The words “Madison Square Garden” mean a lot of things to a lot of people but if you are a wrestling fan they hold a special place in your heart, regardless of whether or not are an avid fan of the WWE. In 1996 I was on Holiday to New York City and the most exciting part of the trip in the build up was the idea of being able to visit one of the Mecca’s of professional wrestling. That I happened to be there on Survivor Series weekend, was able to take a tour of the building on the Sunday and meet Sunny, then officially the most beautiful woman on the planet, was merely the icing on the cake.
It was therefore with delight that I heard the news that the WWE were producing a DVD/Blu-Ray dedicated to matches at the WWE’s “home” venue. With years of history behind it and some of the company’s seminal moments happening in the great arena there was surely no way that the WWE could miss…
After a short introduction package and some salient points from host Matt Striker (who introduces each DVD disc), Disc 1 (1971-1984) kicks off with Ivan Koloff discussing his memories of Madison Square Garden. This is a feature of the package as all the matches/segments are introduced with a short interview from either one of the participants or someone closely connected with the particular match. His WWE Championship Match with Pedro Morales is basic on some levels but the heat is off the charts and Jim Ross provides interesting modern-day commentary on it. It’s also a novelty to see a wrestling ring with four ropes. Although it seems churlish to mention it in respect of a bout that is over 40 years old, nevertheless note that Koloff’s interview not only reveals the ending of the match but actually shows a clip of it as well! This is by no means the only time this happens on the collection either. Bruno Sammartino is next up and takes the opportunity to remind us of his long headlining run at MSG before a match with “Superstar” Billy Graham. Again the action is slow paced by modern day standards but the heat is once again immense and there is a classic pre-match interview with Graham which shows just what a character he was. Two Bob Backlund matches follow and whilst the “WWE Champion Vs NWA Champion Unification” match with Harley Race might have the historical importance, although it is slightly ruined by Matt Striker’s fact-filled but quite dull commentary, it is perhaps his Texas Death Match with Ken Patera that will surprise modern day viewers the most. It’s a bloody and brutal affair. This is followed by Hulk Hogan’s historic 1984 first title win against The Iron Sheik with Sheik’s pre-match introduction, where he retells the “$100,000 bounty” story and calls Hogan a “jeh-broni”, being worth the price of admission alone. The disc rounds off with the famous “Boot Camp” match between Sheik and Sgt. Slaughter. Again whilst it may seem a tad slow-paced by today’s’ standards, it actually stands up quite well and gives us more blood.
Disc 2 takes us from the first WrestleMania in 1985 up until Diesel’s 1994 World Title win. Whilst the first WM main event of Hogan & Mr T vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff match has seen the light of day on more than one previous release, it undoubtedly deserves its spot on a best of MSG release due to its historic value. Of more interest from a rarity point of view is a later match where Piper teams up with “Cowboy” Bob Orton to take on Andre The Giant & Paul Orndorff which features some entertaining pre-match promos. SummerSlam 1988 is up next and whilst Honky Tonk Man against Ultimate Warrior may not take up much of your time, it is a classic squash match and is worth it for the pop when Warrior’s music kicks in alone. The Miz waxes lyrical about his childhood favourite Warrior prior to the bout. Match quality takes a distinct upturn as we hit SummerSlam 1991 next and the classic Bret Hart/Mr Perfect Intercontinental title match. It still stands up as a classic today, although it is another amtch we have seen on plenty of other releases. The same can be said about WrestleMania X’s Shawn Michaels / Razor Ramon ladder match but again if “the best” of MSG is the overriding factor it could not be left off the set. Quite why Howard Finkel was the best man they could get to introduce that one is a question I cannot answer. The disc at least closes with what, as far as I’m aware, is an exclusive with Kevin “Diesel” Nash’s WWE Title win over Bob Backlund shown in it’s entirety on DVD for the first time. All eight seconds of it (plus entrances and post match celebration of course). It’s a fun addition, if nothing else and Kevin Nash’s engaging pre-match introduction offers a great insight into how it came about.
