DVD Review: SummerSlam 2017

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 267 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 9 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

There are two issues with SummerSlam these days. One is that it immediately follows an NXT Takeover show which greatly emphasises the in-ring product over sports entertainment. The second is that the show's four-hour length means that certain matches are guaranteed to come across as filler, which is why the overall reactions to recent SummerSlams has been mediocre at best.

The same response applied to this year's show, and the 2017 SS definitely isn't one of the greatest in the history of the event. However, there are still some topnotch battles and fun moments to be had when reliving the card, meaning that certain parts of the 30th annual SummerSlam are definitely worth checking out.

This doesn't include the underwhelming opening match, though, where John Cena doesn't leave second gear and Baron Corbin's nightmare week (having lost his Money In The Bank cash-in bout the previous Tuesday) ended with a defeat in a match that he had to win. I enjoyed Naomi vs. Natalya as the Queen Of Harts earned her second Women's Championship in style, even if the Brooklyn crowd seemed disinterested.

Big Cass' win over Big Show serves the purpose of giving him an, erm, big victory, though the match is not the best that I feel these two could deliver. Randy Orton's quick-fire defeat of Rusev is something different, but another potentially enjoyable match is denied as a result. Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks is pretty good, though, and the result is a pleasant surprise.

The Demon rises next as Finn Balor meets Bray Wyatt in a decent fight. Then, we finally get a truly thrilling match as Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins challenge Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Championships in a great doubles scrap (though Cesaro randomly running into the crowd to burst a beach-ball was the highlight of the match, and the entire show, to me).

Shane McMahon as special guest referee adds a new layer to the AJ Styles-Kevin Owens rivalry, which ends here having generally undelivered compared to what it could have been in the eyes of the fans. Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is predictably disappointing, and those who expected Shinsuke to tear it up here must now be wondering whether the 'old' Nakamura will ever make a return.

Fortunately, SummerSlam ends on a high note with one of the best WWE matches of the year. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe is a terrific brawl, a classic example of a four-way in a WWE ring, and a superb showcase of Strowman as an absolute monster. If you only watch one match from SummerSlam, this has to be it.

The DVD extras are the three Kick-Off matches. The six-man tag is hampered by taking place in front of an almost-empty arena, but Akira Tozawa vs. Neville is really good, and The New Day vs. The Usos is outstanding, somehow topping their previously exceptional clash at Battleground.

So, SummerSlam 2017 covers every spectrum on the quality scale, with some great matches, some good bouts, some average scraps and some major disappointments. The bonus matches elevate this to the rating below, as the main show seemed a bit of a let-down with only two excellent matches out of a possible ten. But it's still a really fun DVD to watch, as you will recognise when reliving the Biggest Party Of The Summer.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

DVD Preview: SummerSlam 2017

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

WWE’s second biggest show of the year and the biggest party of the summer ... it’s SummerSlam! Coming from the Barclays Center, the main event shakes the foundations of Brooklyn when Brock Lesnar defends the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe in a Fatal Four Way Match. And “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura gets his first chance at WWE gold when he faces “The Modern-Day Maharaja” Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. Plus much more!

Match Highlights:

Universal Championship Match
Brock Lesnar (Champion) vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Championship Match
Jinder Mahal (Champion) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Raw Women’s Championship Match
Alexa Bliss (Champion) vs. Sasha Banks

Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Sheamus & Cesaro (Champions) vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
Naomi (Champion) vs. Natalya

United States Championship Match with Special Guest Referee Shane McMahon
AJ Styles (Champion) vs. Kevin Owens

Bray Wyatt vs. Finn Bálor

John Cena vs. Baron Corbin

Plus even more action!

We like it because:

Second only to WrestleMania, SummerSlam is one of the most exciting and hotly anticipated events in the WWE calendar, and this year’s edition was earth-shattering!

The Universal Championship Fatal Four Way is simply electric, with four of WWE’s most powerful Superstars demolishing each other for a chance to hold Raw’s number one title. Particularly impressive is Braun Strowman’s man-handling of “The Beast” Brock Lesnar – a moment that turns the “Monster Amongst Men” into an unlikely anti-hero!

