Royal Rumble 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 176 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: April 14 2014

Although fans have fond memories of Royal Rumble, the 2014 event was not warmly-received, with one match completely panned by the Pittsburgh crowd and the finish to the main Rumble bout widely criticised, particularly by the live audience. If nothing else, though, it makes for an intriguing DVD to watch!

To be fair, the opening contest is very good, as Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt create an atmosphere to die for amidst some tremendous sequences. Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show is a short, brutal massacre of the giant by the Beast Incarnate. Strangely enough, fans didn't mind the brevity of this one, but they were determined to spoil Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Title. Admittedly, the match has been featured way too many times, but on this occasion, fans watching on TV or DVD aren't given a chance to enjoy it, unless you watch it on mute.

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WWE Royal Rumble 2014

Image Source: Wrestling
DVD Network

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: January 26 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Attendance: 15,715

Royal Rumble is usually one of the most anticipated and exciting supershows of the WWE calendar. One reason is due to its unpredictability, as it's the one night of the year when literally anybody could potentially show up in some capacity (well, maybe not those under contract to competitors, but you get the point). A bigger reason, though, is its knock-on effect on WrestleMania: as every WWE fan knows, whomever wins the Royal Rumble match earns a World Title shot in the main event at WrestleMania (usually, anyway). This year, with WrestleMania hitting its 30th entry, there was even more interest on who would win the Rumble match, boosted further by the fact that the recent unification of World Championships means that there would only be one World Title match at WM, further heightening the importance of winning the Rumble match.

Going in, the most likely contender seemed to be Batista, after his much-hyped return to WWE; an Animal victory would set up a star-studded main event for Mania. CM Punk was also in the Rumble, albeit from the #1 position, reducing his chances of victory. There were no other real contenders, at least amongst those officially announced, meaning that a surprise entry would have the best chance of upsetting the odds. As it turned out, however, it was the non-entry of a certain wrestler which would ultimately be the most memorable aspect of the 2014 Rumble match.

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Batista: The Animal Unleashed

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 410 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: June 23 2014

The second DVD on Batista was released to mark his 2014 return to WWE, and consists of a documentary and a selection of matches, as is the norm. The timing was a bit awkward, as I shall explain, but it doesn't detract too much for the pre-2014 events featured here.

The documentary is fairly short at 40 minutes or so, but in hindsight it didn't need to be much longer. We had the full life-and-career inspection on Batista's first DVD released in 2009. Here, the focus is on his return as cameras follow him from his Raw comeback on January 20 2014 to his Royal Rumble win six nights later. Along the way, he covers why he first left WWE, what he did during his time away, his ongoing projects and his initial thoughts on his return. It's told with a positive slant, and by and large Batista is quite honest (he notes how he disliked WWE going PG), plus the story ends on a high note for Batista fans as he wins the Rumble.

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