As soon as the 1000th episode of Raw ended back in July, one of my first thoughts was “this better come out on DVD”. I expected it to be released as its own single disc release, but instead, we got that episode of Raw along with a new countdown of the Top 100 Raw Moments. Overall, I was a fan of the SmackDown! set that came out a few years ago counting down the top 100 moments from that program, so I was looking forward to this one as well. I think it’s fair to say I got what I expected; a solid release that was put together pretty quickly.
The Top 100 countdown runs around 3 hours, 30 minutes, making up Disc 1 of the Blu-Ray and Discs 1 and 2 of the DVD. The 1000th episode of Raw runs around 2 hours, 20 minutes, with a 6 minute making of as a bonus feature. The Legends of Wrestling Roundtable Blu-Ray exclusive feature runs 1 hour, 50 minutes. The DVD/Blu-Ray is rated TV-14. Oddly, the WWF logo is blurred during one of the moments on the countdown, but remains unblurred throughout the rest of the set.
“Tyson and Austin! Tyson and Austin!”: The Countdown
If you’ve seen any of WWE’s recent countdown features, you should know exactly what to expect from this set. I watched this countdown in 2 sittings, and was able to breeze through each half pretty quickly. I think the WWE did a good job in choosing which moments to include. I am expecting that there will be a lot of complaints about too many “recent” moments, but people need to realize that the last quarter of Raw’s history ranges from 2008-2012. To spread things out evenly, about a quarter of the moments should come from this time period. Of course, it isn’t totally balanced, with the Attitude Era deservedly getting the most attention, but they did a good job balancing the different eras of Raw. Only one moment on the entire countdown, “Tea Time with Santino”, was a moment that I hadn’t even heard of. That one probably didn’t deserve a place on the list. There are other little quibbles I may have with the ranking, but overall I was fine with it. I was glad to see them put the “Pipe Bomb” so high up on the countdown; this was a very important moment, even if we can’t look at it in hindsight just yet.
The countdown does run very quickly through each moment, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it’s pretty easy to sit through since it moves so quickly. We don’t really get to see too much of the different moments, though. I did enjoy the choice of only interviewing one superstar for each moment; you get a nice story being told for each. We really don’t get to see much of the moments, though. Of course, I had no expectations that the complete clips would be included (the set would probably have to be 6 or 7 discs for that), but I would have liked a little more. Again, it’s still a fun countdown, but probably not something I will revisit often.
“Didn’t There Used to be More of Us?”: The 1000th Raw
I’m going to guess that most of you have already seen the 1000th episode of Raw, so I’m not going to go into too much detail about it. Since most of the matches were pretty short, I’m not going to do my usual match ratings. I’ll just say that, for the most part, they are pretty good, but nothing special. From a nostalgia standpoint, this episode of Raw was incredible. The opening montage video alone would make this worth the price of admission! From DX, to the APA, to Mae Young’s son, everything about this was just perfect. I think this DVD/Blu-Ray is worth the price just to own this episode of Raw. I’m sure I’ll be revisiting parts of it quite often, especially the promo between The Rock, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan.
The brief “Making of Raw 1000” bonus feature, although short, is awesome. Granted, it’s basically an extended music video, but we get a ton of access to seeing what goes on backstage during a taping of Raw. Really cool stuff, a lot of which has never been seen before. Seeing all the legends hanging out eating dinner was probably my favorite part.
Blu-Ray Exclusive Feature
“Oh, You Didn’t Know?”: The Legends of Wrestling Roundtable
For those clamoring for some type of documentary on the history of Raw, you actually got one on this Blu-Ray, in the form of this Legends of Wrestling roundtable. Although it’s an exclusive, this ends up being the highlight of the Blu-Ray as a whole. I learned a ton of things I didn’t know about the history of Raw from hearing Gene Okerlund, Jim Ross, Road Dogg, Michael Hayes, and Pat Patterson relive its history. I’m not going to go into detail about any of the particular stories they tell, but you get to hear some great stories about both Raw’s beginnings and particularly the Monday Night War and the Attitude Era.
Interspersed throughout the roundtable discussion are a few clips from Raw’s history, a lot of which are shown in full. This was another nice bonus, since we didn’t get any complete clips as part of the countdown. While the choices here seemed fairly random, it still was nice to get some included. The highlight is probably DX impersonating the Nation, even though that was just released on the Attitude Era set. Overall, this is the real selling point of the Blu-Ray, and it’s a shame it wasn’t included on the DVD as well, because it really should have been the main feature, with the countdown as an “extra”.
“It Was Me All Along!”: Closing Thoughts
This is certainly one of the shorter reviews I’ve written, and I don’t think that is just a coincidence. Overall, this is a decent DVD/Blu-Ray, but was clearly put together very hastily. The fact that one of the moments on the countdown still has the scratch logo blurred is telling; this was put together as quick as possible as a companion piece to Raw 1000. Because of the inclusion of Raw 1000, I do think this DVD/Blu-Ray is a must own, but if your main excitement is for the countdown, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Sure, it’s a fun nostalgia trip, but it doesn’t really add much to the conversation.
