A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: April 28th 2014
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)
Format Reviewed:
DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2 Discs)
What It’s About:
A
collection of happenings from after Monday Night Raw went off of the air
between 1999 –
2012.
This collection takes in previously unseen matches, songs from wrestlers and
just general banter between talent and with the audience as they strive to give
the paying public value for money in the arena. Featuring The Rock, Stone Cold
Steve Austin, Triple H, John Cena and more in and out of character.
Strengths:
‘Too
Cool Dance With The Dudley Boyz, Big Show and Chris Jericho’ (Uniondale, New
York, May 8th 2000) is an amusing little segment which does what it says on the
chapter title. In the tradition of Too Cool and Rikishi, the trio dance with
their partners on the night and whilst Big Show is game for a laugh, it’s Bubba
Ray Dudley who steals the show with his Carlton from The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air routine. Chris Jericho hams it up well and whilst you can see now why
he didn’t win ‘Dancing with the Stars’ the audience seem genuinely enthusiastic
clapping in unison all the way through. The mass of wrestlers lined up waiting
for the music to begin resemble the weirdest dance troupe you will ever see in
your life.
‘Big
Red People’s Elbow’ (St. Louis, Missouri, June 12th 2000) is notable for Triple
H’s wonderful performance on the microphone where he first insults the
audience, the best part being he apologises to a guy’s girlfriend for having no
boobs, before turning his attention to The Rock and indirectly insult Rock’s
intelligence. After Triple H is dispatched, The Rock and The Undertaker’s
banter is nothing less than flawless with The Undertaker delivering Rock’s
‘Poontang Pie’ line with perfection. Kane’s ‘People’s Elbow’ is awful.
‘Stone
Cold’s Music City’ (Nashville, Tennessee, September 17th 2001) is very
entertaining and begins with a some light relief as Austin calls out Rob Van
Dam over and over again just to tell him “never mind” when RVD comes back out
after a hellish match. Austin sings a medley of songs made famous in Nashville
before some brilliant banter with the audience. This was recorded in the middle
of the invasion storyline and though Austin was a shell of what he used to be
all the way through, here, when the television audience had switched off he
reverts back to old Austin. A brilliant entertainer and someone WWE misses
greatly when comic relief and a solid mic man is called for.
‘Hulk
Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin Share a Cold One’ (St. Louis, Missouri, April
22nd 2002) is a nice nostalgia spot as two eras cross paths, if very little
else. There’s a truly messy brawl at the beginning but Hogan does take a Stone
Cold Stunner which is the closest thing we’ll ever get to a match between the
pair. Austin not wanting to look Hogan in the eyes whilst offering him a beer,
like a naughty child who knows he’s done something wrong is a blast. Be warned,
it goes on and on.
‘Under-take-a-roonie?’
(Seattle, Washington, August 12th 2002) is the best moment on the entire
release. Featuring an out of character Undertaker who talks and speaks like one
of the boys instead of ‘The Deadman’, Taker smiles and laughs away as Booker T,
Triple H, Vince McMahon, Goldust and The Rock try to persuade him to do a
Spin-a-roonie. The audience are rabid for this side of Undertaker but despite
their best efforts which include Triple H and The Rock baiting him, Triple H
saying ‘I’ve seen twelve years of Deadman walking, for one night I want to see
Deadman spinning’ which is a golden line, Vince McMahon doing his best
Spin-a-roonie and Undertaker on the verge of doing it, the golden moment never
comes about. Instead Undertaker simply Chokeslam’s Triple H and rides away on
his bike. There are just wonderful moments here like Undertaker mouthing to
Booker T ‘I’m going to kill you’ with a smile on his face and then looking into
the camera at Vince McMahon who isn’t the ring at that point and saying ‘I know
you put them up to this Vince. When I get back there I hadn’t better see you!’
The only downside is Triple H acting like a heel and taking pasting from Rock
and Undertaker. Why, if this is after show and clearly everyone involved wasn’t
in character except Triple H?
