Customer Reviews

WWE - Action!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, it should be stated, that I go out of my way to purchass every WWF and ECW DVD's (Non-PPVs) that I can. I am a Sports Entertainment Fan, thus when these DVDs are released, I like to see all my favorite storylines played out on these disks, so I can keep them in my library for safe keeping. I was amazed at how COOL this DVD actually was. The box leads you to believe that it is a cheaply released video with nothing of interest inside, dont be fooled - This disk covers the best storylines from the first half of 2001. Over an hour of cool montages and matches that cover things like, the Harcore division, Bra and Panties matches and Even Austins Wrestlemania Heel-Turn. Great mid-card storylines are covered involving Perry Saturn and Moppy, the Spike/Molly relationship and even a in-depth look at Trish Stratus' relationship with Vince McMahon - classic TV! The best part of this DVD though, is the coverage of the WCW Invasion! Showing the story from the beginings where people like Booker T and Mike Awesome were coming in and raising hell! Funny coverage of the Austin/Angle team-up as well. Very Cool Disk, and a must have for WWF fans. Oh, I forgot to mention that there is about 2 hours of extra matched crammed in as an DVD extra!

At last count, I own 25 DVD's issued by World Wrestling Entertainment. None of them is more enjoyable to view than WWF Action! Some experts would consider 2001 a low-point in wrestling history, but fueled by the heel turn of Stone Cold Steve Austin, it was one of my favorite years as a wrestling fan. (Although, note that my *favorite* year as a fan was 1995; so pass judgment with that statement in mind.)

The program itself only chronicled the first half of the year, but it is captured in such an entertaining manner that I watch the program more often than its extras, which is a rare statement for me to make about a WWE DVD (as many of you collectors would probably agree).

The selection of extra features is unique, and as satisfactory as any compilation of seven matches would be. I was pleased that the producers opted to include a couple full-length interview segments as well.

Action is a 75 minute documentry presented by Jonathan Coachman which covers all the major storylines of the first half of 2001. There are many cool video packages and loads of footage from Raw and Smackdown episodes from January - August 2001. If you are lucky enough to have a DVD player, the DVD is well worth purchasing as it has nearly two hours of extra footage, a great treat for any wrestling fan. I will run through each chapter on the disc and also the extras:

Main Feature:

Hardcore Action - A music opening plays introducing everyone to Action, and then Coach goes straight into the first chapter. Lots of hardcore footage here, from matches like Tazz vs. Raven and coverage of Rhynos hardcore title wins. Good opening chapter.

Under Where? - A short chapter with two full bra and panties women matches. It has Ivory vs. Trish from a Smackdown episode and Trish vs. Terri from Raw. Not too strong of a chapter, but not bad.

One...Two...Many - Long chapter which is entertaining nevertheless. It has lots and lots of footage of Perry Saturn where he kept getting bumps on the head which was turning him looney. Lots of covereage including the famous "get the muffins" spot, the double date with Terri/Perry and Dean Malenko and another woman, and Perrys obsession with a mop. Long but good.

Stratus - Faction - Another lengthly chapter with a good video package with all the Vince McMahon/Trish Stratus love angle coverage. It also talks about Trishs feud with Stephanie, along with No Way Out footage of their match. Very good once more.

Love Birds - Weak chapter to be honest. It packs in a lot of footage of the Molly/Spike love angle into five minutes, including the family feud along with when Molly went through a table and when they finally got to kiss. This just did not intrest me much to be honest.

Turn...Turn...Turn - Awesome chapter which opens up with a excellent video package of Stone Cold turning heel at Wrestlemania. It has footage of the Vince/Austin/Angle alliance with was very funny, and has lots more footage too. Good stuff.

I'm Up... I'm Down - All about Vinces troublesome year, including footage of when Torrie Wilson tricked him, when he got slapped by Debra and lots of stuff involving Austin too. Another very decent chapter.

Invasion! - Fitting finish to a compelling watch as it has lots of good Invasion footage when WCW/ECW Invaded the WWE, along with Austin turning yet again on the WWE, and Kurt Angle getting revenge on Stone Cold and the Alliance by beating Booker T in a superb match to win the WCW title. Very entertaining indeed.

DVD Extras (only on DVD version):

Wheres Old Stone Cold? - Vince/Austin interview around the time of Invasion. Pretty boring.

Booker T vs. Kurt Angle - Superb battle with lots of false finishes and interference. ***1/2

Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy - Decent outing with a very shocking ending. Good extra. **1/2

Chris Jericho vs. Triple H - Excellent bout with lots of false finishes and excitement. ***1/4

Edge, Christian and Rhyno vs. The Dudley Boyz - Sloppy six man, but the finish is awesome and very brutal. *3/4

Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold - Thrilling technical exibition with an awful ending unfortuneatly. Still excellent battle. ****

Reeking of Kingdom - Very funny interview where Edge is crowned 2001 King of the Ring. Very funny stuff here.

Steel Cage Match - Rock and Austin put on a short yet good match with some great psycology. Good finish as well. ***1/2

Stone Cold vs. Chris Jericho - Decent at best match which could of been better. Mick Foley is special troubleshooting ref. **1/2

Need a Hug? - Shoddy interview which gets very boring quickly. Not good.

