Wrestlemania XV-The DVD Review
By JOHN M. MILNER -- for SLAM! Wrestling
While the main event of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. the Rock (for the
WWF Championship) may have captured the wrestling world's imagination last
spring, Wrestlemania XV leaves much to be desired as one-half of the WWF's
first ever DVD offering (the other being "Hell Yeah", also available now.)
This is not to say that the disc doesn't come jam-packed with lot of
goodies (the best part of any DVD, I always say!), it's just that most of
them could probably have been snagged by anyone who ordered the
pay-per-view version of the event and taped both it and the pre-game show
offered.
As with most DVDs, the viewer can choose to either watch Wrestlemania XV
in it's entirety, or can pick and choose to watch just the matches that
interest them the most, using the "Pick A Fight" section. One of the neat
features of the disk is watching the clips of each match play as you decide
what you want to watch next, rather than most DVDs, which just offer still
shots from each chapter.
For the first-timer, who has never seen this card, or the events leading
up to it, before, or for fans who just want a refresher into why so-and-so
is fighting whatshisname, the disc offers a "Show Me the History" section
for the Brawl for All match, Tori vs. Sable, HHH vs. Kane, Shane McMahon
vs. X-Pac, The Undertaker vs. the Big Boss Man, and Stone Cold vs. the
Rock. Basically, what you get here is the same video highlight package that
anyone who watched Raw or the pre-PPV show probably saw so many times that
they got sick of.
The "Get Personal" Section features mini- (and the key word is mini)
biographies of 39 WWF Superstars, including everyone from Steve Austin to
the Acolytes to Mideon to Mankind, and even Gorilla Monsoon, the Stooges,
Vince McMahon and Michael Cole (?). Nothing earth shattering, just three or
four text paragraphs of career highlights, along with a photo of the
individual being profiled. Probably less than you can get if you log on to
wwf.com. (Speaking of which, if your computer comes equipped with a
DVD-drive, you can use the disc to link up to wwf.com and stonecold.com.)
Other features on the disc include the Wrestlemania Opening (Fred
Blassie's stirring welcome to Wrestlemania, "the showcase of the
immortals"), highlights from the previous evening's Wrestlemania Rage
Party, and a music video, which turns out to be simply the same post-card
highlight package that every WWF pay-per-view features. As I stated
earlier, as long as someone taped the pre-game show when Wrestlemania XV
first aired last March, they pretty much already have all this on video.
There are three features, however, that are exclusive to the DVD version
of the event and two-and-a-half of them aren't worth converting to DVD for.
"Tech Talk" features interviews with some of the technical personnel that
work behind the scenes for the WWF and for Wrestlemania in particular.
Other than about five or ten minutes of people talking about how happy they
are to be working for the WWF, and what a thrill it is to be at
Wrestlemania, there's really nothing that would make you want a repeat
viewing of this segment.
While "Tech Talk" may not be the most informative segment on this DVD, it
is head and shoulders above the "Fan Comments" section, which basically
features about a dozen or so fans (seemingly taped just prior to the event)
talking about how great Wrestlemania and the WWF is. The video for
Wrestlemania III featured a segment just like this and the concept has not
improved with age. On a more positive note, a few of the fans interviewed
actually managed to speak semi-intelligently this time out, rather than
just screaming into the microphone.
The final section is entitled "Calling it Like It Is", and features
alternative commentary by Jim Ross and, depending on your selection, either
the Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin. On many a disc (even going back to the
archaic laserdisc days), the "director's commentary" is one of the best
parts.
Depending on which section you choose: "The Rock Says" or "Cause Stone
Cold Said So", you may either be disappointed or impressed with the quality
of the work.
"Finally the Rock has come to DVD!" Sadly, despite cutting some of the
best promos in the business today, the Rock's attempt at providing some
insight into his title defense at Wrestlemania XV is sorely lacking in any
real quality. Overall, the Rock seems to refuse to come out of character at
any point in the broadcast. Ross tries his best and asks all the right
questions (Did you size advantage work for you? What was your strategy at
this point in the match?) but the Rock opts to use this as a forum to spout
out his catchphrases and Rock-isms. The Rock does deviate from this
approach on a couple of occasions, including the point of the match when he
is put through the Spanish announce table by Austin, and again at the end
of the match, when he gives credit to Austin.
"Stone Cold" on the other hand, does a great job in going beyond the
surface to let the viewers in on what was going through his mind during the
title match. Ross asks Austin the same type of questions that he asks the
Rock, but Austin manages to answer them in a more honest, off-the-cuff
approach. While he never steps out of character completely, you get the
sense that he's giving a little bit more than the Rock did.
In the final analysis, Wrestlemania XV is somewhat disappointing. What
little that is offered beyond the pay-per-view broadcast is pointless
fluff, with Austin's commentary for the WWF World title match being the
highlight.
Hopefully, however, this will not deter the WWF from continuing with its
entry into the DVD world. I truly believe that the history packages and
alternative commentary would benefit other projects, such as, say, a "Best
of Wrestlemania I-XV" video. My advice would be to make the bonus sections
offer something that isn't available elsewhere, and to use WWF superstars
who aren't afraid to let their guard done for a few minutes.
