Appearing
Ric Flair
Carlito
Mr. McMahon
Shane McMahon
Umaga
Bobby Lashley
CM Punk
Elijah Burke
John Cena
Great Khali
DVD Release Date: June 19, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 180 Minutes
The Event
On May 20, 2007, the WWE presented its annual May Pay-Per-View Judgment Day. To open the show, all three main heavyweight championship matches were recapped with a big focus being on that of the ECW Title match. Vince McMahon had been embarrassed at WrestleMania but managed to regain some of his dignity by capturing the ECW Title from Bobby Lashley. This night he looked to keep the coveted title away from the former champion.
There were many scores to settle this night as every single match contained competitors that held a grudge against each other for some reason or another. Hence the title of the show, Judgment Day, every person involved tonight would be looking to place judgment on their opponent and leave the victor.
~ Ric Flair Vs. Carlito – Flair is a sixteen time world champion and been wrestling for 87 years, but he can still go with the best of them. Carlito is a second generation superstar that has more promise then over half the roster of the WWE. With all the potential to be a great match, it dragged on and on with slow resthold after resthold.
~ Todd Grisham Interviews Shawn Michaels
~ 3-on-1 Handicap ECW World Championship Match — Mr. McMahon (c), Shane McMahon, & Umaga Vs. Bobby Lashley – The idea of the match wasn’t thrilling to begin with, but it’s so short that you barely have a chance to dislike it. But as we’ve come to learn from Vince, he has a way of prolonging things.
~ Dr. Rios Examines Shawn Michaels In The Trainer’s Room – Shawn Michaels needs no doctor when he has Jesus.
~ CM Punk Vs. Elijah Burke – Two of the most promising young stars in all of wrestling coming together. This was my first time viewing this match after hearing mixed reviews from many. Another match that suffered a lot from way too many restholds that severely slowed down the face of what should have been rather high-paced. A few good spots and some good wrestling from Punk and Burke still make the match a fun watch. (Sign of the night: “Coca-Cola Rocks, CM Punk Sucks”)
~ Kristal Interviews Edge – I love Edge and all, but anyone else ever think that he always seems like he’s tweaking?
~ Shawn Michaels Vs. Randy Orton – Yet another match that wasn’t long enough to really make much of a complete thought about. Although the occurrences after the match are rather entertaining.
~ Todd Grisham Interviews Great Khali – Just, wow.
~ World Tag-Team Championship Match — The Hardys (c) Vs. Cade & Murdoch – A good tag-team match, but very slow paced which continues with the trend of the night. There weren’t as many chinlocks, but still just very slow moving action. The Hardys have always been a great team, but Cade & Murdoch are truly coming along as one of the top teams in all of WWE.
~ World Heavyweight Championship Match — Edge (c) Vs. Batista – Edge is entertaining as usual, especially when he plays the cowardly heel. Edge is great both in his wrestling ability and his acting which makes him always a pleasure to watch. Batista on the other hand continues to grow stale as he hasn’t put on much of an entertaining match since WrestleMania. This one though did break the dull theme of the evening so far though.
~ 2-Out-Of-3 Falls U.S. Championship Match — Chris Benoit (c) Vs. MVP – Well, Chris Benoit did a lot of fantastic things in his wrestling career, but no words shall be spoken of what has recently happened. This does happen to be his last ever PPV match though, and it’s a good one. MVP has vastly improved and benefited from being in a long feud with such a talented wrestler as Benoit. MVP has really shown some better wrestling ability and his character is slowly getting over with the fans as he lives it well.
~ WWE Championship Match — John Cena (c) Vs. Great Khali – There’s honestly only so much that can be done in any match involving Khali because he is so slow and just so damn big. Besides some punches, kicks, and slams well, there goes his entire arsenal. Cena, as much as I dislike him, really tried to keep the match enjoyable but it’s just so damn hard when Khali takes 2 whole minutes to even get to his feet.
The Video
The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and looks great. The WWE always delivers fantastic products and it shows in this DVD. The video packages and vignettes are absolutely awesome and every match looks crisp and clear.
The Audio
The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and comes through flawlessly. The music and pyro work is heard very well in the back speakers while all the announcing, music as well, and ring sounds come through up front. Again, WWE delivers perfectly in another aspect of their DVD.
Special Features
Teddy Long & Kristal Celebrate With MVP And His Entourage – MVP and his gang of misfits confront Teddy Long in his office and discuss some respect and a bonus.
The New Breed Story – Basically this is a video package that showcases what has lead to the Burke/Punk match. It has a few comments added in from both participants and shows Punk’s journey into the New Breed, deceiving them, and now set on destroying them.
Todd Grisham Interviews Randy Orton Post-Match – Randy gives his thoughts about what he did to Shawn Michaels and “surprisingly” enough, he’s not too upset about it.
Trailers – The Most Powerful Families In Wrestling and WrestleMania 23
The Inside Pulse
WWE does a great job of putting together a fantastic looking DVD although the special features are rather skimpy for one of their productions. Still, that wouldn’t be the reason to avoid this DVD as it just wasn’t an entertaining PPV. The card had some promising looking matches on paper but they just didn’t deliver the good stuff in the ring. If you missed this PPV when it originally aired, you might as well not worry about it now. Use your cash to pick up an event you will surely enjoy.
