All Rise...

Judge Franck Tabouring is a legend of napping. He can sleep for hours without waking up.

The Charge

Meet the real legends of wrestling!

The Case

With WWE: Legends of Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment has released yet another excellent DVD collection that successfully pays tribute to some of its greatest superstars. Each of the three discs in this set includes a one-hour panel that discusses the careers and personal lives of multiple wrestlers, including Ric Flair, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Lex Luger, and Sgt. Slaughter. These energetic and insightful discussion rounds are hosted by Jim Ross, with many interesting comments by participants Michael Hayes, Mike Graham, Dusty Rhodes, and Pat Patterson, among others. Additionally, each disc is also packed with bonus matches honoring the work of many of WWE's legendary athletes and controversial superstars.

Although it may be hard to believe, the talking on these DVDs is more engaging than the actual wrestling. Each of these panels features rather vibrant and often heated discussions, with some participants either agreeing or disagreeing about each other's statements and observations. Besides all the chatting, these pieces also include archival footage and a bunch of wrestling trivia, which perfectly complements the highly entertaining roundtable discussions. All these guys obviously know what they're talking about, and they all have plenty of fascinating stuff to say about their colleagues. Whether they talk about their own encounters with these featured wrestlers or share other anecdotes and tales from backstage, the content of these panels is certainly more than satisfying.

This is indeed a great collection for diehard WWE fans who would really like to hear what people who have been working in this industry have to say about the careers of these legendary wrestlers. Most of these conversations are very personal indeed, and I can't think of any participant who doesn't tell it like he sees it. The first disc focuses solely on Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaugther, while the second disc takes a closer look at Jerry "The King" Lawler and Junkyard Dog. The third one covers athletes such as Goldberg, Paul Heyman, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, The Freebirds, and Scott Hall.

Now, as far as the matches are concerned, I admit I've come across several I wouldn't exactly consider as memorable or legendary. Then again, they basically serve as a bonus, and I completely understand the WWE folks try their best to avoid including matches they've already added to other recent collections. That said, I also found plenty of solid battles among the twenty-seven matches scattered across these three discs, and I would even go as far and say some are really enjoyable.

Everything you'll find in this collection is presented in full frame with a solid enough audio transfer. The panels obviously boast a much better picture quality than most of the matches, but then again, the latter took place in the 1980s and 1990s. Generally though, I really don't have any complaints about the technical aspects of this three-disc set. Good old wrestling action doesn't require ultra-fancy video transfers.

If you're looking to beef up your wrestling collection, WWE: Legends of Wrestling is an absolute must-have. The panels are informative, amusing, and entertaining, and some of the many matches are indeed quite intriguing as well. I've been more than satisfied with WWE's special DVD releases, and I can only hope they'll keep up the good work.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

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