Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

WWE The Best of King of the Ring Blu-ray Movie Review

It's not Blu-ray royalty, but WWE's compilation disc is a worthy addition to the high-def lineage.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 17, 2011

Peasants have become noble men, aristocrats have become champions, and champions have been immortalized.

Foxboro, Massachusetts may be best known far and wide as the home of the New England Patriots, but in wrestling circles, the snowy small New England town has another claim to fame. On July 8, 1985 at Sullivan Stadium, the then-World Wrestling Federation debuted what would become a fan-favorite staple of wrestling events, the "King of the Ring" tournament. This competition of strength, guile, determination, heart, and pre-determined winners and losers was meant to crown the best of the best the wrestling world had to offer; names like Randy Savage, Brothers Owen and Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Ken Shamrock, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Sheamus would, during its reign as one of sports entertainment's most prestigious events, be crowned its champion. Within eight years time, following the inaugural 1985 crowning of Don Muraco as the first "King," the King of the Ring event would blossom into one of the most hotly-anticipated events in sports entertainment and its crowning of a champion one of the yearly highlights of the professional wrestling world. The Best of King of the Ring unravels a "noble scroll" of WWE and King of the Ring history, the two-disc set spanning a quarter-century of wrestling greatness, beginning with a legendary 1993 Pay-Per-View match between Bret "Hit Man" Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow, culminating with "The Great White" Sheamus' coronation following his defeat of John Morrison at the November 29, 2010 King of the Ring Pay-Per-View.

The Celtic King.

Best of King of the Ring is hosted by former Superstar and King of the Ring winner Booker T, the same former champ who's feuding with fellow ringside commentator Michael Cole and current Superstar Cody Rhodes in the latest script to come out of the wrestling world. Booker T, as was the case with Christian for the structurally-similar Ladder Match Blu-ray release, provides occasional insights into the history of the King of the Ring event and its participants, while also setting the stage for various matches that appear in the body of the compilation. The wrestling action is intense and exciting, as always, though many of these matches don't hold the same allure as their ladder match counterparts. Many of the matches in Best of King of the Ring are more traditional "one fall" sort of competitions rather than extreme rule matches (though this set does include the famous "Hell in a Cell" matchup between Mankind and The Undertaker), which doesn't necessarily make them "worse," just not as unique and intense. There is something to be said, however, for the "bracket" advancement method to reach the final match, which mimics similar and higher profile "real" sporting events, such as the NCAA basketball tournament. It's at least something different, and it's always fun to see more "relatable" sporting elements worked into the wrestling world of sports entertainment. As far as content, this collection of matches is above reproach; they begin with the Pay-Per-View era (in other words, don't expect to see the inaugural King of the Ring events, for example Don Muraco's defeat of the Iron Sheik) and extend all the way through the latest "King" Pay-Per-View from 2010 (note that there is no King of the Ring event taking place in 2011, though the event promises to return in 2012).

If this release has a shortcoming, it's that it goes way over the top in selling the King of the Ring as some amazing spectacular event that's far and away superior to any other staple of wrestling Pay-Per-View because of its "royal" overtones. The average "King" is no better and no worse than the average "SummerSlam," "Royal Rumble," or "WrestleMania." Frankly, the narrative comes across as a little cheesy, but then again, most of the professional wrestling world is a little cheesy; it's all just a part of the sell job. On the other hand, Booker T does a fine job hosting this collection; he's a little better going off a complete script than he is "winging it" at his ringside commentary. He looks great in the regal garb, and brings a much-needed personality to a package that doesn't have the spectacle factor and uniqueness as the Ladder Match release. Otherwise, Best of King of the Ring comes exactly as expected. It obviously and understandably lacks the gripping narrative of the Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels releases, but this is certainly a very well-assembled, exciting compilation package that no WWE fan will want to be without.

The following full-length matches are included as part of the main program:

