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WrestleMania. It's the biggest event on the
wrestling calendar and as always, WWE steps up and gives the fans the best
of the best. It comes only once a year but when it happens it usually
delivers big time.
WrestleMania 21 took place in Los Angeles, CA., at the STAPLES Center. It
was the first WrestleMania in the area since the year 2000 and this time
considering the location, the company decided to "go Hollywood".
THE DISCS:
Disc 1 features the whole undercard and no extras. The show opened with
WWE's own Lilian Garcia singing 'America The Beautiful' followed by a a
compilation of all the 'WM Goes Hollywood' trailers and finally the trailer
that kicks thing off - Steve Austin in Gladiator. Matches on the first disc
are Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Christian, Chris Jericho,
Kane, Shelton Benjamin and Edge in a Money In The Bank Ladder match, the
Eugene/Hassan/Hogan segment, Undertaker vs Randy Orton, Christy Hemme vs
Trish Stratus, Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels, Rowdy Roddy Piper with the
Piper's Pit featuring Steve Austin and Big Show vs Akebono in a Sumo match.
Disc 2 only has the main events and the Hall Of Fame segment but is loaded
with the extras (see below). The first main event is JBL vs John Cena for
the WWE Championship, then there's Mean Gene Okerlund introducing the HOF
Class of 2005 and finally the second main event of Triple H vs Batista for
the World Heavyweight Title. The disc wraps up with a music video from the
show to the songs 'Behind These Eyes' and 'Bigtime'.
Disc 3 has the full Hall Of Fame ceremony that took place at the Universal
Amphitheater the day prior to WrestleMania 21. Hosted by Mean Gene Okerlund,
this year's inductees were Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Paul
Orndorff,
Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and Bob Orton Jr.
EXTRAS:
The first two discs feature a lot of extras. There are three WM 21
promotional video packages of JBL vs John Cena, Triple H vs Batista and Kurt
Angle vs Shawn Michaels. These are the videos that air prior to the matches
recapping the stories that led to the big match.
The hilarious 'WrestleMania Goes Hollywood' movie parodies are all included.
'Forrest Gump' with Eugene and William Regal; 'Basic Insticnt' with Chris
Jericho, Chris Benoit, Christian, Stacy Keibler, Moolah and Mae Young; 'Braveheart'
with Triple H and Ric Flair; 'Pulp Fiction' with Eddie Guerrero and Booker
T; 'A Few Good Men' with John Cena, JBL and The Coach; 'Dirty Harry' with
The Undertaker, 'Taxi Driver' with the whole WWE roster, 'When Harry Met
Sally' with Kurt Angle, Christy Hemme and Linda McMahon and 'Gladiator' with
Stone Cold Steve Austin. Also included are out-takes and bloopers from the
parodies.
During WM week, several events were held in the area to promote the show.
The Hollywood Boulevard Event and Superstar appearances are included as
extras in the discs.
There are three career retrospectives featuring Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels,
and the Undertaker, the RAW vs Smackdown WrestleMania Battle Royal that was
done for the people in the arena and Motorhead unplugged with Triple H which
is an interesting look at Motorhead doing HHH's song in the locker room and
Triple H going over the spots while his entrance from the show is aired in a
small box simultaneously.
VIDEO:
Now it would be nice if for once a year we get WrestleMania in widescreen
but WWE still chooses to broadcast in Pan & Scan format. Oh well, there's
always next time!
AUDIO:
Just like all WrestleMania releases, the event is recorded in Dolby Digital
5.1 surround. If you have an amplifier which can encode DD5.1 you will enjoy
some nice sound which makes you feel like you're actually in the arena. The
pop Hogan got when his music kicked in is something you have to listen with
this. If you just have Stereo sound, the sound is still enjoyable enough.
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