WWE – SummerSlam The Complete Anthology Volume 4: 2003 – 2007 – DVD Review

Reviews

summerslamanth4

It happens to be one of the original “big four” PPVs that WWE first 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. Volume Three is so far winning the race as the best collection in this entire anthology by delivering five awesome shows out of five. Let’s see though if this next set can keep the momentum going right off the bat.

Time to kick things off in this final volume of the SummerSlam Anthology as we start off with a look at the PPV event from 2003. Well, all the steam was taken out of the sails of Volume Three by this stinker of an event coming into the fray. There is just not a lot to like about this card in general and then things get worse when off of paper and into the ring. The four-way match for the United States title was really good but that was certainly to be expected considering who was involved in the match. Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar delivered a really good match but nowhere near the caliber of their epic battle from WrestleMania XIX where Brock almost killed himself. Then comes the main event which pitted six big-name stars in the second ever Elimination Chamber match that had some decent moments but never quite hit the expectations it should have. Overall it was really a very so-so SummerSlam.

2004 also had a great looking card on paper, but it is obvious when watching it that not nearly enough time was given to almost any of them. John Cena and Booker T were having a perfectly good match when it was cut almost three minutes short of the ten minute mark even. Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero were at least given enough time to showcase their talent while Randy Orton and Chris Benoit fought a very decent main event that saw Orton become the youngest WWE Champion in history. My big problem was that some possible great matches were cut short thanks to twenty minutes plus being given to Triple H and that horrible joke of a wrestling personality, Eugene. My God I hate that idiot and I’m glad he’s gone. Wait, they re-signed him recently? Oh, it was only for like three days? Thank God!

Two for two in the mediocre to crap department so far in this set.

Most of the 2005 PPV could have really been scratched with probably not so much as a peep from any of the fans, but at least there were still a few things to look forward to. In one of the more odd storylines going on; Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio battled it out in a really good ladder match for custody of Eddie’s son Dominick. As strange as it was though, they pulled out a really intriguing feud culminating with a fantastic bout here at SummerSlam. Eugene made another appearance sadly but at least he only got less than five minutes in the ring this time as Kurt Angle made short work of him. Edge and Matt Hardy could have been much better than it was, but they also only got about five minutes to showcase their talents. That is probably because of the building up to the main event match which didn’t even include any sort of title belt. Shawn Michaels showed just how professional and brilliant he is in the ring by carrying Hulk Hogan to a very watchable and enjoyable match that lasted well over twenty minutes. HBK had built up a fantastic semi-heel persona in the weeks leading up to the match and he is the reason this entire feud worked at all.

SummerSlam 2006 wasn’t really that bad a PPV and may actually be the lone bright spot in this entire DVD set. It isn’t that the matches were all that stellar, but at least there was a lot more entertainment to be found. DX and the McMahons was a decent tag team match but just from an entertainment standpoint and not a wrestling one because the amount of interference was just ridiculous. Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton was a nice touch after growing up watching Hogan in the ring with Orton’s father, but the end result was rather predictable. Batista and Booker T was boring, but I wouldn’t have expected much more. Flair and Foley’s match was one of the best moments on the card, but that was helped a lot by the tremendous amount of build-up by both men in the weeks leading up to the PPV. Finally, John Cena and Edge did a decent job with the main event sendoff to make the night a middle of the road success.

Ok, so now we are up to our final installment in this anthology and it is the event from 2007. I’m just going to tell you right now that I didn’t expect much from this PPV to begin with considering it looked really crappy on paper. Come on…it has Batista and Great Khali in a match together for the love of God. That alone is nauseating. It is honestly hard for me to find much of anything to compliment from this PPV because it just wasn’t that good. Hell, even the match between John Morrison and CM Punk for the ECW Title was plodding and dull. Big difference from their numerous matches over the past year or so. Sadly this is not a very good ending to the SummerSlam Anthology, but I guess you really can’t win them all.

