WWE Live In The UK: November 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 349 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 9 2015

The November 2014 UK television tapings were meant to coincide with the launch of the WWE Network in the United Kingdom. Meant to, but ... approximately twenty minutes (twenty minutes!) before said launch, it was abruptly cancelled. Cue much disappointment and loud chants of "Where's our Network?" to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon during their in-ring appearances. Even Vince McMahon made a surprise (and non-televised) appearance to chastise fans for their anger at WWE and its lack of Network presence in the UK. Oh, dear.

Back to the shows, though (which were in Liverpool again, meaning that I was present). Raw, to  be honest, doesn't include much in the way of must-see material. It builds nicely to the Team Cena vs. Team Authority main event for Survivor Series, and we see Damien Mizdow demonstrate why his stunt double gimmick was brilliant, but otherwise the show is no different to any other episode from the time. We do get to see John Cena call the Authority "w--kers", which he may not have done had he known what that really means (he should since one of his signature moves is the "Five-Knuckle Shuffle"). But in these times before the likes of Kevin Owens, Neville and Sami Zayn, Raw was occasionally a slog to watch for three full hours (some still say it is, but at least we get better wrestling on a weekly basis than we did back in 2014). This isn't a terrible edition at all, but it's probably average at best.

Main Event has a fun Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn match, a weird one since Zayn wasn't called up to the main roster at this point. Superstars is "the usual" (that should be a catch phrase by now), and SmackDown includes a then-rare Chris Jericho appearance as he hosts The Highlight Reel with The Authority. The real highlight, though, and one of WWE's best television matches of 2014, comes when Dolph Ziggler defends his Intercontinental Title against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd in a Triple Threat match. This is fantastic, a must-see match, and without question a career highlight for all three (Tyson Kidd actually agreed with my sentiments on Twitter). Superb. We also get the post-taping tag bout as Dean Ambrose and Jericho face Kane and Bray Wyatt, and The Rockers battling The Orient Express from UK Rampage 1991.

This is worth owning for the Ziggler/Cesaro/Kidd match alone. That is the best match held on any of the UK tapings in recent years, probably since the John Cena-Shawn Michaels clinic from 2007 (and it may be even better than that was). The rest of the content is less vital, but as an overall package, it's still a pretty decent set to have.

And it would be the last one. After this release, WWE discontinued the Live In The UK series. By now, the Network had (finally) launched in the UK, so fans could go on that to watch recent television episodes, making a further DVD release unnecessary. It's a shame because, although their existence initially felt pointless, they felt like a nice add-on if you'd attended the tapings, and looking back at what ended up being a whopping 15 LITUK DVDs, you tend to notice just how much WWE has changed since the mid-2000s.

WWE is now PG (well, it has been since 2008), Raw is firmly established in its three-hour slot (for better or worse), SmackDown has taken a big hit (which the forthcoming Draft will hopefully rectify), ECW has disappeared, the B-shows have never felt more insignificant, and NXT has debuted, flopped and relaunched to massive acclaim. We've seen legends disappear and/or go part-time, other icons return (again, part-time), a plethora of big names depart, but a strong collection of talent debut. We've seen "can't-miss" names fail, and we've seen success come from the most unlikely of sources. And, through it all, from Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy in Birmingham to Ryback vs. Kane in Liverpool, through all of that ... John Cena still hasn't turned heel.

Plus, the UK tapings, once considered second-rate, are now on par with their American counterparts. The tapings held in London in 2015 and 2016 were very good, and whilst it was necessitated rather than planned, WWE did indeed officially announce on-screen that Seth Rollins was no longer World Champion in Manchester last November. Add to that the opportunities that the Network could provide (London hosted an NXT Takeover last December; could we finally get another proper PPV this year or next?), new avenues (Raw and SmackDown will emanate from Glasgow, Scotland for the first time this November) and the rising level of UK-based talent who could end up in WWE or on NXT someday, and the future looks bright for WWE in the UK market.

