A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: July 15th 2013
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price: DVD £12.99
Format Reviewed: DVD (2 Discs)
What It’s About:
WWE’s WrestleMania Revenge Tour which toured the United Kingdom in April. The latest release from WWE encapsulates Raw, Smackdown, Superstars, Main Event and for the time ever on a WWE release, Saturday Morning Slam, all filmed live at London’s O2 Arena.
Strengths:
From Raw:
Raw opens with a proficient promo from Paul Heyman which then goes on to include Triple H in its final moments. In the promo Paul Heyman recaps what happened on Monday Night Raw the week before. A video package is then shown of Brock Lesnar dismantling 3MB like the jobbers they have become, though the stable isn’t helped any by Jerry Lawler on commentary who when talking us through the action refers to Jinder Mahal as just ‘another one’. Lawler really knows how to kill someone’s heat. In the main body of the promo, Paul Heyman is both witty and uber confident as he always is. Whenever Heyman comes out to play that segment of the show is always a highlight. Triple H gets a huge pop on his way down to the ring to cut Heyman off and even though the confrontation between Triple H and Paul Heyman is very short, Heyman’s reactions as the weasel coward are impeccable recognising his fate – including a comical ‘Please?’ when looking at the phone with Triple H – and the final pedigree to the former owner of ECW gets huge approval.
R-truth vs Antonio Cesaro is short, as is every other undercard match on this release, but is sweet nonetheless. It’s unusual to write a good review about an R-Truth match but this one is worth every moment of the less than five minutes it’s given. Better than any pay-per view match the pair contested for the WWE United States Championship in 2012, this encounter is fluid, fast and never slows. Even better, Cesaro doesn’t use any of those enthusiasm zapping rest holds he’s become known for. The only down side to the match is the yodelling which Cesaro attempts on his way to the ring, but fails with horribly. The result is suspect at best as Cesaro desperately needed the victory but this doesn’t ruin a fine match.
Damian Sandow vs Brodus Clay is surprisingly respectable for a match which features Brodus Clay in 2013, though this is largely thanks to Sandow. Not getting it confused with something truly brilliant, because it isn’t, this match is courteous with a string of action which isn’t slowed down by Clay’s bumbling nature in the ring. The ‘Funkasaurus’ doesn’t mess anything up and looks oddly civilised here. Though it is obvious this ridiculous gimmick has zapped all his confidence. Surely Clay would be great as a super villain. Damien Sandow gets a huge roar of approval on both his entrance and victory as the crowd, for once; recognise his talent as a solid and dependable worker who could do a higher division a lot of good.
Dolph Ziggler vs Chris Jericho is a match of three halves. The first is all go where both men look very good in their roles, though Ziggler’s should be more than the cowardly champion who cannot win without help, whilst the action is eminently watchable though nothing truly outstanding happens, which it really should considering the two men in the match. The second half is mere monotony which sees the match come to a complete halt. I don’t know whether they both forgot what they were doing or that this was a Monday Night Raw recording and now a house show, but the middle of this encounter is just not acceptable for a man who has had so many great matches in his time and the World Heavyweight Champion. The third half and the finale of the match is sloppy but decent enough to satisfy anyone wanting back and forth action. At ringside, A.J is beautiful and gives Dolph the kind of looks she gives Ziggler would make any man go stiff in the trouser department, whilst Big E. Langston is just a statue for most of the bout. Ideally, this should have been a pay-per view quality match which could have easily have headlined SummerSlam or WrestleMania and Ziggler should have won on his own and not, once again, with the aid of Langston. This can’t detract from the fact that Ziggler is as impressively athletic as always, though the crowd singing Fandango’s theme tune throughout the match – as they do through every show – is very amusing. Before you get to the end of this match however, you will be able to see everything that is wrong with WWE’s star making machine as its all on show here.
