WWE - From The Vault: Shawn Michaels (DVD)

...bother to tune into any WWE programming most weeks. Having been a fan of his since the age of six, I doubt whether my fascination with the self proclaimed Sexy Boy is ever going to go away.

When I re-started watching wrestling a few years ago, my parents were sceptical as to whether I'd be able to bother to watch weekly for the man himself. In fact, the only reason why I stopped watching WWE programming for a while is because Shawn ...
...his first stint with the WWE in 1987. As the company currently owns the rights to defunct companies such as WCW and ECW, it allows for matches like the first to be included on the set.

1. Playboy Buddy Rose & Doug Summers defend their AWA Tag Team Championships against the Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) from 1986.
2. Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match to decide the ultimate Intercontinental Champion ... more

(Please Note: this is the film of video version of the From The Vault Collection - thanks!)

As you may be able to tell from some of my other wrestling reviews, Shawn Michaels is in fact the only reason why I do bother to tune into any WWE programming most weeks. Having been a fan of his since the age of six, I doubt whether my fascination with the self proclaimed Sexy Boy is ever going to go away.

When I re-started watching wrestling a few years ago, my parents were sceptical as to whether I'd be able to bother to watch weekly for the man himself. In fact, the only reason why I stopped watching WWE programming for a while is because Shawn left the company; he'd badly injured his back during the January pay per view of the Royal Rumble back in 1998 when he took a crash landing onto a Casket (perhaps best not to ask if you aren't acquainted with the world of wrestling!). Although the rest of the pay per view was indeed like a funeral parlour, it would also be the burial ground for the Heartbreak Kid's career.

Or so everybody thought.

Stroll on to 2002 and Shawn's back with a new move set, that isn't quite as harsh on his previously herniated disks, and a new attitude. I was so happy to see him back when I first flicked through the TV station and it seemed as if the company could see the pound signs in each others eyes when they released Shawn Michaels: From the Vault in the late summer of 2003.

WHAT'S INCLUDED ON THE SHAWN MICHAELS FROM THE VAULT SET?
As I only have the video version of this, I can't possible comment on such important features as DVD extras. However, the fact that after five years I still haven't bothered to update my version to the DVD should indicate to you that I'm not a fan of the video that much overall, for reasons I shall get to in a moment.

All in all, regardless of which format you are viewing this set on, there are seven matches in total, each from different points in Shawn's career, even before his first stint with the WWE in 1987. As the company currently owns the rights to defunct companies such as WCW and ECW, it allows for matches like the first to be included on the set.

1. Playboy Buddy Rose & Doug Summers defend their AWA Tag Team Championships against the Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty) from 1986.
2. Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match to decide the ultimate Intercontinental Champion of the then WWF from Wrestlemania X (1994).
3. Bret Hart defends the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man Match from Wrestlemania XII (1996).
4. Shawn Michaels defends the WWF Championship against Big Daddy Cool Diesel in a No Holds Barred Match from the In Your House Pay Per View: Good Friends, Better Enemies (1996).
5. Shawn Michaels defends the WWF Championship against Mankind at the In Your House Pay Per View: Mind Games (1996).
6. The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell In A Cell Match from the In Your House Pay Per View: Badd Blood (1997).
7. Triple H vs Shawn Michaels in a Non-Sanctioned Match from SummerSlam 2002.

Considering this set in many ways is meant to be a career retrospective, it's a bit poor only putting seven matches on the set, especially considering three of those came from 1996. Whilst this was an extremely significant time in Shawn's career, as you will learn in a few moments, at the same time there were many better matches I think that would have been much more valuable in fully showing us the evolution of Michaels' the wrestler.

Each match has a brief introduction and video package of that era commentated by Shawn himself. It was good for more casual fans of the Showstoppa', another one of his attractive personas, but there wasn't really any ground breaking, new information that you couldn't get elsewhere, if I'm being fair.

Match #1: Playboy Buddy Rose & Doug Summers defend their AWA Tag Team Championships against the Rockers
History: Shawn started off in a tag team called The Rockers with a guy called Marty Jannetty. For those of you who have never heard of the guy, he was sadly the less charismatic of the two and ventured off into obscurity with each time his WWF/E career died. A shame really. Anyway, the Rockers had built up quite a reputation for themselves in the AWA both on and off screen but the bookers (the people who decide who wrestles who) and the crowd decided that they wanted to see the Rockers get their first shot at Tag Team Championship gold. But did they succeed?

