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Monday Night Mayhem DVD Review: “The Best Of SmackDown: 10th Anniversary” (1999-2009)
Produced By World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE Home Video
Written By: “Wild” Bill Brown
****
Content:
A decade of wrestling history originating from almost 500 hundred weekly shows now being televised on up to three different networks is all laid out for the WWE Universe in this fantastic three-disc DVD set. Compiling almost nine hours of great moments & lasting images, this latest DVD collection will show the viewer the importance of SmackDown as a show & how it has emerged as a major weekly vehicle to Pay-Per-View buys & the survival of the WWE. Take a blast in the past looking at tremendous highlights & major angles, as well as some of the best wrestling matches ever seen on television. These DVD’s are a good look at why the WWE is one of the top television programs on the networks that it airs on.
****
Audio/Video:
Incredible Dolby Surround sound & solid television standards are constant throughout every second of these DVD’s. The oldest footage in this case is only up to a decade old, and the production & preservation of the WWE’s most recent footage is simply amazing. One of the slickest pieces of work that the WWE has ever done.
****
What’s On The DVD’s?
Michael Cole & Matt Striker will host you in a format displaying the “Top 100 Moments” in SmackDown history. Although you might disagree in many cases where some of these moments were placed in ranking, you still cannot argue just how much great stuff has indeed been constant throughout the history of SmackDown. The countdown runs as follows:
Disc I
Introduction By Michael Cole & Matt Striker
#100: The Spinner (April 14, 2005)
#99: Unlikely Merger (October 31, 2002)
#98: Here Comes The Chokeslam (July 10, 2003)
#97: A SmackDown Tradition
#96: Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker (September 16, 2005)
#95: Mattitude
#94: Show Hunters (September 23, 2004)
#93: Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero (September 9, 2005)
#92: Mr. America
#91: Out Of Tune (July 19, 2001)
#90: Signs Of Friendship
#89: Chris Jericho vs. Chyna (December 30, 1999)
#88: Hardcore Injury (June 29, 2000)
#87: No Way Out (February 24, 2000)
#86: Return Of “Piper’s Pit” (April 10, 2003)
#85: Carlito vs. John Cena (October 7, 2004)
#84: Sewage Bath (October 9, 2003)
#83: The Boogeyman
#82: “The Hulkster” Returns (January 23, 2003)
#81: Triple H vs. Tazz (April 20, 2000)
#80: Bar Room Brawl (January 20, 2000)
#79: Gore! Gore! Gore! (August 9, 2001)
#78: Time To Play The Game (September 23, 1999)
#77: The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection
#76: Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Jericho (May 2, 2002)
#75: Gold Medal Thief (August 30, 2001)
#74: Gold Medal Auction (July 29, 2004)
#73: Funeral Fight
#72: Life Sucks (May 11, 2000)
#71: Al Snow & Steve Blackman
#70: Batista, Rey Mysterio, Finlay, & Jeff Hardy vs. MVP, JBL, Kane, & The Brian Kendrick (October 3, 2008)
Disc II
#69: Mr. Kennedy
#68: Rough Landing (September 9, 1999)
#67: Stephanie’s The Champ (March 30, 2000)
#66: Randy Orton vs. Hardcore Holly (April 25, 2002)
#65: Angle Wins Gold (February 10, 2000)
#64: New Tag Champs (December 16, 2005)
#63: Heidenreich Poetry (September 16, 2004)
#62: The Rock vs. The Dudley Boyz (March 9, 2000)
#61: Lethal Dose Of Poison (January 24, 2002)
#60: Parking Lot Brawl (September 11, 2003)
#59: Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy (June 5, 2003)
#58: Sincerest Form Of Flattery
#57: Superhuman Strength
#56: You’re Hired! (April 11, 2002)
#55: Rob Van Dam vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (September 4, 2001)
#54: Edge & Vickie
#53: Austin Stalks DX (October 28, 1999)
#52: Debra’s Cookies
#51: StinkDown!
#50: Team Angle vs. Tajiri & Eddie Guerrero (May 29, 2003)
#49: The Rock & Busta (July 11, 2002)
#48: Fate Fulfilled (December 19, 2008)
#47: Billy & Chuck Wedding (September 12, 2002)
#46: Tribute To Eddie (November 18, 2005)
#45: Where Is Foley?
#44: A Classic Hit (September 9, 1999)
#43: Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (July 15, 2004)
#42: Air Mysterio (October 31, 2002)
#41: Noble & Nidia
#40: Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (July 4, 2002)
Disc III
#39: MotherSlapper (March 23, 2000)
#38: A Celebration To Remember (February 19, 2004)
#37: The Big Show Returns (September 9, 2004)
#36: Sexy Kurt (March 24, 2005)
#35: The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection vs. The New Age Outlaws (October 14, 1999)
#34: The Houdini Of Hardcore
#33: Mysterio Flies (July 25, 2002)
#32: the Undertaker’s Revenge (September 26, 2008)
#31: Divorce Court
#30: John Cena vs. Kurt Angle (June 27, 2002)
#29: Icon Destruction (August 8, 2002)
#28: Get In My Belly (April 13, 2000)
#27: Bald Is Beautiful (June 13, 2002)
#26: Border Patrol (April 8, 2004)
#25: Zach Gowen & Stephanie McMahon vs. The Big Show (July 3, 2003)
#24: Right Place, Wrong Time (July 27, 2000)
#23: The Ultimate Opportunist (May 11, 2007)
#22: Angle vs. Lesnar (September 18, 2003)
#21: DX-plosion (April 27, 2000)
#20: Batista Forfeits The Title (January 13, 2006)
#19: The People’s Elbow September 30, 1999)
#18: Edge & Hulk Hogan vs. Billy & Chuck (July 4, 2002)
#17: Kurt Kisses Stephanie (August 24, 2000)
#16: JBL vs. Dollzilla (February 10, 2005)
#15: TLC III (May 24, 2001)
#14: Blockbuster Champ (November 11, 1999)
#13: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H (April 12, 2001)
#12: Champion Chairman (September 16, 1999)
#11: Thuganomics
#10: Tribute To The Troops
#9: Supermarket Brawl (December 13, 2001)
#8: Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (September 26, 2002)
#7: The Rock Says?
