WWE Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living Blu-Ray Review

I'm looking to catch-up on my WWE Home Video situation at the moment, so expect an influx of Blu-Ray and DVD reviews this week. Let's begin with Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living, which has been available in the UK since the end of March from all the regular outlets.

The main feature is a new documentary that covers the life of Page Joseph Falkinberg and the story of his transformation into Diamond Dallas Page (legally Dallas Page since 2003), through his wrestling career in WCW and WWE and onto the spectacular rise of DDP Yoga. The Blu-Ray's 26 matches include outings with the likes of Chris Jericho, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Ric Flair, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and Eddie Guerrero...but is this set worth your time and money? Let's take a look. 

Positively Living Documentary 

As you'd expect with pretty much every doc WWE produces, this is a great watch. The story involves Dallas driving around some old haunts as we follow the story of his childhood and onto his career. His journey into pro wrestling is fascinating and those that are unfamiliar with how Page got into the business will surely find the most enjoyment here. The run-time of just over an hour means that perhaps there's a lack of depth at points, but the structure and flow of the overall film tells a solid over-arching story that may have been damaged by taking further stops along the road. All those you'd expect are interviewed, including a nice surprise from Kimberly Page, with their words, and the narrative as a whole, creating a real feel-good film. The moment when Triple H calls Diamond Dallas Page to tell him he's going into the Hall of Fame is tingly stuff, with Page's reaction to the call making it special moment. 

I would have liked to have seen the documentary spend more time in places and to hear from a more varied pool of interviewees, but taken on it's own value this a great introduction for anyone interesting in delving into one of the more underrated performers in WCW history. 

The Matches

Kicking off with DDP's earliest TV match alongside The Diamond Studd [Scott Hall] against Chris Sullivan & Brian Lee (World Championship Wrestling, Dec '91), things swiftly move into a curious Lethal Lottery Tag Team match pitting Page & Mike Graham against Jushin Thunder Liger & Bill Kazmaier (Starrcade, December '91). My curiosity for this one quickly wore off and I'm still not quite sure why this relatively lengthy bout so early in DDP's career is included. There's improvements seen when tagging with Cactus Jack against Dustin Rhodes [Goldust] & Barry Windham (Saturday Night, Mar '92), but the bout is cut short just when it seems to be getting interesting. A six man tag alongside Vinnie Vegas [Kevin Nash] & Scotty Flamingo [Raven] opposite Marcus Alexander Bagwell, Brad Armstrong & Johnny B. Badd (Saturday Night, Dec '92) continues to show signs of DDP quickly developing as a wrestler, but not much else. 

The first singles bout is with Johnny B. Badd (Spring Stampede, Apr '94) and after a decent jump in time, DDP is still not particularly crisp, however the Battle of the Gimmicks is driven well by Badd and has a pleasant flurry of action to bring it to it's conclusion. The set then begins to move past Page's formative in-ring days, jumping to a United States Heavyweight Championship match with Eddie Guerrero (Starrcade, Dec '96) with the pair connecting nicely in the first truly enjoyable bout of the set. A random mid-match piledriver and a screwy nWo based finish, as well as an uninterested crowd, harm what could have been a much better outing for Guerrero and Page. At first glance a match with some guy called Mark Starr (Monday NITRO, Jan '97) isn't particularly interesting, but the post-match swerve with DDP "joining" the nWo is quintessential WCW viewing and one of the highlights of the Monday Night War. No Disqualification with Randy Savage (Spring Stampede, Apr '97) is a deck-stacker, storyline based epic of a scrap. Coming from one of DDP's most memorable feuds, it's a shame that the subsequent Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc matches aren't included as having the trilogy one after the other would've been a really cool touch. 

