DVD Review: WWE Money in the Bank 2016 - Seth Rollins v Roman Reigns 6

WWE Money in the Bank 2016 is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray, from WWEDVD, Amazon, Base and all reputable home video outlets, priced £12-£23 on DVD. The release features the full Money in the Bank PPV, with around 3 hours of wrestling content, which unfortunately means there is no space for any special features on the disc. However, there is Seth Rollins challenging Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship, John Cena battling AJ Styles, a Six Man Ladder Match for the eponymous Money in the Bank contract featuring Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dean Ambrose and Alberto Del Rio and more, so this disc has to be well worth the money from your bank, right? 

The main event has Roman Reigns putting the World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Seth Rollins in a very good contest. The pair work to the crowd, keeping true to their characters, whilst playing towards the mostly anti-Reigns audience, which makes for a much more satisfying story. The action flows well throughout, with a number of big spots and pacy sequences and reversal, as well as a handful of strong false finishes. The show ends with the most sign-posted swerve, as the Money in the Bank winner heads down to ringside (Ummm...if for some reason you didn't want spoilers, sorry about the front cover of the DVD!) 

John Cena and AJ Styles first ever clash, in the semi-main is arguably the match of the night, as the pair wrestle a clever contest. Styles dominates Cena and always appears to have an answer for The Cenation Leader's signature offence, with this becoming the bouts main narrative thread. The finish leaves things open for a future rematch, and with the duo seemingly never breaking into their top gear here, but doing more than enough to get the Las Vegas crowd whipped into a frenzy, that will be something you should be very excited about come the conclusion of the match. 

Rounding off the upper-card, Chris Jericho, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose battle in a Six Man Ladder Match, with the Money in the Bank contract on the line in a fun spot-laden contest. The best spots of the match comes from rivals Zayn and Owens who get to continue their feud with some nasty moments, whilst Cesaro puts in the contest's strongest performance. The final few minutes felt a little anti-climactic, with a construction of ladders never quite living up to the initial excitement, meaning that the finish seemed to be missing something. 

The mid-card is highlighted by a stellar Fatal Four-Way Tag Team match, that sees Enzo & Cass, The Vaudevillains and Gallows & Anderson all going after The New Day's Tag Team Championship. After Enzo & Cass and The New Day cut comedic promos, the match keeps a good pace, with some sterling booking and featuring a variety of exciting sequence and spots, involving all eight men. Baron Corbin taking on Dolph Ziggler has some lovely moments where the two appear to be clicking, but also features some slip ups and an awkward ending. Things aren't help by the audience, who whilst beginning to warm in the final stages, are mostly silent for the first two thirds of the bout, apart from a mild "Boring" chant a few minutes in. 

Natalya and Becky Lynch team against Women's Champion Charlotte and protege Dana Brooke in a decent bout, but it's the post-match shenanigans that are the most interesting part. It takes a while Sheamus and Apollo Crews to get going in their bout, but the match develops into a hard-hitting scrap that features some big spots and a sweet finish. Rusev defending the United States Championship against Titus O'Neil, starts off well with a brawl on the outside, but it quickly becomes clear that O'Neil is out of his depth as he struggles to keep up the pace in what is the worst match on the card. 

Finally...

ATPW Home Video Rating - 6.51/10 

This is a good supercard offering from WWE, with all three of the marquee bouts delivering enjoyable and entertaining outings, whilst the Tag Team Championship match provides the under-card's best action. As far as WWE B-Shows go, this one is probably the most worthy of your DVD shelves, as not only does it contains good quality action, but there's also two World Heavyweight Championship changes and it's also the final supercard before RAW and Smackdown were split in the WWE Draft and numerous new titles began to be added. Although there's no special features, which means we miss The Golden Truth going over Breezango and The Lucha Dragons getting the best of The Dudley Boyz from the Kick-Off show, the disc doesn't really miss them 

Words - James Marston 
Special Thanks to - FreemantleMedia International and Fetch Publicity

The Merch Table #11 - WWE, TNA, GPWA, Into Absence & SPLX (Craig Hermit)

Good morning, afternoon and evening, all men, women, boys, girls, dogs, cats and everything in between, this is my Merch Table. Basically this is the place in Across the Pond Wrestling where I find the new wrestling merchandise around that you may not have known existed and I make it easier for you to locate it, so let’s begin…

WWE

WWE T-Shirt's have gone vintage, yup WWE have released a whole new range dedicated to giving fans that classic vintage feel, the ones I've selected this week, 'The Boss' Sasha Banks and the returning Seth Rollins, both equally stylish and equally brilliant.

