WWE DVD Review: Wrestlemania XXVIII

WWE DVD Review: WrestleMania XXVIII By Phil Allely The WWE of course always throw not only a huge amount of money at their annual PPV extravaganza WrestleMania, but they do also attempt to load the card with matches that merit the stature of the event. This year the company built the pay-per-view around two very promising matches and padded the the remainder out with some interesting and potentially exciting encounters. The two main high points for fans were the matches between The Rock and John Cena (which had a year long build up) and the hugely hyped re-match between Triple H and The Undertaker, which this time around was held within the confines of the Hell in a Cell cage. This DVD set not only features all of the PPV matches and the arena only dark match, but there are also some classic matches from The Rock and the entire Hall of Fame ceremony. From a match point of view the Taker/Triple H and Rock/Cena ones are of course the stand-outs. Shawn Michaels presence as special guest referee in the Cell certainly gives the ageing combatants a helping hand and shows that even though he is no longer an active competitor in the WWE ring Michaels can still make is mark there. The Daniel Bryan/Sheamus World Title match is worth a viewing (after the debacle at Mania 27), Team Teddy V Team Johnny has its moments and the WWE Championship match between Chris Jericho and CM Punk is a nicely paced affair. For many fans the crowning glory of this three disc set is the Hall of Fame Ceremony. This is a great event to witness and will appeal to fans old and new. The inductees are all worthy of their inclusion and each man (or their representative) genuinely appear moved to be there. Watch out for the reaction The Four Horsemen receive (this is the classic Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon line-up), especially when you consider the fact that Flair was still under contract to TNA when he appeared on WWE TV. Dusty Rhodes may be a slight bit hard to understand, but he does a great job of introducing us to the legendary WCW/NWA stable here. Also of note is Christian's induction of his long time friend Edge, Christian offers up a funny, emotional and poignant speech that hits all the right spots and will make even the most hardened wrestling fan have a lump in their throat with its tone and delivery, Edge matches this and much more with his speech. The Mike Tyson induction is a real surprise too, his inductee's DX (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) ,make a superb comedy double act and this really adds to what could have been a very flat induction. WrestleMania XXVIII is a DVD every wrestling fan should own, the main PPV works well for the most part and the extras are more than worth the cost alone. WrestleMania XXVIII is available now from all good retailers and www.silvervision.co.uk Three Disc DVD RRP £29.99/Blu-ray RRP £34.99 By Phil Allely