WWE DVD Review: WrestleMania 29

WWE DVD Review: WrestleMania 29

It is the biggest show in the WWE calendar and it also one of the most sought after wrestling show tickets too. It is of course WrestleMania. This is the show that even the most die hard anti-WWE fan will take notice of and maybe even watch as well.

WM is the event that kick started the WWE's rise to global domination and means so much to so many fans across the globe as well.

Now nearly 30 years on the event still send goosebumps down the spine of many as they eagerly await the action to start. The WWE have now rather cunningly made this a weekend long event too, with fan events, signing and memorabilia on show too. Alongside countless veteran and current roster members, there is also the annual Hall Of Fame Ceremony.

Now back to the DVD at hand. First up like many Mania's of recent years there are a few poor matches here, but when things kick off they really kick off in style.

This event was a card of three parts. First up we had John Cena taking on The Rock for the WWE Championship. Which was of course a marked improvement on their previous encounters. However it did come at a cost to Rock who absorbed some nasty injuries along the way.

Next on the fans hit list was the ultra intense 'No Holds Barred' scrap between Brock Lesnar and Triple H. They certainly had their work boots on here. You could feel every bump like it was your own body.

But of course the match most people were yearning to see was the return of Undertaker to defend his winning streak against young upstart CM Punk. Punk had after all belittled the memory of the late Paul Bearer and was certainly a hated man before the get go. Considering he rarely makes more than one appearance a year these days Taker showed no signs of slowing down. Although by the end you could see his pain and delight in what he had just participated in.

Elsewhere on this well put together CD set you get the pre-show encounter between Wade Barrett and The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. The Shield making their WM debut against the trio of Randy Orton, Sheamus and The Big Show. The Tag Team titles on the line as Team No Hell defend against Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston. Chris Jericho facing the over the top Fandango and Jack Swagger tackle the World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio.

The under card and World Title match are all worthy additions here, the main issue is that some play out to indifference. Fandango, The Shield and Ziggler come out of proceedings very well indeed I must add.

On the extras front we are as always spoilt for Mania moments and choice. The Hall Of Fame footage is superb and very interesting. Younger fans may skip through a few inductions of course, but those old enough to remember Bob Backlund, Bruno Samartino and even celeb Donald Trump will enjoy their montages and speeches. Backlund is hilarious and Samartino seems very moved to be there.

More modern entrants Mick Foley, Trish Stratus and Booker T are also very well received and each makes us feel their pride as they give their speech. It was especially nice to see Booker's brother Stevie Ray on TV again. Foley was as expected totally over the top with his section of the show, but we come to expect that from him these days.

There is also the post-show event from the MetLife Stadium too.

Blu-Ray owners get even more bang for their buck here with some episodes of Monday Night Raw, the Triple H/Lesnar contract signing, CM Punk challenge to end the streak and a Q&A with John Cena and The Rock.

WrestleMania 29 is a roller coaster of a ride from start to finish. There are some dips along the way, but when it climbs it does indeed climb. The final flourish of matches here will certainly leave you on an adrenaline high.

WrestleMania 29 is available now via Freemantle Media.

Www.wwedvd.co.uk and all good retailers.

RRP £24.99 (DVD), £34.99 (Blu-Ray)

By Phil Allely

WWE DVD- Pre-order WrestleMania 29 and get an exclusive Dog tag

WWEDVD are delighted to announce that if you pre-order Wrestlemania 29 now on DVD or Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk you will receive an exclusive FREE WM29 Dog Tag and will be automatically entered into a competition to win an ultra rare signed WM29 chair.

Just click to pre-order Wrestlemania 29 which will be released on 3 Disc DVD , 2 Disc Blu-Ray and Digital Download formats on Monday 10th June. Your DVD will come in a special Limited Edition Dog Tag Pack, while the Blu-Ray will have the Dog Tag bagged and inside the Blu-Ray case. The Blu-Ray release will also contain at least 2 hours of Exclusive Extras not avaliable elsewhere. Just head over to the following link:

http://www.wwedvd.co.uk/wrestlemania-with-limited-edition-dogtag-p-11746.html

Please note that Dog Tag stocks are limited so get your order in early!

DVD Review: The Best of WrestleMania 1-14

WrestleMania is of course the pinnacle of the WWE's pay-per-view calendar. The event itself has seen some of the company's best matches, feuds begin or end and it has featured a host of well-known faces. WrestleMania was the wrestling event that saw the worlds or entertainment and wrestling unite, it worked so well that the industry has never looked back.

Of course there are many DVD releases looking at the history of the PPV and they all will showcase the event well. But what is nice here is that this disc runs us through the pivotal events form WM 1-14 at a nice speed.

