Undertaker's Deadliest Matches DVD Review

The Undertaker’s Deadliest Matches

By Phil Allely

The Undertaker has been one of the WWE’s most enduring and most popular characters for the majority of his 20 year career to date. From his Survivor Series debut alongside manager Brother Love, to his more well-known stints as Paul Bearer’s undead monster and even through the ill-fated biker and short haired-stints as an ‘American badass’. Taker has always been there in the WWE for many of us, in fact very few of today’s fans would even recognise the man who would become Undertaker as he plied his trade in such promotions as WCW (where he was a ginger haired, heart punching monster under the wing of manager extraordinaire Paul Heyman and as Sid Vicious’ Skyscraper replacement, before Vince McMahon repackaged him as the pale faced man with supernatural abilities we know now).

This three disc set (released on 13th September) has had to dig deep into the WWE vaults to bring some previously unreleased matches to the fore, after all, over the last few years Taker has been in many of the WWE’s most famous, well received and successful matches, which of course means we already have them included on box sets, PPV releases and perhaps even DVD/VHS recordings. Luckily the WWE took this as the challenge it should be and went through the past 20 years of Undertaker’s destruction of their roster with a fine tooth comb.

So what gems are on offer here?, I hear you ask. Well before I start, remember that the original incarnation of Taker was one that saw a lot of action with some really dodgy wrestlers, he was pitted against some huge guys with little talent and forced to bring some type of decent match from them. Thankfully there are only a few of these here though, as even back then they did lack any real appeal or long term excitement. The majority of bouts here are ones that have been missed of previous DVD releases and ones that have some form of meaning rather than simply padding out a set.

What’s great about this set is that we get to see the Undertaker in his many guises and characterisations throughout his career. For every so-so match against someone like Kama, Big Daddy V or Kamala, there are some superb brawls with Mankind (a man who knew how to evoke a five star bout from Taker), ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Batista and Kane thrown in for good measure and some interesting, quirky and different matches with guys like The Ultimate Warrior, The Dudleys, Edge, Heidenreich, Randy & Bob Orton and Big Show.

Also featured are a few of the oddly entertaining and now probably never to be seen again matches from ‘the dead man’s’ illustrious career. The new WWE PG style will mean that these discs are the only place you’ll see such things as a brutal Boiler Room Brawl, Inferno, bloody Hell in a Cell, First Blood, Concrete Crypt or a Body Bag stipulation.

The Undertaker’s Deadliest Matches covers over 20 of Mark Calaway’s best and most interesting fights of his WWE Tenure, yes quality does vary, but as I’ve said before the weaker entries are actually eventful and worthy of being here. The better offerings are perhaps likely to be doubled up in your collection, but they do suit this set more and will help it appeal to a long time Taker fan, and the newcomer alike.

This is a rare release in that it takes in all of its chosen characters nuances and storylines, not simply the best or highlight friendly bits. Taker for many years was wasted talent wise in the WWE and here we see him go through his paces against some unworthy opponents, but somehow he pulls a good match out of them and therein lies his skill. Of course he is still doing this even today, although injuries etc do mean he has to take some lengthy breaks between them to pull such matches off. As a homage to the career of Undertaker this is a worthy addition to the previous DVD releases based on him, perhaps its even the best, as it gives a broader spectrum of coverage to his legacy in the WWE than they did.

I give this three disc set a 9 out of 10.

Undertaker’s Deadliest Matches is released on 13th September by Silvervision, check out www.silvervision.co.uk for more information.