After viewing this, my overall reaction was that this was a fairly gutsy marketing decision by the WWE to put this together. Maybe I'm totally off on this, but I'd have to imagine the subject matter of this DVD is pretty far outside the interest realm of the modern-day WWE fan. However, I guess that if you already own the matches and intellectual property behind this DVD, then the cost for the interviews and putting the DVD together probably isn't all that high.

That being said, if you watched the AWA growing up (like I did), you will really enjoy this DVD. Will it knock your socks off? No. However, it will definitely hold your interest and give you insight into what made the AWA tick and what, ultimately, caused its downfall. I say that it will "give you insight" because it doesn't really give you all of that definitive an answer. More or less you are led to believe that it's the combination of a few things, but the ultimate decision is really left to the viewer.

My major complaint about this DVD has to be the music. This is kind of a creepy analogy, but it's the best way to describe it. You know how when you're surfing the Internet, and you stumble onto a memorial page that has embedded music? All of a sudden, there's this loud, sad piano music blaring through your computer's speakers. That's what this entire DVD was like... loud, sad piano music. In a way, I found the music somewhat condescending towards the AWA legacy.

If you are not familiar with the AWA, and/or you've never heard of Verne Gagne, this DVD will be totally lost on you. Even if you are a relatively new fan of professional wrestling, Dusty Rhodes, Roddy Piper, the Road Warriors, the Four Horsemen...they are still things that are still fresh in the mind of modern-day professional wrestling fans. The AWA? Not so much. Hence my earlier comment about this DVD being a gutsy marketing move.

Some notable things about this DVD:

• Over the last decade, I've really become a mark for Nick Bockwinkel. This DVD really reenforced that. Between his made-for-the-DVD interview segments and his matches, I truly believe he is one of the coolest guys ever in professional wrestling.
• While it was a gutsy marketing move to make this DVD, it's interesting to note that only people known to WWE fans are featured on the cover of the DVD. Verne Gagne was the major player in the AWA, and he is the appropriately the point person interviewed in the DVD itself. However, he's not pictured on the cover.
• It was particularly interesting to hear about the behind-the-scenes politics at the SuperClashes, as well as the thoughts of insiders on the Team Challenge Series in the last days of the AWA.
• One thing that was kind of strange about the DVD is that there were a lot of interview segments with Verne Gagne, but there were also interview segments with Greg Gagne telling stories about things that happened to his dad. I'm watching the segments with Greg, thinking "Why don't we just have Verne tell the story?"
• If there is anyone out there that still doesn't believe Hulk Hogan is one of the most arrogant men on the planet, the made-for-the-DVD interview segments with him will convince them.
• A number of the matches in the extras are only highlights, versus showing the match in its entirety. That kind of annoyed me, because it seemed like a bait-and-switch.
• There is an unintentionally (?) comic moment on the DVD, when the story of Hogan leaving the AWA was told. In short, Hogan left without working a notice and all involved save one person, including Hogan, claimed that Vince paid him more to sit home than he would have been paid to work the notice, thereby totally screwing the AWA in the process. When asked about it, Vince McMahon says that he "can't remember" if he did that. Yeah, right...
• While a number of the made-for-the-DVD interview segments on the extras were good (especially the ones with Nick Bockwinkel), the high point had to be the old interview clip with Mad Dog Vachon and the pine box.
• It's odd that while Shawn Michaels is featured on the DVD, there are no made-for-the-DVD interview segments with him.
• On the DVD, there is a classic case of telling a half-truth. When they showed a clip of Stan Hansen getting Rick Martel to submit the AWA World Heavyweight Title to him with a Brazos Valley Backbreaker (aka Boston Crab), it looks clean. However, what they don't show you was that Stan Hansen repeatedly used the turnbuckles to brace his forehead against when Martel kept trying to power out of the hold.

If you watched AWA as a kid, this DVD is worth a look. If you are not familiar with the AWA, definitely give it a pass.