The Undertaker and Team Hell No vs The Shield is a rollicking match which easily takes match of the night and match of the release honours. Undertaker, in his first appearance on Raw in 3 years gets a God like welcome back to the UK and rightly so. During the match, Undertaker still doesn’t look like he’s lost his pace and talent, a fact furthered by the chants of ‘You’ve still got it’ by the crowd. Let’s be honest, Undertaker never lost it. Daniel Bryan is efficient, taking the brunt of the punishment from Reigns, Rollins and an impressive Ambrose and the artist formerly know as Bryan Danielson pulls off some sumptuous looking transfers with The Shield, including a great suicide dive and a classy front dropkick from the top rope. This match as well as his recent matches against Randy Orton on Raw and Smackdown prove that Bryan belongs in the main event. The Shield are equally impressive here. Seth Rollins takes a fine bump off of the ringside barrier stemming from Bryan’s suicide dive and even though Roman Reigns is spared heavy duty here, Dean Ambrose is a tour de force entering a superior performance. The future is bright for these three indeed. The Shield victory is the right call by WWE even if the ending to the match should have been more impactful. This match should have been the main event of the show as it is high quality stuff indeed.
The angle backstage between Dolph Ziggler, A.J and Big E. Langston is humorous even if there are no full blown laughs to be had. The star of this angle is Langston, for once. The man who desperately needs to cover up those odd legs of his when wrestling has great comedy looks about him and is weirdly more effective in the Mr. Hughes role than he is in the ring. It’s just a shame WWE can’t find a way to capitalise on this rarely seen talent of Langston’s.
From Superstars:
Kaitlyn and Layla vs Aksana and Tamina, is a match which is better than you could ever imagine. When the match began your Wrestling God prepared himself for a four minute slog but was pleasantly surprised when the match turned out to be an entertaining watch. Out of the four Divas in the ring, Layla and Tamina hold the match firmly together with their talent but the beautiful Kaitlyn is greatly improving as a WWE Diva. Her offence is sloppy but she has heart and with a little more training and dedication she could be the next Trish Stratus. Kaitlyn’s flurry of spears which end the match show promise even if they fail to completely connect with their intended target. Oddly though, Layla is announced as being from Florida when everyone knows she’s from England. Out of all the times WWE could have gotten this wrong, this was the most inconvenient. Especially with the rapturous ovation William Regal received on Raw.
From Smackdown:
Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger in a No Holds Barred Match is a rip roaring effort by both men and ten times better than their WrestleMania 29 or Extreme Rules scraps. Both men put in a real shift on Smackdown and at last, Alberto Del Rio begins to play the part of the struggling hero ably. Jack Swagger wears that awful anti-immigration t-shirt to the ring, which is baffling because they’re in the UK and their rants and shirts have no bearing on these shores. Plus, can you really think of anyone who would buy the shirt or be seen wearing it? Alberto Del Rio executes some cracking moves during the match, including an opulent tilt-a-whirl backbreaker which thankfully don’t slow down the pace of the match but add to the excitement. Each near fall is tense and every perfectly completed reverse makes both look like old ring generals. Once again, Jack Swagger looks an utter mess by the time the match has finished though his rugged look lends favour to his main event push. He looks the part. Alberto Del Rio loses the match in style and more than that, this is the way a good face should go down in a match of this type. This is the match both men should have had at both WrestleMania 29 and Extreme Rules 2013.
Layla vs Aksana is more than competent but once again, Layla is announced as being from Florida. Twice in two nights, this is just laziness when it’s clear Layla is from England. To make matters worse and highlight WWE’s incompetence in this area, Layla is wearing a Union Jack on her costume and Michael Cole on commentary notes that Layla is from England. The match itself is very adept. Layla is flexible in mostly everything she does and surprisingly Aksana shows some real talent in the ring, more so than I believe she has done before. WWE need to train Aksana more, she could be a highlight of the Divas Division. Layla converts a good reversal for the victory and moreover, this is a great advert for WWE’s Divas Division.
Fandango vs Justin Gabriel is another short but sweet encounter thanks in large to Justin Gabriel’s high flying ability, though we won’t take anything away from Fandango here, he looks good. It’s clear by the level of noise the fans sing his theme tune at that Fandango, against better judgement is finally starting to get over with the WWE Universe. There isn’t much in the way of quality moves to discuss here but Fandango does catch Gabriel coming off of the top rope with a beautiful kick and his backwards roll Russian leg sweep looks the dog’s knackers. Fandango’s dancer / valet at ringside is stunning and judging by the reaction here and the action on display, there may be hope for Fandango yet.