A World Heavyweight title bout with Hollywood Hogan (Monday NITRO, Oct' '97) showcases the kind of performer DDP developed into as he sells his arse off for Hogan and gets a DQ finish in return. The post-match angle with Sting making the save from the nWo (a rag-tag bunch including Konnan, Vincent, Curt Hennig, Scott Hall, Scott Norton & nWo Sting) doesn't make this bout anymore worth it's inclusion. Hennig is the adversary in the next bout (Starrcade, Dec '97), where DDP earns his first US Heavyweight title in a decent outing. The two mix a brawling and wrestling style well at points, with Hennig heeling it up to the max to result in a fun out of nowhere victory for DDP. A match with Chris Jericho over the same title (Monday NITRO, Jan '98) is included presumably just to put Jericho's name on the artwork. A Raven's Rules match with...um...Raven (Spring Stampede, Apr '98) has some value in it's brawly weapons and interference based tomfoolery, but it's still not a good match. 

A tag bout with basketball chap Karl Malone against Hollywood Hogan & another basketball chap Dennis Rodman (Bash at the Beach, Jul '98) is needlessly long, but not actually that bad. DDP's ability to allow the celebs to shine and still look a million dollars was a special skill that not many have ever possessed. This match wouldn't have worked without Page in his role. A similar match with DDP teaming with comedian, non-wrestler Jay Leno against Hogan and non-comedian, non-wrestler Eric Bischoff (Road Wild, Aug' 98) is not as good, with Leno & Bischoff lacking any real athletic ability. The fact that Hogan sold an arm wrench for Leno means that pretty much everything else that goes on here is irrelevant. It could have been much much worse, but it's still shit. 

One of DDP's top three matches is here as Goldberg (Halloween Havoc, Oct '98) is our unlikely hero for a perfectly simple World Heavyweight title bout in front of a molten Las Vegas crowd. The two do exactly what they need to do to get that audience whipped into a frenzy and it makes for a satisfying watch. The next night, it's Bret Hart over the US Heavyweight title (Monday NITRO, Oct '98) and another solid match, that's well worth a look-see. There's more silly WCW nonsense in the aftermath, but when DDP and Hart get it going in the ring, it's pretty sweet. 

Dallas' first World title win is present, but it's unfortunate that it comes in the form of a shit show of a Fatal Fourway with Hollywood Hogan, Ric Flair and Sting (Spring Stampede, Apr' 99), with Randy Savage operating as guest referee. You'd think with such a fine list of talent, that these five lads would, at the very least, be able to coast to something mildly engaging, and perhaps this is, but for all the wrong reasons. The booking is shit, the wrestling is shit, the finish is shit, this match is shit, you should watch it, because I did. Luckily, the night after against just Sting (Monday NITRO, Apr' 99) is DDP's best match, despite dropping the belt. The heel work from Page is juxtaposed well with his earlier babyface matches here, with the second half of the bout being full of top drawer near falls and reversals. It all comes crumbling down later on in the same show when DDP gets the title back in another Four-Way, this time with Kevin Nash and Goldberg, which manages to undo the good work of the earlier bout, as very little happens and when it happens it happens awkwardly.  

The final WCW match is a bizarre tag match with Bam Bam Bigelow against Perry Saturn and (a mostly absent) Kanyon (Monday NITRO, May '99), that whilst containing an impressive performance from Saturn, has a bollocks finish when Kanyon finally turns up. Things close up with the only WWF match, which is a fun clash with Christian over the European Championship (WrestleMania X8, Mar '02), and whilst it doesn't set the world alight it's still an easy watch. 

Blu-Ray Exclusives 

A Television title match with The Renegade (Fall Brawl, Sep '95) is not good, not at all good. Then there's a Battle Royal for a World title shot, with a bunch of crabcakes, namely Scott Norton, Ice-Train, Dirty Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge and The Barbarian (Slamboree, May '96), which is as much of a farce as you could imagine. A US title bout with Bret Hart (World War Three, Nov' 98) is a slog of a bout. Seriously, there's nothing bad going on, but there's just so much meaningless slop and for a PPV main event you would've expected a lot more. Things aren't helped by the near 20 mins of action concluding with a screwy finish either. 

