The Dreaded Nerve Hold Review
Triple H: The King of Kings

Welcome to the very first Dreaded Nerve Hold Review. I go by the handle Michael Campbell, and you may be familiar with my “Cynical View” columns over at PwinsiderXtra. If not, be aware that you can look forward to some fairly cynical ranting, as I’m not one to mince my words, and do like to cause an argument or two here and there.

The intention of my DVD reviews is to inform like-minded viewers of their content, and advise whether or not they’re worth emptying your wallet for. I have no intention whatsoever of doing match-by-match play-by-plays.

Instead, I’m shooting for analysis as to things that work, things that don’t, and everything else in-between.

I also do not include Star Ratings, for a variety of reasons. Mainly, this is because far too many fans apply ratings as if they are fact, and if you visit the ROH forums, it’s obvious what a joke the system has become.

Where better then to start, than with one of my all time favourite performers (and often a hideous scab on all of our sides): The Game, Triple H.

The King of Kings is not the first solo release for the once Connecticut Blueblood. About six years ago, Trips enjoyed the production of “the Game”, which was a one-disc effort. It was far from definitive, and even the most naive folk would sneer at its cautiously timed release (set to coincide with his television-time absorbing Quadriceps injury return. However, what it lacked in quantity, it made up for with a neat documentary indeed.

We’ve become familiar with the WWE’s recent system when it comes to their retrospectives, such as Austin’s recent, Hulk Hogan’s, or Ric Flair’s. They all are split into discs that follow a chronological order, and In each era, are comprised of a selection of (full) bouts, which are introduced by the wrestler, and sometimes some other important figures from the period (plus the Brooklyn Brawler) in a brief clip. The length and detail of these introductions varies, but it’s almost always the most exciting part of the release. Which makes it baffling why the WWE don’t feature more of this stuff?

The old release of the Game benefited from a documentary format, the enabled the Game to go into occasionally detailed discussions of his matches. There is no such luxury with this release.

Wouldn’t you rather see detailed backstage talk? Analysis and opinions, rather than empty, unnatural moments that nicely bookend the action…but do little else?

This DVD suffers from an absolutely gob-smacking lack of detail. First, let’s look at the talking heads segments…

At the beginning of Disc One, it takes just forty seconds for Trips to cover being interested in grappling on TV as a youngster, deciding he wanted to do it, not knowing how to get into the business, and then discovering a means. Forty seconds!

Within another two-and-a-half minutes, he’s finished a run with WCW, and achieved his goal to appear in the WWE.

Is this guy serious?

What about his relationship with Terry Taylor?

Or his tag combination with William Regal?

I know WCW meant little to the guy, but still, talk about lack of depth… Couldn’t we have had a couple of minutes about his training, how learning was under Killer Kowalski? Did he enjoy it right off the bat? What was difficult? Anything at all?

He doesn’t even bury WCW!

We trundle forward to a brief discussion on Hunter’s opinion of the first few months of his Stamford tenure, and how he worked with jobbers. Interesting perspective - although far too brief. No anecdotes? Not one? Hunter then buries Mark Mero (of course), who inadvertently taught him “how to be a ring general”.

This is especially curious, as most that have seen 1996-1997 era Hunter, would be aware that he was nowhere near close to being described as such.

Suddenly, Chyna is introduced into the scene, which allows for Hunter to do a fantastically bang-on Vince impression (”That’s a horrible idea!”), and is a nice anecdote, but ridiculously skimmed. The Game then time-travels and brings us back to his 1996-1997 post-curtain call period, which Everyone surely has heard the details of by now.

Obviously, this brings us to the King of the ring. No mention whatsoever, of the aborted 1996 push, which is disappointing. The Game is a political minefield, with so much potential to divulge some enthralling backstage material (he could even spin it whatever way they want to, and your average fan would be none the wiser), which would add immeasurably to some of these crucial moments in his career. But he doesn’t do this. Instead he makes a joke about not wanting to wear the daft King of the Ring Crown. A fair complaint to be honest…

Trips throws in another couple of interesting nuggets, as we head towards the formation of Degeneration X, which was covered in way more detail in the classic Best of Raw set from yonks ago, and on the DX video/DVD release. DX, at that point an astronomical step in his career, is here, almost an afterthought. Couldn’t we even see some extended highlights? Promos?

