WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie Review

Kingdom Blu.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 28, 2013

There's been no shortage of superstars to pass through the square circle's ropes over the course of the past decades. It's difficult to pick the single greatest of them, the best performer, the best man, the most well-rounded, the most respected, the most loved. Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, and John Cena are some of wrestling's premiere figureheads of all-time and certainly the faces of professional wrestling over the past few decades. All of them may rightly be considered the greatest, for a number of reasons, but one could argue that none of them have earned the prestige, enjoyed the longevity, participated in industry innovation, dominated inside the ring, and overcome so much adversity as Paul Levesque, better known by his ring persona Triple H. Few, if any, have contributed so much, built a legacy of success, and cemented a future in the industry with the passion, knowledge, and determination of Triple H. Oh, and he also earned the blessing to marry the boss' daughter. How's that for a feather in the proverbial cap?

The Cerebral Assassin.

Nashua, New Hampshire native Paul Levesque grew up in love with wrestling. His family would catch matches on television and attend matches when they came to town. Paul took up bodybuilding as a teenager and found almost instant success in a sport that requires an incredible amount of time and dedication. In Thy Kingdom Come, Levesque discusses how he came to break into the wrestling scene, making contacts with people like Ted Arcidi and Killer Kowalski and finally finding success in independent leagues, performing in school gymnasiums and shopping malls under the stage name "Terra Rizing." Levesque impressed his peers and the higher-ups in the big leagues. A chance meeting with WCW Promoter Chip Burnham resulted in his highlights being pushed up the chain, first to Bob Dhue and finally to Eric Bischoff and a contract to wrestle in the WCW under the guise of an aristocratic Frenchman speaking in broken English named Jean-Pual Levesque.

For Levesque, the bright lights and high ratings of the WCW were but a stepping stone to something better. He persuaded WWF's top man, Vince McMahon, to hire him on to wrestle on the biggest stage and under the most prestigious flag. Though he maintained a similar aristocratic persona, he changed his stage name to "Hunter Hearst Helmsley." Thy Kingdom Come spends much of its two-hour runtime covering his career in the WWF/WWE, including joining Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to form "The Kliq," the fallout after Nash's and Hall's departure to the rival WCW, his pairing with Chyna, the formation of DX and its rivalry with The Nation of Domination, and Helmsley's own rivalry with The Rock. It also covers his staged and real-life marriage to Stephanie McMahon and the marriage's complications within the business. The film also looks into his injuries, reuniting DX, his film career, and his transition to the business side of the WWE.

Thy Kingdom Come paints a complete, oftentimes fascinating, and consistently engaging story of a man who built his body, constructed a career, and cemented a legacy in a business he always admired and in which he found tremendous success through hard work and perseverance. In the film, Levesque comes across as affable, intelligent, motivated, and appreciative of where he is and respectful of where he's been and the people who made it happen. The documentary moves quickly, never breaking the narrative for frivolous insight. It's a rock-solid construct, taking time to tell the story but never forgetting the core of the man, not just the wrestler, at the center of it all. It's built around classic photos and videos but shaped by narration and interviews with Triple H himself and a bevy of wrestling celebrities, including, but not limited to, his father and mother, William Regal, Harley Race, Road Dogg, Diamond Dallas Page, Vince and Stephanie McMahon, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross, Randy Orton, John Cena, and The Undertaker. The program creates its arc through engaging drama and flow, not just telling a story but bringing it to life with an enthusiasm and insight that's common to WWE Documentaries and on full display in The Kingdom Come.

Thy Kingdom Come contains the following matches:

Disc One:

• Career Match: Jean-Paul Levesque vs. Ricky Steamboat. WCW Saturday Night -- September 1994.
• Career Match: Hunter Hearst-Helmsley vs. Dude Love. One Night Only -- September 1997.
• Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship: The Rock vs. Triple H. Judgment Day -- May 21, 2000.
• No Disqualification Match: Triple H vs. Kurt Angle. Unforgiven -- September 24, 2000.

