I have Netflix, like so many others on the planet. There are lots of categories to choose from: Comedy. Horror. Sci-Fi. Action-Adventure. Musicals. It even gives you a selection of movies and TV shows to watch based on previous views. “Because You Watched Face/Off.” “Because You Watched Happy Gilmore.” “Because You Watched Pride & Prejudice.”
Disregard that last one.
Point being– there are a lot of choices on Netflix. My absolute favorite category on the streaming service would have to be the documentaries. Being a wrestler, there isn’t any type of documentary that I enjoy more than wrestling documentaries, and it’s no secret that WWE has made some of the best wrestling related docs in the last decade, setting the bar at a new level with “The Rise And Fall of ECW” back in 2004. Since that WWE Home Video release, it’s been pretty much a given that on the day that they come out, I go out and pick up the latest doc offering from WWE. Today was no different with the release of “WWE: The Kliq Rules.”
Going into it, I didn’t have high expectations for it. Two months ago, when WWE released Jerry Lawler’s WWE DVD, I wasn’t completely satisfied. It wasn’t bad by any means– I just felt like it could have been better. While they covered more of Lawler’s Memphis run than I had anticipated, they completely glaze over almost all of his WWE feuds.
I’m getting off topic, though. This is about “The Kliq Rules.” When the chapters leaked out onto the internet, it didn’t seem too long of a doc. The selection of matches seemed– too sweet– but I had seen all of them but one. Living in a time where the WWE Network is a thing, I guessed that this documentary would run about an hour in length, and be a rehash of a lot of previous footage, interviews, and topics. I mean, how many times can we discuss the formation of the nWo, the formation of DX, the Monday Night War, etcetera, without it feeling old..?
I’m happy to say that I was wrong in my thinking.
The only thing I got correct was the documentary length, which is 1 hour and 6 minutes. Other than that, right from the beginning, “The Kliq Rules” felt like a fresh offering from WWE. Since the release of CM Punk’s WWE biography in 2012, WWE seems to try and differ the way that the cold opens begin the docs, trying to make them feel like actual documentaries instead of a cookie cutter WWE docs of old:
Here’s a cold open video package.
Here’s where this person/people were born.
Here’s some interviews.
Here’s how they get into wrestling.
Then this happened.
Interviews.
This happened.
Interviews.
Continue on down the time line and insert interviews when needed.
Ending.
The documentary starts with a shot on Shawn Michaels, with the individual behind the camera asking, “Why do we think that we’re still talking about The Kliq twenty years later?” It segues into an intimate discussion between Shawn, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and Triple H in a locker room at a WWE live event. After a brief video package, it explains how all of the members of The Kliq met, starting with Shawn and Hall meeting all the way back in 1985 in Kansas City, and ending with Triple H joining the group behind the scenes of the WWF in 1995.
This is followed by stories like how The Kliq named came about (it was believed that Lex Luger dubbed the group as The Kliq, but in a new interview, Luger divulges who actually originated it), and the orgin of the infamous Kliq “Too Sweet” hand gesture. To my surprise, new interviews featuring The Godfather and Rikishi gives us a rare look into the backstage BSK group, featuring them, The Undertaker, The Godwins, and Yokozuna, how they came to be, and their thoughts on The Kliq and their backstage power.
We also get a closer look into the infamous “Curtain Call” at Madison Square Garden from May 19th, 1996, not only from The Kliq themselves and Vince McMahon, but from the perspective of Mani and Jason, the two fans that recorded the only existing footage of the incident on that faithful night. It gives the moment a fresh coat of paint and almost makes it feel new again. It also, of course, touches on Nash and Hall leaving for WCW, DX, and how The Kliq felt as though they were running the business with “Kliq North” and “Kliq South,” among other things.
In between all of this footage, we get a behind the scenes look at banter between the infamous five leading up to the inductions of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash during their respective WWE Hall of Fame inductions.
Is the DVD a must have, right now?
If you love wrestling documentaries like me, haven’t seen many of the matches featured in the extras, or just want to revisit some of The Kliq’s best matches, the DVD or blu ray won’t leave you disappointed. I liked the new interviews and content, however, I will say that some moments did feel like, “I’ve kinda already watched this.” Overall, I enjoyed rewatching them, but I can’t say that everyone else will.
If you have patience, have no interest in revisiting those matches, and have the WWE Network, I think you can save the $22.99 and watch it on the Network in 6 months. If you can find it for a deal, though (I found the newly released Daniel Bryan blu ray last month at Best Buy for just $9.99), I say pick it up!
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-Greg