WWE Randy Orton: RKO Outta Nowhere DVD Review By Tim Ricketts

Whether you know him as 'the Viper', 'the Apex Predator' or 'the Legend Killer', Randy Orton has been at the top of the wrestling food-chain for well over a decade.  His uniquely capricious character and subtle charisma have established him as a man not to be reckoned with, or particularly trusted either, but it has kept him in the main event picture all those years; even if only as a dark horse for a time.  I am utterly certain that I am talking about a future Hall-of-Famer here, and a definite Legend.

It has been five years since WWE released their last Orton DVD, and like a lot of the past releases of their more enduring Superstars it is due for an update.  Cue 'Randy Orton: RKO Outta Nowhere' to fill this void.  WWE's other updated biographies, like the recent Brock Lesnar one, have shied away from any repetition of matches from previous offerings, but with over a dozen WWE/World Championships behind Orton this should contain some quality viewing.  A quick check through the contents of the three discs confirm that WWE are sticking by their current format of a chronological match compilation, interspersed with highlight packages and short interview-style segues, rather than a documentary followed by a match compilation.

The set begins with Randy ruminating on his start in the business at WWE developmental territory OVW, being thankful for it being easier than most due to his family background as a third-generation wrestler. It quickly  moves on to his first 'dark' (or un-televised) match against Flash Flanagan which has no commentary for obvious reasons, but shows Orton's immense power and potential.

Orton's career has paralleled that of John Cena in so many ways, and we slip back to OVW to see one of their first (of very many) encounters, after The Viper gives his early impressions of the then 'Prototype'.  Orton also discusses how he was treated by senior figures whilst establishing himself on the main Roster, with highlights of his TV debut vs Hardcore Holly, and in particular how the Undertaker dealt with the (included) early championship match he was given.  Triple-H's run-in at the end leads us neatly to the formation of Evolution, the alliance of Orton, HHH, Ric Flair and Batista.  A 6-man elimination tag match against the Dudley Boyz provides a fantastic example of this most excellent faction.

The next two matches highlight the beginnings of the 'Legend Killer' gimmick and Orton's substantial run as Intercontinental Champion, the longest for seven years, with a defence against 'Legend' Chris Jericho, and his championship rematch against Edge after finally losing the title at Vengeance. Despite this title run and the ascension to his first World Heavyweight Championship bringing prestige to Evolution, its permanent dissolution was inevitable once Triple-H revealed his jealousy of Orton's title. An un-televised match from their subsequent feud rounds out disc one, and adds some substantial rarity value as well as Randy's insights into working with the now WWE Chief.

After talking about working against Edge earlier, Orton focuses on their tag-team, Rated-RKO, at the start of disc two.  Their brief title-run is demonstrated with a match against the Hardys, before attention is switched to Randy's next WWE Championship reign with an absolute humdinger of a stipulation match with Shaun Michaels at Survivor Series '07.  This is followed by the Champion vs Champion match against Jeff Hardy at the following Royal Rumble and then an incongruous four-year jump in time to 2011.  I was mildly disappointed that The Legacy, the faction that formed the bulk of his work during this time, has seemingly been airbrushed from Orton's history.  Though, this may have more to do with Cody Rhodes' recent departure from the company than anything.

Ignoring that gap, the Last Man Standing match with CM Punk at Extreme Rules is a beautiful example of pacing and psychology over spectacular 'spots'.  Another Champion versus Champion match, this time against US title holder Dolph Ziggler who Orton refers to as a 'top three' talent, rounds out the second disc.

If a four year jump is a bit much, then the third disc commences in contrast.  The next match occurs only a day after the previous one against Ziggler, a feud-ending Steel Cage match  against Christian to retain his World Championship.  Another jump, this time of just under two years, brings us into another period of dominance for the Apex Predator and a brief discussion about ladder matches.  The Money in the Bank Ladder Match 2013 is the platform from which this success launched, and is filled with the athletes that he has spent the intervening time feuding with.

After using his MITB contract to win the WWE Championship, we get to the point of most historic significance on the entire set: The Unification Match.  WWE Champion Randy Orton met World Champion John Cena in a TLC match to become the final World, and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.  The two young titans of the 2000s give a showing worthy of the occasion, which is just as well with the establishment of the new Universal Championship virtually ruling out any resurrection of the Big Gold Belt in the New Era.

After the significance of that match, the remaining three bouts may seem a little lacklustre, but the wrestling content is still watch-worthy, and significantly we get to hear Orton's opinions on the Superstars of Today.  Randy obviously likes working against Dean Ambrose, considering the compliments he gives, and the intensity of the match shown.  The intensity continues for the high-profile Wrestlemania XXXI fight with Seth Rollins, on his own steamroller course for the title.  Probably the highest praise is reserved for Cesaro and his strength, and a spectacularly explosive triple threat between him, Orton and Kevin Owens concludes the DVD set.

Whilst the gaps and total resistance to any repetition from any other sets makes this collection a little disjointed in terms of chronology, it is, quite appropriately, a beautifully coherent record of Randy's evolution, and well worth owning.  From The Legend Killer to Legend, from Rookie to Ring General, this set successfully documents Orton's legacy and The Viper's place as WWE's Apex Predator.

Available now from www.WWEDVD.co.uk

WWE Annual 2016 DVD Review By Tim Rickets

The WWE Annual 2016 is a six-DVD behemoth of a compendium set, consisting of The Best of RAW and SmackDown 2015 and The Best PPV Matches 2015.  Once you get your head around the anachronistic cognitive dissonance of a 2015 set packaged as 'Annual 2016' when it's nearly 2017, then this is a potentially good time-capsule of an interesting transitional year for WWE.

