Ultimate Warrior Announced as WWE Hall of Fame Inductee

Ultimate Warrior Announced as WWE Hall of Fame Inductee

By Phil Allely

WWE (WWE) announced today that The Ultimate Warrior will return to WWE after an 18 year absence and be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at New Orleans Arena, as a part of the WrestleMania 30 festivities.

“The Ultimate Warrior was the most intense, colorful, competitive and outspoken Superstar in sports entertainment history, and his contributions to WWE were extraordinary,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We are thrilled to induct The Ultimate Warrior into the WWE Hall of Fame.”

The Ultimate Warrior was one of the most iconic and exciting Superstars in WWE history. When the distinctive ring entrance music of Warrior hit, he would burst out of the dressing room and sprint towards the ring, causing a frenzy of excitement amongst WWE fans. Inside the squared circle, Warrior was responsible for many of the most memorable moments in WWE history.

In 1988 at the inaugural SummerSlam, he defeated the Honkytonk Man in record time to win his first of two Intercontinental Championships. In 1990, Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan™ to become WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI in one of the most exciting matches in WrestleMania history. Warrior would continue to captivate audiences around the world with epic encounters against WWE Legends such as Undertaker and Randy Savage. After a storied career that also saw him compete in WCW, Warrior stepped away from the ring in 1998. Last year, he was featured in the WWE 2K14 video game as a downloadable character,.

Additional WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014 inductees will be announced over the coming weeks.

By Phil Allely

Video Review: WCW Souled Out 2000

VHS Review: WCW Souled Out 2000

Here we go folks yet another retro video review of some of my wrestling collection (before they get confined to the bin). 

Here we have WCW presenting a show that had many promising bouts on paper, but they lacked to ignite a fire in the crowd when they played out. This was unfortunately the way WCW was functioning in this period and it was sad to see the once mighty company reduced to this.

However we did have some decent stuff here and for fans of the era, there are a few faces you will want to see and some moves we have long missed.

In no particular order here are some highlights form Souled Out 2000:

The Hardcore match (for the HC title) between Norman Smiley, Meng, Fit Finlay and Brian Knobbs was a great affair and one that does indeed warrant a few viewings. This is a level of aggression that we miss in this day and age of the PG programming.

Buff Bagwell and Diamond Dallas Page had a decent scrap. This was all down to Bagwell possibly being a love interest for Page's wife Kimberly.

The Madusa/Oklahoma match for the Cruiserweight Title was an odd beats. This was seemingly there purely to show Madusa in her bra and pants.

There were also a few reasonable appearances by Billy Kidman, Vampiro and other low/mid card players in WCW at the time, but they really did not set the place alight.

The two main matches here were the battle for control of the company between the veteran grappler Terry Funk and Kevin Nash. Which was a brutal at times encounter.

The other one was the main event which (due to injuries suffered by Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett) saw Chris Benoit face off against Sid Vicious for the WCW World Title.

The main event saw Benoit win the gold (even though he was destined to leave the company). This meant that the next night it was deemed that Vicious' leg was under the rope when the three count was called, so he could not be pinned legally. The belt was once again held up.

Souled Out 2000 was a mid-reasonable PPV by WCW, but the cracks were showing here and the bookers were not really making the effort. The writing was on the wall and the WWE buyout was not too far away I am afraid to say.

By Phil Allely

WCW Legend DDP coming to the UK in 2014

WCW legend DDP comes to the UK/Ireland

Former WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page is to tour the UK in early 2014. This will be the grappler's first ever Q&A's in the country and will also offer special VIP packages, where fans can meet/greet, get items signed and of course have a photo taken with ring legend.

Page had a remarkable run in WCW (where held numerous championships), he was also a manager and did much more before the company folded. He then progressed the WWE, where he had a memorable feud with Undertaker.

Since retiring from the ring DDP has been working on his yoga empire. His methods have helped people across the world, many of them in the world of sports. He has also worked closely with former wrestlers Jake Roberts and Scott Hall, moving the pair in to his own home and working on getting the pair back in shape. He has also dabbled in acting and is a firm fixture at many fan events across the US. 

This Q&A event will certainly touch on many of his famous feuds, life inside and outside of the ring and much more we are sure.

You can see DDP at:

London, The Leicester Square Theatre – Sunday 2^nd March

Cardiff, The Glee Club – Monday 3^rd March

Birmingham, The Glee Club – Tuesday March 4^th

Manchester, The Comedy Store – Wednesday March 5^th

Glasgow, The Garage – Thursday March 6^th

Belfast, The Empire Music Hall – Sunday March 9^th

For more info visit www.eroscomedy.com

www.diamonddallaspage.com

By Phil Allely

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Phil Allely

Retro Video Review: WWF Action

This will be the first of many retro video tape reviews I do here for my wrestling ramble column. I am finally disposing of these tapes and want to make sure all you wrestling fans know what they were before I do so.

First up we have the WWF's (yes this was pre-WWE times) release 'Action' .

This special video was a 90 minute look at some of the best action from 2001 in the world of the WWF/WWE.

First up we got a look at just how wonderful the attitude era was. The much-missed Hardcore Championship was one of the best inventions during this era and it was perfectly suited to the time in the companies growth.

