I have 1 and plan to get the others...I'll give my thoughts:
NWA:TNA: Best of the X-Division
2 Disc Set:
available from
NWA-TNA.com
The Feature...
The DVD is hoasted by TNA broadcasters Mike Tenay and Don West. Each match comes with an introduction from the 2 talking about what led up to the match, and giving a little detail about the competitors, short 30 second to a minute segments. Helpful for those new to TNA, and its stars.
The match selection is pretty good, showcasing some of the feuds and matches that put the X-division and by extention TNA on the map, as well as some of the stars that carry the division in the present day. I am a fan of a number of these workers, and so I'm glad to see a few of them appear several times on this release.
The Matches...Note: The match listing does not reflect the order these are shown in on the DVD. My comments and my personal star ratings are in parenthesis. If a match is not rated, it means that I haven't viewed it enough to where I want to slap a star rating on it, as I've only viewed some of these matches a couple of times.
AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn vs Low Ki vs Psychosis 6/26/02 (The first X-division title match, a unique double elimination contest, that lasted about 45 minutes it starts off slow but picks up for the middle and rides momentum to the end. ****1/4)
*
AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn vs Low Ki (Triple Ladder Match) 8/26/02 (these 3 were the early force behind the X-division, and wait til you see the move that ends this contest, definitely worth the chant it gets from the croud. ****)
*
AJ Styles vs Kid Kash vs Jose Maximo vs Joel Maximo vs Ace Steel vs Tony Mamaluke (Ladder Match) 10/09/02 (a rather unique bout that would see a surprise entrant walk away with the gold. not rated)
*
AJ Styles vs Jerry Lynn 11/06/02 (the earliest rivalry in TNA history produced some of the companies better matches. not rated)
*
Kid Kash vs Paul London 2/19/02 (London had a very brief career in TNA before the WWE came calling, but this match with Kash is a highlight. not rated)
*
Kid Kash vs Amazing Red 3/5/03 (for awhile in TNA, Kash was the workhorse of the division, and Amazing Red is a unique talent unto himself. Not Rated)
*
Kid Kash vs Amazing Red 4/30/03 (another bout between this 2 in a minifeud. Not rated)
*
Flying Elvises vs AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn & Low Ki 6/19/02 (the very first match in the X-division allowing the 6 competitors to let it all ang out. ***1/2)
*
Low Ki vs Kid Romeo vs Tony Mamaluke, vs Jerry Lynn vs Elix Skipper vs Christopher Daniels 7/10/02 (a number 1 contenders match, and the first appearance of Christopher Daniels in TNA. ****)
*
Amazing Red vs Jimmy Yang 11/13/02 (not much to say about this one, a decent enough match, I guess put on the disc to put over the talent of Red. Not Rated)
*
Amazing Red vs AJ Styles 12/11/03 (Styles was the standard of the X-division in the beginning, and to me the more of him the better. Not Rated)
*
Jerry Lynn vs Juventud Guerrera 2/26/03 (a battle between the X-division and the Luchadors of Mexico in a quest to determine which style is superior. not rated)
*
Amazing Red & Jerry Lynn vs Jason Cross & Shark Boy vs Chris Sabin & Johnny Storm vs Triple X 4/9/03 (a match to determine top contenders to the tag belts and to the X-title. Not Rated)
*
Bonus Footage: The complete first-ever Ultimate X match featuring Michael Shane, Chris Sabin and Frankie Kazarian. (no ladders allowed, 2 wires strung from diagonal turnbuckles forming an X. The belt was suspended in the middle, whomever pulled the belt down first after going across the wires would be the winner. The first match of its type ever, I give it high marks for the concept and if not for the belt coming down on its own a couple of times necessitating a couple of delays, I'd give it a higher rating but as it is ****1/4 mainly for its unique nature)
*
Comments from AJ Styles, Jerry Lynn, Michael Shane, Chris Sabin and Frankie Kazarian (see my note about the audio below)
Other important notes...
The matches are shown in complete form, with the acception of the Ultimate X match. There are 2 segments clipped from this match, when the belt came loose and necessitated a delay while it was rehung. The wrestlers mainly hung around outside the ring while this happened, so not a lot was missed. I know why they clipped it in this manner, and this is probably the only time I'd be fine with it. I've got to make note of the croud though, as they were really understanding that this was the first time such a match had been done, and they didn't turn on it the times the belt came down.
I won't comment on the video mainly cause I'm not a real good judge of that kind of stuff with my vision the way it is, but I do have to comment about the audio track. Its a fine audio track that gets the job done, but there is 1 thing about it that I really don't admire.
During some of these matches (The first ever X-title match, the Triple Ladder match, and Ultimate X to name a few) they have interviews that come on during the match, and they mix it on the same audio track fading the commentary in to the background. I appreciate the fact that they want to put wrestler interviews on the set, but they should've been before the match, or accessed as a separate audio track.
There is a play all feature included allowing you to watch the whole thing straight through, and of course you can jump to a single match if you wish.
The only extras are a few interviews, which again I wish you could turn off and on instead of them appearing everytime you wish to watch a particular match, and the Ultimate X bout which is a good extra.
The 2 DVDs come packaged in a single keep case with no insert.
Recommendation...
The things I like about this DVD, is that its not just a collection of matches, and it is hoasted by the TNA broadcast team who give you a real good idea of what was going on at the time of each of these particular bouts. Mike Tenay is called the professor for a reason, and a lot of work went in to producing this set. I would definitely recommend this to someone that is curious about TNA, as the X-division is what got TNA noticed in its earlier days. I've gotten some good replay value out of some of these matches, and with wrestling DVDs that says a lot.
There are some flaws, but they're relatively minor considering this is the first set of DVDs released by the company.
I'll give it a 7.5/10 overall.