Matches are shown in well-paced segments. We also get to see some specially made talking heads (old and new). We also get to see the event grow and build up its reputation as a must-see wrestling show.

Along the way we see 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper face off against TV star Mr T in a boxing match, Hulk Hogan battle the massive Andre The Giant, Randy Savage become world champion and the rift between Savage and Hogan unfold.

What is nice is we also get to learn how having celebrity involvement helped the PPV build up its profile and we get to see many of them here too.

Told in a punchy style this DVD takes us on a swift and concise trip through WM's early days (as number 30 soon approaches). Watch out for the well-told scrap between Hogan and Ultimate Warrior for the title at Mania 6.

Watch out for early appearances by future champs Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart (amongst others). We also get to see some pretty recent interviews with them too.

The Undertaker's debut is here as well, we have to feel sorry for the legend that is Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka in that one. He did after all become the first man to fall to Taker's streak.

Sgt Slaughter's anti-American slant is featured briefly. There are also spots showing Undertaker wiping out foe after foe. Randy Savage's epic encounter with Ric Flair and we also see the rise of the next generation of WWE super stars.

This is where the likes of Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon came to the fore. Their ladder match was a genuinely exciting piece to view. We actually feel the pairs pain throughout.

There was also the highly anticipated and well told encounter between 'Bam Bam' Bigelow and former American footballer Lawrence Taylor.

There are also appearances by boxing legend Mike Tyson and other stars of stage, screen and more along the way too.

One curious aspect was the brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust, which saw Piper strip his opponent down to a set of female underwear.

When you look back at the first 14 WrestleMania's you of course think of all of the above and the rich history they bring. The characters, the storyline's and the memories each installment brought with it.

Of course this was also the period which saw the WWE change and adapt to its surroundings. Here we met the Attitude Era up close and personal.

The Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart Iron Man match may be tough to view in full. But the edited version here is perfect.

The real highlight of this release is (your reviewers mate) 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's rise as the ultimate tough guy of the WWE. His WM 13 battle with Bret Hart is iconic and brutal to view. This was the match that Austin became a legitimate WWE star. The ending is one of wrestling's most iconic.

To see Austin pass out in a pool of his own blood is amazing to see yet again.

We also see Undertaker battle fellow big men Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Psycho Sid (Sid Eudy). All of which fall under is undefeated streak remit.

WM 14 saw Kane face-off against his brother Kane. This was an amazing match and still is today.

Finally WM 14 offered up our friend Steve Austin's match with Shawn Michaels for the world title. The ending here was superb, guest enforcer Mike Tyson turning on DX leader Michaels and Austin standing victorious.

By Phil Allely

William Regal: I'm celebrating my 30th year in wrestling on the UK 2013 Raw Tour

William Regal: I'm celebrating my 30th year in wrestling on the UK 2013 Raw Tour

BY Phil Allely

WWE superstar William Regal has revealed he is set to celebrate his 30th year of wrestling by participating in the upcoming UK/Ireland tour.

Regal (Darren Mathews) is currently a commentator of WWE show NXT and has had a memorable in-ring career to date. The 44 year old has overcome battles with drugs, illness and heart issues to become a very valuable part of the WWE family. 

Many fans would love to see Regal take his mic work to either Smackdown or Raw and inject some of his humour and knowledge into those programes too. Fans have also been vocal about the fact that the veteran has been taken off the active roster (unless he is needed to fill-in for an injured star).

Those UK-based fans will be relishing this new announcement by Wiliam on twitter 'I've been told I will be on the UK Raw tour this April. Spoil yourselves and come see my almost 45 year old carcass in trunks. I'm thinking of having a 30th year anniversary (it will be 30 years since my first match this coming August) T Shirt made for this tour.'

Veteran Regal worked his way up from low-paying UK shows in the golden age of ITV wrestling, to taking up an offer by WCW, there he made a name for himself with countless hard-hitting matches against many of the companies top names. His feud with Ireland's Fit Finlay and Chris Benoit are stuff of legend.

Regal progressed to the WWE where various substance abuse problems unfortunately halted his progress. Regal did however get the opportunity to return to WCW and rebuild his career. This time when WWE came calling again he was fit and ready to join their roster. Although he has never won a world title Matthews has held gold in in the WWE, WCW and for UK promotions. Many of his matches have gone down in the history books and he is still a very valuable member of the roster. 

You can catch up with William Regal on WWE NXT shows and as part of April's WrestleMania Revenge UK/Ireland Tour.