Sasha Banks "The Legit Boss" Vintage T-Shirt

Price - £22.00 

Available in Sizes - S to 2XL.

http://euroshop.wwe.com/en_GB/sasha-banks-the-legit-boss-vintage-t-shirt/W11273.html

Seth Rollins "The Man" Vintage T-Shirt

Price -  £22.00

Available in Sizes - S to 2XL.

http://euroshop.wwe.com/en_GB/seth-rollins-the-man-vintage-t-shirt/W10938.html

Still think Dean Ambrose capturing his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank was a dream? Commemorating his Money In The Bank cash in is this 15 x 17 Photo Frame thats Limited Edition, Contains actual piece of used ring canvas from Money In The Bank 2016.

Dean Ambrose Money in the Bank Frame

Price - £57.00

http://euroshop.wwe.com/en_GB/dean-ambrose-money-in-the-bank-2016-15-x-17-framed-photo-w%2F-ring-canvas/W11846.html

TNA

Looking at TNA, they have released some new accessories. Do you have fond memories of TNA when it was in the Asylum and you think the first volume didn't have everything you wanted well Volume 2 has been issued.

TNA The Best of The Asylum Year Vol. 2 DVD (2 DISC)

This takes you back to where it all started featuring 25 complete matches. Relive some of the best of TNA's early days from the Asylum Years from 2002 through 2004, including AJ Styles, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Jerry Lynn, Raven, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Eric Young, Abyss and many more!

Price - £14.99

http://www.tnaeurostore.com/tna-the-best-of-the-asylum-years-volume-2-dvd-2-disc.html

Autographed Limited Edition 18X24 Poster of VELVET SKY

Are you missing seeing Velvet Sky on your TV, well TNA have issued an Exclusive Autographed Limited Edition 2016 Knockouts Calendar Cover 18"x24" " Poster and each poster is shipped with a Certificate of Authenticity.

£30.00

http://www.tnaeurostore.com/accessories/limited-edition-collectibles/autographed-limited-edition-18x24-poster-velvet-sky.html

GPWA 

Asylum T-Shirt

Since opening in November 2014, GPWA has quickly established itself as a fantastic pro wrestling training facility with a team of coaches from British Wrestling's finest including Wolfgang, Jack Jester, Lionheart, BT Gunn and Red Lightning. Squared Circle are a sponsor  of the training facility to release their official t-shirt.

Price - £16.00

Available is sizes - S to 4XL.

http://www.squaredcircle.com/product/gpwa-asylum-shirt

Into Absence.

Next up I wanted to look at Into Absence. They are Glasgow’s latest alternative clothing brand. A company that was started by three friends who grew tired of seeing the same mundane threads on clothing hangers across the city so sought to bring their own unique touch to what’s currently on the market. The styles they bring are fantastic, definitely unique and brilliantly styled.

Hail Satan & Watch Wrestling

Price £16.99

Available in Sizes - S to XL.

http://www.intoabsence.com/product/hail-satan-watch-wrestling

And finally…

SPLX

SPLX Wrestling has released their new Summer range, and here is a small selection of their exciting new wrestling styles.

Angélico "Diablo Del Aire" T-Shirt (First Collaboration)

Price £16.99

Available in Sizes - S to 2XL.

http://store.suplexapparel.com/product/angelico-diablo-del-aire-t-shirt-first-splx-collaboration

Prince Devitt ‘JR Champion’ T-Shirt

Price £16.99

Available in Sizes - S to 2XL

http://store.suplexapparel.com/product/prince-devitt-junior-heavyweight-champion-commemorative-t-shirt

So that was this week's extended Merch Table, hope you enjoy the weekend I was @craighermit and I’ll be back next week.

PPV Review: WWE Money in the Bank 2016 (James Marston)

Sup homeslice. Here's ATPW's look at Money in the Bank 2016, fresh for your eyeholes. We've switched back to the MOTD format, because...just because. Let us know what you think about what we think in the comments or social media. Oh look, here's Dean Ambrose. Hi Dean Ambrose. 

