WWE: Brock Lesnar – Here Comes The Pain Collector’s Edition DVD ReviewBy Henry Higgins| November 26, 2012 WWE DVD Reviews This page contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Learn more “The night after WrestleMania XXVIII, Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to the ring and levelled John Cena with an F-5, sending a message that after eight years, the pain is back! In 2002 and 2003, The Next Big Thing brought it to the biggest and baddest competition in WWE, becoming the youngest WWE Champion of all time and a household name virtually overnight. His awe-inspiring physique, amateur championship pedigree and affinity for punishing opponents made him an unstoppable force in the ring. Now, after years of dominating the MMA scene, Brock is back and looking to steamroll the biggest Superstars of today. This re-release of the 2003 DVD, Here Comes the Pain, includes the original documentary that chronicles Brock’s meteoric rise to fame, as well as six hours of additional matches not included on the original DVD! Plus, hear Brock’s controversial comments upon his return to sport entertainment! Fans can experience classic matches against Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and many more!” Certificate: 18 Running Time: 519mins (8hrs 39mins) Discs: 3 Disc 1 – Chapters Growing Up Debut: Destruction King Brock Brock v Rock Battling the Dead Man Surviving the Big Show Wrestling Machines Backlash Stretcher Match Extras Brock Lesnar makes his WWE Debut (18th March, 2002) “The Next Big Thing” takes on the Hardy Boyz (8th April, 2002) Brock Lesnar returns to WWE (2nd April, 2012) Disc 2 – Chapters Coming Back Brock Lesnar v Leviathan – Ohio Valley Wrestling (28th September, 2001) The Journey OVW Southern Tag Team Championship Match: Rico Constantino & Prototype v The Minnesota Stretching Crew – Ohio Valley Wrestling (10th November, 2001) Superstar? Jeff Hardy v Brock Lesnar – Backlash (21st April, 2002) Wrecking Machine King of the Ring Finals: Rob Van Dam v Brock Lesnar – King of the Ring (23rd June, 2002) Who I Am Rob Van Dam & ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair v Undertaker & Brock Lesnar – Raw (15th July, 2002) Hard Work #1 Contender Match for the WWE Undisputed Championship: Hollywood Hulk Hogan v Brock Lesnar – SmackDown (8th August , 2002) Opportunities WWE Undisputed Championship Match: The Rock v Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam (25th August, 2002) Carrying Myself Brock Lesnar v Randy Orton – SmackDown (5th September, 2002) Focus WWE Undisputed Championship Match: Brock Lesnar v Undertaker – Unforgiven (22nd September, 2002) New Challenges Hell in a Cell Match for the WWE Championship: Undertaker v Brock Lesnar – No Mercy (20th October, 2002) No Friends Royal Rumble Match – Royal Rumble (19th January, 2003) Happiness Brock Lesnar v Team Angle – SmackDown (27th February, 2003) Disc 3 – Chapters No Pain WWE Championship Match: Brock Lesnar v Kurt Angle – WrestleMania XIX (30th March, 2003) Fight for It! WWE Championship Match: Brock Lesnar v John Cena – Backlash (27th April, 2003) Being the Best 60-Minute Iron Man Match for the WWE Championship: Kurt Angle v Brock Lesnar – SmackDown (18th September, 2003) Fine-Tuned Rey Mysterio v Brock Lesnar – SmackDown (11th December, 2003) Chaos WWE Championship Match: Brock Lesnar v Big Show – SmackDown (12th June, 2003) Reckless Abandonment Interpromotional Match: Goldberg v Brock Lesnar – WrestleMania XX (14th March, 2004) Pride If you were told to use the Create-a-Wrestler mode on the WWE games to make the ideal WWE performer, you would create Brock Lesnar. Standing 6’3” tall and weighing close to 300lbs, he’s the size you’d expect, but with the speed, agility, power and wrestling ability he also possesses added to the mix, it’s like someone maxed out the stats to create the perfect wrestler. With his return to WWE after WrestleMania XXVIII, it’s fitting that the company re-release their original profile DVD on “The Next Big Thing”. Unfortunately, as the majority of the content is from the original video release, the talking heads (while relevant at the time and worthy of inclusion) talk about Brock as a “long term guy”, which is funny in hindsight because that’s exactly the opposite of what happened. It’s also strange to see Kurt Angle, Tommy Dreamer and Bubba Dudley give comments simply because