Review for WWE: The Best of In Your House

Many new WWE fans will probably be aware that for a long time the monthly PPV was not what happened. In fact many months would pass before you would have to shell out £15 to watch a PPV at 1am. There was a time when the only PPVs that existed were Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble (with the King of the Ring PPv debuting in 1993). Imagine that! There were sometimes months and months before a PPV would occur, feuds would build up over months rather than weeks and so when the PPV came around you would be geared up for that Main Event so much that you would pay whatever and stay up til stupid o'clock to see it.

Now?

With only four weeks to build up your main event and with every main event being more or less the same six or so people jumbled around, it's not what it used to be. We have In Your House to thank for that. The idea was genius in a way and from a financial point of view I understand why the WWE and other companies did it, but at times I do miss that build.

I would love to say that this set is a great trip down memory lane... and it is, don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful matches and moments on this three disk set, but there is just one problem.

Todd Pettengill.

Who? Well, this was our generation's Mike Adamle or Scott Stanford. The guy who tried so hard to make us like him, and failed so badly that for a time I refused to watch WWE. Well, WWE have decided to let him host this DVD. I understand that they want the nostalgia kick that he brings (similar to DDP on the WCW one) but really? I mean was Jim Ross busy? Even Kevin Nash would have done a better job than this. I thought he was bad in 1995... little did I know that almost 20 years later he wouldn't be just as bad... he would be worse!

However, what makes this set so great is just watching the evolution of certain stars from the likes of Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. Alongside these were some established names like The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Diesel. All of these matches are great and there are none that I scratch my head thinking: Why is this here? Though when I think back at certain PPVs I do wonder why from the St Valentine's Day Massacre the cage match between Stone Cold and Mr McMahon is not included, but that;s just me being nitpicky.

Highlights include a WWE Championship match between Bret Hart and British Bulldog. This isn't as great as their classic Intercontinental match from Summerslam 1992, but it is still a technical (if bloody) wonder. WWE Championship matches from Shawn Michaels against Diesel (Good Friends, Better Enemies) and Mankind (Mind Games) are wonderful examples of how good Michaels was.

Also included is the first Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Mankind which is just an amazing spectacle and the brutal and at times hilarious Last Man Standing match between The Rock and Mankind. We also get to see the emergence of Stone Cold with a number of great matches against the likes of Triple H, his performance in the Fatal Four WWE Championship match between The Undertaker, Bret Hart and Vader.

Also included is a number of wonderful multi-man tag matches including a ten man tag matches that features Stone Cold, Ken Shamrock, Legion of Doom, Goldust against Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart Foundation. This is a wonderful match and certainly one of the best of this type I have ever seen.

The DVD in itself is fine, but again I have to go back to the awful Todd Pettengill promos and introductions in between each of them. It ruined the flow and for once I would rather it had just been match/match/match with no context and no explanation than have to listen to him make his awful jokes or do his even worse impressions. My advice would be to skip as soon as his face comes on the screen... you'll thank me for it in the long run.

The Best of In Your House (despite Todd) is a great set with some of the best that the WWE had to offer during this time. In a way, it is almost a Best of WWE 1995-1999 and watching how different someone like Triple H or Shawn Michaels was is always fun. The set includes an amazing mix of matches and so there will be something for everyone. You will want this DVD in your house.