WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie Review

Rivalries make a career.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 28, 2014

Where does John Cena stand in the rankings of the all-time great WWE Superstars? While the final chapters of his storied Hall-of-Fame career are yet to be written, there's no denying that the West Newbury, Massachusetts native will long be remembered and spoken of in the same breath as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin as one of sports entertainment's brightest lights. That's elite company, and fitting company for one of the most physically gifted, effortlessly charismatic, and universally recognized wrestlers of all time. But an elite star -- or any star, for that matter -- doesn't get to the top by himself. Fans don't pay to see him enter into the arena to The Time is Now and stand around the squared circle, shrugging his shoulders and waiting for something to happen. They certainly don't pay to see him putting in the hours off-camera, perfecting his physique, sweating buckets, and pouring everything he has into making himself the best superstar his body and spirit will allow. No, the fans pay to see all of that hard work, and all of those fun ancillary factors, pay off in the ring against an opponent. Cena has long dominated some of the best and brightest the WWE has ever seen, taking down heroes and villains alike along the way. He's lost a few, too, but that's part of what makes a rivalry great. John Cena's Greatest Rivalries, as the title suggests, takes a look at some of Cena's most popular opponents and the many hotly contested matches that have helped push him to the top of the list of the current generation of superstars.

Ceeeeeennnnaaaaaaaa!

John Cena's Greatest Rivalries doesn't answer the bell and deliver a full-on career retrospective, but it does a fine job of building Cena's career, anyway, by way of examining his in-ring and behind-the-scenes interactions with some of the sport's biggest names, from Eddie Guerrero to Randy Orton, from Shawn Michaels to The Rock. In bits-and-pieces interview segments in between matches, Cena shares the details of how particular wrestlers not only helped propelled his career in the ring but who would make a lasting impression on him outside of it, whether in terms of the knowledge they shared, the professionalism they exuded, or the stature by which they carried themselves. Certainly Cena's story conveys a simple message, and that is that the best wrestlers aren't just made in the ring and weight room but also through the brotherhood, the fraternity they share with their contemporaries. It's a business bigger than the televised front, and nowhere does that truth reveal itself more than it does here, from the mouth of one of the greatest superstars ever to step into the ring.

The material isn't presented chronologically but instead by rival and with the help of a fun little throwback to what looks like some 16-bit Sega Genesis game. That the approach doesn't just follow a generic then-to-now order helps give better shape to the larger narrative, filling in Cena's career more in the way of influence than by time, more in the way of what he learned backstage and less in how he evolved on stage. It's not quite so riveting as a more proper feature-length Documentary may be, but fans will appreciate the the honesty and heartfelt insight on display in every interview and the tremendous skill on display in every match. Cena comes across as a man humbled to be where he is and grateful of the people who crossed his path and helped put him on the map. Certainly his skill, his charisma, his raw talent are critical, but one can hear in every word just how appreciative he is and come to understand how the WWE works beyond its superficial selling points. Technically, then, the presentation is very straightforward but effective. There's nothing flashy, nothing special, just a consistently engaging string of great matches and well-spoken John Cena interviews that shape this into a must-own for the greater WWE fan base, not simply Cena's biggest admirers.

The following matches comprise John Cena's Greatest Rivalries:

Disc One:

• Number One Contender's Match for WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero. SmackDown -- April 3, 2003.
• Parking Lot Brawl: John Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero. SmackDown -- September 11, 2003.
• OVW Championship Match: Prototype vs. Leviathan. Ohio Valley Wrestling -- February 23, 2002.
• Last Man Standing Championship Match: John Cena vs. Batista. Extreme Rules -- April 25, 2010.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels. RAW -- April 23, 2007.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels. RAW -- March 10, 2008.
• WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Randy Orton. SummerSlam -- August 26, 2007.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. Randy Orton. RAW -- February 10, 2014.
• WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. JBL. WrestleMania 21 -- April 3, 2005.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. JBL. RAW -- June 9, 2008.
• You're Fired WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Chris Jericho. RAW -- August 22, 2005.
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Chris Jericho. Survivor Series -- November 23, 2008.

