Review of WWE: John Cena - My Life (3 Discs)

Introduction

In a world in which WWE performers are not referred to as "wrestlers", but as "sports entertainers", there`s no doubting that there is one such athlete who means more to the business than anyone else. Whereas there are other popular competitors such as Rey Mysterio, Batista, and The Undertaker, John Cena is considered to be at the top of the pile. Lou Thesz may turn in his grave at the thought of a technically inferior wrestler as World champion, but charisma, mainstream visability, and television and pay-per-view figures are the most admired qualities these days, and Cena has them all.

Cena began his athletic career as a bodybuilder, before beginning wrestling training in 2000. Just one year later, he was signed to a WWE development deal, where he worked as "The Prototype" in the feeder promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). In June 2002, Cena was called up to WWE television, but it wasn`t until he took on a hip-hop gimmick that his undeniable charisma began to shine through.

Since that time, Cena has captured the United States championship (3 times), the World Tag Team Championship (1 time, with Shawn Michaels), and the WWE championship (3 times). In October 2007, he was stripped of the WWE championship, having suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which will likely sideline him until May 2008. His last reign as champion concluded after 380 days, making him the sixth longest-reigning title holder in the history of the company.

This 3-disc set, "My Life", contains a near two-hour documentary on Cena, plus a wealth of extras, including several important career bouts, as well as the "Five Questions with the Champ" series.

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. This is a typically slick WWE production, making use of the company`s vast archives. There`s a good pace to the documentary, with lots of new interview footage - from Cena`s family and friends to his WWE colleagues - moving the story forward.

As for the transfer to DVD, there are some minor compression artifacts, noticeable in particular in some pyro-fuelled entrances, but these do not detract from the presentation at all.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also very good for a DVD of this genre. It is mildly disappointing that there is no Dolby Digital 5.1 track, as was available on the "Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man" DVD, but this is hardly "Saving Private Ryan", and the 2.0 track is more than adequate. Everything is well-mixed here, so that background music and interviews can be heard beside the other.

There are further 2.0 tracks available in German and French.

Features

The extras begin Disc One, with a 40 minute look at Cena`s car collection. It`s all very impressive if you`re into cars, and all very unimpressive if you`re not.

On Disc Two, the DVD space is filled with more relevant material, as we look at seven Cena matches, dating back to his days as The Prototype in OVW. That bout (19th Jan 2002), with Randy Orton, is basic fare, but there were hints, from both men, of the charisma that would later blossom in the WWE.

On to WWE stage, the first bout here is with Chris Jericho (21st July 2002). It`s another rather short match, but one that was fast paced, and entertaining. To a lesser extent, so is the Smackdown bout with Rikishi (27th March 2003).

The "I Quit" match with JBL (22nd May 2005) is a surprisingly good, spirited brawl, which is memorable even today for Cena`s heavy bloodloss. For totally different reasons, the six-man tag team bout featuring John Cena, Shawn Michaels, and a mystery partner vs Christian, Tomko, and Chris Jericho (27th June 2005) is also memorable, as it led to one of the most high-profile Summerslam main-events in memory.

The ECW One Night Stand main event between Cena and Rob Van Dam (11th June 2006) is next, and provides quite the change of pace, as Cena somewhat plays the role of the heel throughout. To give him credit, he plays it perfectly, and the match is entertaining, though it is spoiled by outside interference.

The final match available here is possibly Cena`s best match to date, as he faces Edge in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs contest (17th September 2006). The bout`s stipulations make this one not for wrestling purists, but you can`t deny the efforts of the two combatants, as they engage in a hard-hitting contest.

Furthermore on Disc Two, there are a series of interviews and promotional materials, including Cena`s return to OVW, his appearance in a celebrity car race, and a look at when he trained a Gold`s Gym with a competition winner. Also included is a feature on Cena`s mini-feud with Kevin Federline, which should have been a lot more embarrassing for wrestling than it actually was.

Onto Disc Three, then, which is entirely made up of segments entitled "Five Questions with The Champ". Originally, these were WWE.com exclusives, in which Cena would answer five questions from the public in his own over-the-top manner. The questions could be about anything, and the language used during these skits wasn`t exactly what you`d expect from a children`s role model. To "hide" the foul language, the company used the image and voice of WWE agent Steve "Brooklyn Brawler" Lombardi, who was helping to produce these vignettes.

In any case, while not all of the "Five Questions…" are available here on Disc Three, there are a hearty twenty, which is fabulous news if you enjoyed the humour of them all. But if you don`t, this DVD is a remarkable waste of time.

Conclusion

The main feature documentary, like the extras that have already been detailed, is a mixed bag. The good, going back to Cena`s childhood, talking about what he was like as a teenager, looking at his intense drive to succeed, is very good indeed, but as soon as Cena`s story takes us to WWE, things begin to go downhill.

This is a wrestling DVD, of course, and you would expect Cena`s notable feuds - Edge immediately springs to mind - to be covered, albeit in a more behind-the-scenes manner. However, after spending the time to allow the viewer to know the man away from his wrestling persona, much time was then wasted on looking at his signature moves, and the "spinner" Championship belt that he once carried to the ring with him. After getting to know the "real" Cena, in somewhat of a serious manner, it was both boring and out of context to then move into "kayfabe" mode - that is, trying to get viewers to buy into Cena`s wrestling storylines.

This tactic, along with the selection of extras available here, leads me to believe that this release was intended primarily for the children`s market, which is something that hasn`t been the case in a documentary release before. I have a hard time believing that many 18-34 year olds - the demographic that the WWE claims to market to - will be interested in how Cena came up with his "Five Knuckle Shuffle" fist-drop. Pardon my cynicism as I state that no-one sells more merchandise in the company than Cena.

As such, the documentary is trying to be the best of both worlds, with the early, more serious part of the feature designed to appeal to a more mature audience, with the latter, based on what we`ve seen on WWE television for the last few years, designed to appeal to children. In going with this tactic, sadly, WWE achieve nothing.

In any case, aside from that rather large complaint, this is everything that you would expect from a WWE documentary. Any new footage, including interviews with the likes of Cena`s father (himself a pro wrestling manager on the local circuit), Vince McMahon, Edge, etc. is shot well, and the use of the WWE archive footage is nice, even if it was last seen only six or seven years ago at most. This is a slick production, and it tells the story that it wants to tell superbly.


Overall, "John Cena: My Life" is somewhat of a wasted opportunity. The documentary begins well, but fades rapidly, and only Disc Two of the extras is worth paying any attention to, unless you are a huge Cena fan.

I have no doubt that, in the future, we`ll see at least one other DVD set dedicated to John Cena. Most fans may wish to wait for something that actually involves more wrestling.