The TV show and PPV sets are presented by Byron Saxton and Corey Graves respectively, providing the necessary talking-head and segue sections to link the chronology of the highlight packages and matches.  Talking of highlight packages, the match selections are heavily enhanced by them, with each Pay-per-View getting it's own, and the month's major happenings and débuts on TV are similarly summarised too.

To minimise any jumping backward and forward in time, I've viewed and reviewed the DVDs in pairs, starting with the first Best of RAW and SmackDown disc then The Best PPV Matches disc 1, and so forth alternating between the sets. I found that the sets are very complementary when viewed like this, although I expect that some will view this as 'not the right way'.

The Best of RAW and SmackDown commences with a superb Ambulance Match between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose, but, by-and-large, the first disc of both sets focus on the 'Road to Wrestlemania' starting at the Royal Rumble.  In particular, the complex situation involving the contenders to Brock Lesnar's WWE Championship are covered in depth.  The returning underdog hero Daniel Bryan, Mr Money in the Bank Seth Rollins and his former SHEILD brother Roman Reigns all fight it out to claim the championship or face Paul Heyman's client at Wrestlemania.  Reigns eventually wins the official opportunity, but Rollins finally cashes-in his contractual advantage to leave the 'Granddaddy of them All' with the WWE title, and we get to see John Cena bring home the US Championship from vicious villain Rusev.

The first disc of the TV content also covers the emergence of Superstars and alliances, such as Sting, Neville and The New Day, #GiveDivasAChance and the nascent beginnings of the Women's Revolution.  Both discs conclude with focus on the Tag-Titles and the start of New Day's domination, as well as the fallout from Wrestlemania, running up to and at Extreme Rules.

The second discs of the sets start in and around the Payback PPV, Dean Ambrose managing to earn a spot in a fatal four-way with Rollins, Reigns and Randy Orton for Seth's newly acquired hardware. Both also cover John Cena's US title Open challenge, including a stand-out match against the fresh NXT graduate Sami Zayn on RAW, and feud with NXT champion Kevin Owens. The slobberknocker ending to this grudging series, however, is left for PPV disc 3.

Whilst the Pay-per-view DVD finishes with both the WWE Championship and titular ladder matches from Money-in-the-Bank, where Rollins retains and Sheamus leaves with the briefcase, The Best of RAW and SmackDown covers the continuing Diva's Revolution and the formation of Teams Bella, BAD and PCB.

The Divas are also well honoured on the third round of DVDs too, a triple threat between Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella representing their teams, is later followed-up with Ms Flair's Title victory at Night of Champions, ending Nicki Bella's record-breaking reign, and a defence against Paige from RAW.

More mutual coverage is of Sting's brief return to battle Champ Rollins, also at Night of Champions, and the more prolonged series of straight-up bloodied fights between The Undertaker and his nemesis Brock Lesnar between SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell.

Despite the Best of PPV Matches DVD ending with October's Hell in a Cell, the Best of RAW and SmackDown continues on through November to cover the WWE Championship Title Tournament in the wake of Seth Rollins' vacation due to injury, and The League of Nations' first match, a 7-on-4 handicap.

With around 15 hours of content, this set is tremendous value-for-money, and did prove to be the time-capsule that I'd hoped for.  If you're a collector who hasn't managed to get the two original sets that this compilation is composed of yet, or want to get a great festive gift for a casual fan, then this is might be a hit in the stocking-filler department.  Whilst the material is now rather more historic than current, it does show a lot of the rapid changes WWE has made in the run up to it's 'New Era' in both style and talent.  The number of wrestlers who have left ('future endeavoured') or graduated from NXT since 2015 is bought home by this set too. A remarkably high turnover.

Out November 7^th from www.WWEDVD.co.uk and I'll be back next week with the Randy Orton: RKO Outta Nowhere DVD review, which you can also pre-order here.

BROCK LESNAR - EAT SLEEP CONQUER REPEAT DVD REVIEW By Tim Ricketts

Brock Lesnar is arguably the most physically dominant, and almost certainly the most physically intimidating WWE Superstar of the 21^st Century, so it's not surprising that he has been given an up-to-date biographical DVD.  Despite a long sojourn in MMA and Japanese wrestling, Brock's run at the top of the WWE card should give this video plenty of material; those looking for an insight into the home life of the notoriously terse and private Lesnar, I expect will be disappointed.

'...I am Brock Lesnar. What makes me happy? Beating people up, that makes me happy.' The first of the three discs open with the man himself delivering the 'Nuts and Bolts', as he puts it, of being Brock Lesnar and finishing with this ominous, but apt, quote.  This soon gives way to some background on his dominant youth in amateur wrestling as 'The Manster', an appropriate appellation considering his size, and the advantages this gave him with his start in the professional sphere.

Brock Lesnar teams with fellow former collegiate wrestler Shelton Benjamin versus Chris Michaels & Sean Casey in the first match, from WWE developmental territory OVW in October 2000, showing his explosive potential.  Friend and Mentor Mr. Perfect is his opponent from a Non-Televised Match on RAW (Jan 2002) next, and has to use every ounce of sly experience to defeat the young Lesnar.  A couple of tidy matches of rarity to open the DVD and give it some collectable value.

The winner of The King of the Ring is usually tipped as the Next Big Thing in WWE, so it was no surprise that Brock Lesnar beat Rob Van Dam in the final of the 2002 iteration to earn a match against the Rock at SummerSlam for the Undisputed Championship, but first we get a re-match of the final, also for RVD's Intercontinental Championship.  Paul Heyman makes his first appearance as Lesnar's manager, interferes when it looks like his client is going to get pinned, and suffers at the hand of his former employee for his troubles.