Disc Two:

• All Championships on the Line: Triple H & Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Undertaker & Kane. Backlash -- April 29, 2001.
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Triple H vs. Rob Van Dam. RAW -- June 30, 2003.
• Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H. Royal Rumble -- January 25, 2004.
• Road to WrestleMania Tournament Match: Ric Flair vs. Triple H. RAW -- February 6, 2006.
• Return from Injury: Triple H vs. King Booker. SummerSlam -- August 26, 2007.
• Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Randy Orton. No Mercy -- October 7, 2007.
• Non-Title Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H. SmackDown -- November 21, 2008.
• Career Match: Triple H vs. Chris Jericho. RAW -- November 30, 2009.

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Thy Kingdom Come arrives on Blu-ray with the usual higher-tier HD picture quality from WWE. The image is comprised of two basic elements, classic SD footage presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and flanked by WWE-styled vertical "black bars" and new HD interview footage framed at HD-native 1.78:1. There's also some newer archival footage originally shot in HD as well. Veteran WWE Home Video Blu-ray fans can expect the same sort of image they've seen before. For newcomers, here's the basic breakdown. The SD footage shows its age and is host to a myriad of unsightly technical problems, from deflated definition to uneven colors, but it looks as good as can be expected and is really quite impressive, at times, in just how well some of the late SD-era material holds up. As always, the SD footage quality does not factor into the score. The new interview footage looks tremendous. Viewers will note every facial detail on Triple H's face, the lines in his neatly-pressed black button-down shirt, and the leathery texture of his seat back. Light compression issues are evident across the background. The HD wrestling footage, seen mostly near the end of the program, offers rich colors and bold, well-defined details. It's an average WWE retrospective Documentary picture quality, and fans should be satisfied with what they see.

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Thy Kingdom Come features the WWE-standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The new interview footage delivers crisp, clear, clean, natural, reliable, center-focused dialogue. Most of the wrestling action across the main program is relegated to the background as interviewees dominate the track. However, basic clarity and definition of background elements never waver, particularly in the newer HD-era footage and material hailing from the end of the SD era. Every now and then, the background sounds take center stage and play with a basic clarity that reflects the age of the material. This one's primarily dialogue, then, and the lossy presentation suits and serves it well.

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Thy Kingdom Come contains one bonus match and plenty of short interview clips, all on disc two and all billed as "Blu-ray exclusives."

• No Disqualification Match -- Triple H's Career is on the Line: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar. WrestleMania 29 -- April 7, 2013.
• Interview Clips (HD): A collection of additional interviews, effectively "deleted scenes" from the main program. Most feature Triple H as the primary speaker, but others (designated by "*" and followed by the guest speaker) feature other speakers or Triple H and another speaker. Selections include Motivation in High School* (Triple H's Mother) (4:53), Hard Way In (1:35), Paul Scream (0:56), Resume (3:01), Sherri (2:29), Diamond Cutter* (Diamond Dallas Page) (3:15), Hunter Hearst Helmsley -- The Name* (Vince McMahon) (3:05), Wild 'n Crazy Guys* (The Rock) (1:11), Evolution's Fifth Member?? (1:39), Shawn's Comeback (2:33), WrestleMania 26* (Sheamus) (1:26), Two Movies at Once* (Shawn Michaels) (4:12), Commemorating the End* (Undertaker and Shawn Michaels) (1:47), Worst Gas on the Planet* (Big Show) (0:42), Candy Bar* (Big Show, Batista) (0:57), Praising the Boss* (Road Dogg) (0:40), Behind the Scenes -- Photo Shoot* (John Jones, Per Bernal) (3:33), Behind the Scenes WrestleMania 29 Weekend (5:58), Taping Wrists (0:58), The Levesque Game* (Stephanie McMahon) (4:37), and King of Signs (1:47).

WWE: Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Thy Kingdom Come is another rock-solid WWE Documentary feature. Triple H's life and career are nothing short of fascinating, and the two-hour journey is one even his biggest fans will want to experience time and again. From meager beginnings to rising towards the top of the executive operations at the WWE, Triple H's influence on the professional wrestling landscape cannot be understand and will not be forgotten. WWE Home Video's Blu-ray release of Thy Kingdom Come features high quality video and typical WWE audio. A decent assortment of extras are included, though fans will yearn for additional added full-length matches. Notable is the absence of the Triple H-Undertaker WrestleMania XXVIII match. The good news is that wrestling fans probably already own it. Still, this release comes highly recommended to its target audience.