The Piledriver Report 5.07.08: What DVDs Should the WWE Release Next?

Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 05.07.2008

Over the first four months of 2008, the WWE has treated the fans to three great non-pay per view DVDs in “The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin,” Triple H: The King if Kings,” and “Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story.” While there are several great DVD titles along the way for the remaining eight months of 2008, this week, we look at which DVD titles the WWE should add to its release schedule in 2009.

Late last year, the WWE announced their 2008 DVD release schedule. Aside from the upcoming pay per view releases, in the remainder of the year, the WWE will be releasing the following DVDs:

The Rock: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment
The Best of Starrcade
SummerSlam: Complete Anthology Box Set
The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect
Complete Hell (Hell in the Cell DVD)
Edge
Randy Savage: Macho Madness
Sting

Since the WWE released those titles, they have cancelled the Randy Savage and Sting DVDs. While it is understandable as to why the WWE would cancel a Sting DVD, with him working in TNA. It still remains a mystery as to why the WWE refuses to have anything to do with the "Macho Man."

So far this year, the WWE has released "Triple H: The King of Kings" and "The Legacy of Stone Cold Steve Austin," which were matches only DVDs. They also recently released "Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story," which was a combination biography/matches DVD. All three DVDs were up to the WWE's usual high standards.
Despite the titles that have been released, and are about to be released this year, the WWE still has plenty of work to do in the DVD department.

This edition of "The Piledriver Report" takes a look at which DVDs the WWE should look at creating for the 2009 calendar year. The two most obvious DVDs are the two DVDs that were taken off this year's schedule in Sting and Randy Savage. Both should be biography/matches DVDs.

The Sting DVD: This DVD has to include the Clash of the Champions I match with Ric Flair that put Sting on the map. His first title win over Ric Flair, and his title chase and victory over Hulk Hogan are a must as well. Some lesser-seen matches like Sting and Lex Luger's Crockett Cup finals victory would be great. Hopefully, by this time, the WWE can buy the old Mid-South/UWF. This way we can see some Sting/Ultimate Warrior tag team footage.

Randy Savage: Macho Madness DVD: While I would love for this DVD to include the real reason for Vince's hostility towards Randy Savage, at this point, I would just settle for a non-Macho bashing DVD. In other words, I don't want a "Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior" type smear campaign. I want a straight shooting DVD that will honor the great career of one of professional wrestling's best performers. As for matches, of course, it should include his WWF World title victories over Ted DiBiase and Ric Flair. The WWE should also add his Intercontinental title win over Tito Santana, his match against the Honky Tonk Man that turned him into a face, the match against Bret Hart on the following edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, and his "retirement" match against the Ultimate Warrior. Like Bret Hart's DVD, I would also like to see some rare footage, as well. They should throw in one of his December 1985-February 1986 Madison Square Garden matches against WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan. Give us some real old school, Jerry Lawler vs. Randy Savage matches from his Memphis days. The WWE can add some of his WCW matches. For extras, they can air footage from his WWF entrance when every manager was after him, but he signed with Miss Elizabeth.

WarGames: The Match Beyond DVD: For some odd reason, the WWE refuses to pay homage to one of the greatest gimmick matches ever created. It's no mystery as to why. It's because it was a Crockett Promotions created gimmick, and not a Vince McMahon creation. Even Triple H has tried to talk Vince into running a WarGames match on one of their shows, but to no avail. A WarGames DVD could be a great DVD for old school fans, and newer fans who never heard of WarGames. There could be a short documentary portion in the beginning of the video, where they talk to the Crocketts, Dusty Rhodes, and Ric Flair about what led to the creation of the match. Other interviews can feature past performers of WarGames where they give their thoughts on the greatest steel cage gimmick until the Hell in the Cell match. Since there have only been 13 WarGames contests, the WWE can include each match on the DVD. The more famous matches would include: The Four Horsemen (Flair/Luger/Arn/Tully/JJ Dillon) against the Road Warriors/Nikita Koloff/Dusty Rhodes/Paul Ellering. Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Steve Williams, Nikita Koloff, and Paul Ellering against The Four Horsemen (Flair, Blanchard, Arn, Windham, and JJ Dillon). Sting's Squadron (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and Barry Windham) vs. The Dangerous Alliance (Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Steve Austin, Larry Zbyszko, and Rick Rude).

