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WWE - the Life And Times Of Mr. Perfect
If I had to list one shortcoming of my time at DVD Talk as a reviewer, it'd be that I procrastinate until I feel the review is perfect. It has to be the "perfect" time for me to watch the DVD, the "perfect" time to sit down, collect my thoughts and type out a review. I also think that each review has to be the "perfect" thesis on every single thing on the DVD in question. See where i'm going with this? In those regards, I demand perfection. I would love to say that this DVD is perfect and the WWE has done Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig justice (they came this close), but I can't. Why's that?
Well, the latest release from WWE Video, the Life And Times Of Mr. Perfect, is a two-disc collection of showcasing Mr. Perfect's unfortunately short time in wrestling. As with other WWE superstar releases, disc one kicks off with a one hour fifteen minute documentary covering Curt's life. From Curt tagging along after his dad signed with AWA to Curt's time as a ringside commentator after being sidelined with a back injury, this documentary touches on some of the moments in Curt's way-too-short career.
In addition to Curt's wife, father and son, his friend Brad Rheingans, as well as WWE Legends Tony Garea, Harley Race and Arn Anderson share their recollections. Nick Bockwinkel, Jerry "the King" Lawler and Greg Gagne talk about some of their matches with Curt - unfortunately, only Nick's 60 minute, career-defining match with Curt makes the cut on disc two. And that's part of the problem. There's so much talk about how great of a wrestler Curt was and all the great matches he participated in, yet many are missing. Heck, after watching some of the the footage between he and Bret Hart, along with his feud with Gagne, where both of their fathers got involved, I think they could've made this a 3 or 4 disc collection. Since I missed most of Curt's run as "Mr. Perfect", the documentary, along with the research I did after watching the DVD, made me wish there were more matches included or the documentary was more in-depth.
Disc one also contains two early matches, Curt's induction into the 2007 WWE Hall Of Fame and 14 vignettes where Curt shows off his pool, golf, darts, bowling, chess, basketball, ping pong, diving, horseshoes, baseball, football, basketball and hockey (whew!) skills and demonstrates exactly how perfect he is. There's also two minute-long stories where Wade Boggs and Dusty Rhodes reminisce about Curt's love of karaoke, along with a recollection of Curt's appearance on Lifestyles Of the Rich And Famous from...Brock Lesnar! Ironic? However, the true gem on disc one is the "Rap Is Crap" video from the West Texas Rednecks - a group made up of Curt, Barry and Kendall Windham and Bobby Duncum, Jr.. Originally put together as a group of heels, the Rednecks were supposed to feud against Master P and the No Limit Soldiers. Unfortunately, more fans booed the No Limit Soldiers rather than the Rednecks (rightfully so), and that feud quickly ended. Disc two is where the bulk of Curt's matches can be found. As I mentioned earlier, I guess there's a good sampling here, but after watching the matches, I wanted so much more. Here's the card
:- Perfection
- Twin City Origins
- Building A Path
- AWA
- Mr. Perfect
- Living Up To His Name
- Intercontinental Champion
- the Prankster
- Commentator
- WCW
- Return To the WWE
- A Sudden Tragedy
- Hall Of Fame
- the Perfect Legacy Lives On
Disc Two [3hr 9m] : While I do have more than a passing interest in the WWE, I won't be throwing on an NWA shirt anytime soon, so I decided to list the length of the matches so those knowledgeable fans can determine if a match is edited or not. Oh, and for some reason the matches are listed as "Special Features" instead of chapters:
- AWA Championship Wrestling - 60-Minute Time Limit AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match - November 15, 1986 [Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel] [62m] - This one hour match is the one that Greg Gagne states was responsible for making Curt a different person and set him on his way to becoming a star.
- Wrestlefest - July 31, 1988 [Curt Hennig vs. Terry Taylor with Commentary By: Michael Cole & Mick Foley] [6m]
- Madison Square Garden - April 24, 1989 [Mr. Perfect vs. Bret "Hit Man" Hart] [25m]
- Madison Square Garden - January 15, 1990 [Mr. Perfect vs. Hulk Hogan] [19m]
- WWE Intercontinental Championship Match with Special Referee "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - Madison Square Garden - November 24, 1990 [Mr. Perfect vs. the Texas Tornado] [20m]
- WWE Intercontinental Championship Match - Summerslam - August 26, 1991 [Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Mr. Perfect] [21m]- This is a match that Edge cites as an inspiration.
- WWE Intercontinental Championship Match - Summerslam - August 30, 1993 [Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels] [16m]
- Uncensored - March 15, 1998 [Curt Hennig vs. Bret "Hit Man" Hart] [20m]
Special Features - As found on disc one:
- Matches:
- Curt Hennig vs. Eddie Gilbert [Madison Square Garden - November 21, 1982] [16m]
- Curt Hennig & Scott Hall vs. Steve Regal & Jimmy Garvin [AWA Championship Wrestling - November 26, 1985] [13m]
- Mr. Perfect Hall Of Fame Induction [WWE Hall Of Fame - March 31, 2007]
- "Rap Is Crap" Music Video
- Billiards [October 1, 1988]
- Golf - Perfect Putt [October 1, 1988]
- Darts [October 8, 1988]
- Bowling [October 8, 1988]
- Chess [October 15, 1988]
- Basketball [October 15, 1988]
- Ping Pong [October 28, 1989]
- Diving [November 4, 1989]
- Golf - Perfect Drive [November 4, 1989]
- Horseshoes [November 24, 1989]
- Baseball With Wade Boggs [December 26, 1992]
- Football - Perfect Passer With Steve Jordan [February 13, 1993]
- Basketball With Felton Spencer [February 27, 1993]
- Hockey With Mike Modano [March 13, 1993]
- Curt Loved Karaoke
- Lifestyles Of Mr. Perfect
Video: the Life And Times Of Mr. Perfect's picture quality fluctuated, depending on the age of the particular material. However, most of it was colorful and dirt free. It's presented in a standard full frame 1.33:1 ratio.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 was adequate, with dialogue in the center channel and background music in the remaining four.
Conclusion: While I really enjoyed this collection, it left me wanting more. Heck, it left me wanting damn near every match that Curt participated in. I was initially angry that more current WWE stars didn't participate, with only Triple H, Shawn Michaels, William Regal, Edge and Jericho taking part, but I got over it when I discovered that Curt shared commentator duties with Mr. McMahon himself. In almost every superstar DVD i've reviewed for this site, there's been at least one appearance from Vince. Yet, he was nowhere to be found. Even more disappointing was the lack of matches from Curt's time in the WCW, where he became a member of the Four Horsemen and eventually ended up in matches against "the Nature Boy" Ric Flair. If one were to view this collection as an appetizer, it certainly succeeds, but wrestling fans that aren't of the "casual" nature, will find this collection far from perfect. Still, it's definitely worth the Recommended rating i'm giving it and hopefully it sells well enough to encourage a second volume.
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