The Match: The first match on this set was very interesting for me as a viewer because I had no prior knowledge of the reigning AWA Tag Champs of the time; I now know that they were very much a part of the 'Old School' brand of wrestling, which contrasted well against The Rocker's vibrant, speed orientated style. However, Rose & Summers didn't shine in this match for me and didn't offer the guidance that they perhaps ought to have done for young up-and-comers like the Rockers; the match ended up looking a bit sloppy and self pitying.

Marks out of 10: 5 - a blood bath, stumble fest with very little else going for it. It was essential to this release however to show how Shawn's in ring style has become a lot more confident over the years but other than that, it was a bit lacklustre for me.

Match #2: Razor Ramon vs Shawn Michaels in a Ladder Match to decide the ultimate Intercontinental Champion
History: Skipping a significant number of years to 1994, we enter what many would describe as the beginning of a difficult, self inflicted few years of pain for the Heartbreak Kid. After being suspended by the WWF's Boss, Mr. McMahon, for a drug violation (that Shawn vigorously denies to this day and I believe him - the drugs in question were steroids and he's never had that 'beef cake' look about him), Shawn refused to send back the Intercontinental belt in protest so a new champ had to be crowned. After a tournament, a greasy guy called Razor Ramon didn't let the gold slide away from him but when Shawn made his return, there needed to be an answer as to who was the better man - hence this match from the tenth Wrestlemania.

The Match: Many of the traditionalists of wrestling, mainly the figureheads and backstage interveners, weren't convinced that this match would be any good on the Wrestlemania card; it's the company's biggest pay per view of the year and perhaps one of the only reasons to watch during the remaining months. So, when the crowd were so impressed with both men's athletic charms and display of true showmanship, no one was unimpressed and this legendary match was born. These guys were the perpetrators of the greatest Ladder Matches of all time and, although many have come and gone since then, to me there won't be anything as spectacular as these performances in this type of match again.

Marks out of 10: 8 - whilst it was an incredible fete in both men's careers, I've got to say that I slightly prefer the re-match a year and a half later at SummerSlam, 1995. The ending here was a bit cheap and devalued the match a little. Still a classic, from which ever perspective you look at it.

Match #3: Bret Hart defends the WWF Championship against Shawn Michaels in an Iron Man Match
History: Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are very much like broccoli and fudge cake; one is a holds its roots firmly in the world of wrestling, acting very much as a traditionalist. The other is sweet but something you get hungry for a lot quicker. Anyway, Bret's the broccoli, Shawn the cake which is a bit of a bias outcome obviously and a pretty messed up analogy. However, the two superstars had a very long history together from the early 1990's; they'd battled on a couple occasions for different belts and in different matches but this was to be one of the most special of their careers, but for one more than the other.

The Match: An Iron Man Match is one which lasts for an hour and the way to win is pretty simple; the opponent that gets the most pin falls or submissions within the sixty minute time limit wins the match. It was arguable made famous by Shawn and Bret and, as ever, there was controversy as to whether they'd be able to captivate the masses for that long. Although you don't get all of match on this version of the release, I have to say that it does drag on a bit in places and many would have probably been reaching for the remote anyway. This was the first match I can ever truly remember watching and, as I had a low attention span back then, something must have been good about it or I wouldn't have been able to watch it for the full time!

Marks out of 10: 9.5 - I remember sitting on the edge of our old coffee table during this one, watching the time trickle away and wondering if anyone would get the first fall. To add to the drama, it went into sudden death rules as nobody had managed to make the other man tap or keep his shoulders down for the count of three. This has got to be in Shawn's all time best matches shortlist because of how well he carried the usually mundane Bret to a fantastic, show stopping finish in such a believable fashion.

Match #4: Shawn Michaels defends the WWF Championship against Big Daddy Cool Diesel in a No Holds Barred Match
History: Although they were firm friends backstage, their relationship on TV didn't turn out to be as smooth or as easy going as all of that. Diesel went from being Shawn's bodyguard to enemy to best friend and tag team partner. Then, their alliance came unstuck and Diesel got jealous over Shawn's WWF title win. After attacks and fierce confrontations, the buddies finally faced off in 1996 to settle their differences once and for all.

