DVD REVIEW: Kayfabe Commentaries "KEVIN SULLIVAN AND THE END OF WCW"

Courtesy of Steve Rockamaniac:

On March 26th 2001, wrestling fans saw hell freeze over when Vince McMahon appeared on WCW Monday Nitro to put what would be the final nail in the coffin of World Championship Wrestling. The Monday night war was over, and in the years that would follow, fans would question what had caused such a successful company to fall so hard on its face. Many fans were quick to jump and make the obvious accusations towards the likes of Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, and Hulk Hogan. As time went on documentaries, autobiographies, and shoot interviews would begin to shed some light on how the AOL-Time Warner merger caused the downfall of the company. Some have gone in-depth, others have just thrown accusations around, However very few, if any gave you a week by week look at the tumultuous time that was 1999, 2000, and 2001 in WCW history. Enter the latest Kayfabe Commentaries DVD release entitled “Kevin Sullivan and the End of WCW”, As in early 2000, Sullivan was appointed head booker status and hoped to turn things around, while at the same time witnessed the empire crumbling around him. Over a 2 hour period Sullivan paints a picture of what was going on behind the scenes as the WCW when he had the reigns of power in the beginning months of the final year of the company’s existence.

Let me start off by saying that once again Kayfabe Commentaries has taken a topic that has been covered so many times, and somehow found a unique approach to covering it.

For the most part, this DVD takes a look at the first 3 months of the year 2000, But first the feature opens with some background information looking at how the NWA became WCW, and spends some time introducing the “players” such as Brad Siegel, Bill Busch, Vince Russo, Ed Ferrara, and Eric Bischoff. Sullivan and host Sean Oliver look at the decision to send Bischoff home, and the hiring of Bill Busch, who would then hire Russo and Ferrara. Sullivan picks apart Starrcade 99 and the mistakes around that. They enter the year 2000, and Sullivan explains the state of the company at the time, specifically the talent, as the young guys were looking for a push, while the big players such as Hall and Nash were coming to realize that the new world order was on its last legs, the talent wanted a change, and Bill Busch who was in charge at the time makes Sullivan head booker, Russo leaves, and Sullivan is left to embark on what is a ridiculous task of trying to rebuild a product left in shambles. We hear how he was planning to turn the product around, all the while having to deal with talent who wanted out, talent who were being fired because of their off air actions, and a group of higher ups so out of their element it wasn’t funny.

At times you will get some of the stuff you expect from the “End of WCW” story, but what makes this DVD so great is the fact that Sullivan takes you into his world for a day by day and week by week look at the 3 months of his reign as head booker of the company. We’ve all heard the stories of a crazy and unorganized backstage area of WCW, but with this DVD you get a mind boggling explanation of what the head booker had to deal with, as it was almost to the point where, as Sullivan explains and accuses, people were seemingly intentionally trying to have the company fail. So to finalize things this DVD is a very interesting watch, may even be a must watch for those who have always been intrigued with the fall of WCW’s empire.

“Kevin Sullivan and the end of WCW” is now available on DVD from Kayfabe Commentaries. For more information or to order your own copy check out www.kayfabecommentaries.com And you can also check out all of my previous reviews at www.maineventradio.com/reviews.htm