Ah, Black Friday. The one day every year after Thanksgiving where family and friends get together to gorge themselves on another feast: buying for the living hell of it.
Seriously, it’s a great gimmick on paper. Retailers know they’re screwed, but need to make one last ditch effort in order to get into the good. The family’s together, the dinner’s been long digested, and that holiday purchasing needs to be commenced! Hence the major markdowns of EVERYTHING, from clothing to movies.
While the major point is to get you, the consumer, in the store, I take it another way.
Shop from the comfy confines of my room, and watch the packages come in like zombies during the apocalypse.
So this entry pretty much covers what I got over that weekend, and then the following Monday for the internet portion of the bonanza.
Funnily enough, my shopping for Black Friday mainly took place on Thanksgiving itself.
Wait, lol. Wut?
Yeah I did. In the chaos of helping my parents getting ready for Thanksgiving, I was able to sip my morning cup of coffee, go on my laptop and hit the cyber ground running.
I saw Best Buy was running their sale on the gobble day, and thus I strike with furious vengeance.
Coming up to the plate first is a pair of Christopher Nolan-directed epics. One involves a bat, and the other is a dream (in a dream (in a dream)). Yes, they are both on Blu-ray, and in the case of the dreamer, it was a combo pack.
Both movies I saw in theaters, and both movies gave me headaches for completely different reasons.
While Batman Begins was a movie with starkly contrasting scenery colorization...
...the ingenious concept of Inception made my brain nearly explode like a bomb.
Both movies are complex, thought-provoking, and in the case of Batman, a revitalization of a series once encompassed by bat asses and bat nipples.
Both are highly recommended, even if they are full price. I paid $4.99 for Inception, and $7.99 for Batman Begins.
Next up is what I like to consider “being caught up”.
For Christmas in 2008, I got the Amazon-exclusive Family Guy - The Total World Domination Collection (Stewie Head Packaging). It was a mammoth piece of work, as six seasons/volumes of the show, along with the Untold Story and Blue Harvest pieces, secured in a case topped with a Stewie head. That’s for another blog.
Anywhos, I didn’t have volumes seven or eight yet, so for $8.99 apiece I snagged those bad boys. Usually worth $25-$30 apiece, this was an INCREDIBLE bargain.
Although the seasons have mixed quality, it’s still worth at least a watch, and for collectors, a purchase.
Volume seven’s and eight’s insides are similar. Slipcovers (the seventh being a clever one)...
...Episode lists are on the reverse side of the DVD artwork. Clear cases with “pages” per se in the dominance...
...but volume eight has a script to “Road to the Multiverse” inside! Talk about an awesome piece of business right there!
I must say the episodes revolving around Peter being gay and the Star Trek Next Generation cast are amazing. Some of the setups are painful, but damn aren’t they fun to watch, and amongst the top tier of the FG pedestal. That be said, the best rant goes to Quagmire on Brian’s character, which runs some 90 seconds, and is probably the best monologue of all the show’s history. Not to be missed.
Now let’s fast forward to Monday and the ‘cyber’ event that follows.
The only retailer I truly looked at was WWEShop, because they had doorbusters, 20% off, and free shipping on ANY ORDER.
So I pounced, and got two Blu-rays for arguably the cost of their DVD counterparts, maybe even a bit cheaper.
First up is the Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century Blu.
Two discs long, it is the continuation of the ‘Greatest Superstars’ line. Starting with the 80’s in 2005, following up with the 90’s in 2009, and now with the 21st century in 2011, it’s a tribute to what certain wrestlers (ahem, superstars) did in that time period that makes the era/person unique.
Disc one has the main documentary, which runs about 100 minutes in length. It’s not the best piece WWE ever did, and quite frankly it’s amongst the bottom-feeders, but it gets the job done appropriate and acceptably. Rounding out the disc, there are some good matches/moments to be had.
