Panel: Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, The Godfather, Ron Simmons and Kane.
Going
into this DVD I had mixed feelings. I wasn't sure if the lack of bigger
stars would have an effect on this feature. There was no Stone Cold,
there was no Rock and there was no Triple H. As time passed and as I was
getting more invested, I can tell you that the star power didn't matter
at all. If anything it just made it more interesting. 'Dawn Of The
Attitude' was a joy to watch from start to finish and I found it to be
very insightful.
We
start things off with the superstars describing the wrestling industry
at the time. 1997 was a big year for WWE. Times were changing, the
ratings war was in full swing and superstars were given an opportunity
to use their personalities as their in ring persona. This gave a lot of
stars the chance to shine. 1997 was a much simpler time in the wrestling
business. You'd never have to worry about your character looking
'weak'. Wins and Losses never mattered and you wouldn't have to deal
with hate on twitter.
Slightly controversial topics included talks about Sunny and Chyna.
The Guys:
Shawn Michaels: Shawn
recalls 1997 being a good year for him, his degenerate persona really
helped him turn his negative backstage attitude into positive for the
WWE. The first meeting of the Raw is War era was Vince telling the guys
to put more of themselves into their characters. He remembers Vince
being stubborn, the attitudes backstage were positive towards the war
because all of the guys knew that WWE would be the last one standing.
Shawn
was a very positive part of this DVD. He'll make you laugh, he'll
intrigue you and you won't get bored of anything talks about. Definitely
put in to be the leader of the table, Shawn shows that he certainly
doesn't lack in charisma and makes for a good watch.
Mick Foley: Mick
never imagined himself playing Mankind. As a youngster, he always
wanted to be the chick magnet. Bruce Prichard himself saw tapes of the
promos Mick did as an 18 year old and this led to Mick's series of
interviews with Jim Ross which he describes as really opening up his
character.
Think
you know all of the backstage groups? You probably don't know about
this one! (If you do, well played) 'The Nerd Kliq' was a group of only 3
men. Kane, Mick Foley and Al Snow. The guys would chill out watching
documentaries and reading books which completely contrasts with what was
previously stated about personas. Looking back to 1997, you would never
be able to guess that Mankind and Kane were avid readers.
Mick
was definitely a huge part of WWE in 1997 as he is in this feature. He
had rather interesting stories and takes and he just added to the
natural feeling this interview gave off. None of the guys at the table
were uncomfortable and I think Mick played a big part in that.
Ron Simmons: Simmons
gives us information on how he arrived in WWE. Vince would ask him a
question, he'd answer bluntly with no beating around the bush. He said
whenever he'd have an issue with race he'd tell the truth. Mick turns
this into a light hearted joke asking if Ron asked Vince what was on his
mind when Vince gave him The Sultan's helmet. This attitude of Ron's
lead to the Nation of Domination's Farooq.
Ron
made his presence felt for sure. I was unsure about Ron being in this,
heading in but by the end I was glad he was. He definitely contributed
to discussions well.
The Godfather: The
first thing The Godfather talks about was being in the background of
the Nation of Domination as The Rock was being built up to become the
megastar he is today. "Me and D'Lo were just there to take stunners and
that's when I knew something had to change". Mick and Godfather recall
the creation of his character and tell the story of how it came to be.
Oh
The Godfather is great in this. I've always found Charles Wright an
interesting man to read about/listen to. Everyone frequently talks about
the three faces of Foley but no one really talks about the four faces
of Mr Charles Wright. I felt the same about Charles as I did about Ron
coming in and once again, I'm glad he was in it.
Kane: 1997
was a good year for Kane. He mentions how the fact that the wrestling
aspect of WWE in 1997 took a backdrop to the character aspect was a big
help to his career. Kane is such a down to earth guy and this DVD made
it apparent.
Kane
didn't really talk much throughout this feature which is made evident
by my lack of notes on him. This is probably to do with the fact that
Kane debuted in October of 1997 and may not have had as much to say as
the other guys did. He was still a very welcome addition to the panel
and I don't think he was out of place whatsoever.
Disc 2:
Disc
2 is focused on matches and segments from the first half of 1997. There
are some nice little gems on here and I'm going to list the 5 you
should definitely check out.
Matches and Segments:
- Bret Hart vs Mankind - Shotgun Saturday Night, January 25th 1997.
- European Championship: Owen Hart vs British Bulldog - RAW, March 3rd 1997.
- Jim Ross interviews Mick Foley - RAW, May 1997.
- WWF Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart - Wrestlemania 13, March 23rd 1997.
- Street Fight - Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart - RAW, April 23rd 1997.
This disc is my favourite of the pair, solid matches throughout even though I'd already seen a few it was great to rewatch.
Disc 3:
Disc
3 is focused on matches and segments from the second half of 1997.
Similar to disc 2, disc 3 has some nice little gems on it. Here's 5 you
should definitely check out.
Matches and Segments:
- Flag Match - The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart & The British Bulldog) vs Steve Austin, Dude Love & The Undertaker - RAW, July 21 1997
- European Championship: Shawn Michaels vs The British Bulldog - One Night Only, September 20 1997
- Stone Cold Stuns McMahon - RAW, September 22nd 1997
- WWE Championship Match: Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels - Survivor Series, November 9th 1997
- European Championship: Shawn Michaels vs Triple H - RAW, December 22 1997.
Conclusion:
All
in all I found this DVD to be fantastic. If you like shoot interviews
then this is definitely the DVD set for you. 'Dawn Of The Attitude'
really pulls back the curtain and gives you insight to how WWE was back
then. My initial doubts were proven to be stupid and I believe if it was
a table of a different 5 guys it may not have been as interesting. I
can't recommend this DVD enough and the fact that there is another 2
discs of just matches makes this even better value for money.
Buy or Not to Buy: Buy!
You can PRE-ORDER it on DVD or Blu-Ray (which comes with extras) right now over at www.wwedvd.co.uk
Rating: 8/10
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