WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 539 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: January 16 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

For the seventh year, WWE presents its top supercard matches of the year on DVD (although the original release covered the 2009/2010 season, from Backlash 2009 to WrestleMania XXVI; you can check out previous reviews within this series using the links on the right). Since the series began at the end of the 2000s, a lot of things have changed in WWE, not least the roster and its leading stars. However, what hasn't changed is that you can usually count on there being some pretty strong matches on the vast majority of Pay-Per-View events. In 2016, there were perhaps more stand-out PPV showdowns than ever before in WWE, and many of them are included in this collection.

Hosted by Lita, the set fittingly kicks off with the first PPV match of the year, that being a very good Last Man Standing clash between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship from Royal Rumble. From there, we're shown a quick montage of every match from the Rumble event and, throughout the set, similar round-ups are shown for every featured PPV event, as was the case on the 2015 collection (which is a nice touch as it packs a lot of moments into a short, neat and tidy series of clips). After that, we head to Fast Lane for two matches: AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho, which was a strong effort in their underrated feud, and Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar with the WrestleMania 32 WWE Title shot at stake. The latter is better than I remembered it being, although the result was never in doubt, and strangely enough the Reigns-Triple H feud which had begun in November 2015, and generated some excitement over the winter through various angles, was suddenly turned on by hardcore fans once it became official that the two would collide at WrestleMania (how bizarre ... wink wink).

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David Brent: Life On The Road

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Written By: Graham Lewis

Running Time: 96 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Released: December 12 2016

The star of the BBC mockumentary The Office, David Brent, has returned! Comedian Ricky Gervais reprises the role of the Marmite-like former manager of Wernham Hogg, this time in a feature-length offering.

The highly-offensive (albeit well-meaning) David Brent is minus any of The Office’s familiar faces here. The funny man finds himself working for the sales company Lavichem, selling bathroom supplies, when he embarks on a new adventure to become a rock star with his band Foregone Conclusion.

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Randy Orton: RKO Outta Nowhere

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 349 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: November 14 2016

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Originally, the November 2016 WWE DVD release was set to be the third volume in the OMG! Moments series, this time focusing on ECW (which certainly did provide a plethora of such incidents). For reasons unknown, this was changed to a new Randy Orton match compilation (likely in time with his return from a long, injury-related lay-off), featuring matches spanning the 2000-2015 period and containing pre-match comments from Randy himself in a newly-recorded sit-down interview. This switch didn't satisfy everybody (including fans of the old ECW, obviously), but from a quality standpoint, the change was probably for the better, as this second three-disc set on The Viper provides plenty of action and a good glimpse into the mind-set of the modern-day Legend Killer.

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Brock Lesnar: Eat. Sleep. Conquer. Repeat.

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 419 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: October 17 2016

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Originally, the plan was for Brock Lesnar's latest DVD to feature a full documentary of his career, from his NCAA days to his original WWE run to his controversial exit from the company to his UFC adventures to the highlights of his WWE return. Unfortunately, while we do have some pre-match comments from The Beast Incarnate, the main documentary feature was cancelled shortly before the official DVD announcement. It's a big disappointment, because after his previous DVD Here Comes The Pain (which you can read my review for by clicking here) contained almost all of his top matches in his 2002-2004 WWE tenure, a second match collection here feels a bit shallow. There are some memorable matches on display, as you will read about shortly, but given Lesnar's part-time status, there are unlikely to be many fans who haven't seen Lesnar's output in recent years, resulting in a compilation that, without the documentary, has little reason to exist.

There is plenty of good action, though, and disc one does focus on Lesnar's original WWE run. Brock was originally on a developmental deal which saw him train in Ohio Valley Wrestling, so it's nice to have a rare OVW bout pitting Lesnar and Shelton Benjamin against the lesser-known Chris Michaels and Sean Casey from 2000. Even rarer is a non-televised scrap with Mr. Perfect from January 2002, shortly before his official WWF/WWE debut. From there, we have some slightly more memorable action in the form of a Lesnar vs. Rob Van Dam main event from Raw, at a time when Brock was far from the finished article but in the midst of a huge push nonetheless, and the disc ends with two PPV battles from 2003: a great showdown with Kurt Angle from SummerSlam, and an adequate Biker Chain scrap with The Undertaker, who would become arguably Brock's most famous opponent, from No Mercy. Discs two and three then focus on Brock's 2012-2015 WWE highlights.

