12th May2013

‘Bret “Hit Man” Hart: The Dungeon Collection’ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

Bret Hart has had a long and historied wrestling career, from his early days in his fathers promotion Stampede Wrestling, to his time in the WWE and the controversial Montreal Screwjob in 1997; from his days in WCW to his return to the WWE in 2010, Bret Hart is also one of the most famous wrestlers of the past three decades and this new Blu-ray collection shows why…

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Bret Hart is an “interesting” character. One of the greatest stars of the WWE during the 80s and early 90s, Hart was – much like John Cena, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker – one of those superstars that could do no wrong. No matter whether he was face or heel, Hart had his fans and they loved him. But then along came the Attitude era, his personal problems (including a severe concussion in 1999 which led to his October 200 retirement), his much-publicised falling out with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and the death of his brother Owen Hart in 1999, and the luster of Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation faded.

Of course Hart has since made his peace with Vince McMahon and the WWE and has made numerous appearances at WWE events (most recently at Royal Rumble 2013) and is, of course, an inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame. However I, sadly, don’t think Bret Hart ever really recovered from the infamous Montreal Screwjob, he may have made some professional inroads back into the spotlight but that magic is no longer there, the “The Excellence of Execution” isn’t as excellent as it once was.

However despite my feelings on Bret Hart he can still draw a crowd. And pull in DVD sales… Already the subject of two documentaries – Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows and Bret “Hit Man” Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be, Hart’s career has been covered quite substantially already so this latest WWE release had to be something special.

Essentially a companion piece to the previous WWE release, Bret “Hit Man” Hart: The Dungeon Collection was compiled by Bret Hart himself and features over 8 hours of in-ring action, encompassing matches never before released on DVD or Blu-ray, including some pre-dating Hart’s time in the WWE – in fact all the way back to the late 70s and Hart’s first few appearances in the Stampede Wrestling promotion.

As Hart’s personal story has already been well documented, this release see Hart takes viewers behind each match in brand new interview footage detailing the inside stories surrounding these hand-picked matches. And what matches! Not only does feature plenty of Hart’s WWE and WCW matches – including those against some familiar (wrestling) faces: Bam Bam Bigelow, Andre The Giant, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, Yokozuna, Sting, Booker T; but it also includes two matches with the UK’s own Dynamite Kid, Hart’s match at the Tokyo Dome in Japan where he wrestled Tiger Mask II and his feud with his own brother, Owen Hart, from 1995.

Whilst this is the Bret Hart story, Bret “Hit Man” Hart: The Dungeon Collection is also a look at the history of wrestling through Hart’s matches and as such is essential viewing for not only Bret Hart fans but also for those true wrestling aficionados who appreciate the skill as well as the spectacle.

Bret “Hit Man” Hart: The Dungeon Collection is released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 13th, courtesy of FremantleMedia.

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05th May2013

‘WWE: Elimination Chamber 2013′ Review

by Phil Wheat

Elimination_Chamber

With WrestleMania 29 just around the corner, the WWE present what is is one of four “hardcore” pay-per-views on the companies yearly schedule (sharing that title with Extreme Rules, Hell in the Cell and TLC), Elimination Chamber. The penultimate pay-per-view before the WWE’s biggest show of the year, the Elimination Chamber is one of the most daunting challenges in any championship reign – outlasting five other competitors in a steel chamber for the right to challenge for the title at Wrestlemania.

