Perhaps the most politically-driven WWF tape of all time is also the worst. The whole thing serves to settle old scores and rewrite reality in the most fantastical manner imaginable, with those at odds with the company at the time of release such as Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior coming in for a grilling. The revisionist history starts with the claim that Hulk Hogan followed Andre the Giant into movies, despite Andres feature film debut coming in cult classic The Princess Bride (1987), a whopping five years after Hogan had burst onto the big screen with Rocky III. After skipping over the 1988 and 1989 events entirely because everyone involved in them was working for WCW, the tape shifts focus to 1990, where the WWF claim that Shawn Michaels stole the show and launched his career. Which is just wrong. To make the piece even more distressing, Michael Cole provides live commentary on the snippets of the match shown so the WWF don't have to acknowledge that WCWs lead-announcer Tony Schiavone once worked for them. Petty. 1992s show is also avoided because the main event saw Bret Hart beat Shawn Michaels, but they do discuss the 1993 event and suggest that the thrown-together Hart Family vs. Shawn Michaels and three masked jobbers match was a continuation of their rivalry. This is another lie. The match was supposed to pit the Hart clan against Brets rival Jerry Lawler, but Lawler was dealing with sexual assault on a minor charges that had been levelled against him, so Shawn was hurriedly drafted in to take his place. The real main event featured Lex Luger, but he had walked out on the WWF three years prior to this tapes release, so that is ignored too. The only things shown from 1994 and 1995 are Chuck Norris, a fake President Clinton, and a match where Goldust defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in the latters last ever WWF match. Remarkable choices. 1996 is practically glossed over, then we get to the real reason this was released: WWFs take on the Montreal Screwjob at the 1997 event. Or, as Cole puts it, The final temper tantrum by the man who saw himself as a positive role model and a Canadian hero, was such a disappointment that it broke the hearts of his lifelong fans. The WWF give their skewed half-baked excuses for why Vince McMahon did what he did, none of which is justifiable or accurate, then the tape closes out with McMahons infamous Bret Screwed Bret interview which didn't even occur at Survivor Series, it was on Raw. This tape is horrible in so many other respects too, aside from the political tripe. Coles claims in the voiceover are nearly all lies, the music that accompanies the matches is techno garbage, and the failure to mention more than two elimination matches the key feature of early Survivor Series shows is a baffling decision. Horrible in every single way. Buy this for the sole purpose of destroying it and ridding the world of the WWFs dogma and propaganda for good.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
