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The Road Is Jericho: Epic Stories and Rare Matches From Y2J

by with No Comment Reviews

81NhSt5lOCL._SX425_Y2J fans rejoice: the ‘Highlight’ is back with an all new DVD/Blu-ray, The Road Is Jericho: Epic Stories and Rare Matches From Y2J,  set for release on March 16th.

This release is a little different from the classic “where they grew up, how they broke into the business and where they are now” documentary-style release the WWE usually put out, and that’s a good thing.

In The Road is Jericho, we join Y2J in his limo on route to a Fozzy gig, as he looks back at the matches that have, in his opinion, defined his career, his character and his love for the business – matches that he loves, matches that he hates and even (in the cast of one against Stone Cold), matches that he has no memory of.

Jericho not only introduces each match, with his reasons for making the choice, the story behind the match itself and even some insights into the build-up and his personal relationships with his opponents, but also shares a number of previously unheard stories. The stories begin from as far back as his days as Lion Heart Chris Jericho in Stampede Wrestling, moving onto his time in Mexico and Japan, and his brief but successful stint in ECW, before turning to his growth and eventual heel-turn in WCW and of course his infamous arrival in WWE, all the way up to his final (for now) match against Randy Orton.

Jericho also talks about his input into the business, how frustrations, storylines and fellow superstars helped shape his career and how he manages to balance his multiple jobs. Even when he is away from the ring, he is always working, be it on tour with his band Fozzy, writing (he has a journalism degree), or talking about his fantastic podcast, Talk Is Jericho.

One of the most interesting stories concerns how European dates, especially in the UK, were difficult: arriving on the day of the show and only catching a couple of hours’ sleep at the venue before going out to perform, and then often travelling back the same night. He tells of how the Undertaker once tore his ear, but he didn’t have time to get it stitched up in case they missed their flight.

In another fascinating revelation, Jericho explains how, when he initially came to the WWE, Vince McMahon paired him with X-Pac to help come to terms with the “WWE style”. At that point, Jericho had to run all his match ideas past X-Pac before each match.

Unlike many of WWE’s previous releases, the matches that Jericho has chosen tend to be rare and forgotten matches, or pay-per-view undercards, rather than the same old main events that already appear on multiple other releases. Matches against Ultimo Dragon, Pitbull #2 (for the ECW TV Championship), Dean Malenko and X-Pac, as well as a wonderful ladder match with Shawn Michaels are just a few of the electrifying battles hand-picked by the Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rolla.

The Road Is Jericho is a fantastic release, packed with great stories, wonderful memories and a whole bunch of incredible battles, all put together in a completely new format that will hopefully mark a new direction in WWE DVD/Blu-ray releases that is sure to thrill Jericho and wrestling fans alike.

If you’re looking for a biography for the star, check out Chris Jericho: Breaking The Code, but if you’re interested after a collection of outstanding matches and behind-the-scenes stories, then The Road Is Jericho: Epic Stories and Rare Matches from Y2J is definitely for you.

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WWE Best of RAW and Smackdown 2014 DVD Review

by with No Comment Reviews

bestofrawsmackdownWWE’s RAW and Smackdown shows have always been the driving force for WWE storylines and the front end of the day-to-day happenings of what goes on in the juggernaut wrestling company. 2014 was absolutely no different. It was a year of meteoric rises, as stars such as Rusev, The Shield, of course being made up of the individuals Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and recent Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, and most importantly, the winner of the Wrestlemania main event, Daniel Bryan got to take their rightful places in the bright spotlight. But before we got to Wrestlemania, and to each of the pay-per-views, there had to be some kind of build, some kind of story to get the fans interested in the product, to make them want to invest their money into a show. This 3-disc collection is a montage of all of those moments that made you shout, cheer, and enjoy the shows that aren’t on pay-per-view.

Let’s get this started with the first disc, as the host for this collection, Byron Saxton, introduces us to the first match, all the way back in January of 2014!

Disc 1

Now, this is a packed collection, so to go through and cover every single match would be an arduous task. It’s hard to pick and choose which matches and segments to cover, as considering this is a “best of” DVD, it’s bound to be filled with classics, but we’ll do our best and at least let you know what’s in store on this triple disc triple threat. The DVD itself is mostly segment after segment, but occasionally there are inserts from fans backstage reacting to the upcoming/previous segment, as well as a few video packages, so it mixes up the pace quite a bit.

