The Stone Cold Truth

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 188 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: June 21 2004

Back in 2003-4 during the days when WWE DVDs were transitioning from character profiles during calendar years to in-depth looks at the entire careers of performers, the idea of a release dedicated to the life and times of Stone Cold Steve Austin seemed like an enticing prospect, especially in the early years after WWE purchased the rights to the WCW and ECW video libraries. However, The Stone Cold Truth (which shares the title and front cover as Austin's 2003 autobiography, for some reason) is little more than a basic overview of Stone Cold's highs and lows, with some pretty big chapters strangely omitted.

We do get a run-through of Austin's upbringing, his rise in wrestling and his headline run, backed up by incredible popularity during the most successful period in company history. However, as noted, some pretty big aspects of his career are not included. We do get thorough coverage of certain key developments, such as the neck injury that he suffered via a tombstone piledriver gone wrong from Owen Hart at SummerSlam 1997, but we don't get anything on other pivot points of Austin's career, a good example being his 2002 walk-out from WWE (the frustration with which is magnified by the fact that this DVD was released little more than a year after Stone Cold returned to the company from said walk-out). And while some light-hearted segments raise a smile, like the section on Austin's head-shaving routine, they are hardly suitable replacements for key elements of Stone Cold's story.

I should point out that the documentary feature, which only lasts around 45 minutes, was originally broadcast on American television station UPN in November 2003. The short running time explains the omission of some weighty events (but it doesn't entirely reveal the reasons why some were prioritised and/or ignored), and the timing of the original showing probably explains the odd fashion in which the documentary ends. Austin's last match was against The Rock at WrestleMania XIX in March 2003, and after a fun stint as co-Raw General Manager, a stipulation match involving two teams managed by the opposing General Managers (the other was Eric Bischoff) at Survivor Series 2003 led to Austin's on-screen role in that capacity ending. He would return as Sheriff on the final Raw of 2003 but purely from the standpoint of that particular storyline, Austin was supposedly finished.

Fans knew, however, that deep down he would return someday. Therefore, it's baffling that the documentary, which has an authentic and behind-the-scenes approach to most other scenes, chooses to end the main feature by giving the impression that this scripted defeat, which ended a non-wrestling position for Stone Cold anyway, was the final ever wrestling appearance for the Texas Rattlesnake. It's one of those things where it kind of makes sense, but it really doesn't; had the documentary concluded by highlighting what really was Austin's last match at that year's Mania, it would have been a lot more sensible.

While from the standpoint of the original transmission, there was a slight logic to finishing the documentary this way (kayfabe was still hanging onto dear life in the mid-noughties), by the time the DVD was released, Austin had returned in the aforementioned Sheriff role. Ironically, though, come DVD release date, Austin had actually left WWE for real (due to contractual differences), meaning that for all intents and purposes, at the time when fans first saw the DVD, it was in fact correct to state that Austin was done in WWE, even if the reasons weren't quite the same as what the feature implies. Confused yet? Thought so, especially when you consider that Austin would once again return to WWE a few months later, and would leave and return again more than once in the future.

Fortunately for those fans who were disappointed with this DVD, or at least the main feature, WWE would return to the concept in 2011 and release the outstanding Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line On The Most Popular Superstar Of All-Time, which gives fans the complete, in-depth Austin documentary that his very large fan base wanted as well as his biggest matches and a suitcase full of memorable promos and segments (you can read the review for that DVD by clicking here). As for The Stone Cold Truth: it also boasts some extras, although if you're not a fan of the pre-Stone Cold version of Steve Austin, then they may not be very appealing. Two WCW matches against Bobby Eaton and alongside Brian Pillman against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are followed by Austin's ECW debut against Mikey Whipwreck, and Austin's WWF debut as The Ringmaster against Scott Taylor (the future Scotty Too Hotty) on a January 1996 episode of Superstars. The only match from the Stone Cold era is the aforementioned SummerSlam 1997 bout with Owen, another choice which is logical but questionable in terms of this being the only in-ring representation of Stone Cold as Stone Cold on the DVD.

There are some more extras: his very memorable ECW promos are here in full, as well as a couple of segments from 2003, mostly post-show, with Austin generally larking about and having a good time (which you will enjoy, believe me). Arguably the highlight of this release is a hidden Easter Egg, accessed by right-clicking the final chapter on the Extras list of the DVD menu, where we see a hilarious Austin promo prior to Royal Rumble 2002 where he explains his "strategy" to Michael Cole. This 5-and-a-half minute interview is superb, with many humorous moments (amongst them Cole's struggle to keep a straight face), and literally hundreds of "What?" chants from the crowd on hand for that particular episode of Raw. However, this promo (and the ECW ones, for that matter) are also on the 2011 Austin DVD, so if these segments are your reason to buy The Stone Cold Truth (and they are arguably the best parts of this DVD), then save your money for The Bottom Line.