Big Show vs Sheamus is mildly entertaining even if it is inferior to their rousing Hell in a Cell 2012 effort. Sheamus looks ill throughout the match and is blown up before he gets to the ring. The same happens to Randy Orton later in the show and is a puzzler until you realise that WWE have just taped Saturday Morning Slam before Smackdown in which Orton and Sheamus were both in action. Big Show plays his part of a pissed off monster to perfection and whilst Sheamus’ shoulder block off the top rope and White Noise on Big Show are his only major contributions to the match, the whole encounter is more than watchable. The ending is well timed, if a little poor and you can really hear the WMD punch, connect. When WWE replay the footage in slow motion, you can that Big Show really walloped Sheamus with the fist.
Randy Orton vs Mark Henry is well constructed if very short for a match which should have been longer. Randy Orton of course holds the proceedings in place as Mark Henry slumps around the ring until the conclusion rears it ugly head. Randy Orton works the crowd into a frenzy and it appears that everyone’s favourite Viper has developed crowd baiting skills and interaction which he previously overlooked. Thankfully, this is faster than the usual Henry match which can be found elsewhere on this release but it ends in a rotten disqualification when Sheamus enters the fray and levels Henry with a Brogue Kick. The RKO after the final bell gets a pop but you get the impression this could have been a really good match had the DQ ending not been booked.
The Undertaker vs Dean Ambrose is, like his Raw match, Undertaker’s first bout on the blue brand in 3 years. Dean Ambrose shows respect for Undertaker by selling well and in return gets Undertaker’s full cooperation when ‘The Devil’s Favourite Demon’ returns the favour. Though the match isn’t as long as one would have liked, it’s a very good representation of what Dean Ambrose can accomplish when The Shield finally split. Boasting some notable exchanges The Undertaker does a lot here to put Ambrose and The Shield over, including an all out finale which Undertaker dissects Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins before the trio recover with a vicious and impactful spear through the barricade by Reigns on Undertaker before the faction Powerbomb ‘Taker through the announcers table to end the show. Just a thought here: considering how many people are meant to hate The Shield, WWE expected us to believe that no one was willing to come to Undertaker’s aid.
From Saturday Morning Slam:
In and angle featuring Sheamus and Mick Foley, the pair share a duet of ‘Danny Boy’; watch this angle for when Sheamus gets carried away with the song and the camera pans to the side of the room where we witness Randy Orton just watching the pair. The look on his face is priceless.
Randy Orton and Sheamus vs The Prime Time Players is a decent tag team match, in which the two former World Heavyweight and WWE Champions are left to piece together the action as Darren Young and Titus O’Neil are next to useless as always. Orton displays some more of his comical expressions here and Sheamus is a powerhouse when dominating WWE’s most futile tag team. When Young and O’Neil do assume control, it’s left to Orton – the man who has done so many jobs for so many people he deserves a mega push for his efforts – to once again selflessly sacrifice to make the tandem look halfway decent. In the end though, only one team were ever going to win this and of course it’s Orton and Sheamus.
As for the extra on the release, Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle (WWE Rebellion, November 3rd 2001) for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, is a highlight all the way through. A tremendous technical clash which fuses brawling with technical wrestling from start to finish. Kurt Angle’s suplex’s are picture perfect all the way through the bout and look divine and the reversals and well timed finish seal a perfect match in which Chris Jericho was really made, ready for his double victory over The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in one night a month later to capture the WWE Undisputed Championship.
Weaknesses:
From Raw:
Once again, the biggest annoyance with a release featuring a WWE television show is the cut to ad breaks. This is well documented by now that WWE could, as they have the footage that goes between advertisements, put in the pieces we miss when they transfers said show to disc. It happened on the C.M Punk release yet WWE still take the lazy approach with their other releases as is the case here. Raw, Smackdown, Main Event, Superstars and Saturday Morning Slam are all peppered with links to ad breaks which are even more baffling when the show comes back to air and WWE show us a replay of what happened during the break via the WWE app for mobile phones and I-pad.
Mick Foley’s brief interview with Josh Matthews is both pointless and lasts less than a minute. Foley, who has been reduced to cheap pops from the crowd in his later years, seems to be reading his lines from a dummy board out of shot. This segment is designed to do two things in a very short amount of time. The first is plug Foley’s DVD and Blu-ray and the second is to set up a face to face confrontation later in the show with Ryback. Laughably, when talking about of the most stoic men in wrestling history, Mick Foley actually says that Ryback has the potential to be the greatest superstar of all time. I think The Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ric Flair to name a few, would have a couple of things to say about that.
