Digital Digest: Month of Edge, Free WrestleMania Download, Hall of Fame

Welcome to a post-Wrestlemania edition of Digital Digest. Edge takes center stage this month as he enters the Hall of Fame and brings us Bending the Rules & You Think You Know Me.

Digital Digest? The latest news in WWE/TNA video downloads and ‘on demand’ offerings.

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Digital News

– The big WWE digital release this fortnight was the new WWE Studio’s movie Bending the Rules starring 2012 Hall of Famer Edge, and Jamie Kennedy. It’s priced at $3.99 (SD)/$4.99 (HD) to rent and $9.99 (SD)/$19.99(HD) to buy. The movie is available through Vudu.com, iTunes, Zune etc. Check out my short review in the Top 3 downloads below.

– Walmart recently has been promoting Wrestlemania by adding a free classic Wrestlemania download from Vudu.com to their special double packs, which are only $10. A classic Wrestlemania is selling for $10 on its own, so its a great bargain to get 2 great DVD’s plus the free Wrestlemania (thanks to Matt for that information).

– Vudu.com has listed Edge: You Think You Know Me on their website as a digital release of just the documentary portion. It will be available to rent/buy from Tuesday 10th April in SD,HD, and HDX. I’ll have a short review of this documentary included in the next edition of the Digital Digest.

– WWE Greatest Matches has been updated with lots of new videos all based on this year’s Hall of Fame class, featuring some great matches from Edge, Yokozuna and the 4 Horsemen. Some videos iinclude Edge taking on Randy Orton, Eddie Guerrero, and his title match with RVD & John Cena. There’s Bret Hart Vs Yokozuna, Ron Simmons vs Vader, plus the Horsemen in action.

– In other Greatest Matches news, the team recently announced, “We’re grabbing TONS of moments from our full length episodes (Raw, Superstars, Challenge, WCCW, WCW Saturday Night) and putting them up as individual clips on WWE.com”. So it looks like full TV shows that used to be included in the subscription package won’t be returning. Also they aren’t planning on bringing back the full monthly guide.

– As previously announced on WWEDVDNews, No Holds Barred is set to be re-released on July 3rd. Expect this title to be available through all digital platforms since it is a WWE Studio’s release.

– Earlier this week details were announced on the ECW Unreleased home video which is out in June. I’d expect this title to be released in a volumed format on digital platforms in a similar fashion to the Best of King of the Ring or Ladder Match 2.

– Also during the week it was announced that the domestic WWE Home Video Distributor Vivendi Entertainment was sold off. It’s unlikely to have any noticeable effect on scheduled physical or digital releases.

– Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Tactical Force movie is now streaming on Netflix.

– WWE Classics On Demand has been updated with new videos including Wrestlemania 27. Hulk Hogan is spotlighted in the Hall of Fame videos, in addition to the themed videos of the month based on “The 80’s”, which include Starrcade 84.

– “YouShoot” & WWNLIVE will be presenting the world’s first and only shoot-style interview show conducted live, on June 1st. “Vince Russo agrees to sit down in front of the YouShoot laptop and answer everything you have to ask! This live event will be coming to you from Monroe, New Jersey and the house will be packed with fans, wrestlers, and press alike”.

– In other news, Lucha Libre promotion Masked Republic has announced that they will be launching a “MASKED REPUBLIC LUCHA LIBRE CHANNEL” on Filmon.com which rill include 25 hours of Lucha action that will be available 24/7. The channel will be launching in the summer on the website which also features lots of free television channels including ones on NWA and UFC.

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Top 3 Downloads

1) Bending the Rules

Edge makes his WWE Studio’s debut as a lead in your typical police buddy flick featuring Jamie Kennedy. It’s not a bad movie as Edge shows a natural charisma that most WWE stars lack when appearing on the small screen, though if they ever make another Scooby Doo sequel, they should get him to play Shaggy as he looks perfect! This is probably one of the most enjoyable WWE Studio’s movies in a while and it makes a great rental as I can’t imagine anybody wanting to watch this over and over.

2) Tombstone – Collection

After watching the war that was inside the Hell in a Cell at Wrestlemania, I thought why not go back and revisit some classic Undertaker Hell in a Cell moments, from the recently re-released Tombstone Collection. His fantastic battle with Brock Lesnar on Volume 3, while Volume 2 has two of the finest Cell matches ever; the first one was with Shawn Michaels, and the second featuring the deadman taking on Mankind. Cue Mankind’s iconic bump off the top of the Cell. So if you’re a Netflix subscriber, this is a great way of remembering some other classic Undertaker Hell in a Cell memories.

