DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon DVD Review
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 at 12:57 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #217

Welcome one and all to the 217th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Well, well, well, it looks like The Undertaker has made up his mind on who he wants to wrestle at WrestleMania. Thankfully, it is not Donald Trump! Furthermore, we already have our new #1 contender to John Cena's WWE Championship on Raw! I usually am in favor of setting up WrestleMania matches as early as possible, but I actually would have let this angle run at least a week longer, as the WWE are doing a great job in increasing fan conjecture about the WrestleMania 23 card.

I actually don't want to talk a great deal more about what has just occurred on WWE television & what is going to occur at WrestleMania right now. To be honest, I'm still getting my head around it all. I'll speak more about it next Wednesday & let's just say that right now, I may be strangely in the minority with my thoughts!!!

Last week's column is well on it's way to the magical 10,000 hits mark. This will make it 5 out of my last 9 columns that have achieved this lofty status. I am truly flattered & once more thank all the wrestling fans out there for taking the time to read my column. Of course, there is only one thing that can stop the hits dead in their tracks & that's a DVD Review!

Well, it's been a good 3 months since I posted a DVD Review, so one is well & truly due now. I know some people aren't a fan of these, but there are just as many others that buy or don't buy a DVD after learning more about them from my DVD Reviews. Furthermore, I know of many readers who go back through my archive months & sometimes years later to see what I have written about a certain DVD. So to say they are useful to many is an understatement.

On with the show.....


BRIAN PILLMAN DVD REVIEW

This is a 2 disc set & it's full title is ‘Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon’. As per usual with most WWE DVDs, it has a documentary portion which lasts 92 minutes (containing 17 chapters), some non-match extras (including stories, interviews & segments), as well as 16 wrestling matches. Unlike other WWE DVDs, I could not find any Easter Eggs with this release.


APPETIZERS - Documentary

To begin with, we get the usual childhood stories. The majority of these are told by 2 of Brian's sisters & concentrates mainly on the troubles he had regarding polyps on his vocal chords. Pillman required many surgeries as a child & his life was threatened on at least one occasion. Growing up in Cincinnati, Brian initially preferred hockey as his sport of choice, but eventually switched to football for career opportunities.

While size was an issue, Pillman's hard work resulted in success as he was 2nd team All-American at Miami University (Ohio) after walking on. Due to his lack of size, he was not drafted into the NFL, but once more his ethic & attitude resulted in him gaining a roster spot with the Cincinnati Bengals. A nice little spotlight here showcases the many ex-football players who have turned their hand to wrestling in the past.

Following an ankle injury while playing with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL, Pillman gave wrestling a go & the nearest promotion just happened to be Stu Hart's Calgary Stampede Wrestling! While he was no great star to begin with, Brian became a wrestling student & historian of sorts in order to improve. He did... So much so that Jim Ross brought him into NWA/WCW upon seeing a highlights package of him. It was here where Pillman turned into "Flyin' Brian" in order to gain the edge on his bigger opponents & become truly successful in his newly chosen field. Many highlights of his high-flying moves are shown at this stage, including singles matches & tag-team bouts with his partner Tom Zenk.

The next chapter of the documentary focuses on the Light-HeavyWeight Division in WCW & how Pillman attempted to make the division important. He was the first ever champion in this WCW division & his great feud with Jushin 'Thunder' Liger is highlighted. Following this is a brief look at his marriage to Melanie & his wife speaks about Brian & their family including 5 children (only one of which was theirs by birth).

The next stage of Pillman's WCW career was his Hollywood Blondes tag-team with none other than 'Stunning' Steve Austin. The tag-team worked very well as the 2 distinct styles complemented each other, while they also began to become very close friends in real life. Austin also states how it was Brian who came up with most of the ideas to improve their tag-team looks-wise. A highlight in this section of the DVD is a good look at the 2 sending up Ric Flair in a skit segment. This all seemed to get the heels some popularity... Maybe too much, as backstage politics & wrestling bookers decided to pull the plug on the team (to keep them down). The 2 feuded with each other briefly before going their own way.