The Giant [Big Show] provides an intriguing opponent for DDP (Starrcade, Dec' 98) next, with the pair doing some strong big man/small man schtick, which is different from most of the content on the set. Beyond the story, it's hard to get past just how green Giant is at this point and the fact this is WCW means the booking is confused as hell. A steel cage match with Jeff Jarrett (Monday NITRO, Apr '00) concludes a poor selection of matches, as despite the cage having a roof WCW still managed to use a screwy finish, which is then fucked up further by Kanyon. 

Everything ends with the debut of DDP for WWF (RAW, Jun '01), with Dallas doing his best with having to do the Undertaker's wife's stalker gimmick.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.78/10

Positively Living is a strange release, because parts seem extremely well thought through, whilst others appear thrown together. The documentary is a strong film, telling it's story well and hitting most of the major points, whilst also creating a strong image of the man behind the character. The matches begin by following Page's arc of improvement and then jump about to title wins and then kind of gets lost. The match quality doesn't always reflect DDP's body of work, with matches against Raven (Spring Stampede, Apr '98), Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Fall Brawl, Sep '96), the aforementioned bouts with Randy Savage (The Great American Bash, Jun '97, Halloween Havoc, Oct '97) and Johnny B. Badd (World War 3, Nov '95) all missing, as well as a stellar three way with Raven and Chris Benoit (Uncensored, Apr '98) for obvious reasons. 

As a whole the match selection feels little bit like "Hah, wasn't WCW ridiculous?", instead of picking the stronger and most enjoyable matches of Page's career. With the WWE Network readily available, I'd personally want, if not all, of a person's best matches, at least, the majority to be here in one place. The lest said about the Blu-Ray exclusives the better.

This is a solid release, but had potential to be a lot stronger. 

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Blu-Ray Review: WWE The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3

WWE's The Very Best of WCW Monday Nitro Vol. 3 is out on on DVD and Blu-Ray from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all other good home video outlets. The set takes the form of a match and segment compilation, with Diamond Dallas Page appearing intermittently to narrate and lead into certain portions of the content. There 34 matches and 8 segments (with a further 6 matches and 2 segments as Blu-Ray exclusives) with the likes Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Bret Hart, Sting, The Outsiders and more feautring throughout the set.

Disc One

The opening match between Lex Luger and "Macho Man" Randy Savage (October 1995) is decent start to the set, with the pair stringing together some nice looking sequences, although like a lot of the matches on this set is harmed by having a "TV finish" (To be expected, really!) Johnny B. Badd clearly is up to wrestling Eddie Guerrero (November 1995) in the style of bout that is laid out, and despite some quite clever ideas, the end result is kind of shitty. Diamond Dallas Page and Sting (January 1996), put on a solid TV clash, that is certainly helped along by a lively Charleston crowd. The first real quality bout of the set is Savage and Ric Flair's (January 1996) World Heavyweight Championship clash, which features an electric finish, even if the commentary is more interested in pushing SOME GUY called Kevin Greene.  


Having Scott Hall and Kevin Nash on commentary makes a match between Rick Steiner and Sting (December 1996), that becomes more of a segment, ridiculously entertaining, as the two discuss whether is not Sting is part of the nWo. Another cracking in-ring segment with the nWo kicking out The Giant (December 1996) follows, with the amount of debris thrown into the ring by the fans being quite a site. nWo continues to dominate as the entire group and what feels like the entire roster brawl in the ring (May 1997), with Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage's commentary adding something a little extra to proceedings. I'm convinced that the match compilers saw Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera (June 1997) and went "Yeah, that'll be all-right"...it isn't, it's botchy and Guerrera looks like he's never stepped foot inside a ring. 