Unfortunately, as things stand that future does not include further Live In The UK DVDs. But it has been a lot of fun, if at times a struggle, to look back through years of WWE television held in England. And since the November 2014-based release marked the end of a mini-era, that's one more reason for you to buy it.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

WWE Live In The UK: May 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 333 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 11 2014

The May 2014 tapings in London coincided with a strange time in WWE. We had all the hullabaloo surrounding CM Punk leaving WWE after the same Royal Rumble which saw Batista triumph at the expense of an excluded Daniel Bryan to mass fan protests, and even when Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXX, the same night saw the end of The Undertaker's Streak at the hands of Brock Lesnar. The after-effects of Mania were still being felt in London, but this fresh, unfamiliar feeling led to a strong atmosphere and some new storylines which evolved during the London shows.

Raw doesn't have a great match, but Seth Rollins (still in The Shield, for two more weeks anyway) vs. Batista is good, as is John Cena vs. Luke Harper (this is much better than I remembered it at the time), and the Intercontinental Title Number 1 Contender Beat The Clock Challenge has its moments. An announcement about the future of the injured titleholder Bryan doesn't reveal much (he would end up having to vacate the gold), Sheamus vs. Cesaro is a strong match, and an angle involving Adam Rose and Jack Swagger saw the London audience go crazy, in a humorous way, for Rose. This continued in the post-show angle, which is included on the DVD, of Rose, Bad News Barrett and Triple H generally larking around to entertain the crowd. From an entertainment standpoint, the show and the untelevised capers are well worth watching.

Main Event is mostly filler, with Paul Heyman and Cesaro building heat at Mark Henry's expense and a bafflingly long match between Damien Sandow (playing the role of Sherlock Holmes) and R-Truth. Superstars is filler once more, although Jack Swagger vs. Cody Rhodes is boosted by the crowd hilariously chanting along to Swagger's theme tune like it was a football anthem. Finally, SmackDown features a cameo by Hulk Hogan (I attended Raw because it fell on my birthday of May 19, a major coincidence since this was the only time since, well, ever that WWE films its spring UK shows in May rather than April, and once Hogan was advertised, I was heading to SmackDown too), a decent bout between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio and an enjoyable Usos/Wyatt Family tag bout (another match which was held on consecutive UK tapings). We also get a pretty good No Holds Barred battle between Batista and Dolph Ziggler, and as a DVD extra, Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage from London in 1989 is a rare gem. Other extras include Pre-Show and Post-Show moments from the Network shows of the same name. Oh, yes: the WWE Network, which was still in its infancy at this point. The Network has more relevance when I cover the subsequent UK tour.

This is a very entertaining two-disc set with a number of highlights (and it's the first with the new WWE logo on the packaging). The matches are good at best, but there's a couple of bouts that are worth watching. And, best of all, you can join in with Bray Wyatt to sing "He's got the whole world in his hands" at a time when The Wyatts were cooler than the other side of the pillow (insert a Family Guy cut-scene here). Don't expect a lot of great matches, but you can expect to be thoroughly entertained.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

WWE Live In The UK: November 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 278 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 3 2014

The biggest change to WWE television prior to the November 2013 TV tapings in the UK was the formation of The Authority, with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon being the heel owners with Randy Orton as their personally chosen heel WWE Champion. Therefore, the Manchester tapings take an immediate hit when we discover that The Authority aren't present. Orton is, though, as is Kane (the recently-appointed Director Of Operations), and so are all of WWE's biggest full-time names.

Raw is decent; it's not as good as the London show was in April of the same year, but it has its moments such as the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust match (and the post-match angle involving Orton and Big Show), John Cena vs. Jack Swagger/Antonio Cesaro (you may notice a theme here) with a post-match run-in between Cena and Alberto Del Rio, and in the best part of the tour, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield, followed by a wild and unexpected brawl between The Shield and The Wyatt Family in a preview of their great 2014 matches. Overall, not a great show, but it did have a number of highlights.