Cody Rhodes vs Tensai, is a mostly dull affair which, to its credit does boast some impressive offence. Sadly, said offence comes too late to save the match. All in all, this match is yet another senseless burial of Cody Rhodes which WWE should have avoided at all costs. Somewhere down the line they’re going to need him and it’s going to be too late to do anything meaningful with him because they’ve buried him so mercilessly. To make matters worse, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and JBL seem more bothered about mocking Tensai or Sweet T as he’s now known’s weight. Had they concentrated on the match in hand they have been able to build it verbally to a decent encounter. The sad thing is that Cody Rhodes is so much better than a squash match against a man WWE have no further interest in.
Big E. Langston vs Zack Ryder is ugly. A mere time filler for WWE to sling onto the show in order for the UK fans in attendance to see two more of WWE’s superstars in the flesh. Simply, Ryder is allowed very minimal offence before Langston utterly destroys him making Ryder seem like a complete jobber. Just think, Zack Ryder could have been one of WWE’s most popular stars ever had they gotten behind him and not punished him for getting himself over when the company failed to do so. During the match, Langston is ultra stiff when executing even the simplest of manoeuvres and I simply can’t look past those legs which still look deformed at the top. Unfortunately for WWE, Langston does not look like a future WWE star and if we’re being honest here, had he been in WWE fifteen years earlier he’d have been immediately inserted into the Nation of Domination and then jobbed out to everyone and anyone who needed a win on television. In truth, WWE are only pushing him for his size. The whole match looks amateur and offensive to your eyes.
Fandango vs William Regal is another hideous effort by WWE to get Fandango over. There is a chance, thanks to his popularity, with the British crowd at least, that Fandango could make it in WWE, but judging on performances like this, it’s unlikely. As he does on Smackdown, Regal gets a rapturous ovation by his hometown crowd and an emotional standing ovation which he has more than earned through the years. Unfortunately though, that is the highlight of the match. Coming in under three minutes, it has nothing to offer anyone in the ring. Fandango just about manages to steal the victory with his leg drop from the top rope but apart from that, avoid.
The Divas Battle Royal to crown the number one contender to the ever fading WWE Divas Championship is in disarray from the outset. With only A.J ever going to emerge victorious, the whole match would have been better had it been made into a triple threat match featuring A.J vs Tamina vs Layla. No one in the ring seems to know what they are doing and the eliminations as the women fall through the ropes during their elimination are laughable at best. Tamina cracks A.J in the jaw with a nice looking kick only A.J to spend the rest of the match supposedly unconscious on the floor. At the end of the bout, A.J springs back up in a John Cena level no sell and eliminates Layla for the victory. A.J doesn’t even sell the jaw like it hurts. On commentary, Kaitlyn is clueless and her announcing is as bad as her acting. It’s at time like this one misses Eve Torres. Hell, she was patchy in the ring but she tried her best every night, played the bitchy heel to perfection and gave it her all, which is more than anyone in this match bothered to do. Come back Eve, all has been forgiven.
The Mick Foley and Ryback confrontation is outright pointless as it only leads to John Cena’s introduction and the hype for their Extreme Rules match. Mick Foley looks absolutely awful as he ambles to the ring and whilst it’s clear he’s lost weight, it’s no where near enough. On top of the excess weight Foley is carrying, he looks tired you could believe that he hasn’t slept in months. Someone needs to show this guy a salad and the best thing WWE could do for him now would be pay for a personal trainer for Foley and put him on a diet. If you watch Mickles closely then he appears to be shaking – if this is nerves then it’s a first for Mick. As a stand up comedian and former WWE Champion he should be comfortable talking in front of a live crowd. As for Ryback, well its business as usual. The man who was handpicked, believe it or not by Vince McMahon to be WWE’s heel answer to John Cena, is monotone and uninterested in what is going on in the ring, although is spot on when he makes reference to Foley on being here to sell more DVD’s. The whole thing is just a bore and than John Cena enters the ring. Credit where credit is due, Cena doesn’t smirk and looks wholly serious as he comes to Foley’s aid but even he cannot save this dreary mess. He doesn’t get the desired reaction WWE hoped he would and his chair shots on the Shield – who appear to take down Ryback look atrocious. WWE fail to make Ryback the monster they needed him to look like here and when Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment, it all but seals Ryback’s fate in WWE.