The Hardcore Title was created for Mick Foley, but as the violent matches grew so did the titles legacy. By 2001 the championship had become one that had evolved into one that was defended on a 24/7 basis. This led to countless titles changes, many memorable encounters and of course some brutal scraps between some of the WWF's finest at the time. There are many highlights included here. This was a time where the title could change many times on one night and blood would flow with ease, unlike today's family friendly WWE.

Next up we saw one of the WWF of the times less family friendly approaches to wrestling. This was the 'bra and panties' series of matches. These were basically the companies attempt to draw in more male viewers and they were more than often shot scraps that saw one or both of the females involved standing in the ring in their underwear. Here we get to see Ivory, Chyna, Trish Stratus and Terri all involved in these poorly judged encounters.

We then get to see Perry Saturn become a deranged madman (due to countless head shots), the former ECW legend ended up becoming a joke of a character and instead of being aligned with Terri he became obsessed with a mop. I'll not say any more about this storyline as it was awful in my opinion and went on far too long.

The risque and Vince McMahon ego-stroking storyline involving Trish, his wife Linda and daughter Stephanie is equally weird as we get to see Vince kiss, degrade and obsess over Stratus, use his wife for his own maniacal schemes and utilise his daughters love the same way. We do get to see Trish gain a measure of revenge, but much of this was unnecessary.

This all led to a few matches that gave Vince his dream of entering the ring as a wrestler. His appearance in a tag match with Trish, William Regal, Stephanie is featured here in parts and works ok until we see poor Stratus degraded once more. (this was not a highpoint in her illustrious career of the WWE's)

Next up we got the fun and very well conceived romantic relationship between Spike Dudley and Molly Holly. This was a great idea and one that saw the Dudley clan embark on a violent series of match-ups against the Holly family. We don't get to see a while match here, but we do get to see some great highlights and some pretty brutal spots.

WWE legend 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's heel turn as a member of Mr McMahon's posse is then given some time. This was a period where Austin held the World Title, was joined at the hip with (a comical) Kurt Angle and also put forward some of his most comical performances, just watch out for his guitar spots with Angle and you will see what I mean.

The buyout of WWF rival WCW was a wonderful event and one that many thought the WWE/WWF would have handled expertly. Initially this was the case and the beginnings were indeed boding well for an invasion storyline. However when push came to shove even after an initial burst of well-received matches and even a few title changes the WWE roster began to dominate proceedings and the idea of a separate WCW brand within the WWE/WWF drifted away quickly. The inclusion of the (also) defunct ECW helped a little, but did not do much to boost PPV buy rates and it dropped off the radar too. (ECW did make a brief comeback though).

Had the WCW/ECW invasion been handled better it could have become a huge piece of wrestling history. WCW had of course dominated the ratings over the WWE for many months and had almost crippled the company. Had Steve Austin and his era of superstars not taken with the fans they may well have lost the fight. ECW were never direct competition, but they did offer something different to the WWE product and gave us a much more violent approach to grappling. The inclusion of Vince's son Shane and Daughter Stephanie to the mix was a nice move, but yet it never saw its full potential.

'Action' offers a wonderful peek at the WWF/WWE at a pivotal time in its existence. The 'Attitude' era had begun, Steve Austin's star had risen and a man called 'The Rock' was nipping at his toes. There was also end of rival companies ECW and WCW to factor in, this was the time that the WWE/WWF saw its full potential as world leaders in wrestling.

It may not be available on DVD yet, but this video tape is a very interesting look at the WWF/WWE in a time of its history that many of remember fondly.

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: Best of Madison Square Garden

WWE DVD Review: The Best of Madison Square Garden

In the world of wrestling there is one venue that every fans knows the name of. That venue is new York's Madison Square Garden. The venue itself has relocated a few times and had image overhauls, but no matter what changes have been made, it will always be the spiritual home of the WWE.

This after all was the venue that saw the birth of Hulkamania and also played a pivotal role in wrestling history when it hosted the first ever WrestleMania.

This well-produced three disc set takes a loving and informative look at just how much the WWE owe to such a prestigious venue as this and what appearing in the ring there meant to many of the headliners over the past 40 plus years.

The big question here of course is who does a release like this appeal to? Well the honest answer is more long-term fans of the WWE and those curious about the company's rich history. There are of course more up to date matches etc. (on the third disc), but this is after a historical release and one that has been designed to honour the MSG venue and the wonderful encounters it witnessed over the decades.

The set-up is here that we get a short introduction to each match from a participant (or peer), we then get it in full. There are some nice pieces here, it is especially nice to hear form the likes of Bruno Samartino, Ivan Koloff, Iron Sheik, Harley race and other legends such as Sergeant Slaughter. Which all occur on disc one. This disc gives us a look at some true classics, including Superstar Billy Graham (a man who Hulk Hogan payed homage to with his image) versus Bruno Samartino, Harley Race and Bob Backlund in a title versus title match, Hulk Hogan's legendary sin over The Iron Sheik and the infamous bloodbath of a brawl between The Iron Sheik and Sergeant Slaughter.

