DVD REVIEW: KEVIN SULLIVAN AND THE DEATH OF WCW
By Steven Wilson on 3/22/2008 11:03 AM
DVD REVIEW : Kayfabe
Commentaries "KEVIN SULLIVAN AND THE END OF WCW"
On March 26th 2001, wrestling fans saw hell
freeze over when Vince Mc Mahon 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 WCWâ€, 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.
