DVD Review: The Attitude Era Vol.3: Unreleased

Certificate: 15
Running Time: 410mins (6hrs 50mins)
Discs: 3

Disc 1 Chapters

• WWE Live
• An Iconic Era
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v Bret “Hit Man” Hart – Germany • April 1996
• Undertaker and Mankind Rivalry
• The Undertaker v Mankind – [Dark Match] In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies • April 28, 1996
• WWE Travel
• The Undertaker & Bret “Hit Man” Hart v Owen Hart & The British Bulldog – Kuwait City, Kuwait • May 12, 1996
• GTV – Persian Gulf War
• WWE Championship Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin v Shawn Michaels – Kuwait City, Kuwait • May 12, 1996
• Unique MSG Moment
• The Ultimate Warrior v Owen Hart – Madison Square Garden • May 19, 1996
• GTV – Meeting Ultimate Warrior
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v The Undertaker – Madison Square Garden • August 9, 1996
• Retaliation
• WWE Championship Match: Shawn Michaels v Goldust – [Dark Match] In Your House: Buried Alive • October 20, 1996
• GTV – Goldust?
• Shawn Michaels v Mankind – [Dark Match] In Your House: It’s Time • December 15, 1996

Disc 2 Chapters

• Skydome
• Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Shawn Michaels v Bret “Hit Man” Hart v Sycho Sid – [Dark Match] RAW • February 3, 1997
• Chainsaw Charlie Debut
• The Nation of Domination v Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie – [Dark Match] RAW • December 29, 1997
• Superhero v Villain
• WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Rock v Ken Shamrock – Anaheim, CA • March 13, 1998
• Cactus Jack in the Garden
• Falls Count Anywhere Match: Cactus Jack v Billy Gunn – Madison Square Garden • March 22, 1998
• The Game Steps Up
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v Triple H – Madison Square Garden • March 22, 1998
• GTV – Frosted Tips
• Triple H v The Big Show – Madison Square Garden • June 26, 1999
• WWE Expansion
• The Dudley Boyz v Test & Albert – Wall St, New York City, NY • October 25, 2000
• Final Thoughts
• GTV – Are We Done?

Disc 3 – Extras Chapters

• Yokozuna v The Sultan – Sun City, South Africa • September 14, 1996
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v Goldust – [Dark Match] In Your House: It’s Time • December 15, 1996
• The Undertaker, Goldust & Ahmed Johnson v The Nation of Domination – [Dark Match] RAW • March 17, 1997
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v The Undertaker – Toronto, ON, Canada • June 14, 1997
• Shawn Michaels & Triple H v The Legion of Doom – Uniondale, NY • October 24, 1997
• Stone Cold Steve Austin & Cactus Jack v The Rock & D’Lo Brown – Madison Square Garden • January 10, 1998
• Stone Cold Steve Austin, Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie v The Rock & The New Age Outlaws – Meadowlands, NJ • February 22, 1998
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v Triple H – Anaheim, CA • March 13, 1998
• Stone Cold Steve Austin v The Undertaker – Madison Square Garden • June 26, 1999
• Hardy Boyz v Lo Down – Wall St, New York City, NY • October 25, 2000

This is one of those sets that comes with a “Ronseal” of a title as this is a three-disc set (four if you go BR) featuring matches between Attitude Era superstars that have never been shown before.

Due to this, they are effectively the wrestling equivalent of non-canon when it comes to televised storylines (like the opener which features Steve Austin post-Stone Cold rename, but pre-KotR victory, facing off against Bret Hart) and also, with the exception of one match, have no commentary whatsoever.

In addition, some matches are filmed with just a single camera and the aesthetic for the house show events, especially overseas, gives off an indy-fed vibe, which is strange when you see Steve Austin and Undertaker in the ring, but is also really cool as it strips away the majority of the showmanship and allows the matches to simply live-or-die by the in-ring action.

Speaking of the matches, unlike other releases (including PPVs), it’s generally going to be a given that the results of these matches are unknown, even if some outcomes are more obvious than others. To that end, there will be no spoilers in this review.

Some wrestlers feature a lot more than others (Steve Austin, Undertaker, Shawn, Triple H), but there are curios amongst the more obvious match-ups, including Goldust getting a WWF Championship Match against HBK.

What should be noted is the reaction of the crowds, particularly in Kuwait; they were popping for EVERYTHING like it was CM Punk in Chicago and it makes it all just that much better.

25 Matches (30 on Blu-Ray), including the mismatch-on-paper bout between Ultimate Warrior and Owen Hart (which seems to be the bout that caused Owen to need a cast for a gazillion months) is great value for money, especially when they are bouts you have not seen before.

Some people will be put off by the lack of commentary and lower-budget production values, but for others it will add to the overall experience and that’s what really matters at the end of the day; the experience of viewing new matches and these mega-over wrestlers in (virtually) the same environment as your local federation (big shout out to Britannia Wrestling Promotions in North Wales).

You really need to get this, whether you lived through the Era or are only experiencing it now.

Blu-Ray owners will also receive the following extras -:

• WWE Championship Match: Shawn Michaels v Mankind – Madison Square Garden • January 25, 1997
• Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Undertaker v Bret “Hit Man” Hart v Stone Cold Steve Austin – Anaheim, CA • June 28, 1997
• Long Island Street Fight: Dude Love v The British Bulldog – Uniondale, NY • October 24, 1997
• Ken Shamrock & Owen Hart v Faarooq & D’Lo Brown – Meadowlands, NJ • February 22, 1998
• Dog Collar Match: Road Dogg v Mr. Ass Billy Gunn – Meadowlands, NJ • July 31, 1999

Points: 9/10