Disc two is the one that sees the WWE start to become the arena selling venue that it would become. Here we get to see the match that changed it all Hulk Hogan and Mr T versus 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff (WrestleMania I). We also get to see a few true classics as well. The Intercontinental Title scrap between (at that time) longest reigning IC champ 'The Honky Tonk Man'and The Ultimate Warrior (SummerSlam 1988) was short and sweet, but perfectly set up the Warrior character. The IC championship battle between Bret 'Hit Man' Hart and Mr Perfect (SumerSlam 1991) is an excellent example of two wrestlers at their peak. The ladder match featuring Shawn Michaels and Razon Ramon (WrestleMania X) is perhaps one of the earliest and finest matches of the genre too. Disc two ends with the surprise match between Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Bob Backlund for the WWE Championship. The talking heads here will appeal to more modern fans, over the ones on disc 1, watch out for Bob Ueker, The Miz, Bret Hart, Howard Finkel and Kevin Nash amongst others.

The final disc here brings us more up to date (well 2009). Here we get to see The Rock's debut at Survivor Series 1996. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon. Cactus Jack and Triple H in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The 1^st ever Tag Team Tables scrap between The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz. Throw in some matches involving Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Big Show, John Cena and the revamped D-Generation X, and you have one heck of a third disc here.

Extras wise on Blu-Ray you get a few extra matches, a collection of extra stories form some more wrestlers (old and new) who performed at the venue. There is also the induction of Vince McMahon into the MSG Hall of Fame as well.

All in all this release is a great way to learn about the WWE's long association with MSG and also offers an opportunity to see some lesser known matches from the venue as well.

WWE The Best of Madison Square Garden is available now via all good retailers.

RRP £29.99 (DVD), £34.99 (Blu-Ray)

Www.wwedvd.co.uk

By Phil Allely

DVD Review: WWE Battle Ground 2013

DVD Review: WWE Battleground 2013

In recent years the WWE have taken to creating new Pay-Per-View events and expanding their reach as it where. We are all used to the brands main events, but sometimes it is good to see them offer up something else to us.

Battleground 2013 is an event that saw the company present us with a 'hardcore rules' match, a tag team scrap that involved three generations of a family and a world title encounter that had been many months in the making. There were also many other storyline spots and concepts along the way too.

Yes there were some big stories here at Battleground, but the one that that appealed to your reviewer was the one revolving around the Rhodes family. I have seen Dustin (Goldust) on a few occasions over the years and was always amazed by his in-ring ability. I even fondly remember seeing him at a WCW show in Belfast in the early 1990s and he had a wonderful match with Barry Windham that blew me away. Both men never entered the ring and Rhodes bled heavilly, it was amazing to see live from ringside.

In the last few years Dustin's younger brother Cody had made his mark in the WWE and he has fared well. But when the WWE decided to make a storyline about the Rhodes family it only made sense to involve Dustin/Goldust and their dad Dusty. Dusty is of course a NWA/WCW/WWE legend and one of the men who trains the up and coming WWE stars in the developmental side of the WWE.

I did digress a bit there, but what we have here on this show is a tag team match between The Shield and the combo of Cody and Goldust. With Dusty and Dean Ambrose ate ringside, this leads to a few fun spots I promise and a bionic elbow you simply have to see.

Let's just say this match is an 'American Dream' to see. Elsewhere we get to see Santino and The Great Khali tackle The Real Americans. This is well worth a view for the amazing sight of Cesaro doing the 'Cesaro swing' on the huge frame of Khali.

We are also given a Hardcore Rules match between Rob Van Dam and Allberto Del Rio, an I.C. Bout between Curtis Axel and R-Truth and a Divas cat fight with AJ Lee and Brie Bella.

The Kofi Kingston and Bray Wyatt match did its job well we must add, whilst CM Punk and Ryback went to exactly where it should have too.

The main event featuring Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton (for the vacant WWE Championship) was a joy to behold as well. The finish and twists and turns we dare not say.

WWE Battleground 2013 is a great addition to the WWE PPV calendar and it is well worth a viewing,

Extras wise we have matches, interviews and more.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray)

WWE Battleground is available now from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

Www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: Triple H - Thy Kingdom Come

DVD Review: WWE – Triple H 'Thy Kingdom Come'

Triple H (Paul LeVesque) is one of the biggest names in the history of the WWE. He has done it all in the company, from working his way up from an undercard status, to a 13-time World Champion and he has now of course not only made his mark behind the scenes, but married into the McMahon family as well.

This triple-disc set features a two hour documentary that continues to build upon his enduring legacy.

What can you expect from this documentary then?

Let us tell you some of the things you may learn within and also some of the facts and trivia. First up we must say that this may be one of many DVD's dedicated to Triple H, but this is the first that has really made the effort and allowed his real story to be told. We are also treated to a host of talking heads (from stars old and new), back stage moments, interesting information and much more throughout the show.

We kick off with a look at the early days of LeVesque (training under the watchful eyes of wrestling legend Killer Kowalski). We see his bodybuilding days and his entrance into WCW as Terra Ryzing. There are some nice points here as we here that Ric Flair pushed for his signing to WCW and also that our star opted out of a two year deal of $52.000 a year because 'I'll starve for a year, by the end of year one you will know I am worth more. It won't take longer than that for you to find out'.

There are nice moments were we hear that Paul was always at WCW training facility the Power Plant. He had the backing of top WCW stars Terry Taylor and of course his hero Ric Flair as well.

This led to his being repackaged as blue blood type character Jean Paul LeVesque and also a tag team partnership with UK star Steven (later William) Regal.

