JohnCenaFan28
11-25-2008, 09:45 PM
TNA DVD Review : Kurt Angle : Champion
Reviewed by Steven Wilson of MainEventRadio.com
Back on September 24th 2006, TNA was presenting its annual No Surrender PPV, and heading into the show they had been promising a huge announcement. I remember that night vividly. Apparently TNA doesn’t as the voiceover in the DVD says it was September 23rd, irregardless, I remember watching the PPV live with a group of wrestling fans at a local sports bar, and the discussion throughout the night was centered around who or what the big announcement would be, The Kurt Angle rumour had flown around, but there was much doubt that he is was in any shape to sign on with TNA so soon after being released from the WWE and reportedly addicted to pain killers to get through the day. Ill forever remember the moment Kurt Angle appeared on the screen that night, and the reaction of the group of fans around me as they chanted holy s*it. It was real, it was damn real, and now just over two years later, TNA takes a look at his “impact” on the company, as they release “Kurt Angle : Champion” on DVD this week.
The 2 disc, 7 hour set continues to prove that TNA has crossed the line when it comes to their big name DVD packages. Similar to the TNA Knockouts DVD, this set’s main feature mixes in the documentary style interviews segments in between the big time matchups Angle has had over the past two years. These interview segments feature a wide array of people both in and out of the business, including Angle’s mom, Angle brothers John, Mark and Eric, Wrestling Legend Bruno Sammartino, Pittsburgh Steeler James Farrior, Mick Foley, Angle’s agent Dave Hawk and of course most of the TNA roster.
The DVD begins with a intro looking at Kurt’s beginnings in TNA and the headbutt heard round the world from Angle to Joe. The documentary installments then begin with talk of Kurt’s childhood life. The match lineup begins with the first installment of the classic series of matches between Angle and Samoa Joe, this of course from Genesis in November 2006. The second and third battles then follows while also including segments on Kurt’s progression as a amateur wrestler in High school, his amateur world championships and his Olympic glory. The first disc’s match lineup then wraps up with the Slammiversary 07 King of the mountain match which saw Angle crowned TNA Champion. We then hear the story of Angle’s progression into professional wrestling, including the reactions of those around him at the time, and how his obsession with the world of professional wrestling blossomed, how it affected his personal life, his body, and his life. You also get the entire story on how he broke into the WWE, how quickly he progressed and candid thoughts on Vince McMahon's business prowess. Angle is also very honest in talking about the hard times including the pain killer addictions and the effects it had on his family.
Disc 2 leads off with the 4th PPV encounter between Joe and Angle, this time for all the belts at Hard Justice 07. Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett and Angle’s agent Dave Hawk then tell the story of how Kurt Angle came to sign with TNA and what everyone close to Angle thought of the move. We then have one of Angle’s favoritematches in TNA thus far and thats where he put over Black Machismo Jay Lethal in the X division title match which was certainly a big win for Lethal and showed that Angle was willing to help some of the young talent in TNA while looking out for himself in other situations. Before and after the back to back battles between Angle and Sting in October 07, the roster explains the impact Angle had on them and TNA once he joined the company. Followed by the Angle / Nagata matchup from Global Impact, The main feature then closes out with talk of Kurt’s future including a possible venture into MMA,and how he turned down a UFC contract when he signed with TNA.The match lineup concludes with the Angle/Joe match from this year’s Lockdown which saw Samoa Joe finally crowned TNA world champion.
Surprisingly, the Joe/Angle MMA style matchup was not included on this DVD, which was one of my favorite matchups of the year. Had it been up to me I probably would of included this match over that against Nagata which was previously released on TNA DVD, but to each their own as I can understand the argument that this DVD intends to give as big of a picture of Angle in TNA as possible, but using that argument you would expect one of his battles with Christian Cage to be included which it was not. Also worth mentioning is something that has become the norm with TNA terming the interview segments as Bonus Materials, so don’t go searching for a Extras menu despite the fact that the DVD’s covers refer to one.
Kurt Angle – Champion is the strongest DVD release to date from TNA Home Video. Over 7 hours of footage including 2+hours worth of documentary, plus the amazing series of matches between Angle and Joe make the 16.99 price tag easily worth it, and a recommended holiday gift for any TNA fan. I’d think it’s safe to assume that if their was one TNA DVD that a hardcore WWE fan may take a chance on it’s this, and it’s so complete that it will easily appeal to them as well and probably convince many of them to check out more of TNA as this DVD shows more than any other recent release how high of a level of main event wrestling match TNA has to offer.
