A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: June 23rd 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
40 minute documentary covering Batista’s 2014 in ring return to WWE at the 2014
Royal Rumble complete with two discs of matches.
Strengths:
The
opening video may be swift but it’s more in depth than almost the entirety of
the short documentary which follows. Covering Batista’s early years growing up
with no father to getting into trouble with the law, this part is complimented
by some unseen pictures of Batista’s youth and teenage years. Seeing a slim and
hardly recognizable Batista will take you back a little. The video quickly
switches to his explanation for his 2010 exit and Batista seems humble when
talking about working with a lot of injuries that he and other wrestlers never
let the audience see. Quickly, the release arrives back in 2014 in a neat
package.
The
actual first segment of the release begins on Royal Rumble morning with Batista
leaving the Marriot hotel and getting into the car ready to travel to the
arena. Inside the car, he conducts a short sit down interview which takes in
his training to get back into the ring and reveals he suffers from a nervous
disposition. It’s a frank moment on the release, before we cut to one week
earlier and Batista’s return to WWE on Raw. Talking about his nerves that
night, Dave reveals his worries at not being remembered. This part isn’t in
character which is refreshing.
On
the subject of leaving WWE in 2010, Batista brings to light a previously
unknown injury which forced him from the ring. Wrestling with a broken back at
Over the Limit 2010, we get a comment from Batista’s surgeon about how big and
important the operation was in a personal look at the wear and tear wrestling
takes on the body, which we hardly ever see.
Between
segments, we get a look at something which to my recollection hasn’t been
included on any WWE release ever before and that the making of the tights
wrestlers wear in the ring/ Focusing on the WWE seamstress, we get a look at
how she quickly makes Batista’s Royal Rumble attire in a matter of minutes.
It’s a real eye opener and when you realize how many wrestlers have designs on
their tights. She must be a busy woman. It’s not long but it’s different.
After
what seems like an age of waiting and excuses, the release finally tackles
Batista’s foray into acting and movies beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy.
Batista takes us through the process of getting the role of Drax the Destroyer
and the months and months of auditions needed to secure the role. The pressure
he relays seems so much that when he tells of getting the role you almost feel
happy and relieved for him. When he’s finished with the movie, he seems adamant
about hammering home the fact that WWE is his number one priority and he’s
staying. However this contradicts his final statement of the release.
The
release seems lost for ideas as it hits its final stretch so now its anything
will do to fill the space. Thankfully, one of those fillers is a behind the
scenes look at Batista’s hardships getting ready for the Royal Rumble match
which include his tights not fitting properly after they’ve been made and his
trouble with new boots which he couldn’t walk in properly with an Achilles
tendon injury. WWE wouldn’t usually allow us to see this or get this close to
problems which happen behind the scene but then again we may have been privy to
this had the company actually thought through what would and wouldn’t be
included so they didn’t leave themselves short on material.
The
release come to an end at the finale of Royal Rumble night. Batista talks about
much it hurts to be booed by the fans and told he doesn’t deserve it. He speaks
about knowing why the fans cheer Daniel Bryan because he’s worked his butt off
for the chance to be here but he seems genuinely hurt that people don’t believe
he has deserved it and has a point when he mentions some people forget about
the eleven years he toiled to earn the chance.
Before
the final credits roll we get one last summation from Batista on his future,
which contradicts everything he previously said but at least it’s truthful.
Speaking on what comes next; Batista says that he will lave WWE to promote
Guardians, which has now done, before stating his desire not to return to WWE
at any point in the near future. He wants to take a holiday and do things he
never got the chance to do whilst with WWE. It’s admirable that he doesn’t
bullshit by saying his priority will be getting back to the company as quickly
as possible and that he has no desire to return until a later date. It’s a good
way to sign off.
‘Brotherly
Bond’ is the special feature on DVD Disc 1 and whilst its not a hugely in depth
feature it does tell us something new about Batista and shed light on something
we may previously not have known. In a sit down interview, Titus O’Neil tells
of his special relationship with Batista and how Batista is responsible for him
being in the business. At least we have someone to blame now. This is
information even I wasn’t aware of, the fact they live next door to each other
and this part is complimented by some unseen photos of O’Neil and Batista
spending time together with O’Neil’s children. It’s an eye opener.