Main Event is just okay, with the best match being AJ Lee vs. Natalya for the Divas Title, and Superstars is most notable for the fans heavily booing The Great Khali throughout an all-babyface six-man tag team bout. SmackDown by this point had officially become insignificant in the grand scheme of things, although it does have two decent tag matches (The Usos vs. The Wyatts and CM Punk/Daniel Bryan vs. RybAxel) and a mildly entertaining arm wrestling angle involving Cena and Del Rio. The bonus match here is Triple H vs. The Undertaker from InsurreXtion 2002 which doesn't quite meet expectations, partly due to the top rope snapping during the match. Funnily enough, the menus have the music from Main Event rather than Raw or SmackDown (and would do until the series ended, even after the show's theme changed), and on a related note, it was only when the packaging changed in late 2012 that the series stopped using logos inspired by the WrestleMania 23 emblem, which took place in 2007.

How to sum this one up, then? If you attended the tapings, like I did, you'll enjoy reliving these shows. But even if you didn't, there's enough quality material to keep you entertained, even if these shows are inferior on the whole to those held in London a few months beforehand.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

WWE Live In The UK: April 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 300 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 15 2013

Live In The UK: April 2013 packs in a whopping five shows, not including the NXT episode from Orlando for obvious reasons. If you had watched the episodes as they aired in the US with commercials, your weekly viewing on this occasion would have been a whopping eight hours! (Nine, with NXT.) Fortunately, these DVDs do not include non-WWE commercials, so the running time is significantly chopped, although we do still get Raw, Main Event, Superstars, SmackDown and Saturday Morning Slam in their entirety.

Raw in the UK finally feels important on this release, as WWE brought over a generous number of big names. The clear highlight of the show, and the DVD, is the six-man pitting The Undertaker, Kane and Daniel Bryan against The Shield, but we also see a good bout between Chris Jericho and recently-crowned World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler, an appearance by Triple H to answer Brock Lesnar's challenge by dropping Paul Heyman with a Pedigree (Lesnar never made the trip), and a cameo by Mick Foley in an angle with Ryback (during which Ryback hits Foley with the hilarious yet cruel insult "You fat, pathetic lazy b-----d!"). Add to that some decent under-card bouts and this occurring at the peak of the "Fandangoing" craze, and you have a very memorable Raw from the UK for a change. The only downside is how John Cena, in Super-Cena mode, manages to fight off The Shield and Ryback at the end of the show. Senseless.

Main Event had already dropped in prestige by this point, and this is emphasised by the show being based around a gauntlet for Mark Henry. Superstars is the typical "decent action, no significance" fare, and SmackDown is pretty good too with a compelling Undertaker-Dean Ambrose main event with a major post-match angle. SD also features Sheamus vs. Big Show, Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry, a brief Wade Barrett-William Regal bout and a No Disqualification match between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger. The bonus match is a good one between Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle for the WCW World Title from Rebellion 2001.

Oh, and then there's Saturday Morning Slam. SMS is one of the strangest WWE telecasts I've seen, as it was chiefly aimed at the younger audience. To that end, we have some comical backstage segments, some unusual commentary, and the matches have a comedic layer to them with a de-emphasis on anything remotely violent. That being said, all these things actually made it pretty interesting to watch, mainly because it stood out from the other shows, so it's a shame that SMS (which never aired in the UK) only lasted a few months and then wasn't renewed.

This is one of the best Live In The UK releases. Despite the snowball-effect of the content on offer, Raw and SmackDown are well worth watching, the retro match is enjoyable, and SMS is compelling for different reasons. So, if you're planning to revisit UK television tapings from WWE, this is one of the better options.

Overall Rating: 8/10 - Very Good

WWE Live In The UK: November 2012

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 328 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 25 2013

Much had changed in WWE by the time that the November 2012 UK tour took place. NXT was being operated out of Orlando, far away from big arenas and without a never-ending "Redemption" theme. Main Event had debuted in the US (it wouldn't air in the UK for a very long time), but despite initial involvement from key players, soon evolved into another Superstars-esque filler show (this is Vince McMahon's philosophy, incidentally). Most notably, though, Raw was now three hours long, which as many current fans will tell you, is a big hindrance in being able to put together a consistently entertaining show. At this point, though, the three-hour running time was still a novelty, and it wasn't as big an issue as it would be in future years.

