The Best of Times…The Worst of Times // Royal Rumble

The brainchild of Pat Paterson and everyone’s favourite PPV: as the Rumble hits 30, I look at the best and worst of the show’s history.

Best Rumble Match // 1992

I lose points for originality here but 1992 is the default pick for the vast majority of wrestling fans for good reason: it featured arguably the last great performance of Ric Flair’s career (complete with classic post-match promo); allowed Bobby Heenan to channel his comedic talents to great effect; featured possibly the greatest cast of WWF characters ever assembled in one match; and was the best example of babyface icon Hulk Hogan getting away with being a bit of a dick (why you gotta play Sid like that, Hulkster?) This was probably the night the Royal Rumble truly established itself as appointment viewing on the WWF calendar: now more than just a novelty battle royal, this match, with its drama, unpredictability and moments of consequence and significance, overtook SummerSlam and Survivor Series to become the number 2 show for Vince and the boys.

Honourable Mention: 2007

Worst Rumble Match // 2000

WWF was red hot in 2000 so bringing its greatest gimmick to its home arena of MSG should have been a sure-fire hit, Whilst the undercard was superb, the Rumble match flattered to deceive. In fact, it remains the dullest Rumble match in history, its one fun spot an impromptu dance off between Rikishi and Too Cool for which the crowd came unglued (I remain steadfast that most wrestling fans secretly favour dancing over workrate). All this match is really known for is Road Dogg hanging onto the bottom rope for an eternity and Rocky and Big Show botching the finish. Avoid.

Honourable Mention: 1991

Best Title Match at a Rumble PPV // John Cena vs Umaga (WWE Championship, 2007)

I struggled with this category: I really enjoy the Triple H and Cactus Jack's street fight at 2000 and Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit at 2003 is a wrestling classic. But fans expected those matches to be great: this title bout from San Antonio, contested under Last Man Standing Rules, vastly exceeded expectations. Featuring an innovative spot in which Umaga charged across the announce desks, a mighty juice job from Cena and a frankly mental finish in which the champ used the ring ropes to render his foe unconscious, this match had a bit of everything. It also secured the late Umaga his spot in the huge Battle of the Billionaires match at ‘Mania 23. A true classic and one that doesn’t always get the props it deserves.

Honourable Mention: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (2003)

Worst Title Match at a Rumble PPV // Kurt Angle vs Mark Henry (World Title, 2006)

To be honest, the worst title match in Rumble history is probably Triple H vs Scott Steiner from 2003  but as I literally wrote about that last month, I feel I should vary things up. And Angle and Henry sucked so it’s fair game here.  This match, positioned last on the card, therefore going on after the Rumble and a worthier Cena vs Edge encounter, secured said slot simply because the show closing visual was to be Undertaker interrupting the pedestrian action so that he could destroy the ring. That this odd angle led to a belter between Taker and Angle is some consolation but on that fateful night in 2006, this was not Rumble worthy.

Honourable Mention: Triple H vs Scott Steiner (2003)

Best Rumble PPV // 2002

This show featured one of the best Rumble matches ever: Tripe H was a popular winner; Steve Austin had a blast delivering Stone Cold’s greatest hits; Mr Perfect returned and Maven eliminating Undertaker feels even more shocking years later than it was then. The show also had a great undercard: Jericho and The Rock tore it up in the Undisputed Title match and Vince McMahon and Ric Flair had a surprisingly solid street fight. The opening tag is innocuous fun if you watch it now on the Network but I have a soft spot for it based on the DVD release: for some reason, Taz and Spike Dudley delivered commentary on their match and seized the opportunity to mock Stacey Keibler for blowing her slapping spot; as Taz noted, the slap she sent his way would only have connected if he’d been a couple of feet taller.