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Elimination Chamber 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 186 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 27 2015

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

Elimination Chamber, once WWE's final PPV stop before WrestleMania, was a definite B-show in 2015; in fact, it was only announced less than three weeks beforehand. The card still ended up delivering some memorable action and a major upset victory, but rewatching the show on DVD (which incidentally is a UK exclusive), one can't escape the feeling that it was still a card of lesser importance.

The opening Tag Team Elimination Chamber match for the doubles titles has its moments, with some quite frankly insane stunts, but a couple of spots appear to be the subject of wrestler confusion (as in, the performers themselves didn't know where to be at some points), and the finish is a bit anticlimactic, resulting in an opener that is good but by no means great. The three-way match for the Divas Championship is okay, but Nikki Bella vs. Paige vs. Naomi won't exactly be brought up at the end of the year as a vintage showcase of the women's division.

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Royal Rumble 2016

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 21 2016

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

The 29th annual Royal Rumble's greatest achievement was arguably that the Rumble match itself was better and more well-received than the previous two Rumbles, the backlash to which bordered on riot-level after the omission of Daniel Bryan in 2014 and his early elimination in 2015, along with wins for Batista and Roman Reigns. That aside, there's still enough entertainment on offer that you should enjoy the Rumble '16 DVD.

After a short segment that shows The McMahons arriving at the arena (as brief as it is, Vince McMahon is nevertheless on comedy form here), the Rumble PPV kicks off with a very good Dean Ambrose-Kevin Owens Last Man Standing match, one of Ambrose's best WWE battles to date. Following that, The New Day vs. The Usos is decent, although the fan reaction to the then-heel New Day borders on ridiculously positive, given that John Cena or Roman Reigns (more on him later) would be booed out of the building if they behaved in the same fashion.

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SummerSlam 2016

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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!)

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Battleground 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 177 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 14 2015

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

Battleground 2015 is one of those cards which, in hindsight, has slipped a little under the radar, perhaps because its main event was primarily used to set up the headline clash at SummerSlam the following month. However, when reliving the show, Battleground is definitely one of WWE's better cards of the year with some great in-ring action, making for an enjoyable DVD release.

Randy Orton vs. Sheamus is a good opener, enhanced by the strong atmosphere since the show was held in Orton's hometown of St Louis, Missouri. After WWE tries to remind us that Stephanie McMahon alone was responsible for what would become the revolution of women's wrestling in the company (which couldn't be further from the truth), we have a standard WWE Tag Team Title match between The Prime Time Players and The New Day, at a time when New Day were in the process of becoming the incredibly entertaining trio act that would result in their popularity exploding.

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TLC 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 183 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 22 2016

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

TLC 2015 occurred at a time when the WWE product was at a pretty low level. A combination of absences for top talent, poor casting in main event situations and generally dull writing meant that TLC was predicted to be a catastrophe of an event. Fortunately, though, the wrestlers delivered on the night, and the show closed with a memorable angle that temporarily reduced the fan hatred towards Roman Reigns, all of which makes this a pretty entertaining wrestling DVD to watch.

The opening three-way tag Ladder match between The New Day, The Lucha Dragons and The Usos widely surpasses expectations, and features an incredible Salida Del Sol by Kalisto which was arguably the most memorable spot of the entire year in WWE. The subsequent Ryback vs. Rusev bout suffers from an uninteresting plot whereby Ryback looks like an idiot for repeatedly falling for Lana's attempts to make out that The Big Guy had injured her. As for Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger: their Chairs match was as good as you could expect, and given the staleness of both men's characters at this point (even though ADR had only returned to WWE two months prior), it's a pleasant surprise, even if the "CM Punk!" chants put a dampener on it.

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Money In The Bank 2015

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 184 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 24 2015

(To read a full event review of WWE Money In The Bank 2015, click here.)

Money In The Bank has generally been one of the best WWE events each year since it began, and the 2015 show was no different. The DVD of the card is now available, and there are three major matches which make the sixth MITB PPV another memorable instalment. Since it took place days after the tragic passing of Dusty Rhodes, the show opens with a ten-ball salute, and later we get a very good video tribute to the American Dream.