‘The
Rock and Austin Meet Again’ (St. Louis, Missouri, March 17th 2003) just manages
to keep on the right side of entertaining despite its ample run time. The pair
shares some excellent banter before their WrestleMania XIX meeting but The Rock
plays his heel character. Again, why? There is no point. The Rock baits the
audience very well but it’s disappointing to see a guy in the second row give
The Rock the middle finger, whilst holding his child. What sort of a father
figure is that, teaching his child to do the same? What a prick. Thankfully,
The Rock doesn’t let it go unpunished and rightly chastises him for doing so in
front of an impressionable child.
‘Ric
Flair Celebration’ (Greenville, South Carolina, May 19th 2003) has, despite
Renee Young’s insistence elsewhere, been seen before. For those who have seen
or owns ‘The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection’ then it’s included on there but is
still a great watch nonetheless. It’s a wonderful moment after Ric Flair gives
his all in a thrilling match against Triple H on Raw, his last great bout
before WrestleMania XXIV. Triple H putting the World Heavyweight Championship
over Ric Flair’s shoulder is a heartening moment as is the mass wrestler crowd
applauding him. There was never any better.
‘Stone
Cold Steve Austin and Chris Jericho Verbal Exchange’ (Tucson, Arizona, August
25th 2003) is a decent exchange of words between the duo as they try to find
new and inventive descriptive words to slot in between the crowd’s rabid ‘What’
chants. Unfortunately, for every amusing moment there are three samey ones and
by this point in the release which really isn’t that far into it, you get the
feeling WWE are running out of ideas as to what to fill the release with.
Still, if you can bypass the repetitiveness of this then it’s entertaining
enough, especially Austin’s face when Jericho fails to catch a beer. It’s
almost like someone had come into his house and whacked a child.
‘The
Fabulous Moolah’s 80th Birthday Celebration’ (Columbia, South Carolina,
September 15th 2003) is a well deserved moment for Moolah who was a flawless
servant for the McMahon Family for the best part of thirty years. Vince’s
dancing has to be seen to be believed and Moolah seems geninually touched. The
low point comes when Lance Cade and Mark Jindrak decide to snog Moolah only for
her to ruin the cake which has been brought for her by throwing it in their
faces.
‘The
Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley Reunion’ (Atlanta, Georgia, March
1st 2004) is more entertaining than most included on the second disc (DVD). The
Rock begins with a great People’s Elbow, complete with strut, on Ric Flair
before Austin and The Rock check out each others t-shirts in an amusing spot
which looks unplanned. The trio turn their attention to Lillian Garcia who is
often the focal point of Austin’s later promos on this release, with Rock
asking Garcia if she’s still a fan of the People’s Strudel and Austin then
stating that he nearly proposed to her the week before but ran out of beer in a
hilarious line. It’s just on the right side of short to remain entertaining.
Shawn
Michaels and Randy Orton vs Triple H and Ric Flair (Cincinnati, Ohio, February
14th 2005) isn’t much of a wrestling match as thrilling as the foursome would
have had on a Raw broadcast or pay-per view but is watchable for Shawn Michaels
and Triple H interacting with a mentally retarded child at ringside before
Shawn Michaels runs around ringside with him as well as the capable action. Ric
Flair works his part a treat, allowing Michaels to yank down his tights before
doing a hilarious Flair Flop. Everything here is done with a tongue in the
cheek but it holds together well.
‘Hulk
Hogan Poses With John Cena and Batista’ (Montreal, Canada, August 15th 2005)
again, is nostalgia at its highest as all three pose in Hogan’s signature
style. Even John Cena is over here, remember those days? Has Batista been born
twenty years earlier he would have been a killer enemy for Hulk Hogan in the
1980’s. Cena fans will love this but it outstays its welcome at nearly ten
minutes long.
John
Cena vs Edge (San Antonio, Texas, July 17th 2006) isn’t main event quality as
some of their previous entries have been on releases similar to this, but it is
a very watchable outing between the pair. Like his posing with Hogan, Cena is
really over with the crowd and the bout starts slow and never really recaptures
the pace. If you’re looking for anything special here with John Cena’s selling
then its poor and a forewarning of what we could expect in the future. There
are some very good near falls but neither really needed to try seeing as this
wasn’t televised. Even though Edge is WWE Champion and this is after the show,
he is still forced to tap out.