As obvious as it may sound, the only difference on this DVD at least with Raw being three hours was that it was longer. By that, I mean that we just receive an extra 40-45 minutes of content rather than there being better or longer matches and segments. Therefore, it probably isn't a big surprise for me to state that the Raw taping on this DVD isn't exactly a classic episode.

We get a decent tag team main event as CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler battle John Cena and Ryback, who at this point had more momentum than anyone on the roster. Sheamus vs. The Miz is alright, as is Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston (in their third meeting on a November UK taping in a row!), and a six-man tag which pits Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and R-Truth against Antonio Cesaro and The Prime Time Players is watchable, but much of the show is run-of-the-mill. An extended Brad Maddox interview (to explain why he cost Ryback the WWE Title at Hell In A Cell) is delivered poorly, and the John Cena-AJ Lee "love scandal" storyline had already grown tiresome by this point just two weeks in (perhaps it's because of the poor acting involved by most, or because it wasn't the least believable). Jim Ross joins Michael Cole on commentary which helps (Jerry Lawler would return from his heart attack-enforced absence the next week), but the show feels lightweight. By now, the UK fans have largely taken to cheering the heels just because they're heels, which never helps. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the segment where Vince McMahon switches the line-ups for two top matches at Survivor Series because, allegedly, it was done on the fly and Vickie Guerrero, who was involved in the angle, had to ad-lib the segment because it was pretty much unplanned. This also apparently upset Mick Foley because he was involved in the storyline, but he only found out that the match he had a role in had been changed when he watched Raw as it was airing in the US.

With no NXT, the Tuesday night show in this case is actually SmackDown, as for some reason it aired on a different night in the US on this occasion. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio is a really fun Falls Count Anywhere match, probably the highlight of the DVD, and Big Show teaming with Wade Barrett against Sheamus (who was a very popular babyface at this point) and William Regal is good too. Elsewhere, Main Event has a strong Sheamus vs. Barrett match, and Superstars is the usual, although the ending to Justin Gabriel vs. Tensai seems botched. Finally, we get two bonus matches: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior from SummerSlam 1992 and The Rock vs. (the boney jabroni, to quote Rock) X-Pac from Capital Carnage 1998. As a side note, UK DVDs were now being released via Fremantle rather than Silver Vision, which means a new style of packaging for the box art, the discs and the on-screen menus (the 10-second loops of the Raw theme is annoying as hell).

It's by far the longest Live In The UK DVD to date, although it isn't quite the best. It has some pretty good matches and, combined with the two bonus bouts, this is a pretty good release. That being said, this was at a time when the product wasn't exactly at its peak, although things would improve for the better a few weeks later with the arrival of a certain faction known as The Shield. They would play a key role in the next round of UK tapings, which I will document in the April 2013 review.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable

WWE Live In The UK: April 2012

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 251 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: August 6 2012

The April 2012 UK tapings were held at a time when WWE had finally given up on its brand extension. Sure, SmackDown talent had been appearing weekly on Raw since August 29 2011 (besides the Liverpool tapings, funnily enough), but it was done under the proviso that the rosters would remain separate. By this point, though, it was clear that the split was pretty much over, meaning that anyone could appear on either show and it wouldn't raise eyebrows.

Therefore, you would assume that these latest tapings in London would be the best yet, but - ah! - you'd be wrong. Raw is largely uneventful, albeit entertaining: CM Punk vs. Mark Henry under No Disqualification rules is surprisingly enjoyable, and there's good interplay between Punk and Chris Jericho afterwards. Brock Lesnar (pre-taped) and John Cena cut strong promos to hype their Extreme Rules match on PPV (Lesnar's return bout in WWE), and Daniel Bryan renames his finisher the Yes Lock to a huge pop from the fans, who despite his heel status were quickly joining what would be known as the Yes Movement. Otherwise, though, the show feels a bit blah, including the Cena-Tensai Extreme Rules main event. NXT is not much better, and it lacks a standout match like Trent Baretta vs. Tyson Kidd from Liverpool. This would be the last NXT taping (in its original form) to be taped in the UK, as the show would be revamped in June 2012 and largely based out of Orlando, Florida; I think it's safe to say that this decision paid off.