Batista
and Ric Flair vs Booker T and Rob Van Dam (Raw, March 22nd 2004) is rough
around the edges but comes smack bang in the middle of several terrible bouts
meaning this feels fresh and watchable. Batista is still green and does very
little leaving the heavy work to Ric Flair but its Booker T and RVD who bring
the match to life. There are a few tense moments but you have to look for them
instead of allowing them to come naturally. It’s not perfect, but I had to put
something in this column from the first disc. And it’s better than everything
before it.
Batista
vs Booker T vs Finlay (Smackdown, December 1st 2007) is mistakenly labelled
2008 in the title menu, that’s lazy. It’s just one of many matches here to
feature both Booker T and / or Finlay because Batista seemingly didn’t wrestle
anyone else and all those cracking matches with Triple H were used up on his
first release. However it’s watchable even if it goes for twenty minutes which
here is ten too long. Had the bout been cut on the night it would have been a
tight and exciting affair instead of dipping drastically in the middle as
Batista blows up.
Batista
vs Edge (Smackdown, June 29th 2007) is the first match over the discs which has
a real main event feel to it. It’s nowhere near as exciting as their pay-per
view matches contested that year but its technically sound even though there
are rest and submission holds in abundance. Some are revolutionary. Edge plays
his part to perfection, seeking out any avenue to win. The bout picks up a lot
of pace towards the end and finishes strong with some arresting near falls and
a brilliant finish sequence which sees Batista reverse the Spear into a Batista
Bomb.
Batista
vs Shawn Michaels (One Night Stand, June 1 2008) is a match every WWE star
should be sat down and made to watch. It’s a lesson in how to sell convincingly
for a younger star and get over a new talent, though Batista was far from new
in 2008. It’s competitive to begin with before it turns to a mauling of Shawn
Michaels which is sold to absolute perfection. Used a rag doll, Shawn Michaels
really conveys Batista as a monster to be reckoned with more so than Triple H
did in 2005. Shawn’s weak Sweet Chin Music which is designed to hammer home the
point Batista has taken it out of him that night may get laughs but conveys
what it was meant to. This brings the very best out of Batista.
Batista
vs C.M Punk (The Great American Bash 2008, July 20th 2008) is very much a match
of two halves. When Punk is in control the bout is fast and exciting. When it
falls to Batista to carry the match on his shoulders its slow and sluggish. At
this point in time C.M Punk shouldn’t have been expected to carry anyone, he
was still trying to get himself over and it was selfish of WWE to expect him
to. The match does boast an array of exciting moments and highlights how good a
match between the pair would be in 2014. The lousy disqualification ending
brings down the occasion as does Batista’s trashing of Punk after the match at
a time when he needed to look strong is misguided by WWE booking.
Batista
vs Randy Orton (Extreme Rules 2009, June 7th 2009) isn’t the best match the
pair have ever contested but its good enough even though it boasts a wholly
ridiculous result. Orton carries Batista well and his leap frog which sends big
Dave into the cage looks great. The cage is used well but at only ten minutes
in length for a main event calibre bout it’s too short. Fans lap up the action
on show even though it’s nothing special but it’s the ending which is really
infuriating. Having just won the WWE Championship too much applause not one
month before, Randy Orton is forced to drop it to Batista when he didn’t need
the gold around his waist again. It’s a dumb result.
Batista
vs C.M Punk (Smackdown, October 8th 2009) isn’t as good as their Bash collision
but it’s still watchable. Shorter by far, Punk mixes up the action so it
doesn’t get samey. For most of the period, the bout plays out to silence which
had to be expected after the way WWE treated Punk in 2008. Once again, after
the bout, Batista treats Punk like a complete jobber.
Batista
vs Rey Mysterio (Survivor Series 2009, November 22nd 2009) is the perfect David
vs Goliath bout which plays to perfection and is one of Batista’s best singles
match in a long time, up to that point. Mysterio fuses his high flying
technique with Batista’s power well before the bout turns into a mauling of
Mysterio in brutal style. Batista gets the cheers here though he’s the heel and
his Spinebuster onto a steel chair gets the ‘One More Time’ chant. It shows how
bored we were with Rey Mysterio then. Those feelings have only strengthened.
