DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu #95 - DVD REVIEW - 'Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story'
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Monday, July 26, 2004 at 8:19 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #95

Welcome one and all to the 95th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

What's this... DaveyBoy on a Monday!?!?!? Well, I have something special for you all today. Somewhat of an LOP Exclusive (well, at least for today). For some reason, the Chris Benoit DVD came out one week earlier in Australia than it did in most other parts of the world. I grabbed it practically immediately & thought I would get through all of it over the weekend to review it for LOP, even before the 2 Disc set was released in the northern hemisphere.

So here goes. Hopefully, you guys like the review & the opportunity to read in detail what's on the disc before you make that final decision to purchase it. I will begin with the 80 minute documentary-style portion of the DVD, that I will refer to as 'The Body of the DVD' (it's easier than calling it the 'main' portion in my column!!!). Then I will review the Extras on Disc-1. Finally, the extras on Disc-2 will be detailed & reviewed.


APPETIZERS - The Body Of The DVD

The first 15 minutes or so is the usual very good introduction that the WWE produces for any DVD that they put out (or 'Confidential' segment, for that matter). It details Chris' childhood sufficiently, by interviewing the likes of Benoit's parents, aunt, best friend, teachers & football coach. We hear how he knew he wanted to be a professional wrestler very early in his life, started weight training at the age of 13, and absolutely idolized 'The Dynamite Kid' Tom Billington. Benoit goes on to talk about his first matches & how he loved travelling around Canada to remote places for the sake of beginning his wrestling career.

This is followed by his introduction to Japan. Benoit was offered a chance to compete in the orient by Bad News Brown/Allen. He jumped at the chance, but soon found that he hated everything about the unfamiliar country. It was a trip back home to Canada for Christmas that made him think seriously about his ambitions as a pro wrestler & how hard he was willing to work to make his dream come true. He talked to friends, family, etc... & went back with a new positive & hard-working attitude. He also went back with a mask, under the name of 'The Pegasus Kid'. It was a royal blue mask with the silver around the eyes looking like wings. Nothing actually stuck out from the mask. It was in Japan where Benoit would meet great friends like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho.

A further 10 minute segment focuses on Chris' short stay in ECW. It's a good little recap which briefly begins on his matches with Too Cold Scorpio, but quickly moves into the infamous incident where Benoit broke Sabu's neck. The incident is replayed over & over & Chris explains how it was really when he knew that "wrestling was real". It leads to an amusing story though, of how Benoit went back home to Edmonton & continuously called Paul Heyman up to see how Sabu was. The problem was that Heyman was so excited about Benoit's new gimmick of being "The Crippler", that he would usually not mention Sabu's condition at all. The icing on the cake was a fact sheet sort of profile of Benoit, where he was referred to as 'Serious Cripplous'. They finally get off the Sabu incident & detail Benoit's tag-team title reign with Dean Malenko (over Sabu & Tazz), and eventually joining Shane Douglas as 'The Triple Threat'.

The following 15 minutes or so is dedicated to WCW. But first, we see Benoit having a tryout match for the WWF against Bob 'Spark Plugg' Holly. Benoit states that he also had tryout matches with Owen Hart & Adam Bomb (aka 'Wrath' Bryan Clark), but asked Vince McMahon if he could work part-time with them & part-time in Japan. Vince said "no" & Benoit looked elsewhere. The timing was perfect, as WCW started a working relationship with New Japan at the time. He shared time between both organizations & countries, but quickly became full-time with WCW. A quick look was then taken at his joining of 'The 4 Horsemen' with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman.

Benoit then goes onto the controversy of his relationship with Kevin Sullivan. He explained how he "stood up for himself" against the booker & wrestler that he had serious issues with, from both a personal & professional viewpoint. He states that he admired Sullivan for being "professional in the ring", but "had issues with his booking". He does not go into detail on the personal aspects involving his current wife Nancy (Woman), as he would rather first explain the truth to his kids when they are old enough. I have no problem with that at all.

