NJPW on WWE Chris Benoit DVD

[MARTYEWR]

Bought the DVD yesterday, and had enough time to watch the main program and the Pegasus Kid vs. Jushin Thunder Liger match.

For the record, the footage is in excellent quality. Didn't see the other two matches from 1994, but they had clips in the main program, and the footage looked great there too. New Japan has done a great job keeping care of their tape library, that's for sure. They've included the entrances of both Pegasus and Liger for their match, and none of the Japanese commentary is cut out to keep its authenticity. Haven't tried the alternative commentary yet.

As a whole, NJPW was presented very positively on the DVD by both the WWE and Chris Benoit. (There's a special Thank You at the end of the main program to NJPW, as well as other Japanese footage sources.) Benoit mainly spoke about how the training was tough, but over time, he really gained a large amount of respect for the people, the business, and the passion. He still savours winning the J Cup in 1994, and there are some other nice comments by Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, and Dean Malenko about how their friendships were formed there.

Overall, a pretty positive presentation of NJPW on a WWE production. Just wanted to pass this along.

[Luds]

Thanks for the review Marty!

I ordered mine from Amazon.ca with another bunch of DVD's and will only get it today as the Predator release was yesterday

Anyways, I'm looking forwards even more now with your review!

[Haiku Warrior]

I got it last week and it is very good. The other Japan matches are great. I never saw Great Sasuke before this DVD and he was awesome. The alternate commentaries on the matches are cool. Benoit & Malenko's are better than Tazz/Cole because they at least know what they are talking about.

One really good match on there is Eddie vs. Benoit from Nitro. It goes to show you how good Nitro was in the beginning and how it didnt capitalize on these great wrestlers.

The one of him & Regal from the BriPillMem show is really good too.

This one is really a must have for any wrestling fan.

[edgehead1984]

I'm gonna have to get this one....

[MARTYEWR]

I got it last week and it is very good. The other Japan matches are great. I never saw Great Sasuke before this DVD and he was awesome. The alternate commentaries on the matches are cool. Benoit & Malenko's are better than Tazz/Cole because they at least know what they are talking about.

One really good match on there is Eddie vs. Benoit from Nitro. It goes to show you how good Nitro was in the beginning and how it didnt capitalize on these great wrestlers.

The one of him & Regal from the BriPillMem show is really good too.

This one is really a must have for any wrestling fan.

Yeah, I've heard mixed reviews with the alternate commentaries. Benoit & Malenko obviously know their stuff, but Josh Grisham bring them both down so much that a lot of people preferred Cole & Tazz. Heard a comment that Grisham was so bad at one point that Malenko was ready to smack him.

Benoit-Regal is one of the matches I'm REALLY anticipating. I've heard stories that the match was so great that Vince McMahon had no choice but to re-hire Regal.

[Luds]

Well, all I'll say is that if McMahon was too blind to see Regal's talent, there would always be room for a wrestler like him in Japan.

[MARTYEWR]

It wasn't so much if Regal had (or still had) talent, it's if he cleaned himself up or not. It's no secret that the guy hit a lowpoint in the late 90s as far as drugs went, and he got ridiculously out of shape (particularly during the Real Man's Man and Dave Taylor tag team eras). He was well cleaned up by May 2001 and the Benoit match at the Pillman show was, at the very least, his best work since his WCW TV title era. On top of that, he's been friends with HHH since their WCW time together, so he'll always have an 'in' with Vinnie & Company because of that.

[Luds]

True.

Although I find it sad that great wrestlers like Regal can only get a job in the States if they're pals with trip...

I watched the first 2 chapters last night, the Early Days & The Japan days. Too short, but good. I'll watch the rest tonight.

[MARTYEWR]

Yeah, I watched more extras last night, and this morning, when I watched the Chris Benoit vs. Sid Vicious match.

I'd like to comment on Chris Benoit vs. The Great Sasuke match. This match, even though I'd seen it before (quite a while ago) blew me away. Sasuke's suplex on Benoit onto the ringside floor was absolutely insane, and his running-jump-corkscrew-tope was even more incredible. Made me yell out something that I'm not allowed to say here. So far, probably the best match on the disc in my book, although I'm not putting Benoit-Hart in the same category as the others because that match was done under different circumstances.

I forgot to mention yesterday that my girlfriend caught a bit of the Pegasus-Liger match with me. She generally hates a lot of WWE stuff, but she was amazed at the athleticism displayed by both, as well as the respect shown by the spectators during the match. You guys have heard of "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl"? Well, for me, it's "Boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy turns girl into puroresu fan".

[Haiku Warrior]

My wife always says, "You're going to go read about your Little Japanese guys?" She gets a kick out of it. She likes Rikishi "because he sticks his butt in people's faces"

I agree Marty, that guy with Malenko & Benoit on commentary did bite.

Here's some thoughts on some... (pos 5 *'s)
1. Liger-Pegasus **** Very good and cool to watch for the nostalgia purposes but I thought the finish was too weak.
2. Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke ***** By far the top one of the DVD. Let alone that this was the finals of the J Cup but just the way these two go at it.
3. Benoit vs. Guererro (NITRO) **** Awesome fast-paced well thought-out match. WCW just didn't know what wrestling was. Match was too short though.
4. Benoit v. Angle (Rumble) ***** Truly awesome match that we've all seen. This is what all WWE wrestlers should study on how a match should go.
5. Benoitv.HHHv.HBK (WM) *** We've all seen this one too. Good match but I just don't like Triple Threat matches and plus I felt Michaels weasled his way into the main event.
6. Benoit v. Regal (BPM) ***** This was the one that made Vince stand up and take another look at Regal. The guy is golden on the stick and in the ring. This match has a nice hard-hitting Euro style feel. I wish the quality was a little better though.
7. Benoit v. Hart (Owen Tribute) **** Great match but also too short. Should get a five-star for emotional value but only a four for overall match quality.

There's just too many good ones. When Angle's DVD comes out there's going to be the same problem of finalizing on his best. Another quick comment from the DVD... watching Sabu break his neck is sick! It really makes you cringed. The guy messed up the move himself. I don't feel it was Benoit's fault.

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

Hey, those asterisks are not allowed here, remember!?

Anyway, I got the DVD today.

Michael Cole & Tazz were ok, but Tazz had some wrong info that kinda annoyed me.

Who is Todd Grisham? He sounded like someone who doesn't know pro-wrestling much. To me, it would be a lot better if someone more knowledgeable were talking to Benoit and Malenko...especially after watching WrestlingClassics.com PPV with Mark Nulty & Jack Brisoc commentating on the Baba-Brisco NWA title match.

After all, I still enjoyed the Japanese commentary the most.

BTW, look for a guy with glasses and a white baseball cap who was trying to lead a section in the audience to chant something early in the Benoit-Snow match.




That's me.

[MARTYEWR]

Hey Hisa, what's the atmosphere like in the ECW Arena from your perspective? I'll have to rewatch the Snow match now.

Todd Grisham, IIRC, was hired as just another backstage interview after Terri Runnels chose to leave the company. Having him as just another interviewer is fine, but using him as alternate commentary for three great puroresu matches is a head-scratcher. Would've been better if they had Jim Ross do that, even if Ross is way better at North American history.

[Luds]

Eddie Guerrero would have been a good candidate if they really wanted another commentary insteag of Grisham.

[edgehead1984]

or Regal...

[Haiku Warrior]

Or Eugene...