Best Of Raw Vol 1 & 2 - DVD Review
This two disc DVD set features a collection of the two Best Of Raw VHS titles that were available along with additional bonus material. The main focus on the collection is of the storylines and character developments from Raw rather than the matches themselves which, to be frank, is a rather unusual choice for the WWE to have made.
The first volume in the series is introduced by Michael Cole and runs for just over an hour and features clips from 1997 to 1998. Most of the emphasis on the disc is on Stone Cold Steve Austin and the many guises of Mick Foley, although the Undertaker gets a good mention as well.
There are only a few matches in this volume, and those that are there are seldom featured in full, often finishing before the match is over or joining it part way through and I found myself getting more than a little bored with the lack of any real action on the disc.
The second volume fared much better. This time, presented by Jonathan Coachman as well as having plenty of storyline coverage, the running time had been extended to over 100 minutes and benefitted by being able to include plenty of matches in the programme as well as charting the progression of the various storylines that took place during 1999.
As with all of the wrestling DVDs released by Silvervsion, there are plenty of extras. In the case of Best Of Raw, this is in the form of additional footage on each disc. In total, there are almost 30 additional sequences added to the main programme. Disc one has a mix of full matches and additional storylines, where disc two concentrates completely on complete matches, making this the much better disc in my opinion.
There are some very memorable moments on this set including the Hell In A Cell tag match which saw the Undertaker appearing up through the ring, the WWF debut of Chris Jericho, and the match between the Undertaker and the Big Show where the Big Show choke slammed the Undertaker right through the ring!
It was interesting to see how many storylines repeated themselves in the WWE. During the Invasion storyline, we saw Kurt Angle drive up to the ring in a milk truck and soak all the members of the Alliance who were in the ring. Steve Austin did something similar a few years earlier with a beer truck and that sequence can be found here.
It was also interesting looking back at just how many times the WWF/WWE has been split into different rival factions and groups, all struggling to take control of the organisation. Saying that, each time it happens they manage to offer something entertaining to keep fans glued to their seats.
Looking at the package as a whole, I couldn't fault the picture or sound quality which was just superb throughout. I found no difference between watching this and a normal televised WWE broadcast and it was refreshing to see that such care and attention had been paid to the presentation of the main features and the extras.
One thing I was surprised about was to see that the disc seems to be presented in widescreen as you can see from the stills (well, that's how it played back on my player anyway!). Normally, any DVD based on a TV show sticks to the 4:3 aspect ratio, but not this one!
Despite the first disc not offering a great deal, there is plenty of WWE footage spread over the two discs and there are enough high quality matches to keep any wrestling fan more than happy and as such, this represents great value for money and should be in every WWE fan's collection.
Reviewer: Simon Plumbe
All of the stills featured here are (c) copyright of World Wrestling Entertainment and are used for illustrative purposes only.