Kurt Angle : Champion is now available on DVD from TNA Home Video, For more details check out www.kurtanglechampion.com or www.shoptna.com And to read my previous DVD reviews check out www.wrestlingdvdreviews.vze.com
Reviewed by Steven Wilson of MainEventRadio.com
Back on September 24th 2006, TNA was presenting its annual No Surrender PPV, and heading into the show they had been promising a huge announcement. I remember that night vividly. Apparently TNA doesn’t as the voiceover in the DVD says it was September 23rd, irregardless, I remember watching the PPV live with a group of wrestling fans at a local sports bar, and the discussion throughout the night was centered around who or what the big announcement would be, The Kurt Angle rumour had flown around, but there was much doubt that he is was in any shape to sign on with TNA so soon after being released from the WWE and reportedly addicted to pain killers to get through the day. Ill forever remember the moment Kurt Angle appeared on the screen that night, and the reaction of the group of fans around me as they chanted holy s*it. It was real, it was damn real, and now just over two years later, TNA takes a look at his “impact” on the company, as they release “Kurt Angle : Champion” on DVD this week.
The 2 disc, 7 hour set continues to prove that TNA has crossed the line when it comes to their big name DVD packages. Similar to the TNA Knockouts DVD, this set’s main feature mixes in the documentary style interviews segments in between the big time matchups Angle has had over the past two years. These interview segments feature a wide array of people both in and out of the business, including Angle’s mom, Angle brothers John, Mark and Eric, Wrestling Legend Bruno Sammartino, Pittsburgh Steeler James Farrior, Mick Foley, Angle’s agent Dave Hawk and of course most of the TNA roster.
The DVD begins with a intro looking at Kurt’s beginnings in TNA and the headbutt heard round the world from Angle to Joe. The documentary installments then begin with talk of Kurt’s childhood life. The match lineup begins with the first installment of the classic series of matches between Angle and Samoa Joe, this of course from Genesis in November 2006. The second and third battles then follows while also including segments on Kurt’s progression as a amateur wrestler in High school, his amateur world championships and his Olympic glory. The first disc’s match lineup then wraps up with the Slammiversary 07 King of the mountain match which saw Angle crowned TNA Champion. We then hear the story of Angle’s progression into professional wrestling, including the reactions of those around him at the time, and how his obsession with the world of professional wrestling blossomed, how it affected his personal life, his body, and his life. You also get the entire story on how he broke into the WWE, how quickly he progressed and candid thoughts on Vince McMahon's business prowess. Angle is also very honest in talking about the hard times including the pain killer addictions and the effects it had on his family.
Disc 2 leads off with the 4th PPV encounter between Joe and Angle, this time for all the belts at Hard Justice 07. Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett and Angle’s agent Dave Hawk then tell the story of how Kurt Angle came to sign with TNA and what everyone close to Angle thought of the move. We then have one of Angle’s favoritematches in TNA thus far and thats where he put over Black Machismo Jay Lethal in the X division title match which was certainly a big win for Lethal and showed that Angle was willing to help some of the young talent in TNA while looking out for himself in other situations. Before and after the back to back battles between Angle and Sting in October 07, the roster explains the impact Angle had on them and TNA once he joined the company. Followed by the Angle / Nagata matchup from Global Impact, The main feature then closes out with talk of Kurt’s future including a possible venture into MMA,and how he turned down a UFC contract when he signed with TNA.The match lineup concludes with the Angle/Joe match from this year’s Lockdown which saw Samoa Joe finally crowned TNA world champion.
Surprisingly, the Joe/Angle MMA style matchup was not included on this DVD, which was one of my favorite matchups of the year. Had it been up to me I probably would of included this match over that against Nagata which was previously released on TNA DVD, but to each their own as I can understand the argument that this DVD intends to give as big of a picture of Angle in TNA as possible, but using that argument you would expect one of his battles with Christian Cage to be included which it was not. Also worth mentioning is something that has become the norm with TNA terming the interview segments as Bonus Materials, so don’t go searching for a Extras menu despite the fact that the DVD’s covers refer to one.
Kurt Angle – Champion is the strongest DVD release to date from TNA Home Video. Over 7 hours of footage including 2+hours worth of documentary, plus the amazing series of matches between Angle and Joe make the 16.99 price tag easily worth it, and a recommended holiday gift for any TNA fan. I’d think it’s safe to assume that if their was one TNA DVD that a hardcore WWE fan may take a chance on it’s this, and it’s so complete that it will easily appeal to them as well and probably convince many of them to check out more of TNA as this DVD shows more than any other recent release how high of a level of main event wrestling match TNA has to offer.
Kurt Angle : Champion is now available on DVD from TNA Home Video, For more details check out www.kurtanglechampion.com or www.shoptna.com And to read my previous DVD reviews check out www.wrestlingdvdreviews.vze.com