‘DX
is Joined By John Cena and...’ (Worcester, Massachusetts, November 2nd 2009)
has plenty of laughs to offer everyone even if you’re not a John Cena fan. John
Cena doing the DX stance is nothing less than hilarious and proves that when
he’s not directed or scripted he can turn on the charm and laughs. It’s almost
as if WWE hold him back with their material. The segment is most notable for
Cena’s father joining in the antics but Triple H is once again gold on the
microphone talking about how Cena’s father only comes along when his son has a
pay-per view or buy rate to sell.
Randy
Orton, Sheamus and Big Show vs Daniel Bryan, Kane and Cody Rhodes (Miami,
Florida, April 2nd 2012) is a decent sim man tag team bout just for the
atmosphere. Daniel Bryan, even here as a heel is incredibly over and the ‘Yes’
chants for everything he does and ‘No’ chants for everything done to him are
amazing to listen to. The outing is shot entirely from the hard camera which
takes away from it a little but there some quality here even though Bryan
steals the show and the others have to deal with it. Big Show and Randy Orton
have a laugh at how Sheamus is being jeered but the match isn’t as engaging
when Bryan isn’t in the ring. The ending is an impressive piece of work and
could pass for a pay-per view conclusion.
‘John
Cena’s Special Day’ (Detroit, Michigan, April 23rd 2012) sees the entire Raw
locker room empty out to celebrate John Cena’s birthday. C.M Punk is a whiz on
the microphone and Triple H takes over proceedings and is a ball. The Divas dog
piling onto Cena is a scene to behold and Triple H’s line that Hornswoggle
running to the ring in a singlet being the funniest thing you’ll ever see is a
chuckle. John Cena, without script, has some excellent banter with the crowd
further proving he doesn’t need a script and if WWE want us to change our minds
about him maybe its time to let him go tackle out as it were.
‘John
Cena and The Rock Join Forces’ (St. Louis, Missouri, July 23rd 2012) sees John
Cena and The Rock at peace with each other for once. After they decimate Big
Show and John Cena has a hard time shifting him from the canvas, The Rock
borrows one of Cena’s armbands to do the People’s Elbow and then teases Cena
about the size of his arms. It’s all very funny and well worth the watch.
‘Cha-Cha-Cha-La-La’
(East Rutherford, New Jersey, April 8th 2013) rounds off a patchy release
nicely with John Cena addressing the crowd who want him to sing the Fandango
theme tune. On this night, the crowd ruled the show as anyone who saw the
episode can attest to. John Cena thanks the fans in a grateful manner and says
that even though The Rock couldn’t be there he wanted to begin the ‘People’s’
era. Cena says The Rock was right and he knows a lot of holiday time and
dollars have been spent on WrestleMania weekend, so the best way to honour what
The Rock intended is to give the belt back to the fans. Cena lays the belt in
the middle of the ring and tells the fans to ‘take us home’. As John Cena
leaves the ring, the fans blast the arena with the Fandango theme tune before
WWE play the actual song over the titan tron. Spectacularly, even though it’s
meant to play the audience out, they don’t want to go anywhere and stay for the
longest time just dancing. If the audience decided to react this way every week
WWE would be in trouble, because they wouldn’t be able to impress their way of
business on us. The fans stole the show.
Renee
Young is great as host of the release. She smiles, jokes and tells us the facts
without pandering. Much better than her performance on the rivalries release.
If WWE doled out the hosting duties between Renee Young and Josh Matthews ever
release there wouldn’t be a problem.
Weaknesses:
‘Stone
Cold’s Salute to Shane McMahon and Triple H’ (Orlando, Florida, May 10th 1999)
is a couple of minutes of Austin handing out Stunners left, right and centre.
There’re no words, nothing of substance and only fans who haven’t seen Austin
in years will like this. However, Austin is dominant throughout the first two
discs of the release and this material is used to better effect elsewhere.
