The John Cena 3 DVD set

[sek69]

I guess it's because of Cena's injury, but this has surprisingly flown way under the radar considering the guy was WWE champion for the better part of the last 2 years or so.

 

The way they arraigned this set is kind of weird: Disc 1 is the standard documentary stuff, with the extras being a look at all the various cars Cena owns. Disc 2 is the matches, which for a 3 DVD set is kind of odd that this is the only disc that has any. Disc 3 is entirely (unless I missed some easter eggs) "5 Questions With the Champ" segments from WWE.com. That's right, they devoted an entire disc on a DVD release of the company's biggest star to a throwaway joke segment on the company's website. Now they are pretty funny, and show a side of Cena you don't get to see by watching him do his best with horribly written material on RAW, but it's the biggest "WTF?" I've seen on a WWE DVD release. Having said that, the segments kind of remind you of watching Bob Saget's stand-up routine as Cena seems to channel equal parts George Carlin and Vanilla Ice during those bits. He'll go on a Aristocrats-level rant then end it all "NAHMEAN???"

 

 

The documentary part is actually pretty good, and it makes it hard to hate Cena after watching it. He comes off as a genuine dude, which I'm sure is exactly the intended effect, but still it was good stuff.

[Marty]

About the way the DVD set is made up: Don't forget the fanbase that Cena is responsible for bringing back to the WWE and how to make a DVD set directed to them. How to make a DVD set for women and children (or, in general, your casual fanbase) is not the same way to make a DVD set for tape traders. (Heck, even though the Cena hate has gone down a little, from what I've seen, I still doubt that tape traders make even 10% of Cena's fanbase.) Not that the tape traders were totally ignored here, but women and children aren't going to purchase 3 discs filled with Cena matches, I'm betting, even good ones. But they'll purchase a set with a greater part of a disc having Cena matches if they can get some other variety. Thus you have stuff like the car collection bit (Cena's knowledge of muscle cars amazed me, in fact) and the 5 Questions stuff. Sek, you mentioned about how the 5 Questions segments offer a different side of Cena, well, that's what that fanbase is likely looking for with a DVD set like this.

 

Anyways, I think I saw the Cena set hit the Top 10 best sellers on Shopzone at one point, so I'm sure the set's been noticed. I think it's gone under the radar a little bit on the web because of the set-up and because Cena's not exactly the most popular guy on the intra-web. Then again, WWE DVDs, for some reason, haven't been heavily talked about in general. The most you hear about the subject, unfortunately, is "When will you-know-who's footage be used again by the WWE?"

[sek69]

I don't think WWE ever had tape traders in mind for any set they've ever made. If they did, they would make far more use of the vast libraries they own and not have so many repeat matches across their DVD releases. The only other time I can recall them releasing a multi disc set and having a disc full of just promos is the Roddy Piper set. In that case it made sense since 90% of what Piper's famous for happened in a Piper's Pit segment.

[Marty]

I think you're correct on the Piper set.

 

I don't mean that they've had tape traders in mind fully, but tape traders/historians/hardcore fans/whatever you want to call them are a portion of the WWE fanbase and, whether a lot of them want to admit it or not, are a pretty loyal bunch at that. They know this and while they aren't exactly releasing stuff the equivalent of Goodhelmet's stuff, there have been some things (the AWA set, the World Class set, the Horsemen set, the Flair set, etc.) that are, well, aren't exactly designed for newer fans. That's the point I was getting at and how those sets contrast with the Cena one.

 

It's like FH said about the Horsemen doc: All these DVDs about shit that happened 20 years ago aren't being bought by 12 year olds.

[Kronos]

I think you're correct on the Piper set.

 

I don't mean that they've had tape traders in mind fully, but tape traders/historians/hardcore fans/whatever you want to call them are a portion of the WWE fanbase and, whether a lot of them want to admit it or not, are a pretty loyal bunch at that. They know this and while they aren't exactly releasing stuff the equivalent of Goodhelmet's stuff, there have been some things (the AWA set, the World Class set, the Horsemen set, the Flair set, etc.) that are, well, aren't exactly designed for newer fans. That's the point I was getting at and how those sets contrast with the Cena one.

 

It's like FH said about the Horsemen doc: All these DVDs about shit that happened 20 years ago aren't being bought by 12 year olds.

It's a good point about new fans and old material. A few years ago, I was a new fan (I came to this world late

). I rented the Flair set from Netflix and couldn't get through the first disc. A few months ago, I bought it for my collection. I am simply amazed by the quality of the set and the fantastic matches! It takes some education to appreciate a lot of this stuff. I hope they keep doing it, even little by little.

[Loss]

Hopefully, the next Flair set has more promos and acknowledges that he did have matches that didn't feature Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes. I think WWE understates his other feuds sometimes. Matches like the Flair/Steamboat matches are fantastic, but I liken it to sitting down and watching Gone With The Wind, where you have to be in a mood to view it. Let's see some 15-20 minute Flair vs midcarder matches that are a little more fast-paced make this set. Maybe some more previously unreleased stuff, like the awesome Morton match that was on the Horsemen DVD.