We then see him get an offer from the WWE and his career come on leaps and bounds. There were of course teething problems with the initial character and of course his adapting to the style of WWE to contend with.

Nicely covered are his inclusion in the infamous 'Kliq' (alongside Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman). Which led to not only some backstage power, but his loss at the King of the Ring tournament , the infamous moment where Nash, Hall and the rest of the Kliq broke character damaged Paul's future for a short while at least here in the WWE (an event that saw Stone Cold Steve Austin win the title and take the WWE to new heights).

However Paul was not a man to give up his dream, so he weathered the storm of losses and even battled to add Chyna (Joanie Laurer) to his character and thus we had our very first ever female wresting bodyguard.

This partnership and his friendship with Shawn Michaels saw the formation of DX. A faction that broke all of the rules within the WWE and rode roughshod over the faces.

This led to some great matches and also the formation of similar factions to compete with the group. The biggest turning point for Triple H was when Michaels was injured and he had to carry the group for a while. Mind you it was not until DX broke up that the Triple H really picked up speed and had some of the finest matches and titles wins of his career.

We are also treated to behind the scenes looks at how his storyline romance with Stephanie McMahon became a reality.

There are also looks at the nasty injuries that almost ruined LeVesque's career, the formation of Evolution (Triple H, Batista, Flair and Randy Orton). His returns form injury and the inevitable return of a more comedic DX (2006), the PG era had to reduce the level of extremity the faction could do these days.

Proceedings here saw Triple H reduce his in-ring presence due to more injuries and his back stage roles.

Along the the way our subject was (like many WWE stars) a part-time actor. He netted himself roles in the Blade 3 and also his own movie vehicle 'The Chaperone'. However he states here that he is not really into movies and thinks that he is happy to do whatever pleases the fans.

The documentary winds up by telling us how Triple H felt about Shawn Michaels retiring, his getting a real job (in the WWE boradroom), having a family and where he sees his future.

From a match point of view we only get to see one WCW encounter (unfortunately). However it is a belter with WWE legend Ricky Steamboat. We also get to see matches with Mick 'Dude Love' Foley, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and a few other key WWE stars.

Blu-ray buyers will also see a wide range of extra features as well.

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come is available now from all good retailers now.

DVD RRP £29.99/Blu-ray £34.99

wwe.com

By Phil Allely/Kate McMichael

DVD Review: WWE Night of Champions 2013

The WWE PPV Night of Champions came hot on the heels of the very successful SummerSlam event and offered up a few opportunities for losing parties there to claim redemption.

SummerSlam had perhaps one of the biggest swerve turns of the year and here we get to witness the fall-out. Of course by now we all know that challenger Daniel Bryan was successful in his attempt to win the WWE Championship from John Cena at SS and yet he was then ripped off as special guest referee Triple H 'pedigreed' the new champ and allowed Randy Orton to win the gold in mere moments.

Night of Champions is an event that sees all of the WWE titles up for grabs and this year the event had an awful lot of momentum going for it. So what were we presented with here? Well of course we get to see Bryan take on Orton for the WWE Championship. There are also title defences by Alberto Del Rio, The Shield (WWE Tag Team Championship), Dean Ambrose (United States Championship), Curtis Axel (Intercontinental Championship) and AJ Lee (Divas Championship). 

We are also offered a handicap scrap between CM Punk and the combo of Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman. There is also a fine match-up involving The Miz and Fandango. 

This PPV event is a nice addition to the WWE calendar and one that did indeed achieve what it intended to do (rather than tread water). We get to see Daniel Bryan tackle the sneaky Randy Orton, ECW legend Rob Van Dam get his first title shot since his return to the company and Paul Heyman's luck run out as he has to step into the ring with his former client CM Punk.

All in all this is a show that ticks many boxes and offers up some nice storyline progression as well.

Extras wise we get the Tag Team Turmoil kick-off show match , featuring the Uso's, Primetime Player, Tons of Fun, Real Americans and 3MB (DVD), Blu-ray buyers will also get Randy Orton's coronation from Raw, CM Punk versus Axel Curtis, Daniel Bryan versus Dean Ambrose and some other segments from Raw.

Night of Champions is available now from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray)

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE Live Review @ The Odyssey Arena Belfast November 2013

WWE Live Review: The Odyssey Belfast, November 2013

Each year I am  fortunate enough to be able to not only attend the bi-annual live wrestling shows by the WWE, but we also get to review them as well.

This year however we have decided to take a slightly different slant with out review and instead of just giving you our loyal and treasured readers a run down of the matches, our reviewer Phil Allely has opted to critique the whole event instead.

WWE live shows over the last few years especially have seen some of the industry's biggest names grace NI's shores and of course that has led fans to turn out in record numbers to see them. I for one have been fortunate enough to have seen such names as Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Kane all enter the ring in the Odyssey Arena. There have also of course been appearances by more modern day heroes such as CM Punk, John Cena and Rey Mysterio, amongst others.

But this November we saw a card that was decidedly big name light and you know what it worked better for it. Irishman Sheamus was injured and we were also missing some heavy hitters like John Cena and Daniel Bryan, but believe it or not that actually made things easier for us fans.

Yes the merchandise stands were still full of Cena T-shirts etc. and the crowds did buy it, but the fun thing here for me was the way the show was laid out.