Becoming the youngest WWE Champion in the aforementioned Rock bout, he feuded with Kurt Angle and regained the title, that he lost to The Big Show, at WrestleMania XIX.  Angle returned from injury to challenge for the title at SummerSlam 2003 in our fourth match of the disc, a classic bout that for its amateur grappling influence in which Kurt reclaimed his crown.  After Brock became champ for the third time, he defended the title in WWE's brutal first ever Biker Chain Match against The Undertaker at No Mercy 2003. Like most Superstars of the nineties and noughties, he faces an Undertaker acting as the gatekeeper to greatness.

Greatness is not necessarily a barrier to disillusionment though, and Brock's exit feud with Goldberg following his title loss to Eddie Guerrero is dealt with the haste of distaste to round out Disc 1.

Disc two begins with Brock's return in 2012, and his feud with Triple H over his lack of respect and outrageous contract demands; their visceral meeting at SummerSlam 2012 is first up, the match ending with Lesnar breaking Hunter's arm for the second time within a few months, and the subsequent fantastic feud-ender in a Steel Cage at Extreme Rules 2013 upon HHH's return.

With Lesnar's return, his former mouthpiece, Paul Heyman, reprised his role too, abandoning his managerial duties to CM Punk in the process.  The former 'Paul Heyman Guy' meets 'The Beast' in a No Disqualification Match

 from SummerSlam 2013 , in which Punk's resilience and determination are the only defence against being rag-dolled by the bigger Beast.

The fourth and final match on disc two is the shocking Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX (2014) where Brock stunned the WWE Universe by beating the Dead-man’s WrestleMania Streak to become the One in 21-and-1, and 'Eat, Sleep, Conquer, Repeat' became 'Eat, Sleep, Conquer the Streak.'  Whether you consider this a sad conclusion to the Streak or a 'passing of the torch', it is undoubtedly one of the most significant matches of modern history for its conspicuous controversy.

The third Disc starts with Brock's WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory over John Cena at SummerSlam 2014, truncating the offence of Cena with 16 suplexes and two F-5s to utterly rule the match and start his fourth title reign.  The Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the following Royal Rumble (Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins) is hard-hitting for a modern-day WWE fight, but Lesnar overcomes a bust rib to make sure he faces Rumble winner Reigns at Wrestlemania XXXI in a bloody encounter. This match spawned the 'Suplex City' catchphrase with Lesnar's opening ringside threats.  Seth Rollins finally cashes in his 'Money in the Bank' contract to interject himself late in the match to opportunistically steal the title with his 'fresh legs'.

Despite running wild on the following RAW when Rollins refused his re-match request, Brock finally gets his wish at Battleground in July, taking Rollins to the, now legendary, Suplex City (13 this time) before Undertaker gets some slight revenge for his Streak loss by costing The Beast the championship in interfering. It sets up one last match between the two historical foes, and this time it is Hell in a Cell. Notably, all three discs finish with Brock beating the Dead-man; however the fact that it is the Undertaker's own 'back yard' of The Cell that gives this a finality that the feud needed, and really underlines the dominance of Lesnar over an athlete that has consistently maintained his position at the top of the WWE Roster.

Each match of this DVD set is interspersed with vignettes of Lesnar (some new, some not) in various interviews, and well compiled highlights of the build-up to each match.  Although that means a lot of recycled footage, WWE have avoided repetition from the 'Here Comes the Pain' DVD in disc One, and used  what they have to build a compelling narrative for his more recent matches.  Brock fans, and those of us that love a 'Big Fight Feel' to a main event, will love this set, but with little new footage collectors and completists might not snap this one up.

Out now in various DVD and BluRay options from www.WWEDVD.co.uk!

WWE SummerSlam 2016 DVD Review By Tim Ricketts

WWE's latest DVD release takes us to the Biggest Event of the Summer – SummerSlam 2016 from Brooklyn, New York – in the wake of the company's second Brand Split.  RAW has seen SmackDown Live draft both the WWE (World) Championship and Intercontinental, leaving it with only the US Title for male singles competition, so will be crowning the first WWE Universal Champion here in addition to the usual title bouts.

The Main Event is a showcase match however, between the returning Randy Orton versus Brock Lesnar fresh off his much-publicised UFC200 match and USADA infraction, which Orton has been using to cheekily taunt Lesnar.  Notably, these Superstars of decade-plus standing have never met in a major match despite the parallels in their WWE careers.

The card also features the SmackDown ladies in 6-woman tag-team action, John Cena and AJ Styles continue their rivalry, with Enzo & Big Cass tackling the burgeoning Canadian super-team of JeriKO.  With 13 matches scheduled (over 2 discs) the action should come thick and fast for one of WWE's 'Big Four' events.

After an intro filled with Big Apple iconography, and a highlight run-down through the upcoming matches, we get our first match:

Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. JeriKO (Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens) [RAW]

Enzo and Cass, being the excellent mic-men that they are, pick up on the New-York theme with a fantastic Sinatra-inspired familiar in-ring promo, the inevitable conclusion being that JeriKO are S.A.W.F.T!  I swear that the WWE haven't seen this level of catchphrase crowd interaction since the hey-day of the New Age Outlaws, superb stuff.

The match itself was showed why both teams should potentially worry the Champs, the New Day, Enzo & Cass cementing their fan-favourite status with deadly double-teaming, Cass in particular a dominant threat with his size and strength, picking up his opponents and partner to use as projectile weapons over the ropes with consummate ease.  JeriKO respond with guile and Machiavellian tactics, applying their nous and experience to test Enzo Amore's copious resilience by trapping him in their corner by any means necessary.

