The Kliq Rules

WWE has already released multiple home videos on both the nWo and DX over the years. In 2015 however they switched it up by having the core members of both factions’ real-life friendships be the theme of today’s BluRay that is being spotlighted, The Kliq Rules (trailer). It explores how the friendships of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, 1-2-3 Kid/Syxx/X-Pac and Triple H formed and evolved over the years and how it lead to the success of the nWo and DX.

The Kliq Rules catches up with all five members of the Kliq and interviews them separately and has a couple scenes of them hanging out backstage at the 2015 Hall of Fame and Wrestlemania 31. In case you did not see the preview, there is new vintage behind-the-scenes footage and photographs of the Kliq hanging out in the 90s being shown for the first time. It added a little bit of a new perspective to their story seeing them be chummy behind-the-scenes before the average fan knew about existence of the Kliq well into the Monday Night Wars.

The documentary is a little over an hour long and it marches right through the history of Kliq’s origins with Michaels meeting Hall originally in the AWA and continuing their friendship when Hall arrived in WWE in 1992. They recollect the popular story of how they liked seeing Nash and Triple H’s work in WCW and convinced McMahon to bring them on board in WWE. I never heard how Sean Waltman (Kid/Pac) fell into the Kliq’s ranks and hearing Nash say how the impetus for it was Waltman’s pranks he pulled on The Smoking Gunns was what won them over was a worthwhile new piece of history to consume.

People familiar with the behind-the-scenes part of the business are probably aware of the Kliq stirring up a lot of trouble in the mid-90s and they go into that here with their reputation on bragging about paydays, influencing booking and other controversies getting covered. A plethora of WWE talents from mid-90s are interviewed about various Kliq anecdotes and how they were not locker room favorites. These talents include Vince McMahon, Lex Luger, Bret Hart, Sunny, Vince Russo, Billy Gunn, Sgt. Slaughter, Shane/Dean Douglas, Justin Credible/Aldo Montoya, Kama/Godfather, Jim Ross and rare out-of-character interview excerpts from the Undertaker.

There are a lot of interesting quotes from these interviews, most details I was aware of, but there were some I was not or some stories I heard new perspectives on. For example, I always heard Lex Luger was the one to come up with the name of the Kliq, but hearing Lex’s take for the first time brought some new light on their origin. I heard some brief details over the years, but never knew the full story of the other behind-the-scenes group known as ‘The Bad Street Krew’ that consisted of Kama/Godfather, Undertaker, Yokozuna and Rikishi/Fatu and hearing Godfather breaking down their history for the first time was another new piece of history this feature provided.

Since The Kliq Rules is only an hour long each of these stars are only featured a couple of times, and I got the feeling there were more intriguing stories that got left on the cutting room floor. I always heard how Aldo Montoya/Justin Credible was an unofficial member of the Kliq back then and even though he is interviewed here, that topic is never brought up. Most WWE BluRays have extra bonus interview excerpts that were cut from the main feature, and it is a missed opportunity on what I imagined could have been dozens of enlightening tidbits from this unique cast of characters.

Hall and Nash go into detail why they signed on with WCW, and no matter how many times I hear that story, it is one I never mind hearing again. This of course leads to the infamous ‘Curtain Call’ incident where the Kliq broke the time-honored tradition of the business and broke character in front of the fans and embraced in the ring together on Hall and Nash’s last night in the WWE. A surprising new take on that incident here is WWE tracked down the fans who recorded that footage and interviewed them for this feature on what it was like to see that transpire live in front of them.

The feature then breaks down the fallout from that controversy and how ‘Kliq-North’ went on to rule the WWE and ‘Kliq-South’ dominated the WCW airwaves and we see a montage of DX and nWo highlights from the Monday Night War. After spending a little time on the failed return of the nWo in 2002 and the couple of DX reincarnations in the later half of the 2000s, the documentary concludes with highlights of speeches of Shawn Michaels, Hall and Nash all going into the WWE Hall of Fame.