The first disc is mostly pre-Wrestlemania matches and segments. The build up to Wrestlemania was a bit of a rocky one in 2014, but in the end, it worked out for the best. Daniel Bryan was the fan favourite going into Wrestlemania 30, but the Hollywood star Batista was the one who walked out with the Royal Rumble victory and the guaranteed spot in the main event. The first two matches follow alongside this storyline, as we get to see The Shield take on Daniel Bryan, John Cena and Sheamus, followed by a one-on-one match as Bryan takes on then current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton. Both matches were evidently methods of building up Bryan to his rise to stardom, especially the second, as the bearded YES! Man comes out with a clean victory against the current champion, and it’s always fun to see Bryan wrestle, especially with the crowd behind him.

Following that, we get a cool fatal four-way on Smackdown with Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Rey Mysterio competing for a chance to face Big E for the Intercontinental Championship, a fun match with a few really unique spots. Of note is the fact that the DVD has an alternative commentary track with Zeb Colter and Byron Saxton. Zeb Colter is excellent as always. Speaking of excellent, and The Real Americans, we have John Cena cutting a promo on Cesaro, who previous to this also held a defeat over then WWE Champ Randy Orton. Cesaro and Cena have a fantastic, must see strong man style match, with Cesaro throwing Cena around as if he weighed the same as someone on the same weight level as… I don’t know… Kirby? A fantastic match where, even though Cena won, really made Cesaro into a solid star.

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Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar‘s promo on RAW where they challenge The Undertaker to a match at Wrestlemania is probably one of the most “this just got real!” moments of 2014. The stare between The Beast and The Deadman deserves its place on this DVD, especially with the pen stabbing from Taker to Brock. Ouch. Super intense, and it’s awesome to hear the crowd react to Taker. Continuing with even more returns and fantastic heel promos, we have Batista coming out on Smackdown, who cuts a classic heel promo that would put many to shame. Many people have accosted Batista of having shoddy mic work, but that was the past. If you need any kind of reassurance that Big Dave is fantastic at talking, then watch this. The Guardians of the Galaxy and James Bond megastar finally turns his back on the crowd that has been booing him since the day he darkened their doorstep with his boulder shoulders. It’s almost as if the legitimate gripes of Batista come out in this, but either way you look at it, it makes for a super entertaining segment with ’tista looking like a super villain. Dolph Ziggler comes out and rises to Batista’s level, challenging him to a match. Ultimately, The Show Off loses to The Animal, but we get another star made.

Finally, to cap off Disc 1, we get the The Usos winning their first ever World Tag Team Championships against The New Age Outlaws. It’s been said many times before, but Road Dogg and Billy Gunn can still kick ass, and this match shows that they still have it in them. On top of that, we get a fantastic feel good moment as Rikishi’s boys walk out with the gold, er, bronze around their waists.

Disc 2

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We kick off Disc 2 with what many feel is probably the best segment not only to happen in RAW in 2014, but in years, as Daniel Bryan invites a huge crowd of what he calls the “YES! Movement” to the ring, and occupies RAW – of course a callback to the Occupy Wall Street movement. This moment was the equivalent of Shawn Michaels throwing Marty Janetty through the barbershop window, the equivalent of Stone Cold Steve Austin driving down in the beer truck, the equivalent of Mankind being thrown off the top of the hell in the cell. This was the career defining moment for the bearded ring warrior from Aberdeen, Washington, and it’s a segment worth watching again and again. It’s worth watching just for the unanimous reactions from the fans, both in and outside of the ring, who are united under one word – YES!

Luke Harper takes on John Cena in a stiff match that built up to the bout between Bray and Cena at Wrestlemania. It’s a clever match too, as it ends with neither man losing, but with the lights going out. When they come back on, Cena is tied up in the ropes with a sheep mask tied to his face. Creepy. Now we skip to the night after Wrestlemania and we get to see Paige’s debut as she interrupts AJ Lee, and after being forced into an impromptu match with the Diva’s Champion, Paige wins the belt and becomes the youngest champion at the age of 21! Even if it is a little predictable what’s going to happen as soon as the challenge is laid down, it’s still an unbelievable moment that’s really heartwarming .

