Werstling

"You know you sit there and you thump your bibles and you say your prayers and it didn't get you anywhere. Talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16. Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass. Steve Austin's time has come and that's the bottom line 'cuz Stone Cold says so." - Stone Cold Steve Austin

It was the end of the 80's. While the WWF had ingrained themselves in popular culture, Hulk Hogan and co. lead the company to a point so high, that it seemed that there was nowhere to go but down. Thanks to a lack of wrestlers that captured the attention of the public and the fact there were other promotions (ECW, WCW) competing for viewers, this led to a lull in the WWF. All that changed with the "Attitude" era, which was ushered in by Shawn Michaels, the Rock, Triple H, and the subject of the latest WWE release, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

the Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin is a three-disc set that collects matches from Austin's time in the WWF/E, as well as throwing a couple from his time in the WCW and ECW. While those promotions saw Steve delivering matches which should've put him over much faster, he was stuck in a rut until Eric Bischoff decided to fire him from ECW. This event, as well as a nurturing environment provided by ECW and Paul Heyman, resulted in Steve exploding in the WWF and, to this day, sharing in the same adoration that fans show wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Roddy Piper.

Each disc runs roughly 2 1/2 hours and there are the briefest of introductions by Austin.

Disc One [2 hours 32 minutes] :

* Though it's not chaptered, the disc starts out with Steve briefly talking about his early days...VERY briefly.

* Steel Cage Match For the WCW Tag Team Championship - Slamboree - 5/23/93 [Hollywood Blonds vs. Dos Hombres] [16m 34s] - In this very entertaining match, Steve and Brian take on Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat and Shane Douglas aka Dos Hombres in a steel cage.

* Relationship with Brian Pillman [57s] - Austin spends a quick minute talking about Brian and how they became successful in spite of management's beliefs.

* Clash Of the Champions XXV - 11/10/93 [Stunning Steve Austin with Col. Parker vs. Flyin' Brian Pillman] [10m 3s] - I thought this was a pretty good match between the two - until the slightly messy ending.

* Not Exactly Stunning - Steve talks about his frustration at being able to get over the hump to the "next level" at the WCW. He mentions consulting Ricky Steamboat and asking him if he's missing something in the ring. Steamboat's response? "Not a thing."

* WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Match - Clash Of the Champions XXVIII - 8/24/94 [Stunning Steve Austin vs. Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat] [16m 36s] - This was a pretty good match with lots of back 'n forth and it confirms Steamboat's response.

* the Writing Was On the Wall [2m 27s] - Steve talks about being fired by Eric Bischoff after 4½ years in the WCW and how Paul Heyman called him to come Philly to just cut promos.

* Steve A' Mania - Gangsta's Paradise - 9/16/95 [1m 15s] - Steve delivers a truly funny shoot on Hulk Hogan.

* Just Go Ahead and Start Running Your Mouth [1m 38s] - Austin talks about Heyman's relationship with the wrestlers at ECW.

* "No Baby That's For Somebody Else" - Hardcore TV - 10/10/95 [6m 14s] - Steve vents his WCW frustrations in this brilliant shoot that displayed flashes of the "Stone Cold" character to come.

* the Style of ECW [1m 55s] - Steve talks about Heyman and the brutality of ECW.


* Triangle Match For the ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Beware of Dog 2 - 5/28/96 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mikey Whipwreck vs. Sandman] [21m 42s]

* I Got the Call [2m 17s] - Austin talks about Vince contacting him and inviting him to WWE. Initially known as "the Ringmaster", he talks about working with Savio Vega and mentions their first Caribbean Strap Match. Half way through the match, there's a blackout and Steve and Savio continue wrestling in the dark.

* Caribbean Strap Match - In Your House - 5/28/96 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega] [24m 52s] - During the second "Caribbean Strap Match" in a couple days, there's a stipulation that if Austin loses this match, Ted DiBiase (his manager at the time) has to leave the WWF.

* Birth of Austin 3:16 [2m 55s] - Austin talks about being ready to be a solo wrestler once DiBiase leaves. He also talks about the King Of the Ring PPV and how, after coming back from getting his lip stitched up, he was told that Jake "the Snake" Roberts cut a religious-based promo on him. When the match was finished, the "Stone Cold" era is born when Steve delivers the quote at the beginning of this review. Segueing into the next match, Austin ends the segment by talking about Bret handpicking him to be his comeback opponent.

