Wrestlemania 22 3-Disc DVD Set Review

Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling event of all time. It features high profile matches, celebrity involvement, and showcases World Wrestling Entertainment’s product on a global stage. An event this big only happens once a year, but that does not mean you only have to watch it once every 365 days. WWE has released every Wrestlemania on some sort of home video format whether it be on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will review the different home video editions of Wrestlemania that I own.

In 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment presented its 22nd edition of the showcase of the immortals in front of the always-rowdy Chicago crowd. It was a fun event that had a lot of memorable moments and as soon as WWE released it on DVD, I immediately picked it up for my home viewing pleasure. With this being an individual Wrestlemania DVD set, all three discs of the Wrestlemania 22 DVD set deal with Wrestlemania 22 in some sort of fashion.

Disc 1 contains some vignettes, the pre-Wrestlemania18-man interpromotional battle royal between the superstars of Raw and Smackdown, and the first few hours of Wrestlemania 22 as it starts with the traditional singing of “America the Beautiful” before ending with the announcement of where Wrestlemania 23 will take place. When viewing the first disc, I recommend watching the battle royal before the actual event in order to get the full Wrestlemania 22 experience.

Disc 2 contains the rest of the Wrestlemania 22 event as well as a ton of extras. Should you choose to continue watching Wrestlemania 22, the second disc picks up immediately where the first disc left off as the very entertaining triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship is the first match you will see. The extras included on disc 2 are what really make this DVD set shine. Aside from the home video exclusives that feature Mick Foley getting stitches and Rey Mysterio celebrating his World Heavyweight Championship victory, you also get to see the entire Wrestlemania Post Show, John Cena on Raw the night after Wrestlemania 22 addressing the hostile Chicago crowd that almost booed him out of the city, and Saturday Night’s Main Event that occurred a few weeks before Wrestlemania 22 in its entirety.

Disc 3 contains the entire WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony that featured the inductions of former Chicago Bear William “The Refrigerator” Perry, the late great Eddie Guerrero, and Bret “Hit Man” Hart among others. I enjoyed the induction ceremony and the Wrestlemania 22 edition had some very entertaining moments that make it worth a watch.

The packaging of this 3-disc set looks very cool as it features all of the competitors in what were arguably the night’s biggest matches as well as the classic Wrestlemania logo in which the “R” and the “S” are connected. Inside the case are the discs and pictures from the event with the two biggest pictures being of the then World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio and the then WWE Champion John Cena.

Overall, the Wrestlemania 22 3-disc DVD set is a very nice home video version of the event. It contains the entire Wrestlemania 22 pay-per-view, the entire pre-Wrestlemania 22 Saturday Night’s Main Event television special, and the entire WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Most of the matches on the card were fantastic and had me in awe. Shawn Michaels dropping a massive elbow on to Vince McMahon from an enormous ladder, Edge spearing Mick Foley through a flaming table, and the Money in the Bank ladder match acrobatics are just a few of the cool moments from this event. It is relatively cheap and easy to find today, so add it to your Wrestlemania collection.

Stay tuned for the Wrestlemania 23 DVD review!