We take a quick look at the 'Best Of 7 Series' of matches that Chris had with Booker T. Benoit briefly describes how big a challenge it was for the both of them to keep the matches fresh. From there, we take an emotional look at Owen Hart, leading up to the tribute match Benoit had with Bret Hart on an episode of Nitro. Benoit appears genuinely emotional any time Owen is brought up. Then again, who isn't!?!?!? We then skip to Chris winning the World HeavyWeight Title over Sid Vicious in January of 2000. Benoit confirms the well-known facts that he was sick & tired of all the politics & lying in WCW. He explains how he told them that he wanted to leave & didn't really want to win the title, but they gave it to him anyway. Benoit honestly states that he "hated going to work", and when Kevin Sullivan was reinstated as head booker, it was the final straw that that had him heading to the WWE.

The final 30 minutes obviously details Benoit's 4 years with the WWE. He was initially "very nervous" of the move due to his size & wrestling style, but it was great to have Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero & Perry Saturn there with him. We then jump straight into WrestleMania 2000, where he won the InterContinental Title from Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match. This gave Benoit enormous confidence for his future & he already felt at home in the WWE. We then take a decent look at his first main-event feud in the WWE, which saw him turn heel against The Rock. This resulted in a title match at Fully Loaded 2000, where Benoit initially won the WWE Championship, only to have the match continue for a Rocky win. An amusing story is then told of how he got back to the dressing room & had heaps of messages congratulating him on his win!!!

Benoit's excellent WrestleMania 17 match against Kurt Angle is then detailed. On Angle, Benoit states that he was "nervous" facing off against "a real wrestler", and that he just "loved the chain wrestling aspect of the match". He found it "fresh & different". Then we take a look at Chris' fantastic cage match against Angle on an episode of Raw. This was at the time when he knew his neck was really bad. He questioned himself on his headbutt from the top of the cage because of that, but performed the move anyway.

We then take a look at Benoit's neck injury & how he was out for a year because of it. He said the rehabilitation was a challenge & a chore. He started to get itchy feet at about the 6 months stage. We see footage of his return to Raw on a live episode from Edmonton, and how he was subsequently drafted by SmackDown in the original WWE draft. We then skip to the 2003 Royal Rumble & Benoit's match of the year against Kurt Angle. We see Chris defeat The Big Show to become the #1 contender, highlights from the PPV match, and the standing ovation that Benoit received after it. He was truly touched by the moment & appreciated it immensely.

Because Benoit was predominantly wasted for the remainder of 2003 (my words, not his), we skip straight to the 2004 Royal Rumble, which Benoit won by last eliminating The Big Show, despite being the #1 entrant in the battle royal. This is followed by a look at his jump to Raw & the lead up to his main-event match at WrestleMania 20. Benoit states that this is "the one match that defined everything he ever dreamed of". Furthermore, he says that he almost instantly "started crying & everything went into slow motion". The icing on the cake was having Eddie Guerrero joing him in the ring afterwards. It all sounds corny, but it comes off as very genuine.

We end with fairly emotional words from Benoit's parents, best friends (including Eddie, Dean & Jericho) & Benoit, on working hard to beat the odds, reach the top, and achieving his dreams. The body of the disc ends with a highlights compilation to Finger Eleven's 'One Thing'. All in all, a very good look at Chris Benoit's career in a nutshell. There are always things left out of these packages, but they can't go forever. An extra 10 or 15 minutes wouldn't have hurt, but this was still very very good.