Pillman's way was becoming a member of the infamous 4 Horsemen stable which was obviously a big step up. But even with this break, he was looking for an edge & it's Eric Bischoff who explains how Brian came up with what eventually became the 'Loose Cannon' character while in The Horsemen. But the character seemed to become part of the man as he started to do impromptu things in the ring & also in real life. A good example is shown here during a bout against (booker) Kevin Sullivan where he called his opponent a booker out aloud & then just walked out!

Backstage, Pillman was threatening to leave WCW at the end of his contract & the plan was that he was going to be loaned out to ECW for 6 months. His amazing ECW debut is shown for the most part where he attempted to urinate in the ring & actually spat on a fan! Paul Heyman explains that Brian wasn't challenged enough playing a face in the circumstances & wanted to have the ECW faithful hate him (similarly to Mick Foley).

While in ECW, Pillman started getting crazier, but that only increased his worth as both WCW & WWE upped their offers to him! But right at this crucial stage of his career, Pillman had a major car accident where his ankle was very badly injured. Despite the injury, WWE still signed him due to his all-around skills.

His excellent "King Of The Ring '96" debut promo is shown partially here, as was his feud of sorts with ex-partner 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin a few months later. Of course, this involved the infamous gun incident inside of Pillman's home that was very controversial at the time. And dependant on your views, this segment was either way over the top & had crossed the line, or changed the path of the Monday Night Wars... or both!

Next up for Pillman in the WWE was being part of the 5 man 'Hart Foundation' stable. Breaking into the family-oriented group is put over huge here & Melanie explains how much it meant to Brian. Unfortunately, Pillman was never at 100% during his WWE run as he never really allowed his injured ankle to rehabilitate fully. This resulted in the company giving him a chance to be a color commentator, and while it resulted in flashes of success, Pillman was getting more frustrated with not being able to perform at his best. This eventually resulted in him overusing prescription pain-killers & that downward spiral continued into depression.

Brian Pillman's final WWE storyline was a feud against Goldust & Marlena, where Pillman was often seen wrestling with a dress on. The strange thing about this feud was that Marlena was not only Goldust's real-life wife, but also Pillman's ex-girlfriend! So this was one of the first ever times that WWE blurred on-screen angles with real life. Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) definitely wasn't comfortable with it!

We then see the likes of JR, Stone Cold & wife Melanie reminisce emotionally about the day they found out about Pillman's death via heart attack at the age of 35. This includes comments from Vince & Melanie live on Raw the next night. We then end the documentary portion of this DVD with colleagues & family members recollecting all the positives about Brian Pillman.


ENTREE - Disc-1 Extras

STORIES, INTERVIEWS & SEGMENTS

ROAD WARRIOR ANIMAL: Rental Car - Animal tells a 40 second story about Pillman borrowing his car & Animal being $1,200 poorer because of it!

STONE COLD: First Meeting - Austin speaks for a minute about how the 2 first met in WCW.

STONE COLD: How To Remember Brian - Austin puts forward how he believes Brian should be remembered. 2 minutes in length.

ERIC BISCHOFF: Pillman Living The Character - Bischoff explains that Brian kept the 'Loose Cannon' character to himself & many people often didn't know if he was starting to live his character. Eric tells a story about how he caught Pillman living his character in Las Vegas once. Just over 2 minutes in length.

JIM ROSS: NAPTE Convention Center In Las Vegas - JR tells a story about how a crazy Pillman interrupted him & Vince McMahon with expletives at a television convention. 3 minutes in length.

JIM ROSS: Pillman Asks JR For A Meeting - JR tells a 2 minute story of how Pillman pulled him aside at a Clash Of The Champions once & showed him what may have been the largest turd ever!

BILL CUNNINGHAM: Tribute Show For Brian - Radio presenter Cunningham speaks about a tribute call-up show he had on his radio show. 1 minute in length.

MICK FOLEY: First Match Against Brian - Mick talks briefly about the first bout between the 2 in 1989.

BAD COMPANY INTERVIEW - From Calgary Stampede Wrestling in March of 1988, this was an early in-ring interview of a face Pillman (with his partner Bruce Hart). 90 seconds in length.

PILLMAN'S XXX FILES - This was Pillman's expose segment when he had Marlena as his personal assistant for 30 days in the WWE. Pretty ordinary stuff really & filler for Raw. In total, all the parts lasted over 6 minutes.

