The copy I recieved was printed backwards with pages opening right to left and the cover was upside down in addition to backwards. Not sure if this was an anomoly or a constant problem but I would avoid this item. I got the book as a gift for a friend who did end up deciding it wasn't a big enough problem to try and return it. As far as the quality of the story and artwork, it is nothing special but not bad.

The copy I recieved was printed backwards with pages opening right to left and the cover was upside down in addition to backwards. Not sure if this was an anomoly or a constant problem but I would avoid this item. I got the book as a gift for a friend who did end up deciding it wasn't a big enough problem to try and return it. As far as the quality of the story and artwork, it is nothing special but not bad.

Even if you have seen the movie online for free the extras are well worth the purchase. Commentary the Musical alone makes this a keeper.

I did not see this event when it originally aired so this review is not impacted by whether it did or did not live up to the hype. I purchased it as a huge fan of Jericho who wanted a copy of the show that cemented his place in the industry and was not dissapointed :D

Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert vs. Christian & Test:
Decent opener, I'm glad Albert no longer dances. 6.5/10
Edge vs William Regal-Intercontinental title
Regal and Edge never really clicked in the ring like I had hoped but again a decent match. 7/10
Jackie vs. Trish-Women's title
This may have been Jacqueline's best match ever. But its still not up to the level of the better women's matches today. Trish was not quite at the level she is now either. 6/10
Dudleys vs Kane/Big Show- Tag Team titles
Everyone seemed confused for half the match and it didn't seem like anyone cared about the tension between Kane and Show. Decent finish saved it from being a total dud. Sorta. 4/10
Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy-special ref Lita
A solid technical match but since the crowd wanted more "team extreme" style offence they were totally dead. Lita is not a good actress and it showed during the segment before the match. In retrospect the wrong guy won but still good fun. 7/10
Undertaker vs RVD- Hardcore Championship
Once more time the Undertaker proves he has not only the physical skills but is an expert in pacing a match. And RVD proved he still has that hardcore streak in him and lives up to PPV Harcore match standards with a spectacular finishing sequence and final bump. 8/10
Stone Cold vs Kurt Angle
These guys have simply great chemistry in the ring. It wasn't quite to the level of the SummerSlam match from that year but they couldn't go with as long a match given how the night was designed. The finish seemed a little bit abrupt but again that was more because they had raised the bar so high. On its own this match is still a good 8/10
Chris Jericho vs The Rock
The moment of the night came in the next match but this was the best of the 3 main event mathces. Even though the face won the first match it was still highly probable that we would see Rock vs Austin so tension was still very high. These guys tore the proverbial house down and to finally have a heel actually end a match the the other guy's finisher had me cheering in my room even though I knew who was going to win. 9.5/10
Chris Jericho vs. Stone Cold- WWE Undisputed Title match
Jericho held up really well after getting NO rest. There should have been a match between the semi finals and the finals. However, they still had a match with a good story despite the less than ideal length. The entire finishing sequence was so well done and the stunned silence of most of the crowd at the end proved everyone had done their job well. 8.5/10

Overall the show had a dissapointing undercard compared to some of the shows from that year but the better matches more than made up for it. Even if I was not such a huge Jericho fan I think I would have enjoyed this disc quite a bit.

The specifics of the extras are extremely numerous. Suffice to say that they are somewhat interesting but overall really short and for a WWE DVD I expected a little bit better. Fortunatley the main attraction, the matches of Wresltemania XIX were outstanding. In my opinion as a top to bottom card only Wrestlemania X7 is in the same league by today's standards.