Booker T/Rock from Summerslam 2001 kicks off the proceedings, with a blurring job that quite frankly is not as bad as I thought. Four consecutive title matches are next, with Chris Jericho winning the IC Title from Rob Van Dam on RAW in 2002 (WWE era), Triple H defeating Kane to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (so Kane has to unmask) from 2003, Brock Lesnar wins the WWE Championship from Kurt Angle in the Iron Man war from a few months after H/Kane, and then Eddie Guerrero retains his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio in a nice little battle on Smackdown in 2004.
Rounding out this disc are three exclusive to BD promos. One features a typical Triple H promo from 2003 on RAW explaining Evolution. Another revolves around Kane delivering a eulogy to biker Undertaker on Smackdown in 2003 after Kane buried the dead man alive at Survivor Series. Lastly is JBL in 2004 stating he isn’t afraid of Undertaker, only to almost Tombstone a midget, and get his ass whipped by the real man! A chokeslam by Undertaker to the midget concludes the promo.
Disc two is all special features.
First up is the Fatal-Four-Way bout for the WWE Championship from Armageddon 2004 where JBL retains the title after Undertaker gets taken out (once again) by Heidenreich. Next is the proceeding month’s Royal Rumble Triple Threat (so now we’re in 2005), where JBL retains AGAIN after his cabinet interferes to take out both Big Show and Kurt Angle. In a rare match from Japan in 2005 on RAW, Triple H retained the WHC against Edge. Up next is the only women’s match on the series, and a great one at that. Trish Stratus, in her last competitive match, won the Women’s Championship from Lita in her hometown of Toronto at Unforgiven in 2006. Following is a RAW triple threat match where whoever wins faces John Cena at Wrestlemania 23 (2007). Shawn Michaels rose to the plate and defeated Randy Orton and Edge to go to the big dance once again. The week after on RAW, an eight-man tag where Shawn Michaels pins Randy Orton. However, due to earlier moments in the match, Undertaker lays out Michaels and John Cena is laid out by Batista! All four of those men were teammates! To keep his streak perfect, Undertaker defeated Batista at WM 23 to become 15-0 and the NEW World Heavyweight Champion!
And yes, there’s more BD exclusives to come!
First up is the Elimination F4W match for the WWE Championship at Backlash 2008. Triple H became new champion after beating Randy Orton. Cena and JBL were eliminated second and first, respectively. Next is the WHC Scramble from Unforgiven 2008, a pretty sucky match to be frank. After being DESTROYED by Shawn Michaels in the Unsanctioned bout earlier in the event, Chris Jericho filled up an empty slot (due to CM Punk’s beat-down and subsequent title strip) and was able to be last man in to get the title. Thirdly, there’s the Punk/Jeff Hardy TLC match from Summerslam 2009, where Punk got the WHC from Hardy, and a chokeslam post-match from Undertaker to boot!
Now we got some promos. First is the Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero backstage segment where it’s every man for himself pre-Rumble 2005. After that we got the Kurt Angle “bleeping” the crowd saying “You Suck” to his entrance music. We also got the coronation of King Booker in 2006, with the John Cena/Randy Orton Backlash 2007 promo following (which has some pretty weird innuendo that’s the wet dream of every female wrestling fan). Lastly, the only promo in HD, is the Highlight Reel from June 2008 where Chris Jericho, then-good guy, throws Shawn Michaels into the Jeritron 5000 to become a heel once again, and to put this whole HBK saga into fifth gear. Seriously, it was a GREAT storyline, and holds up against the test of time.
As a whole, I’d give the ‘Superstars’ BD a 7.5/10, which is generous. Mainly I give it a high score because of the price I picked it up for, which after discounts, was about $12. A nice little bargain, even though I did own a good portion of those matches before. Wah, no inserts.
That other BD would be the DX: One Last Stand release.
Like the prior DVD release of The New & Improved DX, this release focuses pretty much on EVERYTHING the duo did on their “reuniting”. Which by this point was like their second major one, but the 345th iteration.