Brawls break out around the ring, leading to a devastating cannonball from Kevin Owens on Big Cass into the barricade, leaving Enzo stranded with JeriKO.  KO launches Amore air-bound, to land crashing into Chris's Codebreaker and prone for Jericho to pin. A nicely executed match to start the show and pump the viewer.

Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte – WWE Woman's Championship [RAW]

A quick highlight package of these athletes' heated feud, including Banks' recent championship win on RAW, is followed by some in-ring verbal sparring as the announcer is reading the billing. These aren't the only signs of how heated their rivalry has become, the opening minutes of the bout is fast ans frenetic with traded counters and pin attempts. That is right up to a nasty slip by Charlotte up high on the turnbuckles, dropping Sasha on the ropes which catapulted her to the mat head-first and uncontrolled, wrenching her back and neck in the impact.

This noticeably changes the pace of the match, every stretch and backbreaker bringing a wince to my face as Charlotte takes advantage of the injury, grinding away at Banks.  With Dana Brooke barred from ringside, this looks like a good substitute for the 'leveller' she's used to getting.  It's not all one way traffic though, any opportunity Sasha Banks has she goes for the high impact, first countering a Razor's Edge from the cornerpost into a Frankensteiner, followed shortly after with flying double knees to the former champion's chest on the unforgiving ringside floor. It takes more out of her than it does Ms. Flair, Charlotte finally countering a Bank Statement submission into a pin to regain the Title and maintain her unbeaten singles PPV streak.

The legitimate looking injury added an extra layer of gruesome interest to this match, which still managed to be impressively athletic despite its sometimes necessarily stilted nature.

The followers of Japanese and independent wrestling are treated to a little inside joke vignette. AJ is having a chat with The Club 'doctors' backstage, when fellow former Bullet Club member Finn Balor stops by then walks away without acknowledging the teased 'Too Sweet' hand-gestures. Sure to raise as many eyebrows as it does smiles.

The Miz (w/Maryse) (c) vs. Apollo Crews- WWE Intercontinental Championship [SD]

The slightly flat premise for this match is that five time and current Intercontinental champion, The Miz, is mixing up Apollo Crews for Apollo Creed, the Rocky film-franchise antagonist. Crews is understandably irked by this show of unrepentant unprofessionalism.

The Miz starts aggressively, pinning back the physically impressive Crews until he manages a pin attempt against the run of dominance.  Miz tries an Axe-handle smash from the turnbuckle, but is met mid-air with a drop-kick.  He counters one standing Moonsault, but succumbs to Apollo's second attempt to send him running scared for the entranceway.  Crews is having none of it, drags the champ back to the ring, but gets distracted by Maryse as he enters the ropes. A fatal mistake, as one Skull-crushing Finale later, Miz has the pinfall victory to retain.

Quite frankly, a match that was as inspirational as the premise it was built on.

John Cena vs. AJ Styles [SD]

These two leading lights of SmackDown Live have been feuding for months, without definitive result, but the recent roster split has bereft Styles of his backup in the form of The Club, so this could be the match to put this rivalry to bed, considering they'll be tied up in the following bout.

The opening tie-up is pretty even, with Cena stronger and AJ quicker, but that isn't where the deadlock ends.  Both athletes pull out their extensive arsenals immediately, although each is countered into another then back into yet more.  An Attitude Adjustment is met with a Styles Clash or Suplex to the apron, while Styles' springboard attacks are countered into an STF or even an astonishing Canadian Destroyer-esque manoeuver.  If that was Cena reaching deep into the weapons locker, then he did again moments later cracking out a Tornado DDT.

You can't crack out the big guns early without it taking its toll, but these two kept picking themselves up and increasing the calibre. A springboard Frankensteiner from Styles couldn't keep Cena's shoulders down, but neither could the return Super-AA floor Styles.  It finally took a combination of finishers, a Clash followed by the Phenomenal Forearm to put pay to John Cena, a fair and square pinfall.  Distraught and despondent, Cena leaves his 'Never Give Up' sweatband on the canvas before following the victorious Styles up the ramp.  In my opinion, the spiralling knife-edge one-upmanship makes this match a modern classic.

The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston w/Jon Stewart) (c) vs. The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) – WWE Tag Team Championship [RAW]

Before the teams come out, Jon Stewart comes to the ring and reveals himself to be standing in for Big E, due to his groinal incapacitation with 'Ringpostitis' caused by The Club, before introducing The New Day.  The Club are still dressed as doctors when they enter, bearing specimen jars for all (now four) New Day members. Big E's jar contains two humorously over-sized spheres, whilst similarly Stewart's jar is hilariously small.

Xavier Woods gets an early pin attempt on Karl Anderson, his partner returning the favour before the match gets some double-team chaos.  When semblance of order is restored, The Club keep Kofi Kingston away from a tag, before he gets a retaliatory strike against Luke Gallows to provoke a double hot-tag situation. Woods leaps three-quarters of the way across the ring to land a tightrope elbowdrop on Anderson.

A follow-up Kingston pin attempt is broken up by Gallows to set up the Magic Killer double team move, but before the legal Club-man can get in a pin, Jon Stewart rushes the ring (despite his promises of non-interference) and draws their ire.  Cue a run-in from a returning Big E, to save Stewart from a bad case of Ringpostitis, and cause a DQ victory for The Club. A pretty average match, and the mix of New Day and Club antics are always likely to cause dubious finishes, as in this case.

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler – WWE World Championship [SD]

A highlight video of Ziggler's notable successes and numerous frustrations lead us in to this match, but the real heat can be felt as the SmackDown management team of Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are needed to keep the two competitors separate before the bell.

