Wrestlemania 26 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.

For this post, I will be reviewing the three-disc set of Wrestlemania 26. The 2010 rendition of Wrestlemania was shot in high definition and can be viewed in either a 16:9 aspect ratio if you have a 16:9 screen television, or it can be viewed in a cropped 4:3 aspect ratio if you have an old “box” screen 4:3 TV.

The first disc of this set contains the first few hours of the Wrestlemania 26 pay-per-view. As you probably guessed, it starts with the traditional singing of “America the Beautiful” and ends with the five on five divas tag team match.

Disc 2 has the rest of the event on it as it features the last two matches on the Wrestlemania 26 card. Also on the second disc area a lot of great bonus features that really make this three-disc DVD set one of the better Wrestlemania DVD sets that WWE has ever released. The bonus features include the 26-Man Battle Royal that happened right before Wrestlemania 26 went live and a variety of matches that feature wrestlers from the 2010 class of WWE Hall of Fame inductees.

The third disc of the three-disc set contains the entire 2010 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. While this class was not as star-studded as the 2009 version, it was still a really good group of wrestlers and entertainment personalities and included Wendi Richter, Stu Hart, and the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase among others. My favorite induction from this class is of Bob Uecker, and if you are a fan of baseball, wrestling, or both, definitely check out this disc to watch Mr. Baseball’s induction.

The packaging of this Wrestlemania is not as cool as the Wrestlemania 25 packaging, but it still looks good and is very appealing. The front features all the participants from the four biggest matches on the Wrestlemania 26 card with the inside featuring pictures from the various matches that happened during the event.

In conclusion, the Wrestlemania 26 three-disc DVD set is one of the best home video versions of the showcase of the immortals that WWE has ever released. The actual event was very entertaining and featured good matches such as both world title bouts, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and Rey Mysterio taking on CM Punk. The match that stole the show, however, was the rematch between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker in which they put on a performance that blew the roof off the arena. That match alone makes this Wrestlemania a must-see for every wrestling fan. You can also find this event on a two-disc DVD set, which includes the pay-per-view and an abbreviated hall of fame induction ceremony. You can also get this event as a Blu-ray, which has better sound and picture than the DVD version.

Stay tuned for the Wrestlemania 27 three-disc DVD set review!

Wrestlemania 24 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.

For this weeks post, I am going to review the 3-disc DVD set of Wrestlemania 24. This is a unique DVD set in that this was the first Wrestlemania that was broadcast in high definition by the WWE. What this means is that the aspect ratio the event is presented in will change based on the television on which you are watching Wrestlemania 24. For example, if you are watching on an older “box” television with a square screen, you will see the event in a 4:3 aspect ratio. If you watch it on a television with a rectangular shaped screen like most modern flat screen TVs, then you will see the event presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio. In my opinion, this is the best way to view it, as you will see a wider picture and things you will not be able to see if you were viewing it in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The action kicks off on the first disc as it contains the first few hours of the Wrestlemania 24 pay-per-view. It starts off with John Legend signing the traditional “America the Beautiful” before ending with the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship between John Cena, Triple H, and Randy Orton. There are no bonus features on this disc so when you are finished with it, move on to disc 2.

The second disc picks up where the first disc left off by starting with the rest of Wrestlemania 24 with Big Show taking on Floyd “Money” Mayweather in a match that was called “the Biggest vs. the Best.” Aside from the rest of the pay-per-view, disc 2 also has the start of the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Disc 3 has the rest of the induction ceremony on it as well as the 24-Man Battle Royal that took place at Wrestlemania 24 before the event went live. The wrestlers inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame included Mae Young, the Brisco brothers, and Ric Flair. One of the coolest moments from the 2008 ceremony was the Rock cutting an “electrifying” promo before inducting his father and grandfather into the hall of fame.

The packaging for Wrestlemania 24 looks good and has the wrestlers involved in the event’s biggest matches on the front. The inside of the packaging has pictures from the event with the two most prominent pictures featuring Mayweather punching Big Show and Ric Flair making his way to the ring.

In conclusion, the Wrestlemania 24 DVD set is a good home video version of the event. It is packaged very nicely and includes a really good Wrestlemania event. Matches like the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, the world championship matches, and the retirement match make this Wrestlemania stand out as one of the best Wrestlemanias I have ever seen. The only complaint I have with the DVD set is the lack of bonus content. With previous home versions of Wrestlemania having a ton of extra features, the fact that the Wrestlemania 24 DVD set has only one extra feature is pretty poor. Aside from that lone complaint, it still a good DVD set and you should definitely pick it up for your collection. If you have a BluRay player, I recommend you get the BluRay edition of Wrestlemania 24 as it offers better sound and picture.

Keep an eye out for the Wrestlemania 25 DVD set review!

SmackDown Solutions

What do you think of when I say “WWE?” You probably think of the biggest wrestling event on the planet in Wrestlemania. Perhaps you think of legendary wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan, the Rock, or Stone Cold Steve Austin. Maybe you think of WWE’s weekly television program and my personal favorite show on television, Monday Night Raw. I’m sure a lot of people think of Raw as it is WWE’s flagship program that, to me and other wrestling fans, is must see television. It advances storylines, features a few quality matches and segments, and is overall a pretty entertaining way to close out the beginning of the week.

This same sentiment is not felt toward SmackDown though. SmackDown is known as WWE’s “B” show. It is taped on Tuesday and broadcast on Thursday. What was once considered another opportunity for WWE to showcase wrestlers and progress storylines has essentially become a watered down version of Raw.

Since SmackDown has lost its luster, I too have generally lost interest in it. I used to tune in every week to see what was going to happen on SmackDown. During the Attitude Era, it felt like it was as good as Raw and from about 2002 to 2005, it was better than Raw. Wrestlers like Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle, the Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Rey Mysterio among others put on classic matches that had me on the edge of my seat. Other notable SmackDown moments from this time period were Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon being engaged in a classic feud during the Wrestlemania 19 season, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle having the best rivalry in SmackDown history, and Lesnar and Big Show causing the ring to collapse after a monster superplex. Sadly, SmackDown has since decreased in quality, and if you a miss an episode, it usually isn’t a big deal as you won’t be missing much.

So is WWE wasting its time with SmackDown? I think so and unless WWE changes the way it presents its blue-branded wrestling show, I think they should consider cancelling it. If WWE were to broadcast SmackDown live once it moves to USA Network in 2016, that could generate some buzz about the show and hopefully force WWE to treat SmackDown the same way they treat Raw by creating compelling content that viewers would feel a need to tune into SmackDown to watch. Also, spoilers for SmackDown would be a thing of the past if it were live. A lot of people read the spoilers for SmackDown since it is taped on Tuesday. This causes a lot of fans to not tune into SmackDown because they already know what happened.

Another solution I think WWE should look into is cancelling SmackDown and broadcasting NXT in its place. NXT is phenomenal and sometimes is as good if not better than Raw. The wrestlers in WWE’s “minor league” system are really good, and I think WWE should give them the opportunity to show the world what they can do on an actual television network instead of the WWE Network. I would defiantly watch NXT if it were on actual television, and I am sure a lot of wrestling fans feel the same way.

In conclusion, I think WWE should either treat SmackDown like it would an episode of Raw and broadcast it live, or cancel it and air NXT in its place. SmackDown today is just not a wrestling program worth watching every week. Hopefully WWE does something with its Thursday night television programming that will make it must see TV again.