WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 19, 2022

At least WWE's spreadsheets, sales projections, and business models still allow for the annual WrestleMania release to Blu-ray. The company which once, years ago, released a steady stream of terrific wrestling content to the physical high-definition format has all but pulled the plug, throwing only this one annual bone to fans and collectors. Long gone are the countless RAW and SmackDown releases, wrestler and personality bios, themed compilations, Pay-Per-View-Events, histories, and SteelBooks. It was a great run, but with the advent of the WWE Network the company's brass and bean counters apparently decided that there just wasn't enough money to invest in Blu-ray releases anymore, which is a sign of the times but also disappointing for collectors and hardcore fans who want that access to a hard copy of their favorite matches and more. But here, at least, is the company's flagship event, spread over two nights and two discs, that offers fans that once per year remembrance of what once was in the world of the WWE home video.

WrestleMania has been held across two nights rather than just one for now three shows dating back to the 2020 event that was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It's a good move, allowing for more breathing room for an event that was already overflowing and pushing its allotted time to beyond maximum tolerance for even perhaps, some of the most hardcore fans. The result here is a more evenly paced night, still packed with too much fluff in between some of the matches, focusing more on the regalia and pomp and circumstance rather than getting down to business after some opening pleasantries. Still, it's certainly the show of shows for a reason, and for sheer spectacle this 2022 show does not disappoint.

The wrestling is fine, too, even if there's an overflow of familiarity about the content. The results surprise, at times, and at others play about as expected. The show blends the usual array of familiar faces, retuning favorites, and surprise entrants that add a little spice to the otherwise familiar structure. But WrestleMania 38 is comfortable in its own skin and doing its thing within a very structured cadence. The matches feature the usual barrage of high intensity energy, near-falls, and twists and turns but ultimately every match delivers as expected, nothing more and nothing less. The story lines again prove more interesting than the actual wrestling, and it is more who wins -- not how -- that resonates most once the show is over.

The following matches comprise WrestleMania 2022:

Disc One:

• SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boggs.
• WrestleMania Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin (with Madcap Moss).
• Tag Team Match: The Miz & Logan Paul vs. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio.
• RAW Women's Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair.
• WrestleMania Match: Seth Freakin' Rollins vs. An Opponent of Mr. McMahon's Choosing.
• SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey.

Disc Two:

• RAW Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match: RK-BRO (Randy Orton & Riddle) vs. The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis).
• WrestleMania Match: "The All Mighty" Bobby Lashley vs. Omos.
• Anything Goes Match: Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville.
• WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler & Natalya vs. Carmella & Queen Zelina.
• WrestleMania Match: AJ Styles vs. Edge.
• WrestleMania Tag Team Match: Kofi Kingston &Xavier Woods vs. Sheamus & Ridge Holland (with Butch).
• WrestleMania Match: Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory (with Mr. McMahon).
• Winner Take All - Championship Unification Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (with Paul Heyman).

WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Brothers brings WrestleMania 38 to Blu-ray with a 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The presentation is in good working order, offering solid clarity across the foreground, revealing wrestler skin and tattoos, facial hair, costumes, the ropes, and various ringside content with impressive definition. The picture offers very good clarity and enough tangible detail to satisfy requirements. Color output is very good, with bold hues visible on costumes, the digital signage and lights around the arena, and various odds and ends around the frame. Black levels depth is good, skin tones are healthy and balanced, and the picture is impressively stable, showing little in the way of serious compression related artifacts. This is a solid transfer from Warner Brothers and WWE.

WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Though the releases are few, the audio encode remains the same for WrestleMania 38. Warner Brothers and WWE once again utilize the Dolby Digital 5.1 lossy encode. The track is just fine, however, despite the lack of lossless credentials. It's satisfying wide and clear, nicely detailed and aggressive when need be, primarily during wrestler intros when music blasts with prominent engagement, albeit heard through stadium speakers. Still, the general excellence is in evidence for immersion into the environment. Crowd sounds are not fully immersive, but there's enough front end spacing to help the home viewer get a feel for the atmosphere. In-ring crashes and smacks and punches and kicks land with appropriate depth. Ringside commentary is clear and center focused. Note that a Dolby Digital two-channel lossy Spanish language play by play is also included.

WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of WrestleMania 38 contains only one extra on disc two. WWE Hall of Fame - April 1, 2022: The Deadman Speaks (1080i, 1:03:45) is, essentially, an hour of a teary-eyed 'Taker talking up his career and the people that made it possible. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. There is no trading card included, as there have been in some previous releases. This set does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.

WWE: WrestleMania 38 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This was a solid WrestleMania, offering some good matches, interesting story lines, and a nice blend of past, present, and future. It's hardly amongst the very best of the 38 'Manias so far, but fans should be generally satisfied with the overall product. Video and audio are fine. There's only one extra, but it's a good one. Recommended for fans.