Amazon.com: WWE: Edge - A Decade of Decadence : Adam Copeland, John Cena, The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy: Movies & TV (original) (raw)

I need to preface this review by stating that I'm a HUGE Edge mark. He became one of my favorite wrestlers in 2000 with he and Christian's epic feud with the Hardy Boys & the Dudley Boys and became my undisputed favorite after Austin and the Rock were gone. I order this set to compliment Edge's "You Think You Know Me?" set and it has quickly become one of my favorite WWE dvds of all time.

"A Decade of Decadence" contains 26 matches spanning Edge's career up to the summer of 2008. The set is broken down into the three discs.

Disc One:

vs Owen Hart (Breakdown: In Your House. 9/27/98) Owen Hart is one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time and he was a great opponent for Edge in his first PPV match. These two worked a relatively fast pace and the match featured a few very crisp looking counters. Christian makes his debut and cost Edge the match. 3/5

Terri Invitational Tournament Ladder Match - vs The Hardy Boyz (10/17/99). This was the first tag team ladder match and these four young superstars went out and made a huge name for themselves in this match. Listen to the crowd reaction as the match goes on. The pops get louder and louder as these teams bump their asses off and go from one innovating spot to another. Just a classic match. 5/5

Triangle Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Championships - vs the Dudley Boyz & the Hardy Boyz (Wrestlemania 2000. 4/2/00). If you ever want to show someone who thinks wrestling is "fake" a match that might change their minds, I would pick this match. Just a crazy stunt brawl that saw all six men take huge chances and probably shorten their careers (and lives) in the process. Ladder & TLC matches are so common now, but I remember watching this as a 13 year old back in 2000 and being blown away by what I was seeing. The match that made me a wrestling fan. 5/5

Intercontinental Championship Match - vs Lance Storm (Summerslam. 8/19/01) A solid, but not spectacular match that had one great near-fall push it to the 3 star ranking. You can see the single's potential in Edge in this match. 3/5

United States/Intercontinental Championship Unification Match - vs Test (Survivor Series. 11/18/01) I never cared for Test but this is a solid match. Edge bumped well for Test's power moves and Test worked well with a quicker opponent. 3/5

Vs Mr. Perfect (Sunday Night Heat. 3/3/02) Nothing special here. It's a short match with a past-his-prime (and it kills me to say that) Mr. Perfect vs Edge, who at this point is still trying to figure out how to work as a singles wrestler. 2/5

Hair vs Hair Match - vs Kurt Angle (Judgement Day. 5/19/02) These two have great chemistry and to me, this is Edge's coming out party as a singles star. This is a hard hitting, fast paced 16 minute match that features several momentum changes and false finishes. Edge picks up the win and proceeds to shave Angle bald (a look he still sports today). Great match. 4.5/5

Steel Cage Match - vs Kurt Angle (Smackdown. 5/30/02) Another classic match between these two and one of the best cage matches ever. Angle was sporting a goofy wig, which added to the match for me. Edge gets busted open as these two brutalize each other in the cage. Hulk Hogan makes an appearance towards the end. 4.5/5

World Tag Team Championship Match - w/Hulk Hogan vs Billy & Chuck (Smackdown. 4/4/02) Hogan sucks but his match is enjoyable. Just a basic tag team match where the heels dominate much of the action before the faces get the hot tag and proceed to win the belts. Edge was a huge Hogan fan as a kid, and he's obviously thrilled to win the Tag belts with his idol. 2.5/5

Vs Eddie Guerrero (Unforgiven. 9/22/02) Taking place shortly before their classic no DQ match on Smackdown the following week, these two all-time greats worked a smooth, fast paced match. It improves on their Summerslam encounter from the past month and some great near falls really add to the match. Still, this match gets overshadowed by the classic from Smackdown a few days later. 4/5

Disc Two:

Intercontinental Championship Match - vs Randy Orton (Vengeance. 4/11/04) Edge had been out for 1 year with a neck injury and had returned to take out Evolution "one by one". The match starts off slow and takes awhile to get going, thanks to a young Orton's penchant for using one too many rest holds. Once the pace picks up though, these two work to a great climax with several near falls. 4.5/5

Street Fight - vs Shawn Michaels (Raw. 2/28/05) A spot-fest, but a very entertaining one. Edge busts HBK open with a trash can lid and Michaels is soon a bloody mess. These two would then proceed to beat the piss out of each other for the next 10 minutes or so. Great tv match. 4/5

Gold Rush Tournament Final - vs Kane (Raw. 5/16/05) Kane is one of the most underrated workers of all time and these two worked a solid match to determine the #1 contender to Batista's WHC. The real story of the match is the on-screen beginning of the Edge & Lite relationship. 3/5

Street Fight - vs Matt Hardy (Raw. 8/29/05) One of the most personal rivalries of all time results in a great tv match full of action and brutality. After 15 minutes of back and forth action, Matt and Edge battle to the top of the stage where they both end up crashing through a table in the electrical area. 4/5

WWE Championship - vs John Cena (New Year's Revolution. 1/8/06) More of a segment than a match but still one of the most memorable moments in WWE history. After Cena escapes the Elimination Chamber, Mr. McMahon comes out and announces that Edge is cashing in his MITB briefcase and, two spears later, Edge wins his first WWE Championship. 5/5 (Because Edge is my favorite wrestler)