‘Shane
McMahon Smells What The Rock is Cookin’ (Los Angeles, California, April 3rd
2000) sees The Rock follow in Austin’s footsteps and hand out an ‘ass whoopin’
to Shane and Triple H. The segment does feature a promo by The Rock and some
interaction with Shane but by the time you get to that point it’s time to skip
forward. As above, The Rock is used better elsewhere across the release.
‘The
Rock and Sean Stasiak Third Time’s a Charm?’ (San Antonio, Texas, September
21st 2001) is amusing when The Rock tosses Stasiak over the top rope
twice with ease after side stepping him, but the rest of the angle is just
pointless. If you’ve heard it once from The Rock then he offers nothing new
verbally here. Blasting Stasiak like a naughty child, both men just seem like
now the show is over they want to go home.
‘The
Rock Questions an Olympic Champion’ (Miami, Florida, December 24th 2001) isn’t
what you think it is. When I saw this I thought it would be a hysterical
Q&A with Kurt Angle and The Rock. What it actually is, is The Rock taunting
Angle with some mildly humours play before slamming him with a Rock Bottom.
Again, nothing of quality and nothing you’ll want to spend precious moments on
when there are better quality angles to be seen.
‘Rock-a-roonie’
(Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 24th 2003) is almost exactly identical to
every other segment included in which a Spin-a-roonie is performed. The Rock
and Booker T try to outdo each other whilst The Rock abuses the crowd with some
great interaction. By the time this point in the release comes, it’s all too
familiar. A common problem with this release despite its efforts to remain
different. Anyway, we’ve already seen The Rock do one Spin-a-roonie once, we
really don’t need to go through it again. The Rock does break protocol in a
mildly amusing moment when going out to make a young fans dream come true by
saying ‘I don’t do this anymore because I’m a bad guy now’.
‘A
Rock Fan Smells It’ (Seattle, Washington, March 31st 2003) yet again, is an
overly familiar piece and verbally repetitive to everything else The Rock is
featured in here. I suppose we can’t blame the wrestlers, they were doing the
same thing week in week out to different fans with success. They didn’t think
it would one day be complied onto media to be distributed around the world. WWE
should have left this off, there’s nothing here to be enjoyed.
‘Stone
Cold Steve Austin and Goldberg Confront Eric Bischoff’ (Halifax, Canada, May
5th 2003) is maddeningly predictable and begins with the longest and most
boring beer bash you’ll ever see. It’s amazing that after so many similar
segments on this release WWE believes we want to see more. It’s not even the
last of its kind either. Austin’s promo on Bischoff is the only notable thing
in a wholly humdrum angle. If WWE did struggle to find something else then why
bother to release this in the first place?
‘Stone
Cold Steve Austin Salutes a Cameraman’ (Montreal, Canada, July 7th 2003) is a
car crash of a segment, in which Austin brings in a cameraman into the ring to
celebrate his birthday only to witness this oaf play a heel and insult the
crowd who have just sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. It’s cringe worthy to watch and
will make your toes curl.
‘Stone
Cold Steve Austin and Goldberg Unite’ (Cleveland, Ohio, November 3rd 2003) is a
mere drinking session between the pair and literally is all this segment is.
Another banal beer bash anyone?
‘Stone
Cold Steve Austin Entertains All’ (Portland, Oregon, February 9th 2004) at
nearly 40 minutes will be loved by some, loathed by others. Don’t get me wrong
it has some laughs and in jokes but goes way too long after you’ve sat through
a lot of rubbish. If this was a pep talk in a locker room before a big game it
would be memorable; however it’s a party with no substance which involved RVD,
Mick Foley, Lillian Garcia and Booker T. There have been enough Spin-a-roonie’s
and ‘Hell Yeah’s’ heard already, to go through them again is just tiring. The
final beer bash, yes again, brings back memories of the American Pie movies.
