TNA – Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls: Scars And Stitches – DVD Review

The world of professional wrestling is filled with men and women who are willing to put their bodies on the line for entertainment purposes and for all the gold. Before every wrestling event or DVD, fans are shown a warning. They are warned that everything done in (or out) of the ring is performed by trained professionals who know what they’re doing. Fans are warned not to ever try any of what they see at home because if it even hurts the wrestlers’ bodies, then it could possibly kill us. But even though they know what they’re doing, things don’t always turn out as planned.

The matches shown in this DVD were picked for one reason and one reason only: because they show some of the most brutal and devastating brawls in the careers of those involved. If you have a weak stomach, then a lot of the material here may not be for you. You’re going to see some vicious shots delivered from one man to another and vice versa. You’re going to witness a lot of serious pain and some falls that shouldn’t even happen to inanimate objects let alone human beings. And you’re definitely going to experience a lot of cuts and a whole lot of blood.

**There are SPOILERS in this review!**

~ Introduction – Here is the entire set-up for the DVD to get you prepared for the horrors you’re about to witness. Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, James Storm, Tomko, and numerous others…even the Abyss (with normal voice) discuss what it’s like to get bloodied up in a match. They talk about the taste, the smell, and the feel of it. Some wrestlers even discuss wondering what they’re family is thinking sitting at home watching their husbands or fathers shedding blood all over the mat.

~ Turning Point 2006 – Jeff Jarrett and Rhino stepped into the ring against each other for a championship match, but firstly they talk about some scars and blood loss over their years. This had all the makings of a really good match, but there was a lot of interference (specifically from Team Canada) that took away from how good it really could have been. Plenty of close two counts keep you guessing, but of course we’re not actually watching this particular DVD for the results now are we? Nope, we want blood and wounds so did we get them? Not really. A few decent shots with chairs and a guitar make for some really good “WHOA” moments, but the blood was very little here. Jarrett was busted open about mid-match, but it seemed to stop flowing after about a minute which was disappointing.

~ Lockdown 2006 – This is a PPV that is more like it because every single match takes place inside a steel cage. This particular match is the “Lethal Lockdown,” which has eight men compromising two teams that enter the enclosed cage at different intervals. Think of WCW’s “WarGames on a much smaller scale. In this “Lethal Lockdown,” the participants are Team Jarrett (Chris Harris, James Storm, Scott Steiner, Jeff Jarrett) versus Sting’s Warriors (AJ Styles, Ron “The Truth” Killings, Rhino, Sting). So let’s see, we’ve got some guys involved here that are good bleeders and others that are willing to put their lives on the line no matter what.

The cage rooftop, complete with hanging weapons, doesn’t lower down until all eight men enter the ring. This match is hard to pay attention too after everyone joins in the fray because there is a lot going on. But what you can see are some really good spots including AJ Styles hanging from the ceiling and dropping down onto James Storm who was laid out on a table on top of the cage. It is a really awesome shot and it’s why Styles is one of my favorite wrestlers. There are a lot of really big hits with weapons, but again not much blood. The two members of America’s Most Wanted were busted open, but not too bad. As for the scars, there were probably plenty for everyone involved after it was all said and done.

~ Bound For Glory 2006 – AJ Styles and Chris Daniels were one of the best tag teams in all of TNA history and it’s because they’re both just insane. Their opponents in this match, LAX, are also looked at as a fantastic tag team in the TNA history books and deservedly so. This match was for the TNA (NWA at the time) Tag Titles and took place inside a steel cage. Now this is the match that truly signifies what this DVD is all about. All four of the men involved will put their bodies on the line to inflict pain on their opponents and do it without even a second thought.

LAX’s manager Konnan was outside the ring and handed a fork into Homicide at one point and he used it on Daniels’ forehead to bust him wide open. Later on the tables were turned and Homicide has his head busted open by the same fork. A metal coat hanger was also brought into the mix and used around the necks of a few guys involved. Now once again there was not an incredible amount of blood pouring out of these guys’ heads, but there were definitely scars all around. One of the most impressive moves of the match though was seeing Styles leap off the top of the cage for a high cross body. That guy is just nuts.

~ Impact 2006 – Maybe they were going from a little blood and working their way up because this match between Christian Cage and Rhino sure brings it in buckets. They battled it out in a steel cage with barb wire surrounding the top. Now victory in this particular match can only happen by escaping the cage and both feet hitting the floor. Ok, in the usually odd fashion that TNA includes stipulations to matches – this one is no exception. Besides the cage and barb wire already in place, each man has items they can use during the match if they ask the referee outside for them. Rhino has access to a strait jacket and a key to the cage door. Christian Cage has access to bolt cutters and two steel chairs.

These two deliver some seriously big shots to one another with chairs, the bolt cutters, and even throwing each other into the cage walls. About halfway through the match, Christian Cage’s forehead is busted open after getting catapulted into the cage. It doesn’t stop there though as Rhino continues trying to open wound even further with fists and also rubbing Christian’s face against the cage and babe wire. By the end of the match, Christian’s whole head is covered dark red in blood making this match a huge bloody mess.

