WWE - Summerslam 2002 (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	HBK's HUGE return match plus other great bouts
Disadvantages:	Some rather dodgy moments .  .  .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This pay per view is one of my personal favourites.

Pretty broad statement I hear you cry? Maybe. Yet, when you take a look at some of the less than average cards cropping up in the year 2007, WWE trying to rewrite the whole history of ECW on Sunday at One Night Stand, it's not hard to see why I would say that. In fact, I'm losing my passion for wrestling, something that I'll elaborate on a little later.

Back to the DVD. SummerSlam 2002; still when ppv's were joint brand, before the WWE switched to separate brand ppv's and then back again late last year, this card may have seemed like a mixed bag of goodies and baddies but, in fact, displays some of the finest pieces of wrestling you could ever see come from America.

But were all of the matches instant successes?

Match 1: Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle.
Very strong opening and a solid way to get the crowd pumped. Mysterio, with his razor sharp aerial attacks against Angle's suburb matt based arsenal made this bout a serious contender for match of the year candidate.
Marks out of 10: 9 - the only real problem being that it could have done with being longer, deserving more time than some of the matches a lot higher up the card in my opinion.

Backstage: A short and quite entertaining skit between the creepy Eric Bishoff and the equally creepy Stephanie McMahon, each General Managers of Raw and Smackdown respectively. A few pieces of cheap innuendo, which is always appreciated. Helps heighten the evenings events.

Match 2: Ric Flair vs Chris Jericho
I am a big fan of Y2J and really hope that all of the rumours that he'll be returning to wrestling soon are true. He reminds me a lot of Shawn Michaels - an excellent in ring worker with great mic skills. However, unlike HBK, he couldn't really say that he'd dragged a half decent match out of the elderly Nature Granddad- I mean - Nature Boy Ric Flair, on this occasion. A few nice spots, especially when Ric stumbled into the camera man muttering 'oh God' but that's about as far as it went really.
Marks out of 10: 6 - one of the only moments to actually spoil the pay per view.

Backstage: Brock Lesner with manager Paul Heyman discuss what the 'Next Big Thing' did to Hulk Hogan a few nights ago on Smackdown. The chapter is aptly called 'RIP Hulkamania' - if only BROTHER!

Match 3: Edge vs Eddie Guerrero
Again, another reason to buy this DVD. Two of my favourite workers in the business gutting it out in a realistic match up. Makes a wrestling fan realise what a great loss to the company Latino Heat was, from an entirely selfish point of view.
Marks out of 10: 8.5 - great back and fourth action all the way.

Match 4: WWE Tag Team Champions Lance Storm & Christian ('The Un-Americans') vs Booker T & Goldust.
A good effort from all participants, maybe not the best match of the night but certainly not bad. Although, it has to be said, Jerry 'The King' Lawler's commentary was quite dire at moments, especially when rambling on about team work!
Marks out of 10: 7 - good card filler. Shame that Lance Storm didn't have better mic skills or he would have been a main eventer for sure. Shame, also, that the company didn't use Christian better who, in my opinion at least, is a great asset.

The World: A little promo here from the WWE restaurant in New York city with Jamie Noble and his girlfriend/sister/cousin/niece, Nidia (ok, so I was lying about the whole relation thing. At least I hope it was a joke!). The skit with the hillbillies can either be looked at as quite comical or disturbing...I consider it a strange mix of the two!

Match 5: WWE Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit vs Rob Van Dam.
Another strong match from the pay per view. I'm - again - a big fan of both of these athletes who really did their best to truly entertain the fans throughout their bout to accumulate in a very entertaining and hard fought match! It makes me wonder just why these two have never been considered serious main eventers in the WWE after a match like this instead of 'fillers' in big money matches like Elimination Chambers to help put over other guys who some of the time don't deserve it, in my opinion.
Marks out of 10: 8.5 - the action could be a little slow in places but otherwise was a great testament to both men.

Match 6: Undertaker vs Test
Complete with his shiny motorbike, the Undertaker's 'American Badass' persona went up against another one of the Un-Americans. Not a bad match but equally not one that would stick out in your mind as being fantastic.
Marks out of 10: 6 - The Undertaker can be viewed as only being as good as his opponent so, against Test, the best wasn't brought out of the Deadman.

Match 7: Shawn Michaels vs Triple H in a Non-Sanctioned Match.
The main reason I got this DVD; the Heartbreak Kid's first televised match in over four years! I'm pleased to say this is one of the most authentic and believable pieces of wrestling I've ever seen in my life on the part of both men. The former D Generation X buddies have brilliant chemistry together which, can be argued, got exploited a little too much over the next few years in various main event matches. None the less, this is one for the record books and, although the crowd were slightly split at the beginning of the night, by the end of the match up, there wasn't a single cheer for one man.
Marks out of 10: 9.5 - as real as wrestling will EVER get!

In the ring: An exchange between Lillian Garcia and Howard Finkel with an appearance from Trish Stratus herself. A little pointless with one of the worst looking low blows in history being delivered.

Match 8: WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock vs Brock Lesner w/Paul Heyman.
On paper, I wasn't too thrilled with this match. However, watching it back, I've got to say it's a lot better than you'd expect from either man. I was never a hardcore fan of 'the most electrifying man in sports entertainment' or 'the Next Big Thing' but still gave this a go.
Marks out of 10: 7.5 - classic babyface vs heel action in one form or another.

Extras: This release from 2002 puts some of the recent offerings from the company to shame as far as what else is to offer the fans. One of my favourite parts of buying the DVD is to watch special features and this package certainly won't let you down. With post match interviews with Kurt Angle and RVD to the making of the SummerSlam commercial and even a video version of the former WWE web cast 'Byte This' with Shawn Michaels (even though it doesn't have the questions included so might not make too much sense to anyone who isn't a diehard fan of the Icon). A great variety, something for every type of wrestling fan.

Packaging: Nice graphics for the front cover even though, admittedly, I could probably have made it.

Ease of use: Your typical WWE DVD; easy to use overall.

So, I hope that you'll take my advice and buy this DVD to either support my statement that it's one of the best pay per views ever or whether you'd like to argue with me against it. When you watch some of the companies offerings from over the past year, you can see why people like myself are getting quite frankly fed up with the product that, to be fair, is below satisfactory most of the time with some of the most dull people as champions. Except for Edge. I like him. I was thinking of John Weiner who I wish I really couldn't see and the glory hog boss, Mr. McMahon, the current ECW Champion...

Oh well, at least if I want to watch some great wrestling action, I'll always have DVD's like this to satisfy my every need!