WWE - Night Of Champions 2008 (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Some great title matches, surprising outcomes, and big names
Disadvantages:	Some of the first matches were a bit slow and at times not entertaining

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

WWE Night Of Champions 2008 (June 29, 2008) was the second annual Night of Champions PPV hosted by the three brand shows of the WWE; RAW, Smackdown, and ECW. Live from Dallas, Texas in the American Airlines Center, the Pay-per-view held an attendance of 16, 151 people to see each WWE Title on the line in this well worked PPV. The Music Theme Song of the evening was "Devour" by Shinedown.

Each fued was settled in a title bout on this historic night. The previous week the WWE Draft took place, sending many wrestlers to other branded shows, giving some people their last chance to get their hands on the gold they were after. The main fueds heading into the Night Of Champions 2008 consisted of Triple H (Smackdown) and John Cena (RAW), and Batista (RAW) with Edge (Smackdown). So...what belts would end up on RAW or Smackdown, 1 each or both to the same show?? This only added to the intensity of the evening and kept me at least second guessing the results. Usually I am good at predicting an outcome, but in all honesty there were a few I didn't see coming at all.

"The Match Schedule" - In order of Importance - not actual order:

WWE Women's Championship Match (RAW)
Mickie James vs. Katie Lea Burchill

Added info: On the previous two weeks on RAW, Katie Lea Burchill with the help of her brother Paul gained two pinfalls on Mickie James, in a singles match and a mixed gender tag team match. Due to her winning record this match was assigned. Will Paul Burchill at ringside effect the outcome of this match or will Mickie James retain the title??

United States Champion (ECW)
Matt Hardy vs. Chavo Guerrero

Added Info: The previous week in the WWE DRAFT, Matt Hardy was drafted over to ECW from smackdown, therefore carrying over with him his United States Belt to the show. In the last week on Smackdown and ECW, Matt Hardy and Chavo fought in a 6 man tag team match against each other as well as forcing Matt to take on Chavo's bodyguard Bam Neely. It was announced on ECW that the two would battle for the Title the week before the Pay-Per View. Can Matt Hardy retain his title and continue his great form or will La Familia intervene to help Chavo steal the win??

WWE Tag Team Championship Match (ECW)
John Morrison & The Miz vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle

Added Info: This match wasn't given much advertisement, however the match was probably first hinted at the One Night Stand 2008 pay-per-view where Miz and Morrison were mocking Hornswaggle, before Finaly came and foreced them away. After some good tag team displays by the Irish duo, the ECW general manager Teddy Long gave them the contract to sign for the shot at the tag team titles. Upon signing, Finlay hit the Miz with the shilelagh. This of coruse created the heated build up for the match.

World Tag Team Championship Match (RAW)
Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase & ?

Added Info: The Million Dollar Man Ted Debiase was seen in the office of Vince McMahon (chairman of WWE) a few weeks prior to the PPV event. He came onto RAW and announced to Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes that his son would get a shot at their titles on his debut match in the WWE. For the next three weeks, Ted Debiase Jr. came out and interrupted their matches and gave speeches to the crowd of how he will win the title in his first ever match. However, he never mentioned his partner and waits to tell everyone on the Pay Per View Night. Who will be his partner?? and will Cody and Holly retain their titles against this new pairing??

ECW Championship Match (RAW)
Kane vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Added Info: Due to the WWE Draft the ECW Champion Kane had been moved to Raw. Therefore, the only way it can stay on ECW is if someone from ECW wins the gold in this title match. For weeks it had been built up as a title match between Kane and The Big Show. However, Mark Henry put himself in the fold after beating Kane in an exhibition match on ECW. A Three way match between the biggest competitors in the WWE makes for an entertaining bout. However, what show will the ECW Title be on after this event?? Raw, ECW, or Smackdown.

Intercontinental Championship Match (RAW)
Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston

Added Info: A member of the supplemental draft picks on WWE.com, Kofi Kingston became a new face on RAW. He was a surprise contender for the Intercontinental title against 8 time hodler Chris Jericho. With Lance Cade in Jericho's corner for the bout and Shawn Michaels out of the way due to eye problems caused by the Jeritron 3000 on the Highlight Reel the prior week (Jericho threw Shawn Michaels head into a TV, this match looks like an easy one for Jericho to retain at Night of Champions. Will Shawn muster up the courage to be seen at the pay per view??

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Edge vs Batista

Added Info: For months, Smackdown has been ruled by the general manager Vickie Guerrero, engaged to the World Heavyweight Champion Edge. Due to constant interference in all previous title matches from Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Chavo Guerrero, Bam Neely and even Vickie, is it actually possible for batista to win the belt?? The match is a well fought battle and is a very enjoyable one with of course many surprises. The belt plays an instrumental part in this match.

WWE Championship Match
Triple H vs. John Cena

Added Info: Only once have these titans met each other in the Squared Circle, at Wrestlemania 22. Cena emerged victorious on this occasion making Triple H tap out under the STFU. After weeks of confrontation between the two prior to Night of Champions, Cena beat Jeff Hardy on RAW to become Number One Contender for the WWE Championship. The two built this match up with great speech segments on air before the PPV event. In all honestly, I was impressed by how they managed to hype up the match, making it sound as one of the biggest in recent history, and will be one of those moments where you remember where you were when you see it happen, like when Hulk Hogan lifted and body slammed Andre the Giant. The match was one of endurance and strength, each man displaying their physical attributes. The momentum of the match swung each way with the two each getting their moments upon each other. Countless times you thought the match was over. It was a great match to watch and one that finished the night in great style. So..will Cena beat Triple H again to win the Title or can the King of Kings retain the belt and continue his reign since beating Randy Orton at Backlash for the belt??

"DVD Extras"

The DVD has two extra features for the fans to see. One feature is a post match interview with the winner of the last match between Triple H and John Cena. This was not shown on TV. On the DVD you also get to see Jim Ross' farewell address on Raw the next evening. Having been the voice of Raw for 12 years he was drafted to Smackdown. His farewell address is memorable for more than one reason and should be seen.

Available on Silvervision.co.uk:
Price: £10.99
Languages: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French
Subtitles: English, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek
Running Time: 180 minutes

"Opinion"

The standard of wrestling overall was very good and I believe the night was better than the average WWE Pay-Per View. The matches that stood out most were perhaps the Tag Team Titles Match for RAW and the WWE Title match between Cena and Triple H. There were a lot of great wrestlers on show. With every title on the line, it is of course a historic evening in World Wrestling Entertainment, as surely some titles will change hands. Although some of the fueds have not been built up for long, especially the lower card mathces, the final World Title matches have been set up in great fashion for the evening.

I enjoyed watching WWE Night Of Champions 2008, the 8th annual Vengeance event, but the second in its name. Perhaps so far it has been the best of all of them.

"Conclusion"

The quality of the DVD is very good as most that the WWE distribute are. It is a good one for the memorabilia if you are a WWE collector. This night does exactly what Vince wanted to happen, "to Shake things up again."

A 3.5 Star to 4 star event if I am comparing this to Wrestlemania's which is the standard to live up to. Some matches however do hit the 4.5 stars which is great to have in the smaller PPV events in the year.

N.B. Jeff Hardy defeated MVP in a dark match on the evening, shown before the event went on air to the television viewers. The match is not on the DVD and was only available to the fans that went to see the show live.

Jelboy