Customer Reviews

WWE WrestleMania - The Complete Anthology 1985-2005

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

This 21-disk set does contain all 21 Wrestlemanias.
However, be warned about these major drawbacks:
*You will notice on several of the Wrestlemanias,
especially the later ones, that there is fuzzing out
on the screen. This is blotting out of the "WWF" logos
throughout, on signs, turnbuckles, cameramen's shirts,
and elsewhere. This is very annoying, and it is very
pervasive on Wreslemanias 14-19. Even sound is edited,
whereby verbally saying "WWF" is silenced out.
*I have now, to date, had to return this box set three
times due to packaging and disk errors (once here to
Amazon). The first time, disk 5 had a freeze point.
Amazon would not replace the defective disk, but required
that I return the entire 21-disk set. In other words, if
you watch all the disks, and one is defective, you have to
return the WHOLE SET, and you have to watch them all over again.
(At least Amazon let me return the box set for a refund.)
The second set I bought, I had to return because it had
two Disk 1's and no Disk 2. The third time, disk 20 had a
freeze point. Buying this box set has been a buyer's nightmare.
*Having three defective box sets in a row makes me feel that
this is more than my just being unlucky. The WWE did a downright
LOUSY JOB of putting this set together. I'd like to see some
statistics here on Amazon as to how many of these box sets had
to be returned due to packaging and disk errors.

For the guy who said that each Wrestlemania has the last five matches missing, you're supposed to FLIP THE DISC OVER!!!! Wrestlemania IV, V, VI, VII, all of Volume 4, and 21 are double sided discs. If you look closely at the center of those discs, they say Side A and Side B. You need to pay attention. Trust me on this because I have the set and I've seen each one in the entirety on this set.

Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology is a huge step forward for WWE. I hope this leads to releasing box sets for Royal Rumbles and Survivor Series etc. I would even love to see boxed sets realeased for Starrcade and other old WCW and NWA events. As far as this box set, I have watched most of it and here is what I have seen.

1) These have not been shortened (like previous versions). All of the action, promos, and celebrity moments are there. They are as close to there original broadcast form as the WWE could get them.

2) Like everyone else, I HATE the blur...on WMs 15 to 18, the blur is all over the place. Vince will have to figure out a way to strike a deal with the environmentalist whackos at the WWF. He should buy the right to the "WWF" scratch logo on all old footage even if he continues to promote the current company as WWE. When they have to blur out the turnbuckles, the t-shirts of the cameramen around the ring...the belts and everything else, it really detracts from the action.

3) Personally, I can handle some of the music being replaced. It was done well in some cases. They do a decent job of embedding the new music into the background with the crowd noise. You can still hear the commentators talking during the music. Don't get me wrong, it is annoying that they don't have some of the old music on these like "Don't go Messing With a Country Boy", "Demolition" and "Bird Bird Bird" but for me, I get over it once the match starts...this is unlike the blur which detracts from everything.

4) Jesse Ventura's commentary is in-tact. The only parts of anyones commentary that I have noticed being edited are the references to "WWF" and instead, what you will get is "WW....." but again...this is not a major annoyance like the blur.

5) In some cases, they split the Wrestlemanias up onto both sides of the disc. On some of the longer events, you will have get up and flip the disc over. This is only the case on a few of them though (don't know which ones off of the top of my head...I am at work right now)

All in all, this is a good set to have. I have been ready for the WWE to start releasing the old stuff on DVD for years...and while there are a few areas where improvements can be made, I will take this over nothing any day. People come on Amazon and complain about most of this stuff like the music edits, and the Jesse commentary all the time. They have to understand that WWE is a business. Each time they go out pay someone for rights to use a song, or a logo, or Jesse gets royalties from a DVD...that takes away from the profit of a DVD...almost to a point where it isn't profitable anymore. Why should WWE engage in ventures that aren't profitable??? If you owned a business would you sell your product and what it was costing you to make your product?? No, you would invest your time in selling a produt that makes you money. Just keep in mind...the more of these DVDs we buy...the better the quality will get each time...because the more we buy, the more WWE can drive the cost of making them down...then it may make good business sense for them to buy the rights to the old logo back.

All in all...WWE is making great strides in what they choose to put out on DVD. I hope this continues...personally, I will keep buiying.

I have been a wrestling fan all my life and although I have had a few points where I had stopped following for awhile,mainly towards the late 90's,I will always be a wrestling fanatic.The prospect of having the entire Wrestlemania Anthology is something way too good to pass on.

I recieved this box set as a Christmas gift last year and after opening it,I told everyone else - "XBox,DVDs,Watching TV,whatever you gotta do,you do in the other room.This TV is mine."

I was immediately brought back to my youth as I spent the day and several days thereafter watching the clasics that I lived and died by as a kid.The ladder match at Wrestlmania X, The Title-For-Title Match at Wrestlemania VI, The salt in Bret Hart's eyes at Wrestlemania IX and the on-going list of others.I was in my glory.

Now, to address alot of the complaints that I've read about from other users and to help you further decide if you really want this box set:

-Yes,there are certain things that have been altered.I distinctly remember at Wrestlemania X there was a specific song showing the "build up" to Bret Hart v. Yokozuna.But honestly,it's not something that is going to change the way you enjoy the event.There isn't a Wrestlmania where The Undertaker gets pinned.Hulk Hogan still bodyslams Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania III.The first Wrestlemania still takes place at Madison Square Garden.These things that may be different aren't things you need to get hung up on.

-As far as the "Get the 'F' Out" thing goes - yes, they do block out most of the WWF logos.HOWEVER,when the logo is blocked out entirely is when it's on a turnbuckle or something very small.On larger scales,the two lines that come out of the right side of the WWF logo to represent the "F" are simply blurred out.And while it is very clear in some cases,like Wrestlemania X8 where all the cameramen are wearing shirts with the big logo and the logo is all over the place,it honestly only takes a little bit of getting used to and again isn't something you will likely find yourself getting too hung up on.