Elimination Chamber 2013 opened with yet another feud match between Alberto Del rio and Big Show, with the World Heavyweight Championship no the line. After what seemed like an eternity of dreary movies already seen in the previous PPV matches, , Del Rio enzuigiri kicked Ricardo Rodriguez’s bucket that Show was holding into his head which eventually led to his signature cross arm breaker for the submission victory. The second match – which was just a mundane and forgettable as the first – saw United States Champion Antonio Cesaro defending his title against The Miz, who came into the match with an injured shoulder (after an apparent attack by Cesaro on Raw). Cesaro eventually won this tremendously disappointing match by disqualification after he knocked Miz’s leg, causing him to fall knee-first into his groin therefore forcing the referee to call for a low blow…

The third match was the titular Elimination Chamber match, involving Mark Henry, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Kane, Chris Jericho, and Jack Swagger. Jericho and Bryan started the match, while the other four competitors were locked out outside the ring. Swagger was the first wrestler released, followed by Kane, Orton, and finally Henry, who pinned both Bryan and Kane before Swagger, Jericho and Orton teamed up to eliminate him. Jericho was the next man to be eliminated following an RKO from Orton. Immediately after the pin, Swagger rolled Orton up to win and become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. The highlight of this PPV, the Elimination Chamber match was thankfully a respite from the mundanity of the first two matches of this event and would, inevitably, be the only worthwhile match in the entire pay per view.

Following the Elimination Chamber, John Cena, Sheamus and Ryback took on The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins) in a six-man tag team match which went back and forth until Reigns speared Ryback as he was going for a Shell Shock on Rollins, who pinned him as Cena was preoccupied. The fifth match of the evening was an unannounced match between Dolph Ziggler and Kofi Kingston; followed siwftly by the WWE Divas Championship match between Tamina Snuka and the reigning champion Kaitlyn – both matches, in particular the Divas Championship, were utterly forgettable and did nothing to excite or move their particular storylines forward.

The main event of the pay-per-view was the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and the The Rock, which would lead to the winner defending his championship against Royal Rumble winner John Cena. Between the cheating, piss-poor refereeing and the ridiculous conniving behaviour from both wrestlers the match was somewhat of a let-down. And the decision to have both men “win” in some form (Punk with an 18 count on The Rock and Rock eventually getting the pin) led to what was ultimately a completely predictable ending, allowing The Rock and John Cena to recreate their match from Wrestlemania 28.

Bar the titular cage match, Elimination Chamber 2013 is easily the weakest WWE pay-per-view of 2013 so far. Here’s hoping things pick up in future WWE PPVs post-Wrestlemania 29.

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20th Apr2013

‘For All Mankind: The Life & Career Of Mick Foley’ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

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Mick Foley broke into sports-entertainment in 1983 shortly after a fateful trip to see his idol Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka inspired him to pursue his dream. Now, 30 years, 3 personas, 3 WWE Championships, multiple New York Times best sellers and countless bumps and cheap pops later, the WWE brings Mick Foley’s story to DVD and Blu-ray with For All Mankind: The Life & Career Of Mick Foley.

Let’s get this out of the way first. I don’t think there’s a single wrestling fan out there who doesn’t love Mick Foley. The man has worked his mind and his body hard to give wrestling fans across the globe what they want – damn good, often one-of-a-kind, matches may with the extra special WTF factor. Foley’s story has been told many times before, from the promos he cut as Mankind in the WWE to his autobiographies. But now friends, family, peers and the Hardcore Legend himself detail his story from being Mrs. Foley’s baby boy in Long Island, New York to becoming an international superstar, philanthropist and author.

Of course let’s not forget that For All Mankind: The Life & Career Of Mick Foley is a WWE production, so there are a few gaps in Foley’s life story. However this new documentary was apparently overseen by Foley himself so we do get some of Foley’s fantastic early work included in both the documentary and the matches in this 2-disc Blu-ray set (the DVD runs across 3 discs). If you’ve ever watched WWE you’ll know that Foley can tell great stories in the ring but he’s also a great storyteller in real life – as this Blu-ray will attest. And it’s not just Foley who can tell a great story… His friends, in particular Vader, The Rock and Triple H, tell a great tale too. It’s these men, talking about someone who they have not only had great matches with, but also admire in and out of the ring, that brings a real emotional core to the documentary. What is also surprising is Foley’s love for Vince McMahon and he reveals that despite his hard-faced public persona, McMahon is actually a man who cares for his employees (although some will say that, being a WWE production, there couldn’t be a hard word said against the “boss”.

