Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £19.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 303 minutes
Do you smell what The Rock is cookin'? Well, if you don't, you may do after laying the SmackDown on your senses with the latest edition of WWE Tagged Classics, as it pairs The Rock: The People's Champ and The Rock: Just Bring It, two enjoyable home video releases originally from 2000 and 2002 respectively, that take a look at a true living legend of professional wrestling and a surefire future Hall of Famer. And what better time is there than now for such a DVD to drop given that The Rock is set to face John Cena at WrestleMania 28 next year, after he made his valiant WWE return earlier this year to announce himself as the guest host of WrestleMania last April?
The Rock: The People's Champ ???
Documenting The Great One's journey from King of the Ring 1999 to Royal Rumble 2000, The Rock: The People's Champ is an hour-and-a-half-long look at his most notable feuds and opponents of the year, from the likes of Billy Gunn and Al Snow to Triple H, The Undertaker and The Big Show. '99 was also the year he formed The Rock 'n' Sock Connection, his tag team with Mick Foley in the Mankind gimmick, so of course we're treated to plenty of their classic antics, including the “This is Your Life” segment. WWE Championship bouts and Steel Cage showdowns are all part of the main feature, although we are only shown highlights rather than full matches, which is a shame as there's a lot of good in-ring material here that we unfortunately miss out on.
The legend of The Rock will arguably be defined by his abilities on the microphone rather than what he accomplished in the ring (and may continue to), and there's a great deal of footage that supports that. Some truly electrifying – not to mention hilarious – promos empowered with his unforgettable catchphrases adorn this DVD set.
Complemented by behind the scenes-type insights into some of the events he attended where he wasn't laying the SmackDown in the ring, such as a college football game and the first signing of his best-selling book The Rock Says..., The Rock: The People's Champ is a solid watch and one that is ideal for his (millions of) fans.
The Rock: Just Bring It ???
Playing out much in the same way as the previous disc, although running a little shorter, The Rock: Just Bring It features match highlights divided up by words from the man himself as he chronicles his journey through most of the year 2001. It's quite a candid documentary with no shortage of backstage footage showing The Rock interacting with his peers, as well as his thoughts on what made his character so successful. He also shares some of his favourite catchphrases, promos and opponents from the time, such as his WWE Title feud with Olympic gold medalist and relative company newcomer Kurt Angle, the rivalry with Booker T during the year's major WCW/ECW alliance storyline, and of course his classic battles with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Who could forget their epic collision in the main event of WrestleMania X7, arguably the greatest of all 27?
2001 also saw The Rock launch his Hollywood career, for which he would later depart the WWE for the better part of seven years. Fitting in with the “access all areas” approach is on-set footage of the jabroni-beating people's champion during the production of both The Mummy Returns and its spin-off movie The Scorpion King, The Rock's first leading role in a feature film.
If I was to compare the style of this classic release to a recent example, it would be The John Cena Experience, which is ironic given their match scheduled for 2012. The camera crew following The Rock around as he goes about his business gives it somewhat of an “insider” feel, something that was relatively new at the time and is so prevalent today.
EXTRAS ??? The Rock: The People's Champ includes nine trash-talking promos and another eight interviews, while The Rock: Just Bring It features a selection of five promos/interviews, plus three complete matches: vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship at No Way Out '01; vs. Booker T for the WCW Championship at Unforgiven '01; and vs. Shane McMahon from an episode of RAW.