In the last few years the WWE has been slated for its more family friendly approach to wrestling and a distinct lack of blood, violence and extreme actions. However, one thing I will state is that whilst pay-per-views are of course pre-planned and scripted (due to TV cameras etc. being present), live house shows a re a very different beast.

Here mid-week in November Belfast was treated to a reasonably well-paced collection of matches that showed some of the WWE's mid-card players at their best and a few main eventers prove their worth.

This was a show for the whole family. The matches mostly featured a high level of audience involvement, there were elements of comedy and when the violence did kick in, it was not only believable, but intriguing.

A live WWE show is an amazing thing to witness. This is something that takes in so much more than the card itself. For many fans there are opportunities to perhaps stay or visit the hotel where the wrestlers stay and meet them. There are also a select few VIP events and shop-based meet and greets. One amazing aspect is the fact that fans in their droves will even visit the venue early to purchase merchandise prior to the show as well.

What I witnessed here was a WWE live show that was put together to prove a point. There were many big names missing, but this was the chance for the rest of the on-the-road crew to showcase their wares and they did it very well indeed.

Highlights for me were the wonderful entrance through the crowd by The Shield (which occurred right beside my seat). The long-awaited appearance by Goldust (who looked in amazing shape). The amazingly comedic performance by Santino against Fandango was the perfect opener too.

There were a few wee niggles however, a few matches over-ran and lost their appeal, plus I personally would have put the Rhodes/Big E Vs Shield match as a post-interval match rather than a pre one. One shame was that even though they mentioned him by name (and his family were there) NI wrestling legend Finlay was not there to make a surprise appearance.

All in all this live WWE show ticked all the boxes and yes there were some empty seats, but that is happening everywhere. The talent shone through and that is what counts.

Roll on the next live show in early 2014.

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD News: Hell In A Cell 2013 -dvd contents update

WWEDVD.co.uk is pleased to reveal that the exclusive DVD and Blu-ray extra content forHell in a Cell 2013. The DVD (and Blu-ray) will contain the Hell in a Cell Kickoff Show Match between Kofi Kingston and Damien Sandow, whilst the Blu-ray will include key highlights from RAW and SmackDown from the week preceeding the event. Check out the full list of extras below.

Hell in a Cell 2013 is available to pre-order now featuring the return of John Cenaas he takes on Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship in his first WWE match since his injury at SummerSlam! Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton collide again as they battle over the WWE Championship in the Cell, with his mentor, Shawn Michaels, acting as special guest referee can Daniel Bryan reclaim the WWE title? CM Punk takes on Ryback and his former best friend Paul Heyman in the Cell, can Punk finally give Heyman his just deserts?

DVD Extras

Hell in a Cell Kickoff Show Match

Kofi Kingston vs. Damien Sandow

CM Punk Reflects on Hell in a Cell

Exclusive 1st Interview with John Cena since Returning From Injury

Blu Ray Exclusives

Monday Night RAW 14^th October 2013  

Shawn Michaels Promises a New WWE Champion at Hell in a Cell

No Disqualification Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust

SmackDown 18^th October 2013 

CM Punk vs. Big E. Langston

Monday Night Raw 21^st October 2013    

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton Contract Signing

SmackDown 25^th October 2013 

Michael Cole Interviews Triple H

WWE DVD Review: Legends of Mid-South Wrestling

DVD Review: WWE - Legends of Mid-South Wrestling

As a long-time wrestling I have pretty much seen it all in the world of grappling and love nothing more than learning about promotions that I have very little knowledge of and yet they were crucial to the industry in their hey day.

Once such promotion was the legendary Mid-South wrestling organisation. This was perhaps one of the most important territories there was in American wrestling's history and this three disc DVD set proves just why that is so.

It is wonderful to see the WWE once again delve into the rich back catalogue of its video tape library and present us with a superbly presented look at a piece of wrestling history.

In the 1980s  Mid-south Wrestling was a hot-bed of wrestling action and it also boasted some soon to be big names alongside its own homegrown talent. So across these discs we get to see Ted DiBiase, Junkyard Dog, Jake Roberts, Dusty Rhodes, Jim Duggan, Magnum TA and many others, all of which went on to mainstream success.

The nice thing here is how the WWE have book-ended each match or segment with a interview or talking head piece about that event. It is so great to see some of our heroes now and also hear their first hand stories about these events.

Fans of 1980s wrestling will love to see some of the matches between The likes of JYD, Ted DiBiase, Rock 'n' Roll Express, Midnight Express, Jake Roberts and The Fabulous Freebirds. We also see wrestling legend Ric Flair drop by to take the wind out of Mid-South legend Terry Taylor's sails too. 

Legends of Mid-South wrestling is a very nice look back at one of wrestling's most influential companies and and it also highlights how they were able to do so. The matches are well chosen and the interviews are well selected. 

Fans old and new will savour this slick three disc set.

WWE: Legends of Mid-South Wrestling is available now from all good retailers.

RRP £29.99 (DVD), £34.99 (Blu-ray).

wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: Money in the Bank 2013

WWE DVD Review: Money in the Bank 2013

The Money in the Bank matches first appeared  few years back and since then they have grown in stature and now even have their own pay-per-view as well. This years effort was a very well received one and here it is for us all to own.