If you want the full content listing, go here. Unlike the last DVD where I could “break it down” so to speak, this one has so much content I’d fry my brain trying to go there. Just like the last DVD!
I will say this though: the matches are universally the best thing about it. Whether it was the Summerslam tag, the Breaking Point Submissions Count Anywhere, Hell in the Cell, TLC, and/or the BD exclusive Survivor Series bout for the WWE title, there is no doubt DX can get it done in the ring with the best of anyone.
There is also the issue of a certain little “leprechaun” if you will.
As WWE became more “PG”, the company had to make programming more universally identifiable to kids. Although DX had been severely watered down on their own, adding Hornswoggle led to one of the worst angles WWE had in the main event scene for quite some time. “Killing” the troll at MSG on RAW, it led to a much-delayed segment of “Little People’s Court”. Horrible in style and horrible in execution, it was an amusing premise that led to 20 minutes of embarrassing TV.
Aside from that, there’s no other major issues. The BD has some great exclusives, including the aforementioned title Survivor Series match, and the Tribute to the Troops appearance that didn’t air on TV. Those are definitely worth the extra coin in relativity to the DVD version.
Finally, I pre-ordered a Blu-ray that was slated to be released that coming Tuesday (the 29th that was). It was Stone Cold Steve Austin: The Bottom Line on the Most Popular Superstar of All Time.
3 discs. Has to be over 10 hours (the back of the BD has to be wrong). All whoop ass material.
Speaking of awesome things, WWE brought back the inserts! Notably absent since the middle of 2010 from all releases, inserts were the things that told you what material was on what disc. Without sites like www.wwedvdnews.com, it’d be a total crapshoot where stuff was.
So there’s the ‘arrive’, ’raise hell’...
...and ‘leave’ pages of the thing. Even before this was popped into the player, huge marks are scored for just that alone.
A little while ago, I wrote a piece on Austin back on the muthaship with the moments that elevated him to superstar status.
All that and more are featured on the main piece of the release, a massive 2.5 hour documentary.
It features usual suspects, and not so usual ones. For example, there’s Triple H, Miz, The Rock, amongst others to offer their take. On that other side of the coin, there’s Paul Heyman and DUTCH MANTELL giving out tidbits. I’m thankful there was some common sense to put Stone Cold somewhat in-charge of this business, because little things like that make this new doc the best one since HBK’s in 2007, EASILY. All time top-5 documentary, perhaps second place behind the Rise and Fall of ECW.
While the documentary is a great one (and not so much a plug for the new Rock release next year), just be noted of two things. One, they literally go over the first 20-some-odd years of his life in about 35 seconds. No joke. The autobiography from 2004 explains it much better. The other is that long-standing elephant in the room of blurring. As a matter of fact, it is prevalent on everything from 1998-2002. Some of it definitely looks better than others. For example, early 1998 moments look like they’re hardly touched besides an audio bleep and the logo on the left-hand bottom corner being covered. Other times, there are ring-post blurs, announce table blurs, AND EVEN CROWD BLURS. Why can’t Vince give the panda people a few bucks and leave it be?
For anyone new to this subject matter, it was the outcome of a court case in 2002 that forced Vince to change the name after international rumblings came about with the animal rights charity. Blurs and bleeping followed, and thus it seems like the history got changed a little.
Speaking of extras, there are two whole discs+ of them.
Disc one has side stories, like CM Punk meeting Austin for the first time and a hilarious tale of Triple H freeing Austin from the ropes at Summerslam 1999. There are also four exclusive matches for the BD, ranging from a Triple Threat in the UK with HHH and Undertaker, to a match with Angle, to Wrestlemania XIX, to another Triple Threat match with RVD along with Angle. All of them, save XIX, see the Rattlesnake come out on top.
Disc two is all matches, and while they’re all worthy, let’s whip out the drinking game I’ve used in previous DVD countdowns. Shall we?
