Review of WWE: Judgement Day 2007

Introduction

Coming into Judgement Day 2007, the WWE was experiencing somewhat of an injury crisis.

Even with the undeniable physicality of professional wrestling, many people are perplexed to note that serious injuries do occur inside the ring, and as such the company was forced to plough on without such stars as Triple-H (torn quadriceps), The Undertaker (torn biceps), Mr Kennedy (torn triceps), and Gregory Helms (broken neck). Although kept hush-hush, Shawn Michaels was also known to be suffering from a serious knee injury.

Judgement Day, then, was a chance to prove that even under trying circumstances, the company can still promote a good show. Five championships remained on the line, with Edge defending his World Heavyweight Title against Batista, and John Cena defending against The Great Khali.

Judgement Day 2007 was held on 20th May 2007, from the Scottrade Centre in St. Louis, Missouri.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. With production values maintaining their usual high standards, the transfer to DVD is also unproblematic, with only very minor compression artefacts noticeable, particularly on the wrestler entrances.

This is as good as could have been expected from a live-to-tape recording.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and is excellent for a DVD of this genre. It is nice to see that 5.1 mixes are becoming standard for these event releases, as they certainly add a little more life to proceedings, than their 2.0 counterparts. With a mix of everything from the front speakers, the surrounds carry entrance music, crowd noise, and the referee`s count, allowing the viewer to feel a little more like a part of the action. All sounds are clear and intelligible throughout.

Commentary is provided by the various teams of Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler, Michael Cole and JBL, and Joey Styles and Tazz.

For international viewers, there are 2.0 tracks available in Italian, German, Spanish, and French, with subtitles available in Portuguese and Greek.

Features

Three short extras are available here, and while all are quite entertaining while they last, there is little repeat viewing value.

Firstly, MVP interrupts Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long after his bout with Chris Benoit, then we get a video look at the C.M Punk vs New Breed angle from ECW. Lastly, Randy Orton explains his actions to Todd Grisham.

Conclusion

An interesting trivia note previewed the first match of Judgement Day, as Ric Flair faced Carlito, when Jim Ross stated that Flair`s first match in St. Louis was against Pat O`Connor, way back in 1978. The interest being that Flair`s opponent was not even born until the following year! Perhaps it was the generational gap, but this bout was an odd one, which went rather longer than it should have, and was incredibly one-sided for much of the match.

Next up, the ECW Title was on the line, as Bobby Lashley challenged Vince McMahon for the belt, although McMahon decreed that this would actually be a handicap match, with Shane McMahon and Umaga backing up the hexagenarian owner of the company. This was a shockingly rushed bout, which could have been a positive, had an appalling finish not got in the way.

After a bout between CM Punk and Elijah Burke that was littered with timing problems, Randy Orton faced Shawn Michaels in a bout which was precipitated by a backstage attack by the former on the latter. That meant that this was much less of a match, than it was a story-building angle.

The best match of the evening was the RAW Tag Team Title match, in which champions Matt & Jeff Hardy faced Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch. Oddly, the match was contested with little bending of the rules, which meant that it actually felt like you had witnessed a legitimate contest, something that is sadly lacking from today`s wrestling.

Unfortunately, Batista`s challenge for Edge`s World Heavyweight Title wasn`t quite as entertaining, but it still ran rings around most bouts you will see involving "The Animal". Continuing the trend, Chris Benoit and MVP didn`t quite make the most of their 2-out-of-3-falls rules match, but since it was a bout that was based on old-school style wrestling, it was a nice change of pace.

The main event for the WWE Title was certainly a freak-show affair, as the 7ft 1in Great Khali towered over John Cena. The difficulty with Khali is that every iota of awe of his size is immediately lost in his feeble attempts at credible offence. So it was to John Cena`s credit that this bout was better than anyone could have reasonably expected, with a fine finish also helping things along.

Overall, Judgement Day was an average show, with no stand-out bouts, unless you wish to refer to the McMahon/Lashley contest, which stood out for all the wrong reasons. However, unless you have a particular like for the Hardy brothers, or an interest in how John Cena would handle The Great Khali, you may wish to save your pennies for another day.