Dolph uses the technical ability of his amateur background to good effect, whilst Ambrose resorts to his strong suit too  and takes the match to ringside brawling. A Superplex from Ambrose gives him the space to slow the match, and grind Ziggler down on the mat. Ziggler responds with a sweet DDT and pulls off The Famouser on the second attempt to get Dean down for a two count.

Ambrose is constantly mocking Ziggler and has to drop down to ringside hard to break a retaliatory sleeper hold and gets a superkick for his troubles.  With both athletes battered, they return to the ring. Ziggler performs his zig zag for a pin attempt, but another sleeper can't hold Ambrose down, and neither can a superplex, as Ambrose counters into the standing position to hit the Dirty Deeds and get the victorious pin.  The match itself was definitely above average, but it didn't really feel worthy of being for this historic championship.

Becky Lynch, Naomi & Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss, Natalya & Nikki Bella [SD]

The 6 Woman tag team match featuring the SmackDown Live female roster starts with a few interesting entrances, including Naomi's excellent, rave-style Glow entrance, the billed Eva Marie being announced as on holiday in the British Isles (despite being laid off with a wellness suspension) and instead we're treated to Nikki Bella's comeback from a career-threatening neck injury.

The match itself is filled with the ladies cracking out their signature moves, to demonstrate their excellent skills, and quick tags.  Alexa Bliss is by far the smallest athlete but makes up for it by having the biggest aggressive attitude, whilst Nikki Bella seems determined to take out her pent up aggression on Carmella. Not even Becky Lynch taking on all three opponents can save her from the inevitable once she finds herself back in the ring with The Bella Twin.  A pin from the recovered Bella puts the icing on a fun and fast exhibition tag match.

'The Demon King' Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship [RAW]

Next up we get to see who is WWE's inaugural universal title holder and with the necessity of crowning the champion buy either pinfall or submission, it effectively makes the match no disqualification.  The match gets under-way with the controversial new title belt and the RAW management team of Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon ringside.

Finn Balor, the demon king who battled his way past the cream of the RAW roster to earn his opportunity, starts aggressively trying to apply stomps, drop-kicks and his coup de gras finisher from the outset.  Seth Rollins, the number one draft pick and automatic Challenger, responds with athletic resilience and powerful offence. A sickening blow to Balor's shoulder from Seth Rollins' bomb to the Barricades slows him only momentarily, responding with his own series of slams and throws until Rollins continues his onslaught.

Nothing can keep the supernatural demon king down though, picking himself up from a pedigree or bouncing back from a buckle bomb to launch dropkick after dropkick and stomp after stomp in return.  Even the failure of a devastating Small Package Driver has Rollins' frustration and exhaustion building, until Finn unleashes another volley of feet culminating in his coup de gras double-foot stomp, giving the former NXT champion victory over the former WWE champion, to be the first Universal champion.  A great match, where Seth Rollins' agile and usually effective attack was no match for the supernatural resilience and single-mindedness of Finn Balor.

Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns – WWE US Championship [RAW]

Before the ring announcer could finish his job and the timekeeper could ring the bell, Roman Reigns had launched a ringside attack on Rusev, demolishing the Bulgarian. Reigns bangs and bashes him off of every object available, leaving him with damaged ribs, unable to compete and surrounded by officials. A short, brutal, but somewhat exciting non-match.

'The Viper' Randy Orton vs. 'The Beast Incarnate' Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) [SD/RAW]

So here we are, the main event between two of 21^st century wrestling's biggest names for the first time on a PPV event. A series of videos hyping the rivalry, finishing with a volley of verbal abuse from Brock Lesnar, plus the entourages ringside helps the big fight feel - and it certainly does feel more like an impending fight than a wrestling match.

From the outset, Brock seems Intent on applying his MMA style offence, sending Orton to the corners with punches, forearms and elbows. Orton himself manages to get enough space to attempt an RKO, which is deflected and only provokes Lesnar to take him to suplex City with half a dozen Germans.

The ringside area is no refuge for Randy either, Brock plucking him from the crowd to toss him through the Smackdown announce table on the second attempt, before dragging him to the ring for a 7th German suplex. The RAW announce table looks to be next, but the deadly Viper strikes with an RKO, leaving Lesnar stunned across the table instead. Back in the ring, a second RKO only serves to provoke the Beast Incarnate into an F-5.

It is at this point, with twenty-twenty hindsight, that Orton probably should have stayed down for the three-count. Brock discarded his gloves and elbow-pads and just brutalised Orton's head with a series of sickening blows, including an elbow strike that gashed deep, causing blood to pool on the canvas.  He sent the officials and doctors scattering multiple times, going back to rain down more fists.  Paul Heyman's face was ashen at his client's destruction, and not even the intervention of Shane McMahon was enough to stop the psychotic Beast, taking an unexpected F-5 to lie there nursing his ribs. Lesnar wins by TKO.

A shocking, brutal and bloody finale to this epic of an event.

But wait! There's more on this disc, the three under-card, pre-show matches included in 'Special Features' are great value for their addition.  The 12-Man SmackDown Tag match was as fast and fun as the later 6-Woman equivalent, Zayn & Neville vs. The Dudley Boyz was a good show of athleticism against experience, and the first of the, potentially epic, Best-of-Seven heavyweight series in Sheamus vs. Cesaro.

Whilst not all the matches earn the distinction of being 'Great' there are plenty of classic and shocking moments on this DVD set.  Styles versus Cena, the inaugural Universal Championship match and the bloody conclusion will all get looked upon as pivotal moments in WWE history, I'm sure, and with the bulk of the remaining matches being well constructed and entertaining, this set is fantastic value for money.