THE GUN INCIDENT - The infamous segment from the April-11, 1996 episode of Raw shown in full. Interviewer Kevin Kelly speaks to Brian & Melanie in their lounge room before 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin turns up to see Pillman aiming a gun at him. The live feed blacks out, audio problems occur & basically all hell breaks loose when Stone Cold returns & Pillman vows to kill him! 7 minutes in length.

FLARE FOR THE OLD - From the WCW Saturday Night show in June of 1993, Tony Schiavone gets interrupted by a Ric Flair-impersonating Brian Pillman, who goes on to interview 'Stunning' Steve Austin, until Arn Anderson interrupts. Funny stuff with Pillman hamming it up as an old & broken down Flair. Over 4 minutes in length.

WCW 1995: Flyin' Brian Up Close - A sit-down interview of sorts with a newly turned face Pillman. He talks about everything from his childhood, his football career & his future. Basically, it's the entire documentary from Brian's side of things (with a little character spin), but summarized down into 4 minutes worth. Good extra.


MATCHES

BAD COMPANY [Pillman & Bruce Hart] vs MIDNIGHT COWBOYS [Kerry Lee Brown & Rip Rogers] (Calgary Stampede Wrestling. April-23, 1988): This bout was for the International Tag-Team Championship of CSW & is (strangely) joined 14 minutes into its progress, so as to predominantly showcase Pilman. After getting a hot tag, Flyin' Brian takes to the air with a number of high-flying moves, including his top-rope splash finisher. But the heel Midnight Cowboys keep upsetting any pinfall attempts & finally take over with constant double-teaming of Pillman. Brian does eventually get the tag to Hart (after a nice leapfrog) & Bruce finishes the bout off with a flying clothesline. I won't rate this as we only get to see 6 minutes of this 20 minute bout. What we saw was a good early look at Pillman & his athleticism, but nothing more & nothing very special. Match Rating…Not Rated

vs LEX LUGER (WCW Halloween Havoc. October-28, 1989): This bout was for Luger's United States Title & was a big step up for Pillman. The commentators played up the size discrepancy of the 2 & Luger predictably wins the opening battle of strength. Pillman gets on a roll though & hits a couple of nice dropkick variations, while showing some good intensity. But that intensity gets him in trouble as Luger outsmarts him & regains control. What follows is minutes on end of back & forth action with Pillman strangely the one who often uses restholds while in control. Pillman gets a 2 count with a crucifix & then misses his top-rope splash, which allows Luger to use his strength through clotheslines, strikes & suplexes. Pillman retaliates well though & even gets nearfalls with a top-rope sunset-flip & a springboard clothesline. But the champ avoids a missile dropkick & hot-shots Pillman for the victory at the 17 minute mark. Mainly entertaining bout that overcame too many restholds by lasting a good duration & including many good flurries of offense by both men. Luger was actually quite decent way back when! Match Rating…7.5

PILLMAN & TOM ZENK vs THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS [Michael Hayes & Jim Garvin] (NWA. February-12, 1990): This was a tournament final to crown new US Tag-Team Champions. The first 3 minutes was wrestled at a fast pace with the face Pillman & Zenk having all the answers until the heel Freebirds call time out & attempt to slow things down. Pillman eventually plays the face in peril, but the pace is kept decent with the action predominantly at ringside. The hot tag eventually comes to Zenk when Pillman dropkicks Garvin while he is sitting on the top-rope. Zenk cleans house & the match breaks down from there. The finish comes at the 9 minute mark when Pillman hits a springboard shoulder tackle. Well-paced, if a little too short, old-school tag-team match that did a good job of keeping the action as much on the move as possible. Quite entertaining, while including some good back & forth face & heel action. Match Rating…7


MAIN - Disc-2 Matches

PILLMAN, STING & THE STEINERS vs THE 4 HORSEMEN [Flair, Zbyszko, Windham & Sid] (WCW WrestleWar. February-24, 1991): This is an infamous 'War Games' match (2 rings all covered by a huged caged cell) & Pillman enters the bout with a shoulder injury due to a prior Horsemen attack. An intense Pillman wrestles the opening 5 minutes against Barry Windham & practically controls the whole time with Windham being badly busted open after shots to the cage & bites! The heels win the coin toss though & Ric Flair makes it 2 on 1 as Pillman now gets rammed into the cage. Sting evens the odds with his own brand of intensity & he is eventually followed by the boring Larry Zbyszko (who actually wasn't too bad here), Rick Steiner, Sid Vicious, and finally Scott Steiner (in 2 minute intervals). While the numbers are even, it's predominantly good 1 on 1 action that is quite even, although Flair gets busted open by the cage.