So, we had two new WWE World Heavyweight Champions crowned in one night, for the first time since...erm...November last year...okay that's not really that impressive, is it? How about the first time we'd have three WWE World Heavyweight Champions in one PPV since SummerSlam 2013 in August of that year. That's a bit better, isn't it? The first time someone's won a Money in the Bank briefcase and cashed it on the same night against a new champion? Hmmm, that's probably the best we're going to get here. (And more on Dean Ambrose's Money in the Bank Ladder match victory later on in the review) Let's be honest, these kind of occurrences have become pretty common place in WWE since 2005, but that didn't seem to effect the reaction that Dean Ambrose got from the T-Mobile Arena when he headed down to the ring and grabbed WWE's main prize from Seth Rollins' hands after hitting Dirty Deeds for the victory. It was a fairly straight-forward "shock" finish to the show, that I'd guess many had predicted and leaves some interesting option heading out of the show, even more so with the WWE Draft less than a month away.

So I've covered the aftermath, which was always going to be the biggest talking point, but how did Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins do with their main event contest. For me, the former Shield duo, both put in credible performances, that managed to work with the crowd reactions and play up certain aspects of their game in order to do that. Reigns' early period of dominance was a clever piece of booking, as it almost saw the two swap roles and allowing the crowd to be involved in the contest, without trying to fight against them. We had Reigns mouthing off to Rollins, questioning whether he was ready, before throwing over the announce table table, there was a definite shift in presentation here, similar to Reigns' previous matches with AJ Styles. 

There's also perhaps comparisons to be made with Seth Rollins' series of matches with John Cena last summer, where we got to see Rollins employ a much flashier offence, one you'd expect from a babyface. His comeback was highlighted with a suicide dive, which was quickly followed up by a tope conhilo, not some usually associated with your main event "heel". Following Rollins' quick and pacy comeback sequence, the pair settled into a back and forth contest, trading near falls and working some pretty neat transitions. Perhaps the biggest marker of their back and forth section was Reigns nailing Rollins with a Superman Punch directly after being thrown into the turnbuckle with Rollins' signature Buckle Bomb. During this period I felt that both men's facial expressions managed to hold the match together, where at times the running times almost felt a bit flabby. 

With both men getting solid near falls, including a well-timed Pedigree from Rollins as a reversal to Reigns' spear, it was perhaps surprising to see Rollins pick up a clean victory as he hit another Pedigree to win the title. I think this is especially surprising as WWE was planning to have Dean Ambrose come out immediately afterwards to take the title away from Rollins. Did it effect the reaction Ambrose got? Probably not. And with Reigns being protected somewhat by having the match won a few minutes earlier after hitting a Spear with the referee down, this kind of finish does perhaps lend itself more to a continued feud between the three heading into the Summer. I've also got a feeling that WWE will be turn Rollins babyface over the next few months, as this seemed the plan for him prior to his injury last year, so having him win the title cleanly will only help that turn when it happens. 

After years of appearing on everyone's WWE vs. TNA dream cards, John Cena vs. AJ Styles had a lot of hype to live up to. It was always going to be difficult to separate the match from the years and years of build up, but Cena and Styles managed to deliver a very good match indeed. The pair kept things relatively simple inside the ring, but did things well, telling a strong, coherent story throughout the match and flowing from one moment to the next relatively easily. 

From the opening exchanges it was made clear what direction the match was heading, with both the commentary and the performers making this clear as mud. The story, especially early doors hinged on the fact that Cena was having his first televised match since December and hasn't wrestled regularly since October. This played out in the ring as Styles dominated the early proceedings. The part that really caught my eye was Cena's regular comeback sequence being cut of by Styles at various points throughout the match, in different ways. This created a different feel to the match, with Cena constantly gaining momentum, only for Styles to cut him off almost immediately.

Yes, the match had a couple of cool false finishes and the transition into the Calf Crusher was quality, but I can't review this match without talking about talking. As someone with so much experience as Cena has, I shouldn't be able to hear him call anything during the match, let alone every single spot. It's shoddy work that let's down the creativity of any spot that the two did, because most of the time I knew exactly what they were going to do, because Cena had told me! Also interesting to note that Cena lead the match, I'm sure many will have something to say about that. 

