Oh to think what could have been. The new DVD, ‘Cause Stone Cold Said So, comes to us directly from the 1997 bio tape, not changed in the slightest bit. Hosted by Austin himself, the recording is a look at Austin’s career, pretty much up until his Summerslam match against Owen Hart.
As one would expect, based on the timeframe of the release, much of this DVD concerns Austin’s establishing feud with Bret Hart. Various highlights are shown of the feud between Austin and Hart (and later the Hart Foundation), including the Survivor Series match, the ambulance attack and various promos.
The highlight of the DVD emanated from this feud coverage. The viewer gets a near-complete showing of the match that really sent Austin into the upper echelon of superstardom in the WWF. In full, the match is a must-see, and even in this form it’s definitely worth a look.
Another highlight of the bio is some rare footage of Austin’s tenure in ECW. This was just after Austin was released from WCW and was en route to the WWF, and Austin is pretty much at his entertaining best here. Unfortunately, the promos are not played in full, and are instead layered. This was definitely a mistake by WWF, one they would not have done today.
There are some definite other classic moments here as well. The various parts of the Brian Pillman angles are shown, including the famous “Pillmanizing” moment, and the infamous gun angle. There are also early signs of Austin’s detesting of authority, as we see verbal confrontations with Gorilla Monsoon.
With all these highlight moments and rare footage, one might expect that this is a highly recommended recording. Make no doubt about it, it is an interesting watch; the problem is, however, that these highlights are the entire content of the DVD. The recording is done in an hour, leaving plenty of space that should rightfully have been filled with matches, full interviews and other assorted DVD extras. With a second Austin DVD on the horizon (more information to follow), this one really falls flat.
Rating: 3 out of 10 – ‘Cause Stone Cold Said So is worth a rental, but there’s really no need to add it to your permanent collection.