JOHN CENA SUPERSTAR COLLECTION
As part of a budget range of single disc releases, originally available in the USA back in 2012, the John Cena Superstar Collection hits these shores. It’s ninety minutes long and features four matches, with a brief video introduction to Cena to set things up.
My opinion on John Cena is somewhere in the middle of the screaming kids who adore him and the older fans who hate him. Yes, the flaws in his character and act are very noticeable and having shown little sign of changing them over the past decade I don’t hold out hope for a “new” Cena anytime soon, but at the same time he’s a man who rarely has a bad match on pay-per-view and that fact cannot solely be attributed to his opponents considering he carried/dragged The Great Khali to an entertaining match. It goes without saying that your opinion on Cena greatly influences your general thoughts on this disc.
This no frills release kicks off with his Armageddon 2008 clash with Chris Jericho. This is as competent as you would expect between these two, who do have a certain chemistry, but is nothing to really write home about.
The Three-Way WWE Championship Match from Survivor Series 2009 is up next as Cena tackles D-Generation X buddies Shawn Michaels and Triple H. At the time, with the impending rumours of a Shawn/HHH singles match and/or feud brewing this match had intriguing possibilities. Now that we know it didn’t lead to that it’s less of a vital match but it is an entertaining one with some great storytelling.
The “Superstar of the Year” RAW match from December 2009 against Randy Orton is your typical “main eventers” WWE TV match in that it’s perfectly competent without ever really getting going. If you, like me, are amongst those who think we’ve seen far too much of Cena Vs Orton over the years, this isn’t going to make you feel any better.
The disc closes with Extreme Rules 2011’s Triple Threat WWE Championship match pitting our boy Cena against The Miz and John Morrison. It’s a fun match which has the novelty value of Cena tackling “lesser” opponents in what is a fast paced and exciting match.
There is one great and one really rather good Triple Threat matches to enjoy on this set along with two average singles matches. Given those facts this is an entertaining DVD. It’s not a vital one though. The Survivor Series 2009 match, which is the highlight of the disc, was available on the John Cena Experience DVD set so it’s difficult to think there are too many die-hard John Cena fans who will need this Superstar Collection to plug that gap in their Cena history. A young Cena fan without that release may well love this. The rest of us would approach with caution, even those of us who would label themselves fans of Cena.
RANDY ORTON SUPERSTAR COLLECTION
Another 90 minute “budget” DVD from the Superstar Collection Series, this release compiles four bouts from 2009-2011 from everyone’s favourite Viper, Randy Orton. As with others in the series it’s a no frills release with the only “new” footage a two-minute introduction video.
We start at The Bash 2009 and the Three Stages of Hell WWE Championship match pitting Orton against perennial rival (and now best bud) Triple H. On paper it sounds an intriguing prospect; in reality it’s a relatively dull affair which throws away the first two pinfalls quite rapidly and ends with an anti-climatic Stretcher match. Still, it avoids making HHH lay down for the final pinfall doesn’t it?
This is followed by John Cena being added to the mix at Night Of Champions 2009, for a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. It’s an entertaining bout that ebbs and flows well enough, even if it has a somewhat disappointing ending from the Viper’s point of view.
A Raw match from March 2010 against Ted DiBiase is up next and what a strange choice this was. There’s a non-finish, which may have been storyline building within the context of Orton’s feud with DiBiase and Cody Rhodes at the time but just looks daft on a DVD supposedly looking to highlight some of Orton’s choice cuts. Even if they needed to put a RAW match on here for variety, surely there were better choices than this.
At least the disc ends on a very strong note with Capitol Punishment 2011’s Orton versus Christian World Heavyweight Championship Match. This was one of the better feuds of 2011 and more often than not delivered in the ring. This back and forth epic is no exception and is the highlight of the disc by far.
With one great match, one entertaining bout and two matches I would never recommend anyone to watch even once it’s difficult to give this set the thumbs up. This is even more so when you consider only the RAW match hasn’t made an appearance on previous releases (although to be fair, some were Blu-Ray only extras on other sets). Any Randy Orton fan will be better off with the three-disc Evolution of a Predator set which contains a great documentary on the man himself and a wider choice of matches (obviously). Still, Orton Vs Christian is one hell of a match…
– By Matthew Roberts