This year we also got to see the WWE use the event to build up the hype for SummerSlam and reinvigorate a few storylines as well

MITB is a simple enough premise. There are two marquee matches on the card and in each the prize u for grabs is a metal birefcase that contains a contract for a shot at the Title (at any time). This leads to many interesting storylines and match-ups. The matches themselves are also multiple participant affairs and they pretty much always deliver on the action front.

Damien Sandow vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Fandango vs Jack Swagger vs. Antonio Cesaro

The opening encounter here was interestingly the MITB scrap for a World Heavyweight Championship shot.

This is a fun match that features a rather unique concept. That being the seven combatants were all heel characters, so the crowd had to decide who to root for themselves and the action was needed to keep our attention. The end sequence worked very well too.

Curtis Axel vs. The Miz

The Intercontinental Title has lost a lot of its prestige in recent years and whilst Miz and Mr Perfect's son (Axel Curtis) is a decent enough match, there was something lacking here. Axel is coming along nicely with this latest character and does his family proud by showing some true in-ring talent. Miz though in my opinion will inevitably always be a mid-carder. 

AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn

The Divas division is one that I personally feel needs an overhaul. The WWE have some fine female grapplers and yet fail to utilise them to their best advantage. This was an average cat fight and saw the former best friends tackle each move with everything they had.

Ryback vs. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho (someone we have interview many times) is a part-timer now in the WWE and this match really did showcase that his time may well be over as a main eventer. Ryback was once the unstoppable 'Goldberg' type character and at this point in time he was jobbing to many as well. So in reality this should be a match where the pair took it upon themselves to show their worth.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler and Del Rio do it again this review should read. Why? well after thier hugely popular match at Extreme Rules, the duo did it once again here. They had already switched places in the heel/face divide and now we were presented with a smart long-term piece of booking by the WWE. 

This match deserves repeat viewing, hence the need to add this to your WWE DVD collection.

John Cena vs. Mark Henry

Now forgive me Cena fans, but I am not sold on him and never was if i am honest. But you cannot fault his appeal to the masses and the sheer volume of merchandise he shifts. The other reason why this match should not have worked for me was the fact that the barely mobile Mark henry was in the ring with him. However you know what this actually did work. Henry's Philadelphia fan base helped as well. The match itself was a strong man type thin and showed both men to be tough, strong guys. Henry especially came across as a real bad ass.

Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam vs. CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Christian

The main event MITB scrap for the WWE Championship was of course the big one and featured a lot more a-list WWE names. It also saw the return of Rob Van Dam to the fold. The combatants really went for it here and made this the match of the night. RVD provided some highlights, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk paid their dues as well. The only odd man out for me was Christian, who perhaps needs to upgrade his character.

MITB 2013 is available now from Freemantle Media and all good retailers.

On the extras front we also get: The pre-show match (The Shield versus The Uso's). 

Blu-Ray buyers will also get some matches (Kane/Christian, CM Punk/Randy Orton, Sheamus/Randy Orton) and some confrontations between some key wrestlers.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray

By Phil Allely

New AJ Lee pic

new pic of WWE's AJ Lee

WWE DVD Review: ECW - Unreleased Volume 2

In its heyday US wrestling promotion ECW was one of the hottest products on the market and it gave grapple fans something different to what the 'big two' company's were offering. That something was violence, enthusiasm and energy. These were things the company had loads of.

Paul Heyman (who is now back in the WWE) was the main man behind ECW and whilst the company did fold, due to money issues he created a very special thing here.

It is nice to see the WWE utilising the back catalogue of ECW footage (ECW was bought over by WWE) and letting the many fans of the promotion gain access to some of its older footage.

Here in one very nicely compiled DVD/Blu-ray package we have a wonderful snapshot of some of ECW's finest match-ups. The great thing here as well is that we have not seen these matches before and that makes this release all the more special.

ECW had a unique aura around it and this is captured perfectly here. The arena's were small, yet filled with energy and that transferred to each and every wrestler's performance.

From a match point of view we are presented with some superb lost battles involving Sabu, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and many more ECW names. There are also some surprises for even the most die hard fan, these feature such well known talent as The Steiner Brothers, hardcore legend Terry Funk and WCW stars Arn Anderson and 'Beautiful' Bobby Eaton. There are also some imported Japanese stars and much more thrown into the mix as well.

ECW - Unreleased Volume 2 is an above average DVD set and one that certainly adds to the legacy of Heyman's company. The match quality is amazing and the violence levels are through the roof. If you like to see bloodshed, people being hit by weapons (of all shapes and sizes) and enjoy seeing wrestling as it used to be before the PG ratings took over, then this is the package for you.

The image of Terry Funk and Mick Foley amid a ring full of metal chairs (thrown by the fans) is a sight to behold.

ECW - Unreleased Volume 2 is available now from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers
DVD RRP £24.99/Blu-ray £29.99
Blu-ray extras include a number of additional matches.
wwe.com
By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: The Best of In Your House

In the mid-1990s the WWE created a new concept in pay-per-view programming. This idea was to make a number of PPV's that were of the same quality as the 'big four' Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Entitled In Your House these events were cheaper in price than the main events we were used to and yet they often featured some high quality bouts.

The concept did not last forever, but during its duration there were a number of excellent encounters between many WWE superstars, who were at the very top of their game.

