Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17703 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-05
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 329 minutes

Customer Reviews

possibly the two best wrestlemanias ever
these 2 wrestlemanias are just crammed with entertainment and some of the sports top names. while there is the odd 2 minute match that no one really cares about it is more than made up for with some of the best matches in history.

wm7 saw opening match an enthralling contest between the rockers and haku/barbarian. the next match between dino bravo and texas tornado is nothing to remember but is kept short as the powerhouse matchup with the warlord and the british bulldog.

the tag team champions the hart foundation also wow the crowd in another classic against the nasty boys. historically this was the harts last tag team match but they certainly go out in style even though they lose.

an interesting match then takes place in a blindfold match between long time foes rick martel and jake roberts. interesting or boring depending on who you talk to although jakes interaction with the crowd is rather brilliant.

wwf newcomer the undertaker then famously take apart the legendary superfly jimmy snuka before one of the greatest storylines and matches of all time as the ultimate warrior takes on macho king randy savage in a retirement match. which one of these former champs will leave in what was an absolute blockbuster. sadly the following match sees a sad end to the demolition tag team who bomb against unknown japanese dup tenyru and kitao. the hugely popular big boss man then takes on intercontinental champion mr perfect before a couple of short matches are placed in the card for pure pig iron. greg valentine vs earthquake and legion of doom vs power and glory.

ted dibiases former bodyguard virgil then has rowdy roddy piper in his corner to take on dibiase as virgil aims for revenge following years of abuse in a reasonably ok match. in another filler short match tito santana takes on newcomer the mountie before the main event. it should be pointed out that this was in the middle of the war in iraq so patriotism is in full flow as usa hero hulk hogan shoots for the title against wwf champ and iraqi sympathiser st slaughter. although the match isnt the best the storyline behind it really get the crowd going and it makes it worthwhile. wm7 worth the money alone simply for the savage warrior bout.

now wm8 was even better starting with a great match up between tito santana and shawn michaels, a truly superb opener. we then get a segment which sees the legion of doom return to the wwf alongside manager paul ellering. much to the delight of the 80000 crowd. we then get a slow methodical but very interesting bout as jake the snake challenges the undertaker. although slow the match and storyline is atleast interesting.

the quality doesnt cease in another terrific match between intercontinental champ rowdy roddy piper and bret hart. despite being corwd faves the two play off the crowd superbly the whole way through. an 8 man tag then takes over as big bossman/virgil/sgt slaughter/jim duggan take on repoman/nastyboys/mountie again just there to get superstars a match but it is not unbearable at all.

another macho man classic sees him go for the wwf title against ric flair(w mr perfect) this was a tremendous storyline and the match never failed to entertain the crowd for one second in one of the best matches in wrestlemania. this is followed by a filler match as tatanka battles rick martel while the recently turned good guys the natural disasters go for the tag titles against former manager jimmy hart and money incorporated in a rather forgettable match. the late owen hart also gets quick match in with skinner before the 2 half of the main event as hulk hogan challenges sid justice. the match is worth watching just for the end which i wont spoil but which sent the crowd bananas in one of the most legendary moments in wwf history.

what is this? well i wont ruin it, watch it and see.(wm 8 also features some superb comedic commentary from gorilla and the brain). wm8 was probably the wwf at its peak with so much talent at their disposal. the money alone is worth it for wm8. if you havent got this in your collection you bloody well should have

The Best So Far...
The first thing you need to know before purchasing this set is that this is the Coliseum Video/Silver Vision Home Video version of Wrestlemania VII and VIII simply transferred to DVD. Like the previous two Wrestlemanias, Wrestlemania VII was a four hour event which was cut shorter to fit onto a 3 hour VHS tape. Nearly all matches with the exception the Hogan/Slaughter and the Randy Savage/Ultimate Warrior bouts are edited. If you are looking for the full uncut versions of this event then you need to be looking at the Wrestlemania Anthology Series. However there is one annoying drawback with the Anthology versions and that is, although the action is uncut, a lot of the original theme music is edited out as are any references to "WWF". Wrestlemania VIII however was a three hour event (as was every `Mania up to XV) and therefore all the matches appear in their entirety.