Honourable Mention: 2007

Worst Rumble PPV: 2006

I’ve already buried the title match but the rest of the show wasn’t up to much either… The undercard featured JBL vs The Boogey Man which was as bad as it sounds and the Rumble itself was uninspiring. Triple H and Rey Mysterio tried to repeat Shawn Michael’s and Davey Boy’s gimmick of surviving the field from the 1 and 2 spot. 11 years may have passed but it still felt too soon to repeat this scenario; about half way through the match it became too clear this was the direction they were going in and the contest suffered accordingly. The pop for Rey after his win probably wasn’t as passionate as expected; sadly, things would only get worse in this regard…

Honourable Mention: 1991

Article by Sean Taylor-Richardson

Opinion // The Greatest Royal Rumble Performances

It's that time of the year again on Sunday night, as the Royal Rumble comes to us for the 30th time from Philadelphia.

As we all know well, the main attraction of the event is the 30 man Royal Rumble match and this year we have two to look forward to, with the women joining the men for the first time in another bit of history.

Over the years, there have been some great individual performances in the Royal Rumble that everyone remembers. But which have those have been best?

Whether it be for kick-starting a career, setting a benchmark or creating history, here are my top Rumble performances.

8 // Roman Reigns // 2014

Entered // #15

Time Lasted // 33:51

Eliminations // Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, Goldust, El Torito, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Luke Harper, Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, seth Rollins, Sheamus

Oh, how things change. In 2014, Reigns was in the position that WWE so wish he was in four years later. Fans were pulling for him, or in fact anybody, to win the Rumble instead of the returning Batista that year.

That didn't happen, but what Reigns did was cement his place as the future with a dominant performance where he eliminated 12 men and set a new record. 

Although we now know, Batista's win helped result in us get the amazing moment with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania XXX, from a WWE perspective, they may wish they pulled the trigger here instead.   

7 // The Rock // 1998

Entered // #4

Time Lasted // 51:32

Eliminated // Ken Shamrock, Faarooq

A star making performance usually happens in the Royal Rumble, and in 1998, it was The Rock's time to shine.

A solid midcarder and Intercontinental Champion at the time, The Rock set the tone for the rest of the year by lasting over 51 minutes before being eliminated by the eventual winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin. 

By the end of 1998, he was the WWE Champion and the biggest heel in the company, so it was certainly a sign of things to come.

6 // Diesel // 1994

Entered // #7

Time Lasted // 17:41

Eliminated // Bart Gunn, Scott Steiner, Owen Hart, Kwang, Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, Virgil

This is on the list because it cemented Diesel's status in the company at the time, and was the beginning of what led to his not so fondly remembered year long title reign the following year. 

In the 1994 Rumble, a man that was simply Shawn Michaels' bodyguard at the time came into his first real match and dominated, eliminating seven men in the process before being dumped out of the ring by several competitors.

 

5 // Shawn Michaels // 1995

Entered // #1 

Time Lasted // 38:41 

Eliminated // Duke Droese, Tom Prichard, Bushwacker Luke, Jacob Blu, Bushwacker Butch, Aldo Montoya, Lex Luger, The British Bulldog

An iconic moment as Michaels became the first ever man to win the Rumble from number one, and although this wasn't one of the longest Rumble matches ever, it was again the making of the person involved. 

In this case, Michaels went from being a midcard act to a main event player and although they botched his push slightly and had to rebuild him again the following year, this was the beginning of HBK being the go-to guy.

The visual of Michaels clinging onto the ropes with one foot touching the floor to stop himself from being eliminated has been used for the Rumble ever since, and he remains one of only two men to have been the first to enter and the last to leave.

4 // Chris Benoit // 2004

Entered // #1

Time Lasted // 1:01:35

Eliminated // Bradshaw, Mark Henry, Rhyno, Matt Morgan, A-Train, The Big Show

Up next is the other one of those, back in 2004. It was a time of feel good moments in WWE back then as they used the story of Chris Benoit not being a fashionable WWE main eventer to tell a terrific underdog tale.

After being forced by Smackdown GM Paul Heyman to enter the Rumble first in an attempt to stop him from winning, Benoit fought the odds and came out on top by eliminating The Big Show. 