Starrcade: The Complete Anthology Box Set: This year, the WWE is giving the fan's The Best of Starrcade DVD. Why not give us the whole thing? After all the "Granddaddy of the Supercard" is what helped pave the way for shows like WrestleMania. There were eighteen Starrcade supercard telecasts. From the inaugural show on November 24, 1983 called Flair For the Gold (headlined by NWA World Champion Harley Race vs. Ric Flair) up until December 17, 2000's final Starrcade (featuring WCW World Champion Scott Steiner against Sid Vicious), this box set should include every match in its entirety.

Title vs. Title: Unification DVD: Have you ever wondered what would happen if the WWF Champion faced off against the NWA Champion? There was a time when champions from different companies would face each other. Harley Race fought "Superstar" Billy Graham, as well as Bob Backlund. Bob Backlund fought Ric Flair. Flair also fought AWA World Champion Rick Martel. Don't forget the time AWA World Champion Jerry Lawler faced off against World Class Champion Kerry Von Erich. Plus, this DVD can include inter-federation unification matches, such as WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan against the WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior, not to mention various WWF World vs. WWF Intercontinental champion house show matches from the late eighties up until present day. The NWA/WCW had their share of unification matches. NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought NWA US Champion Lex Luger in a series of matches. NWA US Tag Team Champions the Midnight Express feuded with NWA World Tag Team Champions Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson.

The Complete History of the WWF/E World Championship DVD Box Set: While the WWE had already put a "History of the WWE Championship" DVD, it was incomplete. The version that I am suggesting would include every WWWF/WWF/WWE World title reign. This would be a nice box set for the fan who loves to mark out over the words "and new World Heavyweight Champion of the World…."

Tag Teams of the Eighties DVD: The WWE has given us "The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the Eighties." How about the greatest tag teams from that golden era of tag team wrestling? The eighties were filled with unbelievable tag team competitors. The three versions of the Midnight Express, the Rock n' Roll Express, the Rockers, the Wild Samoans, the Moondogs, the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation, Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson, the Fantastics, the Fabulous Ones, the Freebirds, DOOM, the Road Warriors, Demolition, Youngblood/Steamboat, and the Andersons would all be highlighted throughout the DVD.

Terry Funk: Hardcore Legend DVD: With WrestleMania XXV in Houston, TX next year, there are already rumors that the "Funkster" may be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. With his Hall of Fame push, comes a marketing push that includes a DVD. This DVD would definitely include a lengthy biography. There should be a humorous look at all of Terry Funk's "retirement" matches, along with footage of each one. As for the match portion of the DVD, if possible, the DVD should include his NWA World and ECW World title victories. The DVD should include his series of matches against Ric Flair, the very first three-way dance against Shane Douglas and Sabu, hopefully an exploding an exploding death match against Mick Foley from Japan, throw in a house show or two against the Junk Yard Dog, a match against Dusty Rhodes, and the "Born to be Wired" barbed wire affair against Sabu in ECW.

Crockett Country: The History of Mid-Atlantic Promotions and WCW DVD: This should be packaged similar to the "Rise and Fall of ECW." Feature the major players in this documentary from the era. The Crocketts, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Eric Bischoff, Vader, Hulk Hogan, Sting (if available), Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat, Nikita Koloff, Jim Ross, and many of the top stars and backstage personnel that helped lead the company. They shouldn't use this as a WWE vehicle at revisionist history, but as a true documentary of the WWE's greatest competitor. Along with the documentary, there should be matches in the DVD. The region is littered with fantastic matches. Flair vs. Steamboat, the Midnight Express vs. the Rock n' Roll Express, the Road Warriors vs. the Steiner Brothers, Sting vs. Flair, Lex Luger vs. Flair, and the late nineties cruiserweight division that battled with each other in the late nineties. The final match on the DVD should be the Ric Flair vs. Sting match from the final Nitro broadcast.