But it’s far from a one-match show, as there’s incredible action from top to bottom!

Sasha Banks proves she really is The Boss as she tries to win her fourth Raw Women’s Championship. Baron Corbin challenges the veteran 16-time champ John Cena in a sizzling match-up. And Shinsuke Nakamura tries to overcome the odds by striking Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers wit his patented “Strong Style”!

There’s also major drama as Shane McMahon referees a heated grudge match between AJ Styles and Kevin Owens over the United States Championship. Shane promises to call it down the middle, but anything can happen in WWE.

Also unmissable is the reunion of former Shield brothers Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, plus Finn Bálor unleashing the “Demon” on Bray Wyatt!

Be sure to pick up this historic night of action on DVD & Blu-ray!

SummerSlam 2017 will officially be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday October 9 2017.

For more information, click here.

SummerSlam 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 174 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 28 2013

Continuing WWE's hot streak on PPV, SummerSlam 2013 was an incredible card, featuring some of the best SummerSlam matches in years, if not of all-time. Therefore, it stands to reason that the DVD would be worth watching - and it definitely is.

Opening with an admittedly tame Ring Of Fire match between Kane and Bray Wyatt, followed by a fairly short Damien Sandow-Cody Rjodes match (Cody had shaved his moustache!), the show picks up steam with an excellent World Heavyweight Title match between Alberto Del Rio and Christian. What had the potential to be a filler bout ends up being one of the year's hidden gems, as ADR demonstrates why he holds the big gold belt, and Captain Charisma proves that he's still got a lot left in the tank.

Next up, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar have one hell of a brawl under No Disqualification rules which, while slightly overrated, is as good a Lesnar match as one can expect in the PG version of WWE, and Punk once again provides evidence that he may very well be the "Best In The World". An inoffensive mixed tag match pitting Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn against Big E Langston and AJ Lee is followed by a memorable main event. Not only do Joghn Cena and Daniel Bryan put on a show for the WWE Title, and has a surprising outcome at that, but the post-match angle involving Randy Orton and special referee Triple H was a massive surprise at the time, and paved the way for the Authority which has dominated WWE television ever since. (Sadly, this won't be such a shock to DVD viewers, as the box art blatantly gives away the brilliantly-executed angle.)

Elsewhere, there are a few segments involving SummerSlam "host" The Miz, Fandango and Summer Rae which, while occasionally entertaining, aren't really worth watching. Weirdly, the bonus match from the pre-show - Dean Ambrose vs. Rob Van Dam - is only partly complete, which is a strange decision for WWE to take.

Overall, though, this is a thoroughly enjoyable DVD, second only to WrestleMania 29 for all-round entertainment, and should be purchased by collectors and fans alike.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent

SummerSlam 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 27 2014

SummerSlam is often considered to be WWE's second-biggest PPV event of the year. Although Royal Rumble draws greater interest, it is closely linked with WrestleMania; SummerSlam, on the other hand, is its own entity, and is actually almost a summer version of Mania. But how does SummerSlam 2014 fare, and as a DVD experience to boot? Let's see ...

After a blink-and-you'll-miss-it opening promo by Hulk Hogan, the show starts with The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler, which benefits from a lively crowd. AJ Lee vs. Paige is surprisingly short and has a slightly shocking conclusion; the same cannot be said of the Flag match (of sorts) between Rusev and Jack Swagger which existed to promote the rise of the Bulgarian Brute, as expected.

An early highlight comes with the exciting Lumberjack match between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, one of the best examples of a stipulation which, admittedly, doesn't have too many classics in its history. Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt is solid if unspectacular, and the much-hyped Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella is decent given the participants (that includes Brie, by the way), which has another surprise en route to its finish.

Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns is a competent match, with a few stand-out spots, although the fact that Reigns received some fairly noticeable boos was not a good sign as WWE prepares to launch a full-on mega-push for Roman. Lastly, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar was - well, you probably already know that Lesnar dominates Cena for 90% of the match, with 16 suplexes setting up the F5-triggered outcome of a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The result was expected, but the match layout was not; Cena was virtually squashed by the 1 in 21-1.

The bonus features consist of the Kick-Off match between Rob Van Dam and Cesaro, a closer look into Y2J vs. Wyatt, and a few additional backstage promos.

SummerSlam is one of the truly big WWE events, and with a mixture of exciting matches, title changes, surprises and a main event which most could not have envisioned beforehand, SummerSlam 2014 is one of the more memorable editions of this event in the modern era. It's not the best SummerSlam ever by any means, but the enjoyable content and memorable moments justify a purchase for this DVD (well, if you ignore the DVD box art, which both spoils two major match outcomes and promotes The Bellas over most of the remaining members of the roster).

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

SummerSlam 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 265 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 10 2016

(To read a full event review of WWE SummerSlam 2016, click here.)

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

SummerSlam 2016 had a bit of everything, really. There was a classic match, a controversial ending to the main event, a crowd which occasionally seemed more interested in hijacking the show, a let-down of a title match, some good mid-card matches, a few surprises and a couple of title changes. All of this applied to the 29th annual SummerSlam, and watching it back on DVD is therefore an intriguing and entertaining viewing experience.

The opener, between Enzo Amore and Big Cass and Jeri-KO, is a fun start to proceedings; in hindsight, it's amazing to think that just eight days after kicking off this PPV, Kevin Owens would win the Universal Championship (more on that later). Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Women's Championship is good but inferior to their previous meeting on Raw, partly due to the baffling spot that saw Sasha's neck almost broken by Charlotte (calling her careless is incorrect if dropping her almost head-first was actually the plan, as daft as it sounds), with the shock outcome almost causing the Brooklyn crowd to turn on the show less than an hour in. A backstage segment involving The Club and Finn Balor keeps the audience positive; it sounds like the hardcore fans in attendance lose their minds at a potential full-on Bullet Club reunion in WWE, to the point where there may have been - ahem! - some discarded items after this skit ended within the audience, if you know what I mean. (If you don't, please don't ask me to explain that!)

Never mind, back to the show: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews for the Intercontinental Title serves its purpose, although it is little more than filler really. The same cannot be said for John Cena vs. AJ Styles, which is an absolute classic: upon second viewing, it is just a tad below the unbelievable Shinsuke Nakamura-Sami Zayn clash from NXT Takeover: Dallas, but on the main roster, Cena vs. Styles 2 remains the Match Of The Year, and the surprise clean win for AJ caps off an outstanding battle. The New Day vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, on the other hand, is a second-rate match with an awful finish, not helped by the unnecessary involvement (for the second SummerSlam running) of Jon Stewart.

Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Title is a better match than I remembered it being, although the crowd giving it the silent treatment most of the way doesn't help. Either they weren't interested because Ziggler had little chance of winning, or they weren't interested because there was no heel for the smarky fans to cheer for. Mind you, it's clear from the presentation that this wasn't meant to be the show-stealer; we don't even get a post-match replay for what was a clever finishing sequence. The SmackDown six-women match is memorable for the surprise return of Nikki Bella, as the blue team ladies prove that there's more to WWE women's wrestling than Charlotte and Sasha.

I wrote a lot about how the crowd nearly spoiled the Universal Title match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in the aforementioned original review of this event, so I won't repeat myself here; needless to say, a really good match feels a little less exciting due to an ungrateful audience in Brooklyn (who, by the way, were very quiet for most of the other matches, which combined with their reaction to Seth-Finn tells me that WWE may regret bringing SummerSlam back to Brooklyn in 2017). Also, we weren't to know until 24 hours later that Balor suffered a torn labrum during this match which forced him to immediately vacate his newly-won crown, shelving him until early next year. Oh, dear.

