Matthew Roberts takes a look at the latest WWE Home Video release, WrestleMania 39.
With the two day WrestleMania here to stay it seems a waste of time in one sense to debate the rights and wrongs of that approach. For me it works well. Two shows mean we don’t get one night dragging on for six hours and it allows for more of the vast and talented roster to get their moment in the sun. Even if I’ll probably never feel that those that go on last on night one have truly “main evented” WrestleMania.
Night one kicked off with John Cena against Austin Theory. It was clear within moments of the bell that Cena’s in-ring cardio is shot but the match was alright for what it was and had the right result. The men’s four way tag showcase that followed was all about the stunts and spots but there was enough of them to keep you watching and you can’t deny the effort from all concerned.
The Logan Paul run continued with yet another excellent match, this time up against Seth Rollins. There is no doubting that Paul has to be “caried” in terms of putting together a coherent match in-between the big stunts but Rollins was more than capable of doing that. The six woman tag that pitted Damage CTRL against Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus and Lita that followed was a great choice. Technically it couldn’t compete with what preceded it but the energy was high for the veterans and it all held together well.
The battle of the Mysterio’s was next and whilst I’ve been critical of Dom in the past there is no denying that the heel turn has worked wonders for him and made him one of the most entertaining characters in Wrestling. He’s so bulletproof at the moment that not even the loss here could derail him. Rhea Ripley and Charlotte followed up with a very good match indeed too. I thought it was slow to get going (at times Charlie looked as if she was wrestling in slow motion) but it picked up to a crescendo and was as heated as they come in the closing stretch.
After the Miz got round one of his comeuppance courtesy of Pat McAfee it was time for the Uso’s to clash with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. It deserved it’s “main event” spot. It was slightly a little too much of “let’s hit finishes and kick out” for me but that would be a minor quibble. Heated, dramatic and with the result everyone wanted this was a piece of art
WrestleMania 39 Night Two kicked off with Brock Lesnar against Omos, a match many experts decried when it was announced. I would say those experts have clearly paid no attention to what makes the WWE tick over the past four decades It was never going to be a “five star classic” yet the fans were totally into it from start to finish. It was a good, quick, high impact opener. The Women’s Tag Fatal Four Way that followed it couldn’t match the reaction to the opener and things weren’t helped by a less than flowing start to it. It also wasn’t helped by mid-match injuries. Still, it just about held together and had enough nice sports for the fans to get into eventually.
The three way for Gunther’s Intercontinental Title with Drew McIntyre and Sheamus predictably brough the crowd back alive. The WWE have done a very good job of protecting Gunther; his “chop the opponent thirty seven times” routine in every indie match couldn’t possibly be sustained on main roster TV but that makes it all the more special when that hard-hitting style can be brought to PLE. It was great, and a must-see. Some had complained the build up to Bianca Belair’s RAW Women’s Title defence against Asuka hadn’t been up to much but that didn’t seem to bother the fans on the night. As someone who doesn’t see Belair as quite the “in-ring general” others seem to I still looked forward to this one; when Belair is in there with someone good-to-great she usually delivers the goods This was no exception and was another great match.
The less said about the Miz and Shane McMahon the better. At least Snoop Dogg came to the rescue to save the segment. All memories of that were soon erased thanks to Edge and Finn Balor clashing in Hell in a Cell. Perhaps it was a little long (partly due to Balor having to be stapled up mid-match for a head injury) but it was still a sterling effort.
The main event of Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes undoubtedly split opinion. Whether or not there was the “correct” result will be down to your own opinion. For me, I would have preferred a Cody win but by the same token don’t hate that it wasn’t and can see the reasoning. Regardless, it was another dramatic and heated clash. One by-product of Reigns “part time” status is that when he does wrestle,it always feels like a big match.
WrestleMania 39 will go down as one (or two) of the greatest WWE shows of all time and this is a great way to re-visit it. The standard Blu-Ray also includes Rey Mysterio’s Hall of Fame induction in full, whilst there are also special edition DVD and Blu Ray sets that include posters, art cards and a bonus disc of NXT Stand and Deliver (another excellent event).
10 out of 10
Photographs courtesy of Fetch and WWE. Thank you to WWE Home Video for our review copy of WWE WrestleMania 39 which is out Monday 29 May on Blu-Ray and DVD. You can buy your copy from WWEDVD.co.uk by clicking here.