WWE DVD Review: Rock Versus Cena - Once in a Lifetime

WWE DVD Review: Rock Vs Cena – Once in a Lifetime. Over three discs this special WWE DVD box set gives us the viewer an inside peak at the hype that surrounded the year long build up to the eventual match-up between The Rock and John Cena. Starting with the in-ring banter and bickering that hyped up a possible feud we get to see both men in fine form on the microphone. The Rock proves very quickly that his Hollywood hiatus hasn't slowed him down, he is still a master of the mic and one of the all time greats in the world of the WWE. As the story unfolds we get to see Rocky return to a WWE ring, his encounters with Cena and challenges get issued. It may seem a bit extreme to have three discs housing all of these events, but in all honesty it takes it to cover each of the year long series of events, that the WWE compiled to make the inevitable one-on-one scrap the one not to miss at WrestleMania. On the match front we get a few key ones and they are quite rightly the best examples of how the back story to this gathered pace. The John Cena and Mizz match-up has a few nice surprises (which we will not spoil), the Survivor Series teaming of Rock/Cena against Miz/R-Truth is a well-paced affair that not only highlights Cena's love-hate relationship with the WWE faithful, but how well he and Rock gel together. This match really did its job and made us all long for the WrestleMania match between the two. That match of course is featured here and rounds off the set nicely. Rock Vs Cena – Once in a Lifetime is the perfect example of just how good the WWE can be. They took a potential one-off match between a former superstar and current one, they hyped it up, built it well and finally pulled the trigger at just the right point. The wrestling world has a reputation for pulling the plug on such lengthy storylines and never explaining them or reducing them to a farce by over complicating them. This is the exception to the rule and one that every fan should indeed own if they can. Www.silvervision.co.uk RRP £29.99 By Phil Allely

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

WWE PPV Review: WrestleMania 28

WWE PPV Review - WrestleMania 28

By Phil Allely

WrestleMania is the event of the year as far as the WWE are concerned, it gets a huge build up and the company always try to pull out all of the stops to ensure the card has the odds stacked in the companies favour.

2012’s event was centred around two mega match-ups, movie star The Rock’s return to the ring against company figurehead John Cena and the return match between Undertaker and Triple H. Both matches were highly anticipated and well prepared for, the question was would a Hollywood star, and two part-time wrestlers (alongside the only full time roster member Cena) be able to maintain the crowds attention and keep everyone interested in proceedings?

The dark match opener saw the combos of The Uso’s and Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd tackle WWE Tag Team Champs Primo/Epico in a fun encounter. This was of course left off the PPV, but will undoubtedly feature on the DVD release. The champions retained the gold after some nice exchanges.

WrestleMania proper kicked off with the World Heavyweight Title match-up. Challenger Sheamus made short work of his opponent Daniel Bryan here. Bryan spent a short while stalling and then caught a hard ‘brogue kick’ to lose the match and his treasured belt. Shamus is now once again flying the flag for Ireland as world champion.

Next up Kane and Randy Orton had a decent scrap, both men tried their best to keep things moving along and they did it admirably. Kane pulled off the win with a second rope ‘choke slam’.

The Intercontinental Title was on the line next, champ Cody Rhodes defending his gold against the mammoth Big Show. This was good David/Goliath stuff, show overpowered Rhodes with ease and Cody used his wits and skills to bring the big man down to his size as often as he could. A spear and knockout punch from Show finished things though, giving us our second title change of the night.

As per usual the Divas were given very little time to build momentum in their match. Here we saw Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres face Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos. The teams worked well, the moves were reasonable performed and each got a few moments to strut their stuff. Menounos rolled up Phoenix to pick up the win for her team.

The Hell in a Cell match between Undertaker and Triple H was a much hyped affair and one that we all hoped would match that build up. Undertaker had been off TV and out of the ring since Mania 27 and Triple H had been semi-retired since that brutal match-up too. Adding the cell and special guest referee Shawn Michaels to the mix was sure to help gloss over any ring rust the competitors had. We also got to see the new short-haired Taker too.

The HIAC match was as expected a back and forth violent encounter (of course with no blood). The pair utilised the steel structure to their advantage and Michaels kept the pace moving well too. The combatants worked well together and made the magic from last year happen once again. Undertaker’s Mania winning streak was on the line of course and the audience did think it was possibly going to come to an end. The match ended after numerous trademark moves, near falls and ref bumps. Taker eventually nailed a ‘Tombstone’ to put Triple H down for the three-count. With the 20-0 sign flashing Taker, Michaels and Triple H embraced on the stage to huge applause.

After a Hall of Fame video package, featuring The Four Horsemen, Edge, Ron Simmons and Mike Tyson, amongst others. We were once again back to the matches.
The unnecessary team match between Team Laurinaitis and Team Long was up next and even with the winning team leader becoming both Raw & Smackdown GM it didn’t set the world alight.

