The
True Story of The Royal Rumble takes the fan favourite Pay-per-view
event, and gives it the same historical documentary treatment as WWE did
with their WrestleMania and Starrcade DVDs. Now approaching it's
thirtieth iteration, The Rumble's unique structure means that never
fails to be entertaining or controversial. Either way, every year it is
must see Wrestling.
This
look into the traditional start of the Road to Wrestlemania, consisting
of a traditional documentary DVD - with plenty of clips, highlights and
vox pops of Legends and SuperStars - and two discs of 'Special
Features' and Featured Matches, also delves into the setup and
surroundings of Royal Rumble 2016. To start the whole thing in context,
the progenitor of the concept - first Intercontinental Champion Pat
Patterson - describes how his refinement of the traditional
Over-the-top-rope Battle Royale to include timed entrances was presented
to NBC TV. At a time when a star's entrance was a relatively new and
effective addition to his gimmick, TV executive Dick Ebersol saw this as
the perfect feature for a (then) WWF special for his network. The
concept was refined at House Shows, and the first Televised version was
such a success that it became a permanent addition to the 'Big Four' of
Pay-per-Views.
With
the first few years being treated as their own self-contained
tournament in the era of only a handful of annual PPVs, and the majority
of subsequent matches rewarding a main-event at Wrestlemania, winning
the Royal Rumble has always held a high level of prestige. More
talking-head segments of notable competitors relate this, as well as the
challenge and honour of either starting as number 1, 2, or 30 in
particular. All further tweaks and touches that has kept this as quite
probably the most popular annual show outside of Wrestlemania.
The
Rumble has had it's own fair share of controversies over the years,
which is only to be expected from such a long-running concept, and this
DVD does not shy away. The only time the Rumble has settled the
Championship prior to this year, Ric Flair's win in '93, came about as
the result of contentious matches between Hogan and Undertaker. Bret
Hart and Lex Luger having to share the 'victory' in '94, Shawn Michaels'
single foot on the floor prior to his win in 1995, BOTH of The Rock's
feet touching in 2000, and the Quad-busting mutual elimination of Cena
and Batista, all dally with iffy eliminations. The fans' reactions to
the 2014 & 15 events, and their Daniel Bryan-related
disappointments, are covered with revealing backstage footage which
paints Reigns in a very sympathetic light.
If
there is one single thing in the anticipation of a rumble that builds
fan interest, it is the surprise entrants, the Superstars that you don't
expect to see. This year's event has AJ Styles making his debut and
the backstage secrecy this involves, whilst seeing the Legends of days
gone making a cameo - from The Honky Tonk Man to DDP - gets a great pop
from 'the Universe'. Add to this the stealthy returns from injury over
the years, of the likes of Edge or John Cena, and there is always a
shock or two amongst the 30 men selected. Although the documentary has a
chapter dedicated to this phenomenon, the number of significant
inclusions over the years could have seen it expanded somewhat.
The
Royal Rumble match itself isn't the only reason to pay attention to
this PPV, the Undercard has it's historic gems too. In particular, the
Rumble 2000 gets it's due recognition with the first Tag-team Tables
match in WWE between the Dudley Boyz and Hardy Boyz, Tazz's début suplex
battle with Kurt Angle and Cactus Jack & HHH in hardcore heaven. A
look at Rowdy Roddy Piper's Intercontinental reign that began at the
Rumble kicks off a look at that title's storied history at this event,
leading right up to this year's brutal slug-fest between Kevin Owens and
Dean Ambrose. In a moment of candid remorse, Scott Hall (Razor Ramon)
talks regretfully about his reaction to the homoeroticism in his match
with Goldust, 20 years ago.
The
format of the Royal Rumble lends itself to the notion of statistical
Records, all there to be admired or beaten: from the Shortest time in
the ring (Santino Marella, 1sec) to the Longest (Rey Mysterio, entered
first & won, 62mins+), Stone Cold holds the record for most wins
(with three). One man stands tall in the record books however, Kane
with Most Eliminations (42), Most Rumbles, and had held most
eliminations in a single match until he was beaten in 2015 (11-12) by
Roman Reigns. Reigns becomes the First to defend the WWE title in the
Rumble Match itself, as number one entrant no less. This segues nicely
into the 'Moments' chapter of the DVD as we see the start of the 2016
bout, and Styles vaunted debut at number three.
Dedicating
itself to the more esoteric highlights of history, this chapter covers
such diverse topics as Too Cool & Rikishi dancing mid match, Tough
Enough rookie Maven eliminating Undertaker, Demolition Fighting each
other and Andre the Giant being scared of Jake's snake. Chyna, as the
first female Royal Rumble entrant gets a significant mention, as does
Kofi Kingston's regular rumble acrobatic escapology act. As Shawn
Michaels and the Undertaker fight out their huge ending in '07, we get
taken forward in time to the ending of this year's as Reign's valiant
defence ends and Triple-H eliminates Ambrose to become 14-time Champion
at the same time as looking after his boardroom duties.
At
only an hour and five minutes long, the Royal Rumble has had plenty of
history to provide more flesh to the bones of this documentary, but for
it's length it does cover all the important events, even if only
briefly. Still a worthy addition to any completists, collectors or fans
of the format like I am. Let's see how the other discs support or
complement the documentary.
The
'Special Features' section of disc two would have been a lot of the
missing 'flesh' I mentioned. From interesting anecdotes, the star power
of Pamela Anderson in the mid-nineties, to Mae Young winning 'Miss
Rumble 2000' and a featurette on significantly less puerile female
appearances at the Rumble, this adds some value to the set. The
'Matches' section starts with the première Royal Rumble match from 1988,
which holds up very well for it's age and shows excellent construction
and progression throughout. The Rockers vs The Orient Express is a good
tag match and better technically, but Ultimate Warrior vs Sgt.
Slaughter - also from 1991 - feels the stronger historic inclusion.
The
1994 'draw' between Bret Hart and Lex Luger is included in it's
entirety, whilst the 1997 Championship Match between Sycho Sid and Shawn
Michaels, as well as the aforementioned Tazz/Angle match from 2000,
round out the disc. The 2001 Rumble match, notable for the first
Celebrity entrant in comedian Drew Carey, the Hardy Boyz fighting each
other, the Return of the Honky Tonk Man and as Stone Cold's record
breaking third win, starts disc 3. The 2007 iteration ended with an
all-out bloody battle between Michaels and Undertaker and is the last
full rumble match on the set. The final two matches are the
surprisingly technical bout between The Rock and CM Punk from 2013 that
ended Punk's 434 day reign as Champion, and the fiery and contentious
Divas' Championship match from this year between Becky Lynch and
Charlotte.
Whilst
there have been stronger DVD sets from WWE this year, this stands out
for it's documentary format, and that the included bonuses and matches
really do back up the content of it. Whilst I'd have been quite happy
for the whole of Royal Rumble 2000 to be included as an Extra, the
length of the event's long and storied history means that in summarising
it, we are always going to be missing something. A must have for any
WWE collector, and despite the length of the first disc, great value for
money.
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