The finish was, in my opinion, exactly what the match needed. With Cena inadvertently knocking down the referee, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson would strike, hitting Magic Killer on the Cenation Leader, giving Styles the victory. For me, this cheap victory was needed to cement Styles as a top heel in the company. A rematch between Cena and Styles is a bigger, more personal match because of the result and also gives the company months of material to play with on Raw and Smackdown. There's more to come from Styles and Cena, but this match laid the foundation for what should be a massive feud this summer. 

Money in the Bank ladder matches are all about the spots, aren't they? Loads of blokes chucking other blokes onto bits of metal. This years match had plenty of cool spots and moments, with all six men putting in fine displays, both delivering out the punishment and being on the receiving end of it. Perhaps, the match lacked a defining moment or any really mind blowing, but the action was kept fairly fast with lots going on. These types of matches are usually very easy on the eye, without asking an audience all that much, this clash was no different. It was good to see everyone looking relatively safe throughout the bout.

The contest felt very split across the two major feuds that were involved in the match, with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens continuing their story, whilst Chris Jericho looked to gain a measure of revenge on Dean Ambrose. Zayn and Owens' action stood out amongst the pack, with Zayn's Michonoku Driver onto a ladder on it's side and Owens powerbomb onto a ladder spanning the turnbuckle and an upright ladder, being among the matches most notable moments. At times it felt like Cesaro and Alberto Del Rio were there to fill the spots, but both guys made sure they didn't fade into the background, especially in the first two thirds of the contest.

I have to say I thought the finish ended up feeling a little bit flat, not because Dean Ambrose won the match, but down to how the ladder structure that was set up was used. With two ladder joining a turnbuckle to the main ladder, it felt like we were about to see something truly spectacular and whilst the ladder "bridges" were used, there was nothing that could be described as spectacular. The moment where also six men where on the ladder, and the follow up spot with ADR and Cesaro bringing in their own ladder seemed poised to offer up the "Holy Shit" moment the match needed but it never came with the tension slowly petering out. I would talk about Ambrose's potential with the Money in the Bank briefcase, but as we know, he'd already be WWE World Heavyweight Champion by the end of the show, so there's nothing to actually talk about! 

Leading the under card was a busy Fatal Four-Way tag team match, involving Enzo & Cass, The Vaudevillians and Gallows & Anderson challenging for The New Day's WWE Tag Team Championship. These matches have become pretty common place on WWE PPV's over the last few years, but this bout was perhaps the strongest looking line-up for a while, with all three teams having legitimate claims to the title. This was played up nicely by some strong near falls, with all three of the challengers hitting their finish and getting solid reactions from it. Gallows and Anderson's Magic Killer on Aiden English was probably the strongest part of the bout. 

I did feel however that parts of the match weren't as smooth as they could have been, perhaps because certain parts felt very rushed. The teams never quite seemed to find a rhythm to settle into and I think this was fairly obvious by the finish, which felt clunky as Big E and Kofi Kingston went for the Midnight Hour on Karl Anderson, whilst waiting for Big Cass to take out Luke Gallows with a Cactus Big Boot. Kingston would then go on to pin English a couple of minutes after taking the Magic Killer. had this match just been a bit tighter on it's timings, slowing down at points and speeding up at others, it could have been a real triumph for the tag team division, however what we ended up with was a good bout, that should have been better.

Elsewhere, Baron Corbin went over Dolph Ziggler in a solid match, that failed to capture the crowd. The two guys have struggled to get their programme over, despite starting it the night after WrestleMania in April. The duo have had five matches on TV since then and it was clear to everyone that feud had outstayed it's welcome as they contested their sixth match (the first on PPV), as the T-Mobile Arena showered them in either "Boring" chants or complete silence. 

To be fair to Corbin and Ziggler, the pair did work hard for each throughout the match, showing flashes of chemistry with some decent sequences peppered throughout the bout. Had the pair managed to pull out a match like this a few months back and then both moved onto to something else I feel it would have benefited both men, a lot more than the current structure of their feud. Despite this, I thought that the finish was incredibly weak, as the pair fannied around in the corner, which lead to nothing, before Corbin hit End of Days for the victory. Marking Corbin's fourth victory over Ziggler in a row, here's hoping that this feud is finally over.

