WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie Review

The year of Brock.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 19, 2014

It's SummerSlam, one of the biggest events on the WWE's Pay-Per-View docket (which can be seen for only $9.99 on the WWE Network!…but buy the Blu-ray and support always-available home video), but this year's event may as well be called "BrockSlam." Despite the usual roster of high profile matches and big time wrestlers settling brewing story lines, the event was rightly dominated by Paul Heyman's hulking beast, the former MMA monster turned back into wrestler who, only a few months ago, ended the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak at 21 in a row. Love it or hate, it's become one of the all-time most daring turns in professional wrestling history and has instantly ascended Lesnar from bulky freak of nature to a force to be reckoned with both in the here-and-now and in the annals of professional wrestling history. Now, he's matched up against one of the all-time greats, John Cena, with hardware, not a number, on the line in SummerSlam's main event.

Slaughter.

Though there were some juicy lead-ins to the big event, including a tasty treat of Stephanie McMahon and Brie Bella in an all-out cat fight, a highly hyped clash between relative newcomer Bray Wyatt and established veteran Chris Jericho, a classic Lumberjack match featuring Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, a true "intercontinental" match between "The All-American American" Jack Swagger and the hulking Russian Rusev for national bragging rights, and a Diva's title match between AJ Lee and Paige, the night came down to two top-billed battles, the first pitting Randy Orton against Roman Reigns and the second, of course, the newly minted top dog in the WWE, Brock Lesnar, in a title match against the über-popular John Cena.

2014's SummerSlam follows the same general WWE pay-per-view format that's increasingly high stakes and dramatized matches building towards the main event. Yet this year, more so than others, feels like one long tease until the end. That's not to discredit the rest of the matches; most of them are excellent, a combination of storyline spectacle and intense wrestling action that's at the peak of technical perfection, but the event seems to only simmer until it boils over when Lesnar and Cena enter the ring. That slow build-up explodes in the match's opening seconds as Lesnar, with an obvious hunger in his eyes and the pent-up energy of a ferocious caged animal, clashes with the more streamlined and classic Cena in a flurry of opening bell activity. Lesnar earns the upper hand and refuses to relinquish it, punishing Cena with Suplex after Suplex and dismantling him to the point of practically breaking him. The only question, then, is whether Cena can muster enough offense to sneak in a three-count and defeat the WWE's most fearsome, most intense, most deadly weapon before he succumbs to a back-breaking F5.

The following matches comprise SummerSlam 2014:

• WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler.
• WWE Divas Championship Match: AJ Lee vs. Paige.
• Flag Match: Jack Swagger vs. Rusev.
• Lumberjack Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins.
• SummerSlam Match: Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt.
• SummerSlam Match: Brie Bella vs. Stephanie McMahon.
• SummerSlam Match: Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton.
• WWE World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar.

WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

SummerSlam 2014 smacks down onto Blu-ray with a healthy and impressive 1080i transfer. It's typical WWE stuff, no surprise, sporting a 1.78:1 framed image that benefits from the strong clarity and vibrant colors afforded to it by the digital shoot. Image clarity is outstanding. The entire arena looks alive and crisply defined. The Blu-ray leaves nothing to the imagination save for far back audience members devoured by dark and simply too far from the camera to get a good look at them. Closer audience members, however, are easily distinguishable, faces and signs both. Wrestler entrances tend to look a little blocky in front of the TitanTron, but away from that massive piece of digital gear is significant skin and attire detail that's as crisp and nicely defined as any WWE Blu-ray out there. Colors, likewise, are bold and satisfying. The predominantly blue, yellow, and orange SummerSlam digital sign explodes off the screen, handmade fan signs dot the background throughout, and bits of color splashed on wrestler trunks and other gear look magnificent. Black levels are healthy and deep, while flesh tones appear natural and clear. The image does suffer from some light background blockiness at times, but this is otherwise a top-end effort from WWE Home Video.

WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

SummerSlam 2014's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn't quite so dynamic as it might could have been, but it's nevertheless a solid, and largely typical, WWE listening experience. Wrestler intro music is potent but not quite room-filing in every instance, lacking pure aggression and wide stage and surround support for every wrestler. Ruslev's and Randy Orton's and Brock Lesnar's and John Cena's blare, but some of the others seem to almost fade into the background. Crowd ambience is fair, lacking a real sense of immersion and distinction beyond the general din and basic rises and falls that tend to equal the match's pacing. In-ring dialogue reverberates through the microphone nicely enough, and ringside commentary is satisfactorily clear. Overall, this is a fairly routine audio presentation from the WWE.

WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

SummerSlam 2014 contains a fairly big selection of extra content, including RAW and SmackDown highlights from the weeks leading up to the event. Unfortunately, the WWE still fails to provide PPV fallout clips from the RAW and SmackDown following the event.

• A Special Look at the Chris Jericho-Bray Wyatt Rivalry (1080i, 1:31): A clip piece that highlights the rivalry.
• SummerSlam Kickoff Match (1080i, 10:22): Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro.
• What's Next for Roman Reigns? (1080i, 1:07): Reigns is interviewed after his match with Randy Orton. Home Video Exclusive.
• Nikki Bella Will Not Be Forgotten (1080i, 0:46): Nikki speaks after her sister's match. Home Video Exclusive.

Blu-ray Exclusives:

• Monday Night RAW (1080i): Clips from the show, air date July 21, 2014.
• 4-on-1 Handicap Match (6:34): Nikki Bella vs. Alicia Fox, Cameron, Eva Marie & Rosa Mendes.
• RAW Moment (6:26): Stephanie McMahon Gets Arrested.
• RAW Moment (13:02): Brock Lesnar is The Authority's "Plan C."
• Monday Night RAW (1080i): A clip from the show, air date July 28, 2014.
• RAW Moment (12:42): John Cena Has More Passion than Brock Lesnar.
• Monday Night RAW (1080i): A clip from the show, air date August 4, 2014.
• RAW Moment (10:25): Stephanie McMahon & Brie Bella Contract Signing.
• SmackDown (1080i): A clip from the show, air date August 8, 2014.
• SmackDown Moment (7:48): Dean Ambrose Wants Seth Rollins in a Wall of Flesh.
• Monday Night RAW (1080i): Clips from the show, air date August 11, 2014.
• RAW Moment (4:54): Bray Wyatt and Chris Jericho Face-to-Face.
• RAW Moment (1080i, 15:02): Brock Lesnar Crashes Hulk Hogan's Birthday Celebration.

WWE: SummerSlam 2014 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

SummerSlam 2014 feels like little more than a tease until the highly anticipated main event. Whether it lives up to that billing really depends on how fans react to the outcome, but love it or hate it, there's still plenty of solid wrestling going on beforehand, featuring several good story lines and a nice mixture of established superstars and relative newcomers doing battle on one of the WWE's biggest stages. In total, it's a great event with solid replay value and an excellent pacing. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of SummerSlam 2014 delivers excellent video, strong audio, and a healthy assortment of extras. Highly recommended.