When I review DVDs in retrospect, I try to take into account the standards of the time when they originally hit shelves. However, in this case, even by 2003/4 standards, The Stone Cold Truth looked like it was lacking plenty, from omitted interview chapters to a brief and far-from-complete match selection. Even the promos, as entertaining as they are, are nowhere near being the perfect representation of Stone Cold's mic work (besides maybe the ECW interviews). That being said, it is only one disc, and it is based on Stone Cold Steve Austin, arguably the most entertaining performer in wrestling history (some will argue that this title belongs to The Rock, you could vouch for either man, to be fair). Therefore, you should gleam a good chunk of entertainment from The Stone Cold Truth. Just don't expect to be wowed by this DVD; if you take it for what it is - a fairly brief yet entertaining spotlight of the Texas Rattlesnake - then you should enjoy the release. Any fans expecting more from the DVD should probably steer clear and head towards The Bottom Line instead.

Overall Rating: 4.5/10 - Below Average

Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 432 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: June 15 2015

In 2015, the Yes Movement were thrilled to learn that the first proper WWE DVD would be released on Daniel Bryan, combining a WWE Network documentary with a selection of Bryan's most memorable matches in WWE. Bryan has long stood out as one of the world's greatest wrestlers, even before joining WWE as he perfected his craft and built a strong legacy on the independent scene, with a 15-month reign as ROH Champion being a key highlight during that period. Given Bryan's high standards for wrestling excellence, then, would this 3-disc DVD match expectations for him and his fan base, or would it have his most loyal followers shouting "No!"?

To begin with, this really is a DVD of two parts, as it's clear that the documentary and the match round-up are separate projects. Case in point: this DVD is called Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!, whereas the documentary clearly states (as it did during its initial WWE Network showing) the title Daniel Bryan: Journey To WrestleMania. That being said, the documentary is fine as it is, looking in-depth at Bryan's final preparations before his show-stealing performances at WrestleMania XXX, and blending in some additional footage and talking head comments that track Daniel's career up to the weekend of WM 30.

Besides the lead-up to the 2014 Mania, Included is footage of Bryan in Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy, where he was trained; initial dark match and Velocity footage from his days as a nameless face getting minimal offence in against star WWE performers; his independent exploits, including footage of him in Ring Of Honor; his initial WWE exposure on NXT, as well as the bafflingly entertaining feud with Michael Cole and his controversial firing in June 2010; his subsequent success in WWE up to the point of cashing in Money In The Bank and winning his first World Heavyweight Title in WWE (although his relegation to the dark match at WM XXVII is also covered); the 18-second malarkey at WM XXVIII that actually ended up making Bryan a star in a roundabout way; the development of his relationship with Brie Bella, who Bryan would marry shortly after WM XXX; and his rise up the headline ranks in WWE, which through a number of unforeseen circumstances over the weekend of Royal Rumble 2014 saw Bryan gain entry into the main event of WM XXX. The documentary ends, of course, with clips of Bryan achieving the once-unthinkable and becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XXX.

The documentary is very good, although the Road To WM XXX have a slightly scripted, kayfabe-ish feel to them that one normally sees on Total Divas. The sections which cover Bryan's career are very honest, from noting Bryan's perceived lack of charisma when he first entered WWE proper to his true feelings on his two WrestleMania-related nightmares with Sheamus, and they add up to a profile feature that is never less than engaging. I think an obvious flaw is that the documentary isn't that long; the original Network transmission lasted an hour, and this only adds a slight percentage of additional footage, whereas expanding it to a 90-minute feature (like on the most recent Ultimate Warrior DVD) or to two hours would have made it far more informative (for instance, we don't get anything concerning Team Hell No, his hilarious on-off partnership with Kane) and, potentially, one of WWE's greatest documentaries to date. As it is, though, Bryan fans should still appreciate most of the content in this portion of the DVD, even if they will be hoping deep down for a more in-depth look at the life and times of their hero in the future at some point.

The documentary is the only content on disc one, which is disappointing; we could at least have gotten a few bonus stories here. Instead, we jump right to disc two, and the second part of the compilation, evidenced by the mini-intro which ends by displaying the title of the DVD, something we don't see repeated on disc three. In other words, this is essentially two separate Daniel Bryan DVDs rolled into one.

That aside, the final two discs run through Bryan's WWE highlights, accompanied by new footage of Bryan discussing each bout and/or key chapters of his career, again with refreshing honesty. We also get some more talking head appearances by those seen on disc one, with an Easter Egg coming by right-clicking the menu chapter which previews Bryan's first PPV encounter against The Miz (the EE in question sees Bryan talking to ... The Miz, although it's impossible to tell if it's a real-life discussion or a blatantly scripted chit-chat because the cameras are rolling; I think the latter). We unfortunately don't get any non-WWE matches (surely WWE could have gotten at least one from ROH, since we do see footage and photographs of Bryan in his ROH days during the documentary?), but we do some nice rare footage prior to Bryan making his official WWE debut in the form of an intriguing yet overly long dark match from 2000, where we see a very young Bryan as American Dragon team up with Shooter Schultz (no idea what happened to him) against future WWE stars Brian Kendrick and Lance Cade, as well as a 2003 Velocity bout pitting Bryan against Jamie Noble (where Noble incidentally gives Bryan a very generous amount of offence, which unfortunately the people do not appreciate; how times change).

