DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - WWE Bloodbath DVD REVIEW
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 6:23 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #127

Welcome one and all to the 127th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

I've decided today to not include any feedback to my draft lottery column from last week. But fear not, as that feedback will be included in next week's column. So that gives some readers more time to get their thoughts into me, on potential wrestlers to swap shows. If you have yet to read last week's column, you may do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2005/articles/1113382480.php

Just on that, my last 3 columns have averaged over 7,000 views each. That's extremely flattering & I thank all my readers who have taken the time to read them.

But instead of feedback on last week's column, I've decided, a'la NWA-TNA, to devote this entire column to a DVD Review. And that DVD is "WWE Bloodbath: Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches". If feedback on NWA-TNA's latest venture of having a pay-per-view filled entirely by cage matches is anything to go by, then I've made a bad decision. But then again, I'm not charging anyone to read my column!

So here goes. Hopefully, you guys like the review & the opportunity to read in detail what's on the disc before you make that final decision to purchase it. I will begin with the 115 minute documentary-style portion of the DVD, that I will refer to as 'The Body of the DVD' (it's easier than calling it the 'main' portion in my column!!!). Then I will review the Extras (ie: the full matches showcased on both discs). Finally, in the 'Dessert' section of today's column, the 4 Easter Eggs that I can find will be outlined, as well as my overall conclusion on the 2 disc DVD set.


APPETIZERS - The Body Of The DVD

Hosted by Jonathan Coachman with a duration of 115 minutes

A small introduction plays with the likes of Brisco, Lawler, Spike & Dreamer talking generally about cage matches & putting them over as a feud settler. From there we go to the first of 15 matches that are showcased. Each bout has some brief comments from Coach & then some further introductory comments by someone else. They usually are directly, or indirectly, involved in the match, or with the participants in it. We only see highlights of each bout (including the finish), and on average, we see 5 minutes of footage from each match.

The first stop is 1979 & Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson. I'll talk about the bout in more detail later ('Main' section of this column), as it is featured in full in the DVD extras. A year later, a match between Bruno Sammartino & Larry Zbyszko is featured. Bruno was the veteran here & Larry was his protege. The match was held outdoors at Shea Stadium & unfortunately we only see a couple of minutes of footage from it.

Back to Bob Backlund we go, as we see his 1980 bout against Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka. This was one of the highlights of the DVD for me. Snuka played a heel back then & seems to do a great job of it. A great back & forth match where Snuka bleeds profusely & loses when he misses his splash from the top of the cage. Three years later, Superfly battles it out with Don Muraco in the now infamous cage match. See the 'Main' section of this column for my thoughts on that bout. Ditto for the next match featured; A 1985 NWA bout between Magnum TA & Tully Blanchard.

We move on to the post-WrestleMania era now with a famous 1987 match between Hulk Hogan & 'Mr Wonderful' Paul Orndorff, from Saturday Night's Main Event. This was a huge feud back then & initially the simultaneous landing finish was used (yep folks, they aren't solely used in battle royals). But the match was thankfully restarted. Being critical, this was probably the beginning of cage matches becoming a little sanitized in the WWE. Absolutely classic commentary from Jesse 'The Body' Ventura is included here.

Back to NWA Starrcade (this time the 1987 version) we go, for our first look at Ric Flair. His opponent here was Ronnie Garvin & a classic Flair promo is thankfully included. This is the first match on the DVD where pinfalls are allowed. And it actually does add a welcome change of pace which has probably become too commonplace nowadays. We strangely jump 7 years for our next featured bout between Bret & Owen Hart. This match is shown in full & will be detailed later. The following year (1995), Bret was once again involved in a cage match, this time against Isaac Yankem DDS (the current Kane). Not much of this bout is shown at all & the DVD concentrates more on Jerry 'The King' Lawler's antics both at the side, and above, the ring. A total time waster.

To the era of Triple H we go, as we first see his cage match against Mick 'Mankind' Foley (discussed later) & then his 1999 bout with The Rock. This latter match takes place at the Rebellion ppv in England & includes run-ins from 'The British Bulldog' DaveyBoy Smith & Chyna. Not to mention a ref bump that allows minutes of action outside the cage. Remaining in 1999, we see the February ppv match between 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin & Vince McMahon. An entertaining match highlighted by Vince's big fall through the commentary desk & the huge debut of The Big Show. The clever finish also shouldn't be under-rated.

Showing that cage matches weren't only for singles bouts, this DVD features the Unforgiven 2000 cage match of Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz. Obviously, there is huge spot after huge spot & even Lita gets involved, and surprise surprise, almost kills herself. Did these 2 teams ever fail to deliver?

