BLU-RAY REVIEW – Bret “Hitman” Hart: The Dungeon Collection (2-Disc Set, 2013)

So here’s a thing; another Bret Hart compilation set is upon us and this one is less about recycling the classic matches we’ve seen a billion times before and opts to present rare stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day in years – decades, even. This is nothing but matches and the occasional interlude by Bret Hart, who shares some thoughts about some of these matches. And the Blu-Ray also includes some additional interview bits with Bret sharing some thoughts on stuff.

There’s a couple things that the potential viewer needs to bare in mind. Firstly, don’t expect any top-tier classic matches. The focus of this Dungeon Collection is on rarities that haven’t been seen in ages. While there are some PPV matches here and there, a lot of this is taken from house shows or live events not normally featured on the Network. Another thing to bare in mind is that the quality of the footage is going to be inconsistent. Some matches are presented in pristine quality, while others will look like they were transferred from heavily degraded videotapes or Youtube downloads. Some of these matches lack commentary altogether, which makes me assume these were fancam recordings. This is essentially the equivalent of tape trading back in the day, where you’d get tapes of various matches in various levels of quality.

With that in mind, there’s some fun stuff to see here. A rare encounter between Bret and ANDRE THE GIANT of all people, a match from Japan that… wasn’t all that great, frankly, but there’s the Bret/Austin match at the Sundome, a fun Bret/Bam Bam match in Italy… a bunch of good stuff to find here, even if it isn’t the best stuff there is, the best stuff… you know the rest.

Bret Hart fans and fans of obscure WWE stuff should definitely give this one a shot. I went for the Blu-Ray since it has slightly more stuff and that’s probably the recommended version I’d steer you towards. Unlike a Triple H match, this set ranks higher than a 4/10.

Ramblemania XXIX

Sunday, April 7th
MetLife Stadium
East Rutherford, New Jersey

Underwhelming.

That is perhaps the one word that honestly describes my feelings towards the twenty-ninth edition of WWE’s long-running Wrestlemania extravaganza. In every sense, Wrestlemania XXIX was underwhelming when it really shouldn’t have been. After all, this is a show that featured a number of highly anticipated encounters, including John Cena squaring off against the Rock for the WWE Championship, CM Punk attempting to snap the Undertaker’s long-running streak, HHH attempting to get his win back from Brock Lesnar, and Alberto Del Rio defending his World Title against Jack Swagger. With those high caliber matches in place, Wrestlemania XXIX should have been one for the ages…

Of course, while hyper hyperbole would treat the show as such, the truth of the matter is that there has not been a more tepid build to a Wrestlemania in recent memory than the build to this show. The card showed little promise, with main event matches whose outcomes could be predicted long before they’re even booked or written by the monkeys making up the so-called “creative team” of WWE. I can only speak for myself when I say that out of all the Wrestlemanias in recent memory, this year had the least to be excited over. I knew what matches were going to take place and I knew who was going to win each match… and I’m not exactly a smart mark, either.

A part of me was hopeful that despite the utterly predictable outcomes, the show would actually turn out pretty good and the matches would at least be interesting… but alas, it was not to be.

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