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns doesn't happen; instead, we get a brawl which is hard-hitting, but still feels like an inadequate substitution for a major match on the second biggest show of the year. Lastly, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton turns into an amazingly violent fight which undoubtedly damages Orton (it also literally damaged him physically, given the injuries he suffered which forced him to miss Backlash the following month), but doesn't half leave a lasting impression of Lesnar being an uncaring, vicious bad-ass (which we knew already, to be fair). On the night, the finish was a bit frustrating, but when watching it back on DVD, it certainly gives us a memorable ending to this stacked PPV event. (Unfortunately, Lesnar's legitimate post-match brouhaha backstage with Chris Jericho, who hadn't been informed of the ending and believed that Lesnar had gone into business for himself to hurt Orton, is not included as a DVD extra, nor will it likely ever be.)

With this being a four-hour show for the second year running, the card is fortunately stretched onto two discs, unlike recent WWE PPV events which have gone north of three hours. And unlike SummerSlam 2015, we get some special features, those being the three Kick-Off Show matches: a 12-man tag involving six SmackDown teams, Sami Zayn and Neville battling The Dudley Boyz (which would be The Dudleyz' last WWE match, as it turned out), and the first chapter in the Best-Of-Seven Series between Sheamus and Cesaro, which is actually one of the best matches of the night (a whopping 13 matches were held that evening in Brooklyn, believe it or not). Mind you, the entrances are removed, the post-match scenes are cut very short, and it appears that some match footage has been taken out when the matches return from the inexplicable commercial breaks (I'd have to rewatch this show on the Network to know for sure). There are no other noticeable edits (I wish WWE had edited some crowd chants out, especially from Rollins-Balor, which has to be a first), but eagle-eyed (well, eagle-eared) fans may recognise the old InsurreXtion theme as the menu music on this DVD.

SummerSlam was such a long, at times overwhelming show that when it was first held, it was a little hard to rate it. There was some good, bad, very good, very bad and occasionally ugly, along with some odd booking decisions and an attention-seeking audience. Therefore, watching the event on DVD (where you can take pauses rather than watching the entire thing in one go) makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience. Granted, it wasn't the all-time classic card that we had hoped for, but there's no doubt that it provided plenty of memorable moments, if not all for the right reasons. Cena-Styles 2 and the brutal ending to Lesnar vs. Orton are the main reasons for you to get this DVD, but there is plenty of entertainment to be found elsewhere across the two discs. Just try to ignore the crowd during the Universal Championship match.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

SummerSlam 2016 coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

The summer belongs to the New Era! For the first time ever, the newly-created WWE Universal Championship is up for grabs when “The Demon King” Finn Bálor goes toe-to-toe with “The Undisputed Future” Seth Rollins. In a battle between Suplex City and Viperville, Brock Lesnar takes on Randy Orton in a match “15 years in the making”. In a rematch from WWE Money in the Bank, AJ Styles and John Cena look to up the ante to see who is the better man. The rivalry between Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler heats up even further when they face off for “The Lunatic Fringe’s” WWE World Championship. The WWE Women’s Championship takes the stage when champion Sasha Banks defends her title against Charlotte. Plus much more as the Superstars of Raw and SmackDown Live turn up the temperature at WWE SummerSlam!

Synopsis:

Match List:

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

WWE World Championship Match
Dean Ambrose (Champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Universal Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

WWE Women’s Championship Match
Sasha Banks (Champion) vs. Charlotte

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (Champion) vs. Apollo Crews

WWE United States Championship Match
Rusev (Champion) vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
The New Day (Champions) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

Enzo & Cass vs. Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens

Natalya, Alexa Bliss & Nikki Bella vs. Becky Lynch, Naomi & Carmella

Plus more action, extras and Blu-ray exclusives!

We like it because:

It’s WWE’s second biggest event in the year and a major landmark moment in the “New Era”.

SummerSlam not only crowns the first ever Universal Champion, but is stacked with the hottest young talent that WWE has to offer and the future of sports-entertainment – Finn Bálor, Sasha Banks, Enzo & Cass, Kevin Owens, Apollo Crews and Becky Lynch to name just a few.