In the ring, besides the Kick-Off Show bout between King Barrett and "King What's Up" R-Truth (which is here as a DVD extra), the action begins with the 2015 MITB Ladder match (Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Neville vs. Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler) which is a great start to proceedings, even if the match is a shade inferior to the 2014 MITB encounter. Nikki Bella vs. Paige is a good effort despite the screwy ending, and the Ryback-Big Show bout also has a questionable finish, although The Big Guy and The Very Big Guy make the most of their fairly short time before the conclusion.

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WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 503 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: January 18 2016

And so we come to the most recent WWE PPV round-up collection, which (obviously) focuses on supershow action from 2015. The artwork is slightly generic, but the use of different wrestlers on each of the disc's menus emphasises the new talent which has risen up the WWE ranks, as well as the veterans who gave us memorable matches on PPV. And we get plenty of them here: 2015 was one of WWE's best years on Pay-Per-View ever from a match quality standpoint, and a great number of the really good encounters are here.

We have a host once again, this time being Corey Graves. There aren't any pre-match promo videos, but each PPV covered has a recap video showing most of the match highlights, which is a nice touch that should be repeated in future sets (although some don't half drag on). And whilst this DVD was released to the US market (unlike that of 2014), there was still no Blu-ray version, meaning that this collection once again exceeds the 8-hour mark, giving us more matches. Too many matches? I'll let you be the judge of that. Also, the on-screen watermarks are not present here, but strangely the frame-rates seem slower on certain DVD players for this collection, which I cannot explain.

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WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2014

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 528 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: January 12 2015

The year 2014 was a turbulent one for WWE. On one hand, we had the rise of Daniel Bryan to championship glory at WrestleMania XXX, the continued ascension of The Shield members before and after their break-up, the re-establishment of Brock Lesnar an absolute monster, and the debut of Sting at Survivor Series. On the other hand, we had the initial outrage at Daniel Bryan's non-entry in the Royal Rumble match, CM Punk walking out the following day, the end of The Undertaker's Streak at WrestleMania XXX and other moments of frustration (such as the repeated delaying of the WWE Network launch in the United Kingdom). If nothing else, it was a very memorable year, and many of the year's biggest memories came on Pay-Per-View.

As we have seen previously, this DVD set brings us plenty of the best or most memorable PPV matches of the year. Like with previous sets, Survivor Series and TLC aren't touched, and one or two omissions are surprising, as I will explain. This set also has a thrown-together feel to it by the generic artwork and the lack of a host. However, because it wasn't released on Blu-ray (and wasn't released in the United States at all, strangely), the running time is longer, giving us more action and basically more bang for our buck. (Okay, "bucks" are American currency and wouldn't apply since it wasn't on sale in the US, but the expression still works, dammit!).

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WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2013

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 435 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: January 13 2014

Once more, WWE has released a compilation focusing on the year's best Pay-Per-View encounters (well, those of the first ten months, anyway; and the match choices are always those of WWE, meaning some fan favourite bouts don't get a look-in). Renee Young takes over hosting duties here, with PPV posters to assist her, erm, links, and the artwork has a slightly grandiose theme highlighting WWE's biggest names ... except for Brock Lesnar. That Lesnar isn't included is unusual, and perhaps emphasises how his star doesn't shine quite as bright as it should presently. We don't get any promo videos for matches this time, which is a slight dampener.

Onto the action, though, and we have CM Punk vs. The Rock from Royal Rumble. Whilst a fun match to watch, that part-timer Rock was chosen to end Punk's 434-day WWE Title reign PO'd the hardcore fans to a great extent, especially with John Cena winning the Royal Rumble to set up Rock-Cena 2 as the main event for WrestleMania 29 (I personally didn't have a problem with the decision, although the fact that the People's Elbow was the move to finish Punk off ruined one's suspension of disbelief). After that, Elimination Chamber (an underrated show, in my opinion) gives us John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus vs. The Shield, a watchable yet fairly pointless match with a surprising outcome (at the time, anyway).

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WWE Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2012

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 385 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 4 2013

The Best Pay-Per-View Matches series would continue on to cover 2012, one of the most memorable years in recent times for WWE. Two huge WrestleMania matches, the return shortly afterwards of a major star, the year-long WWE Title run of the Best In The World, the entertainment provided by Team Hell No and the arrival of The Shield were just some of the reasons why there's a lot to remember about 2012. Much of it happened on Pay-Per-View, and a lot of that is covered here. Scott Stanford is again on hosting duties, and the artwork is a nice nod to the old-school wrestling posters from the 1970s and before. What's more, some promo videos are again included to explain why certain matches are happening, which is always a good thing.