Out 10/10/2016 on www.wwedvd.co.uk.

TNA Sale News By Gary R. Ward

The wrestling is world is awaiting news of TNA Wrestling impending sale, recent reports have Vince McMahon and the WWE as potential new owners but I've been told from a reliable source that the sale was actually completed last night, with Billy Corgan.

Now the sale is said to be extremely complicated with the level of debt at TNA being more than it possible sale value, from what I understand Billy Corgan is the new TNA owner and has put up the money for Fridays Bound For Glory PPV event, while no official announcement has been made it seems the likely reason that has Billy Corgan join several radio shows today and tomorrow.

Other rumours that came out this morning were that Vince and WWE had acquired the TNA video library to assist with the debts being cleared and Billy Corgan buying the company which includes the talent contacts, while this seems a good deal for everyone involved it seems a while too complicated to complete what with Aroluxe still owning part of the company aswell.

Now there is alot of rumours floating around, I can confirm the information is from a person working inside TNA who was told last night of the sale.

What will Billy Corgan has in store as the companies new owner ? Tell will tell but personally the wrestling world needs TNA around and health so it can be an alternative place for wrestlers to grow and develop, while giving us fans other options than a monopolized industry completely.

Now lets all get behind Billy Corgan/TNA and its resurgence starting this Sunday at Bound For Glory.

WWE Battleground DVD Review by Tim Ricketts

The background of Battleground gives us an exciting proposition for this event: the return of the Brand Split to WWE.  Held less than a week after the roster draft, Battleground offers us the chance to see the end of long-running feuds, decisive matches regarding the future destination of championships and the presumable final matches of some factions and tag-teams.

Charlotte & Dana Brooke vs. Sasha Banks & Mystery Partner

The show opens with a tag match featuring the WWE Women's Champion Charlotte and Dana Brooke against title contender 'The Boss' Sasha Banks with a mystery partner, continuing Banks' and Charlotte's ongoing rivalry.  The overwhelming sense of anticipation for this bout however lay in the unknown competitor, so when the music of the un-drafted, former NXT Women's Champion Bayley hit, the pop from the crowd was enormous! 

The match itself seemed  like an opportunity to advance the notable feud and introduce Bayley to the wider WWE Universe rather than any great technical exposition.  The competitors, familiar with their time together in NXT, faced each other in turn, but other than Dana Brooke breaking up the first Bank Statement on Charlotte by nefarious means, there was little action of consequence, and the Sasha's second attempt at her submission finisher was successful.  A great pop to open the show, it's just a shame the match wasn't to the same level.

The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman)

The second match is a non-title, 6-man tag match between the champions New Day and the Wyatt Family, and is notable as the probable end to their feud as the draft has split the Wyatts.  We're shown footage of their 'Compound' match, which has left Xavier Woods without his normal effervescent positivity.  In fact, the opening of the match leaves no doubt that Woods is petrified as he freezes into inaction.

Kofi Kingston and Big E do their best to work around the gradually recovering Xavier, that is until a huge spear from Big E leaves Woods alone in the ring with Bray Wyatt.  In the creepy way that only Bray can achieve, he sends him back to square one by dropping into his spider walk and hitting the Sister Abigail's Kiss.  An adequate match, but it could have been so much better.

Rusev (w/Lana) vs. Zack Ryder – WWE US Championship

Our third match is for the US Title, currently in the possession of RAW's recently-married Rusev, ably and personally announced his by wife Lana, against Smackdown Live's perennial underdog Zack Ryder who parades his red-white-and-blue ring attire with the obvious patriotic pomp.

Rusev grapples Ryder on the mat in the early stages, applying his superior upper-body strength to gain dominance, whilst Ryder mainly counters with resounding strikes, kicks and knees until he finally manages a Broski Boot on the second attempt.  Ringside, the Bulgarian Brute leaves Long Island Iced Z painfully dropped across the barrier, only to get a superb dropkick to the face in return.  A Rough Ryder leaves Rusev prone but able to counter the follow up Elbrodrop.

The Accolade is inevitable though, and following a kick to Zack's head Rusev locks it on, however he needs to fully snap it back to make the resilient Ryder tap out and keep the title on RAW.  Incensed, the Bulgarian refuses to release the hold until Mojo Rawley (Ryder's tag partner) hypes down to the ring to stare him out.

Seth Rollins is backstage with Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon and is bullishly ebullient about his chances of bringing the WWE Championship to RAW.  This is followed by highlights of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn's feud throughout NXT and the main roster to bring us up to speed for the next match.

Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

These two have a long and storied history together, and even casual fans probably know by now that a match between them will see them try and knock the proverbial lumps out of each other, and this match starts no different both in and out of the ring.  Kevin Owens takes advantage of a Zayn high risk climb 'up top' to drop him apex first on to the ropes to gain his first spell of dominance, all the time mocking both Zayn and the crowd, whilst delivering cannonballs and sentons where possible.

Sami slips mid-springboard-moonsault and lands awkwardly on his recently repaired shoulder, so KO starts targeting it single-mindedly.  Zayn manages a Blue Thunder Bomb, Brainbuster to the apron and even attempts one of his through-the-ropes Torando DDTs only to meet Owens' foot and a follow-up cannonball.  Zayn finally catches Owens with a sweet suplex to the turnbuckles, leaving him dazed and open for the Helluvakick which is an obviously agonising decision for Sami, but rather more steeled, he delivers a determined second kick and pins his rival for the three-count.  A superb, and possibly final, instalment in this interminable feud.

We get some punditry on the matches so far from the Kickoff Show panel, and highlights of the pre-show victory for Breezango over the Usos.

