Review for WWE BRET 'HITMAN' HART: DUNGEON COLLECTION

Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. This is a DVD that certainly proves that even when you take away all the classic matches that everyone knows (Iron Man match at Wrestlemania 12 for example) and you boil it down to rare matches he is the still the best there is. This was something that I did worry about. Usually, when someone says that it is full of rarities or 'things you haven't seen before' there's usually a reason why people haven't seen it ie. it sucked. But I was completely blown away by how great everything on this DVD was.

The DVD is not really a biography (look for Bret's previous Best of DVD for a great documentary on his career) it is instead a look at his career from the point of view of his wrestling, who he wrestled and what his thoughts are on those people. These ranged from the likes of Dynamite Kid (amazing footage), Andre the Giant (a fascinating match, despite the awful quality) to Mr Perfect, Ric Flair and Stone Cold. In between each match, Bret gives a few thoughts on the person or what the match meant to him. Unlike a lot of other DVDs that did this, this was fascinating and I do wish that Bret had done some commentaries during the matches which would have made it even better.

The matches range from Stampede and Georgia Championship to WWE and WCW. Picture quality can be a little grainy in the older footage, but the quality of the matches, particularly those with Dynamite Kid more than make up for it. I do feel that based on this that WWE should release a Dynamite Kid or British Bulldogs DVD to show just how good they both were and when you watch Dynamite Kid against Bret it is sad that they weren't able to do this on a grander stage. Included on the set is a wonderful match between the two from when they both were in WWE and this is (as Bret even admits) one of the best matches ever and he even mentions how other people like Randy Savage and Terry Funk agreed.

The mix of Bret Hart talking and the matches is great, however I do wish that there was an option to just watch Bret Hart talking. Even if you didn't want to watch the match his stories about the various people or various points in his career are wonderful. The fact that it is Bret talking about his career and not either a voice over announcer or (after the In Your House DVD) God forbid Todd Pettengill! Because of this, you get a very honest opinion throughout and even in the matches were he wasn't so great (such as in WCW) he is still able to shine light on the few positives that there are.

Bret Hart: Dungeon Collection is a fabulous DVD for fans of Bret Hart and for old skool wrestling fans. There are few people who would be able to open up their archive and pull out gems left and right (probably the only other person would be Ric Flair), but this is a DVD that pulls off a rare feat: A Greatest Hits set with no Greatest Hits which is still entertaining and enjoyable to watch. If you are a fan of Hart then you will enjoy this, if (like me) you are a fan of Dynamite Kid then this is definitely a set that I would pick up.