The Shield, previous to Wrestlemania, embarked on a face turn that transformed them from one of the most hated to one of the most loved groups in many years. As a result of that, the Hounds of Justice drew the attention of none other than the Authority, who placed the three men in a match against… well, 11 other men. We saw here a systematic beatdown of The Shield, followed by the reformation of Evolution, who stood tall over the three young up and comers. This storyline lead up to some of the best faction wars and six man tags in years. It came as no surprise that the reformation of Evolution shocked and excited many around the world.

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Factions seemed to be somewhat of a theme in WWE in 2014, as Cena asks the fans why they turned on him and voted for him to not just face one member of the Wyatt family, but all three of them on the previous week’s RAW. We get what is as close to a heel Cena promo as we’ve seen in years, as Cena really lays it all on the line, quotes Batman and even namedrops NXT alumni Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn. But it’s all for naught as we are treated to one of the creepiest displays seen in pro-wrestling since the prime of The Undertaker himself, as The Wyatt family make their way to the ring, being sung all the way by a child choir to the tune of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. The lights go off and on, and suddenly all the kids are now wearing the sheep masks. If Occupy RAW was the number one segment on this collection, then this was most likely tied number two with the segment that closes off this disc. Amazing, and another moment that made the career of The Eater of Worlds, Bray Wyatt.

Continuing with the storyline of Authority VS Shield, Dean Ambrose is forced to defend his US Championship in a 20 man battle royal, which he ultimately loses in the final two to Sheamus. This was a stellar battle royal, and was a good way of getting the US title off of Dean. Back to Cena and the Wyatts, we get to see Cena and The Usos take on The Wyatt Family in a six man tag team match. This was one of those unique situations where two feuds blended into one and exploded in a big kerfuffle, and a damn remarkable kerfuffle at that.

Bo Dallas, the longest reigning NXT Champion of his time, makes his debut on Smackdown in what could have been, yet again, the rise of another star. Ultimately, it seems like Bo has been left in the shadow of his brother, but maybe one day we’ll see segments such as this one yet again, as Bray defeats Sin Cara in what was actually a hilarious encounter. We also get alternate commentary with Mr Dallas himself on the DVD, which… well, listen for yourself. It’s inspirational.

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And to cap off Disc 2, we get the iconic segment that is still engrained in the minds of every Shield fan ever, as Seth Rollins turns on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, and in doing so, becomes the face of the Authority. This is still as much as a shocker now as it was when it happened, as the entire segment happens so organically and quickly (as well as being shot quite cleverly), that the surprise chair shot from Rollins to Reigns really came from out of nowhere. Ambrose’s look on his face also cemented this segment in history as one of the very best heel turns of all time.

Disc 3

Triple H and the sell-out, Seth Rollins, come out on Smackdown, and it goes without saying that Seth is booed to high heaven here, and for good reason. Seth cuts a classic heel promo, telling the fans that he doesn’t need to explain to anyone why he turned on The Shield. This wasn’t the best promo Seth cut last year, but it was probably one of the most memorable, as it was the first after his heel turn. It’s quite funny, as Rollins never seemed like one who would make a good main event calibre heel in WWE, especially on his own, as before The Shield, Rollins seemed to have sub-par mic skills and a speech impediment to boot. But all of a sudden, the now Mr Money in the Bank seems to have overcome all of that, becoming one of the greatest heels in the modern era.

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2014 was also a year of many hellos and goodbyes. We got to say hello to Cody Rhodes’ alter-ego, Stardust (very much a mirror image of his brother Goldust), who makes his debut in a match against Rybaxel. Then there was the farewell of Vickie Guerrero, who is fired by Stephanie McMahon after losing an unfair “mud pool match”, but at least we got to see Stephanie be thrown into the mud and flail around like the creature from the black lagoon, which is hilarious. Stardust’s match also has alternate commentary from the man himself, which seems to be a running theme.

