Wrestlemania XXIV (3 Discs)

Introduction
It's hard to believe that the inaugural Wrestlemania, held in Madison Square Garden, took place 23 years ago.

That night, the main event was Hulk Hogan & Mr T vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper & "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. It's widely acknowledged that Vince McMahon gambled everything on this event being a success, just as it is said that the crossover into the mainstream (Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper managing Wendi Richter) was what made the event the success that it was.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, I suppose.

This year's Wrestlemania may have had Edge vs The Undertaker in the final match of the evening, but the main event was really The Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather had made an appearance at the No Way Out pay-per-view, and had found himself in an altercation with the 7ft tall, 450lb giant.

Elsewhere on the card was the WWE World Heavyweight Title match, which saw Randy Orton defend against John Cena and Triple-H in a three-way match, and Shawn Michaels faced Ric Flair in a match in which the latter would retire should he lose.

Wrestlemania XXIV was held on 30th March 2008, from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.

Video:
Video is presented in 16:9 anamorphic PAL, and is excellent for a DVD of this genre. This is the first time that a WWE UK DVD has been presented in widescreen, likely taken from the high-definition recording of the show (a Blu Ray disc release is also available).

While of course not comparable to the Blu Ray version, this is a clean transfer to DVD, from what is obviously very good source material. There are only minor digital artefacts noticeable, and nothing to spoil your enjoyment of this event.

The productions are typically high for a Wrestlemania event, with the added intrigue that the event was held outdoors, giving this show a sorely-needed change of scenery.





Audio:
Unfortunately, we take a small step back here in the audio department, with a Dolby Digital 2.0 only available here, as opposed to the 5.1 tracks that we'd been getting used to.

Don't get me wrong, the 2.0 still does a very admirable job, but the extra resonance of the surrounds in 5.1 was a nice touch. As is, everything is clear here, from entrance themes, to in-ring action, to commentary.

There are further 2.0 tracks available in Italian, German, Spanish, and French, with subtitles in English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Greek.





Extras:
A 24-man Battle Royal kicks off the extras on this set, but it's best to swiftly ignore that, and move straight to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held the day prior to the Wrestlemania event.

This year, as always, the event was tremendous, and for many old-school fans, out-shone the following day's sports entertainment action by quite a distance.

The main induction was that of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, who was widely believed to be wrapping up his career on the show, against Shawn Michaels. Here, Flair spoke for over 90 minutes, and still had more to say. His speech was little more than a thank-you to all of the great people that he had worked with over the course of his 30+ year career, but it was captivating and emotional nonetheless.

On hand to induct father Rocky Johnson and grandfather "High Chief" Peter Maivia was wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who in a much different way, was just as spectacular as Flair in his own introductory speech. Beginning in "Rock" character, he sounded off on a few of the famous audience members, before turning it all down a notch to talk about his family and their heritage in the wrestling business. It was gripping stuff, and Johnson really showed here why's he too talented to be limited to wrestling.

Away from the main inductions, there are also great speeches from Mae Young and Jack & Gerry Brisco, as well as entertaining introductions from JBL and Jim Ross (for the Briscoes and Gordon Solie respectively).





Overall:
Unlike at the Hall of Fame, when it came to the Wrestlemania card itself, there was the bad to deal with, interspersed with the good.

To begin positively, Edge vs The Undertaker, Randy Orton vs Triple-H vs John Cena, Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather, and Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair were all good bouts, in particular the latter, considering the emotion involved. A surprise ending was one of the keys to the WWE title match, and the World Heavyweight Title match sent the fans home happy, with a long and relatively dramatic encounter. A special mention is due for the Mayweather bout, which was a story well told, with the boxer clearly a natural for the wrestling business.

Sadly, the exact opposite was the case for several of the other bouts here, something which on a good show, is limited only to the Women's Title match. The opening contest between Finlay and JBL should have been an excellent, intense brawl, but it instead turned into the bland weapons match that is incredibly passé in 2008, and was never good to begin with. The Money In The Bank ladder match was full of remarkable risk-taking, but it had no flow and failed to elicit anything more than several flinches from this reviewer. Furthermore, the ECW Title match is shambolic, and Batista vs Umaga was very disappointing considering the efforts that these two have had with other performers over the course of the last twelve months.





Overall, Wrestlemania XXIV on DVD is a three-disc set that is very much worth picking up. Sure, the bad is truly awful, but the good is worthy of Wrestlemania's illustrious history, and the Hall of Fame ceremony extra is must-see television for any old-school fans of the business.

Recommended.