#6: Funeral Crasher (November 11, 1999)
#5: Austin & Angle Unplugged (July 12, 2001)
#4: The Pilot (April 29, 1999)
#3: The Rock vs. Triple H (August 26, 1999)
#2: The Bigger They Are… (June 12, 2003)
#1: 9-11 Tribute Show (September 13, 2001)
****
Praises:
The footage shown is great, all the choices belonged in the list, and the flow through the DVD was simply enjoyable.
There are some moments shown that you will never, ever forget, and those moments (as you will see) will all be included. Very little seems to be left out. Edge vs Eddie Guerrero really stuck out as a classic when watching it this time around. There are many great bouts, and even Chris Jericho challenging Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed WWE Championship was a lot of fun to see again.
The 9/11 tribute show was an obvious choice to be selected as #1 on the list, as this was truly the most emotional TV show that had been done by the WWE. It’s too bad we just got a recap though, because a major amount of that shows material would have benefited the DVD in a much better way.
****
Complaints:
While there is so much tremendous footage that dominates how great these DVD’s are, there are a few major issues that may bother the viewers:
*We can start off with Matt Striker being involved as the co-host of this. There can be so many better choices…maybe even the current host of SmackDown, Jim Ross, that could have guided you through the nine-hour countdown. Not taking offense to Matt or his great work, but he just doesn’t fit/being involved as a host.
*WWE’s PG rating is in full-effect here, which unfortunately will give you the black & white picture whenever any blood emerges. For a paying customer, this seems like it would have been much better not to make that change.
*Chris Benoit (albeit for a quick clip) is omitted from any mention during this DVD, despite him being in some tremendous matches. But that’s no fault in the WWE for making that call.
*Not many panelists this time around, and having characters like Santino Marella & Striker, or just the few names like Michael Hayes, CM Punk, or William Regal is not enough for me to understand the importance of key things that they are discussing. Many people more familiar with these events would have been a great touch, but the WWE came out a bit lazy on this I think.
*Many matches are mainly highlighted & cut to ribbons in many cases, so if you wanted to see a complete match you may get frustrated, because it will be over with much quicker than you would like. I guess it is only fair though, because in order to squeeze 100 great moments into a nine-hour DVD piece you do need to make the necessary edits. There still though are a bunch of WWE matches that were shown in their entirety, so here is a quick rundown of some great classic bouts:
(1.) Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker (09/16/2005)
(2.) Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Steel Cage Match: 9/09/2005)
(3.) Chyna vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: 12/30/1999)
(4.) Carlito vs. John Cena (WWE United States Championship Match/Carlito’s Debut: 10/07/2004)
(5.) Tazz vs. Triple H (non-title match/WWE Champion vs. ECW Champion: 04/20/2000)
(6.) Chris Jericho vs. Hulk Hogan (WWE Undisputed Championship Match: 05/02/2002)
(7.) Jeff Hardy, “The Animal” Batista, Rey Mysterio, & Finlay vs. MVP, JBL, Kane, & The Brian Kendrick (Six-Man Tag Team Match: 10/03/2008)
(8.) Randy Orton vs. Hardcore Holly (Randy Orton’s debut: 04/25/2002)
(9.) The Rock vs. The Dudley Boyz (Handicap Tables Match: 03/09/2000)
(10.) Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy (WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match: 6/05/2003)
(11.) Rob Van Dam vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (non-title match: 09/06/2001)
(12.) Team Angle (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) vs. Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri (WWE Tag Team Title Match: 05/29/2003)
(13.) JBL vs. Eddie Guerrero (WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: 07/15/2004)
(14.) Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker (WWE Undisputed Championship Match: 07/07/2002)
(15.) The Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection vs. The New Age Outlaws (WWE World Tag Team Title Match: 10/14/1999)
(16.) John Cena vs. Kurt Angle (Cena’s debut: 06/27/2002)
(17.) Zach Gowen & Stephanie McMahon vs. The Big Show (Handicap Match: 07/03/2003)
(18.) Edge & Hulk Hogan vs. Billy & Chuck (WWE Tag Title Match: 07/04/2002)
(19.) Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy (WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: 04/12/2001)
(20.) Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero (No-Disqualification Match: 09/26/2002)
(21.) The Rock vs. Triple H (Special Guest Referee: “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels) WWE Championship Match: 08/26/1999)
****
The Verdict:
Depending on what your expectations are, this three-disc collection should please anyone who makes the purchase. The are some great wrestling matches & tremendous bits throughout a well documented sequence that will clearly show you the fun & excitement that the WWE’s weekly TV series has brought the WWE Universe throughout the last decade. Highly recommended.
Overall Rating: 8.7
****
This DVD was reviewed By “Wild” Bill Brown. Visit the official website, Facebook, & MySpace pages of The Mayhem’s official DVD reviewer at www.BBrownVideo.com, www.Facebook.com/BBrownVideo, & www.MySpace.com/BBrownVideo.
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