He would eventually go on to Wrestlemania XX to famously win the World Heavyweight Championship, and despite the taint future events put on these moments, it is important to remember how celebrated they were at the time.

3 // Stone Cold Steve Austin // 1997 

Entered // #5

Time Lasted // 35:07 

Eliminated // Phineas I. Godwin, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, Owen Hart, Savio Vega, Jesse James, Vader, The Undertaker, Bret Hart

This was another star making performance, as Stone Cold Steve Austin began his rise to the top with victory in 1997.

The Rumble itself was all about Austin's performance, with there being very little star power on the roster at the time and he delivered tenfold, providing many memorable moments during his time in the ring.

This was the one Rumble that was won in controversial fashion with Austin being eliminated by Bret Hart only to sneak back in and win the thing. He wouldn't go on to face the champion at that year's WrestleMania but would continue the feud with Bret that continued here. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

2 // Kane // 2001

Entered // #6

Time Lasted // 53:46

Eliminated // Grand Master Sexay, Steve Blackman, Al Snow, Raven, Perry Saturn, The Honky Tonk Man, Tazz, Crash Holly, Albert, Scotty 2 Hotty, The Rock

By 2001, the mystique of the original Kane character had worn off a tad. He was still always portrayed as a threat, as he is now and will in fact be involved in the Universal Championship match on Sunday, but for one night only, he was a star again.

Entering towards the beginning of the match, he eliminated a then record of 11 men, including comedian Drew Carey and The Honky Tonk Man.

He was eventually eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin and didn't do too much of note again for a couple of years, but this showed what a great character he has always been.   

1 // Ric Flair // 1992

Entered // #3

Time Lasted // 1:00:02  

Eliminated // The British Bulldog, The Texas Tornado, The Big Boss Man, Randy Savage, Sid Justice

The number one performance in Rumble history goes to Ric Flair, who won the WWE Championship after it was on the line for the first time in 1992. 

Flair showed what an iron man performance in a Rumble can truly be like and perfectly sold the idea of a heel trying to stay in a match for close to an hour at all costs.

The Nature Boy was a constantly close to the action and sold being close to elimination only to somehow stay in beautifully. It's a performance that would be used as a template for years to come and was the standout moment in Flair's first WWE tenure.

Article by Andy Phillips // @AndyP_GY

25 Years Since SummerSlam hit the UK - The Show

A tad over 25 years ago, thousands of people were sitting in anticipation at Wembley Stadium for the only major WWF pay-per-view event to ever cross the pond.

With a multitude of media coverage in the build up, tickets bought and transport sorted, it was time for the real event to begin.

The first bell saw a dark six-man-tag match with Hacksaw Jim Duggan teaming up with The Bushwhackers to take on the trio of The Nasty Boys and The Mountie. Despite being a match full of gimmicks that were old hat a t the time, it is obvious looking at a video of this match that the atmosphere was a special one from the word go.

Lee Kimber said: ''When the event actually started and the stadium was filling out, I can honestly say that I’d never experienced anything like it, and if I’m honest nothing since has come close.

''I’d never seen so many people in one place before and they were cheering every last thing that happened in that ring. It was a party atmosphere in the stadium and the footage of the event really doesn’t do justice to how loud the crowd were at times. ''

Alan Dicks said: ''It was loud and it was the first time I had been in a crowd with that amount of people. Everyone was into every match.

A loud USA chant erupted as Duggan and The Bushwhackers picked up a victory, and that was followed by Papa Shango defeating Tito Santana before the real action was to begin.

Vince McMahon and Bobby ''The Brain'' Heenan introduced the PPV action before the Legion of Doom's music hit and they rode out on motorcycles in one of the most memorable moments of the night to take on Money Inc.

Lee Kimber says: ''One of the biggest reactions was for the Legion of Doom. When their music hit and they rode down to the ring on motorcycles the crowd loved it.