 
Further down the card, we had a women's tag team match, because, why would you put a Women's Championship match on PPV, stupid idiot? A complete nothing match here, as Charlotte and Dana Brooke went over Becky Lynch and Natalya, in a match that happened. The Women's Champion and Brooke did some decent heel work, using underhanded tactics to keep control of the match, but beyond that I haven't got much to say. If the bout had taken place on Monday Night RAW or even Thursday Night Smackdown, it wouldn't have looked out of place, but it definitely didn't merit a spot on PPV. Natalya's turn on Lynch after the match was the most noteworthy occurrence, which in my opinion could be the best thing for Natalya who looks incredibly awkward and cringe-worthy as a babyface. (Yes, she unfollowed us on Twitter for saying that) 

Apollo Crews' first WWE PPV appearance saw him put a decent bout with Sheamus, en route to picking up the biggest victory of his 6 year career. The crowd was very timid at the start of the contest, but it felt like Crews was beginning to win them over, as he got his first real chance to show what he can do since being promoted from NXT. His moonsault off the apron to the outside looked extremely pretty and felt like the turning point in winning the crowd over. The reaction to Crews kicking out of a Super White Noise was a big one and I think had the pair had another five minutes to really kick on they could have potentially stole the show. A highlight of the undercard that showed potential in a talent who has struggled to connect with the crowd as of yet, there's more to come from Crews and Sheamus, as they both try to find their place on the current programming. 

Down at the bottom of the pile, we have Rusev retaining the WWE United States Championship over Titus O'Neil in a match. There was some storyline here with O'Neil's kids being at ringside and it being Father's Day, but it didn't really do a whole lot for me. I found myself quickly zoning out because I'm neither guy has got me invested over the last few weeks in their storyline and they didn't show much else here either. The Bulgarian Brute joking about with O'Neil's kids after the match and shouting "Happy Father's Day" got a good chuckle out of me though. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.04/10 

This show was promoted as the "Greatest Money in the Bank PPV of all time" and it wasn't. It was always going to struggle to live up to the billing, considering that Money in the Bank 2011 is considered one of the greatest PPV's off all time. However, I thought the top matches did manage to deliver plenty of entertainment, with Styles vs. Cena, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout and the Money in the Bank ladder match all being high quality contests. My personal match of the night would be Styles and Cena, as I thought they created a compelling contest that built nicely throughout, whilst also leaving something extra for a future rematch, that will be a bigger match because of this. 

Elsewhere, I thought the undercard was particularly weak with the Women's tag, Corbin vs. Ziggler and the United States Championship match bringing very little to the PPV. The Tag Championship match and Sheamus vs. Crews showed promise at points, but were held back through booking and a couple of slip ups. 

With this being the last show before the WWE Draft, it felt like a few of the performers were holding back just a little bit, when they should have been going all out to show that they deserved a major spot on either Raw or Smackdown. 
  

DVD Review: WWE Best PPV Matches 2015 (Match Compilation)

WWE's Best PPV Matches 2015 is out now on DVD, available from www.wwedvd.co.uk and all reputable home video stockists. The three disc DVD set features sixteen matches from WWE's PPV exploits between January and October 2015! Matches include Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose in a Ladder Match, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar doing battle inside Hell in a Cell, Rollins, Lesnar and John Cena in triple threat action over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber as The New Day defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, The Ascension and Lucha Dragons, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal Four-way, Randy Orton, Neville, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus and Roman Reigns going at it in the Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar main eventing SummerSlam and Kevin Owens challenging for John Cena's WWE United States Championship.

best ppv matches 2015 match card

Match 1 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – John Cena vs. Seth Rollins w/J & J Security vs. Brock Lesnar © w/Paul Heyman – WWE Royal Rumble 2015 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia, USA - 25^th January 2015)

Match 2 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender's – Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Fastlane 2015 (Memphis, Tennesee, USA - 22^nd January 2015)

Match 3 – WWE United States Championship – “Hero to the Russian Federation” Rusev © w/”The Ravishing Russian” Lana vs. John Cena - WWE WrestleMania 31 (Santa Clara, California, USA - 29^th March 2015)