MAIN - Extras On Disc-1

NOTE: The 3 Japanese matches on this disc come with 2 alternate commentaries each. The first is a pretty straight forward, but sufficiently informative, commentary by Michael Cole & Tazz. It's probably best to jump straight to this, unless you understand Japanese, or have a lot of time to spare. The 2nd commentary is by Benoit, Dean Malenko & Todd Grisham. It's nothing controversial or highly enlightening, but it's informative enough & fascinating because most of it is coming from Benoit himself.

vs JUSHIN 'THUNDER' LIGER for the IWGP Junior HeavyWeight Title. August-19, 1990: Benoit was under the mask here wrestling as 'The Pegasus Kid'. He was the challenger to Liger's title & defeated him in this 15 minute clinic of a match, to win his 1st ever Japanese title. The first 6 or 7 minutes of this bout, is a submissions based match, where basically every flashy submission move on the planet is used by one wrestler or the other. If I was to be in any way critical, I actually doubted the psychology of it all, but it was as entertaining as hell, and nothing lasted too long to get anywhere near monotonous. What followed was some fast-paced, high-flying, chain & counter wrestling which was right up there with any Benoit vs Angle match that you've seen. Benoit wins with a tombstone piledriver followed by a top-rope legdrop. As always with Japanese matches, it's also interesting to see how the crowds react to everything. Match Rating...9

vs TOO COLD SCORPIO. WCW SuperBrawl. February-21, 1993: I always thought Scorpio (who later became Flash Funk in the WWF) had a unique wrestling style that sometimes really worked & sometimes really bombed. You just knew that it would work to some extent with Chris Benoit. Man, did Benoit look like a combination of Dynamite Kid, Bret Hart & 'Stunning' Steve Austin in this bout!!! If anything, Scorpio's flashiness almost dominated this match too much. It actually got a little too tedious when Benoit was on offense, as this time was basically used for rest periods. Scorpio wins with a rollup just one second short of the 20 minute time limit. Nothing fantastic, but not bad. I think this match was included to fill the timeframe between the Japanese matches on the disc. Match Rating...7

vs BLACK TIGER (EDDIE GUERRERO) in a Super J Cup Semi-Final. April-16, 1994: Not as perfect as you would expect from these 2 wrestlers, but it has to be remembered that this was the 2nd of 3 matches in a one night tournament. Ten minutes in duration, this was actually a little sloppy (especially Guerrero). Still very good though & it's great to see the early work of 2 of the WWE's finest at the moment. The finish is somewhat of an anti-climax, as Benoit turns Eddie's top-rope flying bodypress attempt into an armdrag for the pin!!! Match Rating...7

vs THE GREAT SASUKE in the Super J Cup Final. April-16, 1994: Fantastic match, and even better considering that it was both men's 3rd bout of the night. Well paced 19 minute match which was different in style to both the Liger & Guerrero matches on this disc. Built up really nicely & had a decent mix of everything. In fact, I'd almost say that Benoit's intensity at the time, mixed better with Sasuke's high-flying, than with Guerrero's. Excellent match which ends in a Benoit win, after a top-rope gutwrench suplex. Match Rating...9

vs SABU. ECW November 2 Remember. November-5, 1994: This is the infamous bout where Benoit tosses Sabu onto his head about 40 seconds into it, and the match is stopped with Sabu suffering a broken neck. That was one scary landing!!! Not Rated

EASTER EGG: Pressing left while this option is highlighted will screen an ECW promo by Benoit. It actually shows his strength & weakness at the same time, as his intensity came through well, but so did his lack of clarity on the microphone.

vs AL SNOW. ECW Double Tables. February-4, 1995: Very good match which told an excellent story. This was probably the closest that Benoit came to portraying a cocky heel character, as Snow was playing an underdog face-type character at the time. The 15 minute match started off evenly & was very entertaining while that lasted. It was a good mix of mat wrestling using predominantly suplexes, with some high-flying & submission based offense thrown in. Benoit then started to dominate, but Snow wouldn't go down without a fight & mounted a comeback. Benoit eventually regained the momentum though & ended up victorious. A bit of a sleeper match which is more than worth a watch. Match Rating...8