ss2003



Disc 1 – SummerSlam 2003

Lillian Garcia Sings the National Anthem
World Tag Team Championship: La Resistance Vs. The Dudley Boyz
Christian Offers Eric Bischoff His Assistance
Undertaker Vs. A-Train
Who Is Going to Win the Elimination Chamber Match?
Shane McMahon Vs. Eric Bischoff
Evolution Discuss the Elimination Chamber
Fatal Four Way Match for the U.S. Championship: Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chris Benoit Vs. Tajiri Vs. Rhyno
WWE Championship Match: Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Rob Van Dam Vs. Kane
Linda McMahon Confronts Eric Bischoff
Ric Flair Gets Triple H Pumped for the Elimination Chamber Match
Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels Vs. Goldberg Vs. Kevin Nash Vs. Randy Orton

ss2004



Disc 2 – SummerSlam 2004

Six-Man Tag Match: Spike Dudley and The Dudleys Vs. Rey Mysterio, Paul London, and Billy Kidman
‘Til Death Do Us Part Match: Kane Vs. Matt Hardy
John Cena Interrupts Randy Orton’s Interview
Match #1 In A Best-of-5 Series for the Undisputed United States Championship: John Cena Vs. Booker T
Theodore Long & Eric Bischoff Discuss Brand Strategy
Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Batista Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Edge
Eddie Guerrero Vs. Kurt Angle
Triple H Vs. Eugene
Diva Dodgeball
WWE Championship Match: John “Bradshaw” Layfield Vs. Undertaker
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Chris Benoit Vs. Randy Orton

ss2005



Disc 3 – SummerSlam 2005

National Anthem
United States Championship Match: Chris Benoit Vs. Orlando Jordan
Eddie Guerrero in the Locker Room with His Wife Vickie
Edge Vs. Matt Hardy
Ladder Match for Custody of Dominick: Rey Mysterio Vs. Eddie Guerrero
Todd Grisham Interviews Chris Jericho
No Time Limit Match: Kurt Angle Vs. Eugene
Divas Car Wash
Undertaker Vs. Randy Orton
WWE Championship Match: John Cena Vs. Chris Jericho
No Disqualification Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Batista Vs. JBL
Legend Vs. Icon: Hulk Hogan Vs. Shawn Michaels

ss2006



Disc 4 – SummerSlam 2006

Rey Mysterio Vs. Chavo Guerrero
King Booker & Queen Sharmell in the Locker Room
Extreme Rules Match for the ECW Championship: Big Show Vs. Sabu
The Sexiest Woman on TV: The 2006 WWE Diva Search Finals Recap
Legend Vs. Legend Killer: Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Orton
Mick Foley & Melina in the Locker Room
“I Quit” Match: Ric Flair Vs. Mick Foley
Mr. McMahon & Shane in Mr. McMahon’s Office
World Heavyweight Championship Match: King Booker Vs. Batista
DX in the Men’s Locker Room
D-Generation X Vs. Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon
WWE Championship Match: Edge Vs. John Cena

ss2007



Disc 5 – SummerSlam 2007

Kane Vs. Finlay
MVP Visits Mr. McMahon in His Office
Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship: Umaga Vs. Carlito Vs. Mr. Kennedy
Rey Mysterio Vs. Chavo Guerrero
Todd Grisham Interviews King Booker & Queen Sharmell
Divas Battle Royal (Winner Receives a Future Women’s Championship Match)
MVP Challenges Matt Hardy to a Beer Drinking Contest
Cryme Tyme Interrupts Mr. McMahon in His Office
ECW Championship Match: John Morrison Vs. CM Punk
Triple H Vs. King Booker
World Heavyweight Championship: Great Khali Vs. Batista
Mae Young Comes to See Mr. McMahon in His Office
WWE Championship Match: John Cena Vs. Randy Orton

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.


Not the greatest sign when the most recent product in the SummerSlam Anthology is what ended up being the worst, but that is what this volume happens to be. You know damn well that you’ll end up getting this set if you are an avid wrestling fan or if you simply already bought the first three volumes because you don’t want your set to be incomplete. But if this was the only set available for purchase then there is no way I could recommend it for a purchase. There just aren’t but a small handful of matches that are worth seeing and when spread over five PPVs…that’s just not a good value for your money. Those that are going to buy this set know already that they will. If you are not entirely sure about it then try a rental one weekend and see if you don’t run screaming for an old copy of In Your House or something.




WWE Home Video presents SummerSlam The Complete Anthology Volume 4: 2003 – 2007. Featuring: John Cena, Mick Foley, Edge, Batista, Hulk Hogan, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and many more. Running time: 900 minutes on 5 discs. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: August 4, 2009. Available at Amazon.com