If you are on the fence between picking up the DVD or Blu-Ray, I would easily recommend you spend the extra $5 on the Blu-Ray. As I mentioned above, the Legends of Wrestling roundtable is the best part of the Blu-Ray, and really should be treated as the “main feature” along with Raw 1000, with the countdown simply being viewed as an “extra”. Although it’s not going to make anyone’s Top 5 lists at the end of the year for DVD’s, this is still a solid release, and I’m just happy my wish of getting Raw 1000 on Blu-Ray came true.
I noticed that there are clips from the interview portion of Shawn Michaels’ ‘Heartbreak & Triumph DVD’ (2007) shown in HD, which is interesting as the title was not released on Blu Ray. Thus, it seems that there’s scope for a ‘collector’s edition’ re-release, this time with the documentary in HD; and a handful of extra HBK matches could be thrown in for good measure.
Several of Michaels’ PPV matches in the HD era are yet to be released on Blu-Ray, and the following would be ideal choices: vs. Chris Jericho (Judgment Day 2008), vs. Chris Jericho (Unforgiven 2008 – admittedly, this was on My Journey, but again in SD), and vs. JBL (No Way Out 2009).
TV matches from the HD era that I’d include would be: vs. Jeff Hardy (Raw – February 2008), vs. John Cena (Raw – January 2009), and vs. Kane (Smackdown’s 500th Episode – March 2009).
And don’t even get me started on the SD archive footage.
Blu ray is awesome as it has an 1.5 hr doc with the legends of wrestling roundtable
I don’t know why Rock and Cena got a DVD for that piece of crap that they put on at wrestlemania. I respect them both but they were however not at their best that night. I have seen them both much better then they were. I just do not get why they still make the match sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. All it was is a let-down. Really in my book I was sad when it ended. So i just don’t understand why keep on making it seem better then it was was a dvd like that.
I wish they would have included the rock and austin singing together on the Raw before Survivor Series 2001. That was an awesome Raw moment that hasn’t been included on any dvd release yet. We can hope for it to be in cluded on the 20th anniversary of raw set coming up late next year.
A forgotten gem. 🙁
Music clearance issues I presume.
It’s almost like they somehow just overlooked that month because Flair’s surprise return was yet another huge moment from nov2001 that they overlooked.
Great review. I agree that this set was well put together. While it was a nice trip down memory lane, I think it’s safe to say that they have milked the the Raw cow far beyond its worth. There have been far too many releases regarding Raw. So much so that as I watched Raw 100 it felt too much like I’d seen it already. After all the releases, I guess I had. I know many will disagree with me. But think about it…
Great review Joe. Having the 1000th episode of RAW is enough to warrant a purchase for those unsure.
what’s the moment thats blurred
Moment #2 “Rock this is your life” is still blurred
CM Punk Cashes In His Money In The Bank Contract (Jun 30, 2008) Blu-ray extra,
Is this shown in full please???
Unfortunately, no. The chapter runs only 1:37.
What I’d like to see is the rumored Four Horsemen DVD set that was talked about earlier this year. And, since Flair appears to be back in the good books of the company, I’d like there to be an Unreleased Collection set done on him and other Greatest Rivalries sets like:
Austin vs. The Rock
Austin vs. Steamboat
Flair vs. Steamboat
Flair vs. Rhodes
HBK vs. HHH
HBK vs. Undertaker
And, why not do a better job of filling out the Blu-Rays? They can fit more than 5.5 hours per Blu-Ray, so at least give us something close to 5 hours per disc. The more they do that, the better the chances that people will start buying the Blu-Rays. Instead, they reduce the amount of minutes on the standard DVDs making them less attractive. No one wins that way.
Is everything in the countdown shown in that stupid all-encompassing border all the way around the picture? And does all the footage have that reddy tinge to it? 🙁
No, that is only the intro…the countdown segments are in HD.
Has the reviewer only included screen shots of the intro then? I’d be curious to see how the actual segments look, and what the ratio bars are like, etc. Would be helpful to see before buying.
Thanks for the review. I bought the Blu-ray the day it came out, but I haven’t had the time to actually watch it yet. I have seen the Legends of Wrestling already on Classics on Demand, and that is definitely a great exclusive to the Blu-ray. I’m so glad WWE finally started releasing the Legends of Wrestling in some capacity – although a 3-4 disc Blu-ray set with each episode of the Legends of Wrestling would be alot better!
I have to agree with Indy Fan and ROHFAN81. The WWE has really sucked this year with the dvds this year. I think the Edge DVD was also well done. They dropped the ball on the NWO and why not get some new Brock Lesnar interviews or some UFC footage. I just do not get why they have not been good this year…. I mean a 3 dvd set for one match(Rock vs Cena) WTH…
I agree with you all–the sets have been bad for the most part–I did like the Edge set and CM Punk set but the rest are bad.