This 3 disc set takes a nice look at the IYH franchise and documents the best it had to offer.

There were 28 IYH events in total over a five year period and whist the original premise (a real-life fan won a house) became a thing of the past, the match quality did not. There were often better battles on these events than those appearing on the main shows.

So what can you expect here then? Well first up mid-90s on air WWE presenter Todd Pettengill returns to host the DVD and that certainly makes proceeding special for more long-term fans. Pettengill is perfect for the role and does have some nice anecdotes as well.

From a match point of view you get a reasonable mix of impressive scraps, near classics and all out exceptional encounters here.

Stand-outs for your reviewer are the 'No Holds Barred' war between Shawn Michaels and Diesel, Shawn Michaels versus Mankind, Steve Austin v Bret Hart v Vader v The Undertaker, the ten man tag from 'Ground Zero' and to be honest a great number more.

The Best of In Your House is a wonderful DVD release and one that has been long-awaited by many. The extras are pretty good too.

Available now via www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers this release is available on DVD (RRP £24.99) and Blu-ray (RRP £34.99).
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By Phil Allely

WWe Review - SummerSlam 2013

WWE crown 2 champions at SummerSlam

By Phil Allely

WWE's mid-year highlight PPV SummerSlam delivered not one, but two WWE title holders in one night. First up Daniel Bryan worked the socks off then champ John Cena in a superbly paced and well worked main event. Here Cena and Bryan embarked on a wonderful story of highs, lows, near falls, high spots and much more. Special guest referee Triple H played his role perfectly too. Bryan's win was an inspired one as well, however the swerve turn that followed was even more so. As Bryan relished in his title win and celebrations Money in the Bank case holder Randy Orton interupted proceedings. The big story here though was Triple H turning on new champ Bryan and his subsequent 'pedigree' that allowed Orton to snag himself yet another world title.

The card itself in a slightly slow manner with Rob Van Dam challenging Dean Ambrose for his United States Championship. The match was OK, but never really reached the peaks an on from RVD could do. The inclusion of Ambrose's fellow Shield members, Mark Henry and Big Show all did help here, but not as much as the WWE expected. Van Dam lost out on the title via DQ, when Rollins nailed a spear on him under the ref's watchful eye.

The Wyatt family then took Kane to school in a 'ring of fire' encounter. The concept here was that flames around the ring would contain the action and enhance events between Bray and the mighty Kane. The biggest thing here was that the Wyatt crew were able to get involved in some way and bypass the fire. The once unstoppable Kane was put down for the count with ease it seems and was also carried off to a fate we may yet hear about.

Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were the future of the WWE's tag team division in many peoples opinion. But now not too far down the line, here we had them going toe-to-toe in a nice scrap. Rhodes did redeem himself well but and pulled of a nice win over the 'money in the bank winner'.

Many fans hope that in this latest run with the company Christian gets his best shot at a title and here yet again he came so close. This time around the world Heavyweight Title Holder used his skills to work Christian's arm and evoke a submission victory, to retain his cherished belt.

Natalya versus Brie Bella quickly evolved in to a cat fight and that worked well here. A shrpshooter from the Hart family affiliate rounded this match off nicely.

Brock Lesnar and CM Punk then went on to have one amazing battle in the ring. The guys here weaved such an in-ring tale here that you simply had to watch it. Hard moves came thick and fast and the set-pieces were top notch as well. Paul Heyman and a steel chair were instrumental in the finish, but what will Brock's win lead too we wonder.

The Dolph Ziggler/Kaitlyn & Big E Langston/AJ Lee bout was OK, but did not really impress we have to say. This was merely a filler scrap and it felt like it, Ziggler and Kaitlyn won by the way.

SumerSlam was an ambitious event in many ways. It did falter a few times, but the pacing did pick up. We must also feel for Daniel Bryan, after all he has now seen his title dreams stolen away by an opportunistic young man called Randy Orton. This means the main event scene sill be shaken up again and we need that don't we?

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Live in the UK - April 2013

WWE DVD Review: Live in the UK – April 2013

The WWE only travel to our shores twice a year here in the UK/Ireland and as such these events are highly charged ones for the most part. Recent years have seen the company bring as many of their big name stars and they can and even go so far as to record episodes of their weekly Raw and Smackdown shows here too.

This two disc set features all of the events that took place at the O2 Arena in London during the WrestleMania Revenge tour (April 2013). This means you get to see complete episodes of Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and never aired in the UK instalments of Main Event, Superstars and Saturday Morning Slam.

Talent wise the WWE brought a fair number of their big hitters here. Which was not surprising considering the shows were going to be broadcast. What was special was the inclusion of Undertaker on the shows. It had been a number of years since Taker stepped into a UK ring and yet here was participating in two matches (one for Raw, one for Smackdown). That name alone will insure this set sells well with fans.

Of course any of us who attended any of the April 2013 live shows will want to possess this snapshot of the tour, to remind them of what they witnessed. After all the matches may have changed slightly, but many of the grapplers featured here were at the other houses shows too.

Highlights from Raw include Dolph Ziggler facing Chris Jericho, Undertaker & Team Hell No versus The Shield and UK hero William Regal (on his farewell tour) battling Fandango. There are of course numerous other features here and even a few other matches.

