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

Boogeyman Interview Highlights

Marty Wright, who portrayed The Boogeyman character in WWE from 2005 to 2009, addressed his wrestling career during an interview with Justin LaBar on Wrestling Reality on TribLIVE Radio sports station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He said everyone in the sports entertainment organization was enjoyable to work with during his time there with the exception of one individual. “Donald Trump, however, he wasn’t the best. Actually, let me rephrase that. He was the worst. He didn’t want to sell the character,” Wright says. At WrestleMania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, Trump was shown in a backstage segment sitting on a couch with Miss America when The Boogeyman appeared from behind. Wright says Trump didn’t think he should appear scared, and didn’t. “I just wanted to bite his head off. He actually wasn’t the most favorable person to work with,” Wright says. Wright also reveals that he solely ate worms due to host arenas’ fears of other insects getting loose. “We had to pay an infestation clause, which would cost much more money,” says Wright, who wanted to use roaches, crickets and maggots for the gimmick. “Worms were the only thing we could control.” Wright credits Vince McMahon with allowing him to direct character and notes that he would like to return to the company one day. “I can’t say when, but just keep your eyes open. You never know when The Boogeyman is going to pop up again, but I’m definitely working toward that,” Wright says.

Jerry Lawler discusses Andy Kaufman feud

Jerry Lawler recently discussed his legendary feud with Andy Kaufman on WWE's Website. Here are some highlights. WWE CLASSICS: Out of all the great rivalries in wrestling and all the great pop culture moments, what is it about this one incident that 30 years later people are still so fascinated by? LAWLER: It was the first time something like that had happened. I don’t know if I should tell this or not, but one night I was flying back on the plane with Vince McMahon. And he said, “You know, King, I’ve never told you this before, but I was so jealous when you got Andy Kaufman and did all that stuff with him down there in Memphis. Because he was from New York, and I thought we could have done all that stuff up here.” But he also said, “But I’ll be honest with you. There’s no way on Earth we could have done it as well as you guys did it.” WWE CLASSICS: Wow. It would have been a totally different dynamic. LAWLER: Yes, but it would have been a first. Vince loves firsts. To this day, you hear on Monday Night Raw that you’re going to see something for the first time ever. That’s big. And this was the first time any big deal Hollywood star was involved to that extent in wrestling. Vince realized, everybody realized, because it got so much national exposure. Everything back then was still regionalized. Cable TV hadn’t hit yet. The country was divided up into wrestling territories because of TV coverage. Once Vince saw you could use a Hollywood star to get that nationwide exposure, here comes Cyndi Lauper with Captain Lou and Wendi Richter, and then Mr. T gets brought in. The ball got rolling, and it hasn’t stopped to this day. Just in the past year, Hugh Jackman was in there punching Dolph Ziggler. WWE CLASSICS: Yeah, you really could argue that Andy Kaufman is responsible for all of that. LAWLER: I really feel, in my heart of hearts, that he was responsible for that. I certainly believe that Andy Kaufman deserves a spot in the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Without a doubt, we would not be where we are today without his involvement. I really feel that way. Even at Raw 1,000, we had Charlie Sheen challenging Daniel Bryan to a match. It’s Andy Kaufman revisited as recently as last night.

TNA UK Tour 2013 PR Interview links

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Rob Van Dam Interview Highlights

The Phoenix New Times is featuring an interview with TNA wrestler, Rob Van Dam. Here are a few notes from the interview. RVD on the differences between wrestling for TNA and WWE: "In Total Nonstop Action, individual wrestlers have a lot more freedom to artistically express themselves versus WWE," Van Dam explained. "When we have our matches, they are known to be more athletic, more competitive in nature, and that's what wrestling fans really appreciate. And the fact there's more of a focus on wrestling in Total Nonstop Action over the other major company on TV. Whereas WWE has been known to feature more of the 400-pound giants that aren't necessarily going to [perform] quite as impressively. TNA focuses more on the wrestler's abilities and skills and gives them a chance to shine out there in front of the fans. "It's also more of an up-close-and-personal experience where wrestlers are more accessible and there's a lot of times spent on meeting the fans. And Bound For Glory will be no different and we'll be there on October 14 with a big meet-and-greet. The day before that is also something called 'TNA Fan InterAction,' which all the top stars will be there as well. People can meet and talk to their wrestlers and get their photos taken with 'em." RVD on Ryback asking him for permission to use his airbrush artist: "Ryback reached out to me and asked for permission to use the same airbrush artist that I use, Joe Holland in Savannah, Georgia," he said. "The guy's been making me the same outfits since like 1995 and he doesn't do a lot work for wrestlers. And I'm all for anyone that can make more business off of things they do for me. Ryback has my blessing [and] I'm flattered that he's a fan of mine. He's been very respectful in reaching out to me. I haven't met the guy but have nothing but respect for him."