Besides the fascinating documentary, this release is packed with over 15 matches spanning his career, some having an alternate commentary option featuring Mick Foley himself and former ECW announcer Joey Styles. Including Foley’s brutal matches in ECW and Japan, his feuds with Vader and Sting in WCW, his notorious Hell in a Cell matches, his retirement match against Triple H and Mick Foley’s evolution from Jack Foley to Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love, and back again.

One of the best Blu-ray releases that the WWE have ever produced, For All Mankind: The Life & Career Of Mick Foley is both a look at a man revered by fans and his peers and at the evolution of wrestling itself. If you consider yourself a wrestling fan then this is an essential purchase.

For All Mankind: The Life & Career Of Mick Foley is released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 22nd, courtesy of FremantleMedia.

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16th Apr2013

‘WWE Royal Rumble 2013′ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

Royal-Rumble-2013

WWE kicks off 2013 with the Royal Rumble and once again The Rock is back and this time he’s setting his sights on CM Punk intending to dethrone him as WWE Champion and regain the title he last held 10 years ago! Plus, 30 or more Superstars compete in WWE’s historic over-the-top rope main event where one superstar earns a chance to main event WrestleMania 29.

The Royal Rumble has always been a favourite PPV of mine, ever since the glory days of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior facing off mid-Rumble in 1990 (I was, and always will be, a huge Warrior fan). However recent years have seen the event turned into nothing more than an advert for Wrestlemania – and the 2013 Royal Rumble is no different. Taking place at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona and saw a number of long-standing (at least in wrestling terms) feuds come to a head both in the Rumble and before. Opening with a rematch featuring World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio defending his title against Big Show in a Last Man Standing match which, given the Big Show’s previous match with Del Rio, I wasn’t expecting much from. And I was right. A bitter disappointment that was not made any better by a ridiculous finisher that saw Big Show taped to the ring!

One bad championship match was followed by another as reigning WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) defended their titles against Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow). The less said about this match the better… Although I will say Rhodes and Sandow do make for a great tag team.

So on to the Rumble itself. And all I can say is thank god for Dolph Ziggler, who once again managed to use his skills to put over others, lasting a huge 50 minutes – all the way to the final four – before being finally thrown over the top by Sheamus. But it was not only Ziggler who put on a great show, thankfully the WWE decided that this year should be the year of “surprises” as not only did Chris Jericho return to the WWE for the Rumble, so did Goldust (battling his brother Cody Rhodes) and The Godfather. But the biggest surprise of the 2013 Royal Rumble has to go to Kofi Kingston who, about to be eliminated, jumps onto the back of recently eliminated Tensai who puts him on to the announce table. Kingston then gets back on to the apron using a chair like a pogo stick! It was a brilliant sight to see, just a shame Kingston was pretty much eliminated straight away after putting on such a crazy show. If there were a number of surprises during the Royal Rumble, one thing that wasn’t surprising was the conclusion – the fact that John Cena and The Rock would face off at Wrestlemania 29 was well telegraphed so it came to no surprise that Cena won the Rumble.

The main event features reigning WWE Champion CM Punk defending his title against The Rock in a match that has no surprises and was, compared to the Rumble that took place before it, a bit of a damp squib and a rather mediocre ending to a less than stellar Royal Rumble. The only highlight of the main event was the appearance of The Shield – a faction that are providing some of the best moments in the WWE universe right now.

A poor start to the 2013 WWE calendar, WWE Royal Rumble 2013 is out now on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of FremantleMedia.

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06th Apr2013

‘WWE: The Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012′ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

Best_RAW__SmackWWE: The Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012 is a look back of the best WWE matches that were (given the title) shown on the WWE universe’s flagship television programmes Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown. Featuring over 25 matches, many cool promos/moments and featuring John Cena, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee, Kane, D-Generation X and many more, this is the definitive collection for reliving the best of Raw and Smackdown in 2012…

Definitive maybe. Exciting? Not so much.