Wrestlemania VII

The main story leading into Wrestlemania VII was the controversy surrounding Sgt. Slaughter's portrayal of an Iraqi sympathiser during the Persian Gulf War. The WWF were heavily criticized for exploiting the war in this way which perhaps led to low ticket sales for the event. Wrestlemania VII was originally supposed to be held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of around 100,000 fans but was changed to the much smaller Los Angeles Sports Arena. The official reason for this change was the concern for Sgt. Slaughter's wellbeing following various threats. Fortunately for the WWF, the 16,158 that did attend Wrestlemania VII were extremely vociferous and made for a really good atmosphere. Hulk Hogan defeated Slaughter in an average match to win the WWF Championship for a then unprecedented third time; the Ultimate Warrior ended Randy Savage's career (well, for a few months anyway) in an excellent battle, naturally carried by Savage; the Hart Foundation contested a very good championship bout with the Nasty Boys; The Rockers pulled a great match out of Haku and The Barbarian; and the Mr. Perfect had an exciting Intercontinental Title defence against the Big Boss Man. The rest of the bouts ranged from average to poor.

Wrestlemania VIII

Wrestlemania VIII was held in front of 62,167 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis and featured a Double Main Event. Originally Hulk Hogan was to challenge Ric Flair for the World Wrestling Federation Championship but those plans were to be changed when Hogan decided to step away from the spotlight for a while during the infamous "steroid scandal". Hogan admitted lying about his use of steroids on the Arsenio Hall Show and was facing a huge backlash for it. Randy Savage was installed as the new number one contender and Hogan would instead face Sid Justice in what was billed as his "Farewell Match". In truth, many thought at the time that Hogan would never return and would instead concentrate on movies and TV. The tears in Hogan's eyes as he made his way to the ring to face Sid fuelled the rumours that he was really leaving. The match with Sid itself was pretty poor but the ending certainly made up for it, even though they managed to mess it up! Papa Shango was supposed to interrupt the referee's count after Hogan nailed Sid with the legdrop, except Shango didn't make it to the ring anywhere near in time and Sid had to improvise and kick out. Shango and Sid then attacked Hogan until the Ultimate Warrior charged to the ring to save Hogan and send the fans into raptures.

Elsewhere there were a couple of excellent title matches. Randy Savage defeated Ric Flair for the WWF Championship in a heated encounter after which Flair was actually fined by Vince McMahon for blading during the match. Bret Hart also bladed in his Intercontinental Title win over Rowdy Roddy Piper but got away without any punishment after he and Piper convinced McMahon it was accidental. Also a good match was the opener between El Matador (Tito Santana) and Shawn Michaels, who had just began his first singles run. As for the rest, The Undertaker sent Jake Roberts packing to WCW after defeating him with a horribly executed tombstone on the outside; The Big Bossman, Sgt. Slaughter, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Virgil beat The Mountie, Repo Man and the Nasty Boys in a fair 8-man tag team brawl; Tatanka beat Rick Martel in a quick match; Owen Hart squashed Skinner in just over a minute; and Natural Disasters fought Money Inc for the Tag Team Title in a terrible match with an awful finish.

good stuff
released in 1991 and 1992 these two manias contain some great moments in wrestling history,the era may seem a million miles away from where the company is now but quality is quality and you have a wide range of talent on show here,some matches are indeed obvious filler but you get plenty to celebrate and most is actually found on mania 7 which contained some very heated feuds and matches that were packed with quality.
Mania 8 was a little more average,the match with hogan and sid justice was pretty average,flair vs savage was very good in truth,all in all this tagged classic is worth buying.