they haven’t been seen in WWE for so long. The comments being from the time also give a good indicator on how accurate some of the people talking are, particularly Kurt Angle’s comments about Brock being able to fight anywhere, “including an Octagon”, and become the champion. Another aspect of this re-release is that fans of today can get a chance to see John Cena’s great heel run as the Doctor of Thuganomics. If Cena does eventually turn heel and can capture the spirit of his persona from 2003, I genuinely believe he could go on to be the biggest heel in the business since Hogan told the fans to stick it in 1996. The snippets from the career of Brock Lesnar are a great history lesson for those who missed him first time around and for the others, like me, who were there at the time, it’s a great trip down memory lane. Highlights include his infamous debut, the feud with The Hardyz (including one of the best straight-to-the-face chair shots you’re likely to ever see), rivalry with Undertaker and his most storied opponent; Kurt Angle. Once the first disc is over, the second and third discs are really where this set becomes worth the money. Starting with a match from OVW against Leviathan (who later went on to become a megastar as Batista), the set also has a dark match from a RAW taping as Brock teams with Shelton Benjamin (The Minnesota Wrecking Crew) to take on Rico Constantino and Prototype (John Cena) in a bout that showcases four men who would go on to make names for themselves in WWE. Each match has a current comment from Brock Lesnar where he speaks his mind on a variety of subjects, including why he came back, questioning what a “superstar” is and so on. It’s a testament to the man that these short soundbites are as entertaining as the matches and it’s also a testament to him that there isn’t a bad match on the card. Extras Three extras on disc one cover Brock’s debut, the infamous chairshot segment with Matt & Jeff Hardy and his 2012 return. Overview Because the first disc is from the original release, the aspect of a 4:3 ration for the screen means there are horrible thick black borders down the sides for the majority of the footage. It is distracting, but not to the point of turning the set off again. The first disc is pretty much OK, but from the second you put the second disc in, you won’t regret it. Full matches spanning Brock’s career, with highlights including his debut match against Jeff Hardy, versus Van Dam (both at KotR and on Raw teaming with Undertaker against Van Dam and Ric Flair), his awesome encounter against Hulk Hogan where The Hulkster did everything he could to put Lesnar over, the battle against The Rock, his wars with Angle and Undertaker and capped off with his farewell performance against Goldberg. Sticking with the match for the title against Rock, The training montages were fantastic and it’s something WWE should do a lot more in the build to their huge title matches. It added a hell of a lot to Shawn v Bret at WrestleMania XII and it added a hell of a lot here. More talking heads from the current era would’ve been nice, but the quality of matches on the two latter discs make this a must-buy for those who lived it and for those who didn’t, but want to know what the fuss is about. If there is a negative (apart from the lack of current-era talking heads), it’s that there is virtually no mention of his MMA career, particularly as Brock had a positive record, was a UFC Heavyweight Champion AND was easily the biggest draw in MMA history off the back of his WWE career. Not including any of that was an oversight. Blu-Ray owners get the following extras -: Current Goals Brock Lesnar v ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair – Raw (1st July, 2002) No Fear No Disqualification Triple Threat Match for the WWE Undisputed Championship: The Rock v Triple H v Brock Lesnar – Global Warning (10th August, 2002) My World Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle & Mr. America v Big Show, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin – SmackDown (26th June, 2003) Strictly Business Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar v Kurt Angle v Big Show – Vengeance (27th July, 2003) Next Chapter Extreme Rules Match: John Cena v Brock Lesnar – Extreme Rules (29th April, 2012) Points: 9/10 Buy It: UK: DVD / Blu-ray USA: DVD / Blu-ray Canada: DVD / Blu-ray