• King of the Ring Finals Match: Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. King of the Ring -- June 13, 1993.
• WWE Championship Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Yokozuna. King of the Ring -- June 13, 1993.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Owen Hart vs. Razor Ramon. King of the Ring -- June 19, 1994.
• Kiss My Foot Match: Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler. King of the Ring -- June 25, 1995.
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Goldust vs. Ahmed Johnson. King of the Ring -- June 23, 1996.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Jake Roberts. King of the Ring -- June 23, 1996.
• WWE Championship Match: Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith. King of the Ring -- June 23, 1996.
• King of the Ring Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels. King of the Ring -- June 8, 1997.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Triple H vs. Mankind. King of the Ring -- June 8, 1997.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Ken Shamrock vs. The Rock. King of the Ring -- June 28, 1998.
• Hell in a Cell Match: Undertaker vs. Mankind. King of the Ring -- June 28, 1998.
• WWE Championship Match: Undertaker vs. The Rock. King of the Ring -- June 27, 1999.
• 6 Man Tag Team Match for the WWE Championship: Triple H, Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon vs. The Rock, Undertaker, & Kane. King of the Ring -- June 25, 2000.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Rikishi vs. Kurt Angle. King of the Ring -- June 25, 2000.
• Light Heavyweight Championship Match: Jeff Hardy vs. X-Pac. King of the Ring -- June 24, 2001.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Edge vs. Kurt Angle. King of the Ring -- June 24, 2001.
• Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs. Kurt Angle. King of the Ring -- June 24, 2001.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar. King of the Ring -- June 23, 2002.
• King of the Ring Match: Hulk Hogan vs. Kurt Angle. King of the Ring -- June 23, 2002.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Booker T. Judgment Day -- May 21, 2006.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: CM Punk vs. William Regal. Monday Night Raw -- April 21, 2008.
• King of the Ring Finals Match: John Morrison vs. Sheamus. Monday Night Raw -- November 29, 2010.

WWE The Best of King of the Ring Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Best of King of the Ring is another steady WWE Blu-ray release that contains a mixture of both SD and HD footage, though certainly the former dominates in this instance, with only the final two matches of disc two appearing in high definition. The SD matches maintain their original television aspect ratios, with static purple curtains serving as the "black bars" framing the material on 1.78:1 displays. The SD footage, as is usually the case with WWE home video releases, holds up very well. It struggles through some fuzziness, aliasing, jagged edges, and the like, but wrestler facial detail holds its own, colors are suitably bright and natural, and the material never seems any worse for wear. The HD footage looks just fine, too. The predominant high definition imagery comes in the form of Booker T's monologues in between some of the matches. There, colors are strong, dominated by his red cape. Fine detail is solid, whether on Booker's face, the texture of his throne, or the construction of the columns around him. Clarity is equally strong, and the image appears, while in motion, stable and relatively free of excess banding, noise, and other image-deteriorating eyesores. The two HD matches look great; detail is strong on the fighters and good clarity and a general sharpness allow even distant audience members to maintain crisp definition. Colors are great, whether Sheamus' red hair and pale white body or the colors of the mat, ropes, or wrestler trunks. This release isn't a showstopper, but it's steady and representative of the quality work that finds its way into the average WWE release.

WWE The Best of King of the Ring Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Best of King of the Ring's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is adequate. It's certainly clear, but it sometimes lacks energy and authenticity. Booker T's monologues are the strongest element; his nasally, scratchy voice is well-defined and remains focused straight up the middle. Ringside commentary is fine, plays at the appropriate volume, and only rarely gets lost in the shuffle of surrounding crowd and match effects. The sound of yelling and cheering fans remains firmly up the middle early on -- in fact, the earlier matches are terribly limited in range -- but as the material inches closer to 2010, the effects spread out, with crowd noise drifting to the front side and, eventually, back speakers. The various stomping and shaking and hitting and slapping sound effects of the matches enjoy suitable clarity as well. This one's very basic; the track doesn't carry the material but rather supports it, and given the range in age and the absence of a lossless track, WWE's Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation represents probably about the best case audio scenario for most, if not all, of these matches.

WWE The Best of King of the Ring Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Best of King of the Ring contains the following full-length "Blu-ray exclusive" matches billed as "special features" on disc two:

• King of the Ring Semi-Finals Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. "Wildman" Marc Mero. King of the Ring -- June 23, 1996.
• WWE Championship Match: Triple H vs. The Undertaker. King of the Ring -- June 23, 2002.
• King of the Ring Opening Round Match: Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton. Smackdown -- April 14, 2006.
• King of the Ring Semi-Finals Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho. Monday Night RAW -- April 21, 2008.
• King of the Ring Quarterfinals Match: Alberto del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan. Monday Night RAW -- November 29, 2010.

WWE The Best of King of the Ring Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As with most WWE Blu-ray releases, The Best of King of the Ring is a package wrestling fans won't want to be without. It's a basic compilation feature, meaning that those with a collection of at least half a dozen WWE discs or more will probably find some repeats in the master match list, but much of the content is at least new to Blu-ray. Fans will enjoy more than a 15-year-span's worth of King of the Ring excellence (take out a few years in the mid-2000s), and can now relive their favorite Superstar's -- from Bret Hart to Sheamus -- coronations on Blu-ray. WWE's Blu-ray release of Best of King of the Ring offers up no surprises in terms of content. The video and audio qualities are around WWE release-average -- expect most of them to come in at the 3.0-3.5 range -- and the set includes several additional matches billed as extras. Recommended.