WWE – SummerSlam The Complete Anthology Volume 3: 1998 – 2002 – DVD Review

Reviews

summerslamanth3

It happens to be one of the original “big four” PPVs that WWE had in their yearly rundown. The Royal Rumble would open the year up with a bang and set the tone for the year ahead. WrestleMania was and still is the ultimate in wrestling events every single year now going on twenty-five glorious years. The end of the year saw the Survivor Series haunt our cold and wintery nights as the Thanksgiving tradition that taught us all how to make it through and outlast every last competitor. But the end of the summer blast was always SummerSlam and it took full advantage of the weather outside being overly hot and just too much for anyone to handle. So what does the WWE do? Simply provide us with some of the greatest wrestling action and storylines that we as fans have ever known.

You want to catch up first? Then be sure to check out my reviews of Volume One and Volume Two.

1998 starts volume three of the SummerSlam Anthology, and it is a great way to start this DVD set as it is littered with some awesome matches and fun times. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Undertaker ended the night with a really good match that continued a running storyline with the Brothers of Destruction with a little Mankind thrown in for good measure. Sadly, Mankind’s match earlier in the evening with the New Age Outlaws could have been much better then it ended up being. A new match was introduced at this PPV though and that’s the Lion Den’s match which pitted Ken Shamrock against the late and great Owen Hart. The two of them put on a much better match then expected considering the strange overall structure they were battling in. The night though belonged to Triple H and The Rock as they battled it out in a ladder match (YES, those two in a ladder match). It was early on in the immense popularity for both wrestlers and this would be one of those evenings where their names would never be forgotten again.

The summer of 1999 saw the return of an iconic name in the world of professional wrestling and that was Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Wrestler turned politician; Ventura was placed right into the thick of things and handpicked to referee the main event match for the WWE Championship. Ventura’s presence merely added even more to what ended up being a great main event match. The undercard consisted of some fun times including a hot opening match between D’Lo Brown and Jeff Jarrett while later in the night saw Billy Gunn catch a rare glimpse of the main event scene in a “Kiss My Ass” match against The Rock. Not everything was enjoyable though as the second ever Lion’s Den match truly was boring and the tag team turmoil gauntlet failed to deliver anything very exciting. Shane McMahon never fails to deliver though and I could watch his matches time and time again. SummerSlam number twelve is entertaining enough to check out multiple times, but not everything on the card is worth not fast-forwarding through.

It is perfectly evident that SummerSlam has become the falling place for any triple threat match imaginable and it is usually over one of the big titles. The new millennium saw no difference as Triple H, Kurt Angle, and The Rock put on a phenomenal triple threat battle for the WWE Championship that ended a really fun PPV from top to bottom. The first four matches weren’t the greatest in the world, but it’s not like they were expected to be. They also weren’t totally horrible and were kept short enough not to be overkill. Shane O’ Mac delivered yet again and managed to get a lot of excitement from “Mr. Personality” himself, Steve Blackman. Chris Jericho battled the late Chris Benoit (yep, they left him in) in a two out of three falls match that would have absolutely had stolen the title of “Match Of The Night” had three tag teams not come into the picture. One of the biggest fan favorite matches was born at this PPV and it was the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (TLC) match that saw three sets of brothers destroy one another for the rights to the tag straps. Great bumps, awesome sights, and an overall batshit insane bout kept a great event rolling.

2001 was an interesting year and an even more intriguing summer as Shane McMahon had done the unthinkable and purchased WCW right from under his father, Vince. That began the entire “Invasion” storyline that saw superstars from WCW and ECW merge together to battle against the WWE and take over the spotlight they felt belonged to them. Even if the matches had all sucked horribly; it may still not have mattered because here was a dream every wrestling fan had waited their entire lives for…WWE Vs. WCW at SummerSlam. Still, most of the matches were actually really good and made for an even better viewing experience. Jeff Hardy and RVD delivered a tremendous hardcore match while Rhyno/Chris Jericho and Tajiri/X-Pac also entertained more then expected. My biggest complaint for this PPV would have to be putting the WCW Title match in the main event over the tremendous WWE Title match. By this point though, The Rock could not be trumped.

Our final PPV in this set is the 2001 SummerSlam and it managed to conclude a collection of perhaps a strand of the five best summer-ending PPVs in history. All of the matches on this card, except for one or two, delivered in every way expected and then some. Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle started things out quickly in the opening match and the night was topped off by young buck Brock Lesnar topping The Rock to capture the WWE Title. Thrown in the middle was a really great match between Benoit and RVD that was given a lot of time and ended up being a little old school and new school mixed in together. The big story of the evening though was Shawn Michaels returning to the ring for the first time in over four years and battling his long time friend/enemy, Triple H. Former DX teammates; Trips and HBK put everything out there and destroyed one another in a brutal street fight that was well worth the money shelled out for the PPV back in the day.

