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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Royal Rumble (2000)

Royal Rumble (2000) (NTSC)

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Released 21-Sep-2000

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Wrestling Main Menu Audio
Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 165:39 (Case: 180)
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (67:55) Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor
WWF Entertainment
Eagle Entertainment
Starring The Rock
Triple H
Cactus Jack
Rikishi
Kurt Angle
Case Amaray Claw
RPI $44.95 Music Various


Video (NTSC) Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The Royal Rumble of 2000 was and still is my favourite pay-per view. After all, the main event is loosely based around The Rock, so what's not to love? This P.P.V. takes its name from the 30 man fight that occurs at the end of the program, nicknamed the Royal Rumble. This match alone goes on for about an hour and the one this year is an absolute corker for one particular reason...which I won't spoil for you. As a pay-per view, RR2K is highly entertaining, more so than Summerslam, but beware - this contains the most violent match I have ever seen in all my years as a WWF fan, so consider yourself warned.

    On with the matches, as they say:

    Tazz vs. Kurt Angle: A good match to start the P.P.V., which was the first appearance of Tazz in the WWF. Kurt Angle is another wrestler I absolutely despise. His gimmick is that he is an Olympic gold medallist (this is true) and is the "best" technical wrestler in the WWF. I hate him as much as I do Triple H. Look out for some cool suplexes by Tazz in this match.

    First Ever Tag Team Table Match: Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz. Now this is where this P.P.V. really starts to pick up some momentum. This match is, simply put, amazing. The way to win is to put each member of your opponent tag team through a table. If you want high-flying aerial manoeuvres, powerful slams and an awesome finish, this IS the match to go for.

    Miss Rumble Swimsuit Competition: As the name suggests, this is the women of the WWF vying for that coveted title. This was the first year it was run and I'm sure it will be back next year. Watch for the first five minutes then skip forward - it all turns ugly once Mae Young comes out.

    Triple Threat Intercontinental Title Match: Chris Jericho (co-champion) vs. Chyna (co-champion) vs. Hardcore Holly. A three way fight for the title with the person who gets the first pinfall winning the title. The winner in the end is a good choice and is a fun match to watch especially when Chyna (a woman) takes control over the two guys.

    Tag Team Championship Match: New Age Outlaws (champions) vs. The Acolytes. For a fight so deep into the P.P.V., it's a bit of a disappointment. This was most likely due to the match being a simple tag match instead of having some type of stipulation like the first tag match of this P.P.V.

    Street Fight for the WWF Championship: Triple H (champion) vs. Cactus Jack. A no-rules, no-holds-barred street fight. This is the very violent match I referred to earlier in the review. Let me just say that it's long, it's very bloody and it has wood wrapped in barbed wire and thumb tacks - lots and lots of thumb tacks. This is another match that shows wrestlers do get injured - take a look at Triple H's leg under the bandage - ouch!

    30-Man Royal Rumble Match: In all of the pre-match hype, the big feud for this year's rumble was between my man, The Rock, and The Big Show, each desperately trying to win a world title shot at Wrestlemania XVI. The match is entertaining, especially the mid-match song and dance from Rikishi and Too Cool. The ending was very controversial as the following RAW is WAR showed.

    What more can you want from a P.P.V. really? Fans of WWF head down to your local retailer and pick up a copy and you will not be disappointed.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Another great transfer from WWF Home Video, improving over Summerslam in a couple ways but getting worse in another.

    It is presented in the made for TV aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced. Your display device will need to be able to handle a NTSC signal for this disc to play properly.

    Sharpness is again top class, showing great amounts of detail. Unlike a couple of the other WWF DVDs I have reviewed, the sharpness of this transfer seems more natural and less processed. What really stood out as looking excellent was the on-screen titles and names - these were faultless. Shadow detail was a little blurred, however, especially when the action moved outside the ring into the entrance area. Details tended to blend with each other at these times to lower the amount of visible detail.

    The colour was perfect, just like Summerslam. WWF Home Video seems to have no troubles recreating the colour spectrum nicely.

    No MPEG artefacts were present and the very minor cases of aliasing that were present on the other WWF DVDs has all but disappeared. Film artefacts were non-existent since this is sourced from video.

    This disc is in the RSDL format with the layer change occurring at 67:55, just before the rumble. It is noticeable but unobtrusive.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    This is a good transfer with one problem.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD, being English and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes. I listened to the English track.

    Dialogue was perfectly clear at all times and the audio was synchronized, again, perfectly.

    The problem with this transfer are some pops audible between 6:00 and 7:00. These are quite noticeable and are a mastering problem, as they do not sound like pops emanating from the ring.

    The soundstage isn't as wide as the Summerslam track but still has a good amount of detail, if somewhat a class down from Summerslam.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Only a few extras accompany the transfer, which is odd as WWF Home Video usually gives us more.

Menu

   The menu isn't as good as Summerslam's, but is functional and doesn't look too bad.

Over The Top - Revealing Extra Insights (7)

    These are seven featurettes that show background information and also some behind-the-scenes type of stuff (Triple H Gets Stitched Up)     The video quality is generally good for all the segments except the 1998 Rumble which is a little soft.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This disc is identical worldwide.

Summary

    Royal Rumble 2000 is my favourite pay-per view presented on a slightly problematic DVD.

    The video has only a small fault.

    The audio quality also only has a small fault.

    The extras are great but there are not enough of them.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Andrew Siers (I never did my biography in primary school)
Wednesday, December 13, 2000
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-626D, using Component output
DisplayToshiba 34N9UXA. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to DVD player. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationYamaha CX-600 Pre-Amp, Yamaha MX-600 Stereo Power Amp for Mains, Yamaha DSP-E300 for Center, Teac AS-M50 for Surrounds.
SpeakersMain Left and Right Acoustic Research AR12s, Center Yamaha NS-C70, Surround Left and Right JBL Control 1s

Other Reviews NONE