Sid swings the tide to the heels for a short time, but Scott Steiner does a better job for the faces as they take control. One sequence sees all 4 faces put their opponents in separate figure 4 leglocks, but no heel submits. The action is all over the place after that as some of the guys tire, but the heels finally get the win at the 22 minute mark when Sid isolates Pillman & 2 big power-bombs (one that seemed to drop him on his head) left him unconscious. El Gigante comes out to surrender for the faces. Much like the Elimination Chamber, it's hard for a War Games bout not to be entertaining & this is no exception, despite not being one of the very best examples of this gimmick match. Decently booked though & the wrestlers involved brought enough intensity, pace & strength to the action. The slightly disappointing finale didn't help. Match Rating…8.5

vs RICHARD 'RICKY' MORTON (WCW Halloween Havoc. October-27, 1991): This bout was for the Light HeavyWeight Title & sporadically goes to the referees vision by a camera mounted on a helmet worn by Nick Patrick! A trivia note here is that Morton has manager Alexandra York in his corner & that is a young Terri 'Marlena' Runnels. Both men begin cautiously with technical wrestling & restholds far outnumbering the high-flying moves. Morton works on Pillman's still injured shoulder with most of the restholds & it seems to take an eternity for the action to pick up. The pace eventually does & both men end up at ringside following simultaneous shoulder blocks. Then, out of nowhere, Pillman hits a top-rope cross body block for the pinfall at the 13 minute mark. Disappointing bout that reminded me of some recent WWE cruiserweight matches. Too many restholds, not enough pace & definitely not enough impact. Even the story of the bout that they were going for didn't play out well. in fact, I can't even pass this! Match Rating…4.5

PILLMAN & EL GIGANTE vs BARRY WINDHAM & ARN ANDERSON (WCW Clash Of The Champions 15. June-14, 1991): This was a 'Loser Leaves Town' match where the pinned wrestler would have to leave WCW. For those that have not seen El Gigante (aka Giant Gonzales), think a South American version of The Great Khali, only a little skinnier. The bout begins at a good pace with Pillman all over the ring & having an answer for everything his opponents throw at him. He hits a huge cross body block off of Gigante's shoulders for a close 2 count, but some double-teaming saves the day & gives control to the heels. An unseen (terrible WCW camera-work) big boot by Windham out of nowhere then gains the pinfall at just the 3 minute mark! For those wondering why Pillman never left WCW, he wore a mask for a couple of months after this. Disappointingly very short as it looked like it was setting up for a decent bout (although Gigante was still to come in). The action was very good while it lasted, but that wasn't very long at all. An entertaining failure, if that is possible. Match Rating…4.5

PILLMAN & BARRY WINDHAM vs JOHNNY GUNN & TOM ZENK (WCW Saturday Night. December-26, 1992): Pillman had turned heel by this time & joined forces with one of his former arch-enemies in Windham. The underdog faces do a decent job of taking it up to their opponents as the action is kept up at a decent pace. The ending comes at the 5 minute mark when Pillman & Windham hit a nice chop-block/clothesline combination for the pinfall. Fairly standard television tag-team bout that was entertaining enough & served its purpose. Trivia note: Gunn went on to become Salvatore Sincere for the WWE in the late 1990's! Match Rating…5

THE HOLLYWOOD BLONDES [Pillman & 'Stunning' Steve Austin] vs DOS HOMBRES (Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas***) (WCW Slamboree. May-23, 1993): This is a steel cage match for the Blondes' World Tag-Team Titles. ***Please note that Steamboat & his partner were wearing outfits & masks that cover every bit of their skin in an attempt to confuse their opponents as to which wrestler is in the ring... Apparently, Shane Douglas is not in fact one of the faces, but Tom Zenk is actually replacing him! A nice mix of everything begins the bout as Steamboat brings his usual crisp wrestling, Pillman brings some pace & the other 2 combatants bring the intensity & impact. Austin takes a huge back body drop on his neck before tagging in Pillman who starts to get the heels in control.

