry Windham Vs. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson

~ Chi-Town Rumble February 20, 1989: Loser Leaves NWA Match The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane w/ Jim Cornette) Vs. The Original Midnight Express (Jack Victory & Randy Rose w/ Paul E. Dangerously)

~ Wrestlewar May 7, 1989: NWA United States Championship Match Lex Luger Vs. Michael Hayes

~ WCW Nitro July 6, 1998: WCW United States Championship Match Scott Hall Vs. Goldberg

~ Halloween Havoc October 25, 1998: Scott Hall Vs. Kevin Nash

~ WCW NitroSteel Cage Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Vince Russo Vs. Booker T

~ Bash At The Beach July 11, 1999: Boxing Match Buff Bagwell Vs. Roddy Piper

The programs are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and everything looks great whether it is the panel discussion, older matches, or some of the newer matches from the past decade. Continuing the trend of great production values, the WWE makes sure that everything is presented beautifully.

The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the dialogue can all be heard loudly and clearly while clips from past events also come through nicely.

Matches – All of the matches on each disc are actually considered the special features since the roundtable discussion is main event.


Legends Of Wrestling is a great concept and a perfect collection of discussion and matches making for hours of entertainment. The panel of WWE/wrestling legends really knows their stuff and is well informed with not only personal stories about those up for discussion but plenty of other information that fans may not commonly know. I could sit back and listen to them swap stories for days about times spent in the ring and out with the different names thrown before them. I learned a lot just by listening to a bunch of men as if I had invited them over to my house for dinner one night. And what more could you ask for in the way of special features as we get a great collection on each disc that are relevant to the subjects at hand and it displays them in ways we have known and not known them. One of the better things is that a lot of the matches given are also not available on many other releases that you may already own. Sure you’ll come across a duplicate here and there, but not too often with these sets. There are three other discs that are exclusive to Best Buy stores currently, and they include Andre The Giant & The Iron Sheik, Roddy Piper & Terry Funk, and Hulk Hogan and Bob Backlund. If those discs are anywhere near as good as this set, and I’m willing to bet they are, then they will be my next purchase.

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WWE Home Video presents Legends Of Wrestling Collection. Featuring: Jerry “The King” Lawler, Junkyard Dog, Buff Bagwell, Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Goldberg, Lex Luger, Michael Hayes, and many more. Running time: 540 minutes on 3 discs. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: January 27, 2009. Available at Amazon.com