Alan Dicks also believes this to be the one of the more memorable moments, stating: ''The LOD entrance stands out, I was at the top of the stairs when they came out on the bikes. ''

After LOD's victory, Nailz beat Virgil, Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel fought to a double countout in a match, The Natural Disasters beat The Beverly Brothers to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships and Crush defeated Repo Man before one of the most hyped up matches of the evening.

Credit - Lee Kimber

It was time for ''Macho Man'' Randy Savage to defend the World Wrestling Federation Championship against The Ultimate Warrior in a rematch of their ''Retirement match'' at WrestleMania VII the year before.

Lee Kimber says: ''I went in with low expectations of Warrior Vs Savage. I had enjoyed their WrestleMania match the previous year but this one seemed to come out of nowhere.

''I wasn’t a fan of Warrior’s matches and I didn’t see how he had earned a title shot. The match exceeded my expectations though and the crowd were certainly hot for it.

Alan Dicks said on the title match: ''I was looking forward to Savage v Warrior the most, Savage is my favourite ever wrestler and I loved their epic match from WrestleMania VII.''

Ollie Clark said: ''Warrior v Savage was good but not a patch on the retirement match from the previous year.

The match may not have been at the level of their WrestleMania bout but it was still worthy of the event. The two had a back and forth match for around 25 minutes before Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect came out to the ring, pretending to be in cahoots with Warrior before attacking him too. After Flair hit Savage with a chair which left him unable to get back into the ring, Warrior won the match by countout before he joined forces with Savage to chase the duo away. It was a bit of a bullshit end to a big title match, but the real main event was still to come.

A short match between The Undertaker and Kamala followed, with a memorable Undertaker entrance on top of a hearse being the highlight as Taker eventually won by disqualification following interference from Kim Chee.

After Tatanka beat The Berzerker in an encounter that never made the US pay-per-view broadcast, it was time for hometown hero ''The British Bulldog'' Davey Boy Smith, accompanied to the ring by British boxing great Lennox Lewis, to take on his brother-in-law Bret ''The Hitman'' Hart for the Intercontinental Championship.

One of the best matches seen in the United Kingdom saw Bulldog win the title in front of his hometown crowd to end the show on a high note.

Speaking of the main event, Lee Kimber said: ''''The Bret vs Bulldog match was the highlight of the night and still holds up as one of the best matches I’ve ever seen.

''The crowd were absolutely rabid for this one and they were split down the middle, with duelling chants for Bulldog and Hitman.

''When Bulldog cradles Bret for the win the place just exploded. I honestly don’t know if you’d got a bigger roar in there when England won the World Cup.

Ollie Clark agreed with his assessment, stating: ''I remember seeing shots on the TV screen during Bulldog v Bret and seeing Diana Hart but the screen was small and I thought it was Jeff Jarrett!

''The biggest reaction of the night was with the Bulldog and Lennox Lewis.

''Bulldog v Bret is probably the best WWF match of all time on UK soil.

Alan Dicks wasn't too pleased about the result as a youngster, saying: ''The Bulldog vs Bret match was really good to watch, I remember getting upset at the result as I was a huge Bret Hart fan.

Looking back on the events 25 years later, all three attendees have fond memories but realise there are many differences between professional wrestling then and the product on screen now.

Lee Kimber said: ''The crowd were great and it was a truly amazing experience, and I’ll always be proud to say I was there in the audience when the British Bulldog beat Bret Hart at Wembley Stadium in one of the greatest matches of all time.

''I watched it back a couple of years ago. On reflection it was not a good card and there were a lot of screwy finishes. It was more cartoony then, but the characters were half of the fun.

''As bad as some of it was though it still holds up against today's supercards and surpasses many of them. That said, the Bret vs Bulldog match still holds its own against anything you’ll see today. It was storytelling at its finest.

I am surprised given how much of a success this one was, but then it’s not all about gate revenues.

''With the core audience in the US you couldn’t run the live event in the UK and delay the US showing until its usual time slot. The results would be online immediately. Mind you with betting odds most of the results are online before an event has even taken place these days so maybe it’s irrelevant now.

