‘WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired’ Review

For many wrestling fans the so-called “Attitude Era” was when WWE was at its best. This is something that I tend to agree with, with a heart full of nostalgia. This is why WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired was a welcome trip down memory lane.

wwe-monday-night-wars

One thing I will say about the release though is that it is very much a WWE release. We are meant to see the McMahons as respectful business people who would never be like the likes of Ted Turner, a man who wanted to destroy the oh so saintly WWE. Just look at the history of “Sports Entertainment” to know that this is not the case. The McMahons did their own damage too.

To move back to Monday Night Wars, for people who used to sit flipping from WWE to WCW, this is the perfect release for you. Looking at the major events of the so-called wars, each episode also ends with an interview featuring Sting and Triple H, with their point of views on what happened in the episode discussed. Sting’s answer on anything WWE normally is “Well I didn’t want it…but I heard about it.”

It’s interesting to see the two discussing the history of both companies, especially finally hearing from Sting. We often see things written on the Internet about him and how was said to have viewed events at the time, but to hear the truth out of his own mouth is interesting. If this is his truth though, and he is not reading off the WWE script. We can’t be that cynical to think that is what is happening can we?

For the most part with WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired there is a weird balance between what feels to be out of character comments, and the people being interviewed seemingly remembering things as if their character’s experiences were actually what happened. Most of the focus is of course on Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff, and it is clear that we are meant to buy into the fact that the WWE were in a war for their own survival. Once you get used to this constant spoon-feeding of the WWE “truth” though it becomes easier to tolerate.

As with many of the WWE documentaries, the WWE is fully accepting of criticism of itself, especially about the way the company was performing before the Attitude Era. It took a big change in attitude for WWE to turn a corner, and the fact they make it clear it wasn’t Vince’s idea but the people in the locker room who made it happen, and led to their company winning.

On the subject of the wrestlers themselves, even though Hulk Hogan has had his recent controversy he does play a huge part in this release, if there had been a decision that he needed to be removed from WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired, then it would probably have just been cancelled. Chris Benoit is visible in a “blink and you’ll miss him” moment, with The Radicals now referred to as being only Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko.

The view of the demise of WCW is also interesting, though it does follow the story that most people know. Egos and bad decisions killed off the momentum of the company and nobody wanted to admit that the change was needed, so they just continued to do what they thought was best…in their own heads at least.

For fans who lived through the “Attitude Era” and for the younger ones who want to know what all the fuss was this is an excellent documentary full of nostalgia and history, not only of WWE but WCW and also ECW. Showing off the best and worst of “Sports Entertainment” WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired is a must buy for fans.

WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 – Shots Fired is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

Be sure to like Pissed Off Geek on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with all the news and reviews.

Leave a Reply