Match 4 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman (vs. Seth Rollins) – WWE WrestleMania 31 (Santa Clara, California, USA - 29^th March 2015)

Match 5 – WWE Tag Team Championship – The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) w/Xavier Woods vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd w/Natalya – WWE Extreme Rules 2015 (Rosemont, Illionois, USA - 26^th April 2015)

Match 6 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Four-Way (If Seth Rollins loses Kane is fired as Director of Operations) – Randy Orton vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins © w/ J&J Security – WWE Payback 2015 (Baltimore, Maryland, USA - 17^th May 2015)

Match 7 – WWE Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber – The Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores w/El Torito vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd w/Natalya vs. The New Day vs. The Ascension vs. The Lucha Dragons - WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 (Corpus Christi, Texas, USA - 31^st May 2015)

Match 8 – Singles – WWE NXT Champion Kevin Owens vs. WWE United States Champion John Cena – WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 (Corpus Christi, Texas, USA - 31^st May 2015)

Match 9 – Money in the Bank Contract Ladder - “The Apex Predator” Randy Orton vs. “The Man That Gravity Forgot” “The New Sensation” Neville vs. Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler w/Lana vs. WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston (New Day) vs. “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns - WWE Money in the Bank 2015 (Columbus, Ohio, USA - 14^th June 2015)

Match 10 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ladder – Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins © - WWE Money in the Bank 2015 (Columbus, Ohio, USA - 14^th June 2015)

Match 11 – Triple Threat – Sasha Banks w/ Naomi & Tamina vs. Charlotte w/Becky Lynch & Paige vs. Brie Bella w/Alicia Fox & WWE Diva's Champion Nikki Bella – WWE Battleground 2015 (St. Louis, Missouri, USA - 19^th July 2015)

Match 12 – WWE United States Championship – Kevin Owens vs. John Cena © - WWE Battleground 2015 (St. Louis, Missouri, USA - 19^th July 2015)

Match 13 – Singles – Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker – WWE SummerSlam 2015 (New York City, New York, USA - 23^rd August 2015)

Match 14 – WWE Diva's Championship – Charlotte (Team PCB) w/Becky Lynch & Paige vs. Nikki Bella (Team Bella) © w/Alicia Fox & Brie Bella – WWE Night of Champions 2015 (Houston, Texas, USA - 20^th September 2015)

Match 15 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Seth Rollins © vs. Sting – WWE Night of Champions 2015 (Houston, Texas, USA - 20^th September 2015)

Match 16 – Hell in a Cell – Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker – WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 (Los Angeles, California, USA - 25^th October 2015)  

Commentary - John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Michael Cole & Jerry "The King" Lawler

The set is presented by former NXT Tag Team Champion Corey Graves, who turns up about two or three times per disc, to act as seque and to break up the action. Once the chosen matches from each PPV are shown there's also a cool little highlights package for the PPV, with each taking on a slightly different feel.

The set get's off to a great start as Brock Lesnar defends the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a barn-burner of a Triple Threat against John Cena and Money in the Bank Contract Holder Seth Rollins. It's a match that the rest of the set will struggle to follow as the trio string together a series of spectacular spots and near falls that have the Philadelphia crowd hooked. The type of match that you will only see in WWE, it's put together with a real craft and the structure helps to drive the bout throughout. A physical thrill ride from start to finish, for me this is the best contest WWE put on in 2015, an absolute must-see.

The good times continue as Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns duke it out for a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in an aggressive contest. The viciousness that both men bring to this one makes it stand out, making the title look so important. There's a strike sequence towards the end that is pretty much perfect and should have been a star-making moment for Reigns. 

John Cena and Rusev's WWE United States Championship match isn't one of the matches I'd have chosen to represent WrestleMania, with the WWE Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match and Seth Rollins and Randy Orton's battle both being better matches. That being said, this one has plenty of WrestleMania pageantry surrounding it, and is still a good storytelling contest. Whilst some of the action isn't as crisp as it should have been, I still found that I enjoyed the match much more on a second viewing, so if you didn't enjoy the bout originally, I definitely recommend giving it another chance.

