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(More customer reviews)Now before I get started, I'll admit that I'm not a big Batista fan. I'll admit that I believe there are plenty of other subjects & wrestlers in WWE that are more indemand to be released onto DVD than Batista (just like a majority of the Chris Jericho supporters in the previous reviews & I personally would like more "legends" sets using the footage from their vault). However, I'm not blind either in that it's a fact that Batista has been one of the biggest & most popular stars in WWE for going on the past 5 years weather I like it or not & regardless if I do or don't agree with the reasons that is...and another thing I can't deny is that Batista has been in some of the best matches on certain PPV cards for the past couple of years. The guy is already in his 40's & he's not expected to be around for a very long time either so it's better business to strike while he's still at the peak of his popularity & career. Not everything WWE Home Video puts out appeals to all audiences and this is one of those cases where you just have made up your mind & don't care for Batista then this release isn't for you, this was the decision that was made weather we like it or not & there isn't anything we can do about it now.
The documentry stars off talking about Batista's childhood growing up in the rough area of Washington D.C. and how he came the "man of the house" at an early age before going into his experiences of moving to San Francisco & Virginia. How he started weightlifting in high school & his early "easy money" jobs were talked about before going in the story of his relationship with his future (now ex) wife Angie. How Batista got involved with wrestling originally through WCW & later with a WWE Hall Of Famer was talked about before getting into the story behind his WWE developmental character Leviathan. His career starting as Deacon Batista & eventually becoming a member of Evolution is discussed with various important moment being highlighed. How the fans "chose him" over Randy Orton leading to his WrestleMania match against Triple H is also talked about including various issues he had going into the match & the incident that happened backstage after the match as well. The documentry got real personal as the negative effect the business had on his relationship with Angie along with Dave's issues with his oldest daughter were heavily discussed. The move to SmackDown (and the "heat" he had backstage with the roster) & how close he got with Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio is discussed before heavily going into the popularity he's had with the Philippino community. The story behind him forfitting the World Title due to injury, his surgery & comeback, and regaining the title from King Booker is discussed before talking about his feuds against Undertaker, Edge, and Shawn Michaels before closing out the documentry on his celebrity status leading into other TV shows & various magazine covers.
DVD extras include bonus stories of Batista talking about a brutal version of "Hide & Seek" he used to play as a kid, Batista & his mom telling stories of his rough neighborhood that resulted in 3 different shootings in his first yard, being a lifeguard at the community pool, funny story behind filming a Leviathan segment, what happened when Dave spent $500 on a new suit for his WWE debut, what happened when he went to a pool tournament with Triple H, the moment he gained the most respect for Eddie Guerrero & how Eddie helped Dave's relationship with his daughter, a gift he gave Chavo Guerrero, and the story behind his "geeky" lunchbox collection.
Also include are two disc of bonus matches including...
vs. Kane - This match was just wasn't good & boring for the most part. Batista was still very green at the time & Kane can only carry his opposition so far in a match but it just didn't work here.
Armageddon '02
vs. World Champion Triple H - The match itself was just HHH beating down on Batista until he pissed him off & "unleashed the Animal" & beat up HHH in a way we haven't seen in a long time, at that point, all the way to winning the World Heavyweight Championship. If you watch the documentry, you'll find out an interesting fact in that Batista didn't have feeling in one of his legs during this match.
WrestleMania 21
Hell In A Cell Match vs. Triple H - An awesome match that tops their WrestleMania match by so many points . You could see the hardcore influence in this match as so many hardcore weapons (barbed wire chairs for example) were used. Triple H bleeds buckets once again and is one of this best matches of not just the night but his career period.
Vengeance '05
("Triple H: King Of Kings" & "Hell In A Cell")
No Holds Barred Match vs. JBL - This match was pretty short & sweet but if you saw their Great American Bash match, you'll know why. Batista was also in his hometown so he put on one of this best performances given the conditions.
SummerSlam '05
vs. Eddie Guerrero - This was more about "putting over a storyline" than having a great match because Eddie was putting over the storyline of "not lying, cheating, and stealing." The match was good but again, nothing really memorable besides the fact that this was the last we'll see of Eddie Guerrero on WWE PPV.
