WWE WAR GAMES: WCW'S MOST NOTORIOUS MATCHES(FSM 95; July 2013)

Information: - Blu-ray Region: Region B - Distributor: Fremantle Media - Price: £29.99 - Other info: 540 mins - Release: Out now - Weblink: www.WWEDVD.co.uk

Since WWE's purchase of the WCW video library, one of the most requested compilations has been a compendium of War Games bouts. What once seemed an improbable collection has now become a reality.

The first match is from the 1987 Great American Bash tour, as Dusty Rhodes teams with The Road Warriors, Paul Ellering and Nikita Koloff to face The Four Horsemen and JJ Dillon. It's a thrilling, bloody battle that sets the standard for what is to come. A re-match, from a few weeks later, is also very entertaining, if a little similar.

After the novelty of 1988's Tower of Doom match, the War Games returned later in that tour, with Rhodes leading another team to battle The Horsemen, in a superb showing. The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express and Steve Williams then face The Fabulous Freebirds and The Samoan Swat Team from July 1989, and fantastic contributions from Bobby Eaton, Terry Gordy and Williams make this feel more like a great wrestling match rather than a straight-up fight.

The first two War Games bouts of the '90s are remembered as the finest for the concept. 1991's Sting, Brian Pillman and The Steiners versus Flair, Sid Vicious, Larry Zbyszko and Barry Windham is a non-stop offering that is troubled only by its ending. This is fixed in 1992's edition, as The Dangerous Alliance versus Sting's Squadron is one of the most captivating North American matches of the decade. Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude and Arn Anderson put in stellar performances, and relative WCW newcomers Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes rise to the occasion magnificently.

A FATAL FALL FROM GRACE
Unfortunately, subsequent years could not even come close to reaching this apex. The 1993 outing is hindered by having the biggest punchline in all of wrestling, The Shockmaster, as its star, and a green Harlem Heat as half of the heel team. 1994 was so woefully short of star power that Dusty Rhodes himself had to come out of retirement for it.

For 1995, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Lex Luger and Randy Savage versus Meng, The Shark, The Zodiac and Kamala was never going to work in such a physical setting. The nWo's emergence give the 1996 and 1997 volumes back the excitement that had been missing for several years, and watching WCW wrestlers vying for revenge in a system that evened the odds makes for compelling viewing.

1998 was the year that the gimmick fell off a cliff, however, with a combination of strange booking and poor execution. The match features three teams, even though this was an "every man for himself" format; pins and submissions were counted before everyone had entered; and wrestlers were forced to sell a basic attack for far too long due to an appearance by The Ultimate Warrior, who along with Hulk Hogan, then runs out of the match. Vince Russo revived the Tower of Doom in 2000, but it is tarnished by the WCW traits of the time: too much outside interference, an unnecessary heel turn, and an anticlimactic ending.

The Blu-ray extras feature bouts from Smoky Mountain Wrestling and ECW that are inspired by the War Games. The former, a "Rage in the Cage" match from 1993, was one of the best bouts of that year, but frustratingly, is only joined in progress.

In summation, every match up until 1993 is essential viewing, while the nWo contributions provide somewhat of a performance spike. Everything else is entirely worth avoiding, especially considering that Jesse Ventura's commentary has been removed, leaving long pauses between the play-by-play.

This threatens to spoil some of the best moments, including the fabulous 1992 match, but it's impossible not to recommend a set that achieves such an peak.