This enjoyable, but at times plodding scrap saw Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Drew McIntyre and David Otunga (Team Laurinaitis) face Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston, The Great Khali, R-Truth, Booker T and Santino Marella.

With so many bodies around the ring this was a match of short set-pieces, near falls, swift tags and comedy moments. The end saw The Miz hit the ‘skull crunching finale’ on Ryder to win the match for his team.

Post-match Eve struck a low blow on Ryder to hint at a heel turn.

Picking the pace up after the previous encounter were Chris Jericho and CM Punk. Here they were battling for Punk’s WWE Title and the speculation was that even with his band on tour over the Summer Jericho was on form to take the gold home with him in this one.

Punk and Jericho pulled off a superb match, thy built it perfectly, gelled wonderfully as opponents and traded near falls with ease. This was anyone’s match it seemed, the fans were really into this one. Punk eventually overcame the sneaky Jericho for the tap out win via ‘anaconda vice’.

After a one year build-up the main event between John Cena and The Rock had an awful lot to live up to. Fortunately it did just that and more, this was a match for the ages and one that saw The Rock roll back the years and highlight just how good he is as a performer.

The crowd were firmly behind Rock throughout, Cena receiving an unhealthy amount of boos. The pair went through their routines well, it may have been a meticulously planned match, but to casual fans this looked awesome in its delivery.

Rock looked slick as ever and delivered each move as crisply as he did in his prime, Cena for his faults went through the motions and both hit their trademark moves for near falls too. The match finished as predicted with the Rock successfully nailing a ‘rock bottom’ for the popular pin.

WrestleMania was a very good card from the WWE, we saw some new champs crowned, one man become the Raw/Smackdown GM and two epic encounters play out before our very eyes.

Some of the matches will be re-enacted during the upcoming WrestleMania Revenge Tour, but the big results here were Undertaker once again holding on to his winning streak, The Rock beating Cena in their grudge match and in the subsequent Raw the return of Brock Lesnar to the company.

By Phil Allely

The bets are o for Cena/Rock At Wrestlemania

The Rock 5/4 to lay the smack down at WrestleMania XXVIII












The Rock is the 5/4 outsider to defeat 10-time WWE Champion John Cena in Sky Bet’s WrestleMania XXVIII market as the online betting company opens the book on professional wrestling for the first time in its history.







The actor, has not competed inside the squared circle since swapping wrestling for Hollywood in 2007 and is an outside bet against the organisation’s golden boy Cena (4/7).







The Undertaker is also in action against Triple H in a ‘Hell in the Cell’ encounter, aiming to continue his remarkable run at WrestleMania, where he has won 19 consecutive bouts.







Unsurprisingly, ‘Taker is 1/7 favourite to beat the former D-Generation X founder – who is 4/1 to end his opponent’s streak.







Elsewhere, CM Punk (4/6) takes on Chris Jericho (5/4) for the WWE Championship, Daniel Bryan (11/4) faces Irish star Sheamus (1/4) for the World Heavyweight title and Intercontinental champion Cody Rhodes (10/11) defends his belt against the Big Show (4/5).







Sky Bet’s wrestling compiler Ben Wright said: “Rock v Cena is a hard match to call, one that everyone has been weighing up for an entire year.







“When these two superstars enter the ring and the microphones are dropped, it’s going to be a match to remember.







“If anyone can stop the Undertaker’s streak becoming 20-0 it is Triple H. With Shawn Michaels as special guest referee ‘The Game’ has the advantage over ‘Taker and at 4/1, there is good value in the Undertaker’s WrestleMania legacy coming to an end in Miami.”







Sky Bet’s WrestleMania XXVIII betting: http://www.skybet.com/wrestling/wrestlemania-xxviii

Big Daddy V for WrestleMania 28/

Former WWE Superstar Big Daddy V (Nelson Frazier Jr.) was scheduled for the Wild Out Wrestling promotion's "Betrayed" event on March 31st at the Giant Flea Market in Union City, Tennessee. The former WWE King of the Ring was set to take part in a multi-man match with Kamala Jr. - Team Kamala vs. Team Showtime.

Kamala Jr. announced last night on Facebook that the event has been moved from March 31st to April 14th due to Big Daddy V being booked by WWE.

A source very close to Big Daddy V reports that WWE has him booked and he will indeed be at WrestleMania 28.

DVD Review Wrestlemania XXVII

DVD Review: WWE Wrestlemania XXVII


By Phil Allely

Wrestlemania needs no introduction these days, the event is of course the pinnacle of WWE’s programming and the one event that they throw more money at than any other throughout the year. So with injuries plaguing the company and some big names leaving for various reasons what had Vince McMahon and his crew got up their sleeves to make 2011 the best PPV ever?