The USWA encounter, the WCW match, the D-X PPV match, Big Show’s match from RAW, and Wrestlemania XV are all spared this treatment.
However, the others aren’t so lucky.
Case #1: That finals match from King of the Ring with Jake Roberts. This match was already released on the Roberts DVD a few years prior, so that means take one can of whoop ass and drink it!
Whoop-Ass: 
Case #2: The Submission match from Wrestlemania XIII. Although it has newly-recorded commentary with JR, it’s the second time this match has been featured on disc, with the Bret Hart DVD being the first. So take out one can of whoop ass and chug it down!
Whoop-Ass:
Case #3: Wrestlemania XIV with Shawn Michaels. It’s a history-changing, game-changing, and era-changing match, no doubt. Another match with alternate commentary with JR. It doesn’t cover the fact it’s now on it’s THIRD release, with History of the WWE Championship and The True Story of Wrestlemania being the other two. So open up TWO cans and drink!
Whoop-Ass:
Case #4: Over the Edge 1998. Personally, my favorite Mick Foley match, and my second favorite Stone Cold match (behind Wrestlemania XIII Submission). Sadly, this is the third time the match is on disc, albeit it FINALLY has the proper beginning with the most outrageous introductions this side of the Attitude Era. Both of Foley’s DVDs (Hard Knocks/Cheap Pops, Greatest Hits and Misses) already have it, so ANOTHER TWO CANS must be unscrewed.
Whoop-Ass:
Case #5: Summerslam 1998. Arguably the hottest set-up match probably in Austin’s title reigns, this one started in May, built up all the way to August, and still had battles raging into 1999. The debut disc for this match was the Greatest Superstars of the 90s collection, so one can must be undone.
Whoop-Ass:
Case #6: Wrestlemania X-Seven. Arguably the best title match in Wrestlemania history (or all-time), this half-hour war saw Austin and Rock battle in the best sequel known to man, a war that never let up until McMahon interfered. Yet another (and the last one) match to have JR sit down with Austin for alternate commentary. Since Stone Cold’s prior DVD (the Legacy one) and History of the WWE Championship already had it , open THREE cans!
Whoop-Ass: (the third being for repeat discs, namely ‘History’!)
All together, that’s nine cans of colon-blowing, liver-failing, heart-exploding, and brain-imploding WHOOP ASS. Probably damn tasty too, with a few cases of Steveweisers down the tube too! Hey, need something to wash out the taste of chili powder!
Disc three, all talking all the time. Definitely not a bad thing, because Austin was one of the best promo men in the company’s history. It’s not just limited to WWE work either. There’s WCW stuff with Pillman, the angry promos from ECW, and hell, there’s even exclusive moments like a Hall of Fame induction AND POST-RAW INTERACTION WITH THE ROCK! I’m dead serious, I’ll just stop explaining it so you can buy this and be in wrestling heaven.
I’m dead serious when I tell you that my high expectations of this was blown up, superseded, and then went to the holy grail. This is easily the best Blu-ray/DVD release of the year, and maybe one of the only titles in the WWE library that scream “definitive”. Although the DVD is good, the Blu-ray is GREAT, and worthy enough of not only a purchase, but a Blu-ray player.
May I also note that while I pre-ordered that Stone Cold BD, I also got the memory for my camera to take these pictures? 8GB Sony memory kids, just $20!
IN CONCLUSION: This wraps up part 3. A mammoth, epic, multi-encompassing entry of genres and philosophies, it has a little bit of something for everyone. Movies, TV, and wrestling. Yep, sounds like me alright. I feel tired typing all that, so now it’s time to say that this was the bottom line... because the bird is the word!
I usually don't reply to my own post, but "TWEET TWEET!" I sent this blog via Twitter to one Stone Cold Steve Austin. He actually took the time to comment on it, with HELL YEAH HELL HELL YEAH and HELL YEAH! To paraphrase a certain announcer from WCW, "This better put some views on the blog!"
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