We then move onto Bryan's official WWE run, beginning with a short yet exciting NXT scrap with the then-World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Jericho. Following this is his United States Title win over The Miz at Night Of Champions 2010 (which is probably Miz' best match ever), and then Bryan cashing in Money In The Bank on Big Show to win the World Title at TLC 2011 (beforehand, Bryan notes his topsy-turvy ride in WWE up until that point, and notes the true circumstances behind him becoming champion that night; it would have been nice to see the MITB Ladder match that gave him the briefcase, though). Next up is Bryan against Big Show for the gold from an early 2012 episode of SmackDown, featuring commentary by Mark Henry that on the surface seems dull, but when you listen closely, it's actually hilarious at times; whether Henry intended for his lines to come across humorously is anyone's guess.

Bryan then recounts the WrestleMania XXVIII situation and his 18-second defeat to Sheamus which, as noted earlier, ended up being a boost, actually to three careers: Sheamus won the World Title (and KIND OF preserved his body a bit by not having to take bumps on this night); the manner of Bryan's defeat ended up influencing die-hard fans to furiously support him, which ended up leading to his explosion in popularity that took him to the top; and even AJ Lee, Bryan's on-screen girlfriend, would develop her psychotic character as a result of Bryan dumping her for supposedly causing him to lose so quick. Granted, most fans and the combatants would have still preferred a lengthy World Title match that night in Miami, but in the long run, it all worked out. Except maybe for Sheamus, who is currently treading water as a heel despite holding the MITB briefcase himself these days.

Anyway, the next match is Bryan's brilliant Two Out Of Three Falls match with Sheamus from Extreme Rules 2012 (both note that this was more or less the match they should have had at Mania 28), and is followed by Bryan facing CM Punk for the WWE Title at Money In The Bank 2012 under No DQ rules (and with AJ as referee). I preferred their first scrap at Over The Limit 2012, but this is still really good, and the pre-match clips are humorous for two reasons. Firstly, Bryan tells a funny story about his ring gear that night. Then, as is the case with many matches on this DVD, we get the full recap video as used on WWE television for the match (a nod to old-school WWF/WWE compilations), which stands out as humorously ironic because, when recounting the whole AJ storyline, and all the male wrestlers she supposedly went with, the only one she ever proposed on-screen to was ... CM Punk, who of course she ended up marrying for real (and are both paying for that now, or at least their WWE legacies are since both left the company, which in AJ's case is WWE at its most petty).

This part of the DVD does cover Team Hell No, with some very funny clips of Bryan and Kane in Anger Management and "hugging it out" on Raw, leading to their unspectacular yet entertaining WWE Tag Team Title win over Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (one of the most forgettable teams in WWE history) at Night Of Champions 2012. I thought we should have gotten one more Bryan/Kane match, which ideally would have been the superb 6-man TLC match from TLC 2012, but instead we jump ahead to Bryan dethroning John Cena for the WWE Title in a great if slightly long match at SummerSlam 2013, with all the post-match shenanigans included (which I loved as a shock PPV ending, incidentally). Bryan's refreshing honesty comes through here when he notes that he feels the match with Cena was ultimately unsuccessful because it didn't do a great PPV buy rate, although some would argue that this was down to WWE's questionable promotion of Bryan prior to SummerSlam (Bryan also seems to cover WWE when he notes that he didn't main event any PPVs alongside Punk in 2012 as if it were their fault, rather than it being due to WWE's obsession with pushing Cena, which was at its most frustrating in summer 2012 for that very reason).

Oh, I almost forgot: before Bryan vs. Cena, we see arguably the greatest Gauntlet match ever from a July 2013 Raw. Bryan firstly faces Jack Swagger in a basic, yet watchable opening salvo. But then we get a truly epic singles collision with Antonio Cesaro, which stands up as one of the year's greatest matches on its own. Finally, Bryan battles Ryback, then in his heel run (which never seemed right to me, nor to most fans really), which despite the poor ending is a very respectable end to a fantastic overall match presentation and a first-class performance by Bryan across the three matches. (Its showing here is slightly damaged, though, by WWE cutting the final few minutes where Cena endorses Bryan and the fans give Bryan a well-deserved standing ovation, presumably because Cena challenged Ryback to a Tables match during that scene, since Cena vs. Ryback obviously wouldn't be included here. If you want to see it, look for the July 22 2013 episode of Raw on the WWE Network and it'll be there. Hey, maybe that was WWE's intention!)

A decent No DQ match with Randy Orton on a March 2014 Raw is book-ended by Bryan discussing the true story behind his rise to the main event of WM XXX, including acknowledgements of CM Punk leaving WWE and of his disappointment when he initially learned that he would face Sheamus at that year's Mania. (Incidentally, the question must be asked: what was WWE's obsession with pairing Sheamus up against Bryan? There were even rumours at one point that the two were supposed to face off at WM 31, which if true means that WWE in some way planned Bryan to wrestle Sheamus at four of the last five WrestleManias!) We don't get Bryan's first Mania bout with Triple H, which is slightly disappointing, but of course we see Bryan defeat Batista and Orton for the title in the WM 30 top-liner, which in hindsight suffers greatly in crowd noise from Brock Lesnar shockingly ending The Undertaker's Streak (it was noticeable on the night, but besides a quick burst when The Authority interfered, the fans are almost silent until the final few minutes.)

