SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 350 Min.
In 2016, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) released this three-disc retrospective of its January battle royale spectacular – one of its four major Pay-Per-View franchises. Revealing backstage preparations for that year’s Rumble, the first disc is an approximately hour-length documentary. The chapter titles are: 1. It All Begins Here; 2. Origins; 3. The Prestige; 4. Controversies; 5. Surprises; 6. Undercard; 7. Records; 8. Moments; and 9. Legacy. Other than some trailers, Disc 1 doesn’t have additional content.
Disc 2 is a combination of matches and anecdotes. Shown in their entirety, the matches are:
- The original 1988 Rumble (as seen on the USA Network);
- from Royal Rumble 1991: The Rockers vs. The Orient Express (with Mr. Fuji);
- from Royal Rumble 1991: WWE World Champion Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter (with General Adnan, “Sensational” Sherri, & “Macho King” Randy Savage);
- The 1994 Rumble;
- from Royal Rumble 1997: WWE World Champion Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels (with José Lothario); and
- from Royal Rumble 2000: Kurt Angle vs. Tazz.
Disc 3 consists of:
- The 2001 Rumble (including Drew Carey as the event’s first-ever celebrity entrant);
- The 2007 Rumble;
- from Royal Rumble 2013: WWE World Champion C.M. Punk (with Paul Heyman) vs. The Rock; and
- from Royal Rumble 2016: WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Becky Lynch.
Notes: This set was also released as a two-disc Blu-ray set. On Disc 2, Jesse Ventura’s commentary is omitted from the 1988 Rumble, which awkwardly leaves Vince McMahon as the bout’s sole commentator.
REVIEW:
As an overview of an annual WWE event now spanning thirty-plus years, it’s a fairly solid package. Anyone can dispute the match selection, but those included still offer some good viewing. Case in point: the original Rumble, for its historic value, is fine, but logic would have dictated replacing it with any Rumble from ’89 to ‘92 — all of which are superior, in terms of all-star showcases.
Among other matches excluded is 1989’s rugged ‘King’ Haku vs. Harley Race showdown (with opportunist Bobby Heenan in the winner’s corner). Yet, the unsurprising reality check is that Shawn Michaels is allotted too much screen time — he’s in four of the ten matches while several other notables (i.e. Mick Foley; Rey Mysterio; Hulk Hogan; The Road Warriors, etc.) are virtually ignored.
Judging the violence quotient from the Rumbles of ’88 & ’94 vs. ’01 & ’07 — the older Rumbles are kid-friendly entertainment while the more recent ones are closer to gritty street-fights. Nonetheless, between a predictably fawning documentary and some okay bonus materials, WWE: The True Story of the Royal Rumble is watchable. It just doesn’t quite live up to its title, considering how much better it might have been.
BONUS FEATURES:
The anecdotes are entitled: “Devil Hair;” “Pamela Anderson;” “Mae Young;” “Ric Flair’s Return;” and “Batista Zipper.” As a historical vignette, the last extra is entitled “Women in the Rumble,” which includes 2016 interviews with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. The vignette is a nice touch, as it provides the perspective of the WWE Women’s division.
QUALITY CONTROL:
Visually, everything looks great. The remote control access is easy to navigate on all three discs.
PACKAGING:
The wraparound packaging is ideal. Not only is a complete list of content included, the discs are separately encased on hard plastic DVD pages to help prevent scratching. Adding some further class is a portrait gallery celebrating most of the event’s prior winners (i.e. Hulk Hogan and Chris Benoit are deliberately omitted, as is WWE owner Vince McMahon himself).
Note: As a parental warning, Benoit appears on Disc 3 in the 2007 Rumble.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½/10 Stars
Note: The WWE’s five-disc Royal Rumble Anthology, Vol. 1 (1988-1992) is a recommended sampling of the event’s early years.