You will often hear wrestling fans say that it’s the wrestling that matters (hell, even the TNA used that as a slogan) but watching this compilation of the best matches from Raw and Smackdown I couldn’t help think that I would prefer a little more background on the story and “plotting” that led to each match and not just be thrown in at the deep end to watch a match cold. And this Blu-ray is a VERY deep end, featuring as it does over eight hours of matches – including a number from the woeful John Laurinaitis “era,” as well the superb 1000th episode spectacular.

Whilst the matches may not provide too much excitement, and yes there’s a little too much concentration on CM Punk and John Cena, what does shine through in this compilation are the promos: The Rock putting on his “Rock” concert, his feuding with John Cena and (my personal favourite) the reformation of the awesome Degeneration X during the 1000th episode – complete with all five original members, reminding everyone of just how good that faction was, and still could be.

If you can get past the disjointed nature of a “clip show” – especially one that references matches and actions that are not available to watch – then you may get a kick out of WWE: The Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012. I’d say this isn’t my personal Best of… but it is a good way to catch up on what happened in the WWE universe in 2012. Plus this is a great way to fill in the gaps in stories and feuds for those that only watch WWE via the home video releases.

The Blu-ray of WWE: The Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012 features 90 minutes of exclusives, including six bonus Raw and Smackdown matches together with a host of back stage footage and interviews.

WWE: The Best of Raw & Smackdown 2012 is released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 8th.

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19th Mar2013

‘WWE TLC 2012′ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

TLCThe final pay-per-view event of the WWE calendar, TLC: Tables/Ladders/Chairs was originally marked out for its innovative high-flying, high-risk matches. However since the departure of many of the WWE’s rope-walking risk takers the TLC PPV has become something of a damb squib, especially considering the event sits in between the much more high profile Survivor Series, which precedes it, and the Royal Rumble, which follows it.

2012′s event, despite some less-than-stellar matches – in particular the first three of the PPV – manages to avoid being yet another poor entry in the WWE canon thanks to a fantastic, and (surprisingly) first ever, six-man TLC match between Ryback & Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) and the 3-man “justice squad”, The Shield. Yes, the 3 members of The Shield are a little rough around the edges but what they brought to the match, taking some stunning bumps: including being put through both a chair and a table (from a massive ladder), and giving just as good as they got – literally burying Kane and managing to put Ryback out of commission for most of the match.

In a repeat of the Survivor Series PPV, the Diva match is once again laughable; as is the Sheamus versus The Big Show match and their rivalry has now grown incredibly tired. So much so that even the WWE made a mockery of their chair match with Show bringing out a huge Show-sized chair to club Sheamus for the win.

As for the rest of the matches, it is the return of a veteran wrestler, the Brooklyn Brawler, that provides the real highlight of Tables/Ladders/Chairs 2012. Even moreso than the main event between John Cena and Dolph Ziggler! Who’d have though that the return of the Brooklyn Brawler, in a PPV filmed in Brooklyn, would out-class the rest of the PPV? Of course the Brawler is an old man now and can’t really wrestle for toffee, but The Miz’s respect for the former superstar in letting him take the pin and the win was, for once, a classy move on a part of the WWE.

Special features on the Blu-ray of TLC: Tables/Ladders/Chairs 2012 include Monday Night RAW 17th December 2012: Ric Flair presents the Slammy to the Superstar of the Year; Big Show addresses the WWE Universe; The Miz, Alberto Del Rio & Tommy Dreamer vs. 3MB; Ryback vs. Antonio Cesaro; Mean Gene Okerlund, Ricky the Dragon Steamboat & Jim Ross present the Slammy for Match of the Year; John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler. SmackDown 18th December 2012: Miz TV with AJ Lee, Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston; and CM Punk addresses the WWE Universe.