Dragon Fire: The Story of Ricky Steamboat DVD: Another DVD that should correspond with a 2009 Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Ricky Steamboat is one of the greatest workers in the history of the business. This DVD should be a reflection of this. After a biography that discusses the career of one of the few wrestlers to never work heel, despite wrestling professionally for eighteen years. This DVD should include his Intercontinental title victory over Randy Savage at WrestleMania III, as well as his NWA World title victory against Ric Flair. His Iron Match contest against Rick Rude at Bash at the Beach remains a personal favorite of mine. It would be cool to throw in some old Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat battles for the NWA TV and US titles in the late seventies/early eighties. Plus, his legendary tag team feud pitting himself and Jay Youngblood against Gene and Ole Anderson should make the list. His final US title victory against Steve Austin should close out the match portion of the DVD.

Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story DVD: Jimmy Snuka was an innovator in the world of professional wrestling. When fans think of highflying wrestling in the history of sports entertainment, Jimmy Snuka's name is always near the top of the list. A biography featuring Snuka, as well as performers that were influenced by the "Superfly," like Mick Foley, should be included. A unique view should be SmackDown's Deuce talking about growing up with the "Superfly" as a dad. Talk would also have to include his substance abuse problems, as well as the night his girlfriend died under mysterious circumstances. Matches would include his two classic steel cage matches from MSG against WWF World Champion Bob Backlund and Intercontinental Champion Don Muraco. An extra feature would include Snuka's famous appearance on "Piper's Pit" interview segment. Since Snuka never tangled with Piper on any pay per view or "Saturday Night's Main Event," the WWE would need to go through their house show vault to find a match to put on the DVD between the two. From his AWA days, they could give us a match against Col. DeBeers, who he feuded with. How about this for some history? The tape should include his match with Salvatore Bellomo from April 25, 1992 when he became the first World Champion in ECW (then Eastern Championship Wrestling) history.

"Break the Walls Down:" The Rise of Chris Jericho DVD: Out of all of the main event wrestlers in the WWE, Chris Jericho is the only wrestler who has been around for awhile that does not have a career DVD retrospective made for him. The biography should combine everything from his "Lion's Tale" autobiography, and include his run in the WWF/E, his retirement when he concentrated on his music and Hollywood aspirations, as well as his current WWE run. Since the WWE owns video from every territory that Jericho has competed in, the match selection should be plentiful. Since Lance Storm has their first match of their career on tape, the WWE should ask for permission to use that for Jericho's DVD, just like they have Triple H's first ever match on the "King of Kings" DVD. It would be really cool to see how far Y2J has come since his days at the Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling School. The WWE could include some promos and matches of the two from their tag team days in Smoky Mountain. If they could get permission, some Japan Super J Cup matches would be great. Then you have his ECW run, as well as his WCW Cruiserweight run. In the WWF/E, you would have to include his promo against The Rock where he debuted. Both matches where he unified the WWF and WCW World titles need to be on there, as does the match from the April 17th, 2000 RAW episode where he beat Triple H for the WWF belt, only to have it stripped from him minutes later. His matches with Edge, Shawn Michaels, Christian, The Rock, and John Cena should be included, as well. However, the WWE should try to include some house show matches, instead of just the usual pay per view encounters.

Shooting the Breeze with…. DVD: These can be a series of DVDs in which past and present WWF/E Superstars sit down with Jim Ross for a Shoot Interview on their careers. These should be produced similar to the RF Video or Ring of Honor Shoot Videos. The only problem is that the wrestlers being interviewed may not want to bite off the McMahon hand that feeds them. However, if they were able to be completely honest without having to bash their employer, this series of DVDs could prove interesting viewing material.

These are just some of the many DVDs the WWE should seriously think about making. If the WWE even uses half of the suggestions on this list, then the fans should have a lot of great videos to watch over the next couple of years.