Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny that John Cena has been involved in most of the biggest feuds in this modern-day era of WWE. A new DVD and blu-ray release chronicles his ten best in John Cena’s Greatest Rivalries.
This new home video release is a quasi-documentary/match collection offering the best of both in spots, yet leaving viewers wanting a little more in others. The format of the DVD features the 15-time WWE champion breaking down his greatest rivalries, one rival at a time which then cuts to a match or series of matches between the two. The collection spans three discs so you will be getting plenty of John Cena if you are looking to add a little more Cena to your video collection.
[adinserter block=”1″]Unlike the documentary DVDs, Cena doesn’t get into much detail with each rivalry, just offering a brief synopsis with some analysis from the future Hall of Fame superstar. Unfortunately you probably won’t learn much new or get in on any backstage dirt but that was not the intent of the DVD. It was presented like a Top 10 collection you’d see on the NFL Network with players talking about topics sandwiched between highlights, although in this case you are getting the full matches.
The ten rivals featured on the discs are…
- Chris Jericho
- Batista
- Eddie Guerrero
- Shawn Michaels
- Edge
- Randy Orton
- Triple H
- The Rock
- JBL
- CM Punk (Blu-ray only)
The only disappointment here is the omission of Punk on the main disc. The Punk-Cena rivalry is arguably the biggest of Cena’s career. I think most fans will expect to buy the DVD with the Punk rivalry chronicled for obvious reasons. Leaving Punk off of the main disc out of spite is a bit disingenuous with unsuspecting customers. He is on the blu-ray anyway! If you aren’t going to include him fine, but you aren’t screwing with Punk here, you are screwing with the customers who assume that Cena’s greatest rival would be included on a DVD entitled John Cena’s Greatest Rivalries.
That said, there are some gems on here. Cena has been around weekly for so long that you sometimes forget about some of the fun matches he had back at the start of his ascension. A great feud I completely forgot about was Cena’s rivalry with Eddie Guerrero. The Parking Lot Brawl in particular was a fun match I’d venture to say that most of us have forgotten about in recent years.
I will say that you start to rethink Cena a bit after you watch the collection. He isn’t nearly as bad as most think he is. I think a lot of the Cena-hate comes down to the overexposure of Cena and the lack of quality opponents the company has had for him in recent years. Take a quick look at the list of rivals and you’ll notice that all but Orton aren’t competing in the WWE today. There is a reason that no recent feud other than The Rock is featured in the collection.
Overall I’d say this was a fun collection which serves a great defense of Cena as an in-ring performer. He is much more than his “Five Moves of Doom” and when inspired, can put on a hell of a match. I also think it goes without saying that if you are going to buy this collection, spend a few extra bucks on the blu-ray for the Punk rivalry.
DISC 1
Book of Knowledge
Number One Contender’s Tournament Match for WWE Championship
John Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero
SmackDown – April 3, 2003
Chicken Soup
Parking Lot Brawl
John Cena vs. Eddie Guerrero
SmackDown – September 11, 2003
Honed My Craft
OVW Championship Match
Prototype vs. Leviathan
Ohio Valley Wrestling – February 23, 2002
Different Dynamic
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match
John Cena vs. Batista
Extreme Rules – April 25, 2010
Special Individual
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
RAW – April 23, 2007
Learned So Much
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels
RAW – March 10, 2008
John Cena – Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels
DISC 2
Gifted
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Randy Orton
SummerSlam – August 26, 2007
Brought out the Best
John Cena vs. Randy Orton
RAW – February 10, 2014
Hard-Nosed
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. JBL
WrestleMania 21 – April 3, 2005
Heavily-Calloused
John Cena vs. JBL
RAW – June 9, 2008
Talk you into Building
“You’re Fired! Match” for the WWE Championship
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho
RAW – August 22, 2005
Gave Me a Chance
World Heavyweight Championship Match
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho
Survivor Series – November 23, 2008
John Cena – Greatest Rivalries: Randy Orton
DISC 3
Old Shoe
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Edge
RAW – October 2, 2006
Who Am I ?
World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match
John Cena vs. Edge
Backlash – April 26, 2009
Measuring Stick
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Triple H
WrestleMania 22 – April 2, 2006
Advice
John Cena vs. Triple H
RAW – October 19, 2009
Global Phenomenon
[adinserter block=”2″]John Cena & The Rock Q&A
RAW – March 25, 2013
Sequel
WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. The Rock
WrestleMania XXIX – April 7, 2013
John Cena – Greatest Rivalries: The Rock
BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES
Underlying Passion
John Cena vs. CM Punk
RAW – November 23, 2009
Trying To Do My Job
Number One Contender’s Match for WWE Championship
John Cena vs. CM Punk
RAW – February 25, 2013
John Cena’s Greatest Rivalries [Blu-ray]
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