By Phil Allely
In the late 1990s the WWE was on the brink of the ‘Attitude Era’ and breaking records galore with it’s viewing figures, PPV buy rates and live show attendance. One of the key factors in this was the change in direction the company took, moving away from it’s fascination on musclemen and characterisations, allowing it’s performers to pretty much be themselves in the ring. One such act that took the wrestling world by storm was the original incarnation of D Generation X (lovingly known as DX).
The Shawn Michaels fronted outfit took the WWE world on a rollercoaster ride for a fair few years and are still fondly remembered today, even though the recent two man Triple H /Michaels outings have been poor relatives to the characters they once brought to the fore.
This DVD from 2006 is one no real wrestling fan should be without, taking a look at the formation of the rebellious faction and featuring some of their finest bouts.
Originally DX was just Michaels, Triple H and his bodyguard (and at that time girl friend) the scarily muscular Chyna. The threesome obliterated, cheated and mocked many of the rising WWE stars of the time en route to becoming superstars themselves. Real life buddies HHH and Shawn especially proving to be as good on the mic as they were in the ring. The group added more to their number by recruiting top tag team the New Age Outlaws and good pal X Pac (Sean Waltman) to the mix, ensuring the advantage was always in their favour. Trough 1997-1998 DX ran roughshod over everyone from ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Bret Hart to Mankind to snap up as many title belts as they could and rule the promotion with no fear at all.
This DVD has a nice documentary style feature that follows the formation of the group and runs through their initial history, taking in the additions of the various members and even the (at the time) hugely popular involvement of boxer Mike Tyson into the mix. There is even a mention of the DX invasion of rival company WCW, which saw the crotch chopping gang embark on a mission to gatecrash a live WCW event.
On the match front it’s hard to find fault with the ones chosen for this disc. There are some fine matches from Raw including Michaels v Mankind, Triple H v Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart and Michaels/Triple H v Mankind/Undertaker. There are also two fine examples of PPV bouts from that era, first up is the match that sidelined Shawn Michaels for many years against the Undertaker (Royal Rumble 1998), up next is the 8 man tag brawl from No Way Out 1998 that saw Savio Vega join the Outlaws and Triple H to face ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart.
With Michaels on the shelf for an unknown period (his injury received at the Rumble against Undertaker was seemingly career ending) Triple H did lead DX for a while longer before they disbanded and he himself went on to become the multiple time champion he is now. Michaels of course did eventually return to the WWE after a number of years and the pair did resurrect the concept every so often, but never to the degree of success they had in the late 1990s.
As a snapshot of just how to get an idea right this is a wonderful DVD, the matches are as great today as they were back then and considering Michaels is now retired, Triple H is injured and the rest of DX are long gone from the WWE this is a fine was to look back at one of wrestling’s glory eras.
WWE D Generation X is still available from all good retailers and of course www.silvervision.co.uk
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