They isolate Douglas*** for some time before the hot tag to Steamboat & chops galore. The bout breaks down from there with the faces totally in control. Steamboat hits a huge cross body block from the top of the cage for a nearfall (the bell actually was rung by mistake) & then gets further 2 counts with a DDT & dropkick. It was all very exciting, if a little unrealistic. Soon after, Austin hits Douglas*** with a hot-shot (stun-gun) for the pinfall at the 16 minute mark. Entertaining bout that had its ups & downs, but was successful at the end of the day. All 4 men contributed well, although it was Austin who clearly stood out in a fascinating early look at his intense technical wrestling style. An exciting finish capped it all off nicely. Match Rating…8

PILLMAN, STING & DUSTIN RHODES vs PAUL ORNDORFF, STEVE AUSTIN & RICK RUDE (WCW SuperBrawl. February-20, 1994): This was a 'ThunderCage' match which is sort of like a 'Hell In A Cell' in that there is room between the ring & the cage, and that it can't be climbed out of because the top is angled inwards. Sting starts the No Disqualification 6 man tag mach on fire against Rude & then Austin when the Stunning one's knee gives out. A now face Pillman is tagged in to renew acquaintances with his former tag-team partner, but is thrown head first into the cage to be busted open. Flyin' Brian then plays the face in peril for a while as all 3 heels pick him apart, until he counters an Austin top-rope move with a nice dropkick & gets the hot tag to Sting. Orndorff gets busted open next, while Rhodes finally gets tagged in.

Some decent back & forth action follows, until Pillman is tagged in once more & picks up the pace against Austin. This leads to the entertaining finishing sequence where all 6 men are involved & Sting finally throws Pillman onto Austin for the decisive pinfall at the 14 minute mark. Fun cage bout that probably was shorter than it should have been & didn't make total use of all 6 men's skils. Austin carried the load for the heels (although Rude did a couple of nice things), while Rhodes didn't do a great deal for the faces. Yet, when all was said & done, there was still lots of good action & it was entertaining for the most part! Match Rating…7.5

vs JUSHIN 'THUNDER' LIGER (WCW Nitro. September-4, 1995): This is from the first episode of WCW Nitro ever & it was held in a shopping mall. This match is interesting in that Pillman plays the larger wrestler role for once. The early minutes move at a decent rate, although some of the moves are pretty messy. Liger uses the inverted surfboard & then gets nearfalls with a powerbomb & a hurracanrana. Pillman then counters a 2nd hurracanrana attempt with a tornado DDT for a 2 count before getting the victory with a nice rollup variation at the 7 minute mark. Decent showcase for both men, although it was quite short, spotty & messy at times. Still entertaining, but these 2 could do a whole lot better. Match Rating…6.5

vs DEAN MALENKO (WCW Nitro. January-22, 1996): Pillman is into his 'loose cannon' persona here & isn't afraid to show it to! But his cockiness doesn't go over well with Malenko who gets an early nearfall following a nice brainbuster & swinging neckbreaker. Pillman fires back soon after with his top-rope tornado DDT, but his arrogance tells him not to go for a cover! A 2nd attempt at a tornado DDT is countered & Malenko hits a nice firemans carry into a gutbuster (I love that move). The cheap ending sees a blind ref Nick Patrick not see Malenko's leg caught in the ropes & Pillman gets the simple pinfall at the 6 minute mark. Ignoring the disappointing finish, I liked the dynamic of the 2 characters in this bout with Malenko's crisp technical wrestling meshing well with a more streamlined Pillman style. The impact of the moves was especially good, although at the end of the day, it was way too short to amount to anything too special. Match Rating…7

vs EDDIE GUERRERO (WCW Clash Of The Champions 32. January-23, 1996): Pillman plays games & acts nuts with Eddie & the live crowd to begin with, but Eddie makes him pay with a gorgeous dropkick. This leads to the infamous incident where Pillman attacks commentator Bobby Heenan & 'The Brain' lets out the 'F' word on live television! To be honest, there isn't much wrestling at all in the first 3 minutes, but it's all rather fun. Eddie picks up the pace afterwards, while Pillman actually tries to slow it down! Eddie gets a nearfall with a top-rope tornado DDT & then the same result with a rollup. But the bout prematurely comes to an end soon after at the 6 minute mark when both men run the ropes & Pillman hits a cross body block & then pulls the tights for the pinfall. Similar to the Malenko bout, but with a little less action. Eddie did show flashes of greatness here though. Match Rating…6.5