The penultimate match on the body of the DVD is the amazing 2001 Raw bout between Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit. A missed moonsault from the top of the cage by Angle, is practically just the start of this tremendous bout which ranks up there as one of the best television matches ever! We finish up with another Kurt Angle bout, this time the SmackDown cage match between he & Edge, which is also shown in full on the extras section of this DVD.


MAIN - Extras: The Full Matches

NOTE #1: The first 4 matches are on Disc-1, while the remaining 7 are on Disc-2.

NOTE #2: Take the match ratings with a little grain of salt. It's actually quite difficult to watch cage match after cage match & rate them individually on quality. A good guide though is the fairly recent Taboo Tuesday cage match between Ric Flair & Randy Orton. I rated that bout a 7.

BRUNO SAMMARTINO vs IVAN KOLOFF (1975): The mesh style cage was used 30 years ago, but with no support at the top. This made the cage very shaky, and the ropes were almost as weak! Ten minute match which hardly consists of a proper wrestling move & is dominated by Bruno's repetitive offense. Huge props to Koloff for his selling, and never protecting himself on the cage shots to his bald head. Hard to get into & shortish old-style cage match, but intense & brutal enough to make it a partial success. Match Rating...7

BOB BACKLUND vs PAT PATTERSON (1979): For some reason, we join this match already in progress. Interesting game of cat & mouse, as both combatants attempt to climb out of the cage at every opportunity they get. Good mix of action as there is enough brutality included for both men to badly bleed, while (especially Backlund) throws in the occasional wrestling move. I more associated these 2 guys with the midcard, but they (with help from the cage) do a great job of looking like main-eventers here. Hard to rate as not all of the match is shown (13 minutes is), but very good from what can be viewed. Match Rating...8

BOB BACKLUND vs STAN HANSEN (1981): Inconsistent match which took a while to win me over, and when it finally did, it ended prematurely at the 9 minute mark. For those that haven't seen Stan Hansen, he is a huge man who plays a heel almost perfectly. His taunting & dirty tactics are almost equal to that of Flair. But his selling was questionable for a bout which Backlund clearly had the better of. One thing which did impress me was the pace, but then again, the match only lasted 9 minutes. Match Rating...7

DON MURACO vs JIMMY SNUKA (1983): Infamous bout which is a little overshadowed by Mick Foley's favorite memory (which doesn't even happen during the match). It's a shame that this match only lasts 7 minutes (plus aftermath), because there is so much to like here. A super intense feud which looks more like one for the WWE Championship than the InterContinental Title. Both men play their roles perfectly, while there is a great mixture of brawling & wrestling. While the match is definitely too short, the accidental ending is clever & the aftermath is exhilarating. Match Rating...8

TULLY BLANCHARD vs MAGNUM TA (1985): This is a different cage match in that it has "I Quit" stipulations & couldn't be won by pinfall or escaping the cage. Definitely intense enough & a good variation due to the stipulation. Like most "I Quit" matches, this does get a little repetitive in the middle stages, as each wrestler constantly goes to the microphone to no avail. However, things turn violent when Tully breaks a wooden chair & attempts to spike Magnum in the face. The face fights back though & uses the spike himself, resulting in the bloody victory at the 15 minute mark. Interesting to note that a Hebner is the referee, and it's just plain weird to see a microphone with a long chord being used. Ahhhh, technology. Match Rating...8

RIC FLAIR vs DUSTY RHODES (1986): Methodically paced, old-school psychological battle between these 2 longtime adversaries. I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of Rhodes, so I find something not quite right in an even & long bout between these 2. The cage was used sparingly, but wisely, and I finally got to see Flair actually perform a top-rope move; The messiest flying bodypress I've ever seen! Hard to rate due to it's pacing, but I have to be critical that the bout sort of ended prematurely at the 21 minute mark, after a lot of setting up suggesting it would last at least 30 minutes. And to top it off, Rhodes wins the title. Match Rating...7

THE ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS (ROBERT GIBSON & RICKY MORTON) vs THE ANDERSONS (OLE & ARN) (1986): Normal tag-team rules applied here, and man do the Andersons use them well. Their tagging is textbook perfect & they completely dominate this 12 minute bout, first working on Gibson's leg, then on Morton's arm. Unfortunately, the match ends very prematurely & in the favor of the Express. Many may not like this, but it struck a positive chord with me. The tag format was also a good & welcome change of pace. Match Rating...8

SHAWN MICHAELS vs MARTY JANNETTY (1993): The former tag-team partners go at it here in this 13 minute match. Unfortunately, they don't show anywhere near enough imagination to take advantage of the cage. Still sufficient & definitely watchable, but no high-flying from their tag-team days, nor the intensity of some of their other singles matches. Diesel helps HBK get the win. By the way, if anyone knows who the annoying heel commentator is on this match, please let me know. Match Rating...7