* #1 Contender Match For the WWE Championship - Survivor Series - 11/17/96 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret "Hit Man" Hart] [35:42]

There are also the following extras:

* the Name - Steve Austin

* SummerSlam Free-For-All - 8/18/96 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Yokozuna]

* Shotgun Saturday Night - 1/18/97 [Stone Cold Steve Austin/Terry Funk Confrontation]

Disc Two [2 hours 28 minutes]:

* the Most Important Match Of My Career [2m] - Austin talks about how his submission match against Bret Hart at WM 13 turned out to be an "unbelievable match" despite Steve's bad knee and was the one responsible for making Hart a heel and putting Steve over. He also mentions how "very eerie" it was to watch the Undertaker's entrance.

* WWE Championship Match - Cold Day In Hell - 5/11/97 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Undertaker] [28m 48s] - Austin takes on the Undertaker, the WWF's top draw at the time, as the Hart Foundation watches from the front row. Though Steve had a brace on his left leg, it was great to see both wrestlers at their peak.

* Oil and Water [1m 5s] - After declaring "I have never seen Shawn Michaels screw things up", Steve talks about working with HBK and how their differences are like "oil and water"; whereas Shawn was flashy and a "heartbreaker", Austin would come out in black boots and a black vest and while he might not put on a technically impressive match, he'll kick your ass.

* World Tag Team Championship Match - Raw - 5/26/97 [Shawn Michaels & Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart & British Bulldog]

* You Better Bring Your Best [40s] - Steve talks about his matches against Shawn and says that some of their best matches were house shows. What a shame they're not on DVD.

* King Of the Ring - 6/8/97 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels] [30m 29s] - It's a shame that there aren't commentary tracks during the matches on this disc. I'd love to hear Austin's comments on the young fan who storms the ring and is eventually lead away by Shawn.

* You Never Know What You're Gonna Get With Mick [1m 8s] - Austin praises Mick and states that Mick might be crazy in the ring, but he's smart out of it. He also mentions how there were boundaries between Mick's gimmicks (characters) and they never bled over.

* World Tag Team Championship Match - Raw - 7/14/97 [Stone Cold Steve Austin & Dude Love vs. Owen Hart & British Bulldog] - Though Austin does most of the work, Mick err, sorry...Dude Love comes in and reaps the rewards.

* Kiss My Ass [57s] - Austin shares his thoughts on the Intercontinental strap as he talks about his match against Owen at SummerSlam.
* WWE Intercontinental Championship Match - SummerSlam - 8/3/97 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart] [21m 13s] - Not only is the IC title on the line, but if Austin doesn't win the match, he has to kiss Owen's ass.

* WWE Champion [3m 45s]- Steve talks about the piledriver that was responsible for him being out of the WWE for 3-4 months. Once recovered, he talks about coming back and getting involved in a program against Shawn Michaels which also involved Mike Tyson.

* World Championship Match - Unforgiven - 4/26/98 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Dude Love] [24m 26s] - Content aside, I was really distracted by the annoying blurring of the "F" in WWF. During this match, Vince was sitting ringside and Austin was wondered if he was going to interfere in the match and screw Steve since the last time Vince was ringside, someone else got screwed.

* Vince Stacking the Odds Against Me [1m 1s] - After being in the hospital for three days with a staph infection, Austin is thrust into a program against Kane. He talks about how hard it would be to make Kane bleed during their "First Blood" match, since Kane was wearing a mask.

* First Blood Match For the WWE Championship - King Of the Ring - 6/28/98 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane] [18m 6s] - This was a pretty good match that briefly turns into a Hell In A Cell. While the blurring was distractingly annoying in Steve's match against Dude Love, there was one point in the match where it was damn near unbearable since Kane spent a lengthy amount of time in front of the apron where the "WWF" scratch logo was located.

* I Want A Re-Match [1m 21s]

* WWE Championship Match - Raw - 6/29/98 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kane] [13m 22s] - The night after the "First Blood" match, Stone Cold challenges Kane to a rematch for the belt. Continuing the pattern of "leaving out of details" regarding some matches, we learn from JR that there was a stipulation that Kane would have to set himself on fire if he didn't win the match.