Scott Steiner battles Randy Savage (July 1997) in a bout that features some competent action, but lacks urgency, harming the pace as the pair plod along and wait for the nWo run-in. The Outsiders are on sterling form in a tag match opposite Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger (August 1997), with one of the hottest crowds on the entire set and quite clever finish for television that left me wanting to see what would come next. nWo bitch-boys Vincent, Konnan, Buff Bagwell, Scott Norton and Rick Rude replacing the WCW signs (December 1997) with the nWo logo is interesting for about ten seconds, but quickly becomes a bore and runs WAY too long. The segment continuing all the way through to include the nWo Monday Nitro intro is a nice touch, but Eric Bischoff giving Hollywood Hogan two motorcycles and a limo (with a hot tub in it, because WCW) is mind numbingly bad. 


A cruiser weight tag team pitting Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero against Chavo Guerrero and Dean Malenko (February 1998) is one of the best bouts on the entire set, as one would imagine, but is hurt by Eddie trying to heel it up and the El Paso crowd not having any of it. nWo trying to recruit Rick Steiner (March 1998) did absolutely nothing for me, because I just couldn't give a fuck about Rick Steiner. The Giant chucking Scott Hall into a pool (March 1998) is at least a novelty to see, in a time when all WWE's venues look the same, but is still really quite silly, SPRING BREAK! Michael Buffer is the bane of my life, seriously every time this guy turns up I want to fast forward. He does the intro for a confusing Randy Savage vs. Hollywood Hogan bout (May 1998) where I'm pretty sure that everyone was heel. 


There's more nWo antics as Lex Luger joins the Wolfpac (May 1998), with so many of these jumps and without any real context it's difficult to get too involved. There is however, a superb segment featuring some back and forth between Hollywood Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone (June 1998), that's paced to tee and the crowd laps up every minute of. Things take a down-ward turn with Scott Hall's alcoholic "gimmick" in a match opposite Kidman, where Vincent refuses to give Hall a drink until he wins the contest (September 1998). It's easy to forget just however over Diamond Dallas Page was, but his over-booked contest with Kanyon (October 1998), is testament to Page's popularity if not anything else.


There's pretty cool stunt in a segment involving Bret Hart, Diamond Dallas Page and The Giant (December 1998), with Page offering a decent insight into it in his lead-in prior. A three way bout between Bam Bam Bigelow, Goldberg and Kevin Nash (December 1998) is at least an interesting combination of guys, but with the match coming just before Goldberg and Nash's infamous Starrcade bout there's way too much of an eye on that match for this one to get too interesting.

Disc Two

When DDP puts over a match between Booker T and Bret Hart (February 1999) as being "nothing less than a clinic", it's easy to be a bit sceptical, with what has gone before, but this is probably the best match of the set. Plenty of great back and forth between the two, who both look very comfortable in the ring, but it's a major shame that the focus of the show isn't on the pairs quality wrestling match. There's a strong story being told in Goldberg and Ric Flair's (March 1999) entry, but it's hurt by some stupid booking. I had absolutely no idea what was going in Diamond Dallas Page and Hollywood Hogan's brawling bout (March 1999) and quickly lost interest. A hardcore bout between Rick Steiner and Hak is thoroughly entertaining (June 1999), but the booking is mind-boggling as Sting makes an appearance. 


Whilst a tag match with Kevin Nash and Sid Vicious on the opposite to Sting and Hollywood Hogan (July 1999) might be star-studded, this is WCW...and the hallmarks of the promotion are all over the bout towards it's conclusion. There's a decent match between Sting and Bret Hart over the World Heavyweight Championship (October 1999) but even this bout isn't quite as smooth as it should have been. A Ladder match between Hart, Vicious, Scott Hall and Goldberg with Kevin Nash as special guest referee (November 1999) is a steaming pile of wank...perhaps one of the worst matches I've ever seen. Hart puts on another sound match, this time with Jeff Jarrett (November 1999) but similar to the earlier Sting bout it's nothing to go out of your way to see. 