Natalya vs. Becky Lynch

Smackdown Live's nascent Women's division is represented by Natalya and Becky Lynch settling their differences after their Money in the Bank mix-up.   Lynch starts the bout in aggressive style, striking and kicking Natalya with a waist-lock takedown for a pin attempt.  The Canadian uses the ropes well, both to break the Irish Lass-kicker's holds and to apply leverage in her own, and works over Lynch's leg obsessively.

Becky opportunistically counters and executes an Enziguri and an Exploder Suplex for a two count, but Natalya's groundwork for the Sharpshooter pays off, locking it in mid-ring and getting the submission on the second attempt.   In my opinion, this was a much better match than RAW's female offering, both technically and in the psychology.  A short but impressive match.

The Miz (w/Maryse) vs. Darren Young (w/Bob Backlund) – WWE Intercontinental Championship

Darren Young unexpectedly won a Battle Royale two weeks prior to this event, not knowing it would be for a chance to bring the Samckdown-bound Intercontinental Championship to RAW, but looked determined in the opening stages to do just that by aggressively taking the fight to the champ.  As usual, it takes a little interjection by his wife for the Miz to gain any kind of dominance, shoving Young hard to the floor from the cornerpost after a distraction.  Miz dominates the ringside brawling, but loses control of the match again when the action gets back between the ropes.

Frustrated with his lack of demonstrable prowess, the Miz tries to walk from the match, but finds his path blocked by Young's mentor Bob Backlund.  He returns to the ring, but whilst his back is turned, Maryse pretends that she was struck by the former WWF Champion.  Both Backlund and Miz are incensed and confront each other, however, Darren Young is livid.  He locks the Cross-face-Chickenwing in on Miz just as the ref throws the match out as a No Contest.

John Cena, Enzo & Big Cass vs. AJ Styles & the Club

With John Cena and AJ Styles heading to Smackdown but the Club and Enzo & Cass heading to Monday Night, this is a last chance for the former New Japan boys to #BeatUpJohnCena.  We're treated to quite probably the best Enzo Amore (and to a great extent, Big Cass) pre-match promo to-date, including plenty of medical and 'Soccer Mom' analogies, and the excellent advice to '...never make eye-contact with anyone, while eating a banana!'

Enzo and Cass make good going early on against the Club members, Cass even using his partner and AJ as projectile weapons, before Enzo becomes trapped by the experienced tag techniques of the Club.  When the hot tag to John Cena finally arrives, he springs into immediate action with a five-knuckle-shuffle and an attempt at an AA on AJ.  Styles counters into a stunning bicycle kick.

A period of breakdown and interference leads to Cena being left back in the ring with AJ, Styles hitting the 'Clash for a Pin-attempt. Just to note, that has to be the smoothest Styles-Clash on a big-guy that I have seen.  Big Cass pays for breaking up the pin by taking a Magic Killer from the Club for his efforts, before Enzo retaliates to leave the legal men in the ring.  AJ gets to his feet first and heads to the higher-ground of the cornerpost, only to be caught out by the recovering Cena.  A Super-Attitude-Adjustment is enough to wipe out Styles and get the win with a mid-ring pin.  Excellently executed six-man tag, with a little bit of everything barring some chain-wrestling.

Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel feat. Randy Orton

We have a special Battleground version of Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel next, to celebrate Randy Orton's return from a 9-month injury lay-off and promote his upcoming match with Brock Lesnar at Summerslam.  Whilst pointing out that it may take 15 or 20 suplexes to arrive at Suplex City, Randy commented '...it only takes one RKO to get to ViperVille... No Enhancement Needed...' followed by an actual Mic drop.  What a stunning dig, with even Orton admitting he might pay for it!  Randy provides us with a much teased RKO on Y2J to wrap the segment.

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns – WWE Championship

Our Main Event is a No-DQ Triple-Threat for the WWE Championship, with many excellent angles on it to whet the whistle.  Firstly, if either challenger dethrones Smackdown's Dean Ambrose, the historic title will be heading to RAW instead. Second is the opportunistic events surrounding Ambrose's win at Money in the Bank, where all three of tonight's competitors were champion within a ten minute window.  Finally we have the fact that these three were once a very successful faction in the form of the SHIELD.

The match itself is fast-paced and balanced, Ambrose brawling well, Rollins stunning with his high-flying athleticism and Reigns, back from a 30-day 'Wellness' suspension, taking out his obvious frustration with explosive power; all demonstrating the complementary styles that made them such a great team.  Ambrose launches himself via the commentary desks on to the RAW pair, brawling in the Timekeepers' area, to good effect, and the announcers' tables are put to good effect again as Ambrose and Rollins team up SHIELD-style on Reigns to try and keep it one-on-one.

It was Ambrose however, biding his time whilst recovering ringside, that took advantage of Reigns wiping out Seth with a Spear to employ his own Dirty Deeds and get the 3-count.  Fantastically well executed Triple-threat that delivered a lot of uncertainty and suspense with the fast and brutal action.  Looks like RAW will have to get their own senior male championship!

Conclusions

A significant point in WWE history demands a decent Pay-Per-View event to mark it, and by-and-large this delivered, with the Zayn/Owens match, the failure to #BeatUpJohnCena and the Main Event all outstanding.  Seeing where the chips fall regarding championships was also a great hook, and gives this its particular place in history.

Available now from www.WWEDVD.co.uk

The History of the WWE Hardcore Championship Review by Tim Ricketts

Wrestling Championships have, historically, been treated with a lot of reverence, respect and seriousness – rightly so, given that they represent being at the zenith of a promotion or division – but with this DVD we are being presented with the Championship that was as mould-breaking as the Era from which it was borne.  The WWE Hardcore Championship, initially conceived as a creative opportunity to capitalise on Mick Foley's hardcore heritage, injected unpredictability, humour and relevance as it picked up on the wrestling zeitgeist of ECW and presented it to a wider audience.  This should be 3 discs of pure nostalgia, brutality and, above all, fun.

