Review of WWE: The Greatest Wrestling Managers

Introduction

The release of "The World`s Greatest Wrestling Managers" would, from the outside, appear to be an odd one on the part of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). After all, one would think that with most wrestling action taking place inside the ring, there would be very little of significant interest in the story of a wrestling manager.

Not so!

Throughout the course of the modern era of wrestling there have been managers who have left as much of an indelible print on wrestling, as have the in-ring performers. The likes of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, and "Classy" Freddie Blassie immediately spring to mind, and that`s without giving dues to others such as Jim Cornette or Paul Ellering, both of whom at one point were among the best orators in the business. All of these men, in one way or another, did exactly what what wrestling managers are supposed to do, and that is create extra aura around their charges, good guys and bad guys alike.

Hosted by Todd Grisham, the main feature is more of a magazine-style format than a true documentary, which relies on profiles of the managers in question with Grisham providing the interludes. The managers who are profiled are "Classy" Freddie Blassie, The Grand Wizard, Sunny, "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, Paul Bearer, Arnold Skaaland, "Sensational" Sherri, Jim Cornette, Paul Heyman, "Captain" Lou Albano, Miss Elizabeth, and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good indeed. I am consistently delighted by how Silver Vision (who produce WWE DVDs in the UK) handle the NTSC to PAL conversions that are required, and this is no exception. The inter-profile footage with Grisham looks the most clean of course, being that it was recorded in the last six months, but even the regular trips into the WWE archives are extremely pleasant visual experiences. And considering some of these trips are back to the 1970s, the quality of the footage is astonishing.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is very good for a DVD of this genre. The entire audio experience has a warm feel, which is aided by the fact that light background music never takes away from what is being said on-screen.

Features

Extras are plentiful on this disc, and come in the form of classic TV moments from each of the managers. There are three "manager matches", which are for comedic value (in a wrestling kind of way) only - do not expect mat classics! These are Captain Lou Albano vs Arnold Skaaland (Madison Square Garden, 19th December 1977), Bobby "The Brain" Heenan vs Greg Gagne (Loser Gets Put In A Weasel Suit Match, 17th August 1980), and "Louisville Slugger" Jim Cornette vs Paul E. Dangerously (Tuxedo Match, The Great American Bash, 23rd July 1989).

Further to this, there are many different promotional videos and clips from TV of the time, actually too many to list here. Most of these are for nostalgia value only, and have little repeat-viewing value, but they are certainly lovely trips into the "good old days". There are some hilarious moments too, such as "Mean" Gene Okerlund`s visit to the "offices of The Hart Foundation", and "Fuji Vice", a take on Miami Vice with Don Muraco and his manager Mr Fuji, which is so awful that it is actually genius.

These extras may not be earth-shattering, or contain any particularly intriguing information, but they are a lot of fun, in keeping with the tone of the main feature.

Conclusion

I`m sure that there are many people who wonder what on earth could be the attraction of this DVD, given that it is generally the in-ring performers who make wrestling what it is. Whilst that may be true - and it is certainly true that managers are far less common than they used to be - the people documented here are the cream of the crop, and some of the most entertaining personalities that wrestling has ever seen.

With that, this was a very watchable DVD feature, which at ninety minutes in duration, is more fun to watch than an extended documentary programme. Furthermore, the likes of Bobby Heenan, Jimmy Hart and Lou Albano (who many may recognise from the original Cyndi Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video) give a very interesting insight into what it takes to be a manager, and how they are able to get the crowd supporting or opposing their protégé.

Another major bonus on this DVD is the fantastic use of the WWE`s archive material. The WWE owns almost all of America`s TV wrestling of the past, and liberally dip into it here, allowing us the pleasure of re-living moments that we`ve seen in the late 80s, but also introducing us to rare material from the 70s. It is a treat to watch the clips put together so smoothly.

Overall, this is a very good DVD that all fans of 1980s American wrestling should take a look at. Newer fans who are curious about what is considered the hay-day of wrestling should take a look, too.