Roman Reigns continues to put on star performances in a terrifically physical bout with Brock Lesnar over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Despite a fairly hostile Santa Clara crowd, Reigns handles himself well and the crowd become less of a factor as the bout goes on, as Lesnar and Reigns' both put on quality performances in their respective roles. With a great finish that see's Money in the Bank contract holder Seth Rollins interjecting himself into the contest, providing one of the most memorable moments of 2015. Reigns' Last Man Standing match with The Big Show from Extreme Rules is overlooked in favour of Cesaro & Tyson Kidd defending the WWE Tag Team Championships against The New Day in pacy contest that manages to showcase both teams well.

There's a lot of fun action on display in a Fatal Four-Way contest between Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. There's some quality interplay between the four characters that makes the match for me, with some especially good stuff between the three for Shield members, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns. The added storyline with Kane's job as Director of Operations being on the line does end up holding the match back at various points, leading to surprisingly weak finish.

The first ever Tag Team Elimination Chamber is next, as The New Day defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against The Prime Time Players, Los Matadores, Cesaro & Tyson Kidd, The Ascension and The Lucha Dragons, in a spot-laden contest. Whilst the match is an entertaining watch, it's booking is questionable throughout, struggling to get a pace that suits the contest. The finish sequence has it's moments, but it bagginess ends up letting it down, I'd have preferred to have seen Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins main event get this slot if I'm honest.

John Cena and Kevin Owens put on a tremendous Champion vs. Champion bout, that works brilliantly as an introduction to the then NXT Champion on the main stage. It's spot-based action, but with just enough narrative to keep things ticking, in front of hooked Corpus Christi audience. Driven by a passionate Owens and a frustrated Cena, there's some world class near falls here, kicking off one of the years strongest feuds in styles. 

You can't really go wrong with a Money in the Bank Contract ladder match, and whilst this year's bout isn't a vintage outing, there's still plenty to enjoy. The seven man contest involving Randy Orton, Kane, Neville, Dolph Ziggler, Roman Reigns, Kofi Kingston and Sheamus, is much more focused on dramatic moments, than it's usual non-stop action style and thus the bout has a rather different feel to that of the majority of it's predecessors. It's definitely fun whilst it lasts, but doesn't feature anything particularly memorable, therefore I wouldn't have minded on bit if we'd had the second Kevin Owens vs. John Cena match in it's place.

A completely different Ladder match next as Dean Ambrose goes after Seth Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a brutal contest. With much better spots and a compelling narrative that's told well throughout, Rollins and Ambrose take their feud to the next level. Dean Ambrose puts in a terrific performance fighting from underneath, cementing his place as one of the companies top babyfaces, whilst Rollins continues to be consistently good throughout his title reigns. It's unfortunately let down just a tad by poorly booked finish and it's length may not be for everyone, but it's still quality encounter that's well worth a watch.

The first match that doesn't really belong on the set is a Triple Threat match between Brie Bella, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, that doesn't quite hit the spot. That isn't to say that it's a particularly bad match, and there is plenty of nice wrestling in there, but there's nothing here that makes it stand out from the pack, either Sheamus vs. Randy Orton or Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt would've been better choices from this PPV. John Cena and Kevin Owens complete their trilogy with another outstanding bout over the WWE United States Championship. Whilst there's a number of similarities from the first two, this is still a great watch full of big spots and big near falls. The St. Louis crowd give the duo a great reaction throughout as they bring their feud to suitable crescendo. 

Two of the best brawlers to ever step foot in a WWE ring throw bombs at each other, as The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar duke it out in the main event of SummerSlam. There's lots of riffing off their WrestleMania XXX clash, which ups the drama stakes and lends well to the epic storytelling of the bout. A big improvement on their last outing, the finish is a little bit of a weird one, which ends up lessening the near falls that had come before it somewhat.

Charlotte challenging for the WWE Diva's Championship against Nikki Bella at Night of Champions was arguably the best women's outing on PPV in 2015 and rightly earns itself a slot on the DVD. There's some solid wrestling and a great narrative throughout that make this one stand out above the rest of the pack. Seth Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense against Sting is a strange choice for the set, especially when compared to the match Rollins had minutes earlier with John Cena over the WWE United States Championship. While far from a "bad" match, an injury to Sting in the last portion of the bout leave the contest feeling more than a little flat come it's conclusion. 

