WWE Monday Night War, Volume 1 Shots Fired DVD Review

September 8, 2015

If you have the WWE Network, there’s a chance you have seen everything offered on this set, as it is a compilation of the first ten episodes of the show the set is named for, in their entirety. If you haven’t seen it yet, however, it’s a pretty interesting series overall.

[adinserter block=”1″]Across four discs, we get the first ten episodes of their show, documenting the infamous “Monday Night War” between WWF Monday Night RAW/RAW is WAR and WCW Monday Nitro. Now, this subject has been covered in pretty much every medium you can imagine, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t be interesting and fun to reminisce about, and the WWE does a pretty good job bringing the memories back.

Previously, WWE released a set of the same name that was a documentary with a handful of matches included on it. While it was a big seller and well-received, it also received a lot of criticism due to Vince McMahon’s penchant for rewriting history when it comes to his former biggest competitor. Also, because it was only around 90 minutes long, a whole hell of a lot was glossed over (you can’t fit a six-year war into 90 minutes), and some stuff was left out completely. This time, the war is covered way more in-depth, with a lot more information being included. Each episode of the show, instead of focusing on the war overall, instead focuses on one aspect of the war, meaning there’s a lot more material covered, and a lot more time to do it.

As I said, there are ten episodes included here, and each one focuses on a different aspect: The war itself, the nWo, the Attitude Era, D-Generation X, Mick Foley, Bret Hart, WWE & WCW’s most loyal employee (The Undertaker & Sting, respectively), Steve Austin, Goldberg, and finally, the cruiserweight division. Each story is covered in documentary format, with accounts from personalities who were involved at the time (far too many to list here). Also included are accounts from current (or current at the time of the recording) employees who were not part of the war, but instead offer the perspective of fans watching at home, which most of them were at the time. A lot of WWE sets include these accounts more as filler than anything else, but most of the talents here actually offer some interesting and entertaining perspective.

At the end of each episode, Renee Young sits down with representatives of each company at the time, Triple H and Sting, getting their take on the events being discussed. Both guys are very candid, entertaining and respective of both products, regardless of what their personal feelings were at the time. It’s really nice to see Sting being so involved in some of these projects. Say what you will about the last ten years or so of his in-ring career, but he’s still a great storyteller, and listening to him chat is an enjoyable experience. I would have liked to hear more from him, honestly. During each segment, Triple H tends to do most of the talking. Not that he isn’t entertaining or informative, but often times, it felt like he was taking over the segment, whether he intended to or not. Still, it’s a minor gripe, and does nothing to diminish the quality of the set.

While there is still some bias in favor of WWE over the course of the set (surprising, no?), this time around, it’s kept somewhat to a minimum. This set is much more fair and balanced overall, with plenty of input from men and women who worked for both companies during the war, as well as several ECW employees, who were kind of caught in the crossfire during the war. The stories from numerous key players are fun to listen to, even if some of them are just archival footage (Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner, for example). And, thanks in no small part to Keith David, one of the best voice-over men/voice actors out there, the production values are top notch, with the set having a very professional, dramatic feel.

[adinserter block=”2″]Sadly, the only thing on this set are the ten episodes of the show. There are no special features, matches, promo segments, etc. There is still a ton of content on here across the episodes-around 7 hours total-but it would have been nice to have a match or two to go with the subject of each episode, as well as a couple promo segments and the like. Perhaps there will be the next time around, given that the title of this set indicates a sequel.

If you haven’t seen the show, this is definitely a set you want to pick up, especially if you were a fan during the war. And even if you have, you might still want to pick it up, as it’s a very nice addition to any wrestling DVD collection.

DISC 1

The War Begins
– WWE’s Evolution
– NWA to WCW
– Raw Entertainment
– Eric Bischoff’s Impact
– Monday Nitro
– Dirty Tactics