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.

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DVD Preview: TLC 2017

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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!

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DVD Preview: 1997: Dawn Of The Attitude

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

For the first time ever, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Ron Simmons, The Godfather and Kane sit together with host Renee Young and share their behind-the-scenes experiences during 1997 – one of the most unforgettable and influential years in WWE history. With a selection of matches and moments, witness the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, the birth of D-Generation X, the summer of The Hart Foundation, and how The Attitude Era was created with one pivotal year in WWE history. Welcome to 1997: Dawn Of The Attitude. Also featuring The Rock, Undertaker, Psycho Sid, Goldust, Sable, Ken Shamrock, D-Lo Brown, The Sultan & more!

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Extreme Rules 2014

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 21 2014

The first PPV in the new era of WWE after WrestleMania XXX is a worthwhile card with several entertaining battles, and one which takes the "Extreme" name to the, erm, extreme (hint: the DVD cover spoils it).

An enjoyable elimination three-way between Cesaro, Jack Swagger and Rob Van Dam kicks things off, before a basic match which sees Alexander Rusev crush R-Truth and Xavier Woods, and a Big E-Bad News Barrett Intercontinental Title match which sees Barrett generate huge support from the NeW Jersey crowd. The Shield vs. Evolution comes next and is the highlight of the show; a really good and well-paced six-man match that builds up to a big finish, and one which shines a major spotlight on Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose.

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Battleground 2014

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 178 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 29 2014

Battleground 2014 was the poorest WWE event of the year thus far, and therefore it's hard to recommend the DVD release. The review could potentially end there, but I'll go into a bit more detail.

Actually, it starts well with an excellent Two Out Of Three Falls doubles match between The Usos and the much-improved combo of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. AJ Lee vs. Paige is also decent. But the event falters from there: the tasteless pre-match promo by Lana overshadows the Rusev-Jack Swagger match; even if it hadn't, the screwy finish would spoil the bout anyway. The advertised Seth Rollins-Dean Ambrose doesn't happen, with a series of angles which would have been more at home on Raw. Chris Jericho pointlessly pins Bray Wyatt, and the Intercontinental Title Battle Royal is enjoyable enough, but has another groan-inducing climax. The main event, pitting John Cena against Randy Orton, Kane and Roman Reigns, is a pretty good match, but it has that "seen it all before" feel to it, and the result is never in doubt.

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WWE Extreme Rules 2014

Image Source: WWE

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: May 4 2014
Location: Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Attendance: 15,907

The first PPV after the unforgettable WrestleMania XXX, Extreme Rules 2014 felt like a step into the unknown. Whilst there is always a fresh feel to the post-Mania season (well, usually), the first few weeks after Mania felt particularly different with Daniel Bryan now installed as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for keeps, along with the face turn of The Shield, and the strange feeling that remains in the air following the shocking end of The Undertaker's Streak at WM 30, even if the man who did the unthinkable - Brock Lesnar, of course - isn't likely to wrestle again until the summer.

Whilst Lesnar wasn't on hand at Extreme Rules, there were plenty of other big names who, based on the line-up, were in a position to deliver a thrilling night of action. Bryan vs. Kane under Extreme Rules was something different as a title bout, whilst John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt in a Steel Cage had potential. But the match between Evolution and The Shield was the most eye-catching bout that WWE booked for this show, as it marked the first meeting of these supergroups. Would Evolution mark their unexpected return with a victory, or would The Shield claim their biggest scalp to date by taking down the faction which dominated Raw for several years?

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WWE Battleground 2014

Image Source: Wrestling
DVD Network

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: July 20 2014
Location: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida, USA
Attendance: 12,000

Some supercards feel inconsequential beforehand. It doesn't mean that they will suck, nor that they won't provide entertainment. It means that in the grand scheme of things, they have little significance. There's usually at least one show a year with this vibe to it, whereby you could skip the show and not miss a beat, as far as following the storylines is concerned.

Battleground 2014 had that feeling beforehand. The main event was fresh, yet it also felt familiar, and the result seemed like a foregone conclusion. Not only was John Cena (Big Match John, don't forget) defending the WWE Title against former titleholder Randy Orton, the past-his-prime Kane and the not-yet-ready-for-the-title Roman Reigns, but heavy rumours stemming from a leaked PPV poster online suggested that Cena would be defending the gold against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. This show would be the last chance for WWE to pull a swerve and divert from that path, but was it really feasible? Meanwhile, with the exception of Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho, nothing else truly stood out beforehand as being something that you hadn't seen regularly on Raw or SmackDown. Rollins vs. Ambrose and AJ vs. Paige sounded intriguing, but the show still felt like a preview to SummerSlam during its build-up.

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The Twisted, Disturbed Life Of Kane

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 508 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: February 23 2009

It's as good a time as ever to provide a retro DVD review on Kane for several reasons. Firstly, this week marks 18 years since the debut of the Big Red Machine. Secondly, Kane is currently back in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture, as he faces Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell in the culmination of a feud that has been months in the making. Finally, I recently provided a review of the Brothers Of Destruction DVD, and last week the retro DVD review was based around his brother The Undertaker, so it's only fair to give the spotlight this time around to the red and black attack.

"Attack" is a fitting word to describe Kane, especially in his early days as the masked, non-speaking monster from Hell; a far cry from his current role as the unmasked Director Of Operations (when he isn't slipping back into the Demon version of his character, that is) or even the unmasked behemoth from the late 2000s who narrates this DVD by introducing matches and, where applicable, explaining their backgrounds in his own, twisted way.

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Brothers Of Destruction: Greatest Matches

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 92 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 1 2014

With the wrestling world still in shock over the end of The Undertaker's undefeated Streak at WrestleMania in the summer of 2014, WWE oddly chose this time to release a DVD on Taker's occasional partnership with his on-screen partner Kane. This DVD (the first to use the new WWE logo, by the way) feels like a budget release due to its single disc and short running time (although I do like the colourful, drawing-style artwork), but it still remains fairly entertaining and watchable.

Rather than beginning with their unforeseen union in 1998, or the odd bout from the next few years, we begin in 2001 with the duo beating Edge & Christian for the then-WWF Tag Team Titles on SmackDown! from April 2001. This was during the weird phase where Steve Austin had just turned heel despite The Rock then quickly leaving to film The Scorpion King, which combined with the end of The Monday Night Wars meant that wrestling was beginning to drop off in interest and popularity from this point onwards. Still, the match itself is alright and typical of the final few months of the Attitude Era.

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