Stephanie continues to hog the spotlight in WWE, as the next segment is the contract signing between Brie and Stephanie going into their match at Summerslam. Somewhat entertaining, but as it’s been said before, Nikki is probably the better wrestler out of the two. It’s a shame that she didn’t get this story and match, but the entire thing was coming off the back of the story with Brie’s husband, Daniel Bryan, so at least that made a little bit of sense. Stephanie pedigrees both Bellas with the help of her husband, who gets as close to man on woman violence as we’ve seen since… probably Beth Phoenix in the 2010 Royal Rumble.

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Again, we see the Authority in another segment, but this time, it’s to present Brock Lesnar with the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, since WWE has a new logo due to the Network rebranding. The new belt looks fantastic, and I’m somewhat glad we’re back to one championship, but it’s sad to see Big Gold be retired once more. Heyman cuts an amazing promo and shows why, even as a non-wrestler, he will go down in history as one of the best talkers in pro-wrestling.

It’s time for part-timers now, as Bray Wyatt takes on Chris Jericho in a steel cage match that ends with Wyatt being victorious. This entire match is just enjoyable from start to finish. Notably Jericho has a hilarious moment at the top of the cage where he’s unsure whether to dive off or not. Probably not the most serious of cage matches, but one that put Wyatt over in a great way. In the segment following this we get to see The Rock interrupt Rusev and Lana, which makes the crowd go absolutely bonkers! In terms of part-timers, at least this year The Rock has stayed mostly out of the ring, but this segment makes me hope that he possibly could step back in one more time, perhaps against a certain… Bulgarian Brute? Rock, for the first time in quite a while, is actually quite hilarious and does a great job of not only getting the crowd in his favour, but putting over Rusev as a legitimate threat, as well. Let’s just see how he does for his cousin Roman.

As we come towards the end of the DVD, we get to see the 15 man tag team match from Smackdown’s 15th anniversary as team Teddy Long takes on Team John Laurinaitis to be crowned the best General Manager in Smackdown’s history. This is a super fun match where pretty much everyone, including El Torito and Hornswoggle in an aligator suit, get thrown and fly every which way around the ring, making for a fun mess. In contrast to this, the following segment is Randy Orton taking on Seth Rollins. The match itself is pretty standard, but the aftermath is what is still talked about to this day, as Randy Orton turns on The Authority, but pays for it, as Seth Rollins curbstomps Orton onto a set of steel stairs, and put it this way – we’ve not seen the Viper since. Another story that made Seth Rollins into an even more despicable villain.

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We’re down to the last two matches, and the first of the two is the Triple Threat bout between Tyson Kidd, Cesaro and Dolph Ziggler. This was also featured on the WWE Live in the UK – November 2014 DVD, as it was, yes, live in the UK in November. As was stated there, this was a high paced super unique triple threat match where all three men got to do some never before seen moves that put the Liverpudlian crowd on the edge of their seat. Finally, we get to see John Cena, Ryback and Dolph Ziggler take on Seth Rollins, Kane and Luke Harper in what was a preview of the Team Cena VS Team Authority match at Survivor Series. This, like many RAW main events, breaks down into chaos in a bad way, but this time, it’s Team Cena who stands tall. Highlights of this include Erick Rowan throwing around a set of steel steps like the monstrous viking he is.

And that’s it for RAW and Smackdown in 2014. We saw some real shockers, some fantastic matches, some hilarious and intense promos and interviews, but on top of it all, we get them all collected right here in this 3-disc collection for your perusal and enjoyment, with only a few segments I felt should have been included. But hey, there’s only 3-discs, and for the sake of pacing, it was probably better in the long run. A very entertaining, informative and gratifying watch, this 3-disc collection goes to show that you don’t have to be on pay-per-view to be making history.

WWE Best of Raw and Smackdown 2014 is available on DVD from Monday the 9th of February.

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WWE Battleground 2014 DVD Review

by with No Comment Reviews

Official_WWE_Battleground_poster_featuring_Bray_Wyatt[1]2014 is the year of many rising stars in the WWE – Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Rusev and many more made their big splash this year, and for some, Battleground was the culmination of that. The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line in a fatal, four-way main event: Dean Ambrose finally got his hands on the scummy little Seth Rollins, and we crowned a new Intercontinental Champion, among other things. So, let’s have a look at the DVD!

As always, the menu is easy enough to navigate,  making it easy to select which match you want to watch out of any on the card, or to choose to see the entire PPV from start to finish.