The DVD enters slightly strange territory next when the compilation based around Bryan becoming World Champ at WM 30 goes on to cover almost the next year of his career. There isn't much footage to show, though, because as Bryan explains, shortly after WM, he suffered a neck injury which sidelined him for the rest of 2014, which combined with the sudden passing of his father made the late spring and summer of 2014 a very difficult time for him. It all led to his appearance on the final Raw of 2014 (shown here) where Bryan, after teasing retirement, announces his long-awaited return at Royal Rumble 2015 (which didn't turn out so well, not least for RR winner Roman Reigns). Speaking of Reigns, he and Bryan meet in the DVD's final match, the Fast Lane 2015 main event with a WM 31 WWE Title shot at stake. Reigns won, convincingly and after putting forth a pretty good effort. It feels like a weird way to end the DVD; however, the DVD was in production between Fast Lane and Mania, meaning that we couldn't see Bryan win the Intercontinental Title in a 7-man Ladder match from Mania 31 on this release.

It's awkward as well to see Bryan end the DVD (well, his comments on the DVD, since it fades to black with Reigns celebrating funnily enough) discussing how his health is back to 100%, because as we all know shortly after WM 31, Bryan was again injured and hasn't wrestled since, with conflicting reports on when he will return or even if he will return (and if he does whether it'll be in WWE). It'll be very sad for Bryan if his career is over, and even if he ends up wrestling again but outside WWE, because bad luck has ultimately denied him the chance to prove himself as a main eventer after spending so many years developing, without exaggeration, into one of the all-time great wrestlers. Hopefully, things will improve and we will see Bryan compete in a WWE ring someday, even if it is only for one final swansong encounter.

The Blu-ray includes more than a dozen additional interview chapters, as well as four extra matches that given their rarity are worth buying the HD discs for: a 2003 Velocity match against a young John Cena; a shockingly brief NXT match with William Regal from 2010 (their November 2011 match from Superstars in Liverpool, which I attended, is far better, and even Bryan at one point said that the latter was his favourite match); a basic mixed tag match that exists here only to show him and Brie, as they face Ted DiBiase and Maryse; the full Anger Management footage of Bryan and Kane (which is well worth watching again); and a Cage match pitting Bryan and Bray Wyatt against The Usos during Bryan's quickly-forgotten association with The Wyatts (although this ends with Bryan leading virtually 100% of the arena into a thunderous and perfectly-influenced "Yes!" chant, which is a Raw moment in itself).

As an overall package, this is a great wrestling DVD. The gaps in the documentary are minor at best, the tone is almost entirely honest, and the match selection thoroughly delivers with any notable omissions being acceptable (besides possibly there being no Bryan matches from ROH or any other indie promotions). I would still like to see another Bryan DVD someday with a longer, truly career-spanning documentary (and one filmed for use on a DVD and not a WWE Network rerun), complete with some of Bryan's ROH and indie scraps before bringing us more of Bryan's greatest WWE matches and moments. So, is this a DVD which all Daniel Bryan fans should purchase. Take a wild guess at the answer ...

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Overall Rating: 9/10 - Outstanding

The Twisted, Disturbed Life Of Kane

Image Source: Paris-Catch

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 508 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: February 23 2009

It's as good a time as ever to provide a retro DVD review on Kane for several reasons. Firstly, this week marks 18 years since the debut of the Big Red Machine. Secondly, Kane is currently back in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture, as he faces Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell in the culmination of a feud that has been months in the making. Finally, I recently provided a review of the Brothers Of Destruction DVD, and last week the retro DVD review was based around his brother The Undertaker, so it's only fair to give the spotlight this time around to the red and black attack.

"Attack" is a fitting word to describe Kane, especially in his early days as the masked, non-speaking monster from Hell; a far cry from his current role as the unmasked Director Of Operations (when he isn't slipping back into the Demon version of his character, that is) or even the unmasked behemoth from the late 2000s who narrates this DVD by introducing matches and, where applicable, explaining their backgrounds in his own, twisted way.

The compilation sensibly kicks off with Kane's first televised match (I know Glen Jacobs played several roles pre-1997 but we're talking Kane here so bear with me) against Mankind, a great brawl at Survivor Series 1997 which strangely exists under a constant red light. Up next are Kane's major collisions with The Undertaker from WrestleMania XIV and Unforgiven 1998, the latter being the first ever Inferno match.

Since this is a Kane DVD, and it was released before he became World Heavyweight Champion in 2010, the most crucial encounter is up next, that being his WWF Title-winning First Blood victory over Stone Cold Steve Austin at King Of The Ring 1998. Notable for the exciting action and shocking ending, I also still marvel at the fact that Mankind interfered having just nearly been killed in a Hell In A Cell match against Undertaker.

The Kane character moved away from his brother and onto new situations in late 1998/early 1999, such as a partnership with X-Pac. Here, we get their first WWF Tag Team Title win over Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett, which despite horrendously overdubbed commentary and crowd noise was a fairly memorable match at the time. (I have memories of this title change for another reason. This was on the April 5 1999 Raw, having been taped on March 30. But I attended a WWF house show in Birmingham on April 4 where Kane and X-Pac, wrestling in separate matches, were introduced as titleholders. This was in the relative infancy of the Internet so this, for all intents and purposes, was one of the first examples of a "spoiler alert", and by the WWF itself at that. Topping it off, back then Raw wasn't shown until Friday nights, so it was five more nights before UK fans could watch the now-expected title change.)