From Main Event:
The JBL and Mark Henry interview in the ring is inane and almost as bad as the Ryback and Mick Foley face off from Raw. The angle only exists to set up the forthcoming gauntlet match on Main Event where Mark Henry is challenged to take on four of what are called ‘WWE’s finest’ superstars. Unfortunately those stars turn out to be both Uso’s, Santino Marella and The Great Khali. You can see where WWE’s logic fell down there. This could have easily been conveyed with a match screen at the beginning of the broadcast advertising Mark Henry in a gauntlet match. In truth, WWE booked this segment because they knew Mark Henry couldn’t sustain four decent length matches in one night. It’s a waste of five minutes and Mark Henry is totally devoid of life making the whole thing more tedious.
Mark Henry vs Jimmy Uso is the first match in the gauntlet challenge for ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ and doesn’t last long enough to do anything for either man. When The Uso’s enter the arena it’s written all over them that they’re mere punch bags for Henry and the match plays out almost exactly as expected. Marl Henry is booked as the wrecking ball WWE want us to buy into him as and Jimmy Uso is almost literally taken apart in mere minutes. In all honesty, whilst the Uso’s are better than this and could be one of WWE’s most exciting tag teams if the company cared about their doubles division, its a relief once the final bell ring.
Mark Henry vs Jay Uso could be called an almost exact replay of the first gauntlet match, except this time around Jay manages to get in some offence in which he looks good. Momentarily at least. Sadly, no matter how many kicks Jay Uso throws Mark Henry’s way, the result of this match is never in doubt and even if it were, there’s no way on earth that WWE would allow one of the Uso’s to end Henry’s challenge this early in or ever. Seemingly already spent four minutes or less into the gauntlet match, Henry moves at a snails pace throughout, not even bothering to try to put pay to what people say about him. It’s a relief when he nails Jay with the ‘World’s Strongest Slam’, just so this trash is over.
Mark Henry vs Santino Marella is as you would expect for a Santino match and has disaster written all over it. Whilst it’s once again brief to fit in with WWE’s broadcasting time on Main Event, Santino decides to play this purely for comedy which fails miserably. Had Santino come out full of purpose and actually tried to defeat Henry, even getting in a few near falls then it may have done Santino a lot of good in the eyes of the fans. That he dicks about from the first second indicates that the legitimate tough guy in real life is fed up with life in WWE and he looks as bored as we are. At this point in the match you begin to feel that WWE could have found four more worthy opponents to really test Henry. Had four headliners come out to play on this night then Mark Henry’s star would have risen when he defeated them. Naturally, the match receives the customary ‘Boring’ chants from the audience.
Mark Henry vs The Great Khali, if you’re still awake at this point in the release is utterly cringe worthy. Khali is so slow you could walk rings around him and he wouldn’t catch you. His knees, as stated before, are so knackered that he should have retired years ago. WWE need to save him from himself. By this point in the gauntlet match, Mark Henry is so exhausted that it looks like for a few moments he may actually collapse in the ring, which is baffling as he does next to nothing in the previous three challenges. Honestly, this is a joke. Someone in WWE sat backstage when booking this tripe and wanted to amuse all around. This is the result and whoever the guy needs sacking. The match ends with Mark Henry walking out of the arena, refusing to fight Khali necessitating a count out finish which cheapens the whole programme even more and cheats us out of a real ending after sitting through this shit for nearly fifteen minutes. Abysmal!