''I’m not sure wrestling is popular enough now in the UK to fill Wembley Stadium again, but you’d still draw a healthy crowd.''

Alan Dicks agrees with most of this having watched recently, adding: ''I remember not being able to talk for a couple of days as I had been shouting so much.

''It was an enjoyable show and I got to see most of the big names of the time but it was strange watching without the commentary.

''I've seen it recently and would say it's a one match show with some cool entrances. The in ring work was a lot slower compared to today.

I don't think the show did too well in the US due to time differences but I would have expected other PPV's to have been held over here before now.''

The common theme seems to be that the characters hold up more than the wrestling in hindsight, and Ollie Clark also agrees with his, saying: ''I last watched about 2 years ago - the wrestling these days is better but the characters and storylines were much better in the 80s and 90s.

I'm not really surprised there hasn't been an event since as they made a loss and what with them holding fire on and UK Heavyweight events I don't expect to see another UK PPV this decade unfortunately.

''The UK interest in WWE peaked between 1989 and 1992 alongside the release of the WrestleMania song and Slam Jam.

''But saying that ,I am sure they would have no problem selling out Wembley for another SummerSlam, or a Mania or Rumble.''

Article by Andy Phillips (AndyP_GY)

WWE 24: WrestleMania Monday Blu-Ray Review

THE GREAT HOME VIDEO CATCH-UP CONTINUES! 

WWE 24: WrestleMania Monday has been out in the UK since the start of April from all the usual outlets and has the WWE 24 episode, WrestleMania Monday as it's main feature. Having aired on the WWE Network on 27th March, this is the first time that an episode of WWE 24 (which has previously looked at behind the scene details of each WrestleMania since 30, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan's retirement amongst other topics) has been released, so it will be interesting to see how the set does and how this effects future releases. Alongside hour-long special, the Blu-Ray edition has twenty one matches and moments from the RAW after WrestleMania including the likes of John Cena, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels, Edge and more.

But is it any good? Let's take a look. 

24: WrestleMania Monday Documentary

If you've got the WWE Network, the chances are pretty high that you've watched a WWE 24 since the series debuted in January 2015, so you should know the formula by now, with this episode being no different. The show covers the day leading up to Monday Night RAW at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, immediately following WrestleMania 32, focusing on the journey's of Enzo & Cass, Apollo Crews, AJ Styles, Cesaro, Zack Ryder and Maryse as well covering Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows backstage contract signing. All four of the main stories offer interesting tales, each compelling and engaging on their own levels, delving into what brought those names to that point in their career and their motivations. Each story carries it's screen time well, with perhaps their even being an argument for the Cesaro and Ryder stories deserving more focus, but overall the mix of faces and narratives creates a vibrant and busy documentary. The time spent on the origin of the super hyper RAW after Mania crowds and a handful of moments ties the whole package together well, with the likes of Daniel Bryan, Fandango, Paige, Goldberg and Dolph Ziggler providing a nice insight into their memorable time's on various post-Mania RAW's. 

The hour-long episode on it's own is well worth checking out if your interested into what goes into making a show like the one at American Airlines Center.

The Matches 

We begin in 1995 with a massively physical WWF World Women's Championship match as Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano (in her last match with WWF), throw big moves at each other, before Bertha Faye [Rhonda Singh] makes her debut. From the same episode, a segment with Sycho Sid turning on Shawn Michaels during a Vince McMahon interview is bizarrely cut off in the middle of the break, meaning that majority of the footage is then shown windowed the following week's RAW, with Diesel making the save. Mankind [Mick Foley]'s WWF debut in 1996 in quick squash with Bob Holly [Hardcore Holly] is an odd watch as the new character hadn't quite settled. Jumping to '98 and we have a red-hot "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, coming straight off taking the WWF World Heavyweight title from Shawn Michaels, interview with Vince McMahon, which inevitably ends with a Stone Cold stunner and the Syracuse crowd losing all of their shits. From the same episode is X-Pac's WWF return, as he's introduced as a new member of D-Generation X by Triple H, leading to a big ol' shoot on Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan and WCW. 