ss1998



Disc 1 – SummerSlam 1998

European Championship Match: D’Lo Brown Vs. Val Venis
Michael Cole Interviews Mankind
Handicap Match: The Oddities Vs. Kaientai
Hair Vs. Hair Match: X-Pac Vs. Jeff Jarrett
Michael Cole Interviews The Rock
Mixed Tag Team Match: Sable & Edge Vs. Jacqueline & “Marvelous” Marc Mero
Michael Cole Interviews Mankind
Lion’s Den Weapons Match: Ken Shamrock Vs. Owen Hart
No Holds Barred/Falls Count Anywhere Match for the World Tag Team Championship: New Age Outlaws Vs. Mankind
Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: The Rock Vs. Triple H
WWE Championship Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Undertaker

ss1999



Disc 2 – SummerSlam 1999

Jesse Ventura Talks with Triple H & Chyna
Chris Jericho Gets Annoyed with Howard Finkel
Intercontinental & European Championship Match: D’Lo Brown Vs. Jeff Jarrett
Michael Cole Interviews Edge & Christian
Tag Team Turmoil Match for No. 1 Contender Slot: Edge & Christian Vs. Hardy Boyz Vs. Mideon & Viscera Vs. Droz & Prince Albert Vs. Acolytes Vs. The Hollys
Hardcore Championship Match: Al Snow Vs. Big Boss Man
Jesse Ventura & Mankind Talk Politics
Women’s Championship Match: Ivory Vs. Tori
Michael Cole Interviews The Rock
Lion’s Den Weapons Match: Ken Shamrock Vs. Steve Blackman
“Love Her or Leave Her” Match: Shane McMahon Vs. Test
Michael Cole Interviews Kane & X-Pac
World Tag Team Championship Match: X-Pac & Kane Vs. Undertaker & Big Show
Jesse Ventura Talks with Stone Cold Steve Austin
“Kiss My Ass” Match: The Rock Vs. Mr. Ass
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Triple H Vs. Mankind (Special Guest Referee Jesse Ventura)

ss2000



Disc 3 – SummerSlam 2000

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Right To Censor Vs. Rikishi & Too Cool
Michael Cole Interviews Hardcore Champion Shane McMahon
Road Dogg Vs. X-Pac
Mixed Tag Team Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Eddie Guerrero & Chyna Vs. Val Venis & Trish Stratus
Stephanie McMahon in Locker Room
Jerry “The King” Lawler Vs. Tazz
Hardcore Championship Match: Shane McMahon Vs. Steve Blackman
Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle in Locker Room
2 out of 3 Falls Match: Chris Benoit Vs. Chris Jericho
TLC Match for the World Tag Team Championship: Dudley Boyz Vs. Edge & Christian Vs. Hardy Boyz
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in Locker Room
Stinkface Match: The Kat (w/Al Snow) Vs. Terri (w/Perry Saturn)
Undertaker Vs. Kane
Kurt Angle, Stephanie McMahon, & Triple H in Locker Rooms
Triple Threat Match for WWE Championship: Triple H Vs. Kurt Angle Vs. The Rock

ss2001



Disc 4 – SummerSlam 2001

Intercontinental Championship Match: Lance Storm Vs. Edge
Michael Cole Interviews Test & Dudley Boyz
Lillian Garcia Interviews Chris Jericho
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Spike Dudley (w/Molly Holly) & APA Vs. Test & Dudley Boyz
Edge & Christian in Locker Room
Debra & Shawn Stasiak in Locker Room
WCW Cruiserweight and WWE Light Heavyweight Championship Unification Match: Tajiri Vs. X-Pac
Perry Saturn at WWE New York
Rhyno & Stephanie McMahon in Locker Room
Rhyno Vs. Chris Jericho
The Rock & William Regal in the Back
Ladder Match for the Hardcore Championship: Rob Van Dam Vs. Jeff Hardy
Booker T & Shane McMahon in Locker Room
WCW & World Tag Team Championship Unification Steel Cage Match: Kane & Undertaker (w/Sara) Vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Kanyon
The Rock In Locker Room
WWE Championship Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs. Kurt Angle
WCW Championship Match: The Rock Vs. Booker T

ss2002



Disc 5 – SummerSlam 2002

Kurt Angle Vs. Rey Mysterio
Stephanie McMahon & Eric Bischoff in the Locker Room
Chris Jericho Vs. Ric Flair
Eddie Guerrero Vs. Edge
WWE: Our Season Never Ends
Jonathan Coachman Interviews The Un-Americans in the Locker Room
World Tag Team Championship Match: Booker T & Goldust Vs. The Un-Americans
Make-out Contest with Nidia at The World
Intercontinental Championship Match: Chris Benoit Vs. Rob Van Dam
Test Vs. Undertaker
Unsanctioned Street Fight: Shawn Michaels Vs. Triple H
Howard Finkel Vs. Trish Stratus & Lillian Garcia
Match for the Undisputed WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar Vs. The Rock

The events are shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and each one looks tremendous even though they are all rather old in age. The quality of these events is right up there with all of the recent PPV DVD releases the WWE has put out on store shelves.

The events are heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and there is not a single problem to be found here. All commentary can be heard cleanly and clearly while the entrance themes and crowd noise booms around the room.

None.


Volume three of the SummerSlam Anthology is without a doubt the best one so far. Whether the final installment can live up to the hype and outdo this one remains to be seen, but I’m going to honestly have to go with a “negative captain.” Time and another review will tell the final story, though. No special features here just like the first two volumes but that was to be expected and they aren’t really needed anyway with as much as you’re getting. Don’t be greedy here folks. Some fantastic matches that you surely had forgotten about and some of the more awesome storylines that filled up the WWE at the turn of the century when the competitors were losing steam and then lost their overall company are what fill these DVDs making them well worth the cost. A lot of great time will be spent with this set and you are sure to enjoy the summertime spectaculars from the years of 1998 through 2002.




WWE Home Video presents SummerSlam The Complete Anthology Volume 3: 1998 – 2002. Featuring: Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Rey Mysterio, The Rock, Rob Van Dam, and many more. Running time: 900 minutes on 5 discs. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: August 4, 2009. Available at Amazon.com