Mr Anderson Interview HIghlights

Mr. Anderson joined Washington Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker and Chuck Carroll on this week's "4th & Pain"—the only pro wrestling show hosted by an NFL player. More information on the show is available at 4thandpain.com. Highlights from the interview are as follows: Is he still happy in pro wrestling?: "I really am. And I think I've been reinvigorated. I took some time off a few months back... I took about four months off and took care of some personal things and just cleared my head. I've been in the business now for 13 years and was part of that major wrestling corporation for six or seven years. And the fact that we don't have an offseason and we go 52 weeks each year--that's what a lot of people don't realize--it does take its toll on your body, takes its toll on your mind. I will say that it's gone in waves. I've had some big ups in my career and I've had some lows. But overall I'm happy with every single thing I've done. I'm happy with the mistakes that I've made because I've learned from those mistake. I'm very happy with our company right now and the direction that it's going. I hope our fans are as excited about it as we are." How he got the idea to announce his name twice: "The microphone fun and two-time name announcing began in high school when he was tasked with creating a fake radio advertisement for invisible underwear. No, we're not making this up." The teacher encouraged him to get into radio and shortly there after he began announcing for the school's basketball games. It was there he would "add a little flare" and say the last names of the players twice. Flash forward 15 years later he was in Ohio Valley Wrestling and it happened . . . "I'm down at OVW and Paul Heyman suggested to me that I go out to the ring and announce myself," Anderson told the 4th & Pain crew. "And that was just something… I threw in the last Anderson, the second Anderson and I came I came back through the curtain everybody was like, 'That was awesome when you said your last name twice.' And it turned out that was what it took to get me to the dance. It seems so stupid, but just saying my last name twice… It's just those little things. " When Anderson's wrestling days are over he will have a future as a journalist. He asked Adam a question he'd never been asked in the three years he's been with the Redskins. The answer, for Redskins fans, was shocking!

TNA Daffney Interview HIghlights

Former TNA Knockout Daffney recently spoke with Diva Dirt for the first time since filing her lawsuit against the company last year. Here are a few highlights from the interview. On being pigeonholed into doing hardcore spots: "It started off as Abyss asking me to take the tacks in the match and I agreed, then I think it snowballed from there. I almost wish I hadn't been painted in such a light that I was just hardcore and that I couldn't deliver a good match in the ring. I feel like there's so much more to my ring work. I may not be the best technical wrestler in the world, but I felt like I had learned enough of my sport that I could deliver some good matches. I don't think I was ever taken seriously after that. It was like, 'She's the one that's going to go out there and Taylor [Wilde]'s going to jump from the stage and put her through a table, but we're not actually going to see a good match'. [...] Looking back in hindsight, I almost wish things didn't go that route and that we had just more straight-up matches. I think that might've been good for me in the long run." The extent of her injuries: "I don't think people realize how badly I've been hurt. [...] I was there the night [in WCW] Goldberg kicked Bret [Hart] in the head and he had that crazy concussion. In the beginning of 2000, we were going to England for a tour and Bret was coming to do the tour with us and he was just going to be speaking. He said to me, we were on the bus talking, he said: 'I don't think I'll ever wrestle again'. I was like, wow. How many years has this man been wrestling? This is his entire life and he had a career-ending injury and he won't be able to do it anymore. [I thought] no, no, just give him some time. As time went on, he just never came back. I'm not comparing my career with his by any means -- he's an icon and he's Bret Hart -- but as time has gone on, I don't think I'm going to be able to wrestle anymore. I kind of had to think back on him telling me that, and be wise and stay away from the ring to accept it. It's really hard. I think if I got in the ring and took any more bumps, I wouldn't be able to function as a normal human being. It would just be too hard on my body." Her lawsuit against TNA: "What you guys have read about the details that just came out not too long ago, all of that is true. People expected it to be resolved very quickly, but just know that we're doing everything we can to move it along as quickly as possible but it takes two sides. It's still ongoing."