vs 'STONE COLD' STEVE AUSTIN (WWE Raw. June-16, 1997): Pillman has Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart & DaveyBoy Smith handcuffed at ringside. Austin begins with punches, punches & more punches. Stone Cold then counters a move from Flyin' Brian by crotching him on the top-rope. A chairshot then busts Pillman open, as Austin takes the chance to attack The Hart Foundation. Pillman eventually strangles Austin with a cable & then rams him into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Pillman gets a 2 count with a clothesline & a big boot. But a sleeperhold is countered with a jawbreaker to regain control, as Austin then stunners the ref, only to fall victim to a blatant low blow by Pillman who then only gets a 2 count after using brass knuckles. In the meantime, The Hart Foundation unlock the handcuffs & attack Austin for the DQ ending after 8 minutes (excluding commercial time). Shamrock, Goldust, Foley & the LOD then come out for the face save. Nothing but a brawl really, but a decent & entertaining television bout that at least had the crowd involved. Match Rating…5.5

THE HART FOUNDATION [Pillman, Bret, Owen, Bulldog & The Anvil] vs AUSTIN, SHAMROCK, GOLDUST, HAWK & ANIMAL (WWE Canadian Stampede. July-4, 1997): Emanating from Calgary, The Harts play the faces here & Bret has the crowd in hysterics to begin with as he beats down Stone Cold. A low blow stems the tide though as Austin locks on a cobra clutch, yet almost gets pinned. The tags between the 10 men start coming then as Shamrock gets the better of Neidhart until Pillman evens things up with a nice mix of intensity, craziness & humor. The above average action continues with all men getting their turn in the ring & a nice mix of everything being seen. Most important of all, the crowd is super loud & involved in every minute of the action! Austin especially comes in for a barrage as he uses a chair on Owen's knee & takes him out of the bout. Bret retaliates with a ringpost figure 4 leglock though & Stone Cold also heads to the back!

The bout slows down a little when 4 on 4, but insignificantly as there always seems to be something happening. Austin soon re-enters the fray and he & Bret get to go at it in another extended sequence. Stone Cold locks the sharpshooter on, but Bret is saved by a returning Owen to the raptures of the crowd. Austin then attacks Stu Hart as the match breaks down. But in amidst all the chaos, Owen rolls Stone Cold up for the pinfall at the 25 minute mark. The aftermath sees every Hart & his dog celebrate in the ring. Fantastic PPV main-event that is often under-rated & forgotten. Involving for every minute, the time just flew by & there was a great mix of everything. Well booked right down to the brave finale that saw the main face pinned by the non-main heel. Meanwhile, Austin hammed it up as the heel perfectly. Match Rating…9.5

vs GOLDUST (WWE Ground Zero. September-7, 1997): This bout had the stipulation that Pillman would leave the WWE if he lost, but would gain the personal services of Marlena for 30 days if he won. The action gets going before the bell as Goldust gets the better of the early going. Pillman works his way back into the bout & chases Marlena around the ring. This plays into Goldy's hands & he suplexes Pillman on the entrance ramp & then crotches him on the ringpost. Back in the ring, Goldust continues the offense until Pillman counters a bulldog & locks on a camel clutch. He gets crotched on the top-rope though & then thrown into the steel guardrail by Goldust, as Marlena even gets a slap in.