3) Card Subject to Change

Since it’s been a quiet couple of weeks for digital, I recommend something a little different. This independent documentary is available on Netflix and many other digital platforms to rent. It’s a fantastic insight into the world of professional wrestling and shows it in a positive way, not focusing too much on the negatives like the majority of wrestling documentaries do. I really enjoyed watching this movie as it was very interesting and entertaining, so if you want to learn about the wrestling industry from another source that isn’t owned by the McMahon’s and want to see what the business is like outside of the big companies then Card Subject to Change is a easy recommendation.

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Top 3 Greatest Matches

With WWE Greatest Matches being updated with videos featuring the 2012 Hall of Fame’s class, I’ve picked some of my favourites involving Edge and the 4 Horsemen.

1) Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio – Wrestlemania 27

This would be Edge’s last match before being forced to retire, which makes this a fitting video for Edge fans to enjoy. Nobody knew it would be his last and while it might have opened Wrestlemania, it’s still a massive victory for Edge as he walks out as World Heavyweight Champion, denying Alberto Del Rio his destiny. And few people can go out on top as a World Champion and with a victory at Wrestlemania, so for those reasons alone, this is a great little reminder of the greatness of Edge. I nearly picked Edge’s awesome Ladder match from No Mercy 1999 to showcase here, but thought this was a perfect way to remember Edge’s in-ring career. Watch

2) 4 Horsemen vs. The Road Warriors -Starrcade 87

The 4 Horsemen are the first stable to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Growing up in the 80’s I didn’t get to see any classic NWA/WCW shows, and when I got into WCW during the Monday Night War’s the Horsemen had a different line up, but their legacy is clear and throughout the years I’ve been able to catch up on some of those golden gems. One is this video involving the Road Warriors from Starrcade 1987. While many people are aware of the greatness of Ric Flair, this video sees Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard in action in a fantastic tag team battle that you simply don’t see today. Plus there are plenty more great matches from this stable for new fans to discover and old fans to relive. Watch

3) Cactus Jack vs. Mil Mascaras – Clash of the Champions 10

We all know who Alberto Del Rio is, but when they talk about his great uncle Mil Mascaras being inducted into the Hall of Fame, I‘ll admit that I wasn‘t too sure who he was. But this is one of the massive advantages to Greatest Matches, that you can watch back some of the best cherry picked matches from years gone by. While this isn’t a classic match by any means, its just interesting from the fact that it’s a early 90’s WCW match and involving Mick Foley makes it more enjoyable. There is also lots of Yokozuna videos that have been added this month as well that I would have liked to have showcased but I’ll have to include one of them in the next edition. Watch

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Top 3 TNAondemand.com

There hasn’t been any new TNA releases this month, so I’ve picked three videos that stand out from the crowd, mainly the Japanese Global Impact shows which are unlike any other TNA show.

1) Global Impact 3

As a TNAondemand.com exclusive video, this is one of the main reasons to subscribe and it’s a very entertaining video that sees some of TNA‘s top talent taking part in the Annual Wrestle Kingdom event in Tokyo, Japan. Not only is there a great little documentary with RVD & Beer Money in Japan but the WWE’s recent returnee Lord Tensai (Giant Bernard) is in action against Beer Money. Global Impact 3 is a fantastic little gem that is certainly one of the reasons to check out TNAondemand, even if you only subscribe for just a month to see some of the key videos that they have on offer.

2) Global Impact

This is the original Japanese/TNA crossover which features a fantastic match involving Kurt Angle as well as seeing The Steiner Brothers, Christian, AJ Styles, Team 3D, Tensai & Tomko in action. Just being able to watch the TNA stars on a grand stage with a huge audience, really shows how the big stadiums make the Impact Zone shows looks very small. Personally I think this is a better video and generally better made than Global Impact 3.

3) AJ Styles Vs Robert Roode – Turning Point 2011

While this match certainly isn’t a awesome classic, it’s a solid title defence from Robert Roode and a great way of building a new champion. It’s a shame they didn’t spend more time building up to this match between the former members of Fortune but this placeholder feud did it job in helping Roode. TNA might not be able to build new stars very often, but they are trying here and while I will be looking at some classic Lockdown matches in the next column, this is a nice little warm up video for Roode/Storm.

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