The event starts with a recap video package, which is a fantastic watch as always from the WWE production team, putting great emphasis on the fact that John Cena doesn’t have to be pinned to lose his championship tonight, and that Rollins is Mr Money in the Bank and could seize the championship away from Cena at any time. But enough about the World Championship, let’s get going with the tag team titles in our first match on the main card –

 

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The Usos © VS The Wyatt Family in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

WWE opens the main show hot with a consistent fan favourite, the Usos. This is a match continuing the series between the two teams and their interesting and fantastic dynamic in matches together. The Wyatts have an air about them very different from any other team in the WWE right now. Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and JBL are on commentary as usual. The 2 out of 3 falls stipulation is really underused in modern wrestling, and one only has to look at the Cesaro VS Zayn match in NXT to see how well it can be utilised: maybe this match being made was a result of the success of that one? In these 2 out of 3 falls matches, it’s more believable for there to be near falls off moves which wouldn’t normally end a match, as Harper proves by getting the first fall for the Wyatts with a big boot. These two teams really show ring psychology beyond their years at points. The Usos get the second fall with a rollup from the corner, which only increases the anger of the Wyatts. The Usos eventually win with a double body splash. Overall, then, this is a very tense, exciting, hard-hitting and well-paced match that probably ended up being the best match on the show. An excellent showing from both parties, elevating both teams as well as the tag team championships, and a fantastic match to start off the pay-per-view.

Following the celebration from the Usos, we see a vignette showing the storyline leading up to the Shield breakup and building hype for the Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose match later in the night. Again, WWE shows its fantastic video package production once more. It’s conceivable that WWE could produce a video package hyping up a match between Hornswoggle and a broom and make it seem compelling although, to be fair, the Ambrose/Rollins feud has been one of the most enjoyable feuds in recent years. Rollins cuts a promo on Ambrose, showing his true evolution in terms of charisma. Rollins has progressed a great deal from the days of his awkward, stuttering NXT promos. Ambrose jumps Rollins mid-promo and gets a few good hits in, but he eventually ends up getting thrown out by Triple H and his cronies, including Jamie Noble and… a bald Fit Finlay? The segment really shows how different Ambrose’s line of thinking is, a great show of character as Ambrose would rather fight Seth than have a match with his former buddy. It’s a somewhat flawed yet human line of thinking which is quite relatable.

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AJ Lee © VS Paige for the WWE Diva’s Championship

And now from one group of crazies to another! We get a brief recap of English girl Paige winning the championship from AJ Lee in her debut match, and then AJ winning it back from Paige in her return match. CM Punk chants start the match, as usual. AJ and Paige are two of the best female wrestlers in WWE in recent years, with AJ Lee obviously taking a lot of cues from her husband, the aforementioned Mr Best in the World, while Paige has been brilliant since her debut at the age of 13 on the independent scenes. A second generation wrestler, Paige is the daughter of British wrestling mainstays Sweet Saraya and Ricky Knight. Unfortunately, AJ and Paige didn’t show much chemistry up to this point, but perhaps this could be seen as a step forward in their series and feud. Paige still seemed to be finding herself on the main roster, deviating quite a bit from her tried and trusted anti-diva persona in NXT, but thankfully, there were elements of a throwback to that. The two women had previously swapped roles as face and heel, with Paige now being the heel and AJ the face, and Paige really shows how better she fits the heel role. The match is close to being great, but unfortunately, a few spots look a little sloppy and fall short. The two women show a ton of a potential, however, and in a few months, they could really produce some stellar matches capable of making women’s wrestling respectable again. AJ wins with the Shining Wizard following a nice back and forth flurry. This feels like an encounter that could have really been so much better. Maybe that was due to time limitations, but at least the match was successful in that it made you want more, and led nicely up towards WWE’s big summer PPV for their rematch.

A video package airs showing Randy Orton betraying Kane on RAW. We cut to Orton backstage, who is in the creepy Mankind boiler room area calling for Kane. Orton works so much better as a heel, although the same couldn’t always be said for Kane. The segment shows the animosity between the members of the Authority, a much needed gesture to help prevent the main event from being skewed towards the heels. We then go to the panel for a lowdown on the main event, followed by a recap of the Rusev and Jack Swagger feud.