There’s also a captivating battle between two of WWE’s most formidable veterans – Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. They are two Superstars who trained together, climbed the ranks at the same time and notched up multiple championships, but have never faced each other on PPV. What happens between them is one of the most shocking and controversial matches in WWE history.

Check out a genuine match of the year contender as John Cena and AJ Styles find out who truly is “face that runs the place”. It’s a sizzling, heart-stopping encounter between two Superstars at the absolute top of their game.

In fact, the action is electric from top to bottom, with every Superstar pulling out the stops to make this an unforgettable night – and the biggest SummerSlam in the event’s 28-year history.

A must-have for every WWE fan!

WWE SummerSlam 2016 will officially be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday October 10 2016.

For more information, click here.

SummerSlam 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 231 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 12 2015

(To read a full event review of WWE SummerSlam 2015, click here.)

The DVD release of SummerSlam 2015 is a strange one. The '15 SS was a four-hour presentation, in an attempt to make it feel like a massive supershow. This means that the show would be, erm, shown across two discs, which can contain three hours of material. So, surely this DVD would include two hours of exclusive extras, right?

Nope. Besides the usual bonus interviews, there are no DVD extras, a terrible decision which leaves you with a very short second disc, and further enhances the thought that WWE DVDs will soon be a thing of the past, a point I will discuss in a future article. (This may have been done to ensure that the Blu-ray version remains a one-disc release, but it still makes the DVD seem unimportant.)

With that complaint out of the way, the card itself is pretty good. After a frankly bizarre opening segment involving host Jon Stewart and Mick Foley, we get an engaging clash between Randy Orton and Sheamus, which is an example of a match which is more enjoyable upon second viewing (watching a match cold on DVD means you could be watching it anytime, which in this case fortunately means that you probably aren't watching a bout at a time when we've seen it far too many times to culminate a feud with no real storyline behind it).

The four-way for the Tag Team Titles is fun, but the DVD version is spoiled by the exclusion of The New Day's tribute to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' tune Empire State Of Mind. Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev features some cool spots but has a disappointing finish and occurred at the height of the cringe-worthy love quadrangle plotline also involving Lana and Summer Rae; meanwhile, Neville and Stephen Amell vs. Stardust and King Barrett is acceptable and sees the celebrity Amell look to prove himself as being worthy of starring in a major wrestling match.

The Intercontinental Title three-way doesn't last very long, whilst Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper is alright, but isn't a match unlike any others that you will see involving these participants. Of note is the "Roman's sleeping!" chant which occurs whilst Reigns is supposedly knocked out at ringside.

I enjoyed Seth Rollins vs. John Cena far more than I did at the time, despite the weird ending, although it still feels like Rollins did most of the work here. The Divas 3-way trios bout gets a surprising amount of time and is worth watching, although it happened around the time that people started to see the "Divas Revolution" as being somewhat mishandled (to put it mildly). The penultimate clash between Cesaro and Kevin Owens is a great little match, a hidden gem which fans of both wrestlers (of which there are many) should definitely revisit. Since this opens disc two, it could be argued, ironically, that the rather brief second disc is the better of the two.

The main event between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker was hugely anticipated and, unlike their WrestleMania XXX match, this lives up to expectations by delivering a hugely dramatic, brutal and at times bloody battle. The visual of Brock laughing at Taker to be met with a truly evil cackle in response never gets old. The finish seemed strange at the time but it did allow both men to save face and set up the feud-ending bout at Hell In A Cell; unfortunately, though, the WWE editing team strikes again by censoring Lesnar's middle finger to Taker at the end, making the moment pointless (surely a five-second "Up Yours" wouldn't have prevented this being a PG-rated DVD in the States?).

So, whilst SummerSlam 2015 was a fairly memorable show, the DVD release is something of a let-down. Unless you're an avid collector or a big fan of Undertaker or Lesnar, you may want to wait until this one is available at a discounted price. Alternatively, you could save your money and watch the show back on the WWE Network instead.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10 - Okay