Goldust then hits his Curtain Call finisher, but Pillman's arm hit the referee to distract him for long enough to survive the pinfall attempt. The finishing sequence then follows as Marlena's interference with a loaded purse backfires & Pillman gets the victory with that foreign object shot at the 11 minute mark. A surprisingly good match considering the soap-opera angle & the fact that both men were past their best at the time. Nothing too special, but sufficiently intense, involving & entertaining. It was also about the perfect length. Match Rating…7

vs JUSHIN 'THUNDER' LIGER (WCW SuperBrawl 2. February-22, 1992): This bout was for the World Light-HeavyWeight Title & the decent beginning sees the action go in fits & bursts between fast-paced high-flying moves & submission maneuvers. Obviously, the crowd prefer the former as they sit silent throughout the restholds & look unsure of who to cheer for. Many nearfalls follow through a crucifix, sunset-flip & belly to back suplex. Liger then locks on a figure 4 leglock which Pillman slaps his way out of. Liger only targets the leg for a little while though as he throws himself at a ringside Pillman from the top-rope. Back in the ring, Pillman fights back with a springboard clothesline & then literally suplexes Liger back to the outside before delivering a top-rope cross body block to the floor!

Back in the ring, a battle of dropkicks see both men laid out, while Pillman gets a 2 count with a power-slam soon after. Liger gets the same result with a gorgeous bridge suplex, but his superplex attempt is countered & Pillman gets another 2 count with a top-rope cross body block. The same result comes to Liger with a power-bomb & Pillman with a power-bomb counter & DDT. Liger then gets another 2 count with a superplex before missing a top-rope splash & cleverly getting rolled up for the pinfall at the 17 minute mark. Wow... That was a real 2 count-fest, especially over the final 5 minutes or so. It was very hard not to get extremely involved in it. Some great offense was seen throughout, although I did feel it was a little disjointed & un-natural at times. The crowd didn't help the match either, especially early on. The bottom line though was that this was very entertaining, exciting & involving, while also including some decent psychology throughout. Match Rating…8.5


DESSERT - Conclusion

Just a reminder, as I usually include them in this section of my DVD Reviews, that this 2 disc set seems to have no Easter Eggs whatsoever. If anyone else has found any on either disc, please do not hesitate to inform me so that I can pass them on.

The documentary portion of the DVD was pretty standard. It was solid, with nothing super special, nor anything too bad. I enjoyed the look at Pillman's life & wrestling career & there were clearly enough stories & facts to make it relatively memorable, but I wouldn't say the documentary exceeded my expectations in any way. While there was some insider information shared, I expected a little more nitty-gritty when you consider all that Pillman had been through.

The non-match extras that are on the 2 disc set are pretty good, but I do believe that there should have been more. Pilman was great on the microphone & had that excellent mix of intensity, craziness & humor that reminded me a lot of 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. His King Of The Ring '96 promo is one example of what definitely should have been shown in full.

The matches were an interesting array of bouts that were inconsistent in quality. The 3 early matches on disc-1 are all worthy of being included on the set, as are some of the terrific multi-man matches that were rated highly. Why the bouts against Morton, and teaming with Gigante & Windham are on there is anyones guess though & I would have preferred to see an extra tag-match with Zenk (against The Midnight Express) or with Austin (against a 4 Horseman pairing).

There is a nice mix of singles, tag-team & multi-man matches though & it keeps watching this set rather fresh, so that's a positive. Furthermore, the interesting variety of wrestlers involved throughout the set makes watching it all the more involving. The likes of Austin, Hart, Liger, Windham, etc... definitely add something to the overall DVD.

In conclusion, this is a solid, yet inconsistent, 2 disc set, that has enough worthwhile moments, stories & matches to keep wrestling fans interested. Probably not worth purchase at full retail price (unless you are a fan of Pillmans), this is still definitely worth a look when discounted or if available for rental.


Ok, so that is the end of my 'Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon' DVD Review. I hope I didn't bore the hell out of too many of you with this. Anyone that has any feedback or questions regarding this DVD is more than welcome to fire away & email me at DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com. Alternately, if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=4.

Back to normal next Wednesday in ‘The Wrestling Menu’. And believe it or not, it's already time for more PPV predictions, so I will have my predictions for the 'No Way Out' pay-per-view. Secondly, I will write a little about what appears to be the direction that the WWE have chosen with regards to 3 of their main matches at WrestleMania 23. Finally, if (and it is a big IF) getting back to work isn't treating me too harshly midweek, I may treat you all to my first poll in a long while! Whatever is served up, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2007

Exclusive To LordsOfPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com










***DIRECT LINK*** AMAZING Hi-Def, UP CLOSE WWE Divas Best Body PIX! WOW!

• Quick Links -
  [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]