I watched the Undertaker streak blu-ray yesterday and felt like Vince should have personally give me a refund for that crapper and Rock vs Cena? 3 disc set for ONE match? That’s outright screwing somebody.
I ripped on the idea of the superstar collection DVDs but so far they’re better than most releases.
I could not agree more, 50 minutes on one blu ray disk for taker, I like Taker and I like the matches but I feel like WWE in the past has done alot better than that. I felt ripped off too. They need to raise the bar per say.. Jason I could not agree more well said. I may just start waiting until the dvds are in the five dollar markdown bin in WalMart… The Rock vs Cena had me scratching my head also… One match gets a three dvd set..
@Wrestlingfan: I wouldn’t say their DVD releases for the year sucked. This is the best thing WWE has right now since aside from the entire Road To WM on TV, WWE sucks the rest of the year although the past two years was a bit of an exceptions for me with Punks’s mic work, Lesnar’s return, Big Show’s heel turn (which brought new life to him and his career) and whatnot.
As for DVD’s, yes the Edge set was awesome. But I did enjoy Rock’s too. Just not as much as Edge’s. The Attitude Era was good and RAW 1000 was decent except for the countdowns. And although they were released last year, The Greatest Rivalries & Stone Cold sets were sweet. They should do more Greatest Rivalries. Don’t know why they haven’t yet. It’ll work only if the rivals were present like Bret & HBk were for the documentary portion. WWE’s really missing the boat here. I’m not really a Cena fan, but his rivalries with Orton & Punk are worth a Greatest Rivalries set as they brought the best out of him.
The best thing that they have?
You do know that WWE has the libraries of every major wrestling promotion to exist except for TNA?
And that they’ve not even scratched the surface of it?
And the sets this year have been awful with more to come–best ppv matches of the year? Why even buy the ppvs then?
Best of Raw and Smackdown? Not saying much
Rock vs Cena? Once in a lifetime? Hardly–there are better one off matches to do a 3 disc set on than that.
Exactly I expect a higher standard from WWE because they have the resources and the expertise to do so. Past sets have been excellent with just a few duds. This year they really seem to be lacking… I mean will we get an anthology when the supposed rematch of Rock vs Cena takes place at this year’s wrestlemania? I mean the match was good but you could do a three dvd set on Rock vs Austin and that to me would be money.
I want an Austin vs McMahon set and a Sting vs nWo set and would gladly pay full retail for those.
Yup, having a DVD that is centered around Sting in the rafters, a bunch of bogus Stings, and an occasional brawl, concluded by one of the most disappointing and pathetic payoff matches in WCW history…Yea that will definitely be worth the full retail price
I’m glad people like you don’t work for the WWE…you people have some stupid and ridiculous DVD suggestions.
WWE aren’t going to blow all their amazing DVD ideas in one year, they have to have few “throwaway releases” and space them out.
It sounds like trolls like you do work for WWE.
If they are doing such great work then they will always have good DVDs in the future–but I subscribe to the theory that Vince realizes that the kids of today will see the genius of promotions like ECW or WCCW or any of the promotions that he owns the library to if he puts much of it out.
And you would be in the minority of fans as Sting vs the nWo was as white hot as Austin vs McMahon–let’s see your “sports entertainment” heroes get that hot without wrestling–sorry–sports entertaining or talking for a year and a half.
There is so much they could do without breaking the bank. This has not been a great year and to purposely release garbage releases to hold the good stuff makes no sense. I think they scratched the surface of what they do in releases. From what they released, in the past except for a few duds, I expect that high quality in there releases. Not like the attitude or NWO docs that looked just thrown together. I think to gloss over it is complete ignorance. That is like when you heard of WCW wrestlers purposely tanking it so they do not have to go back to the town again. When WWE releases a not as great dvd it not only reflects there brand but also ticks off there fans. I just have expectations that WWE can release top notch documentaries we have seen it in the past and they are very capable of it.
yea indyfan the clash set couldve been WAY better i still dont understand the logic of the 15 man battle royal and madusa vs bull nakano because you know they were classics lol
This set looks horrible. So happy i didn’t get sucked into buying it like the crappy NWO one. I agree with ROHFAn. The best ones this year were ECW, WCW clash(just barely) and Punks. All other sets were sub par at best.
Though i find the roundtable discussions great. WWE would be smarter to release a set of them.
This turns out to be a great set though classic moments are urn blurred now
pass,this has been a lousy year for wwe dvds the only good ones theyve put out this year have been the punk,clash of champions and ecw unreleased and best of ppvs2011 dvds but hey wwe has saved me some money this year at least
Please Can you tell on the Legends roundtable discussion
CM Punk Cashes In His Money In The Bank Contract (Jun 30, 2008) Blu-ray extra,
Is this shown in full please, I really want this in full cause its a great moment,
If its in full im going to 100% purchase the blu-ray when it comes out in the UK in February,
Great Review
Glad to see some moments are full in the blu-ray roundtable discussion and the raw 1000th episode in HD.