The Match: Diesel - known as Big Sexy or Kevin Nash in other companies like WCW and TNA - hasn't exactly got the best reputation for putting on five star matches. However, he himself has admitted that his best bouts have always been against Shawn which is unsurprising as Shawn's way of delivering and selling (i.e. making the moves look realistic) certain moves has always been used as a way to gel against even the most appalling of opponents, Nash being included as one of them, even if it's done in a flamboyant, slightly over dramatised way. Their match from Wrestlemania XI, deemed a disaster by some, helped make the opponents more aware of how to portray a good, hard fought battle against one another, and it was a far better offering here over a year later on.

Marks out of 10: 8 - this only gets this high a ranking because Shawn really did go out of his way to make Diesel look like a much more credible performer than he perhaps deserved. The actual match itself had the biggest bonus of Shawn and Kevin having a great deal of chemistry with one another; their moves flowed as well as a bumbling big guy like Nash could handle and it did look quite co-ordinated and was enjoyable to watch. You could feel the anger radiating from your TV set!

Match #5: Shawn Michaels defends the WWF Championship against Mankind
History: During his first run as the WWF Champion, the Heartbreak Kid had faced many different opponents; from the tall to fatter or even the scarier, but none were as bizarre as Mankind. The third face of Mick Foley was a self destructive lunatic character who liked to pull out his own hair from the roots when he got especially mad! To stick within the kayfabe, or the storyline structures of wrestling, Shawn explains that this was a different type of match for him as it was against a man who was completely homicidal and didn't give a damn about his own body.

The Match: As a result, it accumulated in a slightly more aggressive match than many would normally expect from Shawn. Foley - like Nash - is very limited in terms of his move set but because of that, the match degenerated in a festival of high spots, a set of dangerous and quite frankly stupid moves designed to hurt both you and your opponent. Nice but certainly unnecessary! It played out very well for the fans in the arena that night who clearly loved the 'car crash' of moves, as one of the resident commentators, Jim 'JR' Ross chose to put it.

Marks out of 10: 7.5 - it was a good match in terms of its high energy and death defying stunts. However, it was one of Shawn's poorer matches in many ways because it didn't show him to be as credible a wrestler as many of his bouts from that era did. I can see why they put this match on the video; Shawn had to apply a completely different style in order to make the crowd believe that he could pull off a victory against the sick Mankind. Yet, it was just average because of Foley's low work rate.

Match #6: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell In A Cell Match
History: This match was extremely important in terms of the way in which the direction of wrestling headed over the next few years. With the addition of the minority, cult like Extreme Championship Wrestling, which gained quite a following over its decade in practise, it would appear that fans craved a much bloodier, more violent kind of sports entertainment than what they were currently getting. Cage matches were as far as that went in the 1980's but by the late part of the 20th Century, it seemed that they only way to keeps the fans happy was to put a roof on top of the cage before the wrestlers slugged it up there!

The Match: With that idea conceived in the mind of Michaels, the match itself had a pretty fierce build up to it; The Undertaker and Shawn had been at logger heads since a pay per view a month before hand in which chair shots were exchanged 'accidentally'. Following that, Shawn allies known as D Generation X, took it upon themselves to make the scenario even more threatening so when it came to this match, Michaels played the cowardly bad guy down to a fine art. This one got very gory, resulting in Shawn needing a lot of stitching to his forehead (bless - wonder if he needed a nurse?!) but this was obligatory to make the whole thing seem more spectacular, destructive and dangerous so that it didn't coax fans to try the moves themselves.

Marks out of 10: 8.5 - this is seriously one of the matches that shouldn't have been enjoyable to watch; there were stupid risks galore but the fact is that two legends of the wrestling business fought it out until the bitter end in a surreally logical match. One that will always been remembered as fantastic, with a strong build up that was simple, and fan support that was just unreal.

Match #7: Triple H vs Shawn Michaels in a Non-Sanctioned Match
History: Since their days as a part of D Generation X, Shawn and Triple H were described to be closer than brothers but, when Shawn had to take a long winded sabbatical to deal with his back problems, it seemed as if their days as on screen clowns was to be over. However, when Shawn thought he might be ready to do his first match in four years, his opponent, naturally, was to be one of his closest friends (even though he wanted to venture into an insane storyline with the unskilled boss, Vince McMahon). After a really sturdy build up, the date was set for SummSlam of 2002, but would Shawn be as good now as when he left the business?

