One of the greatest thrills for me in wrestling today is a new WWE documentary DVD. Their last few efforts have been incredible, and I had lofty expectations for their new release, True Giants.
After watching the documentary portion, I have to say I’m on the fence on this one.
Let’s face facts first about the matches — most of the gems you find on here (and there are some pretty rare treats!) can be found in places like YouTube, so the real meat is indeed in the documentary portion, and WWE treated this content a bit differently than they usually do.
The closest comparison I could think of was the High Flyers DVD released a few years ago. As you may recall, that DVD had a similar focus, spotlighting a number of the aerially-inclined superstars. In that situation, other wrestlers commented on the individual being featured.
Not this time around, for the most part. In cases where the superstar or legend is still alive, the profile is done fully with an interaction with the individual. This was the first time that I can recall that the One Man Gang had been interviewed by WWE, for example, so you get some unique perspectives here (and I have to say, I was a bit surprised to see the ink still sitting on the sides of Gang’s head).
In cases where the superstar had passed away, a singular representative spoke on their behalf. This was a bit of a mixed bag, and I think these stories would have been better served to have multiple people talk about the individual.
Take for example El Gigante / Giant Gonzalez, who had Harvey Whippleman speaking about him. Yes, Whippleman was his manager in WWE, but let’s face facts — it was his time in WCW that Gigante is better known for. I’d have rather seen Dusty Rhodes in the spot here or Sting or Ric Flair.
Now having said this, the issue I have with the DVD is not about the format, rather the selection of superstars. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t question any of WWE’s picks; however, there are some noticeable absentees from the list, starting with Undertaker and Kane. It seems odd that WWE would put Kevin Nash on the DVD but not ‘Taker or Glenn Jacobs, who were equal in size and stature to Big Sexy. There’s also a bit of international flavour missing — I would’ve loved to have seen Giant Baba included, or England’s Big Daddy.
Bearing this in mind, I am left to think that WWE is probably thinking of a follow-up DVD. With revenue from WWE PPVs down, the DVD market may be expanded, so don’t be surprised if True Giants 2 is announced for early 2016. In the interim, pick up this DVD for a couple curious looks and some fun viewing over the holiday season.