As always the WWE invited a host of TV, Music and Movie stars to Mania, appearances by Snoop Dogg, Jersey Shore’s Snooki and Keri Hilson all worked reasonably well. Retro stars and low card players also popped up in some nice backstage vignettes. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s stare off with guest host The Rock was a lovely piece of TV.

This was also the event where the WWE dropped the ball somewhat and missed a golden opportunity to let (the now retired) Edge bow out of the wrestling business in style at the event of the year. His match with Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio may not have been booked as the opening bout of the card and most certainly the result would have been very different if Edge’s health situation had been made clearer. This was a shame as the encounter worked well and Del Rio’s push was in full swing in the lead up to the event.

Next up Rey Mysterio versus ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes was a fun match-up. Both working well and Rhodes especially proved himself as a performer by making sure the banged up Mysterio was protected during some risky moves.

In another example that the shows timing was off (the first being the Daniel Bryan/Sheamus US Title Match being bumped to the pre-show dark match) the Big Show/Kane/Santino Marella/Kofi Kingston and The Corre battle had far too little time to build any momentum and any real crowd heat.

Randy Orton taking on CM Punk brought things back on track though, the pairing really going all out for a match of the night nod.

The 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees made their customary appearance next and all went down well (Sunny looking gorgeous), but comedy star Drew Carey did have to listen to many boos.

Following the HOFer’s (where Shawn Michaels stole the show) the hugely anticipated scrap between veteran Jerry Lawler and mouth-piece Michael Cole tried to keep the momentum going. This is a match that even with Steve Austin as guest referee could have used some cutting of its duration. Odds are Bryan and Sheamus were not amused at all, those extra minutes of course could have given them their Mania moment.

In the match of the night Undertaker defended his undefeated streak against (the only WWE star suitable to tackle it) Triple H. Both men gave their all and this match is well worth a few viewings to fully appreciate their dedication and intense effort.

The mixed six person tag featuring John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Snooki versus Dolph Ziggler and Lay-Cool was a good pace slower after the previous epic. Snooki deserving a good mention for her athleticism.

The main event had a lot to live up to and it did try its best to fulfil its obligations. John Cena and The Miz having the best match they could under the circumstances. Wrestlemania certainly wasn’t a failure as an event, it just had a few moments where planning and forethought could have gave it a better edge (pardon the pun) than it had.

The extras are what will ensure this DVD set sells well and deservedly so. First up is the Daniel Bryan/Sheamus US Title match (which evolved into a Lumberjack brawl/battle royal). There are also highlights of the Del Rio/Edge feud and legendary moments form previous Wrestlemania’s, these are fun, interesting and welcome additions to proceedings. Disc three houses the WWE Hall of fame ceremony in its entirety and to be honest probably makes this set all the more worthy of purchasing by being there. The ceremony has it all, heartfelt speeches, fun, entertainment, genuinely enthusiastic inductees and of course Shawn Michaels crowd-pleasing and tear-inducing bow out as an in-ring performer.

Wrestlemania XXVII is available now on 3 disc DVD and 2 disc Blu-ray.

Priced £29.99 (DVD) and £34.99 (Blu-ray), visit www.silvervision.co.uk for more information or check out your local retailer.

DVD Review WWE The True Story of Wrestlemania

WWE The True Story of WrestleMania By Phil Allely


It may seem odd to some that as the WWE try to step away from the word ‘Wrestling’ this latest DVD box set looks at the very wrestling event that put the company where it is today WrestleMania. Let’s concentrate on the main feature first. The two hour documentary style piece on offer here gives a pretty decent overview of how the concept for Mania grew out of Vince McMahon Jnr’s idea of combining rock and wrestling. With that collaboration initially between 1980s pop icon Cindi Lauper and the Hulk Hogan led (then) WWF, the seeds were sown to use the media, TV stars, pop stars and celebrities to boost the WWF’s profile and get the grapple game out of sweaty gyms and into the media spotlight.

Longtime fans will already know the story of how McMahon gambled most of his money on the first WrestleMania. Fortunately for him his dream of a wrestling supershow of epic proportions took the world by storm and has now evolved into the must-see event of the year for many of us (even the odd flop main event or lack of star power can’t harm the buzz Mania season brings).

The main feature houses a host of talking heads giving their insights, thoughts and stories of their Mania experiences. There are some vintage quotes from The Hulkster amongst other veteran stars, these sitting nicely with current WWE superstars and even celebrities who participated in the events.

