Pads & Panels

Title: WWE Superstar Collection: Sheamus

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

Limiting the number of matches to only six, the WWE Superstars series of releases are more akin to a “best of” rather than the time capsule the usual multi-disc sets usually are. For instance, the 2011 John Cena 3-disc set did a great job of catching fans up on his recent activities while completely ignoring the Superstar’s Basic Thuganomics and Chain Gang eras. Sheamus makes a fantastic heel, and this release serves as a great reminder of those qualities before diving into his current run as a good guy. Besides, what better way to begin than by showing Sheamus beat the living hell out of the current WWE poster child, John Cena? (more…)

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Title: The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions

Format: Three-Disc DVD Set

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

WWE is digging into WCW’s archives once again, this time to release the three-disc DVD set, The Best of WCW Clash of the Champions. But while the show’s history seems like something deserving of such attention, the DVD set here seems to indicate otherwise.

Dusty Rhodes narrates the three discs, outlining the story of a show that abrasively debuted as a free program rivaling WWE’s top pay-per-view event of the year, WrestleMania. It wound up continuing over the years, but if the matches contained on this set are the best the show had to offer, it’s probably a good sign why WrestleMania continued mostly unfazed, and why WCW ultimately went out of business. (more…)

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Title: The Epic Journey of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Format: Three-Disc DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

“1995. $7 in my pocket. Thru blood, sweat and respect – I relentlessly chase greatness. This is who I am, this is what we do.” –Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, Team Bring It Strong

So reads the printed-to-look-handwritten inscription on the first foldout of WWE Home Video’s latest collection for The Rock, The Epic Journey of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, released just in time for his WrestleMania main event with John Cena more than one year in the making. It sounds like a good rags-to-riches story, but if the first DVD of the three-disc set is any indication, that’s far from true when it comes to The Rock. (more…)

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Interview with WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes

WWE Extreme Rules Preview

Interview by Bill Jones – Images courtesy of WWE

Cody Runnels, better known by his ring name Cody Rhodes, is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, a fact he played into with the multi-generational stable The Legacy. Cody Rhodes cut his teeth in the WWE in tag team competition with Ted DiBiase, but in recent years, Rhodes has made a name for himself as a singles competitor poised to be a main eventer. He has had great feuds and even better matches with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Booker T. But his current feud sees him up against the 7-foot 441-pound Big Show, upholding the time-honored pro wrestling tradition of fighting a giant, in this case a giant who beat him Sunday, April 1, for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

Rhodes will get his rematch Sunday, April 29, at the Extreme Rules pay per view, held at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. (Chicago). Rhodes was kind enough to take 15 minutes out of his busy travel schedule Thursday, April 26, to chat on the phone about the upcoming show and his career, delving into his mask, video games, his father, Chicago, twitter, the return of Attitude Era Superstars, dream matches, mystery stipulations and, of course, the Big Show. (more…)

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Title: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011

Format: Three-Disc DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

World Wrestling Entertainment continues its now-annual tradition by releasing its own collection of Best Pay-Per-View Matches, this time for 2011. The latest three-disc set from WWE features the company’s picks for the best matches previously shown on pay-per-view in the 2011 calendar year, starting January 30 with a World Heavyweight Championship Match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler and ending Oct. 23 with a World Heavyweight Championship Match between Big Show and Mark Henry. (more…)

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Title: Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time

Format: Four-Disc DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest stars — if not the biggest star — in the world of professional wrestling. He was at the top of the business during WWE’s most popular Attitude Era and made it incredibly cool to like professional wrestling. He was a consummate badass in the ring, and spent plenty of time making appearances and getting guest spots on television shows to raise awareness for the company, and WWE has put together a definitive DVD collection for fans to remember his accomplishments. (more…)

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Title: Vengeance 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Vengeance is an exercise in disappointment, with one major saving grace. This is where CM Punk’s original momentum started to taper after he got trapped in a pointless storyline with Triple H, tagging with him here to take on The Miz and R-Truth. Meanwhile, spoiled on the front of the box, Big Show and Mark Henry recycle an old bit in which the ring breaks under there weight. Not too original. But the interesting twist this time around is that the show does not end when Show and Henry break the ring. Instead, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio start their last man standing match for the WWE Championship in the broken ring. But it’s ultimately a cherry on top of a shit sundae. (more…)

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Title: Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Format: Three-Disc DVD Set

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s no secret that WWE Home Video has been unashamedly mining its archives for as many DVD and Blu-ray releases as it can possibly get out on the market. But more often than not lately, the company seems to be hitting its marks when it comes to these releases.

One of the latest and most fantastic is the first in a presumed series titled Greatest Rivalries, this one focusing on the feud between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Most wrestling fans are readily familiar with the infamous Montreal Screwjob, but before things got to that point, these wrestling superstars had a great feud, and this three-disc DVD collection outlines that feud. (more…)

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Title: Night of Champions 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Night of Champions saw the derailing of CM Punk’s chance at a real run at the top early on when he locked up with Triple H. It also saw a confusing turn of events with Alberto Del Rio and John Cena, as it relates to the WWE Championship. And then a bunch of other matches that seem very similar to the cards we’ve seen as of late on other pay-per-views. The only real saving grace is the Mark Henry and Randy Orton fight for the World Heavyweight Championship, which sees “Sexual Chocolate” himself finally on top after all these years. (more…)

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Title: Hell in a Cell 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Yet another specialty match turned pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell has effectively done its best over the last few years to neuter the danger and appeal that the match once had. This year’s big selling point — the WWE Championship on the line for the first time ever in a triple-threat Hell in the Cell bout, featuring CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and John Cena. An interesting twist sees Cena locked outside the cell, unable to compete. But ultimately it is a lackluster match, the finale of which serves to show how bad of a place the WWE writing staff was in at the time. The after-match activities don’t help. Mark Henry versus Randy Orton is a much better bout, but still altogether commonplace for something as “brutal” as Hell in a Cell. The undercard is unforgivably weak. (more…)

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