WMAC Masters (1995–1996) User Reviews

Amnesia Lane

[michaelleahey-73778 · 7/10 · 15 June 2022]

A wonderful return down amnesia lane. I use to watch this show as a kid. As a martial artist I looked up to these guys a bit although I was never on their level. I actually met Chris Casamassa once although I doubt he will remember. This was a good show that never had a chance.

A heavier dose of reality would have helped

[khaosjr · 7/10 · 26 February 2005]

I enjoyed this show a lot, but it frequently seemed like the writers and producers didn't know what to do with the material. First of all, there is a feeling of pointlessness in both the TV series and the books based on it. Do all of these people LIVE in this training hall? Don't they have any LIVES, as it were? Second of all, the show got very confusing when it told "true-life stories" of the Masters...stories which ultimately proved completely fictional. (Wizard and Warlock, for instance, are NOT really brothers; I won't mention those tales of the Machine VS Steve, or of Superstar and Star Warrior VS John-O and Company. I wonder if "Yin-Yang Man" really is blind in one eye?)

Even worse, the series credits a fight-choreographer (Pat Johnson), when this is supposed to be an honest-to-everything-holy tournament. It would have been better if WMAC MASTERS were an actual game show, like American GLADIATORS or KNIGHTS & WARRIORS, in which real-life competitive martial-artists (if not movie/prime-time/soap stars) took on the Masters for cash or charity.

Personally, I always felt this series would make for a hip hotel-casino; all you'd have to do is figure the odds based on the ki-symbols (9 to 3, 4 to 2, 8 to 1, 7 to 5, etc. for the Battle Zone matches, Cage finals, and speed-breaking; 11 to 10 for the Dragon Star challenges). At least most of us adults could relate to that.

Good Show

[Jdawg51888 · 8 October 2001]

This television series was good. It featured real martial artists competing against each other for the dragon star, the award given to the greatest martial artist. There also is stunts the superstars perform that you have to see to believe. They also tell you about achieving your goals in life in order to be successful. All in all, this show is good but not great.

Best show ever.

[KennyWallaceRulz · 10/10 · 13 August 2006]

This show is an excellent show it is very well choreographed and the acting is good but best of all it is just plain fun to watch. If I could chose any show to bring back it would be this but since the show ended on a cliffhanger a lot of people would really want to see it. sure the idea is loosely WWE but still this show is extremely good. If they ever make a full DVD set of this I would 100% buy this without a doubt. If you can you should buy one of 3 2 episode videos they may still sell some places. All the actors are very skilled martial artists and Chris Casamassa was even in Mortal Combat as Scorpion. All have training background and some even are now professional Martial artists. Even though it's been 10 years it wouldn't kill fox or anyone to take out just one 5 A.M. Blender infomercial and put in WMAC Masters.

I love this show & wish they would bring it back to television.

[jlyno101 · 10/10 · 2 May 2006]

I loved watching WMAC Masters and would like to see it on TV again. I think maybe it was ahead of it's time & would get better ratings now. Especially if they aired it on Spike TV. I love watching UFC & Pro's Vs Joe's etc. As beautiful as Shannon Lee is, the guys would probably watch it just to see her. My husband has never heard of the show and I would love for him to see it. He has always said he would like to see a martial arts show where people actually fight. Usually when you find martial arts on TV they are just going through routines (drills) -I can't remember what that is called. That's when I told him about WMAC Masters. If & when I find it on DVD - I will purchase a copy.

Horrible show. Corny. Looks Fake, like the WWF, only worse

[fireblazer666 · 1/10 · 9 July 2011]

I was expecting this to be good because Shannon Lee hosted it. I have tried and tried to watch this... but what a god awful show!! It seems so fake. The fights don't seem real at all and everyone makes all these childish noises. I studied Martial Arts for years and this show makes Martial Arts look like the WWF, fake, rehearsed... etc. Sure, you yell KYAH! sometimes in Karate, but the noises made in this show are ridiculous!! I feel like I'm watching Big Brother or something when I watch this show. Don't watch it if you have any respect for Martial Arts. And don't get me started on the corny music. It's like watching a live action street fighter game (only really lame). They announce ROUND ONE and stuff in really lame video game voices and have this lame electric fence... Actually... you should watch this just to see how awful it is!! AND WHAT IS WITH THE DEMON VOICE WHEN ANNOUNCING "THE DRAGON BELT" AND "ROUND ONE" ETC......