Hardcore Match - vs Mick Foley (Wrestlemania 22. 4/2/06) A show stealing match from these two. Edge proves how tough he is by dishing out tons of punishment to Foley, and receiving equally as much (including getting backdropped into thumbtacks.) The end, where Edge spears Foley through a flaming table, is a classic WWE moment. An extremely violent match. 4.5/5

6 Person Tag Team Match - vs Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk & Beulah (ECW One Night Stand. 6/11/06) Even more violent than the WM 22 match, thanks to Dreamer and Funk. Some great promo work by Foley, Edge, Lita & Beulah set the stage for this match. Mostly, it's just the four men beating the hell out of each other using chairs, ladders, and barbed wire. Edge wins the match by pinning Beulah in the "legs up" missionary postion. Great match on its own and I added a full star because I've also had a soft (or maybe hard?) spot for Beulah. 5/5

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship - vs John Cena & Rob Van Dam (Raw. 4/3/06) Put John Cena's power, Rob Van Dam's high flying ability, and Edge's storytelling and you've got a great match. This took place shortly after RVD got busted for marijuana possesion so WWE had to get the belt off him quickly. While not as great as one might hope, these 3 worked well together and Edge stealing the title from John Cena's grasp was a great moment. 4/5

Disc Three:

WWE Championship Match - vs John Cena (Summerslam. 8/20/06) This took place in Cena's "hometown" of Boston and the story was that Edge would lose the championship if he was disqualified. This is the match where Cena and Edge really clicked and they produced nothing but great matches from this point out. While Edge dominates much of it, Cena gets in plenty of offense so that it doesn't follow a "typical" John Cena match forumula. I loved the part where Cena has Edge in the STFU and Lita is about to clock him with the belt but Edge yells at her not to because he'll loose the belt. Great storytelling. 4/5

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match - vs Rob Van Dam (Raw. 2/19/07) Edge states before the match that RVD is one of his favorite opponents and these two do have great chemistry. RVD was always a favorite of mine and he really bumped well in this match. Pay attention to the kick from RVD that dislocates Edge's jaw. A fun, hard hitting match. 3.5/5

Vs Randy Orton (Raw. 4/30/07) A great heel vs heel match here. This was supposed to take place the previous week, but Cena and HBK's epic hour-long bout pushed it back a week. Momentum gets traded frequently and Edge does a great job of getting the crowd to boo him more than Orton. Great match. 4/5

World Heavyweight Championship Match - vs The Undertaker (Smackdown. 5/11/07) After a grueling cage match between Taker & Batista, Mark Henry comes down and assaults the deadman. Edge then appears with the MITB briefcase that he won from Mr. Kennedy the night before on Raw, spears Taker, and becomes the new World Heavyweight champion. Much like Edge's previous cash-in, more of a segment than a match. Entertaining, but lacks the oomph of his first cash-in. 2/5

Last Chance Match for the World Heavyweight Championship - vs Batista (Vengeance. 6/24/07) Batista was all power and Edge bumped well for him and tried his best to make Batista look as powerful and dominant as he looks. Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed the ending. 3.5/5

World Heavyweight Championship Match - vs Rey Mysterio (Royal Rumble. 1/27/08). A lot of wrestler have great matches with Mysterio because they can use more power moves and diversify their offense because of Mysterio's stature. Edge was no exception. I loved that the MSG crowd cheered for Edge and booed Rey Mysterio. A quick 12 minute match that feautres a great spear to win it for the Rated R Superstar. 4/5

TLC Match for the Vacant World Heavyweight Championship - vs The Undertaker (One Night Stand. 6/1/08) Another one of my favorite matches. Taker & Edge had great chemistry and both took a lot of punishment in this match. Those chair shots that Edge gave Taker are brutal (as we don't see headshots in today's WWE) as was Taker chokeslamming Edge onto a suspended ladder. The Edge-Heads interfere and end up helping Edge win the title after dropping Taker off a ladder through a stack of four tables. Fantastic stuff. 5/5

Hell in a Cell Match - vs The Undertaker (Summerslam. 8/17/08) A great HIAC match and the capper to the Edge/Taker saga. These two incorporated bits from each of their previous encounters to produce, IMO, the best HIAC match since WWE switched to the taller cell. Taker giving Edge the last ride through the ring was a cool visual. 5/5

Bonus Features:

Disc one contains a 5 minute tribute package to various funny moments with Edge & Christian. Disc two features two bonus matches. Christian's try-out match for the WWE the night after Survivor Series 1997. It's a fast paced match where you can see flashes of potential from both men. The other match is Edge's first ever IC title win from Jeff Jarrett at a house show in Toronto from 1999. There's nothing special about the match but it's rare and extremely cool to see. Edge & Matt Striker do commentary for both matches.

Overall Rating: This is a great set from WWE. All 26 matches are highly entertaining and really shows how Edge was able to put on a good match with any opponent. I highly recommend this set to all WWE fans. On this day, I see clearly...that "A Decade of Decadence" is one of the best WWE produced dvds out there. 5/5