No Holds Barred: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Rip (Hulk Hogan) is the World Wrestling Federation champion who is faithful to his fans and the network he wrestles for. Brell (Kurt Fuller), the new head of the World Television Network, wants Rip to wrestle for his network. Rip refuses and goes back to his normal life. Still looking for a way to raise ratings, Brell initiates a show called “The Battle of the Tough Guys”, a violent brawling competition. A mysterious man, Zeus (Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister), wins the competition. This gets Brell to use him as an angle to get at Rip.
It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve seen this movie so watching it again brought back lots of memories. This was one of those films that you would catch on your local T.V. stations on a Saturday afternoon and end up watching the entire thing whether you meant to or not. Much like Hulk Hogan’s other movies, this was a guilty pleasure for me when I was growing up. It’s so so cheesy but I just can’t help but find it entertaining. With all of the “over the top” action and exaggerated dialogue it’s extremely hard to not crack a smile especially with the title of a T.V. show called “Battle Of The Tough Guys” (and the main antagonist says it with such a straight face that makes it even more hilarious). The story isn’t overly complex or anything like that. It’s kind of your basic “Mysterious stranger comes out of nowhere to challenge the champion” sort of story with the WWF logo attached to it. There was a moment in the film that I didn’t exactly remember before and it consisted of something fairly dark. With this being a movie that most likely kids would’ve watched it was definitely something that kids shouldn’t be seeing. That kind of caused the movie to go from campy and silly to having this serious vibe come out of left field. Besides that, the film (especially now) is fun to watch with a group of friends and just riff on how silly it can be at times but you kind of have to be a lover of campy films to fully enjoy it.
Special Features:
SummerSlam ’89 Match: Zeus & Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan & Brutus The Barber Beefcake
“No Holds Barred” Match Revisited: Tag Team Steel Cage Match (’89)
