There are arguments for a number of people deserving the non de plume of “Mr WrestleMania”. You could make a case, for instance, for Hulk Hogan, whose exploits in the early years helped shape the juggernaut to come and who made well received comebacks at X-8 and will be hosting XXX. You could argue that The Streak, which will never be surpassed, means that The Undertaker deserves the nickname. You could argue that Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock’s mega stardom, that helped take ‘Mania back to the stadium’s, means they are in with a shout. For me though, the WWE have got it right in the title for this DVD/Blu-Ray of Shawn Michael’s WrestleMania matches. And even if you disagree, there is no doubt that HBK is at the very least at the top of the shortlist for deserving that nickname.
This set features all seventeen, sorry, sixteen of his WrestleMania matches. Yes, despite the fact that the WWE Network is showing Chris Benoit matches, the fantastic WrestleMania XX main event does not make the cut here. In fact the programme skips from XIX to XXI without even a pause for breath (though later in his segments, Shawn does mention main-eventing WrestleMania XX, without going into further details). There’s no need to go into the rights and wrongs of this approach AGAIN, but it has to be pointed out that this means it is not the complete collection of HBK ‘Mania matches.
What we do get is the rest of the matches presented in chronological order, with newly filmed links from the man himself.
In terms of in-ring action this is definitely a five-star collection.
By my reckoning there are three genuine 5-star matches. The awe and wonder of the Ladder Match versus Razor Ramon from WrestleMania X still exists to this day. I remember watching this for the first time back in 1994 and thinking it was the greatest thing I have ever seen. It has been surpassed since, of course, but it is still an excellent match that is thrilling to watch. It is joined in the 5-star stakes by both of Shawn’s matches with The Undertaker. I find it almost impossible to choose between the WrestleMania XXV and XXVI matches but if forced to I would say that the latter just about squeezes ahead due to the added drama of The Streak Vs Career stipulation. We knew that HBK wouldn’t win but watching it you still thought he might just do it. It’s a feeling that survives repeat viewing and it surely has to be up there with the best matches in WWE history.
There’s also a fair amount of action that comes close to those three in terms of quality. The match against Ric Flair (XXIV) is a dramatic tour de force which again proves to be edge-of-your-seat stuff despite the result being for all intents and purposes a forgone conclusion. Bouts with John Cena (XXIII) and Kurt Angle (XXI) are action packed classics and its interesting to contrast the Shawn Michaels of this period with the one of WrestleMania XIV where he has to drop the belt to Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the ring it’s amazing that Michaels even made it to he ring at XIV considering his back injury so it’s unfair to compare then in terms of action, but that Michaels is so willing to put Cena and Angle over when he was seemingly so reluctant about losing to Austin (and indeed losing to anyone in general around that time) is a storyline of redemption that warms the heart.
His match with Chris Jericho (XIX) is a personal favourite of mine (have I even mentioned I was in Seattle at WrestleMania that year…?) although I personally don’t think it has aged as well as some of the battles on here. Similarly I thoroughly enjoyed the Iron Man match with Bret Hart (XII) at the time but removed from the context of the time, it loses a little something when viewed today given it’s deliberate pace and lack of regulation time pinfalls.
The bout with Vince McMahon (XXII) offers up entertainment and the always enjoyable site of Michaels carrying a lesser (or in this case “non”) worker to a watchable bout. The big clash with friend Diesel at WrestleMania XI doesn’t really work well though it’s far from the worst ‘Mania title match you’ll ever see. A clash with Tatanka (IX) might well be the best singles bout that the Native American ever had in the WWE but the fact that it’s the worst of HBK’s matches on the big stage tells you all you need to know about it. The non-finish doesn’t really help either. Better is Shawn’s first ‘Mania singles matches against El Matador (VIII) which whilst nothing earth-shattering is a tidy low-card match which is fun to watch.
Also included on the set of matches are three bouts from The Rockers. Shawn and Marty Janettty were one hell of a team and although these trio of Mania bouts don’t show them at their absolute best they are fun to watch as part of this collection. The duo bump like crazy opposite larger opponents The Twin Towers (V) and Haku & The Barbarian (VII), whilst meshing more competitively with opponents more their size in the form of the Orient Express (VI). None of these are “must see” but they help to add context to proceedings and its fun to compare the different era’s of Shawn’s career.
So the sheer wealth of great matches certainly offer up value on this set, despite the fact that one is missing, and even if the facts that a lot of these bouts have been available on numerous other collections and the WWE network arguably makes PPV match compilations like this irrelevant in the modern era of technology work against it, you simply cannot fault the wealth of entertaining and excellent wrestling on show.
The non-match segments are short links from Shawn Michaels recorded in a hotel room in October 2013. No expense spared there then. Rather than specifically concentrating on the matches themselves, HBK offers us insight into his thoughts and feelings around the times of the matches. Some of the information gleamed will be familiar to those who have the other DVD sets that the WWE have released about Shawn. There are interesting insights though into the mechanics of a wrestling career and it is illuminating to hear Shawn talk about his feelings about working opening matches, the failings of his match with Diesel and his reasoning’s behind wanting to face Vince McMahon. Most poignant is perhaps his look back at his match with Steve Austin and his regrets about his behaviour leading up to that event.
For the matches alone this would be a must-buy set for anyone who is a fan of the WWE style of wrestling. If you were being ultra-critical the low-budget nature of Shawn’s speaking segments jar a little bit and it would have been nice to see video packages setting up the context for the bouts themselves, but that’s just nit-picking really. The action speaks for itself.
– By Matthew Roberts | @IWFICON
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