Friday, 15 December 2017

DVD Preview: WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2017

Image Source: Amazon
Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

2017 was another monumental year for WWE. New Superstars became household names, dream matches became a reality, and the Superstars of Raw and SmackDown Live raised the level of competition in the world of sports-entertainment. Now, you can witness the greatest matches of 2017 in this exclusive collection! From the legendary first-time encounter between John Cena and Roman Reigns to the show-stealing WrestleMania match pitting AJ Styles against Shane McMahon and the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, 2017 left the WWE Universe wanting more!

Match Highlights:

Royal Rumble 2017 – January 29 2017
WWE Championship Match
AJ Styles (Champion) vs. John Cena

WrestleMania 33 – April 2 2017
Universal Championship Match
Goldberg (Champion) vs. Brock Lesnar

Payback 2017 – April 30 2017
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Great Balls Of Fire 2017 – July 9 2017
Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (Champion) vs. Samoa Joe

SummerSlam 2017 – August 20 2017
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Sheamus & Cesaro (Champions) vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins

No Mercy 2017 – September 24 2017
Raw Women's Championship Fatal Five Way Match
Alexa Bliss (Champion) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Emma

Hell In A Cell 2017 – October 8 2017
Falls Count Anywhere Hell In A Cell Match
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens

TLC 2017 – October 22 2017
“The Demon” Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles

Plus much more action!

We like it because:

This is your chance to own the very best matches from one of sports-entertainment’s greatest ever years!

With Raw and SmackDown Live competing for brand dominance, the level of action and intensity was raised even further in 2017 – proof that the Superstars of WWE just get better and better!

And this collection has it all, from Royal Rumble and WrestleMania to SummerSlam and TLC!

Witness the dominance of Roman Reigns, the rise of Jinder Mahal, the numerous challengers to Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship, and the phenomenal talents of AJ Styles!

Relive the reunion of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, the brutality of Samoa Joe, and the monstrous strength of Braun Strowman!

You’ll also see how it’s been another groundbreaking year for the women of WWE. The Women’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match is not just history in the making, but an incredible display of jaw-dropping action – plus there's even more from the Women’s Evolution!

Don’t miss out on this historic collection!

WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2017 will officially be released on DVD on Monday January 8 2018.

For more information, click here.

Friday, 8 December 2017

DVD Review: TLC 2017

Image Source: Amazon
Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 187 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: December 11 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

What happens when a one-match card suffers from outside factors forcing that bout to be cancelled? We found out at this year's TLC event, when the official reunion match of The Shield against a five-man army under Tables, Ladder and Chairs rules saw Roman Reigns removed for medical reasons with 48 hours' notice. This unexpectedly led to Kurt Angle - the Raw General Manager, whose in-ring WWE comeback was presumably being saved for WrestleMania 34 - being inserted into Roman's place (Daniel Bryan was also apparently considered, which opens up a whole bunch of questions to be dealt with another time).

As a result, the excitement surrounding The Shield reuniting was replaced by the shockingly sudden nature of Kurt Angle making a landmark in-ring return for the company. In addition, the same medical issues ruled out Bray Wyatt from facing Finn Balor. Instead of Sister Abigail facing The Demon, AJ Styles was brought in from a SmackDown tour in South America, meaning that Balor and Styles would be meeting for the very first time in a WWE ring. Needless to say, an entirely missable WWE PPV suddenly became can't-miss, and WWE has to be admired for going above and beyond to compensate fans who wanted to see The Hounds Of Justice battling as a united force.

Onto TLC itself: the card began with the main roster of Asuka opposite Emma. The match is enjoyable, though some complained at how much offence Emma had against the undefeated and seemingly-unstoppable Empress Of Tomorrow. In hindsight, this mattered little, though Emma not only lost the match but also her job just one week later in an unfortunate turn of events for the Australian blonde bombshell. We then get a pretty good Cruiserweight tag team match, as Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann put on a great performance opposite Jack Gallagher and The Brian Kendrick.

Alexa Bliss' defence of the Raw Women's Championship against Mickie James is decent, with the veteran Mickie coming close to snatching the upset win and clinching the title. Enzo Amore's Cruiserweight Championship defence against Kalisto is unfortunately the poorest match of the evening; the chemistry just isn't there, and the finish is anticlimactic, partly due to Kalisto only winning the purple title 13 days earlier.

The dream match between Finn Balor (still in Demon attire) and AJ Styles lives up to the hype; though not quite a Match Of The Year contender, it is definitely on the next rung below, delivering some great action, and there is an excellent chance that the two men will collide again one day with an extensive build-up. Jason Jordan vs. Elias is filler, and it feels too much like a television bout to really grab the Minneapolis audience.

Finally, the TLC main event is ... bizarre. The novelty of Kurt Angle's return, him donning Shield attire, the weird line-up on the heel side (The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Braun Strowman and the suddenly-reappeared Kane), and the confusing nature of the match itself which sees Kane and Strowman have multiple bust-ups before Braun is sent off in a garbage truck, all make for a strange yet very memorable main event. It's hard to judge this one, other than to say that it is undeniably entertaining, and that few fans who watched the match live will forget it in a hurry.

Sasha Banks vs. Alicia Fox from the Kick-Off Show is the lone extra for the DVD (which incidentally is not part of a Double Feature set unlike every other solo-brand PPV this year, which is another sign that WWE could be scaling back on its supershows going forward).

Summing it up, then, TLC 2017 had the potential to be the worst WWE card of the year with a B-rate line-up, and then two of Raw's biggest names were removed from play. However, their replacements ultimately created greater anticipation and, certainly for Balor vs. Styles, superior action. Asuka's debut, a strong doubles match involving the Cruiserweights, a great Finn vs. AJ contest and a surreal main event all ensure that TLC 2017 ended up with more positives than negatives, and as a result, this is one of the WWE PPVs that I would suggest that fans should definitely rewatch on DVD.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

Monday, 4 December 2017

DVD Preview: TLC 2017

Image Source: Amazon
Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The Superstars of Raw head into one of the most brutal, jaw-dropping events ever - Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Kurt Angle returns to the ring to team with The Shield, AJ Styles battles Finn Bálor, and Asuka makes her debut in this incredible night of action!

Match Highlights:

5-On-3 TLC Match
Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz, Sheamus, Cesaro, Braun Strowman & Kane

Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles

Raw Women’s Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (Champion) vs. Mickie James

Cruiserweight Championship Match
Kalisto (Champion) vs. Enzo Amore

Asuka vs. Emma

Plus lots more action!

We like it because:

Not only is TLC one of the most anticipated nights on the WWE calendar, but this year’s event was nothing short of historic!

In one of the biggest surprises of 2017, the Olympic Hero and Hall of Famer returned to action in a WWE ring for the first time in 11 years. A last-minute replacement for Roman Reigns, Kurt hasn’t missed a step - and proves why he really is one of the all-time greats in a bone-crunching TLC match! Oh, it’s true!

As the trio battles the formidable fivesome of Miz, Sheamus, Cesaro, Braun Strowman and Kane, the action has to be seen to be believed. But can two of the biggest monsters of all time - Strowman and Kane - really exist on the same team?!

The show also delivers a WrestleMania-worthy dream match-up, as AJ Styles comes over from SmackDown to face Finn Bálor. The result is a “phenomenal” display from two of sports-entertainment’s very best talents!

With more electric action and the WWE main roster debut of the undefeated, longest ever reigning NXT Women’s Champion Asuka, this is one not to be missed!

Don’t miss out!

TLC 2017 will officially be released on DVD on Monday December 11 2017.

For more information, click here.