We begin as ever at Royal Rumble, with CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler. It's a good match, but it's overshadowed by Punk's feud with special referee/enforcer John Laurinaitis, in Big Johnny's only appearance on the DVD, incidentally. The upshot is, Ziggler looks a bit weak as Punk has him beaten several times before finally finishing him off. Next up, the World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber had the potential to royally suck, but it ends up greatly exceeding expectations, and momentarily makes one believe that Santino Marella could indeed become the World Heavyweight Champion. Disc one closes with the outstanding Hell In A Cell war between The Undertaker and Triple H from WrestleMania XXVIII, refereed by Shawn Michaels and containing enough drama and action to justify why most people considered this to be the best match of the entire year.

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Battleground 2016

Image Source: Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 192 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 19 2016

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

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

There was a danger that Battleground would have been a forgettable PPV, coming as it did just days after the Draft and right before the Raw and SmackDown rosters were officially re-introduced, meaning that much of the PPV card involved matches and storylines which could go no further beyond the show, with so many wrestlers assigned to opposite brands. However, the show succeeded due to a number of memorable matches and moments, and you can now relive the card on DVD.

For those who haven't seen Battleground, I won't spoil the identity of Sasha Bank's mystery partner in her battle against Charlotte and Dana Brooke, but it is a nice feel-good moment and the bout itself is a good one. It feels like forever now since The New Day took on The Wyatt Family, although Xavier Woods gets a rare chance to shine as part of his fear of Bray Wyatt, and Rusev vs. Zack Ryder is okay, albeit nothing special. Next up, we have an outstanding bout between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn which draws a line under their feud (for now). It wasn't quite the Match Of The Year, in my opinion, due to some slow periods early on and noticeable non-selling towards the end, but it is still a strong encounter and unquestionably the best on this particular PPV, as well as a fitting way to close a rivalry that we are told will probably never truly end.

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United We Slam: The Best Of The Great American Bash

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 430 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 14 2014

Similar to the WCW PPV compilation released a few months earlier, United We Slam (hosted by Dusty Rhodes in his own unique, at times confusing yet ultimately entertaining way) is a straight-forward collection of matches from the history of The Great American Bash. The artwork of the DVD is quite nice and somehow fits with the theme, and I liked the minor touches, such as the fireworks going off during transitional scenes. The DVD does not cover the WWE years (2004-2008, or 2009 when the event was simply renamed The Bash), which is probably a good thing: few fans want to relive the abomination that was the Concrete Crypt, or the excitement of the original Punjabi Prison match (I jest).

Anyway, TGAB actually began in 1985 as a tour of Jim Crockett Promotions/NWA wrestling shows held in the summer rather than a stand-alone card. Some were filmed, and some were not. Of those that did make it onto camera, we get some worthwhile action, as the DVD opens with Ric Flair defending his NWA World Title against Nikita Koloff, following a spectacular helicopter entrance for The Nature Boy. Dusty and Larry Zbyszko provide new commentary for this match, which becomes bizarre when Dusty openly states "I don't care about this match". Better is The Rock 'N' Roll Express challenging The Andersons for the Tag Team Titles in 1986, which is your typical logical and well-executed doubles outing from the mid-1980s NWA that has your classic 1980s post-match hand-slap by Rock 'N' Roll, to celebrate their, erm, non-victory (by the way, Dusty and Larry commentate on this one as well; it's worth remembering that both had announcing experience from the Nitro era of WCW). Next, it's a Flair vs. Dusty Cage match from 1986, but this has clearly the version that we had on Dusty's own DVD, released in 2006, because it has commentary from Rhodes, Steve Romero (who left WWE years ago) and Mike Graham (who passed away in 2012, nearly two years before this DVD was released). It's always amusing to hear Dusty mention his "belly-welly" though, so I'll give them a pass on that.

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The History Of The Hardcore Championship 24:7

Image Source: Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 431 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 5 2016

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

If you ask any fan of the Attitude Era in the WWF/WWE about the ten things that they miss the most from that wild and crazy time, there's a good chance that they will mention the Hardcore Championship. Originally designed as a joke prop for Mankind, with that representing false hope provided by Vince McMahon in the storylines, the title soon evolved into a platform for some increasingly brutal and very competitive battles, and with a later rule change, it became a source of true entertainment and creativity. The Hardcore Title had its up's and down's over its near four-year history, and they are all covered in this new DVD.