Alliance prepeares for... - Lasts just under a minute which means this is too short to be that brilliant.

Overall, excellent DVD. The extras are good, the program is strong and overall just very, very good to watch. I did not give it the perfect score of five stars cos some of the extras are shoddy and there are a few glitches in the program, but overall this is well worth a look, and even buying.

Overall Score - Four Stars (****) Go and Buy!

Ok I'm gonna shoot with you on this. Parts of this video are well done, while others are poorly done.

Subjects:

Hardcore Title: some good matches and some funny spots. Pretty good.

Bra & Panties: ok, this would have better if we could finish the match without interference. But fubby.

Mr. McMahon/Trish Stratus love angle: This was good. Good clips, great action.

Stone Cold gone Bad: This was a low point in Austins career. You knew in your heart he wasn't into it. This also introduced the catchphrase "WHAAT??". Some good clips/

Invasion: ok we start the invasion bbut don't finish it, Some good matches and angles.

Spike/Molly love angle: This was a wonderfully done storyline. It made you remember the olden days.

All in all, a good video, But instead of Action! It should have been best of Raw and Smackdown 2001.

On this DVD, you will be show all the major highlights of the first half of the year 2001 (Hardcore action from early 2001, the Austin/McMahon/Triple H alliance, the story about Perry Saturn and "Moppy", the Shane v Vince rivalry, the relationship between Molly and Spike, the whole story about the ECW/WCW Invasion and much more).

SPECIAL FEATURES
> Booker T v Kurt Angle (7.26.01)
> Chris Jericho v Stone Cold (6.4.01)
> Jeff Hardy v Triple H (4.12.01)
> Kurt Angle v Stone Cold (1.8.01)
> Chris Jericho v Triple H (4.5.01)
> Edge, Christian & Rhyno v Dudley Boyz & Spike (3.22.01)
> The Rock v Stone Cold (4.2.01)
> Edge's King of the Ring ceremony (6.25.01)
> Where's "Old" Stone Cold? (7.12.01)
> Need a Hug? (7.2.01)
> Alliance prepares for... (7.30.01)

Overall, not a bad DVD at all. The best parts about it are the many DVD Extras and the ECW/WCW Invasion storyline. Instead of some of the DVD Extras that are quite pointless, they could have included the Tables, Ladders & Chairs match from SmackDown! rather than the 'Alliance prepares for...', or the great Chris Benoit v Stone Cold match from a SmackDown! episode in May, rather than the Jericho/HHH match. But all dissapointments aside, this DVD is worth a look.

In a nutshell, this DVD is structured the same way as the other WWF DVD releases at that time where in that it's just a look back at WWF feuds, storylines, and character developments. In this case, the focus is on the first half of 2001 & is hosted by Johnathan Coachman.

The documentry starts off by discussing the hardcore division with highlights from various hardcore matches such as Big Show, Chris Jericho, and Rhino all winning the title at various times along with a Raven vs. Taz match that got out of control with wrestlers such as Steve Blackman & Hardcore Holly looking to cash in on the 24/7 rule. Trish Stratus relationship with Mr. McMahon is looked at from them being at a "soup kitchen" on Christmas to her conflict with Stephanie to her getting her revenge on Vince at WrestleMania. Trish was also the focus of the bra & panties segment that featured hergoing against Ivory & Terri with special appearences by Chyna & Perry Saturn. Speaking of Saturn, his character development revolving around getting hit in the head too much to "Moppy" was showcased as well. The big "Romeo & Juliet" love story between Spike Dudley & Molly Holly was covered as well. The evolution of Steve Austin after WrestleMania X-7 was showcased in how Austin turned heel, attacked Jim Ross, and started becoming more comedic & emotional towards Vince McMahon. While we're on the subject of Vince McMahon, his relationship with Linda McMahon, buying WCW, and his relationship with both Angle & Austin is covered. The documentry comes to a close on the beginning of the Invasion angle as ECW came on the scene & merged with WCW, Steve Austin jumping ship to the Alliance, both teams preparing for The Rock's return, and Kurt Angle winning the WCW Title from Booker T close the documentry out.

The real highlight of this DVD are the bonus matches (eventhough they're not in order) included on here such as:

WCW Champion Booker T vs. Kurt Angle - This is from SmackDown the week after the Invasion PPV & was a just an average match with the highlight being Kurt Angle winning the WCW Championship.

Intercontinental Champion Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy - This match happened on SmackDown in mid-April. The match went non-stop as Hardy was just using his quick "daredevil" offense in the opening minutes while Triple H was real intense throughout the match as well with the suprize being that Jeff Hardy winning the Intercontinental Title.

Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Triple H - This happened the week before the previous match on SmackDown. Just like the previous match as well, this was non-stop action that never slowed down. You got just about as good of a performance you would expect from both men & it was a match I heavily enjoyed over their later WrestleMania encounter. The end result was Triple H winning the Intercontinental Championship.

Edge, Christian, Rhino vs. Dudley Boyz & Spike Dudley - This happened around 2 weeks before WrestleMania on SmackDown after both Spike Dudley & Rhino made their debut on RAW earlier in the week. This was just a quick average six man tag match here.

WWF Champion Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin - This match was from RAW in early Jan. Just like any match involving Austin & Angle, you got exactly what you expected. Wild opening minutes of the match with brawling on the outside & though in the crowd before settling in a good back & forth wrestling match in the ring. The ending involving Triple H set up what would happen during Triple H's title match at the Royal Rumble later in the month.

Steel Cage Match: WWF Champion Steve Austin vs. The Rock - A "forgotten" match in their historic feud as this match happened the night after WrestleMania on RAW. The match kicked off with a wild brawl outside the ring where Austin got busted open right off the bat. When they got back into the ring, the match was just as you would expect from these two in the based off their previous encounters as well with the only downfall being that they didn't have as much time as their PPV matches. In the end, Triple H & Vince McMahon got involved in beating down The Rock.

WWF Champion Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho - This match happened in early June on RAW. The match itself was real good & I enjoyed it better than their later No Way Out PPV match as Jericho & Austin put in a main event worthy performance. The other story behind this match was Mick Foley making himself the special outside referee & he got involved various times leading to problems with him & Commissioner Regal towards the end of the match.

Other DVD extras include Vince begging for the "old Stone Cold" to lead Team WWF into the main event at the Invasion PPV, Edge awarded the King Of The Ring trophy with the continued tease of jealous by Christian, Austin & Angle having a "hug fight" with Vince McMahon, and a short 1 min. highlight of both the WWF & The Alliance preparing for The Rock's return on RAW.

In the end, I felt like the documentry could have left out some subjects (bra & panties, Perry Saturn) for others (nothing surrounding Undertaker, Triple H, Chris Benoit or lack of coverage for The Rock & Kurt Angle). However, the matches save this from being something I wouldn't watch more than once every few months. Since this DVD is over 6 years old, you can find it used for real cheap (I got it for less than $5) so on that basis, I recommend.

Nice features on this DVD.

Two Major Omissions for Extras:
Austin-Benoit in Edmonton
TLC III (Benoit/Y2J vs Hardyz vs Dudleyz vs Edge/Christian)

Very decent DVD.

On this DVD, you will be show all the major highlights of the first half of the year 2001 (Hardcore action from early 2001, the Austin/McMahon/Triple H alliance, the story about Perry Saturn and "Moppy", the Shane v Vince rivalry, the relationship between Molly and Spike, the whole story about the ECW/WCW Invasion and much more).

SPECIAL FEATURES
> Booker T v Kurt Angle (7.26.01)
> Chris Jericho v Stone Cold (6.4.01)
> Jeff Hardy v Triple H (4.12.01)
> Kurt Angle v Stone Cold (1.8.01)
> Chris Jericho v Triple H (4.5.01)
> Edge, Christian & Rhyno v Dudley Boyz & Spike (3.22.01)
> The Rock v Stone Cold (4.2.01)
> Edge's King of the Ring ceremony (6.25.01)
> Where's "Old" Stone Cold? (7.12.01)
> Need a Hug? (7.2.01)
> Alliance prepares for... (7.30.01)

Overall, not a bad DVD at all. The best parts about it are the many DVD Extras and the ECW/WCW Invasion storyline. Instead of some of the DVD Extras that are quite pointless, they could have included the Tables, Ladders & Chairs match from SmackDown! rather than the 'Alliance prepares for...', or the great Chris Benoit v Stone Cold match from a SmackDown! episode in May, rather than the Jericho/HHH match. But all dissapointments aside, this DVD is worth a look.

I purchased this DVD late last year and I have to say it is the best highlight tape WWE has put out in a long time (counting the Best of Raw series). It has tons of extras which is alsways a plus. And if you look closely during the Perry Saturn segment there is a match with the Dudley's and Saturn and Malenko.....it was in my hometown! I was there!anyways.......the DVD is very good and i recommend it to any fan of the WWE........

I am a collector of WWF/ECW DVDs, so I purchased this DVD not really knowing what I was getting. What I recieved was a review of the first-half of '01, and although it is good, it is lacking alot of storylines. The storylines the DVD does cover are the Hardcore title, Bra and Panties, Perry Saturn and Moppy, Trish Stratus, Spike and Molly, Steve Austin's heel-turn, and the WCW Invasion. The thing that makes this DVD worthwhile are the extra matches and they are as followed.

Booker T-Kurt Angle
Triple H-Jeff Hardy
Chris Jericho-Triple H
Dudley Boyz and Spike-Edge, Christian and Rhyno
Kurt Angle-Steve Austin
The Rock-Steve Austin(Steel Cage match)
Steve Austin-Chris Jericho

All of the matches are pretty good from Raw is War and Smackdown. During the main feature there are also clips from Hardcore matches, Bra and Panties matches, and the WCW Invasion. I would recommend this DVD to any fan of the WWF, but if you already know everything that happened in '01 I suggest you pick up a different DVD unless you want the matches.