A Tornado Tag Team match (which is also apparently Falls Count Anywhere) with Sting and Vampiro taking on Team Package (March 2000) is utter silliness throughout, but is actually very entertaining. Booker T and Mike Awesome's World Heavyweight Championship bout (July 2000) is another satisfactory encounter with some nice back and forth between the two and a CLEAN FINISH! To close off the set for the banter, there's a pre-match promo from SCOTT STEINER! A SCOTT STEINER PROMO! Scott teams with brother Rick for a bizarre match with Booker and Diamond Dallas Page. (March 2001)

Blu-Ray Exclusives

The Blu-Ray exclusives kick-off with a Scott Hall promo, oh you are treating us WWE. Hall teams with Wolfpac brother Syxx in a short but sweet bout opposite the Steiner Brothers (October 1997). Gene Okerlund interviewing Ric Flair and Bret Hart is a diamond of a segment with and shows just what both men could do when motivated (January 1998). I found Hart's match with Lex Luger (August 1998) rather absorbing, the bout tells a sound story, with the commentary team (Tony Shiavone, Mike Tenay, Larry Zybyszko and Bobby Heenan) being on their best form of the entire set. 


The bout between Bret Hart and Hollywood Hogan (September 1998) is going strong for the portion of the match just between those two, but as soon as the booking team and Sting get involved it quickly became a pile of horseshit. The two nWo factions brawling backstage (leading to the Wolfac flipping Hollywood's limo) is a lot of fun with plenty of stuff going on throughout it's very enjoyable in isolation. The exclusives conclude with an "Everything is happening" bout between Jeff Jarrett, Goldberg, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner (June 2000) and not wanting to break from tradition, we close things with a truly wank finish.

Finally...

I think the first point I need to make here is that the idea of having a third volume of a "Very Best" series is pretty ridiculous...if the first volume was the "Very Best" then this volume surely can't be?


Diamond Dallas Page is a fun host once again, offering some nice personal stories to go behind some of the matches, however, I can't help feeling having a different narrator for different matches and segments could have added the extra context that certain bouts could have done with. Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo explaining some of the booking decision could have been very interesting...


The entire set is pretty watchable from start to finish and whilst some of the moments are cringe-inducing or head-scratching, a lot of them are decent television outings. That being said there isn't a lot that is worth searching out to watch, with only three matches standing out as true quality bouts (Savage vs. Flair, Guerrero & Jericho vs. Guerrero & Malenko, Booker vs. Hart). If you're a big fan of average, television matches then you'll enjoy yourself here. The segments are hit and miss, but there is some absolute gold at points, with the Bret Hart and Ric Flair interview on the Blu-Ray exclusives standing out as one of the best of the bunch.


The set comes across as a good representation as the overall feels of Monday NITRO with a solid mixture of match types and segments. If you don't fancy trawling through every episode on the WWE Network then this could be a good purchase for you, although I'd imagine the first two volumes would be first on your list here.


You can find the set at WWEDVD, Amazon, Base, eBay, Hive, Rakuten and Blackwells. With WWEDVD offering the best price at £22.99 for the Blu-Ray.

WWE Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection DVD Review

WWE's Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection is out now on DVD and Blu Ray, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk, currently priced at £19.99 for DVD and £22.99 for Blu Ray. The three disc set, chronicles Goldberg's career in WCW between 1997 and 2001, as well as his brief stint in WWE in 2003/04, with some the former WCW & WWE World Heavyweight Champion most remembered matches compiled together for the first time, including bouts with Hulk Hogan, Diamond Dallas Page, Kevin Nash, Sting, Sid Vicious, Chris Jericho and Triple H.