Heat: Lance Storm and Chief Morley vs Kane and RVD (World tag titles):
This match is in the extras section. Not bad at all for a heat match with the Dudley Boys ending up being the important part of the story. On any other show I would have been very upset this was on heat but except for the lame Catfight Girls bit I can't imagine bumping anything else to open up a spot. 7/10

Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio (Cruiserweight title):
My biggest comment on this match is it should have been longer. These 2 guys tore it up and I wish they could have done a lot more as both men have proven they can step it up in big match situations. Mysterio proves the golden rule that when you have a severe costume change you're bound to get beat but still a stellar opener. 8/10

Undertaker vs A-Train and Big Show:
Before the show this match was seen as a potential snoring fest but ended up being a great ride. Taker looked phenomenal physically and what's Wrestlemania without a Tombstone? 7.5/10

Victoria vs Trish vs Jazz (Wome's title):
For my money this is the BEST women's championship match in history. All 3 ladies pulled out their A game and the right woman got the win she should have had a year earlier. To this day I have not seen any of these ladies do a better personal performance in the ring. 8.5/10

Haas and Benjamin vs Los Guerreros vs Benoit and Rhyno (Tag Titles):
Benoit and Rhyno are both more suited to singles but hang in with the best 2 teams in the WWE at that time very well. Strong match where even though someone had to lose nobody really suffered from the match which is always a great sign. 8/10

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho:
The ONLY thing wrong with this match was the proverbial torch should have been passed and was not. But my personal disagreement with that decision aside, this match may have stolen the show. On a card with several "10" matches this one might have just been the best. Simply breathtaking storytelling and flawless physical excecution. 10/10

Triple H vs Booker T (World Title):
This is the best match in the career of Booker T. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand and everyone was behind him. It would have been the perfect time for him to take the proverbial ball and run but alas it was not to be. The finish (not just because of who but how as well) was adequate but prevented this match from being in the same stratosphere as others on this card. Booker proves he belongs in the elite. 9/10

Hogan vs McMahon:
This is the match I thought had the potential to kill the great buildup of stellar matches I had just seen. Instead both guys met the challenge and had a slower but nonetheless memorable match. The blood, the surprizes and even the bumps were at a level I didn't think these guys had in them anymore. Huge props as 2 of wrestlings biggest icons show they still had the magic. 9.5/10

Stone Cold vs The Rock:
If this does end up being the very last match for Austin, he went out on top. These guys have had so many great matches to live up to and delivered in a big time way. They were able to take familiar elements and still create a unique match that had me yelling at the screen for at least the last 5min of the match if not more. It was physical and captivating and a fitting end to this historic rivalry and the career of the Rattlesnake. Rock cements his status as one of the greatest heels EVER.

Angle vs Lesnar:
Sweet. Merciful. Crap. These 2 guys give you every single ounce of their body and soul in this match. Angle does the entire match on a bad neck and still comes through with a match of the year performance personally. And Lesnar gets the job done in the face of his first Wrestlemania and knowing at any time he could cripple Angle. The storytelling is just fantastic and then there's the finish. Lesnar tries to create the greatest finish in Wrestlemania history and ends up nearly killing himself. When he attempted the shooting star I thought he might have killed himself or caused permanent paralysis. And yet even with the improv ending I would still put this match in the top 5 main events at Wrestlemania. 10/10

Almost everything right down to the order of the show just seemed to click. A few of the results seemed to make more political sense than business or wrestling sense but it is the only complaint I have on the show as a whole. Oh that and the whole deal with the Miller Lite Catfight girls who's time should have gone to Mysterio and Hardy. But you can't win em all. If you are even a moderate fan and you don't have this 2 disc set, what are you waiting for????? It doesn't get much better than this.

Unfortunately as great as 3 of the matches were on this show, the undercard was just too weak to give a show a 5 star rating.