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Rusev VS Jack Swagger

Rusev and Swagger have had a typical 80s wrestling feud – USA vs the “Dirty Commies”. WWE went back to classic heel heat techniques for this programme, utilising the instilled hate that America has for Russia as a hangover from the Cold War, yet Lana managed to keep it relevant to current events with her promo. Cue the Putin-tron! It has to be said, though, the Rusev gimmick is quite different to anything else WWE has done recently, probably since the days of Muhammad Hassan, showing shades of Rocky IV. Swagger makes a good all-American face, drawing more and more comparisons to his predecessor Kurt Angle, and as DDP says, that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing! Unfortunately we get a Zeb Colter promo cut short, but the action starts hard and fast, with the crowd solidly behind Swagger, which is a surprise to no-one. “USA! USA! We the people!” The two men really make a great match for each other, with hard-hitting holds, throws and strikes from both. Swagger and Rusev really turn out to have a much better match than many anticipated, with Rusev previously having shown signs of being fresh to the squared circle. In this match, however, his performance is very much up to his usual high calibre. Lana and Zeb really add to the match at ringside, with great facial expressions and body motions from both. After a brutal head bump to the ringpost, Rusev wins via count-out, continuing his undefeated streak, and yet keeping Swagger’s character somewhat strong.

Suddenly, we go backstage to see another compelling character, Stardust, the man formerly known as Cody Rhodes. Goldust and his brother continue to be hilarious and creepy, as both heels and faces.

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Seth Rollins VS Dean Ambrose

The golden boy begins to make his way out to the ring. Mr Money the Bank, Seth Rollins, comes out for a match that we already know isn’t going to happen. A shame, but much like the AJ Lee and Paige match earlier on in the night, this has been as a build-up to a future encounter between the two. Seth garners some heel heat by accepting his victory via forfeit. Rollins shows a lot of the brilliance of 2009 Chris Jericho or CM Punk, both classic heels of their day, forcing the referee to raise his hand. With only one World Championship, WWE really has to work hard to make programmes seem important now, and this is a great way to do it – with pure, good old-fashioned hatred.

Ambrose manages to run back in and attacks Rollins, at least giving the fans a small taste of the violence between the two former Shield comrades before a couple of bald men in suits and referees pull away the “lunatic fringe”. It’s easy to compare Ambrose here to Steve Austin or Brian Pillman, but maybe in years to come we’ll be comparing new stars to Ambrose, who is quickly making a name for himself in segments such as these. One might feel cheated out of the match, but the ensuing brawl is pay-off enough for the time being. Months later, we still haven’t had the fair 1v1 Rollins VS Ambrose match as of yet. This is good booking from WWE, keeping everyone interested over quite a long period, which is something they have often failed to do in the past.

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Chris Jericho VS Bray Wyatt

The return of Chris Jericho is shown in a video package, and how the feud between him and Bray Wyatt led up to this point. Y2J’s return was one that started out seeming really promising, with stellar promos from both men. Wyatt’s entrance follows, and it is probably the greatest entrance in modern wrestling, rivalling even The Undertaker‘s. Jericho has a close shot at beating Wyatt’s entrance with his LED jacket, but with the lights of the crowd, it doesn’t stand out as much as it might. Wyatt is another man from a large family of wrestlers, and he goes in hard on the veteran Jericho straight away, showing how far he’s come since his Husky Harris days. Harper and Rowan make their second appearance of the night, showing up at ringside, which in a way is almost a shame, since Bray seems like he should be able to beat Jericho by his own merits. Thankfully, the family gets ejected from the arena from the referee, and we finally get the one-on-one encounter that everyone has been waiting for. Jericho has seemed as though he’s been going through the motions in his recent matches, but there are flashes of brilliance in this particular encounter. Nevertheless, yet again, this match seems like it just fell short of being a classic. The match leads on to their rematch at Summerslam with Rowan and Harper banned from ringside. Jericho won the match at Battleground, which was a surprise to many, but with the rematch just around the corner, one can only hope that the ultimate match between the two men will be their best.

Next, we go to the parking lot, where Seth Rollins ditches his bodyguards, only to be jumped by Metal Gear Dean Ambrose, this time jumping out of a car boot! Ambrose beats on Rollins once again, who drives away in his car.