It’s nice that Owen Hart’s match from WM 14 is included on the set, but that’s available on the Tagged Classics range, so why not have some of the build-up here? I know that Hunter thought highly of Owen throughout their time spent working together, and he says as much, but as a viewer, I would have liked to have seen more.

As quickly as they were formed it seems, DX are thrown into chaos with Shawn Michaels’ career-threatening injury, and Hunter takes the uh, helm for a new line-up. Considering how close Shawn and Trips were/are, it’s amazing how little they go into their union. There’s a little bit more time afforded to the second incarnation, but it’s still lacking in insight, and to newer fans, not informative at all.

For me, then comes one of the biggest mistakes of this release. They completely bloody ignore his 1998 Intercontinental title victory! Oh wait that’s right; he won it in a crud match. Actually, he didn’t… he won it in his then career-best performance against the Rock in a Ladder Match, in one of the finest bouts the promotion produced that year. So, he vacated it almost immediately due to a knee injury.

Best then to gloss over it… or wait, maybe that would be a vital part of the story, and we could find out some little titbits about how he evolved over the months he was absent, to become a Semi-Main eventer upon his return. What a shameful absentee.

Instead of this, one minute, Hunter is the leader of DX, and suddenly he transforms into the Main Event “Game”. We even catch a snippet of his great sit-down promo with Jim Ross, which gave him said title, and helped solidify his credibility, but how the heck is the full interview not included as a DVD extra? Unbelievable!

Everyone knows that Hunter’s rise to the top of the pack was a long-winded, deliberate and sustained one, yet this DVD portrays it like an overnight deal. It’s harsh on the fans to view it this way, but the company are also short-changing Hunter, by omitting so many great little moments. For my money, Hunter’s slow rise to prominence was fascinating, and as it neared. Almost perfectly executed but here, we aren’t able to judge for ourselves.

As if we cut into the half way point of a conversation, Hunter mentions that he won the World title belt in a back-handed way, but that’s the extent of the thread (it’s a shame, HHH was scheduled to win the title from Steve Austin at Summerslam, but Austin refused to job to an unproven star, so Foley claimed the strap for a night, then dumped it to Hunter anyways). Also no thoughts on dropping it to Vince (Disgusting booking that was), or winning it back, only to lose it to Big Show. The focus on late 1999 is instead on Hunter’s previous history of working matches with Austin, prior to their eventual clash at No Mercy.

Ahh, and then we arrive at the McMahon-Helmsley era. Some tend to look back and twitch and groan at the “overexposure” of Trips and Steph at this time .I disagree. They were a crucial centrepiece of thrilling television .TV so good, that it pushed the group to their best ratings ever at that point. Everything about (okay almost everything) this point was outstanding, and a mile away from the 99 era of every show featuring a million two minute matches.

This was also the period that re-awakened my interest in Wrestling, having vacated it for some time. Considering the quality of his year 2000 matches, they could have filled a disc with this stuff. We don’t get that, but a smattering of brief clips instead leads us to Mick Foley’s retirement far too quickly. Trips doesn’t quite recount this tale the way Foley would (Foley originally wanted to go out to The Rock), but it’s vital and at least it’s here.

Suddenly it’s Hunter’s quad injury. Yes, that’s right, May 2001. We skipped from February 2000 to this point? No mention of Hunter becoming the first heel to ever walk in and out of Wrestlemania with the World title belt? Disgraceful. None of the classic series with The Rock? None of the Stephanie/Kurt Angle story? No Jericho (The Raw match with the Phantom title change would have been welcome) or briefly going face?

Hunter’s rehab and return from injury is covered adequately, but not as well as on “the Game” DVD, and immediately we’ve reached his Royal Rumble Match. Very poor indeed.

Disc Two opens with footage of Hunter celebrating his Royal Rumble win, and highlights of his Wrestlemania title victory. It would have been beyond awesome to have Hunter talk about the flat reaction for that match at the Supershow, and the loss to Hulk Hogan the following month (which Stephanie and Trips rightly protested). Instead, we get nothing. Similarly, the Raw title situation, The Game’s injury prone 02, and even Shawn Michaels’ return after FOUR YEARS are all either ignored, or in the latter, completely underwhelming.