‘Ric
Flair Thanks North Carolina’ (Charlotte, North Carolina, January 23rd 2006) is
totally pointless; featuring John Cena sucking up to ‘Naitch’ before Ric Flair
says a very quick thank you and leaves. The title of this chapter is deceiving.
Randy
Orton vs Triple H (Boston, Massachusetts, August 27th 2007) is a fleeting and
oddly paced burial of Randy Orton to appease the ego of Triple H. Swift at the
beginning, middling in the middle and pacy at the end everything could have
been made better by five more minutes. Extremely rushed and worse still, Randy
Orton goes down far too easily.
C.M.
Punk vs John Cena (Boston, Massachusetts, July 11th 2011) is a disappointment
compared to every other match the duo have participated in. A drab, by the
numbers affairs which has little meat to cover the bones sees John Cena trying
his best, though his selling is awful as per usual, whilst C.M Punk looks like
he really doesn’t care and who can blame him? At this point he was 6 days away
from believing he was leaving the company for a long period of time. This is
strictly an extra for the fans in the arena and will interest no one unless
you’re a John Cena fan. The ending where Cena literally jumps to his feet after
playing dead following his father punching C.M. Punk at ringside is a joke.
‘Triple
H Meets Zack Ryder’ (Layette, Louisiana, October 3rd 2011) is a burial of Zack
Ryder as he’s Pedigreed by Triple H before Hunter takes a picture with Ryder’s
cell phone and says his catchphrase. Pointless.
Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:
Cincinnati, Ohio –
March 29th 2004
The
Stone Cold and Lillian Ride ATV
Anaheim, California –
May 8th 2006
Steel Cage Match
John
Cena vs Edge vs Triple H
Las Vegas, Nevada –
January 28th 2013
Sheamus
in Vegas
Calgary, Alberta,
Canada – May 27th 2013
Bret
Hart Appreciation Night
Grand Rapids, Michigan
– June 17th 2013
Tables Match
John
Cena vs Ryback
Conclusion:
‘The
Best of Raw After the Show’ may have been one of the choices WWE sent out to
members of WWE.Com as a poll in 2013 but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a
good idea. Seeing as it was voted on by the WWE.Com audience to be brought to
life in 2013 and now it’s in our hands, this release has been horribly rushed
by WWE and would have either benefitted for a later release date to source more
footage or not exist at all. Believe me, you’re mot missing anything vital by
dropping this from your wish list.
It’s
not all doom and gloom, there is some very good footage here but it certainly
isn’t worth the asking price of over twenty pounds. Most of the footage here
features The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin (together they dominate the first
two discs) Triple H and John Cena (who dominate the third and final disc. A lot
of the footage is horribly repetitive, whilst being short and inconsequential
without a diverse range of wrestlers featured. I realise that these were the
main stars that ended shows during their respective eras but come on, seven hours
of them is too much.
The
matches featured are mostly feeble efforts and with no commentary are really
difficult to get into. This may have seemed like a good idea by WWE to show
what happens after Raw goes off the air but in practice it stretches what we’re
willing to sit through time and time again. Would this have been better had it
been a two disc release? Possibly, it would have negated a lot of rubbish and
might not have felt like another Steve Austin release (there’s a reason he’s on
the cover) but when it comes down to it there’s no reason for the release to
exist at all.
And
that is largely where the problem lies when you sift through all the rubbish
included. The latest WWE release isn’t a must have because there’s no reason
for it to exist. It doesn’t celebrate an anniversary or serve a purpose only to
rake in some more cash for what is in reality, a mediocre product. I have read
a few good reviews about this but I just can’t see where they’re coming from.
Hardcore wrestling fans will be intrigued by what happens after the WWE logo
appears, sadly it’s almost the exact same thing as when Raw is on air, only in
most occasions here, a little worse.
Do
not spend your hard earned money on this, at least not at the full asking
price. It’s a bargain if you can get it for ten pounds or less but anymore and
you’re wasting your money, especially if you don’t like the four men the
release seems to centre around.
Rating: C
Next Time in Review
Corner: WWE WCW’s Greatest Pay-Per View Matches
Volume 1 DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards
and upwards...