Kane ended up feuding with X-Pac (for far too long, this was the Randy Orton-Sheamus of its day), and on this DVD we get a surprisingly entertaining Steel Cage match between the two from Armageddon 1999. The remainder of disc one covers Kane's coffee-induced feud with Chris Jericho and a Last Man Standing match from Armageddon 2000, and Kane's partnership with his brother (then in his biker period) via a three-way tag from No Way Out 2001.

Disc two opens with Kane striking gold again at Judgment Day 2001 in a forgotten Chain match against Triple H, which is a nice addition to this DVD. Another fun inclusion is Kane's WrestleMania X8 match with Kurt Angle, a bout amongst the many overshadowed that night by The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan. An injury shortly afterwards put Kane on the shelf, leading to his return in August 2002 with a new-style mask and outfit. The momentum, if one can call it that, of his comeback led to our next match, his double-title meeting with HHH at No Mercy 2002. The bout itself is okay, but it occurs as part of one of the worst WWE storylines ever which is simply referred to as "Katie Vick" (Google it if you're unsure; I'm not going into detail on this ugly saga). The other match from this phase of Kane's career is in the early part of his partnership with Rob Van Dam as they take on Chris Jericho and Christian, with Shawn Michaels and a then-very inexperienced Randy Orton at ringside.

Kane's character changed forever on June 23 2003 with his unmasking. Over the next few months, WWE did a brilliant job of revitalising Kane by doing the one thing which most assumed would have killed the persona off forever, that being the removal of his mask. Oddly, the main source of Kane's wrath would be Shane McMahon, who he faces here in a Last Man Standing bout from Unforgiven 2003 and in an Ambulance match from Survivor Series 2003, which are fun but a bit heatless (Shane really lays the blows into Kane in these scraps). Before this, we get a rare Raw Cage match between the monster and Rob Van Dam, who was the "lucky" recipient of Kane's first post-mask chokeslam.

Bizarrely, Kane's superbly-promoted re-rivalry with Taker in late 2003/early 2004 isn't referenced here. Instead, to close disc two, we jump ahead to the poorest Raw storyline of 2004 (SmackDown was very poor that year), and Kane's daft-on-paper Till Death Do Us Part bout with Matt Hardy from SummerSlam 2004, where the winner would get to marry Lita. You read that right. As a "treat", we get the Kane-Lita wedding as a DVD extra. (Funny how Lita married twice on WWE TV, and on neither occasion was it to her long-time boyfriend Matt Hardy.)

Up next, we have another forgotten match, an Unforgiven 2004 meeting with Shawn Michaels. After an encouraging start to their feud, it was virtually ignored until the time came for the two men to lock horns, but fortunately it ends up being a really enjoyable clash. Kane would then move onto a feud with Snitsky (showcased here by a No Holds Barred bout from a 2005 Raw), which was caused by Snitsky causing Kane's on-screen wife Lita to have a miscarriage and thus lose their baby. I kid you not, this really was the plot-line for this feud. I told you 2004 was a bad year in WWE.

The DVD then gives us two Kane vs. Edge matches from Raw, under Steel Cage and Stretcher rules, which are watchable but really exist to prepare the Edge-Matt Hardy rivalry, an incredibly juicy backstage scandal come to life. Kane would largely play an insignificant role over the next twelve months, with one highlight being the May 19 saga concerning the release of his first movie See No Evil (I actually got a kick out of this storyline, partly because my birthday is May 19, so I enjoyed the frequent references to the date). One slightly important feud from this time was Kane's rivalry with Umaga, highlighted here by a September 2006 Raw clash.

Kane ended up on SmackDown, where he would feud with MVP (no matches from their conflict are on this DVD, oddly), occasionally reform his partnership with The Undertaker (we see the Brothers Of Destruction team up here against King Booker and Finlay), and challenge other new foes, such as King Booker (who he takes on at No Way Out 2007) and Finlay, who he faces here in a fun Belfast Brawl from a September 2007 episode of SD. An April 2008 TV meeting with Taker (which is more angle than match) is the DVD's last bout, although the extras include Kane's 24-Man Battle Royal win and subsequent (very short) ECW Title victory over Chavo Guerrero on the evening of WrestleMania XXIV, which provide a more fitting conclusion to the DVD. In addition to the aforementioned Kane-Lita wedding, a number of other bonus segments are also included, including a hilarious one of Kane impersonating The Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and in one extra which I found very cool, an extended recap of the entire storyline which led to Kane's debut at In Your House XXVIII: Badd Blood. More bonus material can be found by the inclusion of several Easter Eggs by right-clicking and left-clicking two or three times (they vary) on different chapter headings within the DVD menu across the three discs.