Sunday Night Heat "bonus": Val Venis vs Matt Hardy:
Considering they had 5 minutes they told a fairly decent story. I wish this match has been on the PPV instead of some of the other matches on this undercard. 7/10

Shelton Benjamin vs Ric Flair:
Benjamin has loads of talent and he was in the middle of a good push at the time of this match. However this was not the best effort by either guy and what should have been a very good opening match ended up being tolerable, nothing more. 6/10

Tajiri vs The Coach:
Coach is an entertaining guy, but he should NOT be in the ring on a freakin PPV. Way better than expected as Tajiri is excellent but the way it ended with a single punch KO from outside was just dumb. At least hit the guy with a weapon?! 4/10

Chris Jericho vs Christian and Trish Stratus:
Fantastic match that was a lone brightspot in the show when it took place on the card. Should have been much closer to the main event. Despite the length of the feud these guys still put on a unique match compared to previous effort and it told a great story. Jericho needs a more consistent finisher but the timing was perfect. 8.5/10

Victoria vs Lita (women's title):
Lita showed serious ring rust and the match fell flat. 3/10

Randy Orton vs Mick Foley (IC title):
Orton and Mick did not quite have the chemistry of Foley vs HHH which made Hunter a star (moreso). The fact that the chemistry wasn't as good and yet Orton still came out a star tells you just how good these guys were that night. Huge props to Orton who gained everyone's respect by taking some of the insane bumps everyone knew would happen but most people thought Foley would take them all as per usual. Going in I held a 0% chance of Foley winning due to only signing a short contract but when he dropped that elbow..... I was marking out like a little kid and believed there was a chance that Foley could add the IC title to his career resume, off the charts. 9.9/10 (because 2000 Royal Rumble was just that itsy bitsy tiny bit better)

Hurricane and Rosey vs La Resistance (#1 contender tag-team):
This match has no business being this high on the card. Not a bad performance but the use of Eugene overshadowed the match completely and made it a total waste. 6/10 before Eugene and 3/10 after.

Edge vs Kane:
Everyone in the building knew waaaaaaay before this match who was going to win. Nobody took Kane seriously and it hurt the match cause the crowd was totally dead despite the return of the Canadian on a show in Canada. Edge got the big pop at the end but the match itself was also nowhere near what either guy is capable of. Edge was rusty and Kane looked worse but it was still better than some of the matches and even when rusty, Edge was still able to pull out a 6/10 from me.

Benoit vs HHH vs Shawn Michaels (World Title):
Not quite at the level of WMXX but how could it have been? You can't possibly re-create the energy of Wrestlemania and Benoit winning his first WWE World Title. Fortunately it was not that far off. Plenty of momentum changes and excellent high spots. All 3 of these guys were performing near the top of their abilities and the match flowed very well. The way that the screwjob finished was teased was absolutely perfect and the end result could not have possibly been any better. In the theatre I originally watched this in I even caught myself saying "thanks Shawn" out loud and anyone who has been a Canadian wrestling fan since before Survivor Series 97 knows exactly what I'm talking about. 10/10

Getting Benoit's speech in Calgary the next night as part of the DVD was also a very nice touch. You can see all the Flames jerseys as that night was game 7 against Vancouver and the Saddledome was very close to the HUGE party that took place very shortly after the WWE Raw was over when the Flames won :D Ok, enough side tracking, bottom line is this was not a very balanced PPV but the good was so good that the bad didn't seem to matter so much. A good buy for a collection for sure!

For once you can watch the main feature of this disc without having the ending to all the extra matches ruined if you don't know who came out on top (still if that matters to you watch the matches first as a few spoilers are unavoidable). Its very well put together but if you saw Backlash 2004 you've already seen a fairly large chunk of it. The footage of Japan and WCW and ECW could have been more detailed but fortunately the documentary style show presented is not the main attraction. This entire disc is all about the full length matches that are included. The "extras" make this disc an instant must own for any fan of Benoit or anyone who appreciates skillful technical wrestling.

The matches from Japan can be aired with no commentary, Michael Cole and Tazz doing more of a standard play by play style with some history or Benoit, Dean Malenko and WWE assorted announcer Todd Grisham telling stories and educating people about Japanese professional wrestling which WWE has defintely become more similar to than they were in 1990-1994 when Benoit's matches in Japan took place. They are all stellar and it was cool to see Eddie Gurerro in a mask as Black Tiger, Liger in his prime and the best match of all was with Great Sasuke, and that was the 3rd match of the night for both of them.