It deserved better

[dead_m_a_n_walking · 23 December 2001]

The WMAC took the best of the best from the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and put them together to do for Martial Arts what the WWF did for wrestling. Each actor used their real name on the show, but also had a ring name (or Key symbol) that created a character. My Favorites were the strong yet cute BabyDoll (played by Bridgette Rylie who now competes as a boxer using the same nickname),Turbo (plyed by Michael Bernardo, who is now retired from the film world, and runs a martial arts school in Canada) , and Tracer/ Tracy Swedom the villain of season 2 (played by Michael Foley, a former Navy Seal who went on to star in Race for the Poles). Tracy Swedom was the only character to not use his real name, because the words Tracy Swedom, when mixed up , spell 'Destroy WMAC', making his the ultimate villain.

I can see why people would not be intrested, because the show primarily aimed to teach good morals and values, and when that diden't work they made it a pure battle of good versus evil (like so many typical martial arts movies,) with the villain speaking poetic lines that fall out of context in a kids show.

It was a great show, and I encourage everyone to check it out on video, or at least look for the films that the cast has made since then.

Give me a martial arts show, with a side of Mortal Kombat, WWE, and a side of crappy comic book...oh, and make it with EXTRA CHEESE!!!

[cactusheart · 4/10 · 20 September 2006]

I'll admit the stunts/action were remarkably fun to watch....that's just about the only reason I DID watch...Plus, given where it was filmed (Universal Orlando) the locations were kind of cool, but the rest of the show....blehhh.... The characters had as many dimensions as a cardboard cutout...hell, you could've REPLACED the actors with cardboard cutouts of themselves during the dialogue scenes and none would be the wiser!! Their identities were not believable and were lame, almost as if someone culled them from out of a comic book artist's wastebasket.... As was the entire storyline for the show! They tried (in vain) to spice it up by making the WMAC council corrupt, but by that time, not enough people cared enough to stick around and it was ax-time for WMAC masters. The "tournaments" were as nail-bitingly suspenseful as watching an opera...There was a bit of gall on their part to believe viewers would be gullible enough to not know better...

I also didn't appreciate how they vilified ninjas and made them into these low-ranking, fighting-fodder goons.

And whoever said Shannon Lee was hot should see her now! Moo!!!

It's been 10 years and I still miss this show!

[luluwannabe25 · 17 June 2005]

I first watched this show by accident, channel surfing one day, and, from that point on, I was hooked. It had the fighting element- something I really enjoyed, being the Mortal Kombat fanatic that I am. On that note, it also had people with ties to Mortal Kombat, (movie and games) making me *that* much happier. It was good, clean fun, with a cast that was pretty easy on the eyes. You hear that, ladies? HOT GUYS. WITH NICE BODIES. It went far beyond the little hearts floating above my head, though, I assure you. Speaking of ladies- the women on this show were (and I imagine still are) AMAZING. Seeing Lady Lightning in action always made me happy. A great athlete and someone I have a lot of respect for. Her with the steel whips- how cool was that?! Sure, it was mildly cheesy at points- all that morality and stuff, but, it was a really great show, and one I still enjoy watching, thanks to a few episodes I taped off of TV. I know WMAC Masters doesn't have a gigantic fan base, especially so long after the fact, but, it's got loyal fans in me and my friends.

This show was great.

[tim-529 · 6 December 2003]

I don't care what anyone else says. This show was so bad ass. Granted, it was a martial arts knock off of the WWF, it was so cool. The fights, the plots, and most important, Shannon Lee (Bruce's daughter) is hot!!!!! I wish I knew what ever happened to this show cause I would so watch it again if it was still on television.

Never got its due respect...

[Torch911 · 20 December 2005]

As a former student of one of the "Masters", I was very disappointed to see the show dropped by Fox. Instead of watching stunt doubles in rubber suits fighting monsters in cardboard cities, WMAC took the stunt doubles and gave them personalities. Most of the characters were really based off of the actors' personas and nicknames. Add in some stories that were meant to inspire the good in young viewers (brothers helping one another, respect for others property, etc.) and this show was better than 90% of the drivel on Saturday mornings.

As the show was being shown, I had the opportunity to meet many of the stars and each of them really did care for young people. Here's hoping TV studios take some time and show respect to the families watching their shows instead of throwing the next violent and materialistic retread from Japan.

Tyte azz show...

[azngurl504 · 6 November 2002]

This show was off the hook. It gave good insight to the different worlds of martial arts and kept you hooked by the storylines. All the actors on the show were actual martial artists and know how to entertain a crowd. It was fun seeing the titles jump from person to person.

Martial Arts version of WWF

[SPKx · 30 October 2001]

This show featured Martial Art battles\demonstrations. In between each of the fights were backstage storylines developing things like friendships and feuds between the fighters. Later on in the series a storyline developed involving a villain, however I didn't catch all of it. It was an alright show even though it basically copied the WWF and didn't last very long.