Strangely, Main Event doesn’t end with the gauntlet match as you’d expect but with yet another anti-immigration rant by Zeb Coulter. Bizarrely, Coulter states that he doesn’t know why Alberto Del Rio is in the then advertised triple threat match at Extreme Rules for the World Heavyweight Championship. Maybe it was because it was Alberto Del Rio who Dolph Ziggler defeated for the gold and he was number one contender? Someone really needs to explain this stuff to Coulter, who should know it already being a former wrestler himself. Either that or hire writers who know what they’re doing. The funny thing is, that after losing to Del Rio at WrestleMania 29, it’s Jack Swagger who shouldn’t have been included in the Extreme Rules outing. What Coulter is basically saying is that if you’re skin isn’t white then even though you’re the former Champion and number one contender you still don’t deserve a rematch. Instead the spot should go to a racist, marijuana smoking other who was buried without mercy in 2012 and lost to the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 29. To make this even worse, Coulter then goes on a tirade about Dolph Ziggler’s bleach blonde hair to fill out the remaining time. This whole segment is crap.
From Superstars:
Michael McGillicutty vs Jay Uso has nothing to add to the release and serves as a reminder of an early 1990’s WWE Superstars match. The encounter is sluggish and considering that both men can move at a pace, it’s simply not good enough. Just because the match is being broadcast on one of WWE’s least watched shows it’s no reason to stop trying completely. There are moments Henning shows attitude and flair but no where near performances as Curtis Axel recently in WWE. WWE should have booked this match to be a high flying affair with pace which left the audience breathless. As usual, by the time the match heats up and Henning and Uso pick the pace up it’s too late to retrieve the outing. Henning was severely sidelined by this gimmick in WWE and his turn as Curtis Axel couldn’t have come soon enough. On commentary, Matt Striker and Scott Stanford relay the information that the WWE Championship committee are watching this match to see who could be next in line for a WWE Championship shot. Do WWE really think we’re going to believe that the company are going to book John Cena vs Jay Uso at WrestleMania 30 or that a committee decides what happens in WWE when everyone knows Vince McMahon runs the whole show?
On commentary, Matt Striker and Scott Stanford could put you to sleep. Neither man has a natural flair for the game and they sound wholly bored with the whole show. During each match on Superstars the pair try to give us a reason as to why the match is taking place. Instead of gripping yarn we simply get some of the most mind-numbing, banal chronicles WWE can make up on the spot. If it weren’t so pathetic then it may be humorous. I know he can’t help the way he sounds, but if you didn’t know who was on commentary then one could swear WWE have re-hired former WWE commentator and interviewer Sean Mooney. The pair sound almost identical.
From Smackdown:
The first complaint comes once again from the commentary table. JBL’s constant and harsh bullying of Josh Matthews who is sitting beside him is uncomfortable to listen to. Going on and on and on at Matthews, JBL sound like a nasty, vindictive little man who is only here to batter Josh verbally with whatever put down he can think of. For those thinking this is a storyline then think again. JBL is a notorious bully in WWE and has personally taken against many wrestlers in WWE over the years, including The Miz, The Blue Meenie and of course Josh Matthews. At ECW One Night Stand 2005, whilst intoxicated, in the show closing ECW vs WWE brawl, JBL repeatedly punched Blue Meenie several times in the head, cutting him hard way. When Meenie was show on camera after the brawl had broken up, he looked like he’d been hit by a car. This led to Meenie taking out a private law suit against JBL and WWE, which the company managed to diffuse with an offer of work and apology from Bradshaw. Josh Matthews though isn’t someone who will take it that far and by him just sitting there are taking it, it’s making matters worse. JBL believes he can get away with what he likes. If Matthews was to fight back and chastise JBL live on air then it would all stop in a heartbeat. Here though, Michael Cole even gets in on the action and WWE, who have constant contact with their announcers through their headphones do nothing to stop it.
William Regal vs Wade Barrett is so pointless that WWE could have give Randy Orton vs Mark Henry the extra 54 seconds it takes this match to begin and end. Whilst Regal gets the heroes welcome, the reaction to Barrett is sour. Yet both men are British. WWE could have booked a technical classic here had this match gone ten more minutes and it would have been appreciated by the audience in attendance. Whilst William Regal has had his day in the spotlight, a technical master class would have really gotten Wade Barrett over as Intercontinental Champion. Instead, WWE on British soil, rush its two biggest British wrestlers into under one minute and Regal looks totally out of his depth in 2013 as Barrett smashes through Regal for the victory. A wasted opportunity which may come back to smack WWE in the face down the line.
