?Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com

On Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 5:02 AM EST

Time for some serious media review. I picked up both releases from WWE on tuesday, and dove in to both of them with both feet. Let's go through them, one step at a time.

WRESTLEMANIA 21, the DVD

A three disc collection, with some tremendous packaging, featuring pictures of both new champions holding up their respective bling bling. It is the usual collection of absolute treasure from WWE home video. Disc 1 features the program in almost its entirety, going from the opening, Lilian singing the national anthem to the Sumo Match between the Show and Akebono. One slightly off note, they did censor Rowdy Roddy Piper on Piper's Pit, and that, I thought, was one of the funniest moments of the entire show. (Forgive me, guys, I am writing this at 4am!)

Disc 2 features the end of the program, both brands championship matches, and most of the program's extras. Every single parody preview, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, A Few Good Men, Taxi Driver, Gladiator, Basic Instinct, Pulp Fiction, Dirty Harry, & When Harry Met Sally is featured. Also, outtakes and bloopers from the shoots on all of the previews. Promotional videos are available for the main events on the card, and then specifically JBL/Cena, Triple H/Batista, & Angle/HBK. Also career retrospectives are available on this disc for Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, and Kurt Angle. (Is that a premonition?) Along with all of that, highlights from Wrestlemania week, including appearances by WWE superstars, the 'event' they held on Hollywood Blvd., the interpromotional battleroyale prior to the beginning of Wrestlemania, and a very intriguing segment with the boys from Motorhead and the Game playing an instrumental, unplugged version of the Game's theme song, with highlights attached in the bottom of Triple H's entrance to the ring during the show itself.

Disc 3 is the entire 2005 Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I can't go in to this one entirely yet, as I haven't watched it from start to finish. I will comment on a few things. Ric Flair is a good speaker, but he needs a plan. He seemed to be rambling for a long time before bringing out Roddy Piper. Sylvester Stallone seemed to be the most unwelcome individual on the planet. It looked like NOBODY from the WWE family (superstars) wanted to see old Sly induct Hulk Hogan.

Now, I am going to take heat for this, but the hell with it. Can we stop with the 20 minute ovations for Hogan? Yes, his resume is legendary, yes, his accomplishments are revolutionary, yes, he deserves all the honors and accolades that have come to him. But, come on, how many more times does the fans at an appearance need to sound like raving stalkers applauding this man? EACH of these individuals deserved the same amount of applause that Hogan got, because without them, Hogan would have gotten nowhere with his career. But, hey, it's my own opinion.

Who else noticed when Hogan hugged all of the other inductees that Orndorff wanted nothing to do with him? Is it possible that hostilities still persist, even this far in to the twilight of these careers? Come on, Mr. Wonderful, suck it up, for the WWE fans at least.

Lastly, how ironic was it to see McMahon tormentor Stone Cold Steve Austin sitting in the audience next to Shane McMahon?

Just a couple of thoughts.

Bottom line, pick up this collection. It is not as jam packed as the WM 20 collection, but its still an item of significant value, and let's call it down the line, you get two for the price of one, and if you ever wanted a Hall of Fame ceremony, this class would be the one to have in your collection, would you not agree?

JOHN CENA & THA TRADEMARC - "YOU CAN'T SEE ME"

Ok. First, I hate rap. Plain and simple. I hate it. I bought this record because, as previously stated till I'm blue in the face, I am a huge Cena fan. Now, be that as it may, let me say this right off the bat.

IF YOU BUY THE EXPLICIT VERSION OF THIS CD, DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN OR KIDS LISTEN TO THIS RECORD.

It's that verbally hard. The second track title is called Don't _ _ _ _ with us. The first letter of the second word is F. Need I say more?

The beats for this record are actually kind of catchy. You can also almost understand what the gang is trying to rap. Most of the rap out there, at least to my uncultured ears, you can't understand what the hell they're trying to say, sing, or rap. Here, at least you can hear these guys and what they're saying.

Bluntly, the two best songs in the entire package, from my thoughts, are "The Time Is Now" and "Bad, Bad Man". Some other possibilities to check out are "Flow Easy" and "This is How We Roll." I wonder if the latter tune, "Roll" is dedicated to Captain Charisma. I also wonder something else. "Chain Gang is the Click" Hrm. Is there a message in that one? Hrm.

Couple of thoughts. 1. This is not a parody. It is far from a comedy rap album. It is underground sounding, it is street sounding, it has got zero pop sounds on it from start to finish. 2. It's really not that bad. I doubt you're going to see John on major radio anytime soon, but, for a first parlay in to the world of Hip Hop, it's not too damn bad. Outside of the fact that I can't play this record at all for my kids, and I wanted to, because they're also Cena marks, it's really pretty good. Both my wife and I like the record, and we're rock music players, from Queen to Metallica to Van Halen and others like that, so we have ZERO rap experience to work with.

The rap gurus will probably rip this from pillar to post, and you know what, so be it. I don't think Cena was trying to get the critics to go gaga for his project. I think he wanted to do what he enjoys, that's exactly what came out, and frankly, I like it.

I'll post more about it as I continue to listen to it. I would love to hear thoughts from others who picked up the CD or DVD. Drop me a line at Palace@wrestleview.com. See ya down the road, ladies and gentlemen.

Kimosabe, sumo?!?!?