With exquisite timing, WWE Home Video releases “Wrestlemania Monday”, a look at the history of those special post-Mania Monday Night Raw episodes that always get everyone talking.
The main feature is an hour long documentary, largely built around the experiences of the likes of Apollo Crews, Enzo & Big Cass and The Club (who debuted on the main roster during post-Mania Raw’s) and AJ Styles, Cesaro and Zack Ryder (who had big moments and/or returns on those shows).
If that line up doesn’t sound like your usual WWE Documentary focus points then you’d be right. But in a way, the fact that the documentary isn’t too focused on the same old names makes it all the more of an enjoyable hour.
It’s nice to see the unadulterated joy that Apollo Crews has for his debut; it’s interesting to see Enzo and Big Cass both comment that they were told numerous times whilst down in “developmental” that they would never make it to the “big time”; it’s fascinating seeing Arn Anderson acknowledge that he’s seen The Club in action in New Japan as he talks to them backstage considering that knowledge of any other wrestling promotion used to be seen in a very dim light for agents in the WWE. Simply put, we’re not seeing the same old stories and names that we usually do. And that makes for an hour that flies by.
It’s not without it’s faults as a documentary; there’s repetition of sorts as once you’ve seen Apollo Crews be congratulated by his girlfriend, or Enzo get a hug off his mum, or Zack Ryder backstage with his dad you start to know what’s coming. Similarly, seeing Triple H surprise NXT members with news of their imminent debuts on Raw get a little samey at the third time of asking. One interesting note, however, is just how late in the day the wrestlers apparently get the news of their leap to the big time.
There’s also the fact that a parade of wrestlers and personalities are at pains to point out just how glad they are the the “WWE Universe” is having so much fun these days on the post-Mania Raw when you get the feeling that whilst the WWE itself appreciates the intensity of the crowds on these occasions they are often less than pleased about the “hijacking” of the show.
Still, it’s an enjoyable look at what is, after all, one of the most memorable TV nights of the year.
The extra’s feature a whole host of matches, segments and promo’s from Wrestlemania Monday’s. They pick up an extra mark from me for starting things with a Bull Nakano match (against Alundra Blayze from 1995) even if that seems like a rather low-key moment in the overall scheme of things.
It’s fun to revisit such things as Sid turning on Shawn Michaels, or the nWo turfing out Hulk Hogan. More historically memorable are the likes of the Vince McMahon / Steve Austin promo from 1998 and Ric Flair’s retirement speech. You also get to see debut’s from the likes of Mankind, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and Paige as well as returns by X-Pac and Lesnar as well as the emotional last ever WWE appearance from The Ultimate Warrior.
It’s telling though that it’s 2016 Fatal 4-Way Match between AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Cesaro before you get a really great match on the set, which just goes to show that even on Wrestlemania Monday, the spectacle can often be more important than the matches themselves.
7 out of 10.
Photos courtesy: Fetch, Fremantle Media
Format reviewed: blu-ray
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