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TNA: Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls: Scars And Stitches (2008)

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Overall Rating 64%
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Ranked #14,875
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Connections: Wrestling: TNA

TNA Wrestling Home Video presents "The Best Of The Bloodiest Brawls: Scars and Stitches", featuring the most out-of-control, barbaric and brutal matches in Total Nonstop Action. The DVD features bouts such as the Six Sides Of Steel, The Doomsday Chamber Of Blood and the hellish Barbed Wire Massacre. TNA Superstars featured on this DVD include Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Sting, Abyss, Christian Cage, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, Rhino, The Latin American Xchange and more! --Amazon
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Review by Chad
Added: December 15, 2008
As I mentioned a couple of days ago in my review for TNA's 50 Greatest Moments, I was never properly introduced to the company thanks to my interest in the sport declining around the same time that WWE's only real competition came onto the scene. Sure, I know most of these guys from their runs in WWE and I've heard things here and there about what's going on down in TNA's territory in Florida, but to say that I'm a fan would be a stretch. After the company put together a great sale containing some of their older releases, I decided to change all that and give them a shot. So, here we are with the second half of my introduction to TNA Wrestling in a charming little compilation entitled Best of the Bloodiest Brawls: Scars and Stitches.

As always, I'm going to get the lineup out of the way before getting into my thoughts, so here's what you're going to get out of this release:

* Jeff Jarrett vs. Rhino (Turning Point '05)
* Sting, AJ Styles, Rhino, and Ron Killings vs. Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner, and America's Most Wanted (Lethal Lockdown Match - Lockdown '06)
* AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. The LAX (Six Sides Of Steel - Bound For Glory '06)
* Rhino vs. Christian Cage (Barbed Wire Cage Match - Impact 2006-11-16)
* Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (Genesis '06)
* Sting vs. Abyss (Last Rites Match - Destination X '07)
* James Storm vs. Chris Harris (Texas Death Match - Sacrifice '07)
* Abyss vs. Tomko (No Disqualification Match - Slammiversary '07)
* Abyss vs. Judas Mesias (Barbed Wire Massacre 2 - Against All Odds '08)

On a technical note, Rhino vs. Christian Cage is edited, but to be fair, this match took place on network television - the "edit" is where they went to commercial break (though it would have been nice to have the actual footage spliced back in for the DVD release). Abyss vs. Tomko is also edited for reasons unknown, as this match occurred on pay-per-view and had no commercial interruptions. Oddly enough, it cuts away for what I would assume is about two minutes, and picks up with the referee telling Abyss to "take it home" (in other words, "Hurry up and finish the match, you're out of time.") If you're going to cut the match, why not cut out this obvious blooper? Otherwise, each of the matches are presented in their entirety, "Fire Russo" chants and all.

It may not look like much, but that's a little over three hours worth of wrestling. With that said, I have to admit that this disc did not impress me quite as much as the aforementioned 50 Greatest Moments, but this is more a fault of the presentation than the athletes. For starters, I simply hate the announce team of Mike Tenay and Don West, and listening to them announce each and every match grew tiresome about ten minutes in. I fully realize that this problem is not exclusive to this disc, but as someone who is practically a virgin to the product, it was by far the worst part of sitting through these three hours.

Mike Tenay is often called "The Professor", and I think that this is an appropriate nickname. Much like a college professor, the man clearly knows his stuff, but listening to him talk is much like listening to a college lecture: dull and seriously lacking of emotion. Don West, on the other hand, clearly shows his Home Shopping Network roots while commentating as everything that comes out of his mouth seems scripted, rehearsed, and again, clearly lacking in emotion. Again, you're probably used to this if you're a fan of the product, but this is my perspective as a newcomer.

Another problem that I had with the presentation was the prematch vignettes that allowed the wrestlers to give their perspectives on the match that you're about to watch. You see, the disc begins with a little introduction video that is a compilation of interview segments in which the wrestlers talk about how bloodshed affects their abilities in the ring, and while it's a little corny, it does serve as a nice opener to the disc. The problem arises shortly afterward during the aforementioned prematch vignettes, as you quickly realize that the introduction video you just watched is a compilation of material from these segments. So, when you're listening to one of the guys talk about the upcoming match, you discover that you've already heard this line and that piece of the conversation just moments before. Would it really have been that difficult to get some exclusive material for the opening video, or alternatively, scrap it altogether in favor of showing these interviews in their proper context alongside the matches?

As mentioned, I'm a newcomer to the company, and thus, I had not seen any of this material prior to popping this disc in. Again, these prematch vignettes present a problem in that regard as they show all of the highlights of the match that you're about to watch (and in one case, they blatantly give away the ending). Look, I know that wrestling is "fake", but so are Hollywood blockbusters; I know that James Storm wasn't trying to legitimately blind Chris Harris during their match in the same way that Bruce Willis wasn't really dead in The Sixth Sense. Both serve as entertainment that appeals to a select group of fans, but the difference is that you don't see the grand reveal as an opening segment on the Sixth Sense DVD; after all, why would you spoil the ending for those who were playing the disc for the first time? Similarly, you shouldn't say "Here's what happened during the match, here's who won, and now, have fun watching the match itself."

I enjoyed the actual matches as they were all damned fine picks to go on a release like this; each of the matches give us plenty of action, it's easy to get into them with no knowledge of the storylines that led to them, and of course, each one features plenty of bloodshed (the Texas Death Match between James Storm vs. Chris Harris is downright disgusting in that regard). You'll hear the crowd chanting "This is awesome" on more than one occasion and find yourself agreeing with them more often than not, but I just wish that the presentation of this material was a little better. 7/10.
The Red Clover #1: The Red Clover - added December 18, 2008 at 8:38am
Could not agree with you more and I really wish more people would get behind this product considering how WWE is a little lacking in their performance department.
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