I don’t want to sound like I’m hating on WrestleMania XXV since I’m sure all of the guys in these matches will put on tremendous performances. However, it’s just not the type of event that I’m looking to spend $50 on to watch. Plus, I won’t be around tomorrow night since I have to run out to a meeting to make a quick award presentation.

For those of you who are wrestling fans, you’ll want to run over to TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com for the very latest information on WrestleMania XXV as well as the best in wrestling news and rumors. All I know is that The Undertaker’s undefeated streak better stay intact. Enjoy!

After watching the DVD, one of the things that comes right out at you is the thoroughness of the sit-down interviews. All of the Horsemen except Steve McMichael, Lex Luger, Sid Vicious, Sting, and Ole Anderson are interviewed during the DVD. That’s pretty amazing considering that these weren’t the main guys (except Ole, that is). You get to hear the story of the Horsemen right from Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Chris Benoit, JJ Dillon, and Dean Malenko. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that JJ Dillon’s interviews were exceptional. This man is a true wrestling proponent and someone that should find himself in the Hall of Fame soon. If not for his excellence as a manager, then at least for his dedication to the sport.

It would do no good to go over the minutia of the DVD here, but I will say that this is one of the more candid WWE DVDs that I’ve ever seen. Paul Roma is interviewed and he comes right out and said that he shouldn’t have been a Horsemen…which is funny only because Flair’s interview is interspersed with Roma’s in that Flair (and the rest of the Horsemen) were saying how Paul Roma was not a good fit for the group and that he was just the completely wrong person for the job. Then you have Roma’s take that the “idea” of the Horsemen was becoming an ego trip for Flair and Anderson and the gang – it’s a good bit of shoot-style video.

I will say that I didn’t like how much storylines played a part in the one-on-one interviews. It was weird – they would sometimes set up the next part of the DVD by talking about the storyline and then gradually move into the backstage/real life discussion. It was odd at times.

Eric Bischoff had a good, frank discussion about his lawsuit against Ric Flair and – to the DVD author’s credit – the Flair interviews against Bischoff are included either in the extras or as a part of the main story. You have to admire the passion that Flair showed in those interviews on NITRO where he looked like he wanted to rip Bischoff’s head off of his shoulders. Though most of us knew that it was real at the time, Flair tells us straight up in the DVD that he would have killed Bischoff if he had the chance on the night that he returned in Greenville.

All in all, this is a great look at the premier “gang” in professional wrestling. I suggest watching the DVD, though I’m unsure that you should purchase it. If you can rent it for a few bucks at Blockbuster or if you’re willing to wait until the price drops from $20 to $10, then go for it. You won’t be disappointed.

Any guy who can say that he’s influenced Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Jesse Ventura, and Dusty Rhodes (among others) is someone who deserves a second look. Any guy who can say he influenced these luminaries AND was the professional wrestler who brought the business into the “entertainment” era is someone of legend. Billy Graham is that – a true living legend in the wrestling business.

Looking at him now, one might say, “Eh, he looks like a mix between Ventura and Hogan.” You may say this because his look is very reminiscent of what Ventura looked like in his heyday and because Graham might be pointing at his “22-inch pythons, brother!” Well, hell, that sounds like Hulk Hogan, doesn’t it?

Nope – that’s Hulk Hogan borrowing material from the original and Ventura admittedly dressing like the Superstar.

That is the story of Billy Graham – he was “the first.” He was the first to break kayfabe outside of the ring. He was the first to be a muscle-head at heart and still win over wrestling fans. He was among the first to get the “Austin Heel Heat” where he was so good at being bad, the fans loved him for it. He was the first one to ignite the microphone throwing out raps that were literally taken from the boxing world’s Muhammad Ali.

Superstar Billy Graham was even the first one to bring a major lawsuit against Vince McMahon, Jr. which prompted the federal steroid investigation against the promoter. Billy Graham has done it all.

This book is a great chronicle of his life and times as a professional wrestler both in and out of the ring. It follows him from birth through his time as an evangelical preacher then to his time as a bouncer and ultimately to his time as the first “superstar” in professional wrestling. The Superstar is very candid about his drug use and how it almost killed him just as he’s very candid about the ladies in his life and how he missed out on some special moments with his young children. To their credit, they speak openly in this book about how his divorce from their mother hurt them. Again – this book pulls no punches in telling Billy Graham’s real-life story.

I enjoyed reading about Superstar’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and the story about him coming back to a WWE locker room for the first time in a decade is also touching. It must also be noted that Vince and company give away some of their thought processes towards the end of the book in terms of how Vince views the WWE Hall of Fame and how Jean Paul Levesque views himself as a member of the McMahon clan. Interesting stuff…

Much like his DVD, this is a book for true wrestling fans. It’s not a long read, but it is a very interesting one. I give Tangled Ropes the highest of recommendations – go for it!

This DVD was a biography/archive of the Superstar’s wrestling career. I enjoyed the stories that he told of getting into the business and the way that the other wrestlers who were interviewed showed their adoration for the Superstar. Many of the greatest names in professional wrestling history cite the Superstar as their inspiration to enter the wrestling business. Men from Hulk Hogan to Ric Flair to Dusty Rhodes to Governor Jesse Ventura – all of them give Graham proper praise on this DVD.

The DVD gets very interesting when Vince McMahon and Billy Graham each recount their involvement in the lawsuit that Graham brought against McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. Both sides tell their story, from Billy’s belief that he was thrown aside by the company he helped to build to Vince saying that many wrestlers don’t want to hear the honest truth of, “You’ve got nothing left to offer,” before they get fired.

The story does have a happy ending, though. Before going under the knife for a liver transplant, Superstar got a phone call from McMahon saying how the entire WWE was behind him. This buried the hatchet between the two and led to an eventual visit by Graham to a WWE PPV event in Phoenix. And, rightfully so, this led to Superstar Billy Graham’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

For the wrestling fan, I think this DVD is a must-see. I’m in the process of reading the autobiography that goes along with the DVD, so I’ll be able to post a review of that soon enough. However, if you’ve got a few bucks laying around or a Blockbuster rental and you don’t know what to get, go for this DVD.