Disc Two:

• WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Edge. RAW -- October 2, 2006.
• Last Man Standing World Heavyweight Championship Match: John Cena vs. Edge. Backlash -- April 26, 2009.
• WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. Triple H. WrestleMania 22 -- April 2, 2006.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. Triple H. RAW -- October 19, 2009.
• Career Moment: John Cena & The Rock Q&A. RAW -- March 25, 2013.
• WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs. The Rock. WreslteMania 29 -- April 7, 2013.

WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

John Cena's Greatest Rivalries features a basic WWE Blu-ray 1080i transfer. It's sourced from newer and older footage alike, with most of it coming from HD-sourced material framed at 1.78:1. This material is sharp and robust, with arena shots revealing excellent clarity and distance detail back up into the crowd. Close-ups are strong, showcasing sweat, skin creases, and other fine details with relative ease, particularly in the newest footage form the past few years. Colors are rich and robust, particularly on wrestler attire (Cena enters the ring with a variety of colorful apparel) and digital and handmade signs. Black levels are firm and accurate far back up towards the rafters, and skin tones appear neutral. The HD interview footage shows Cena in a bright green T-shirt against a fairly warm backdrop. His face favors a light orange push, while the shirt is so bright it's borderline gaudy and pushes towards a very lightly smeary/bleeding appearance. Nevertheless, the interview footage does offer crisp, stable detailing evident on Cena's face and his shirt's collar. Older matches are presented in a 4x3 ratio that preserves the original broadcast appearance. Details and colors vary greatly, looking quite good in context but sometimes lacking in even basic definition, such as the OVW footage that's flat and absent any sort of interesting visuals. Overall, this is the sort of transfer one expects from this material and a WWE release, which isn't a bad thing at all.

WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

John Cena's Greatest Rivalries features a straightforward Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Interview clips are presented with good, authentic accuracy and sonic integrity, flowing intelligibly and evenly from the center. Ringside commentary and in-ring dialogue likewise plays firmly and naturally, but it lacks a touch in older material with, again, that OVW material a little less clear. That sparsely-populated OVW match is quiet and a bit hollow, too, but the rest of the track explodes with potent ring entrance music and various sound effects and crowd chants, obviously a little more stable and better defined the closer to "new" it becomes. There are a few digital hiccups in the audio around the 11:10 mark that were replicated with rewinds, so they're not a one-off glitch. Overall, however, and much like this video, this is a typical and expectedly solid effort from WWE Home Video.

WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

John Cena's Greatest Rivalries contains supplements on both included Blu-ray discs.

Disc One:

• Behind the Scenes of WWE 2K15 (HD, 2:08): The game's cover boy briefly talks up the latest installment of the popular franchise (now handled completely in-house by 2K rather than the defunct THQ).

Disc Two (labeled as "Blu-ray Exclusives"):

• Underlying Passion: Cena discusses his pride in the business and CM Punk's pride in wrestling, along with their rivalry.
• Career Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk. RAW -- November 23, 2009.
• Trying To Do My Job: Cena further discusses his rivalry with CM Punk.
• Number One Contender's Match for WWE Championship: John Cena vs. CM Punk. RAW -- February 25, 2013.

WWE John Cena: Greatest Rivalries Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Cena's Greatest Rivalries is a reasonably good compilation piece in the tradition of the recently released Sting collection. There's not a ton of meat on its bones, but Cena provides some valuable insight in between a healthy, but not abundant, assortment of matches and content. Fans are still rightly waiting on a proper life and career retrospective in the same vein as WWE Home Video's best products -- the Rock, Steve Austin, and CM Punk releases (and it's a shame Punk's matches were relegated to "supplement" status here, but that's another story for maybe, hopefully, but not likely, another release down the line) -- because this isn't it, and The John Cena Experience isn't it. Fortunately, the superstar still has plenty left in the tank, it would seem, and his eventual Documentary should make for a great release. Until then, fans can enjoy well over seven hours of Cena excellence in this release, which delivers healthy video and audio alongside those CM Punk "bonuses." Recommended.