DESSERT - Extras On Disc-2

vs EDDIE GUERRERO. WCW Monday Nitro. October-16, 1995: Very good television match. At 8 minutes in length, these 2 could only do so much, and they decided to concentrate mainly on suplexes. That's fine by me, and man, were they good!!! A bit of high-flying was thrown in, and the pace was predominantly in fast-motion. A great ending sees Benoit get the pinfall with a picture-perfect Dragon (Full Nelson) Suplex. Everything you could expect from a television bout, and a little more. Match Rating...8

vs KEVIN SULLIVAN. WCW Great American Bash. June-16, 1996: Entertaining match which spent most of it's time in the men's bathroom!!! Not exactly a wrestling match (actually, barely a wrestling move is seen), but an intense brawl. You just have to ask yourself while watching this bout, how much of the intensity was real? I think it's fair to say that a fair bit of it was. Too short with not enough variation, this bout also ended a little anti-climactically with a superplex. Match Rating...6

vs BOOKER T. WCW Great American Bash. June-14, 1998: I think this was the longest match of the series at 16 minutes. Good mix of the more current style of professional wrestling that Benoit has adapted very well to. Booker T was also a slightly different style of opponent for Benoit, and their styles actually mixed excellently. Both wrestlers were nearing the very best of their careers at this point of time & it showed. A fitting ending to what was a tremendous series of matches in mid 1998. Match Rating...8

vs BRET HART. Owen Hart Tribute Match. WCW Monday Nitro. October-4, 1999: This bout is almost surreal & it really does take a lot of time to both the viewing & live audience to get into it. Because of this, I believe that Benoit & Hart opened the bout with more of a clinic, than a match. The first half of it's 23 minute duration (excluding commercial breaks) is a little meandering, but technically proficient. However, from about the 10 minute mark onwards, we see some great counter & chain wrestling, as you would expect from these two. And they're both very professional, as the competition aspect of the match does come into play very well. A tough one to rate because of the match circumstances, but definitely very good. Match Rating...8

vs SID VICIOUS for the World HeavyWeight Title. WCW Souled Out. January-16, 2000: With all the controversy surrounding WCW & Benoit's imminent departure at the time, the quality of this match is often overlooked. It's actually a very good big man vs small man bout (not too dissimilar to Benoit's title defense against Kane at this year's 'Bad Blood'). Sid played the strong big man very well here (Benoit's tremendous selling obviously helps a lot), while Benoit was clinical in chopping the big man down to size from his knees. At 15 minutes in length, it didn't outstay it's welcome. Under-rated & forgotten match. Match Rating...8

vs WILLIAM REGAL. Brian Pillman Tribute Show. May-25, 2000: This was Regal's first match back from an extended layoff & one of Benoit's early matches while working with the WWE. Interesting commentary from Dr.Tom Pritchard, who claims that he often uses a tape of this match for training purposes. And you can see why, as both these guys put on a virtual clinic. I'm not actually the hugest fan of Regal in the ring, but he mixes it up perfectly with Benoit here. Furthermore, both men's intensity levels turn this into a super competitive match. A secret gem of a bout!!! Match Rating...8

EASTER EGG: Pressing right while this option is highlighted will screen a brief (30 second) WWE Benoit promo. Nothing special.

vs KURT ANGLE in a Steel Cage Match. WWE Raw. June-12, 2001: Wow!!! Forget being a Raw main event, this was definitely the quality of a PPV main event. At 15 minutes in length, it could have been a little longer, but that was almost the only weakness of this match. It did have only a little of their excellent technical mat wrestling, but that didn’t take away too much from this bout at all. In it’s place, there were suplexes galore (including 9 almost consecutive German Suplexes from Benoit), some cage action, and a few terrific spots: a German Suplex off the top-rope by Benoit, a missed moonsault from the top of the cage by Angle, and a diving headbutt from the top of the cage by Benoit. Angle wins when the commentating ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (who was feuding with Benoit & Jericho at the time) interfered. Sensational. Match Rating...9