The Match: this is one of the matches where Shawn rightfully so garners much respect and praise from. With pins and screws in your lower back, I can't say it would be the easiest of things to do, going out and flinging yourself off ladders and through tablets. He didn't HAVE to do that, of course he didn't; but the fact that he did shows you that he is a live and let die kind of performer who has the fans best interest at heart. A truly fantastic display of athleticism and sheer tenacity, scripted or not.

Marks out of 10: 9.5 - wrestling will never get realer than this! It was the natural choice for this video release, in terms of the fact that it was a truly mystical performance and, of course, the first match he'd participated in over four years. Spirited, tenacious and thrilling - what more can you honestly say?!

ON SCREEN PRESENTATION
As I mentioned, there are some sections on the video where Shawn adds his own commentary in, just before each of the different matches begin. It explains, particularly in the case of the Iron Man Match, exactly what mental preparation is involved. Yes, I know it's scripted, but he himself admitted that the sixty minute match to him felt as real as any day he'd spent working in the business so it was unique in that sense for him.

The video packages shown in the run up to all of the matches were particularly good if you weren't familiar with the Heartbreak Kid's previous work and for somebody like me who was, it was a good chance to reminisce about those long forgotten, insane moments in the WWF. The best of these was the clips shown from the D Generation X days in 1997; the mock presidential speech will always be remembered as one of the funniest moments from their run, especially because of their mocking of Bill Clinton!

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
If you are looking for the video of this release, you may be struggling to find it - you will only be able to get a second hand copy, with Amazon saying that you could get it from as little as £1.75. The DVD, on the other hand, if you buy a brand new copy will set you back £24.99 so you may want to think twice before buying it.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SHAWN MICHAELS RELEASES
The reason why I'd encourage you to stop and think before buying this video is because of the other Shawn Michaels packages currently available. About a year after the release of the From The Vault VHS, the WWE re-released the Shawn Michaels: 'Heartbreak Express Tour' under the name of 'Boyhood Dream'. This links back to the night he won his first Championship, when then commentator McMahon stated that the boyhood dream had come true for him. A very touching moment.

Anyway, having got the original release from 1997, many of the matches featured on the 'From The Vault' version are included here, such as his bouts with Bret Hart, Diesel and Mankind. Obviously, the advantage with the former is that you get the Wrestlemania X match against Razor Ramon, which is defiantly one for your collection. However, if you want to really look into depth at Shawn's first title run back in 1996, right until the heartbreaking moment when he lost the belt, than the 'Heartbreak Express Tour'/'Boyhood Dream' is better.#

If you've read my previous Shawn Michaels review on the 'Heartbreak and Triumph' DVD set, you'll know that it features a much wider variety of matches, primarily as extras. It is also better if you want more of the interview or story type segments as it is not only Shawn commentating this time but many co-workers and friends, including Triple H and his parents. If you just want a few matches however, than the 'From The Vault' series might be more beneficial if you are not interested in Shawn's life story!

OVERALL
The 'From The Vault' collection, chronicling a very bias section in the career of Shawn Michaels, does have its advantages. It's good for avid fans who wish to develop their collection a little further, as well as for people who have just started watching wrestling or first become fans of the man himself to see him working at his peak, before his back injury limited what he could do in the ring to some degree.

Yet, the issue is that if you were already a fan of the WWF during that era than the chances are that you'll either remember the biggest majority of these matches or have them already of video or some of the newer DVD sets the WWE are now releasing. That's very much the case for me as I have the majority of these matches on the annual sets called WWF 'Year In Review', but you can't get too much of a good thing, right?

However, because you don't get the full matches here but selected, pivotal moments, if you do wish to see the whole matches than you may need to buy many of the videos or DVD's again anyway. I had to do this to satisfy my curiosity with the final match against Triple H from SummerSlam 2002, but wasn't disappointed in doing so as the rest of the ppv was exceptional.

Overall, a good video set but containing only seven matches, you may need to consider whether this is the right Shawn Michaels package for you if you are trying to obtain a good retrospective of his career to date. It seemed to be another one of the WWF's cheap cash ins, but it is a nice little collection for casual wrestling fans, and die hard members of the Michaels brigade to complete their collections. 

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