WRESTLING DVDS

The Best of Christian Cage

The Instant Classic

Description: He's "The Instant Classic" Christian Cage, and this Best of DVD is a must have for all of his Peeps!

The Instant Classic: The Best of Christian Cage DVD is available at the online TNA Store and through the usual retail outlets, including Best Buy, Target, Sam Goody, and Wal-Mart.

Match List

1) From Against All Odds, February, 2006 - NWA World Championship vs. Jeff Jarrett (C)

This is the well fought old school style match when Christian won the NWA Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

2) From Bound for Glory, October, 2006 - The 8 Mile Street Fight vs. Rhino, in Detroit, MI

Many fans felt that this brutal and bloody anything goes match stole the show at TNA's biggest PPV of the year.

3) iMPACT!, November, 2006 - Six Sides of Steel cage match vs. Rhino

Although TNA's cage matches are generally won by pinfall of submission, this one stipulated that the winner would be the wrestler whose feet first touched the floor after leaving the cage. The result was one of the most memorable finishes ever for a cage match, when Rhino gored a bloodied and battered Christian through the cage door and the ring ropes to the floor, thereby losing the war after clearly winning the battle.

4) iMPACT!, November, 2006 - The first ever match between Christian Cage and Sting

The exciting first ever match between these two wrestling superstars had to be included in the collection. Making it even more special is the fact that it was also the debut of Tomko in TNA. I was pleased to see two iMPACT! matches included, because it lets fans know that TNA's regular weekly shows include terrific wrestling matches.

5) Final Resolution, January 2007 - Three Way Elimination match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title vs. Abyss, with James Mitchell, and Sting

After Sting eliminated Abyss, this terrific battle came down to Sting vs. Christian, and Christian regained the NWA Championship.

6) Against All Odds, February, 2007 - NWA Championship match vs. Kurt Angle, with Special Enforcer Samoa Joe

This match was every bit as good as you'd imagine a contest between Christian and Angle would be.

7) Destination X, March 2007 - NWA Heavyweight Championship match vs. Samoa Joe

Even people who think Samoa Joe is the most overrated wrestler on the planet (like me) will enjoy this match, as Cage has the charisma and energy it takes to carry even as heavy a load as Joe.

Extras

The gold mine of extras are what really made this DVD for me, since I'd already seen all of the matches. TNA generally puts Easter eggs on their DVDs, but I wasn't able to find them, and they aren't listed on the TNA website yet. I imagine those will add even more value to the DVD. I have no idea why it's considered a "spoiler" to tell fans where the Easter eggs are; most people I know have lives, and they can't spend hours pressing buttons in different combinations, trying to find hidden tracks on DVDs. Please, video makers, pay attention to those of us who have lives, and stop catering to those who don't!

The interview with Christian and the tour of his house are pretty much expected these days, but still lots of fun because of Cage's terrific sense of humor, such as when he reveals that his dream is to turn his dining room into a dance studio so that he can replace Michael Flatley as "Lord of the Dance." Another hilarious highlight is his promo for Newman's Own Three Cheese Balsamic salad dressing.

My favorite part of the DVD was the old videos from Christian's early career, including the first ever promo filmed by him and former tag team partner Adam "Edge" Copeland and an old match between a very young Christian Cage and an equally young Lance (aka Simon) Diamond with Dawn Marie. Christian and Simon narrate and mock the video, mentioning that it's from Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling out of Reading, PA, where they worked together with such wrestling notables as Edge, "Reckless Youth" Tom Carter, Andrew "Test" Martin, Devon Storm, and Ace Darling.

In the TNA teleconference this week, Christian said that he chose to show those old videos, even though he described them as bad, even "brutal," because he wanted to show fans the progression from beginner to professional. He wanted fans to know that you don't just step into a wrestling ring and are automatically a star: it takes lots of hard work just to become good.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dvd, and I recommend it to fans of Christian Cage, and fans of wrestling in general.

Reviewed by Karen Belcher on October 29, 2007.