Strangely the set finishes off with the main event of October's Hell in a Cell PPV, ignoring the two PPV's that came in November and December, as The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar brought their close to a brutal conclusion inside the demonic structure. It's a bloody brawl of a contest, that manages to tell a superb story as two of the best go toe to toe. Personally, I think this one of the best Hell in a Cell matches for a very long time, with plenty of memorable moments and a terrific conclusion. The post-match antics with The Wyatt Family though probably didn't need to be included and leaves the set feeling a little incomplete at the end.

finally...

dvd rating - 7.63/10

On match quality alone this is a brilliant DVD set, that despite having a couple of questionable inclusions manages to keep the good times rolling for pretty much the entire 8 hours plus running time. Three or four years ago, this would've been a much have set, but the WWE Network now makes it pretty easy to skip through all these matches and even make an improvement on the matches that are chosen for this one and even actually complete the year with the two PPV's from November and December. 

I found this to be an enjoyable watch from start to finish, but it's difficult to recommend something that only has about ten minutes of content that isn't available at a cheaper price somewhere. However, if you've got a poor internet connection then this is the set for you, I suppose.

DVD Review: WWE Money in the Bank 2015

WWE Money in the Bank 2015 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray on Monday (24th August 2015) in the UK. You can pre-order here at WWEDVD.co.uk and all other reputable DVD stockists. Broadcast live on PPV (and on the WWE Network) from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, USA on 14th June 2015. The show features Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Ladder match against Dean Ambrose as the main event. There's also five other matches featuring the likes of Kevin Owens, Neville, Kane, Randy Orton and Paige in action with a Money in the Bank Ladder match also on the card. The Intercontinental, WWE Tag Team and Diva's Championships are also up for grabs. The disc includes over ten minutes of special features, including one further match. Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and John "Bradshaw" Layfield provide the commentary.

Similar to WWE's last DVD event offering, Elimination Chamber, the show is slow to get going thanks to starting with a multi-man match, which means many entrances to kick things off. Luckily once the Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match does get going it's a fun bout, that see's Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Neville, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns vying for the, now familiar, briefcase. With some nice storyline elements thrown into the mix, building towards the bouts conclusion, this is an entertaining start to the show. Paige challenging Nikki Bella for the Diva's Championship is a decent encounter for the most part, with a surprisingly good false finish, but it is hurt by a nonsensical closing sequence, that leaves even the commentary team confused. The Big Show and Ryback's Intercontinental Championship collision is a waste of time on an event like this, with The Miz on guest commentary being heavily involved in the contest. 

Kevin Owens and John Cena manage to top their previous Champion vs. Champion outing, creating a match that is everything the previous one was and more. Whilst there is, admittedly, a few clunky moments here and there, the storytelling is of a very high standard and shows off a new side to John Cena. The aftermath of the epic encounter is just as interesting as the bout itself, setting the stage for a third match to round off the trilogy at a latter date. There's an entertaining heel promo from The New Day's Xavier Woods and Big E, before their WWE Tag Team Championship encounter with The Prime Time Players, that works the Ohio crowd nicely. The match that follows is nothing special, but completely watchable. 

The main event is perhaps not what you'd expect when looking at the card and seeing Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins' Ladder Match over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in that slot. The bout shies away from the spot based antics of the earlier ladder match, although there are plenty of treats here also, to present a clash with a strong narrative thread, with both men playing their respective roles very well. The pair take the action all over the arena and manage to pull these brawling elements back into the narrative rather well, keeping a good mixture of styles throughout the bout. The main criticism has to be that the match is a little too long (it's just over 35 minutes long bell-to-bell) for what it is, it could easily stand to lose five or six minutes and not be effected at all. Following the bout, the winner's interview with Jo-Jo on the entrance ramp is curious touch for a modern WWE PPV, although it does work rather well in this case.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.52

This is the strongest WWE DVD event offering since WrestleMania 31, with both Kevin Owens vs. John Cena and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins improving on their outings at Elimination Chamber. The whole undercard is also a marked improvement, and if you remove the Intercontinental Championship match you've got a card that works from top to bottom. 

If you were to ask me which post-Mania show was worth splashing your cash on, to bridge the gap to SummerSlam, then Money in the Bank would be that show. You can pre-order here.