Told in a semi-chronological order (some pieces skip forward to illustrate the event returning to a venue etc.) this is an at times warts and all look at how Mania has grown to become the jewel in the WWE crown, attracted some huge star endorsements and broken attendance records along the way. Of course this being a WWE production there are some of the more unsavoury pieces of history erased, but overall that is minimal and the fact that McMahon himself admits some ideas worked better than others certainly makes for welcome viewing. Diehard fans will enjoy the little trivia snippets sprinkled across the disc, anyone who has ever wondered why Flair/Hogan at Mania never happened or how Sgt Slaughter was convinced to portray an Iraqi sympathiser will be in their element.

This may be a slightly sugar-coated look at the ‘Grand daddy of the all’ but this is perhaps the best potted history of WrestleMania that we will ever see. By skipping at a reasonable pace through the years and pausing briefly on only key storylines and matches, the overall target of celebrating the success of the company’s annual extravaganza is met perfectly.

Of course the subject of best match ever is touched upon and whilst we all debate what that is, this release does let you glimpse some matches that maybe get overlooked for the more obvious Undertaker/Michaels bouts, Michaels/Flair and even Hogan/Rock outings. Some of these are luckily featured on discs two and three, including the exciting Warrior/savage scrap from Mania VII, Mania 2000’s three way ladder brawl for the tag team gold and a thoroughly enjoyable Shane versus Vince McMahon Street Fight from Mania 17.

WWE The True Story of WrestleMania is released on May 23rd by Silver Vision. www.silvervision.co.uk

Available on triple disc Blu-Ray and DVD, both RRP £29.99

Edge Official Retirement Statement from WWE

Below is WWE's official announcement on Edge retiring from their website:


Less than a week after his successful title defense against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXVII, World Heavyweight Champion Edge has been forced to retire from in-ring competition due to injury. The unexpected news brings to an end a storied WWE career spanning 13 years and consisting of 11 World Title reigns.

The Rated-R Superstar had been suffering numbness and uncontrollable trembling in his arms and hands. This is not the first time Edge has experienced these symptoms of nueropraxia. An MRI in Atlanta last Monday was sent to Dr. Joseph Maroon, a renowned neurosurgeon and professor of neurosurgery at The Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After careful examination of the MRI, it was determined that Edge would never be cleared to compete again, and thus, he is forced to retire.

In 2003, Edge underwent a two level spinal fusion of the discs between his C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae. After being cleared to compete, The Rated-R Superstar returned to the ring, resulting in stenosis of the spine, or a narrowing of the spinal column, above and below the fused discs. This narrowing resulted in less and less of the vital fluid needed to protect the spinal cord. Medical professionals cannot clear Edge to compete ever again in WWE since doing so could result in paralysis or even death.

Wrestlemania 27 PPV Review

WWE: Wrestlemania 27 Collector's EditionWWE Wrestlemania 27 - Pay-per-view Review

By Phil Allely

Wrestlemania is the WWE’s biggest and grandest event of the year and it usually delivers on its promise of being ‘the granddaddy of them all’. However this year things were slow to build for the event and it was only when Undertaker and Triple H re-appeared on our screens to build up their match, that things picked up steam for many of us.  The inclusion of The Rock as host , Stone Cold Steve Austin as a special guest referee and even women’s legend Trish Stratus was stepping back into the ring, the stage was set for one memorable night, right?.

The mania card was looking very good indeed prior to the event and with some nice pre-show work there seemed to be a  lot of hype around many of the matches, of course with Shawn Michaels retired and Undertaker in pretty bad shape his match with Triple ?H was going to have to be something spectacular indeed for the ‘Dead Man’ to pull of another high profile win and retain his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.

The Rock kicked things off with a long tirade, where he verbally sparred with John Cena and wound the full house into a frenzy with his antics. The only negative point being the proposed US title match was scrapped and replaced by Rock’s introductory speech.

In the first title match of the night there were high hopes that challenger Alberto Del Rio would leave the Georgia Dome with the World Heavyweight Title around his waist. Champion Edge was selling an injured arm and worked very hard indeed to make the WWE newcomer look even more impressive than he is naturally. Christian, Ricardo and Brodus Clay at ringside helped keep things moving on also, after some near falls and nice moves things ended swift enough after one distraction too many saw Edge nail a hard looking spear to retain his belt.

Cody Rhodes has finally found himself character wise in the WWE and now his protective face mask wearing persona has really got some heel heat on him. His opponent Rey Mysterio (this year in superhero costume) gave his all in this one, although fans seemed indifferent throughout. The finish came as Rhodes worked on Rey (legitimately) injured knee and used Rey’s own knee brace to assist his Cross Rhodes finisher for the surprise win.