Content Listing

*Disc 1*

Exploding Onto The Scene

Bill Goldberg vs. Hugh Morrus

WCW Monday Nitro, 22nd September 1997

Bill Goldberg vs. The Barbarian

WCW Monday Nitro, 29th September 1997

Bill Goldberg vs. Steve McMichael

WCW Starrcade, 28th December 1997 (6 Minutes, 34 Seconds)

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg vs. Raven (C)

WCW Monday Nitro, 20th April 1998 (4 Minutes, 57 Seconds)

Setting His Sights On A Bigger Prize

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Scott Hall

WCW Monday Nitro, 6th July 1998 (5 Minutes, 55 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (C)

WCW Monday Nitro, 6th July 1998 (8 Minutes, 11 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Curt Hennig

WCW Bash at the Beach, 12th July 1998 (3 Minutes, 50 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Sting

WCW Monday Nitro, 14th September 1998 (8 Minutes, 8 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Diamond Dallas Page

WCW Halloween Havoc, 25th October 1998 (10 Minutes, 28 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. The Giant

WCW Monday Nitro, 23rd November 1998 (1 Minute, 35 Seconds)

The Road To Starrcade

WCW World Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Kevin Nash

WCW Starrcade, 27th December 1998 (11 Minutes, 20 Seconds)

*Disc 2*

The Face of WCW

Goldberg vs. Ric Flair

WCW Monday Nitro, 8th March 1999 (8 Minutes, 38 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Four Way Match

Goldberg vs. Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (C) vs. Diamond Dallas Page

WCW Monday Nitro, 5th April 1999 (10 Minutes, 58 Seconds)

Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash with Lex Luger and Miss Elizabeth

WCW Spring Stampede, 11th April 1999 (7 Minutes, 44 Seconds)

Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page 

WCW Fall Brawl, 12th September 1999 (9 Minutes, 4 Seconds)

Two Matches In One Night

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg vs. Sid Vicious (C)

WCW Halloween Havoc, 24th October 1999 (7 Minutes, 11 Seconds)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg vs. Sting (C)

WCW Halloween Havoc, 24th October 1999 (3 Minutes, 8 Seconds)

“I Quit” Match

Goldberg vs. Sid Vicious (5 Minutes, 30 Seconds)

WCW Mayhem, 21st November 1999

No Disqualification Match

Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner 

WCW Fall Brawl, 17th September 2000 (13 Minutes, 51 Seconds)

2-on-1 Handicap Match

Goldberg vs. Kronik

WCW Halloween Havoc, 29th October 2000 (3 Minutes, 43 Seconds)

A New Streak

No Disqualification Tag Team Match

Goldberg & Dewayne Bruce vs. Lex Luger & Buff Bagwell 

WCW Sin, 14th January 2001 (11 Minutes, 30 Seconds)

*Disc 3*

Making His Way To WWE

Goldberg vs. The Rock 

WWE Backlash, 27th April 2003 (15 Minutes)

Steel Cage Match

Goldberg vs. Christian

WWE RAW, 12th May 2003 (6 Minutes, 47 Seconds)

Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho 

WWE Badd Blood, 15th June 2003 (11 Minutes)

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match

Goldberg vs. Triple H (C) with Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kevin Nash vs. Chris Jericho 

WWE SummerSlam, 24th August 2003 (19 Minutes, 16 Seconds)

Another Shot At The Title

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Vs. Goldberg's Career

Goldberg vs. Triple H (C)

WWE Unforgiven, 21st September 2003 (14 Minutes, 42 Seconds)

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Mark Henry with Rodney Mack & Theodore Long

WWE RAW, 6th October 2003 (5 Minutes, 10 Seconds) 

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg vs. Batista 

WWE RAW, 10th November 2003 (2 Minutes, 17 Seconds)

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg (C) vs. Triple H 

WWE Survivor Series, 16th November 2003

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar 

WWE WrestleMania XX, 14th March 2004 (13 Minutes, 48 Seconds)

Who's Next?