~ Genesis 2006 – This was the beginning of a feud that everyone wanted to see. Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe are two of the best wrestlers in the business today and also two of the most brutal. Ok, this is more a technical match then anything but has its moments of sheer violence. It wouldn’t go down as their best match either, but they needed to start somewhere. Even though Angle would deliver Joe’s first loss in TNA to him here, it would be Angle that lost the most blood. Boy was it ever a lot too. Early on Joe slams Angle’s head into the steel ringsteps opening him up so bad that the blood is just pouring out of Angle’s forehead. A few headbutts from Joe make the wound wider and it continues to flow for the rest of the match making for some awesome visuals.

~ Destination X 2007 – This is a “Last Rites Match” between Sting and Abyss. Basically it’s a casket match where you need to get your opponent into a casket and shut the lid. Here they call the casket a “death bed” that must be called upon and lowered from the ceiling first so that they can lace their opponent into it. Sting gets cut open really nicely early on as Abyss drills him in the face with one of the candelabras that decorate the ringside area. All of the fanfare with the candles, the dimming of the lights, and the fog machine turning on when the casket’s lowering is extremely annoying. When the lights come back up though, Sting’s blood is really flowing nicely. It continues that way throughout getting all over the ring, Abyss, and the casket.

~ Sacrifice 2007 – Once teammates, former America’s Most Wanted partners James Storm and Chris Harris had a series of matches that just left them battered and bruised every time. This was a “Texas Death Match” where there were no rules and falls counted anywhere. To win, though, you had to pin your opponent and then hope they didn’t answer the ten count. Ok, this match is just sick at times. Both Storm and Harris have their heads busted open extremely early on in the match and it just has the blood flowing constantly throughout. By the end of the match, Storm’s face is so dark red that you can’t even see his skin anymore. He even had the back of his head split open when he was speared by Harris through a table and the back of his head hit the floor. Both of their blood is just everywhere when it’s all over and is a sickening sight. But this was one awesome match.

~ Slammiversary 2007 – Here is Abyss again and he’s involved in a “no disqualification” match with Tomko. Thanks to that stipulation there were a lot of weapons involved, the most noticeable one being thumbtacks. Things slowed down a bit here as opposed to the last few matches where there was a ton of blood. Abyss had his head split open about mid match, but you couldn’t see much blood because of his long hair and mask. But maybe this was more towards the “scars” part of the DVD because both men ended up with tacks all throughout their bodies and Tomko finished the match with a back covered in glass.

~ Against All Odds 2008 – Alright, Abyss shows up yet again and is battling Judas Mesias here in “Barbed Wire Massacre 2.” The ring ropes have been removed and the barbed wire has taken their place. Kind of sickening if you ask me. They will not stop the match until there is a winner; no matter what. I had seen this match once before when I reviewed the Against All Odds DVD months ago, but I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. It’s a huge bloody mess to be quite honest with you and it can’t really turn out any way but that. With barbed wire surrounding the ring and then a barb wire covered chair being brought into play, there was bound to be people cut open and blood flowing. Abyss’s head and arm both bleed a good bit as does inside the mouth of Judas even though he came out to the ring with “blood” already in his mouth. A good match that pretty much lives up to the name of the DVD.

The compilation is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and it looks alright. All the color looks good here and that’s great for this particular DVD to see all the flowing blood. Maybe it’s because I got a demo disc, but there are a lot of pixilation problems. Sometimes the picture would stop totally while the sound would continue and then just pick up a few seconds later.

The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it sounds decent for the most part, but there are some problems. Besides my usual annoyances with Don West’s voice, there are a lot of jumps and pauses throughout the DVD. Again it may be because of the demo disc I received to review, but there were plenty of problems.

Trailers – TNA Global Impact, Best Of TNA 2007, TNA Against All Odds, TNA Lockdown, and Kurt Angle: Champion

I’ve reviewed a pretty good number of TNA DVDs before and this was by far my favorite. The PPVs have been lackluster since they consist of usually one or two good matches and a lot of nothing the rest of the way. Lucky for me that TNA decided to put together a DVD like this one which brings together the best matches from various events instead of giving me a lot of nothing to sift through. I must say that I’m incredibly impressed with the choices here as just about every single match is very enjoyable and lives up to the billing of bloody, scars, and stitches. These brawls bring out some of the best and the worst of those involved and deliver a lot of fun matches that will make you cringe with every maneuver. The severe lack of special features is disappointing though because something thrown in would have been nice. Perhaps the introduction at the start of the DVD could be considered an extra, but it wasn’t much either. All in all this is one of the better DVD releases from TNA and worth checking out for wrestling fans.

I would like to point out that the production value was awful here though. Hopefully it won’t be on the DVDs purchased from stores or online and that it was only the demo disc I got. The sound was choppy. The picture was pixilated. At times I even had to take the DVD out and then put it back in to start over because it’d freeze up on me. My gut tells me though that the actual discs should be just fine.

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Navarre Corporation presents TNA – Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls: Scars And Stitches. Featuring: Abyss, Sting, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Tomko, Scott Steiner, AJ Styles, and many more. Running time: 210 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: August 5, 2008. Available at Amazon.com