As with most WWE Home Video releases, the BluRay is loaded with extra matches. There are 23 matches, four of which are exclusive to the BluRay. Each match features at least two Kliq members. It comes as no surprise with the talents featured that most of these matches are pretty darn good to say the least, and even the bouts that are not great are at least passable and/or on here for a noteworthy moment in the match. A lot of these I have not seen since their original TV airing, or are completely new to me. A few I have seen quite a few time in other collections such as the 1-2-3 Kid upsetting Razor Ramon on a 1993 RAW and the iconic ladder match between Shawn and Razor at Wrestlemania X, but both are such pivotal moments in the WWE that they warrant inclusion in this set too. Diesel’s last WWE PPV match against Shawn Michaels in 1996 is on here too, and it still holds up as my favorite singles match with Nash going to dire straights to try and beat Michaels in their must-see ‘No Holds Barred’ clash.

Some of the bouts I have never seen before that still hold up tremendously well today are Shawn Michaels and 1-2-3 Kid squaring off on RAW at the end of 1993 where HBK nails a couple devastating Razor’s Edges to the Kid. I never saw the match where Diesel beat Ramon for the Intercontinental Title in 1994, so I got a lot out of seeing that, but am still perplexed why it took place on Superstars of all shows. It has been a long time since I saw the epic ‘CryBaby’ match between 1-2-3 Kid and Ramon, and it was a blast reliving that unique stipulation match. An early ’96 encounter between Triple H and HBK on RAW I completely forgot about was far better than I expected it to be for a TV main event that went through three commercial interruptions and told a great story and belonged on PPV. The aforementioned curtain call is featured in its entirety, and I still lose it at the fans losing it in the moment recording that classic footage.

I want to highlight the 2003 Judgment Day bout between Triple H and Nash because of all the ref bumps poor Earl Hebner took throughout it, including a sledgehammer shot. Speaking of which, Nash and Triple H’s ‘Sledgehammer Ladder Match’ from the 2011 TLC PPV is also on here, and it was my first viewing of that match which was far better than it had any right to be, and definitely worth checking out. I forgot how much I enjoyed DX feuding with Jeri-Show in 2009, and their killer ‘Tables, Ladders and Chairs’ match from the 2009 TLC PPV is on here (as a BluRay exclusive) and it features several creative new weapon spots I did not anticipate that resulted in a very entertaining spectacle.

I know I have went on about quite a few of the matches, but one final bout I want to touch on is how I heard many great stories of the Kliq having an absolute classic tag match on the old mid-90s weekend morning show, Action Zone. The Kliq Rules is the first official WWE Home Video release I have seen it on. Even with all the hype I am happy to say the match lived up to its buzz with the four starting things off in fourth gear leading to a hot crowd throughout the match. I was amazed when Diesel oversold a mistimed Superkick from Michaels and the remaining story of the match was Diesel marginally recovering from the Superkick while Shawn persevered in a 2-on-1 beatdown for several minutes until Diesel recouped to save him. It looks outrageous, but they pulled it off in a spectacular clash that needs to be seen by all, and for many it will probably be the first and only time you get to hear the commentary magic from one Todd Pettengill.

I regret holding off for over two years on watching this BluRay. I went into The Kliq Rules already knowing most of the key points of their history and thought the matches would eventually be a slog to get through since they primarily featured at least two of the five members of the group in all the matches. I could not have been more wrong. The documentary provides enough new perspectives and other new dynamics to their history I was unaware of that made it very much worth watching, and by the end I wanted more from all the talents that were interviewed. The matches were not a slog to get through, and most of the matches I have either not seen before or were literally decades since I originally viewed them, and the good-to-bad match ratio is far superior here compared to most WWE Home Video releases. This all combines to make The Kliq Rules a must-have in your collection.

Past Wrestling Blogs

Best of WCW Clash of Champions
Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2
Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3
Biggest Knuckleheads
Bobby The Brain Heenan
Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes
DDP: Positively Living
Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials
ECW Unreleased: Vol 1
ECW Unreleased: Vol 2
ECW Unreleased: Vol 3
For All Mankind
Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection
Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story
Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman
Legends of Mid South Wrestling
Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story
Memphis Heat
OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History
OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History
Owen: Hart of Gold
RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present
ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery
Sting: Into the Light
Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology
Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder
TNA Lockdown 2005-2016
Top 50 Superstars of All Time
Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season
True Giants
Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns
Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe
War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches
Warrior Week on WWE Network
Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition
Wrestlemania 28-Present
The Wrestler (2008)
Wrestling Road Diaries Too
Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money
Wrestlings Greatest Factions
WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015
WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015
WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016
WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016
WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017