Smackdown offers up a fine No DQ scrap between Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger, Layla versus Aksana, Undertaker tackling Shield member Dean Ambrose and Wade Barrett taking on fellow Uk star William Regal. As with Raw there are other features here too.

Of course we also have the episodes of Superstars and Saturday Morning Slam too. Both of which have a few nice matches as well.

On the extras front we get a fine outing from the UK-based PPV Rebellion held in November 2001. Which featured an on form Chris Jericho versus an equally slick Kurt Angle.

WWE Live in the UK : April 2013 is available now from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

RRP £17.99

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: War Games - WCW's Most Notorious Matches

WWE DVD Review: War Games – WCW's Most Notorious Matches

Cage matches have been part of wrestling for a long time now. More modern viewers of course be aware of such structures as the 'Hell in a Cell' and 'Elimination Chamber' cages. But long before they saw the light of day there was the formidable feud ending 'War Games' match. Up until then the cage match was a rather clunky affair that offered up blood, but no real excitement.

War Games changed all of that. Created by WWE hall of famer Dusty Rhodes this was a match that took the traditional cage environment and put a unique spin on it.

Hosted by Rhodes himself this three disc set takes a look at each and every War Games encounter ever made. The design of the match was simple and yet very effective, WCW took two rings and encased them in a steel cage. Two teams would face off in the match, but as per the stipulation two men started and then after an allotted time members of each would enter alternately.

In the majority of these scraps the heels would always hold the advantage (even though a coin toss was supposed to make that a random thing). This of course added to the atmosphere and made us the fans cheer on the faces.

For the most part the matches here are above average. There are a few duds, but fair play to the WWE for including them all and letting us make the decision as to what works and what doesn't.

Highlights for me are the original match (1987) featuring Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering versus The Four Horsemen (Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson) and JJ Dillon. Which set the standard for this type of match and really does stand the test of time.

Another stand-out match is the 1991 Wrestle War bout between The Four Horsemen (Flair, Sid Vicious, Barry Windham, Larry Zbyszko) and the unit of Sting, Brian Pillman and The Steiner Brothers. This was a very brutal and hard-hitting affair and one that showed all involved at their best.

Other worthy additions are the ones involving Stings Squadron and The Dangerous Alliance, the Tower of Doom match and of course the first time we saw Hulk Hogan enter the structure in 1995.

On the minus side some matches, as stated previously are less worthy of repeated viewing. They still possess some interesting moments. The N.W.O. Make an appearance or two and some work better than others. The infamous Shockmaster turns up too (the former Fred 'Tugboat' Ottman) making a very bad first impression on WCW fans.

War Games was a wonderful concept and one that I do hope the WWE resurrect even for a one-off event.

Yes we have Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber and other similar matches, but there will only ever be one truly exhilarating cage match and it is War Games.

This set is slickly produced (as expected) and will most certainly appeal to many fans of WCW and those who long to explore the history of the industry beyond the WWE. Newer fans may find it less interesting, but to be perfectly honest everyone who says they like wrestling should give this. The matches here are (mainly) from an era where the action spoke for itself and storylines were more of an afterthought. Which is something we do not see as much these days. The matches themselves are also predominantly stiff and at times bloody. They are also unbelievably inviting and innovative at the same time.

Blu-ray buyers get a match Rage in the Cage match from Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993), the Ultimate Jeopardy scrap from ECW's December to Dismember (1995) and a similar encounter from ECW's Cyber Slam 1999.

War Games: WCW's Most Notorious Matches in available now from all good retailers.

RRP £29.99 (DVD), £39.99 (Blu-ray)

www.wwedvd.co.uk

www..wwe.com

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD Review: TLC - Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2012

WWE DVD Review: TLC – Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2012

To round off 2012 the WWE offered up its TLC pay-per-view.

TLC is an interesting event to witness. It is also one that does exactly what it says on the tin, as in it offers us a tables match, a ladders match and a chairs match, plus we also get them all combined in one TLC encounter.

This time around we got to see Irishman Sheamus and Big Show battle it out in a hard-hitting chairs match. John Cena and Dolph Ziggler had a belter of a ladder match for Ziggler's Money In The Bank briefcase.The Shield were also on hand to challenge the mighty trio of Team Hell No and Ryback in a match that really put the faction on the map.

The TLC concept has been watered down slightly in the more PG version of the WWE, but that is not to say that the concept is lost on its new audience. In fact it is quite the opposite, the action is now a lot more intense and the lack of blood, headshots or other career shortening moves make things all the more enjoyable.

The elevation of The Shield as a worthy addition to the WWE roster started here and it is very good to see the company do such a thing at long last.

There are many surprises during TLC 2012 and the match quality is certainly above par throughout.

On the extras front the DVD has an interview with Dolph Ziggler (by Matt Striker). The Blu-ray however has a wealth of additional features. These includes matches and excerpts from the December 16^th Monday Night Raw event and the December 18^th Smackdown shows. Highlights here are Ric Flair presenting the Slammy to the Superstar of the Year, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and Tommy Dreamer facing 3BM, Ryback versus Antonio Cesaro and a Miz TV segment with AJ Lee, Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.

TLC (Tables, Ladders, Chairs) 2012 is available now from all good retailers.

RRP £17.99 (DVD), £19.99 (Blu-ray)

Www.wwedvd.co.uk

www.wwe.com

By Phil Allely