Too Cold Scorpio was the only match here that could have been left out and it was still decent. Best watched on mute as Tony Chivoni broadcasting by himself with no colour guy was awful.

The 2 ECW matches are a study in contrast. Sabu lasts just over a minute and the ending will send chills up your spine (literally) while the match with a very lean Al Snow is a spectacular technical display.

In WCW, a young Benoit vs Guerrero but this time no masks. Eddie isn't the lean mean machine but still flies around with spectacular skill. Watch the main feature before watching the match with Kevin Sullivan. It makes what they did together in the ring even more impressive. And I can't belive that nobody in the audience was seriously hurt. Benoit vs Booker T, I wish they had shown what everyone thought was going to be match 7 from Thunder before this match was made but that's just because it would have been cool to see more of Bret and the NWO. This match was stellar, start to finish. The title match vs Sid Vicious was a whole lot better than I expected because I never thought highly of Sid. Seeing the locker room watching from the entranceway was cool too.

The one house show style match was with Regal and it was very cool hearing Tom Prichard talk about how he used this match as a model to his students in OVW. A simply awesome match which I believe won indie match of the year.

The other 3 WWE matches were all simply amazing. There is no official match of the year award but the cage match was a contender in 2001, the 2003 RR was the match of year in many circles and the main event at WMXX will be considered at the end of this year.

The cage match is most known for the headbut and moonsault that Benoit and Angle respectfully, did off the top of the cage. But beyond that there was a great story in the ring, Austin's involvment and beatdown after the match. In additon to all that the highlight of the match for me was the coolest german suplex ever (trust me you'll know it when you see it)

RR 2003: Going in not many people thought Benoit really had a shot as the feud for an eventual Lesanr vs Angle was already in high gear. But anyone who tells you they didn't get caught up in the action of knowing who was going to take home the gold is either a liar or not a wrestling fan. They should have shown the HUGE standing ovation Benoit got after the match but at least you get a taste of it on the main feature.

WMXX: I was very worried about this match when it happened live because usually matches that aren't 1-1 have trouble carrying the crowds attention as a main event. I was thankfully horribly wrong. Its been proclaimed by the WWE as the greatest Wrestlemania main event ever which is not the case (Bret vs Shawn WM12) but it is right up there with Angle vs Lesnar, Rock vs Austin 1 and 2 or Steamboat vs Savage. The end celebration from that match truly did bring both the career and in many ways the personal story of Benoit full circle and after watching this disc you can't help but appreciate it even more if you're a wrestling fan. Especially if you're a Canadian fan like myself who also happens to be a huge fan of skillful technical wrestling. This cost is a bit above normal which is probably due to having to pay for the matches from New Japan pro wrestling but its simply a phenomenal collection. 10/10

The good: This disc covers the major highlights of the Monday Night War in addition to providing some background on the 2 companies involved before the war got started. This was some of the better footage with seeing the old Manhattan Center and comparing it to 1996 and then to today. Some WWE personnel were also able to vent their feeling on what was wrong with WWF and well as WCW with Jim Cornette and Mick Foley being the best interviewed. The "extra" moments were all very good.

The not so good: There were still too many guys who weren't able to speak about this whole issue (Nash, Hall Hogan, Bret). The bonus matches which are often the highlight of WWE DVD were a total dud. I can understand not having any PPV matches but none of the best matches from Raw or Nitro were there with the possible exception of Goldberg vs Hogan on Nitro. The Raw matches were adequate but I can think of several just off the top of my head that were higher quality by far.

Bottom Line: Despite the unusually substandard extras package the main feature is put together about as good as possible this close to the war being over. It does an excellent job of taking fans who followed the Monday Night War closely and giving some insight and a lot of memories on what was a wonderful time for professional wrestling. There's a distinct "they started it and we finished" flavour from the WWE but it rings true and does a better job than I expected of giving WCW its props for putting up the best fight Vince and the WWE ever had. Very satisfied.