I personally really enjoyed this DVD. If you're a Kane fan, which I am, this compilation couldn't have had much more relevant content than what is included here (the links are skippable but are understandable given the psychotic nature of Kane's character), at least considering that it was produced in 2008. The DVD shows the evolution of Kane's character and, at least amongst the extras, the versatility of Kane's talents; whilst The Undertaker is undoubtedly an all-time legend, I would argue that he (or at least his character) is not as versatile as that of Kane, perfectly displayed by Kane's priceless Team Hell No combo with Daniel Bryan in 2012-3. And even today, 18 years on from his arrival, Kane remains an important part of WWE television, and is playing his most versatile role yet by portraying the demon character and the Corporate persona at the same time.

Some may say that this DVD doesn't exactly rank as a great wrestling compilation, which to be fair is true. However, this DVD is aimed at Kane's fans (obvious, I know), and it definitely should meet their expectations. It's possible that we may get a future DVD with a documentary covering Kane's entire career, including his real-life experiences and some interesting facts about Glen Jacobs (did you know that he was born in Madrid, Spain?) and the post-2008 portion of his career. We may get it in the next two-to-three years if Kane retires during that period, which is a genuine possibility. But whilst we wait for such a release, Kanenites should be more than satisfied with this release on one of the most underrated yet important characters of the last 20 years in WWE.

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

The Best Of WWE At Madison Square Garden

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 428 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 9 2013

With the recent WWE Network special emanating from Madison Square Garden, this seems as good a time as any to look at the company's 2013 DVD dedicated to The World's Most Famous Arenas. Book-ended by links from Matt Striker (although there are very few of them), this compilation focuses on memorable matches and moments at MSG, and for the most part it is a success.

Surprisingly, we get nothing from Bruno Sammartino's first WWWF Title reign (more on him later), but we do get a match involving the man who dethroned Bruno in 1971, Ivan Koloff; his championship loss to Pedro Morales is the first match here, and is cool to see as it's historic yet rare (although the production quality is understandably poor). A Bruno vs. Superstar Billy Graham clash from 1977 follows, before a fairly good Texas Death match between Bob Backlund and Ken Patera from 1980. A historically noteworthy meeting between WWF Champ Bob Backlund and NWA Champ Harley Race follows, with commentary by Matt Striker that is either entertaining or annoying depending on your point of view, but we strangely don't get the memorable Backlund-Iron Sheik title change from December 1983. We do, however, get Hulk Hogan's incredibly important first WWF Title win over Sheik (the match is short but it marked the true beginning of Hulkamania), and a gripping Boot Camp match between Sgt Slaughter and Iron Sheik, which is incredibly bloody considering that we were by then into the Hogan era.

Next up is the main event of the first WrestleMania, one of the most important matches in wrestling history as Hogan and Mr. T face Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful in a celebrity-surrounded match that simply had to succeed for the WWF to stay afloat; fortunately, it did. (As an aside, some other important pre-WM matches aren't here, such as the Slaughter-Pat Patterson Alley Fight from 1981 and the Jimmy Snuka-Don Muraco cage match from 1983; don't expect to see the latter on many future DVDs under current circumstances.) A random 1985 tag match pitting Andre The Giant and Wonderful against Piper and Bob Orton (an off-shoot of the WM top-liner) is followed by the unforgettable SummerSlam 1988 match where The Ultimate Warrior dethrones the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all-time, The Honky Tonk Man. The bout only lasts around 30 seconds, but it's very engaging to watch and launched Warrior's career.

Two of the three greatest IC Title bouts ever come next, as we get the classic Mr. Perfect-Bret Hart showdown from SummerSlam 1991, featuring an all-time classic commentary performance from Bobby Heenan ("You can't grab Bret Hart's hair ... You'd have too many oil slicks on your hands" and "I heard that one time (Roddy) Piper went to school one day and when he came home, his parents had moved" were amongst his best lines), and that Ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania X. Some may complain that this match is once again included on a WWE DVD, but as one of the best matches ever to be held at The Garden, there would have been more complaints had this one not been included. I would also argue that Bret vs. Owen Hart from the same Mania should have been on this release, since it was a brilliant match in its own right and since two "incidents" from one show are included later on.

Disc two ends with a bout that lasts eight seconds. That might sound unappealing, but it is the 1994 clash where Diesel wins the WWF Title from Bob Backlund and, as a house show match, this has never been released as an overall presentation (we previously only ever saw the eight seconds themselves on the likes of Superstars and Wrestling Challenge); and besides, the big guy ended up holding the belt (yes, I said belt) for almost a year, so its inclusion is justifiable.

The third disc opens with an eight-man Survivor Series showdown from SS 1996, notable solely for the debut of Rocky Maivia, who would of course become The Rock. I can understand why this is on the DVD, but it lasts a fairly long time and isn't very interesting otherwise, so I would much rather have seen Bret vs. Steve Austin from the same card, a vital match in making Stone Cold a major star. This DVD contains moments as well as matches, one example being Austin's first Stone Cold Stunner to Vince McMahon, one of two highlights of the September 22, 1997 Raw to be featured here; the other is the wacky Falls Count Anywhere match between Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Cactus Jack (Jack's WWF debut, set up brilliantly by a daft yet entertaining video featuring all three Faces Of (Mick) Foley).