Not the best pay-per-view to end 2012 with, WWE TLC: Tables/Ladders/Chairs 2012 is released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 25th.

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17th Mar2013

‘WWE Survivor Series 2012′ Blu-ray Review

by Phil Wheat

WWE_Survivor_SeriesSurvivor Series is one of WWE’s top pay-per-view’s, along with Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble and Summerslam, and with good reason – it is officially WWE’s second longest running PPV having debuted in 1987 and still continuing to be as relevant today as it was then. Survivor Series 2012 marks the 26th annual show of the PPV and was headlined by one of the biggest matches of the year as the WWE’s longest reigning champion, fan-favourite CM Punk, defended his title in a Triple Threat match against former champion John Cena and man-monster Ryback.

But Survivor Series is not just about the main event. As is tradition, the 2012 event sees not one but TWO five-on-five matches – the eponymous “survivor series” matches of the title. First up is a “bonus” 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match featuring Team Mysterio (Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, Brodus Clay, Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd) versus Team Prime Time Players (Tensai, Primo, Epico and The Prime Time Players). From the outset it looked like this was to be a typical WWE match as the big guys Brodus Clay and Tensai went head to head, however things soon changed as Nexus members Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd took charge, with Kidd in particular flourishing with his high-flying, fast-paced wrestling – taking out both Titus O’Neil and Epico. In fact Kidd outshone even Rey Mysterio, whose 619 schtick looked tired after Kidd’s in-ring maneuvers.

After a cracking opening Survivor Series 2012 fell flat with it’s next two matches, both of which were title matches with championships on the line. The third match was a Divas match for the Divas Championship between reigning champion Eve and challenger Kaitlyn, which was won by Eve. The fourth match was a singles match for the United States Championship between reigning champion Antonio Cesaro (who retained his belt once again) and challenger R-Truth. Sadly both matches felt utterly predictable and weren’t helped by poor commentary and poorer wrestling.

Thankfully the next match, for the World Heavyweight Championship, between champion Big Show and the the Irish hard-man Sheamus, who had lost the championship to Show at the previous pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell. Whilst Big Show struggles these days to keep up in the ring he can still sell a match, and when paired with fan-favourite Sheamus (who I originally hated when he joined the WWE) it really does feel like two titans going at it – especially when you out Show’s Knockout Punch up against Sheamus’s Brogue Kick. Big Show “won” the match by intentionally using the referee as a shield, causing Sheamus to inadvertently hit him with a Brogue Kick. With Sheamus distracted, Show hit him with the Knockout Punch and was awarded the victory. The decision was then reversed by a second ref, with Big Show losing by DQ (hence still retaining the title). After the match, Sheamus assaulted Big Show with a steel chair, setting up a rematch at TLC – a review of which is coming soon!

It was back to a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination for the next match as Team Foley (Randy Orton, The Miz, Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) and Kofi Kingston, with Mick Foley at ringside) took on Team Ziggler (Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Alberto Del Rio, Damien Sandow and David Otunga). Team Ziggler picked up the win with Ziggler scoring the final elimination on Orton. Ziggler was also the real highlight of the match, holding most of the match together and taking some huge bumps along the way. It’s a credit to Ziggler that not only can he sell his own moves but also others, in this case throwing himself around the ring like a ragdoll to sell moves like Kingston’s monkey flip.

Ending Survivor Series with a triple threat match main event for the WWE Championship between reigning champion CM Punk and challengers Ryback and John Cena, must have sounded like a great idea on paper. However the ensuing action look incredibly stiff after the events of the Survivor Series match beforehand. On somewhat of a predictable move, Punk to retained the title by pinning Cena following interference by the trio of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns (now known as The Sheild), who powerbombed Ryback through a table, taking him out for the rest of the match.

In the end Survivor Series 2012 was a mixed bag – three lacklustre singles matches, one good one and two fantastic traditional 5-on-5 matches. But like many a WWE pay-per-view these days you couldn’t help but think that it was merely a stepping stone to the next one…

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