The People’s Champ
Just Bring It!
It was wrestlers such as The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and Kurt Angle, who made sure of a certain future for the WWE. Without these charismatic forces, WCW would probably be compiling DVD’s titled “The Rise and Fall of the WWF”. These kind of wrestlers were simply too good to miss. Why watch an ageing Hollywood Hulk Hogan drop a 2ft leg drop, when you could watch The Rock run his mouth sharing his love for poontang pie? Every single action made, whether it be in the ring, or out of it, was perfectly executed in correspondence to that specific character. With in ring performances that never failed to captivated an audience and original promo’s that still haven’t been bettered, these wrestlers will never be forgotten and are solely responsible for the outcome of the Monday Night Wars.
The competition of two rival companies brought out the best in both of them, but without this urgency and desperation of generating more ticket sales and higher television ratings, WWE will continue to swim in stagnant waters. Let’s hope TNA becomes a legitimate rival in the near future.
Disc 1
This disc contains a feature length documentary called The People’s Champ, celebrating the sheer brilliance of The Rock. Originally released in the year 2000, this presentation concentrates mainly on the 1999 era of The Rock, which debatably covers his best work. The feature flicks between interviews, behind the scenes footage, promotional events, match promos/angles and match highlights.
The interviews are used transitionally to help aid the story and to justify The Rock’s greatness. Michael Cole is questioned quite regularly for these interviews with his fashionably gelled hair and slickster image; he looks hilarious.
The behind the scenes footage includes book signings, life in Miami, a Pittsburg Pirates appearance and a visit to the Orange Bowl - the ground of the Miami Hurricanes football team.
The DVD is packed full of promo segments showcasing The Rocks ability to dominate the microphone which had me smiling from ear to ear like a big kid. The Rock and Sock Connection is covered and includes the This is Your Life segment which is uproarious.
The soundtrack to the feature is very unusual combining cheesy electronica with eighties style rock, which made me ponder how drastically musical acceptance within the media has changed in such a short space of time. Oh no wait a minute, this was 11 years ago!
The documentary has been quite predictably pieced together but with a superstar such as The Rock who has so many memorable moments to choose from, it isn’t that difficult to keep an audience entertained.
At one point during the highlighted promo clips, I caught a glimpse of Rodney from the Mean Street Posse; I just started pissing myself at the sight of him, and hoped that one day, Vince will release a Best of the Posse DVD compilation.
With so much energy and passion accompanying his every move, I could quite happily watch The Rock go an entire match using nothing more than lefts and rights. He’s one of the few wrestlers that never fails to enthrall and never leaves a fan disappointed, no matter what he does.
Running at just over an hour, The People’s Champ is a short but captivating presentation:
8/10
Disc 2
Two years later, another video appeared on the shop shelves called Just Bring It!, using a similar biographical layout as the first. By this point The Rock had achieved super stardom status, reaching heights unimaginable in the wrestling world, whilst becoming an established Hollywood actor known worldwide. Unfortunately, his acting career plays quite a prominent role in this feature, with behind the scenes segments of both The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King; bit boring really.
There are a few other differences between this documentary and the first. Interviews aren’t included in this one, the camera follows The Rock, allowing him to tell his own story and talk you through the behind the scenes tour. As mentioned previously, too much emphasis has been placed on his acting career; if I buy a wrestling DVD, I want to see wrestling. The match highlights go on for a bit too long; it is as if they have been used to lengthen the presentation - there is a definite rushed feel about this one. Also, I noticed that The Rock’s attitude is slightly less humble than it was two years ago in the previous DVD; he appears to be more serious and not quite as funny.
This is a great DVD and highly recommended, but it isn’t as good as The People’s Champ. I have concentrated on the negatives simply because the first DVD had very few, but don’t let it deter you from watching it, as there is still plenty of classic Rock one liners that will have you in stitches.
6/10
Overall Rating: 7/10
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