Next up The Corre faced the team of Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston. Not a huge amount to speak of here though, things quickly degenerated into a full on brawl and each man hit his finisher before a Cobra and Knockout Punch combo by Show and Marella put Heath Slater down for the three count.

Randy Orton and CM Punk’s feud continued in style as both went all out to impress the sell-out crowd. This one was a great was for each to showcase their talents, there were plenty of near falls, stiff exchanges, signature moves and a great finishing sequence. Orton pulled of the win after he intercepted a Punk aerial move with a mid-air RKO.

The 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees come out next to a nice ovation, introduced by Mean Gene Okerland it’s nice to see the lovely Sunny, Abdullah the Butcher, Road Warrior Animal, Paul Ellering, Bullet Bob Armstrong and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, comedy star Drew Carey is there too. The roof lifted off the arena when star inductee Shawn Michaels music hit.

A returning Jim Ross and Booker T joined the announce team as Jerry Lawler made his Wrestlemania debut against Michael Cole. Steve Austin as guest referee proved to be a good move indeed, he instantly wound up Cole’s second Jack Swagger and did his best to maintain order in a chaotic grudge match. Lawler did exact a fair measure of revenge on Cole, but Austin’s over-eager refereeing saw Lawlers tap-out victory overturned.

Triple H versus The Undertaker was a very good No Holds barred effort by both men. The fact that it had two superb Michaels/Taker matches from previous years to attempt to match was a downside though.  Taker as always really upped his game and showed some slowness, but no less willingness to absorb punishment in pursuit of a good match. Triple H was in fine form too, the pair hit some nice moves, risky manoeuvres and snatched a few near falls along the way. Things quickly went down the weapons route with chair shots, even Trips trusty sledgehammer being used, but ultimately proving to be no match for a determined Taker.  A Hells Gate submission hold saw a weary ‘Dead Man’ pull off another Mania win and clock up his 19th undefeated match at the annual event.

Snooki, Trish Stratus and John Morrison then took LayCool and Dolph Ziggler in a lively and short mixed tag team bout. This positioning was surely a move by the WWE to slow things down a bit intensity wise after such a gruelling match prior to it. Ziggler, Morrison and Vickie Guerrero all kept this one in its zone. Stratus didn’t seem to have missed a beat since her retirement, Snooki pulled off a few decent moves and LayCool played their roles well indeed. Snooki put Michelle McCool away to pull off the win for her team.

Finally it was main event time and both Miz and John Cena has an awful lot f work to do to appease a crowd who had yet to witness a real true Wrestlemania moment in the ring or a title change. Cena and Miz do work well together and they put forth a heck of a match. The crowd just seemed to drift off at times during it though. As the action ramped up Alex Riley stuck his nose into proceedings to distract the referee, however it failed as Miz inadvertently knocked Riley out with the briefcase instead of Cena. The action spilled out to ringside where both men got counted out for the No Contest decision.

Luckilly The Rock decided to ignore the Raw GM’s email messages and restart the bout. This time it was no DQ, No Count out etc., it didn’t last long though as Rock blasted Cena with a Rock Bottom to allow Miz the win and to keep his cherished gold.

Wrestlemania was in no way a flop of a show, many of the matches were above par and well received by those in attendance too, there just wasn’t that spark and tingle of excitement that Mania usually brings with it. Perhaps it is the fact that according to reports many of the matches were rewritten early in the day, or perhaps it was because the WWE at present is short of real top line talent, Batista, Jericho, Michaels are all out of the equation for now at least. Two of the star attractions were retired grapplers Steve Austin and The Rock, plus of course the Undertaker/Triple H feud was hastily thrust upon us after the other ideas for them were put on the back burner for now. But WWE then pulled off the coup of the century during the following nights Raw, on that show (which usually draws one of the highest ratings of the year) The Rock made the announcement that he would step back into the ring and face John Cena at Wrestlemania 28. So there you have it this years Mania was all one big build up to next years one, interesting, different and a wonderful swerve by the WWE, roll on 2012s event.

Wrestlemania Candid snaps

WWE Stamement Re:The Rock vs John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII

WWE issued the following last night:




The Rock vs John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII



STAMFORD, Conn., April 5, 2011 – Arguably the most anticipated match in WWE® history was set on Monday Night Raw®. WWE Superstar John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will face off at WrestleMania XXVIII on Sunday, April 1, 2012 at Sun Life Stadium in The Rock's hometown of Miami, Florida.