Batista
vs Rey Mysterio (Smackdown, December 11th 2009) is as good as their previous
Survivor Series bout though there isn’t much to separate them apart from
Mysterio finds an edge here he was previously missing. There are tense moments
galore and Batista sells for his real life friend. It’s everything you want
from a television outing and the story told is done well.
Batista
vs Randy Orton vs Sheamus (Raw, April 28th 2010) is a brilliantly conceived
triple threat match which takes in everything you could wish for. Batista’s
flaws are covered by his opponents who race through an exciting routine which
takes in many reversals, near falls and an excellent Orton Backbreaker into a
Brogue Kick. This is twenty minutes of gripping action, if only all the matches
were this good.
Weaknesses:
Whilst
the documentary does explore some of the reasons behind Batista’s exit and
return, the real reason for his return is never touched upon. Batista is
instructed to try and make us believe that he returned because he simply wanted
to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion and it was a life long ambition even
though the unified gold was only created in December 2013, this version of it
at least. The real reason why Batista returned was to supplement his income.
When he left WWE to act, he wasn’t the Hollywood draw he thought he was and
found himself with a small income which was nowhere near enough to support the
millionaire lifestyle he’d become accustomed to with WWE. Apart from Guardians
of the Galaxy, Batista venture into acting was a failure. It would have been
refreshing to hear him admit this.
Covering
his exit in 2010, Batista says that he never wanted to leave and the only
reason he did was because of the PG era and it didn’t sit well with him.
Strange, because the PG was in full swing long before Batista left WWE and if
it was that much of a problem then he wouldn’t have returned. This is all a
lie. If Batista didn’t want to leave so much then he could have returned after
his back healed. Batista sees The Rock as a sell-out and in an effort not portray
himself as someone who loves acting more than wrestling as not to alienate the
audience, he makes every excuse in the book. The real reason Batista left WWE
was to pursue his acting career and nothing else. He’d had enough of wrestling
so why not just say it. Those who can pull this interview apart will know how
false he sounds.
Batista
covers the ending to the 2005 Royal Rumble by simply stating that it was a mess
and leaves it at that. We’re shown footage of him and John Cena going over the
top rope together but we’re never allowed into anymore insight than that. For
those who didn’t know, this could have done with an explanation by Batista as
to why it was such a mess. The real story was that Batista was meant to toss
Cena over in one go but lost his footing with Cena on his shoulders and they
both went over the top rope together. With just minutes of pay-per view time
remaining Vince McMahon stormed to the ring to give clear instructions of what
to do and tore both of his thigh muscles sliding into the ring. It was a total
mess. Do we get any of that from Batista? Of course not! It leaves those not in
the know wondering why it was such a mess.
Batista
once again tries to cover up his passion for acting by stating that his passion
was to fight after he left WWE. That’s bullshit. He may have wanted to fight
but that’s not the reason he left as stated. Batista partook in months of
failed acting auditions before deciding he may be able to make his millions
fighting like Brock Lesnar did when he left WWE. This makes it seem like
Batista went straight from WWE to training for UFC and didn’t give a seconds
thought to acting. What WWE are trying to do here is blind us to the truth and
make it seem like Batista isn’t the sell out he believes The Rock to be. Whilst
we’re shown footage of Batista training for UFC, this isn’t needed. It begins
to stray into John Cena territory in that it has nothing to do with the subject
of the release. I would have much preferred this to be substituted for
something on his early life even though there is some truth here as he admits
there was no money in it for him.
Strangely,
for a release which is set on Royal Rumble night and cuts to separate segments
of Batista returning before that night, the release cuts to February 9th 2014 after
the Royal Rumble before returning to the night in question. Only this segment
isn’t a thoughtful piece of reflection on the night, it’s instead one which
follows Batista around a car show where he displays more passion for his cars
than he does wrestling. His car with Eddie Guerrero’s face on the front is the
only highlight of a very dull segment.
Leviathan
vs Brock Lesnar (Ohio Valley Wrestling, July 28th 2001) is terrible. Contested
in a small ring, the pair just bore the crowd in the building with submission
and rest holds as its clear both are blown up badly by the middle of this seven
minute tragedy. Looking at this, it’s hard to see how either became a star and
the story behind the Leviathan character, that Sin found him living in a lake
and brought him to wrestling is bizarrely dumb. How does one live in a lake
exactly? There are moments of life from Lesnar as he executes throws and slams
but this is entirely forgettable and one which should have been omitted as it
shows how little Batista learnt from development to winning the World
Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21.
Batista
and Reverend D-Von vs Farooq and Randy Orton (Smackdown, June 27th 2002) may
have been passable had Batista done more and showed some class. Instead he
stands on the apron and allows D-Von to do all the work. A young Randy Orton
impresses with his ability but apart from Batista’s devastating clothesline at
the death, this is entirely forgettable. Did we really need to be reminded of
the dreadful Reverend D-Von character?
Batista
vs JBL (Smackdown, September 9th 2005) follows the lines of the rest of their
feud went along and even though this match id fought under Bullrope rules. This
is actually worse than the Texas Bullrope Matches JBL fought with Savio Vega in
the 1990’s. It has no flow, no gripping action and seeing as Batista is the
champion going into the bout then it’s a forgone conclusion as to who will
triumph. Their whole series was just awful.
Batista,
Rey Mysterio and Bobby Lashley vs Booker T, Finlay and Mark Henry (Saturday
Night’s Main Event, July 15th 2008) is a dreary seven minute collision which
has no main event aura to it. Everyone seems to be on slow motion duty and the
pace at which Mark Henry crawls through the bout is painful to sit through. The
bout only pops when Batista gets in and runs through his completion like
they’re nothing.
Batista
vs Kane vs Finlay vs Mark Henry (Smackdown, May 25th 2007) is another
disappointment. Undoubtedly a main event calibre match on paper, the bout fails
to live up to expectations. Three out of the four are either too big or useless
to matter and Finlay is brought down by their lack of ability. Surprisingly,
it’s Kane who shines here with several good moves but it’s not enough to hold
the bout together and it degenerates quickly. Maddeningly, Finlay is the most
illogical of the match as after he nails Batista and Mark Henry with the
Shelaighly he doesn’t bother to cover them and exits the ring.
Batista
vs Kane (Smackdown, December 14th 2007) is timid for a last man standing match
which takes place mostly in the ring and only lives up towards the end. It also
boats another dumb ending as after being attacked by Edge, Batista simply gets
up and reaches the ten count. It’s dull for the most part and by the time it
reaches its crescendo, you’ll have lost interest in anything the pair have to
offer.
Batista
vs Chris Jericho (Cyber Sunday, October 26th 2008) and Batista and Shawn
Michaels vs Chris Jericho and JBL (Raw, October 27th 2008) are both run of the
mill affairs which hold no interest. The former is notable only for Stone Cold
Steve Austin as the special guest referee and the latter for Shawn Michaels
being attacked before the match and Batista having to fight alone. By the time
Michaels appears at the end Batista doesn’t bother to tag him in and wins the
match alone which makes Shawn Michaels’ comeback pointless.
Batista
and Shane McMahon vs Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes (Smackdown, April 24th 2009)
is a parade of Shane McMahon moves whilst Batista does nothing but stand on the
apron. Shane is so past it here that it’s obvious why he left less than seven
months later. Wrestling wasn’t in his blood. Rhodes and Dibiase try their best
to make this watchable but are run through like jobbers once Batista gets in.
And WWE wonder why the pair never got over.
Batista
vs John Cena (Over the Limit 2010, May 23rd 2010) is an awful ‘I Quit’ Match
and thanks to the nature of the bout, the ending is obvious. The only notable
occurrence of the entire bout is the Attitude Adjustment from the top of a car
through the stage though when Batista has John Cena above his head on a
balcony, you wonder what would have been had he lost his footing as he did at
the 2005 Royal Rumble. Cena fans will eat this up, the rest of us can use the
skip button.
Royal
Rumble 2014 Match (Royal Rumble 2014, January 28th 2014) is a pointless
addition as it was only released three months ago. Here it begins from
Batista’s entrance at number 28 and is only notable for his interaction with
Roman Reigns at the finish and the crowd hostile reaction to Daniel Bryan’s
absence. If we’re talking about pointless additions, then Batista vs Alberto
Del Rio (Elimination Chamber 2014, February 23rd 2014) is up there with the
best of them. Pointless additions that is. Only released two months ago, there
is no reason for this burial of Del Rio to be here other than to fill disc
space.
Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:
Raw – November 4th 2002
Batista
vs Justin Credible
Raw – November 25th
2002
Batista
vs Kane
Armageddon 2003 –
December 14th 2003
WWE World Tag Team
Championship Match
Batista
and Ric Flair vs The Dudley Boyz
Raw – April 4th 2005
Batista
vs Randy Orton
Smackdown – September
25th 2005
Batista
and Eddie Guerrero vs MNM
No Mercy 2007 – October
7th 2007
World Heavyweight
Championship Match
Punjabi Prison Match
Batista
vs The Great Khali
Elimination Chamber
2010 – February 21st 2010
WWE Championship Match
Batista
vs John Cena
Raw – March 1st 2010
‘The
Name and Face of WWE’
Raw – May 24th 2010
‘I
Quit’
Smackdown – February
28th 2014
‘Deal
With It’
Conclusion:
‘Batista
– The Animal Unleashed’ raised a few eyebrows when it WWE announced it for its
release slate in 2014. Many who remember the previous release on Batista by WWE
struggled to see how the company could top it and their fears were justified,
because WWE have failed miserably. The documentary is thirty nine minutes long
and takes place on one night with the release cutting back and forth between
periods of Batista’s career. Some of the material about his personal life is
interesting stuff and most you won’t find anywhere else but where it stumbles
is when it tries to emulate the thoroughly excellent ‘Wrestling With Shadows’.
It’s a wannabe release which doesn’t even touch the surface of Bret Hart’s non
WWE documentary.
Focussing
too much on trying to shield the truth from us about his reasons to leave
wrestling and return, Batista seems desperate for those small minded amongst us
who see The Rock as a sell-out not see him in the same way. Too much emphasis
is put on the fact he just wanted to fight when he actually didn’t had he come
out on camera and said that he believed he could succeed at something different
and had lost his passion for the business this would have greatly improved the
tone of the release. Anyone who knows anything about wrestling will be able to
unstitch Batista’s claims and when that happens, the entire release begins to
come apart at the seams. Like ‘The John Cena Experience’, WWE spends too much
time on things which aren’t related to wrestling or the release title.
One
suggestion would have been to can the rubbish and strike a deal with Marvel to
do an extended segment on behind the scenes of Guardian of the Galaxy. Marvel
wouldn’t have turned away the promotion and following Batista around on set for
the duration of the shoot would have been a welcome release from seeing his car
collection and watching him get whipped with towels in a martial arts
graduation ceremony which hold no interest whatsoever. That though is only if
WWE insisted on focusing on Batista outside the ring. This should have been
kept to wrestling only.
When
the release does eventually cut back to Royal Rumble night, its more of a
procession of meeting and greeting old friends rather than his preparations for
his first match back in just under four years. I would have suggested extending
the documentary but seeing as they scrape the barrel to fill a small amount of
time, I can’t imagine how dreary this would have been had the documentary been
another hour and twenty minutes long. Maybe it’s best this way and WWE knew it.
As for the matches, well they should have been cut by half. Some hold some real
intrigue but sadly most of those are held on pay-per view which have already
been released on DVD and Blu-ray. If you own the matches already then forking
out over twenty pounds for one or two which take place on Smackdown isn’t
justified.
Whether
this release will appeal to you personally depends on your taste in wrestling.
If you’re not a fan of sitting through long documentaries then the main
presentation may be to your liking. The same applies if you found ‘The John
Cena Experience’ a gripping watch. If you love to watch disjointed and slow
bouts which rarely build to anything nearing tense then again, you must
purchase this. For the rest of us, it’s something you don’t need to waste seven
hours of your life on. It’s not worth the money and there are plenty more
releases in 2014 which are.
More
than anything else this release looks like it’s been cobbled together without
any real thought or care. Something to make a bit of money on and there is no
real reason for it to exist. It’s horribly mediocre, but could have been
forgiven had it been the first this year. Sadly, it’s not.
Rating:
C
Next Time in Review
Corner: WWE United We Slam – The Best of The
Great American Bash DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards
and upwards...
