WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie Review

Should you layeth your smackers down for this release?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 20, 2012

There's a bit of title trickery at work with The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010. While the name is technically correct, this two-disc Blu-ray set does not span the entire calendar years of 2009 to 2010. Rather, and more specifically, it covers the time period of October 2009 through September 2010, providing viewers just under a full calendar year rather than what looks like 730 or so days or about 104 episodes of SmackDown. But enough with the numbers. Misleading or not, this set does a nice job of reviewing the time period in question. Other than its calendar arrangement, it's presented in exactly the same format as its complimentary RAW Blu-ray release. It's a solid presentation of Friday night sports entertainment action that captures some amazing moments featuring some of the finest entertainers in history, all performing at their very best.

SmackDown rules, RAW drools!

What a great way to start a fine retrospective program. The Rock makes an appearance to get things underway, and he's followed by an eight-man match that only features the biggest names in the WWE: John Cena, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk. How's that for a kickoff? To be sure, Mondays may be king of the WWE universe ring, but for that night, anyway, SmackDown was host to legend, one of the best eight-man get-togethers in the non-Pay-Per-View history of professional wrestling. That match is followed by a heavyweight championship match between CM Punk and The Undertaker, itself not a bad little to-do to get the "year" off to a kicking start. There's plenty more here, including a whole lot of Rey Mysterio and a bit in which CM Punk rudely interrupts a touching Mysterio family gathering in the ring. There's a 10-man RAW vs. SmackDown match that doesn't feature the names of the earlier 8-man battle but that impresses in its scope and power. Championships change hands, spots in Pay-Per-View matches are determined, Divas duke it out, and all sorts of fun is to be had in a very active and entertaining "year" of SmackDown 2009-2010.

Like the RAW release, all of the following moments, matches, and highlights are included across both discs as categorized and listed below. All segments are presented in 1.78:1 high definition. No individual runtimes are listed; WWE does not play them with their own individual time stamps and are instead presented as part of a bulk runtime.

Disc One (4:10:13 total runtime):

• Celebrating Ten Years: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham introduce the program and set up The Rock's October season-opening appearance.
• October Highlights.
• SmackDown Moment: The Rock Returns to SmackDown. October 2, 2009
• The Biggest 8-Man Tag Team Match in SmackDown History: John Cena, Triple H, Shawn Michaels & Undertaker vs. Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes & CM Punk. October 2, 2009.
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Undertaker vs. CM Punk. October 23, 2009.
• November Highlights.
• 2 Out of 3 Falls Match for the Intercontinental Championship: John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler. November 20, 2009.
• The Best Athletes on Television: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham talk up the men and women of SmackDown.
• December Highlights.
• #1 Contender Triple Threat Match for the Women's Championship: Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya. December 4, 2009.
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio. December 25, 2009.
• January Highlights.
• The Animal Unleashed: A look back at the Batista-Mysterio conflict.
• #1 Contender Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Mysterio vs. Batista. January 15, 2010.
• SmackDown Moment: CM Punk's Intervention. January 22, 2010.
• The Most Compelling Action One Could Ask For: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham preview February.
• February Highlights.
• SmackDown Moment: The Cutting Edge -- Edge Returns to SmackDown. February 5, 2010.
• Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifier Match: John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler. February 26, 2010.
• SmackDown Match: Edge vs. The Miz. February 26, 2010.
• The Grandest Stage of Them All: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham look ahead to the March highlights and the coming WrestleMania.
• March Highlights.
• SmackDown Moment: Happy Birthday Princess Aalyah. March 12, 2010.
• SmackDown Match: Undertaker vs. Drew McIntyre. March 19, 2010.
• RAW vs. SmackDown Money in the Bank 10-Man Tag Team Match: Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Matt Hardy, Shelton Benjamin & Drew McIntyre vs, Christian, MVP, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne & Kofi Kingston.
• April Highlights.
• SmackDown Moment: Jack Swagger Cashes In. April 2, 2010.
• Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Swagger vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho. April 16, 2010.
• SmackDown Moment: Edge & Christian...Together Again? April 30, 2010.