Superstars is unmemorable, and by this point the show is barely worth watching or even worth WWE taping because it is so inconsequential. WWE would be better off saving its money and making these dark matches before TV tapings instead. SmackDown is (obviously) better with an entertaining six-man tag team main event, but with the brand extension now a thing of the past, SmackDown was starting to feel more than ever like the B-show to Raw, especially since SmackDown's top names (Sheamus, Daniel Bryan etc) appeared on Raw, but Raw's top names (Cena, Punk, Y2J) didn't appear on the blue brand taping. The bonus match is Shawn Michaels vs. JBL from a November 2005 Raw taping in Sheffield, England, which I recall had nothing else memorable outside of the inter-brand conflict (which was well-executed, incidentally).

The WWE product of early 2012 was much more interesting than that of a year earlier, and yet the London tapings on this DVD are almost uneventful. The best matches are only adequate as opposed to being on the right side of good, and since Lesnar doesn't appear in the arena (for the only time during his comeback month), and Chris Jericho's comments are away from the ring too, it adds to the feeling that the UK shows matter (or mattered) less than the US versions. It's far from offensive and you'll get a kick out of various matches and segments, but this is not a vintage WWE DVD whatsoever. Oh, and skip NXT.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10 - Above Average

WWE Live In The UK: November 2011

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 263 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 2
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: February 20 2012

As a Liverpool resident, it was an exciting prospect when WWE decided to tape Raw and SmackDown from Liverpool for the first time ever in November 2011. During the days when Bret Hart ruled the roost, or during the Attitude Era, it seemed unthinkable that Raw would air just a few miles away from my home. Therefore, I had to attend the shows; but is it a necessity to own the DVD featuring said shows?

The answer is: possibly not. Raw was decent but nothing more, although Zack Ryder teaming with John Cena against Awesome Truth in the main event seemed like the first sign that WWE was really going to give Ryder the push that, really, he had earned by this point. (That didn't really happen, but never mind.) Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison is good, and we get a Kevin Nash appearance too. Otherwise, the show has that "filler" feeling to it, and even CM Punk only appears to cut a promo rather than to have a match. Incidentally, this was during the push for the "Never Before, Never Again" combo of Cena and The Rock at Survivor Series 2011, and it should come as no surprise that Rock does not appear in any form on this show. (He did the next week, though ... in America.)

NXT was now a fourth-rate version of Raw or SmackDown, evidenced by the big story being a potential romance between Johnny Curtis (the future Fandango) and Maxine (remember her?). It does, however, feature the best match on the DVD, a genuinely great bout between the long-forgotten Trent Baretta and the eternally-underrated Tyson Kidd. This match alone makes this edition of NXT worth watching. Superstars has its own standout match in the form of Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal, which Bryan once described as one of his favourite matches ever. This takes place just before Bryan would cash in Money In The Bank and develop into the "Yes!"-obsessed character which would eventually lead to a fan rebellion.

Speaking of Bryan, he's in action again on SmackDown in an uneventful clash with Mark Henry. Big Show intervenes and faces three jobbers at once. We also see Randy Orton face Wade Barrett and Sheamus battle Christian in two worthwhile matches, and a glimpse of the extremely short-lived alliance between Hunico, Primo and Epico. A personal highlight for me was seeing Anfield, home of Liverpool FC, shown on the big screen. The bonus match here is Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Dude Love from One Night Only 1997.

I have to mention three things which took place in the Echo Arena during those tapings which you don't see here. The ending of the Raw main event was amazingly re-taped due to some sort of error, and hilariously they somehow messed it up a second time! Watch the ending closely on this DVD and you'll realise that there's editing at work here. Also, Mark Henry actually flubbed his lines during his promo, which again is edited out. And post-SmackDown, there was a six-man match which resulted in Booker T, Randy Orton and Mark Henry all doing the Spinaroonie; it was more entertaining than it sounds.

With four really good matches (Raw is the only show lacking a true standout bout, funnily enough), this set is actually pretty decent. It's not an essential purchase by any means, but there's enough action and some intriguing feuds in development that you should find this to be one of the better Live In The UK sets.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable