WWE The True Story of WrestleMania review (DVD) ★★★★

Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £29.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 417 minutes

In a release that seems long overdue, WWE's latest DVD to arrive in the UK is a three-disc set that tells of the genesis of Vince McMahon's greatest ever creation: WrestleMania.

There is nothing quite like WrestleMania. As we have heard so many times before and for so many years, the event has been hailed as the “showcase of the immortals” and the “grandest stage of them all”. But both reign absolutely true, for WrestleMania is the four-hour entertainment spectacular that captivates the wrestling world each and every year, no matter whether the show delivers on expectations or not. From that time in January at the Royal Rumble when the road to the 27-year-old annual tradition officially begins, fans across the globe eagerly await all the pieces to fall into place and the stage to be set. In an era where WWE seems more focused than ever on styling its product like a small piece of Hollywood, WrestleMania is the one event of the year where the glitz and glamour has gone hand-in-hand with the squared circle's action for almost three decades.

The True Story of WrestleMania features a medley of WWE Hall of Famers, Superstars, celebrities, journalists, behind the scenes staff and the big cheese Mr. McMahon himself as they chronicle the arduous journey that began with one idea and exploded into a phenomenon that revolutionised and changed the face of not only the professional wrestling industry, but the opinion of the business held by the world outside it.

This excellent two-hour documentary explores the ins and outs of a multitude of WrestleMania events from the very first in 1985 to WrestleMania 26 in 2010. Faces who were hard at work for WWE behind the camera whom we would be hard-pressed to recognise come out of the woodwork to share what they feel did and didn't work about the biggest show of the year. It's fascinating to get such insight from key figures in the company who have been away from the limelight, as well as get a look at never-before-seen footage from the likes of WrestleMania IX at Caesar's Palace.

Although the film gives plenty of time to the first few 'Manias in order to get the story rolling, quite a few are merely glossed over or not even mentioned in the interest of preventing the doco from lasting... well, hours and hours, which is just fine. One negative, however, is that some of the bigger spectacles seem to have been overlooked in favour of lesser ones. For instance, there are no references to WrestleMania XIX, which had one of the finest cards in history, nor WrestleMania X-Seven, which is widely considered to be the greatest of all time.

Nevertheless, The True Story of WrestleMania is extremely interesting and a very pleasing way to commemorate pro wrestling's premier event, not least because it's backed up with two discs worth of matches that illustrate some of the facts and figures discussed in the film, from Hulk Hogan dropping Andre the Giant to the canvas with a body slam in front of over 90,000 screaming fans, to Shawn Michaels soaring off a ladder with a splash onto Razor Ramon. A fantastic release.

EXTRAS ???? The following matches – some of the biggest and best in WrestleMania history – adorn the second and third discs:

WrestleMania: Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff
WrestleMania III – Intercontinental Championship: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat
WrestleMania III – WWE Championship: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
WrestleMania VII – Retirement Match: The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage
WrestleMania X – Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels
WrestleMania XIV – WWE Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin
WrestleMania 2000 – WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian
WrestleMania X-Seven – Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs. Mr. McMahon
WrestleMania X8: The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
WrestleMania XIX – WWE Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar
WrestleMania 22 – WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Triple H