Disc Two (2:50:14 total runtime):

• The Final Stanza: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham introduce the second half of the year that was in SmackDown.
• May Highlights.
• Handicap Match for the Women's Championship: Beth Phoenix vs. LayCool. May 14, 2010.
• SmackDown Match: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. May 14, 2010.
• June Highlights.
• SmackDown Battle Royal: Winner Earns the Spot in the World Heavyweight Championship Fatal 4 Way Match. June 4, 2010.
• SmackDown Match: Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre. June 25, 2010.
• July Highlights.
• SmackDown Match: Rey Mysterio & Big Show vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes & Jack Swagger. July 2, 2010.
• SmackDown Moment: Big Red Champion. July 23, 2010.
• SmackDown Match: Christian vs. Drew McIntyre. July 30, 2010.
• August Highlights.
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler. August 6, 2010.
• Smoke and Mirrors: "Dashing" Cody Rhodes gives a grooming tip.
• SmackDown Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio. August 20, 2010.
• September Highlights.
• SmackDown Match: Kaval vs. Drew McIntyre. September 10, 2010.
• The History of the Brothers of Destruction: A look back at the Kane-Undertaker relationship.
• SmackDown Match: Undertaker vs. CM Punk. September 10, 2010.
• Reliving the Past Year: Matt Striker and Todd Grisham wrap things up.
• 2009-2010 SmackDown Recap: A rapid-fire recap of the season that was.

WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010 features a transfer very similar to the corresponding Best of RAW release. WWE's high definition presentation brings the television experience home with a pleasing, stable, and accurate image that looks quite good -- striking at times, even -- from normal viewing distances, with only a little bit of compression mess. Fine details are strong, whether skin, clothing lines, or props. Even background crowd shots reveal clean, accurate, stable imagery far back into the deeper rows. Colors are balanced and accurate. Homemade signage, the blue SmackDown background, wrestler attire, and other shades appear vibrant and pleasing, pulling in the audience closer than ever before for home wrestling consumption. Black levels remain constantly deep and accurate throughout, ditto flesh tones. This transfer is a fine example of how good wrestling can look on Blu-ray. It's not without problems, but the sheer level of clarity and stability elevate this release towards the top of the WWE-on-Blu-ray picture quality heap.

WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010 features the tried-and-usually-true WWE-standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. This is a very clean, accurate presentation. It tends towards a more aggressive approach outside of basic wrestling, with big, heavy voiceovers and energetic music. The track makes good use of the entire stage, placing music all around the listener while pumping crowd noise through every speaker. Things settle down a bit when it's time for wrestling action. Ringside commentary dominates and plays with precision clarity over the various grunts and yells and crashes and other sounds that come pouring from the ring. Likewise, backstage or in-ring wrestler dialogue plays evenly and accurately from the center channel. Bass can get a little heavy and there are a few instances of dialogue forced to compete with heavier sound effects, but generally the track produces grade-A balance and precision. This is a high-end lossy track and a good example of what the WWE can do with a DVD-era presentation on Blu-ray.

WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010 contains the following supplements, all of which are listed as Blu-ray Exclusives:

• Celebrating 10 Years of SmackDown (10:05): Backstage at the celebration party. October 2, 2009.
• The Brothers of Destruction (1:33): A short, throwaway piece focusing on Kane and The Undertaker.
• Non-Title Match (16:11): Undertaker & Kane vs. Chris Jericho & Big Show. November 20, 2009.
• SmackDown Match (23:43): Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Mysterio. January 29, 2010.
• Kane & Punishment (10:14): Kane reacts to bad news about The Undertaker. June 4, 2010.
• The Flawless Championship (1:32):Teddy Long addresses the Diva Championship mess. August 6, 2010.
• SmackDown Match (13:04): Matt Hardy vs. Alberto Del Rio. September 10, 2010.

WWE SmackDown: The Best of 2009-2010 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010 will upset audiences who believe they're getting more than they receive with this set, but get past the name and there's a lot to love about the release. It's straightforward, packed with excellent WWE material, and there's very little filler. It doesn't feel as if any corners have been cut, and for those who love to look back on wrestling past and spend a lazy day with some of the WWE's biggest stars, this is a release that's hard to beat. WWE's Blu-ray release of The Best of SmackDown 2009-2010 offers strong video, good audio, and a few added goodies. Recommended.