From Saturday Morning Slam:
The Cobra and Mr. Socko meeting angle is, I presume, aimed at four year olds who as of yet have no grasp of the wrestling business. In fact it’s almost as bad as seeing Mick Foley in the leopard print shirt he’s wearing for this skit. Neither man says anything of note and it’s getting increasingly more difficult to understand Santino. If he’s not messing about then he’s gabbling his lines in that false Italian accent. Enter Jinder Mahal who exists now solely to be jobber to the jobbers. Mahal’s presence is requested so WWE can set up Santino vs Jinder Mahal as the first and penultimate match of this broadcast. Strangely, Mick Foley says that this will be the debut of Jinder Mahal as a singles wrestler. Someone should have informed Mick that Mahal was a singles wrestler before joining 3MB and has done numerous singles jobs in the past year on Smackdown, Raw, Superstars, Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam.
Santino Marella vs Jinder Mahal is mind-numbing, only causing the crowd to pop when Santino produces the increasingly prosaic cobra sock puppet. Santino’s comedy act wears very thin here and it’s just pathetic that WWE never allow him to wrestle. Jinder Mahal would be a wrestler more suited to TNA, where they would take him seriously and not job him out to everyone and anyone. To highlight Mahal’s status in WWE today, he beats Santino down only for WWE to allow Santino a John Cena style comeback and fell Mahal with The Cobra like his offence meant nothing. On commentary, Alicia Fox only does a good job of drawing attention to the fact WWE have no female commentators and in 2013, they really should.
Special Feature:
WWE Rebellion 2001 – November 3rd 2001
WCW Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle
Conclusion:
WWE Live in the UK – April 2013 is yet another release which WWE have done nothing to improve from its original broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Everything on this disc is exactly how it was broadcast and even then, some of that has been edited down into the time constraints of the release.
Smackdown is once again the pick of the bunch across the two discs and hosts some of the best matches to be found here. Raw is a so-so effort which sees more talking than wrestling but is passable because of the cracking six man tag team match. Superstars, Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam are the weak links of the DVD. Main Event is mindlessly ordinary and predictable. One Mark Henry match on a release is on too many, let alone five (one on Smackdown and four on Main Event) and worse, not one of those matches are really any good at all. There is no real wrestling value from Main Event and the same with Superstars. All three of the lesser shows seem more bothered about replaying what happened between John Cena, Mick Foley and Ryback on Raw in which we get endless replays of the footage which you will wish to skip past before Main Event is over. Saturday Morning Slam is reminiscent of the old WWE Superstars television show aimed primarily at the younger audience. It has the feel of a classic WWE TV show even if it doesn’t produce the goods from beginning to end. It may have inconsequential matches but I can see why children would like it and continue to tune in. It’s gentle, slow, there’s nothing to get bogged down in and could ease you into a Saturday without a problem. With its cool music and short character profiles you can see why this popular with the younger generation.
The highlight of the disc is of course The Undertaker’s first appearance in the UK for a good long while. Undertaker should be credited for making the trip across the pond to perform for the English fans as it would have been much easier for him to refuse the offer and leave WWE until WrestleMania 30 as he does every year. I can imagine how pleased those in attendance were that night.
The problem with this release is that like the last Live in the UK, there is no incentive for those who have already seen it to buy. The last Live in the UK your Wrestling God reviewed, I suggested that WWE may want to add a little something extra to entice those who don’t want to pay the full asking price in. I believe I mentioned a thirty minute behind the scenes documentary showing the WWE stars in the UK, getting about, visiting landmarks etc. The kind of thing TNA do with their UK tours. Alas, have a guess who thinks he knows best and may I add, a certain someone who doesn’t even pay for his own releases and therefore cannot gauge how inviting each one is.
In the end, this release is targeted at those who were in attendance. If you did pay the price to grace WWE with your presence one or both nights then this will be a great reminder of your night out and of course a must have. However if you saw it on Sky Sports across the week it was broadcast and didn’t think much of it then, nothing has changed to alter your mind. So if you either didn’t see it or didn’t think much of it first time around, with very little wrestling on show, endless repeats of the John Cena, Mick Foley and Ryback confrontation, short and insignificant matches most of which last less than 3 minutes and some severely infuriating booking and commentary and no other incentive to purchase the release, this is probably four shows you could do without and £12.99 you could do without paying.
Rating: C
Next Time in Review Corner: WWE Extreme Rules 2013 DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards and upwards...