Disc 3 takes us from Survivor Series 1996 to November 2009. That The Rock’s underwhelming debut as Rocky Maivia in an elimination match from 1996’s Series is here is a surprise given that it’s not really very good overall but perhaps it is a subtle middle finger to the Rock, who’s pre-match segment pokes gentle fun at his debut hairstyle, as well as thanking the others involved for putting him over. Mick Foley’s “return” as Cactus Jack from a September 1997 Raw is entertaining though perhaps not as good as you might remember. It was a turning point in each man’s career though to some extent and Foley’s comments prior to the bout are interesting. The Tag Team Tables match pitting The Hardy’s against the Dudley’s from 2000’s Royal Rumble that follows is an excellent bout. All four men put their bodies through some serious punishment in this one. A triple threat match from Raw pitting Triple H, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho sounds as if it could be a cracker but ultimately it’s just too short to really get going. And I’ve no idea what relevance Daniel Bryan’s pre-match introduction has.
From there it’s WrestleMania XX where we get John Cena’s United States Championship win over The Big Show, which isn’t that bad at all, before skipping two and a half years for Trish Stratus’ “farewell” amtch where she faces Mickie James in another match that is decent, but too short to really get going. We then go to the closing moments of the 2008 Royal Rumble which whilst not the finest example of the WWE’s greatest gimmick match, John Cena’s return was a surprise to everyone and as such was indeed a memorable Madison Square Garden moment. We close things off with a triple threat Tag match from 2009 as D-Generation X take on Jeri-Show and John Cena & The Undertaker. The match is presumably here purely because of the star names involved. During disc 3 there are also three “segment” moments, showing Stone-Cold Steve Austin’s first ever Stunner on Vince, WCW’s Booker T attacking Vince in the hallowed arena and Triple H making his return from injury in 2002. The latter may sound like a lame choice but the crowd reaction is one of the loudest you’ll ever hear.
In some ways it’s as if the WWE didn’t really know which way they wanted to go with the release. There’s a mixture of old and new matches, bouts that are rare and bouts that have been on numerous releases already and whilst there is a wide range of superstars on show there seems a few odd choices of match as well. It’s perhaps a shame that there is only one Bruno Sammartino match on the DVD release (though there is one more on the Blu-Ray) when he was a headlining act at the Garden for so many years. Perhaps they are saving those matches for a dedicated Bruno release. Taken as a whole, in the context of other WWE releases, you can’t help but feel that there are a few too many matches that we’ve all seen numerous times before but by and large they are either excellent matches or have a strong historical importance.
Younger viewers might find the first disc slow in terms of action but it’s great to see the likes of Pedro Morales, Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund get their rightful due and I’ll never complain about a Harley Race appearance. It’s a nice change to see someone like Ken Patera get an airing too.
Disc 2 mixes legendary moments such as the first WrestleMania and Ultimate Warrior’s first title win in the WWE with bona fide classic matches like Bret/Mr Perfect and HBK/Razor. Indeed those two matches are probably the in-ring highlight of the set. If for some reason you haven’t seen those two, this is a great place to pick them up.
Disc 3 sees match quality dip a little (with the commendable exceptions of the HHH/Cactus and Tag Team Tables matches) but is packed with some great moments and some huge star power and never threatens to drag.
Overall this is a very entertaining set and taken on it’s own merits is well worth the purchase. The matches are a good mix and whilst the introductions from wrestlers and other personalities are slight, they are by and large interesting. The blu-ray adds three bonus matches and a number of extra “story” segments which are worth the extra few pounds. Of course the problem is that for fans with an extensive WWE DVD collection already on their shelves, this release may not quite get the balance right in terms of “unseen” rarities . For me the “old” action on Disc 1 combined with the best bits from discs 2 and 3 make it a worthwhile purchase but there’s just a little too much on there that I already have to give it an unequivocal thumbs up. But despite its faults, taken on purely what is on here, it’s a very entertaining DVD set which does manage to convey the undoubted magic of Madison Square Garden.
– By Matthew Roberts
Thank you to our partners, WWEDVD.co.uk for providing our copy of The Best of WWE At Madison Square Garden. The Best of WWE At Madison Square Garden is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 9th September. You can pre-order your copy from WWEDVD.co.uk now by clicking here.