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PWTorch DVD Review
Timeline: The History of the WWE 1987 As Told By Honky Tonk Man
Released by KayfabeCommentaries.com
By Sean Radican, Torch Columnist

With WWE running out of ideas and inspiration to put out satisfying DVD releases for hardcore and old school wrestling fans, the market is wide open for independent companies to use their resources to put together fascinating wrestling DVDs using a wide variety of personalities that aren't under contract with the WWE. Of course, TNA has done a good job of putting out some interesting, albeit frustrating releases like "King of the Mountain: Jeff Jarrett" in recent months, but the closest you are likely to come to an unfiltered look at wrestling history.

The latest entry into the DVD market from KayfabeCommentaries.com fills that void left by TNA and WWE with "Timeline: The history of the WWE 1987 As Told By Honky Tonk Man." Sure Honky has a slanted view on events involving him, but he's one of the only guys out there that does shoot-style releases that pretty much tells it like it is.

Big Vision entertainment entered the shoot market years ago with their Ultimate Insiders series that revolutionized the shoot interview and took it out of the dark ages when Torch editor Wade Keller conducted a lengthy interview with Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo. Unfortunately that series didn't motivate the independent shoot companies such as Highspots.com and RF Video to take the shoot interview and revolutionize it with their own twist in a similar way.

KayfabeCommentaries.com entered the market in 2007 and since that time, they've gone the furthest in terms of revolutionizing the shoot interview and this release is a culmination of sorts for the company, but hopefully they continue to strive to make these releases better and better.

The first thing that stands out when watching "Timeline" is the use of graphics and a new crawler that display facts and help lead the viewer through 1987 through the eyes of Honky, who as usual is one of the most entertaining interviews out there.

This release flies by, as it seemed like only 10 minutes had gone by when I'd actually been watching an hour. The first hour focus's heavily on the build towards WrestleMania III and Honky gives us a backstage pass to the life of a performer in the WWF at that time. When looking back at this period of time, people might think it was a great time to be a wrestler in the WWE, but Honky takes the bloom off the rose when discussing WrestleMania III.

"Everyone was burnt out. Dirty clothes, dirty everything…we stunk like pigs," said Honky of the atmosphere backstage at WrestleMania III. One might imagine WrestleMania III being a night of celebration for wrestlers and management, but Honky dispels that notion and said it was just another night at work. There were no wrestlers "marking out" watching the event backstage. Vince McMahon didn't give a big congratulatory speech backstage. Instead, Honky said most of the talent wrestled, gathered their things, left the arena, and drove to the next town to prepare for a TV taping the next night.

A timeline appears on screen to transition the viewer from month to month as Honky takes the viewers through his feud with Jake Roberts and other major happenings in the WWF post-WrestleMania, but the most impressive thing is all of the little things Honky covers such as the debut of the Dingo Warrior or a certain bodybuilder coming into the company set for a big push only to turn out to be a complete flop.

Although the DVD clocks in at nearly 2 hours, it left me wanting more and I'm really looking forward to seeing the next installment of the "Timeline" series, which gets off to an incredible start with a look at WWF in 1987, which in hindsight was an extremely important year in the history of the company.

I highly recommend this release. I think it will go down as one of the better independent releases of the year, as it offers everything you could possibly want if you're at all interested in the landscape of the WWF in 1987. KayfabeCommentaries.com has once again set the standard innovative shoot releases.

To get your copy of Timeline The History of the WWE 1987 As Told By Honky Tonky Man click here

Sean Radican records the Radican Audio Showcase each and every week with co-host Derek Burgan at PWTorch.com/members. Radican and Burgan discuss ROH in-depth and also look at most major DVD releases and news from TNA, WWE, and the independent scene. Torch VIP members can immediately access Radican's 2 part review of TNA's King of the Mountain: Jeff Jarrett. Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

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