Wednesday 2 August 2017

Kurt Angle: The Essential Collection review By James Russell

 Kurt Angle is one of the most historic WWE superstars of all time. He's a former two-time NCAA All American. He's a grand-slam champion in both TNA and WWE, not to mention holding the WWE heavyweight championship on 4 separate occasions. He was the 2000 King of the Ring winner and even voted #1 Wrestler of the Year in the 2001 PWI 500. And to top it all of - he's the only Olympic gold medalist in WWE history. This legend is truly one of the best of all time, and this DVD set proves it.

The first disc of this set covers the first 18 months of Kurt's WWE career and really reminds you of just how good he has been from the very start. From his debut at Survivor Series 1999 against Shawn Stasiak to winning the European Championship from Val Venus just 3 months later and then defeating Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship at No Way Out 2000 and unifying both titles. His beginning in WWE is second to no one. His KOTR victory over Rikishi is also on here and reminds you just how good a match this was. Then comes his first WWE championship victory over The Rock at No Mercy 2000 and successful defences against Undertaker and Triple H. The first disc ends with the amazing match against Shane McMahon at KOTR 2001. One of the most entertaining matches from around that time and definitely helped show just how tough Shane-o-Mac is.

Here is Angle vs Shane McMahon from King Of The Ring 1998
The second disc has more great matches against the likes of Stone Cold in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Edge, the WWE debuts of John Cena and Rey Mysterio; and even a hidden gem against Hulk Hogan from KOTR 2002. Watching this DVD helps show just how good Kurt is at changing his style against opponents with such unique styles over the years. But, this disc ends with a fantastic match between Kurt and Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2003 in a rematch from their Wrestlemania 19 classic. This, once again, was an instant classic. The third and final discs has another match against John Cena, also showing the classic footage of the infamous battle rap between the pair. It also shows a match between he and Eddie from Summerslam 2004 which is good, however I would've much rather preferred this to be their match from WrestleMania 20 earlier in the year. Then, we get the match which was match of the year 2005 in PWI against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 21. This match is nothing short of phenomenal, just like their Iron Man rematch which follows. We are then treated to a fantastic triple threat match involving the pair and John Cena. All 3 men were at the top of their game here.

The Classic Wrestle Mania 21 match against Shawn Michaels
The final match on this disc is an entertaining bout for the ECW Title against Rob Van Dam. But the true ending on this set is how Kurt Angle has finally came home to the WWE after 11 years. He is a different man to the one who left back in the Summer of 2006. He's overcome his demons, started a beautiful new family and is now the best man he can possibly be. Inside the ring, he lived a legendary career and will go down as one of the best of all time. And it's fantastic to see Kurt back on our screens again each week as the General Manager of RAW. But it's outside the ring that means most to Kurt. These days he lives his life the way he lived his Wrestling career - with the 3 I's: Intensity, intelligence and integrity. He truly is an Olympic hero, inside and outside of the ring; and this DVD set truly shows it. It's true, it's DAMN true!!!

You can purchase this DVD set from WWE DVD UK for £19.99