It's nice to see the lauded-at-the-time, almost-forgotten-nowadays Tag Team Tables match (the first in WWF history) between The Dudleyz and The Hardyz from Royal Rumble 2000, but where is Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from the same show? This Street Fight was truly epic and arguably the greatest ever match of its kind (I also complained about its absence from the Falls Count Anywhere DVD, if I remember correctly; click here to see if I did. Spoiler: I did.). I'd even have thrown in Tazz' WWF debut from the same show on this release. But probably not Mae Young's "topless" showing from RR 2000 ... definitely not. Unless you like seeing fake pensioner breasts that look like drooping sausage rolls.

A rare Raw match from 2000 is next, pitting Chris Jericho against Triple H against Kurt Angle. At the risk of sounding ill-informed, I'll spare the details of this one, because they'd take too long to explain, other than note that it doesn't last very long. Following this is Booker T's attack on Vince at MSG from June 2001 and the rather memorable return of Triple H from the first Raw of 2002 from a quadriceps injury (which the WWF/WWE may have mentioned once or twice). Next up is Big Show vs. John Cena for the United States Title from WrestleMania XX, which definitely played a role in Cena's ascension in WWE, but it still a bit overrated by the WWE historical hype machine.

After Trish Stratus' last Raw match of her full-time WWE run (a short bout with Mickie James from a September 2006 episode), we then see Cena again, this time as a far bIgger star, as he returns to win the 2008 Royal Rumble. To understand the impact of this, you have to consider that Cena at that point was supposedly injured until the summer of 2008, and very, very few people knew that he would be a participant, making this arguably the greatest moment in Royal Rumble history. There haVE always been surprise entrants in the Rumble, but the trend truly began with this moment.

I was disappointed on several fronts that the final match was the three-way tag main event from the November 2009 MSG Raw because firstly, despite the star power and the largely engaging action, it isn't a great match; secondly, it has been frequently released (including on the recent Road Is Jericho compilation); thirdly, Kofi Kingston's star-making attack on Randy Orton was the most memorable part of that particular show; and finally, I was looking forward to revisiting CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio from Survivor Series 2011 (a photograph from this encounter is on the sleeve), only to feel short-changed when the DVD ends with the aforementioned Raw bout (although Punk vs. ADR is on the Blu-ray, along with a few more bouts, several bonus stories and Vince's MSG Walk Of Fame induction).

Speaking of the sleeve: it looks okay, but it feels a little bit lazy and rushed and, whilst the main picture indicates a heavy presence by Bruno Sammartino and the sleeve listing strongly promotes this as being Bruno's first appearance as a talking head on a WWE DVD, we only hear from him once and only get one of his matches, which considering his history with The Garden is both baffling and feels like a let-down to any fans who purchased the DVD to see a lot of Bruno. I should mention that every match is preceded by a talking head which in most cases is relevant to the match, from Bob Backlund to Bret Hart to Kevin Nash to The Rock, although some spoil the ending of the subsequent bout which is a minor annoyance.

There were several TV shows not referenced (a June 2001 SmackDown, an August 2002 Raw, Raw and SmackDown from June 2003 and April 2005, Raw and Saturday Night's Main Event from August 2007 and SmackDown from April/May 2009), although the only glaring omission from those would be the night that Kane first unmasked. SummerSlam 1998 and Survivor Series 2002 were strangely not represented, and I would have liked some more matches from the 1980s and 1990s when monthly cards were shown exclusive to the New York area on the MSG Network, and possibly even some rare house show clashes from recent years too.

Overall, though, WWE has done a nice job with this DVD. There are a couple of classic matches, plenty of historic moments, a few rare gems, and overall a load of wrestling-related entertainment. You won't learn much about MSG from this compilation, and it has a couple of notable absentees when it comes to the match selection, but given the title of this release, this DVD does its job and offers most of WWE's finest moments at Madison Square Garden, with their historical significance and the comments from wrestlers past and present underlining why, even today, MSG remains the World's Most Famous Arena.

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

The Undertaker's Deadliest Matches

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 499 Minutes
Certificate: 18
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: September 13 2010

On paper, a DVD based on the most violent matches of The Undertaker's career sounds intriguing, especially when it was released in 2010 with WWE at the height of its transition into a PG wrestling product. But while the compilation definitely has its moments, it is more notable for the key matches that aren't included; granted, many of those bouts had been released on Taker's previous DVD Tombstone (which you can read a review of by clicking here), but not having them here greatly reduces the appeal of the set under review.

Introduced by and featuring links from a very in-character Phenom, this stipulation-themed set begins with a fun if dangerous Bodybag match against The Ultimate Warrior from 1991, during which heel manager Paul Bearer's facial expressions and mannerisms are unintentionally hilarious. We then get the first Coffin match (actually the only one, at least where the stipulation uses that name) against Kamala at Survivor Series 1992, and further Casket bouts with Kama and Mabel from SummerSlam 1995 and In Your House V respectively. I'd have preferred the Survivor Series 1994 "box" match with Yokozuna since it was more memorable and entertaining than these two examples, or even either of Taker's Royal Rumble container clashes with Yoko or Shawn Michaels.

In a strange twist of fate, we next get the two 1996 Mankind matches which we should have had on Taker's 2005 DVD, from that year's King Of The Ring (a gripping war that was ahead of its time) and SummerSlam (their famous Boiler Room Brawl which has a shocking conclusion). The first of these didn't actually have a special rule but it definitely fits the violent theme, and the second is a more than worthy inclusion.