Into the new millennium and we have a European title bout between Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero, which is notable for Chyna's turning on Y2J, but isn't on the same level matches in WCW three years earlier. '02 provides a wonderful segment with Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock basking in the glory of their night the match earlier, both controlling a rowdy crowd and giving them exactly what they wanted. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's reply isn't quite as fun and Hall especially seems a little lost, but once Rocky and the Hulkster starting turning their shooters on their new rivals it's golden. Brock Lesnar's debut, alongside with Paul Heyman, interrupting a Hardcore title match between Maven and Al Snow, that had already been interrupted by Spike Dudley, is a cool moment that makes Brock look like a beast straight off the bat. From the next year we have Steve Austin getting fired by Eric Bischoff, to storyline signal Austin's in-ring retirement, which in comparison to later retirements of Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels is, at best, uncomfortable to watch. Kane and Rob Van Dam winning the WWE World Tag Team titles from Lance Storm & Chief Morley [Val Venis] in a Three Way Elimination match with The Dudley Boyz is a decent jaunt, with a cool story and the Seattle crowd being super into Kane & RVD as a team. Completing a trifeca of '03 efforts, Goldberg debuts by spearing the shit out The Rock, as both men are booked perfectly and excel in their roles. 

There's no space for the brilliant 2004 segment with Christian and Trish Stratus, so we're onto '05 where we have ignore that Chris Benoit and Edge had a barn-burner and watch a solid and energetic Intercontinental Championship three-way with Shelton Benjamin defending against Chris Jericho and Christian. It's then a brilliant promo from Shawn Michaels as he interrupts John Cena in 2007, and whilst they tease a potential title rematch, Jonathan Coachman, the bastard that he is, makes them defend their WWE World Tag Team titles in a battle royal instead. Both battle royals from that show are included, with the first seeing Cena & Michaels take on Chris Masters & Kenny Dykstra, Cryme Tyme, Deuce N' Domino, The New Breed's Elijah Burke & Matt Striker, Eugene & Jim Duggan, The King's Court's King Booker & Finlay, ECW Original's Rob Van Dam & Sabu and The Highlanders in a generic brawly battle royal, with a cool finish. The second match includes Brian Kendrick & Paul London, Chavo Guerrero & Gregory Helms, Dave Taylor & William Regal, The Hardy Boyz, Johnny Nitro & The Miz, The New Breed's Kevin Thorn & Marcus Cor Von, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, ECW Originals' The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer and Val Venis & Viscera for another 2007 nostalgia mid and lower card buzz, featuring confusing booking for Michaels and Cena and an awkward finish.  

Ric Flair's retirement speech from 2008 is wonderful, even with the slightly tainting factor of the fact he'd go on to face the likes of Frankie Kazarian, James Storm and Matt Morgan for TNA a few short years later. It's difficult to not be touch by how touched Flair is as Triple H brings a procession the likes of John Cena, Chris Jericho, Batista, the future Charlotte Flair and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat out to send Ric's tear ducts into overdrive, although having past adversaries like Sting, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, Randy Savage or Hulk Hogan would've made it even better. A decent '09 Lumberjack match between Carlito & Primo and The Miz & John Morrison over the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship is probably the best bout to set on that point, although the most fun probably comes from working out who some of the Lumberjacks are. John Cena and The Rock are superb opposite each other, as they set-up their WrestleMania XXVIII bout a year early, in front of hotter than hot Atlanta crowd in '11. Whilst both kill it on the mic, throwing barbs back and forth, the conclusion with them fending off an attack from The Corre (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater & Ezekiel Jackson) is unnecessary here. Flash forward a year and John Cena has just lost to The Rock, enter Brock Lesnar, add the feeling that RAW after Mania is becoming a "thing" and you've got a magic slice of TV. 