-The person who claimed that they bleep out the comentators saying "WWF" is true.But it is not anywhere nearly a frequent as this person is suggesting.Almost all the time,everything is refered to as "World Wrestling Federation" and in turn does not have to be censored.The first time I caught it was an interview with Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania IX where he says he hopes Bret Hart holds on to his "___ Championship." You'll notice the blocked out images of the old logo,but very rarely is anything bleeped due to people calling something by "WWF".The matches are introduced as, for example, "The following contest is scheduled for one fall and is for the World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Cahpionship..."

All in all, if you are a wrestling fan and love it old and new,this is for you.You'll enjoy this.But if you are kinda into it or you like it now because of the women or storylines or something,it may not be for you and you should look into buying the volumes that contain every Wrestlemania in packs of five(i.e. - Wrestlemania I-V,VI-X,XI-XV,Wrestlemania 2000 - Wrestlemania XX.)

Pros:

1. It's great to finally have the older ones on a quality format like DVD. This is the first time they've been released on DVD in the U.S.

2. As awesome as Wrestlemania can be, there have been a lot of bad matches over the years and it's nice to be able to skip through the chapters quickly.

3. As best as I can tell, all the events are in their entirety. I don't know how the rumor about Ventura's commentary got started (probably the Internet), but none of it is true. It's all here.

Cons:

1. Granted, the blurred logos make some shots look pretty bad, but that only occurs in numbers 14-18. I don't know why people are blaming WWE for this. They lost the court case, the decision applied to previous years they were in violation, and the blurring legally needed to be done. It's something that fans are going to have to live with and get used to during these few years of footage. If it bothers you that much, you'll have to find the original DVDs.

2. Some of the music is edited, most notably anything from the Piledriver album. Again, blame the lawyers for this one. It's about rights and licensing, which WWE clearly didn't have and couldn't get. Some reviewers seemed upset about this, but it happens infrequently on the discs and honestly didn't bother me.

3. Yes, anytime anyone says "W.W.F." the sound mutes. This applies to every disc. It's the same on the 24/7 Channel. Get used to it because it's doubtful this will ever change. Again though, it doesn't happen often and didn't really bother me.

So-So:

1. The quality of the packaging and discs probably could have been better, but it's not horrible as some people say. It's decent, but not great. Do the math. You're paying roughly $10 a disc. They did have to make it affordable to the general public.

After reading the various complaints, I agree with many of them.

* The blurring is ridiculous. Watching WrestleMania X8, you really see how they just plastered that logo EVERYWHERE, and
* the disc skipping is true as well, because it started to freeze up right before Arn Anderson came out from under the ring to spine-bust the Undertaker, who
* didn't have his correct theme music (Limp Bizkit), but what's really confusing is that many of the missing songs (Dusty Rhodes, Demolition, Big Boss Man, etc.), I'm pretty sure WWE just made those up in the first place, so why don't they have the rights to use them? And to answer some other dude's question, WM V's Piper's Pit IS on there, but
* there is footage missing where Piper rips off Brother Love's kilt and sends him running up the aisle in his red panties. Who knows what else is missing? Does anyone really have a photographic memory of 21 WrestleManias?

It gets 3 stars because hey, it's all the WrestleManias. But I'd suggest buying the ones previously unavailable on DVD separately, then buying the original 16-21 individually if you can.

I got the Wrestlemania set for Christmas. Well i go to put in Wrestlemania 16 and 2 discs are stuck together. I was pissed. I pulled the discs apart and thankfully the original still worked. And oh yeah i hate those damn blurrs!

I was so happy to get this entire thing for christmas,but i am a little disappointed about some of the little errors that wwe made.first of all, everytime wwf is mentioned, it is beeped out. the wwf logo is blurred,the turnbuckles are blurred,the belts are blurred,signs are blurred,hats are blurred,fan's shirts are blurred and everywhere it says wwf is blurred.also, the music is edited, like in wrestlemania 17 and 18, undertaker's music is not rollin, it is his darkness music from the attitude era. in wrestlemania 14, taka's music is not his original music, they edited that too.i'm very mad because after a day watching wrestlemania 17, all of a sudden it freezes the screen and says the disc is scratched and i look at it and its spotless.in the words of the hurricane, whats up with that.

Like so many wrestling fans, largely WWE fans, this collection was a welcome release for me and was something I had been hoping for, for a long time. Although the price tag may seem a little steep, it is well worth the sum. Over 30 discs, containing some great moments from down the years is well worth it.
Although the former WWF logo is blurred out when visible and when spoken it is edited, this does not take away from the quality of this collection. Here, we have the ultimate anthology of the greatest events in sports-entertainment history with so many memorable matches.

If you are a a big fan of WWE, from past to present then you will not be dissapointed one bit. However, if you only enjoy the new era of wrestling, the complete anthology may not be just right for you. You can purchase seperate sets of past WrestleMania's, for instance- 1996-2001. My advice though is that you should purchase the entire collection and watch how the past greats have forged the way for the new stars. ]

All in all, the collection is brilliant and the added bonus of four free sport-cell cards is very welcome. A must for true fans.

I bought this set expecting many things like dvd extras and etc, I have been disappointed because 5 of the wwf dvd's (the logo before) is censured to the public {blurry} and its really annoying, some of the parts in certain dvd's freezes, and some of the music changes too.
There are no artwork in the dvd's and there are no cover sheets either {It would be fantastic if any of this suggestions would haved come with the set}Why the wwe would censored the wwf, if wwf was the first logo of their corporation? Next time don't censure wwf please!!!!!