The DVD is presented by three former Hardcore Champions in a round-table, discussion-style setting. Mick Foley and Rob Van Dam are understandable hosts, but I was surprised to see Raven as the final host: sure, he held the battered gold 27 times (or 39, as he states), but since he was a vocal critic of WWE after leaving the company and even tried to sue the organisation in 2008, it's a surprise that a) he would be asked, and b) he would agree to it. Tommy Dreamer has a cameo appearance with his voice introducing the hosts. Their discussions are both frank and humorous throughout, and make this DVD stand out from others; it feels more like a reunion of old friends rather than a serious wrestling chat, which is a good thing.

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Money In The Bank 2016

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Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 198 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 22 2016

(To read a full event review of WWE Money In The Bank 2016, click here.)

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Hyped up as "the greatest Money In The Bank Pay-Per-View in history", MITB 2016 didn't quite surpass the outstanding 2011 card, which had several high-quality matches and was capped off by the unforgettable John Cena-CM Punk main event. It was, however, the best supershow of the year thus far, and the DVD release allows you to relive this memorable event.

The opening Fatal Four Way match for the WWE Tag Team Titles, pitting The New Day against Enzo and Cass, Gallows and Anderson and The Vaudevillains, is a good opening contest and, despite some botches near the end (one of which, by Gallows, was so obvious on the night that it has been edited out here), the participants maintain crowd interest all the way. Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler came after their rivalry had peaked, making this a satisfactory yet ultimately unwanted match to those in attendance. The women's tag bout (Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte) is okay but feels more like a Raw match, although it does have an unexpected twist after the finish.

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WWE The Attitude Era Volume 3 - Unreleased

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Fetch Publicity

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 410 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: August 8 2016

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

The third instalment in the Attitude Era DVD series is unique, in more ways than one. Whereas the first two sets provided a combination of unforgettable moments and some forgotten gems from Raw and PPV events, Volume 3 takes a very different approach of not only showcasing matches which have yet to be unreleased, but bouts which have never even aired. All of the matches are either "dark" matches (which take place before or after a televised event, with only the crowd getting to see what unfolds) or house show matches (bouts which take place on live events). It's an interesting format, and a chance to provide content which even the biggest fans of wrestling's most exciting era will have never seen (unless they had attended these shows, of course) - but does the concept work?

Presented by Corey Graves, who does a pretty good job of not only presenting matches but explaining the backstory to said bouts, the compilation kicks off with a Bret Hart-Steve Austin clash from Germany in April 1996. Hang on, 1996? Yes, the timeline here begins in the spring of '96, a time when the Attitude Era was still a pipe dream. Sure, we had the Goldust character, whose sexually-motivated behaviour was pushing the envelope for those who understood what was happening (which wasn't me at the time since I was only aged 7), the odd swear word was popping up in promos, and we recently had the introduction of the Spanish announcer's table gimmick (i.e. the act of putting one through said desk), along with some increasingly violent matches (such as Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel from In Your House 7). But one would not really suggest that this was the Attitude Era. It's true to say that the seeds of Attitude were being sown over the next couple of months, from the arrival of Mankind to the Austin 3:16 promo, but it wasn't until 1997 that the Attitude Era truly began (and some could argue that it wasn't official until Steve Austin won his first WWF Title at WrestleMania XIV, held in March 1998). To provide context, this opening Bret-Austin bout happened a few months before Steve's legendary 3:16 promo; his career was nearer the Ringmaster phase than it was the Texas Rattlesnake.

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Best Of Raw - After The Show

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Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 400 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: April 28 2014

This is one of the more unusual WWE DVD releases. The idea of providing fans with a collection of moments which would only have been seen by the fans in attendance is a cool one; however, stretching this across three discs proves to be a bad move, as even the most entertaining scenes become repetitive.

I won't list every segment, but across the first two discs, the vast majority involve Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock or both. We tend to see some comedy exchanges, followed by a handshake or a beer toast, which results in a finisher (in some cases several finishers). Around 2001, the focus shifts almost entirely to comedy, and there are some really funny situations that develop, along with some interesting scenarios.

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