Apparently, 2003 and 04 no longer exist, as we leap forward to Vengeance from July 2005, and Hunter’s Hell in A Cell tussle with Big Baptista. Trips and Baps had a fine, at times thrilling rivalry (the moment on the episode of Raw filmed in Japan, where Big Dave helped Hunter retain the title, but then eyed it up longingly, and WAS CAUGHT DOING SO by a terrified Helmsley- is one of my all-time favourite Raw moments), but prior to that, there is more left out of Hunter’s career than even existed in Bastian Boogers

I understand that the WWE pretend Chris Benoit was a work of fiction, but where’s the enjoyable Eugene feud, that most casual fans loved? How about the Goldberg rivalry? It didn’t set the world on fire, but hell, they could have buried Bill with talk of his uncooperativeness. At least it would have been interesting.

Evolution was an enormous part of the product throughout 2003 and 2004, and even into the beginning of 05, but you wouldn’t think so from what we’re subjected to here, thus undermining the Dave feud.

Seriously, they talk about Evolution for like, a minute, and come to think of it, where the blinkin’ ‘eck is the Brooklyn Brawler doing his chirpin’ in routine?

All of a sudden, Hunter is returning again, though the DVD doesn’t bother explain that he’d left (HHH took a sabbatical for a couple of months in mid-05, following his third successive PPV loss to Batista, which freshened him up), and feuding with Ric Flair. They touch on the history between these guys, but it would be generous to say they indicate how much they mean to each other. What is completely essential is the superb promo that Flair cut, bloodying himself in a rage, plus the turn in its entirety- a dandy piece of storytelling.

The moments that lead us into the included John Cena/Triple H/Edge bout are far too specific to the match itself and add nothing insightful to where Hunter was at through this time. Hunter makes an amusing comment about Cena once asking his opinion of his in-ring skills backstage (hilarious answer….)

As all the featured contests are now finished, it’s only appropriate that Hunter sum things up with a vague and un-insightful briefing on how he’s done everything he ever expected to do, etc… and what can he accomplish now. We then teasingly witness a whole array of clips that feature moments, matches, title wins, that weren’t included on this set! Argh!!!

The matches themselves are a stunning coalition.

 

This is his federation debut, against a jobber, so really, what do you expect? Perfectly adequate match, curious, but nothing you’ll dash towards the repeat button for.

 

The pre-match segment is HILARIOUS STUFF. Everyone involved is absolutely horrible on the microphone here. From Gorilla Monsoon to Hunter, to Mero, and yep, even Mr Perfect.

The best moment of this occurs when Perfect, who was originally set to wrestle Hunter, names Mero (the babyface champion, and a “stand-up guy”) in his place, and the Champ is booed by the crowd. Bless. Mero is made to look like an absolute dweeb.

Vince’s commentary here is amusingly awful, as he had this tendency to drift off during mid-card bouts, and pay little attention to anything that was happening, before randomly beginning a delusional rant. The bout isn’t bad at all, but it’s difficult to tell how much exactly is cut due to commercials etc. Vinnie Mac claims it’s a “See-saw” encounter, which is something of a stretch. Nice ending though.

I’m pretty sure that the swerve of Mr Helmsley raising the title was nowhere near an acceptable substitute for a Perfect return match. 1996, eh? Good to see a pre-suicide Timmy White in the stripes though.

 

Ahh JR, “Helmsley is a Blueblood, Mankind has LOST blood”.

Hardly thrill-a-minute stuff, but nonetheless an absorbing outing. The closing moments of this battle are particularly exciting, and feature some surprisingly brutal spots, that your probably would not expect from this period of HHH’s career. Mick puts him over strongly, thought it’s not even the best match the two had that year, never mind their later classics.

 

The heat at the climax of this match is absolutely amazing. The fans go bananas as they all know that Chyna will interfere, but handcuffed to Commissioner Slaughter (Don’t ask) they just don’t know how.

These two always matched up well together, and this was a nice platform for both to go out and have one of the better matches on a hugely important event.

Plus, check out Hunter’s ring jacket. Oh yes.