There's also the following extra:

* Mr. McMahon

Disc Three [2 hours 22 minutes] :

* He Brought Out the Best In Me [2m 5s] - Austin talks about the many feuds against the Rock and how they brought the best out of each other.

* No Holds Barred Match For the WWE Championship - Backlash - 4/25/99 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Rock] [21m 45s] - Having missed both of their initial runs in the WWE, it was great watching them tussle. Shane's the special guest referee, and while it's a given that the Spanish announce table was going to bite it, it was interesting seeing a Stone Cold Stunner in first person POV before it happens.
* Out For A Year [1m 10s] - Austin talks about being run over by a car during Survivor Series '99, his year-long break after spinal cord surgery and a match he requested against the late, great Eddie Guerrero.

* Non-Title Match - SmackDown - 11/16/00 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Eddie Guerrero] [6m 45s] - Frankly, I had no idea that Stone Cold had ever wrestled Eddie, so I was pleasantly surprised during this short, but sweet match which took place on SmackDown!. Come to think of it, I hope we get another Eddie Guerrero collection. But I digress..

* Game Over [1m 26s] - Austin complements HHH and describes him as another guy that wants to have "the best match on the card".

* No Disqualification Match - Survivor Series - 11/19/00 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H] [25m 43s] - This was as good as I expected, in spite of Austin mentioning that he didn't feel as if he was firing on all cylinders during the match. Quite surprisingly, the Spanish announce table makes it through the match unscathed, the "Attitude" blurring isn't as bad as it was during Austin's match against Kane and the ending made me realize it's been awhile since the WWE ended a match the way this one ended (though I think this one was faded before the true end).

* One Of My Favorites [59s] - Steve talks about the next match as being one of his favorites in his time at the WWE.

* Three Stages Of Hell Match - No Way Out - 2/25/01 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H] [42m 31s] - This was basically a 3 falls match - the first one, a traditional match, the second was a street fight and the third was a Hell In A Cell. It was a great match and highly entertaining for each one of the 42 minutes.

* It Resurrected Me [1m 11s] - Austin talks about the buildup to the WM X-7 match and how he considers it one of his most exciting and favorite matches ever against the Rock.

* No Disqualification Match For the WWE Championship - WrestleMania X-7 - 4/1/01 [Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. the Rock] [35m 30s] - Man, was the attitude blurring annoying during this match. Unlike the Survivor Series match against HHH, this one goes on for three minutes after the bell rings.

* I Had So Much Fun [2m 25s]

There are also the following extras:

* Stone Cold Is the Gladiator [2m 1s] - Stone Cold's homage to the movie Gladiator from WrestleMania 21 - with the middle finger blurred out.

* Behind the Scenes Of the WrestleMania Commercial - the WWE Experience - 4/10/05 [1m 58s] - A brief look behind the scenes at the promo above.

* Stone Cold Is Not Vince's Son - Saturday Night's Main Event - 8/18/07 [13m 21s] - During Vince's quest to find out who his illegitimate son is, Stone Cold makes an appearance to let him know who it ain't.

Packaging: the Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin's packaging is similar to the New & Improved DX collection, save for a flap on the inner left side that holds a 2 page booklet. (Click the link for a picture).

Video: the Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin is presented in the WWE's standard full frame 1.33:1 ratio and since the footage was far from old, there weren't any issues that would distract from ones enjoyment of this collection. Well...aside from the blurring of the "Attitude" scratch logo.

Audio: There were no issues with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track, which was clear as a bell.

Conclusion: If you're a regular reader for my WWE reviews, you've probably heard me mention that I was a wrestling fan in the late 70's/early 80's and I stopped watching in the late 80's, so all of this material is new to me. Watching the Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin was a good experience, but I don't know much more about the man than I did before I watched it. Sure, I know he's foul mouthed and has been known to swill some beer, but the disc doesn't provide much personal information ala John Cena, Shawn Michaels or even Bret Hart's collections did. Then again, when it comes down to it, i'm sure Stone Cold would want his legacy to be his in-ring work. In that aspect, this 3-disc set succeeds. Highly Recommended.


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