Review

Let me start this review by saying that if you are/were a fan of Goldberg, you will most likely absolute love this set no matter what I have to say about it, you'll get a heavy dose of nostalgia, alongside seeing one of the most dominant main stream wrestlers in recent memory, doing (mostly) what he did best, but I personally had a number of hang-ups with this set.

Goldberg's matches were usually pretty short (hence the large amount of matches included on this set) and extremely formulaic, so watching match after match can become tiresome quickly and it does. Whilst the first disc highlights the incredible popularity of Goldberg, mostly down to some clever booking by WCW at the time, seeing what is essentially the same match repeated with different opponents, with Goldberg's lengthy entrance present on every single match, means that this one becomes difficult to watch in a reasonable number of sittings. There are some decent matches present on Disc 1, like a Halloween Havoc encounter with Diamond Dallas Page that tells a nice story, and World Heavyweight Championship victory over Hollywood Hulk Hogan is notable for the crowd reactions and the fact it was given away on free television. The first disc finishes off with Goldberg's awfully booked World Heavyweight Championship defeat to Kevin Nash, and all the good work that had been done in protecting Goldberg was thrown out of the window.

Disc 2 picks up where Disc 1 left off, as WCW has no idea how to book Goldberg after his streak is gone. There's a complete mess of a Four Way with Hogan, Page and Ric Flair from Nitro, a disappointing rematch with Diamond Dallas Page at Fall Brawl '99, a bizarre second World Heavyweight title run after stepping in against Sting, and a tame "I Quit" bout with Sid Vicious, with neither coming close replicating the feel of Goldberg's original rise to fame, this disc at times was painful viewing. Luckily, it is surprisingly saved by a stellar No Disqualification encounter with Scott Steiner from Fall Brawl 2000, which whilst far from a technical classic has nice story to tell, and even an appearance from Vince Russo doesn't stop this from being, arguably, the best match Goldberg ever had.

Disc 3 moves onto Goldberg's 2003/04 run in WWE. These matches tend to be a lot longer than the matches on the first two discs, although this doesn't necessarily mean that the match quality is any better. The disc is bookended by two matches that are more style than substance, as Golberg takes on The Rock at Backlash 2003 and Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania XX, both could have benefitted from having time shaved off, luckily the crowd saves the bout with Lesnar with some hilarious chants. Luckily, their are some half decent matches sandwiched in between these two, with bout with Chris Jericho at Badd Blood, coming in at just the right length, with Jericho proving that he probably could have a watchable match with just about anyone (except Ryback). The Elimination Chamber bout from SummerSlam is a nice change of pace, even if the booking is questionable, there is some nice action presented, with Goldberg looking like a beast throughout. His World Heavyweight title bout with Triple H is diminished by a silly gimmick that signposts the finish, while a rematch isn't much better, whilst the inclusion of matches from Raw against Mark Henry and Batista are questionable inclusions, due to their open finishes, leaving the last disc looking a little thin on the ground.

Interspersed throughout the set is some random segments that detail certain storylines leading up to big match, such as the Georgia Dome bout with Hogan. It would have been nice to see a little more of these, and little less of Goldberg's entrance which takes up a lot of time, because a lot of these bouts suffer from a lack of context which makes them even harder to get into than they originally were.

Overall, I really struggled to watch this set, as whilst there as some decent matches present, they are few and far between, with most of the bout being very similar in structure. However, there is a nice nostalgia feel about the set, with some interesting historical moments included and there isn't really anything missing from the set, as it lives up to it's name of The Ultimate Collection. If you're a fan of Goldberg, then by all means go out and get this set, you will enjoy it. If you aren't, and prefer to see a bit more variety, this might not be the set for you.

Top Three Matches from Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection

1. No Disqualification Match

Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner 

WCW Fall Brawl, 17th September 2000

2. Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho 

WWE Badd Blood, 15th June 2003

3. WWE World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match

Goldberg vs. Triple H (C) with Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kevin Nash vs. Chris Jericho 

WWE SummerSlam, 24th August 2003