At WrestleMania XXVII, The Brahma Bull™ denied John Cena the WWE Championship when he jumped into the ring and delivered a Rock Bottom to Cena during the title match vs. The Miz®. The Rock and Cena met in the ring just minutes ago on Monday Night Raw on USA Network and the challenge that everyone was looking forward to was finally issued. WrestleMania XXVIII will be broadcast in more than 100 countries around the world.



WWE® made history again as WrestleMania®, for the second consecutive year, became the highest grossing and most attended entertainment event in the host venue. WrestleMania XXVII grossed $6.6 million, with 71,617 fans from all 50 states and 30 countries attending the sold out event at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The annual pop-culture extravaganza was broadcast around the world on pay-per-view in more than 100 countries and 20 languages.



Ticket information for WrestleMania XXVIII will be announced later this year

Sunny and Trish Wrestlemania Posed Pic

Lita and Trish Stratus Pics Wrestlemania Weekend 2011

WWE Tweets Re: Wrestlemania

Below are comments on Twitter from several wrestling personalities regarding last night's WrestleMania 27 event:




The Rock: "Wrestlemania..what a night! TEAM BRING IT - I love you..no more words.."



Joey



Styles: "The end of that match between The Undertaker and Triple H was



one of the best I have ever seen. 19-0 at WM. The Undertaker is not one



of us."



Jim Ross: "Working w/ @JerryLawler @ wm27 was great. The



band was back 2gether 4 one nite. Hope we made you smile. Thanks for the



support & 4 watchin."



Jim Ross: "Huge respect for Undertaker



& HHH. They beat the hell out of ea other. Both their bodies are



bruised/ scrapped. Nasty. Great old school bout."



JTG: "Nights like this make me so motivated and HUNGRY . Its time for me to EAT WWE universe, and I don't mean food."



Ricardo Rodriguez: "Being in front of 71,000+ screaming fans was truly an amazing experience."



Ezekiel



Jackson: "To walk out in front of 71000 members of the WWE universe to



perform was #priceless....I'll say it again #I'mtrulyblessed..."



Kofi Kingston: "Wow, it will never get old performing at Wrestlemania. Still on cloud 9..."



Eve



Torres: "Congratulations to all the WM 27 participants. It was an



incredible event with unbelievable matches. Counting down until next



year..."



Michael Cole: "Ringside in the colemine! What a night. Georgia dome is filled with 72,000 coleminers!"



Candice



Michelle: "I think the girls match should have involved morrison n



dolph more, would have been much more entertaining instead of putting



snooki over!"



Chris Jericho: "Two thoughts about Mania-



1-Taker/HHH told a brilliant story and stole the show 2-Mitchell Cole



has the worst collection of tattoos ever."



Chris Jericho: "HHHs entrance saw him come out behind a giant set of Snitsky teeth..."



Shawn Michaels: "Undertaker/HHH was Awesome. Two war horses showing it how its done. A pleasure to watch!!"

Vickie Guererro Interview Highlights

Vickie Guerrero was interviewed by The Greenwich

Post this weekend at WrestleMania Axxess in Atlanta. Here are a few

highlights:

Fans calling her a cougar:

"It’s so

much fun. I’m honored because they’re flirting with me and it makes me

feel good. I’m a single woman and I like younger men, being the cougar

that I am."

Her involvement in Snooki's match at WrestleMania 27:

"You need to watch. I’m going to be involved. Snooki will get her receipt. She’d better watch out."

-

The Post also published quotes from WWE Champion The Miz at the Axxess

Q&A session with fans. When The Miz was asked about his legacy in

WWE, he said:

"The legacy of The Miz is going to be like

this. I am the guy that worked the hardest and dedicated himself each

and every day. When people say this job is too hard or we’re on the road

too much, I’m the guy saying ‘I need more media’ and ‘I need more

outlets’ and ‘Give me every spot you have.’ My legacy will be that not

only will I be the greatest, most WWE Champion in the history of this

company, but you will remember The Miz as WWE. You will no longer think

of The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan or any of those top

names. You will think of The Miz."

Wrestlemania 2011 Final Card

WWE presents it's biggest show of the year

tonight at 7pm EST with WrestleMania 27 from the Georgia Dome in

Atlanta, Georgia. Below is the full line-up:

Guest Host: The Rock

America The Beautiful Singer: Keri Hilson

Special Appearances: 2011 Hall of Fame Class, WWE Tough Enough cast

WWE Title Match

John Cena vs. The Miz

No Holds Barred Match

Triple H vs. The Undertaker

World Heavyweight Title Match

Alberto Del Rio with Brodus Clay vs. Edge with Christian

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler, Layla and Michelle McCool

Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett vs. Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella and one other Superstar TBA

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

Special Referee: Steve Austin

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Jack Swagger

WWE United States Title Match

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus