Dolph Ziggler reminds me of Santa Claus. Everywhere he goes he takes an old bag with him.
WWE Blu-ray releases don't come much simpler or more self-descriptive than this. "Best," "Pay-Per-View Matches," and "2011" really do tell the
entire
story with this one. Well, they mostly tell the entire story. It would be too perfect if it was perfect, and considering this release
came out before the end of 2011, and a mere nine days after the year's final PPV event, and, well, um, yeah. It's definitely taking
a few liberties with the whole "Best of 2011" angle. Certainly there are some real winners on this disc, and WWE fans will get their money's worth,
and then some, whether they shelled out the megabucks for these events when they were first broadcast or not. A plethora of the year's best
matches and this era's finest wrestlers are represented (but not Sheamus? Really?), the latter appearing throughout the lengthy collection of
fourteen
featured matches and four Blu-ray exclusive bonus matches spanning this two-disc marathon collection. But to get this out the door before the year
was through -- yet too late to stuff in hardcore wrestling fan's Christmas stockings -- WWE Home Video was forced to begin production with two
events to go, November 20th's Survivor Series PPV and December 18th's Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event. That means that WWE: Best
Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 doesn't contain the spectacular John Cena and The Rock vs. The Miz and R-Truth event, possibly the year's best
(and certainly most surprising) match, a match which produced long-lasting implications for 2012 and WrestleMania XXVIII in particular. Also absent
are two intriguing matches from TLC, The Triple H vs. Kevin Nash "Sledgehammer" Match and the Randy Orton-Wade Barrett clash
that brewed for a good long while in the weeks leading up to it. So the release is off to a rocky start just on principal, but even with these absences,
this collection will certainly please the diehards out there, regardless of how "complete" it may or may not be.
WWE goes film.
Scott Stanford, rather than a wrestler, hosts WWE: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011. It's a bit of a departure from recent WWE releases;
Christian hosted Ladder Match 2 and Booker T The Best of King of the Ring, but Stanford does a good job. He brings
a steady, professional polish to his part, though the release lacks the credibility of a Christian and the charisma of a Booker T. Nevertheless, fans are
buying this release for the wrestling, not for a talking head. Indeed, this is a very basic, no-frills outing. Stanford -- and a surprise guest or two --
occasionally offer a brief insight into the release or the coming match, but this 99.9% all wrestling, all the time. These are, in true WWE Home
Video fashion, full and uncut matches, with all of the pre-match introductions and post-match celebration and commentary left intact, unlike some
other
sporting home video releases that cut in at the opening bell and cut out as soon as there's a victor. The wrestling here is top-notch, and how could
it not be with names like Cena, Mysterio, Edge, Henry, Undertaker, del Rio, Orton, and Punk headlining many of the major matches. As always,
as fake as it may be, the real spectacle in these matches is the dedication and skill of the athletes to pull off the maneuvers and follow their routine
so well. These are professionals at the top of their game, and even if the WWE of 2011 isn't quite up to the same level of intoxicating excellence as
some of the sport's better eras,
there have never been better athletes or competitors as polished as these.
Aside from the issue of ignoring two entire PPV events in favor of a quick release date, this collection has another problem, but it's one shared by just
about every other WWE compilation release. The WWE is all about drama and buildup. Many of its matches are long planned in advance, and the
WWE's twice weekly TV programs -- RAW and Smackdown -- see the plots play out as they lead up to PPV events. The manufactured drama is a
huge aspect of the WWE and it's from the clashes between wrestlers, wrestlers and announcers, wrestlers and management figureheads, and so
forth that Sports Entertainment earns much of its appeal. The wrestling is fine, but the story lines are as integral to the experience as the in-ring
action. With these compilation releases, much of the drama leading up to them is lost. Not all of them are on the same level of intrigue, but
watching the matches here with so little of the overlying and nuanced background is like watching them in a vacuum. They're certainly fun, but
lacking in context, which is,
believe it or not, one of the WWE's main appeals. Certainly ringside announcers talk up the history of the combatants and the match during the
event, but it's often not enough to get the full picture that's drawn out weeks, sometimes even months, ahead of the event.
The following full-length matches are included as part of the main program:
Disc One:
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler. Royal Rumble -- January 30, 2011.
Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Wade Barrett vs. Kane vs. Drew
McIntyre vs. Big Show. Elimination Chamber -- February 20, 2011.
WrestleMania Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes. WrestleMania XXVII -- April 3, 2011.
No Holds Barred Match: Undertaker vs. Triple H. WrestleMania XXVII -- April 3, 2011.
Ladder Match for the Vacant World Heavyweight Championship: Christian vs. Alberto del Rio. Extreme Rules -- May 1, 2011.
Capitol Punishment Match: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. Capitol Punishment -- June 19, 2011.
Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Alberto del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger vs. R-Truth vs. The Miz vs.
Alex Riley vs. Rey Mysterio. Money in the Bank -- July 17, 2011.
WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk. Money in the Bank -- July 17, 2011.
Disc Two:
No Holds Barred Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Christian vs. Randy Orton. SummerSlam -- August 14, 2011.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry. Night of Champions -- September 19, 2011.
No Disqualification Match: Triple H vs. CM Punk. Night of Champions -- September 19, 2011.
Divas Championship Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix. Hell in a Cell -- October 2, 2011.
Triple Threat Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Alberto del Rio. Hell in a Cell -- October 2,
2011.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Big Show vs. Mark Henry. Vengeance -- October 23, 2011.
WWE: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 features a steady and nice looking 1080i image. All of the matches are from 2011, so there's no
antique standard definition material here. Everything is in glorious 1.78:1 HD and the results are fairly impressive for a 1080i transfer that packs over
four hours of material onto each disc, so for those who like all of their WWE content in HD, this release is just the ticket. Fine detail throughout is
impressive,
as is general clarity. The image yields good, realistic textures on every wrestler's hair, sweat, and tattoos where applicable. Seams in the mat, the
texture of the ropes, and the surprising crispness evident on fan faces in the first several rows of the crowd all show off the transfer's strengths. In fact,
fans who attended any of the events with seats near the ring should pick this up for the high probability of appearing in the program. Colors are equally
splendid. Wrestler trunks and tights are always colorful and vibrant. The Cincinnati Bengal-colored black and orange apron around the ring in the first
matchup in the set offers splendid balance and authenticity, and even the darker, unwelcoming blacks and grays from elimination chamber and cell
matches offer sturdy realism. The image does contains a slightly hazy appearance, and there's some heavy blocking going on in lower light wrestler
entrances, but the general imagery holds up very well. This is a relatively strong transfer, and maybe even a step above WWE HD material from only a
year or
two prior.
WWE: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 features a WWE-standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The presentation is more than adequate, and
most listeners won't notice the absence of a lossless track, if only because the material doesn't necessarily call for it, nor did it have a lossless track to
begin with. This track delivers strong clarity in music, evident even in the wrestler intro songs pumped through arena sound systems. A good low end is
present in all
the tunes, too, from the uptempo beats of Kofi Kingston's intro song to the deeper Rock elements of Orton's. The track delivers all of its sound effects
with clarity and vigor; wrestlers getting smacked around and crashed into the mat are made complete by a nice, positive crunch. Crowd ambience is
strong,
nicely immersive and heard across the front and the back channels alike, creating a decent sense of immersion into the arena. Crowd noise doesn't
overwhelm, however, leaving way for clear, center-focused ringside announcing and in-match banter, and yes, Vicky Guerrero's screeching, shrill voice
sounds as awful as ever, and that's a compliment to this track. This one won't blow listeners away, but this is a steady, true soundtrack that gets the
job
done
with ease.
WWE: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 contains several Blu-ray exclusive matches from 2011 and a trio of Superstar interviews.
WrestleMania Match: Randy Orton vs. CM Punk -- Film Cut. WrestleMania XXVII -- April 3, 2011. This is a particularly cool feature.
The match is presented as it was shot on film and not HD video. It presents a completely unique visual style and perspective that really enhances the
look and feel of the match. There's just nothing as beautiful as film -- it absolutely blows the lifeless digital away -- and it's too bad that more WWE
features aren't available on film.
Over the Limit Match: Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth. Over the Limit -- May 22, 2011.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Randy Orton vs. Christian. Capitol Punishment -- June 19, 2011.
SummerSlam Match: Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, & Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz, R-Truth, & Alberto del Rio. SummerSlam -- August 14,
2011.
Christian Discusses His Match with Alberto del Rio at SummerSlam.
Cody Rhodes Discusses His Match with Rey Mysterio WrestleMania.
Dolph Ziggler Discusses His Match with Edge at Royal Rumble.
WWE: Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 is a strong collection, as misleading as the title may be. It "only" leaves out matches from the last two
PPV events, but included there is arguably the year's best that featured the return of The Rock and that produced one of the main story lines heading
into 2012 and WrestleMania XXVIII. Still, this is a solid, exciting collection that features a fabulous roster of stars, many appearing in more than one,
all in some truly amazing matches that showcase the WWE in top form. WWE would be smart to hold off and add the best end-of-year matches to
next year's Blu-ray if only to give fans the most complete collection available. If not, better asterisk* that sucker! WWE's Blu-ray release of WWE:
Best Pay-Per-View Matches 2011 is pretty much like every other one of their compilation packages. Two discs yield an assortment of matches
presented with a 5.1 lossy soundtrack and good 1080i picture quality. Extras are primarily composed of Blu-ray exclusive bonus matches and three
Superstar interviews. Recommended -- if for nothing other than the unique "film cut" Punk vs. Orton match -- even considering this release could have
been better if it had come out in February 2012 rather than December
2011.