No Mercy '05
("Viva La Raza: The Legacy Of Eddie Guerrero")
vs. World Champion King Booker - This match was about one thing, Batista winning the belt back in the arena he lost it in. This was better than their SummerSlam match but that's not saying much. This was another performance that Batista "walked through" to the point to where the people started to leave & you could hear small "boring" chants. Again, it wasn't a horrible match but it was just dry & boring.
Survivor Series '06
vs. Undertaker - Taker's Undefeated Streak vs. Batista's Title and I'll be point blank honest, this was the match that should have ended the show. This was Batista's best showing since he returned from his injury as he stepped up his game & didn't show any lack of effort like most of his previous performances. This was a classic "big money" WrestleMania match & the match of the night for me as you saw the crowd off the chain thoughout the bout & even moments where it looked like Batista was going to end the streak & one spot to look out for would be Undertaker's big dive onto Batista. It's ironic that this was the 20 year anniversary of WrestleMania 3 but Undertaker walks out of his WM the same way he did 10 years earlier...as a champion.
WrestleMania 23
Steel Cage Match vs. World Champion Edge - Well, this heavily makes up for their Judgment Day match as Batista did carry his own weight here in this cage match. It's wasn't a bloody massacre (eventhough Edge got a bad gash near his lip) but a watchable matchup where again, it was so close between both men.
One Night Stand '07
w/Special Referee "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Undertaker - Undertaker brought out the type of performance from Batista that he needed after that godawful series of matches with Khali. Just like their previous trilogy of matches, this was a awesome match from start to finish.
Cyber Sunday '07
vs. John Cena - Both Cena & Batista have a reputation for being too "off & on/hot & cold" during their matches but that wasn't the case here as both men brought forth a strong effort & were on the ball in this match. Batista used a different type of offense than we normally see from him as he showed signs of Ric Flair's offense of attack the leg & even used the figure four submission along with a rear naked choke later on while Cena also worked on the leg to set up the STFU. From reversing each others moves like the powerslam into the FU & the leg drop off the top into a powerbomb before Batista unleashed "the animal" and proved he was as as Michael Cole put it, "three seconds better than Cena.".
SummerSlam '08
vs. Randy Orton - After teasing a match between these two since the days of Evolution, they lock up for the first time ever...since the episode of RAW after WrestleMania 21. This was one of those matches that I honestly felt didn't go past "first gear" as they kept the same pace throughout the match with it only picking up at various spots with their impact moves & counters instead of just building up over time but I'll give credit here for telling a story with each move of Orton's being very calculated. It was a good match but I felt like it didn't live up to the "4 years" hype they used to build up this match.
Armageddon '08
Also included are a match as his OVW character Leviathan vs. Doug Basham, Shawn Michaels at Armageddon '03, a tables match with Ric Flair vs. Dudley Boyz from Royal Rumble '04, Chris Jericho at Vengeance '04, his performance in the '05 Royal Rumble, triple threat vs. King Booker & Finaly from "SmackDown" in Dec. '06, and the Evolution reunion with Triple H & Ric Flair vs. Edge & Umaga & another former Evolution member in Randy Orton from the 15th Anniversary Edition of RAW.
In the end, this was exactly what I stated in the beginning as this is strickly a DVD for Batista fans as far as the documentry goes because the fact is that Batista hasn't had a long career so there weren't many stories to tell but at least they tried to make up for it by getting deep in his personal life & were honest with various subjects (unlike how they heavily overexaggeraed & lied on Cena's) like his backstage heat & his attitude when he came to SmackDown. As for the match selection, it's nice that they didn't get alot of matches already released on other DVD's (unless you buy every single PPV DVD they put out) they got most of Batista's best performances on here (you notice there was no mention of Great Khali anywhere on this set) but...Read more›
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WWE: Batista - I Walk Alone (2009)One of WWE s most popular Superstars, Batista is truly a study in contrasts. On one hand, Batista is the smoothest of operators, known for his stylish appearance and laid-back attitude. He has the air and presence of a champion. Exploding with fury in the ring, however, Batista embodies his nickname The Animal. That power has served him well where he has won five world championships. For the first time ever, fans of The Animal can relive his storied career with this 3-DVD set that includes a biography of Batista s life both inside the ring and out. In addition to this revealing look at The Animal, this 3-DVD set will feature dozens of the greatest matches and moments from Batista s career.
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