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19-man battle royal for the vacant WWE Intercontinental Championship

Bad News Barrett had to vacate his Intercontinental Championship due to an arm injury, which gave us this match. A shame really, since Wade was such a fantastic champion and wrestler, but the storyline with The Miz and Dolph Ziggler that resulted from this match was well worth it. This also ended up being Alberto Del Rio’s last PPV match for WWE, with Del Rio only having one last match on TV before leaving the company. We got quite the A-List of competitors in this match, with a combination of former World Champions and… not so former World Champions. Either way, the competitors in this match only elevate the prestige of the somewhat fallen IC Title. After all the competitors enter the ring, former champ Barrett comes out, sling on one arm, mic in another. Barrett continues to be one of the most under-appreciated men on the mic, cutting a stellar promo, declaring that he will return to reclaim his gold.

A nice, very anime-esque spot opens the match, with The Great Khali jumping up like Goku, after everyone jumps the Punjabi Playboy. Battle royals are always a fun spectacle, and the competitors in this particular match make it especially so. Even Bo Dallas does a good job of following his brother’s loss, eliminating the powerhouse Titus O’Neil, with both men showing off their bold charisma. Cesaro and Kofi Kingston also make a good effort to steal the show with a great spot to the outside involving Big E and Kofi’s usual battle royal parkour escapism. Sheamus and Ziggler seem to be the only two men left out of this, with a sloppy powerbomb counter breaking up the otherwise great sequence between the two – a shame, since both men are usually gold in the ring. Ziggler eliminates Sheamus, but out of nowhere, the cowardly Hollywood heel Miz sneaks in and steals the Intercontinental Championship once again! The Hollywood gimmick is really what Miz needed, and this win elevated both him and the championship. The feud that resulted from this between Ziggler and Miz, as well as Damien Sandow’s new gimmick as Miz’s stunt double is quality, and this match was just the beginning of that. It’s good to have such an entertaining feud centred around a mid card championship again.

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John Cena © VS Kane, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns in a fatal four way match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

It’s hype time for the main event! Again, it’s been said, but WWE does a great job of keeping everyone up to date on storylines and hyping all the competitors equally in video packages. All four guys make their entrance, and we get the big in-ring introductions which never fail to get audiences excited. The match starts off with Reigns showing early dominance, as most people expected, with the Kane and Orton teaming up to gang up on Reigns, keeping Cena on the outside. The commentary does a great job of continuing to show how important it is that Cena doesn’t have to be pinned to lose the gold. We even get to see Orton and Cena go at it, which is always good, but the action focuses quickly enough on the two faces, and especially on rising star Roman Reigns as he looks to take the top spot from Cena. Kane turns on Orton, as was expected, and the four men even do a show-stopping tower of doom spot, with Kane taking a massive superplex from the other three men. Reigns finally goes ape, with the crowd strongly behind him as he takes out all three, ending with a huge spear that sends Orton through the crowd barricade. Reigns almost has the match won at several points, really putting over the former Hound of Justice, but ultimately, it’s still Cena who walks out as the Champ. As per usual, the crowd give the West Newbury-native a mixed reaction, but Cena walks out with the gold still around his shoulders… for now.

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Ultimately, Battleground 2014 was an enjoyable pay-per-view. Although certain parts were forgettable, the highs really, really, made up for the lows, making this well worth watching if only for a couple of matches. It also sets things up well for Summerslam and highlights the feuds that are still going on now. Also of note is the DVD extra of Miz reacting to his Intercontinental Championship win, a rather hilarious winning-an-Oscar-style speech. Battleground will be remembered as a PPV used to build up new stars, and that’s exactly what it did. A lot of emerging stars came out of this PPV looking a lot much brighter, but at the end of the day, this was just another paving stone on the road to the big PPV of the summer, albeit a fun, enjoyable one.

Special Features:

Battleground Kickoff Match

Adam Rose VS Fandango

Battleground Kickoff Match

Naomi VS Cameron

Battleground Fallout

The Usos are turnt up!

John Cena reacts to Battleground

Home Video Exclusive

The Miz reflects on the Intercontinental Championship Battle Royal

All images (C) WWE.