With previous 'History of...' offerings majoritively being match compilations linked by studio-based segues from luminaries like Jim Ross or JBL, this rightly differs with a unique take on the format.  After the standard 'Then, Now, Forever,' 'Don't try this at home,' and a quick introductory highlight-reel, the inaugural champion, Mick Foley, appears in a somewhat derelict – or as he puts it 'post-apocalyptic' – warehouse.  He, in turn, introduces the final champ, Rob Van Dam and the 39-reign record holder Raven as they take their seats around a scrap-lumber table bedecked with a replica Hardcore belt.  So we're in for a round-table discussion as well as no-holds-barred action; this should add some welcome flavour to a match compilation DVD, considering that these three Legends are not only appropriately experienced in the division, but also represent three distinct periods in it.

So after a brief discussion between the three hosts regarding their relationships with the Title at hand, we head to the real nitty-gritty: around 50 matches over 3 disks, many with multiple title changes, interspersed by the 'studio' discussion.  Disc one covers the origins of the Title being awarded to Mankind for his solitary reign, through two absolute classic Al Snow matches, first against Road Dogg ending up in the snow, then against Bob Holly ending up in the Mississippi river!

Hardcore Holly deservedly becomes the focus for a while; his transformation from Thurmann 'Sparky' Plugg was firmly established between the ill-fated Brawl-for-All and subsequent exploits in the hardcore division, even taking on his former tag-partner (and fellow legitimate bad-ass) Bart Gunn.  'Hardcore' isn't the only kayfabe cousin in the Holly family with heritage in this Championship though, as Crash Holly's rise brought in the 24/7 rule.  If, as previously discussed by the panel, the No-disqualification, falls-count-anywhere nature of the title was a huge creative release, then the addition of round-the-clock defences (providing proximal referee access) was a creative explosion.  The remainder of the first disc is dedicated to these fun, fast and frenetic fights, the obvious highlights of which are Crash being ambushed by The Mean Street Posse at an Airport luggage carousel, and by The Headbangers in a kids' ball pit.

The early days of the WWE Hardcore Championship were marked with backstage brawling and the ridiculous locations of the 24/7 free-for-all, but we start to move on from that in disc two as the style progressed (or regressed, depending on your view) more to bringing your weapons to the ring.  The first featured Superstar is 'The Lethal Weapon' Steve Blackman, who held the title a record number of days, including his outstanding feud with Shane McMahon (cue trademark Shane-o-Mac long drop) and a very good triple-threat-cum-handicap-match against Edge & Christian.

The spotlight moves on again, this time to Raven, who's presence on the hosting panel allows some extra insight into his perspective of the Hardcore Championship as well as the well-chosen example matches, before we hit the heady-heights of early 2001.  If the Hardcore title had started as a rib but gained acceptance as a significant mid-card championship, then it was about to peak as WWE's main-event talent got involved in the picture: Wrestlemania X-7 featured a hardcore triple-threat (with brief punditry from the panel) and we're given matches involving Big Show, Kane and Y2J to round out the disc.

With the influx of wrestlers from ECW and WCW during the Invasion of 2001, in particular the talent with ECW heritage, we have yet another change of style and increase in pace for the first part of disc three, Jeff Hardy also adding his brand of TLC in bouts against Mike Awesome and RVD.  Rob Van Dam cut himself a solid niche in the division at this time, he gets to explain how important that was himself before examples against Tajiri, Kurt Angle, The Rock and The Undertaker.  Not only did these project him in to the main event picture, it seems to me that the Jeff Hardy and RVD matches on this DVD set-up the prevailing WWE hardcore style over the coming years, of Tables, Ladders and Chairs, in effect today more than ever.  Van Dam himself at least concurs that both his and Hardy's ideas were in the same zone of 'cool'.

The Undertaker's single but durational reign is briefly highlighted, with the Legend in 'American Bad-ass' mode and giving the Championship another Main-Event feel, even as Maven finally dethrones him.  Within weeks of this however the Brand Extension occurs, giving life once more to the 24/7 rule and rapid-fire title changes; even interviewer Terri 'Marlena' Runnels manages to have an opportunistic reign.

The fun times wouldn't last forever though; the Brand Extension was a new era for the expanded WWE, and with the many inherited championships amongst the spoils of the Monday Night War it was only natural that some would be unified in the spirit of rationalisation. On RAW August 26 2002, The WWE Hardcore Championship became the third title unified with the Intercontinental within 10 months, in an absolutely fitting send-off match between Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam that famously left Dreamer in tears.

Whilst the Championship lineage died out only four years after establishment, its influence is still felt today in our contemporary TLC and Extreme Rules pay-per-views.  It usually forms a large part of any Attitude Era Fan's nostalgia, and for good reason: it was a breath of fresh air that provided genuine 'attitude' as well as novel matches. Also it provided something that WWE has since lacked: situations and settings that could be creatively exploited without it being at the expense of either wrestler's character, particularly with humour.  You could throw the most po-faced of athletes into 24/7-rule hilarity, but it wouldn't tarnish their character because they were just reacting to the same crazy dilemmas as anyone else.  At least we have this nigh-on nine-hour gem to remind us of these fantastic times, talents and all-out fights; quite literally the best WWE DVD set released in years.

Full Match Listings: https://www.wwedvd.co.uk/history-hardcore-championship-p-12148.html

Available now from https://www.wwedvd.co.uk/