Any (older) wrestling fan worth their salt will be aware of WCW’s weekly show Monday Nitro. From 1995-2001, for 286 episodes Nitro challenged WWE Raw in the ratings – winning 84 weeks in a row – and gave wrestling fans plenty to cheer, boo and mark-out over. Unfortunately not much of that stuff has made it into this second compilation of ‘best bits’.
Hosted again by Diamond Dallas Page (DDP), the package is put together as a clip show with plenty of DDP reminiscing about his wrestling days between clips. Sure his stories go on a little too long and are rather plodding, but his enthusiasm for the show, characters and people involved is infectious and the highlight of this package. What isn’t so enjoyable is the near ever-present Kevin Nash. Known in the wrestling world as someone willing to crush others both in-ring and politically, it is painfully obvious that Nash was only too willing to put himself over, whilst allowing superior performers – Bret Hart, Curt Hennig, Rey Mysterio et al. – to grow stale. The biggest part of this was the NWO which features heavily throughout the seven-hour plus running time and is another weakness. Sure it’s nice to see Hogan as a heel and Scott Hall healthy (although this fades into a bleary eyed mess towards the end), but with such a huge amount of time taken up with NWO promo’s and matches not befitting a ‘Best Of’ collection it is disappointing.
What really works for the package is its healthy dose of The Giant (whose excitement at one point borders on hilarity) and plenty of Sting – the best match in this set pits Sting against DDP in an enthralling Title one-on-one. Goldberg also gets plenty of time but his presence lacks impact because of the coverage he receives in Volume One which is the over-riding problem with this second ‘Best Of’, it feels as if spare parts have been thrown together to make a complete system, but it just doesn’t work. Indeed the randomness on show is at times very perplexing.
Fans looking for a trip down memory lane will undoubtedly find enjoyment on THE BEST OF WCW MONDAY NITRO VOLUME TWO, but if you’re new to WCW you’ll struggle to become engaged by the erratic editing and ponderous promo’s present. Whereas Volume One was near indispensable this second part is wholly unnecessary, and seems to know it.
THE BEST OF WCW MONDAY NITRO VOLUME TWO is released on Blu-ray and DVD 29th April via Fremantle Media