'13 offers us two moments, firstly Dolph Ziggler's Money in the Bank cash-in on Alberto Del Rio which has lost some of it's magic four years on, but the pop that Here to Show the World gets is still something special. Then it's onto Fandango v Kofi Kingston, which is all about the crowd kicking off the "Fandagoing" Revolution, rather than the match and Chris Jericho's assault on our hero. Ultimate Warrior's return to RAW in '14 and final public appearance provides a spine-tingling promo, less than 24 hours before Warrior passed it's almost prophetic in nature at points.  The same episode has Paige's main roster debut, as she interrupts an entertaining speech from AJ Lee, however their match isn't as strong as it should have been (with the same probably being true for Paige's entire main roster run, now I come to think of it)

Things really pick up in '15 as Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler have a cracking wrestling match, full of strikes, wrestling and near falls in what is currently Bryan's penultimate TV singles match. It battles for match of the night with a stellar United States title match as John Cena defends against Dean Ambrose at the beginning of the Open Challenge gimmick. It's much more of a WWE-style contest with big money moves and false finishes, but just as fun as the previous bout. From the event featured in the documentary, a pair of well-handled promos lead us into Zack Ryder putting his Intercontinental title up against The Miz in an extremely satisfying match. It didn't make any Match of the Year polls, but it builds well to the conclusions as Zack's Dad gets involved and Maryse returns and set the wheels in motions for the wonderful run that Miz is still on to this day. The regular content concludes with the marvellous Fatal Four-Way #1 Contender's match with "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Cesaro, as the four pool their talents to create some breath-taking action in the squared circle. Paced perfectly with everyone on top of their games, both in terms of character work and grappling, this is the best match across the two discs.

Blu-Ray Exclusives 

Our exclusives begin in '98 with Faarooq being removed from the Nation of Domination after The Rock walks out on a curiously booked tag match against "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock and "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman. The Spirit Squad (Kenny [Dykstra] & Mikey [Mondo]) challenge for The Big Show & Kane's World Tag Team titles in '06 in a short, uninteresting bout. A match billed as a "WrestleMania All-Star" match more than lives up to it's billing in '09 as John Cena, CM Punk, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat tag up against Chris Jericho, Edge, Kane, The Big Show and Matt Hardy, bringing together a number of storylines from the previous evening. The obvious standout is the unbelievable performance of the 55 year old Steamboat, as he keeps pace with the likes of Jericho and Edge and gives the match a character and watch-ability that might have been lacking almost ten years on without.

Perhaps surprisingly kept as an Exclusive is Shawn Michaels '10 retirement speech, which is, at least, on par with Ric Flair's two years earlier. Kept much more personal with only an appearance from Triple H on the entrance ramp, Michaels addressing the crowd has probably retained more value than the Nature Boy's monologue and still holds the ability to have an impact as HBK puts over the audience for believing in him, even when he didn't. An Intercontinental Championship match with Wade Barrett and The Miz is really only notable for the crowd's desire to boo a than bizarrely babyface Miz, as even with the title switch it's a nothing match. Alexander Rusev's debut over Zack Ryder in '14 is followed up by Enzo & Cass debuting two years later, with Enzo Amore running throwing bombs at The Dudley Boyz on the microphone in front of a crowd that absolutely adores the act.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.73/10 

A strong release here, that intrigues with it's concept and then delivers by adding to the strong documentary with a good mixture of matches and moments. All the major post-WrestleMania happening are here, as well as a few that might have slipped the memory or initially went underrated in the hustle and bustle of Mania weekend. For such a limiting pool to fish from, the returns are much more hit than miss, whilst those misses mostly have some nostalgia or reason for being included. My only qualm is that I feel more could have been done to enhance the Home Video release of the documentary, with perhaps extra interviews or deleted scenes, that would have validated any potential purchase, when the doc is already on the WWE Network. The same could've been said for individual interviews or special commentary for the matches included, but WWE doesn't seem interested in adding value to their Home Video content at the moment. 

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