BRET HART vs OWEN HART (1994): The best match on this 2 DVD set. Practically non-stop action for 33 minutes, some good psychology, excellent intrigue, and some clever/original spots. Even the Hart family aftermath added to the bout. The rating may be a little kind due to some repetitive spots, but there are always going to be some inherent problems in a cage match. Owen looked like a genuine main-eventer here! Match Rating...10

TRIPLE H vs MANKIND (MICK FOLEY) (1997): This was around the time of Triple H's original push & even back then it was Foley helping him along. Very good 17 minute match that predominantly relied on a number of spots scattered throughout the bout. A little lethargic at times, and there was some questionable continuity problems. But eventually the spots ruled the day, ending in Foley's "superfly moment". Match Rating...8

EDGE vs KURT ANGLE (2002): This bout took place only a few weeks after their hair vs hair pay-per-view match, so Angle was complete with wig & amateur wrestling headgear here. This was actually a SmackDown television match & it actually works in its favor. The action is simply non-stop for the 15 minute (excluding commercial time) duration. A tremendous mixture of intensity & clever/original spots, this truly is an under-rated bout. Edge really took it up a notch here & gets the win with a lot of help from the Hulkster. Match Rating...9


DESSERT - Easter Eggs & Conclusion

EASTER EGG #1: On Disc-1, in the 'Chapters' menu, highlight 'Sammartino vs Zbyszko' & press 'right' twice. This shows a strange, yet fascinating, 4 minute face vs face scientific match where Zbyszko turns heel on his teacher. Later commentary provided by Vince & Bruno himself. A great egg.

EASTER EGG #2: On Disc-1, in the 'Chapters' menu, highlight 'Flair vs Garvin' & press 'right' twice. This egg shows the final 3 minutes of the World Title bout between these 2, including a nice top-rope sunset flip by Garvin to win the title.

EASTER EGG #3: On Disc-1, in the 'Extras' menu, highlight 'Muraco vs Snuka' & press 'right' twice. This shows a (Buddy) Roger's Corner interview segment with Don Muraco. It ends in a scuffle between Muraco & Snuka, when Superfly goes to the ring for his match & Muraco thinks he is taking over his television time. This truly was a great feud! Unfortunately, we don't get to see a lot of the scuffle, as most of it is censored due to Snuka bleeding.

EASTER EGG #4: On Disc-2, in the 'Extras' menu, highlight 'Bret vs Owen' & press 'right' twice. This shows Vince McMahon interviewing Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart. A handy 4 minute spot encapsulating the brother vs brother feud & why Owen hated Bret so much at the time.


DAVEYBOY’S CONCLUSION: All in all, this 2 Disc set on steel cage matches is a bit of a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed watching it. But it just isn't worth the 5 & a bit hours of time that it takes up. The 115 minute main part of the DVD sort of stands on it's own. However, there are times when you wish that they spent more time on certain matches & didn't include others. Then when you take into account that time is used up on bouts that are shown in full elsewhere on the disc, you realize that there is quite a fair bit of unnecessary duplication.

Concerning the full matches themselves, I like the choice of matches with regards to the years chosen, but not so much with regards to the variation. I should make it very clear that only cage matches are included on this disc. There are no 'Hell In A Cell', 'Elimination Chamber' or 'War Games' bouts. I get the feeling they may get their own DVD down the track. So with the lack of variation included, it does get slightly tiresome watching cage match after cage match. Are you listening NWA-TNA...???

But I'm being a little picky, and seeing as though prices for 2 disc sets are pretty much the same as 1 discers, my criticisms may not be all that valid anyway. At the end of the day, this is very much worth a watch, and has enough fascinating clips & matches included to be more than worthwhile. And who can complain with those match ratings I have given? But in all honesty, it's not up there with the Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio & Chris Benoit DVD’s (remembering that I haven’t seen Flair’s or ECW's as yet). If I had to grade it, I would probably give it a B minus.


Ok, that's another one in the books. And a long one at that. I thought it was worth it, as I always presume that my DVD reviews may help someone decide on whether or not they will purchase it or not. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions about the 2 Disc Set. I will endeavor to answer them as best I can. Also, let me know if you liked the review & ratings, whether you have seen the DVD or not. As always, I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

So, what's on the agenda for next week's 'Wrestling Menu'...??? Well, I will have the feedback to my draft lottery picks which I left off this column. I will also have my predictions for the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view, which is soon upon us. Plus, I will also write on a possibly controversial topic, concerning a wrestler included on the Bloodbath DVD who I believe should have been WWE Champion sometime during his career. Can you guess who I am referring to...??? So look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.











*NEW GALLERY* Must See! McMahon FAMILY PHOTOS! Shane's Wife & More! Very Rare!

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