vs KURT ANGLE for the WWE Championship. 2003 Royal Rumble. January-19, 2003: Excellent 20 minute match!!! Leading into this, I just thought it would be similar to what they had put together previously. I thought that there was no way Benoit could win & this match was only on the card to see the reaction that Benoit would get at main event level. While these points still held true, the match was a resounding success anyway. At times, it genuinely appeared as if Benoit would win the bout, and the standing ovation he received afterwards was surely noticed by WWE decision makers. The match itself was a good hybrid of their previous efforts. While containing technical bursts, it didn't get bogged down. There were a few new reversals performed & the overall psychology of the match was top-notch. But at the end of the day, the competitiveness, intensity, counters & false finishes of this match have yet to be surpassed afterwards, to this day (18 months on). The crowd was literally eating out of these 2 guys’ hands towards the end. My 2003 Match Of The Year. Match Rating...10

vs TRIPLE H & SHAWN MICHAELS in a Triple Threat Match for the World HeavyWeight Title. WrestleMania 20. March-14, 2004: Excellent & memorable match where all 3 combatants brought close to their best. Right from the beginning of the bout, Benoit looked his intense & crisp self, while HBK & Triple H stepped it up a notch or two from their usual 2004 performances (thus far). At 25 minutes in length, this wasn't the most perfectly paced match. Nor was it a technical masterpiece (which I would have preferred that they tried for in the first 8-10 minutes). But I suppose that is the inherent problem with Triple Threat matches. What it undoubtedly was though, was exciting, entertaining & memorable. A superb finish capped it all off very well. Great stuff & Benoit is the World HeavyWeight Champion for the second time!!! Match Rating...9

Neck Injury: A 90 second segment with Dr.Youngblood about Benoit’s neck injury & resulting surgery.

Crossface Collection:A 3 minute segment where Benoit talks predominantly about ‘The Crippler Crossface’; It’s origin, it’s danger & even a ‘How To’ step-by-step guide on how to apply the hold.

Raw Magazine Cover Shoot: A 2 minute segment detailing Benoit’s magazine cover shoot in a meat freezer!!!

EASTER EGG: In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen on the second extras page of Disc-2, there is a tooth. Highlight this by highlighting ‘back’ at the bottom of the screen & then pressing right 3 times. This egg is of Benoit’s father finally revealing the truth on how Chris Benoit lost his tooth. His opponent that was the culprit: A Rottweiller!!!

DAVEYBOY’S CONCLUSION: I thoroughly enjoyed this 2 Disc set on Chris Benoit. As a Benoit fan, I found the 15 matches that accompanied his life story, truly fascinating. This is especially the case, because I hadn’t seen many of the bouts before-hand. There is a tremendous mix of matches included over a 14 year timeframe. The amazing thing is that almost every style of professional wrestling match is captured. Maybe some of the chosen matches are questionable, but no 2 people will ever agree on that type of thing. All in all, this is right up there with (& probably a little better than) the Hulk Hogan & Rey Mysterio DVD’s (remembering that I haven’t seen Flair’s & Foley’s as yet). Thoroughly recommended. If I had to grade it, I would give it an A minus.


Ok, that's another one in the books. And a long one at that. I thought it was worth the extra effort considering the circumstances. I still wonder why the DVD was released in Australia before anywhere else that I know of. I hope you enjoyed the review & it helped you along with your decision of whether to purchase it or not. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions about the 2 Disc Set. I will endeavor to answer them as best I can. Also, let me know if you liked the review & ratings, whether you have seen the DVD or not. As always, I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', my column will be back to normal. To be honest, I’ve spent so much time watching & writing about Benoit’s DVD, that I haven’t really thought of what I will serve up next week. But I think I might have another of my world famous polls. In fact, this one could be the grand-daddy of them all. I'll keep it a mystery for now, but let's just say that Chris Benoit may get a few votes. I will look forward to the voting & seeing the results. Apart from that who knows… I’ll probably talk about the upcoming Iron Man match & a few other things. So look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.













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