One would think that the incoming Attitude Era would bring about a wealth of matches to be featured here, but the next included bout isn't until Rock Bottom 1998, a Buried Alive match against Stone Cold Steve Austin. This is enjoyable (as most Austin scraps during the era were), but where is the first BA clash with Mankind or, more glaringly, Taker's Hell In A Cell showdowns with HBK and Mankind? I know they were released on Tombstone, but they should have been here on a DVD based around extreme bouts, and the HIAC fight with Mankind is arguably the most violent and dangerous match in company history. Nobody could have complained too loudly about repetition had these milestone matches been included.

Another omission is the first Inferno match with Kane, but at least we get the rematch from a February 1999 Raw, which has Vince McMahon on commentary during that odd phase when he appeared to be a villain and a face/heel (since it was unsure who was in which role during his Taker feud) at the same time. We then get two Raw matches from 1999 against Big Show which don't have stipulations and are therefore unreleased filler, although the finish of the May '99 match is violent and the end of the June '99 was very memorable at the time.

Inexplicably, the next match on the DVD isn't for a whopping five years, completely leaving out anything from his biker phase, including his phenomenally bloody and brutal HIAC match with Brock Lesnar from No Mercy 2002 (incidentally, it'll be interesting to see whether Taker and Brock can live up to this standard in a PG environment when they meet in the Cell again at HIAC 2015). Worse still, the next bout is one of the most baffling main events ever, the simply ridiculous Concrete Crypt showdown with The Dudleyz from The Great American Bash 2004; sure, it lives up to the theme of the DVD, but the story behind it is odd and the finish of the match presentation is nonsensical.

We don't get the first Last Ride (hearse) match between Undertaker and JBL from No Mercy 2004 (during which JBL claims to have suffered the back injury that would eventually end his career), so next up is a surprisingly entertaining Casket match with Heidenreich from the 2005 Royal Rumble, featuring cameos from Snitsky and Kane (incidentally, there were plans at one point for the Brothers Of Destruction to team at a WrestleMania for the first time against Heidenreich and Snitsky at WM 21; this didn't happen, but as we instead got Taker vs. Randy Orton at that year's Mania, which properly began the importance of Undertaker remaining undefeated at WrestleMania, I think it's safe to say that we got the better option in that deal).

Speaking of the Legend Killer, he pops up next to face Taker alongside his father Cowboy Bob Orton in a handicap Casket match from No Mercy 2005, and again in singles action in what I consider to be a highly underrated Hell In A Cell match from Armageddon 2005, and one of the highlights of this DVD. Following this, we jump ahead to the summer of 2006 and a Last Man Standing match against The Great Khali, which was originally meant to happen at that year's SummerSlam but was instead moved to the pre-SS SmackDown for unknown reasons.

We then get two matches against Mr. Kennedy from Survivor Series and Armageddon of 2006, under First Blood and Last Ride rules (the first of these, by the way, features an incredibly brutal steel chairshot by Taker to Kennedy; you definitely won't see anything like that in WWE nowadays). Taker's celebrated 2007 rivalry with Batista is showcased by a great Last Man Standing bout from Backlash 2007, although if we're talking major stipulation matches, I'd have preferred to revisit their superior HIAC match from that year's Survivor Series.

Oddly, we then get a random SmackDown match from 2008 against Big Daddy V, which has no stipulations whatsoever (although it does officially debut the Hell's Gate submission hold that Taker uses to this day). The DVD ends with a really good Cell match with Edge from SummerSlam 2008 and a better-than-expected Cage match with Big Show from a December 2008 episode of SmackDown. There are no bonus features, although there are two Easter Eggs in the form of the pre-match hype videos for the two 1995 bouts by left-clicking twice on the corresponding matches in the DVD menu.

This is a hard DVD to grade. On the one hand, I did enjoy it a lot, and it was fun to get variety in the match stipulations and situations. It was also refreshing to see an Undertaker DVD with no connection to Taker's WrestleMania Streak; as important as it was, it was only in 2005 that it became an annual storyline, as noted earlier, and Taker had not only enjoyed a great career before then, but he also had many memorable moments beyond this date outside of WM, some of which are featured or referenced here.

But on the other hand, there are a lot of glaring omissions, made worse by the number of bouts here which are filler, ridiculous (in the case of the Concrete Crypt match) or inferior to those of a similar stipulation which aren't included. Besides those I've already mentioned, there's also the 2002 Ladder match with Jeff Hardy, a 2003 Buried Alive scrap against Vince and a 2008 TLC bout with Edge, as well as plenty of others (the DVD timeline ends in 2010, so the likes of Taker's HIAC meeting with Triple H from WM XXVIII obviously aren't here either).

This is one DVD where I feel the repetition of matches was necessary, because it feels very incomplete otherwise. I can certainly see why WWE did not overlap content between this and Tombstone, but this is one of the few DVDs where I feel it should have been the case; we could have at least had the KOTR 1998 Cell showdown with Mankind. Therefore, I will state that this was a very enjoyable DVD, but the unquestionable gaps bring the overall rating down a level.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable