Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Saturday, November 3, 2007 at 2:16 AM EST

TNA Wrestling presents: "Christian Cage: The Instant Classic"
Review by: Adam Martin of WrestleView.com

TNA Home Video's latest DVD production "Christian Cage: The Instant Classic" explores the life of Jay Reso as a child growing up in Canada, his passion for the pro wrestling business, ultimately landing a job with WWE in 1998 and then making the jump to TNA Wrestling in 2005.

The DVD itself provides three choices for the viewer - matches, interview and bonus. The matches section provides seven matches from Cage's career in TNA. Those matches are as follows:

1. Cage vs. Jeff Jarrett (Against All Odds 2006)

* This is where Cage captures the NWA World Heavyweight Title.

2. Cage vs. Rhino (Bound For Glory 2006)

3. Cage vs. Rhino (TNA Impact - November 16, 2006)

4. Cage vs. Sting (TNA Impact - November 23, 2006)

5. Cage vs. Abyss vs. Sting (Final Resolution 2007)

6. Cage vs. Kurt Angle (Against All Odds 2007)

7. Cage vs. Samoa Joe (Destination X 2007)

The bonus area of the DVD features some pretty unique things that would be of interest to any hardcore Christian Cage fan. The first is a tour of his home in Florida, which has a very "MTV Cribs" feel to it minus the constant fast-forwarding. You also get a look at some of his most prized possessions highlighting his wrestling career, including a rare Christian Cage TNA doll that has Kevin Nash's voice when you punch it.

The second includes a match between Cage and Simon Diamond (known then as Lance Diamond with a young Dawn Marie in his corner) from August 1997. Both Cage and Diamond provide commentary during the match and are really entertaining to listen to. The poor video quality/camera work is quickly forgotten thanks to the guys calling the action. The two constantly make jokes about the "capacity" crowd in attendance that was probably no more than 100. The two joked that this was back when Cage could wrestle before he become a "sports entertainer", while Cage blames any missed spots in the match on a "fat chick" in the front row that kept distracting him.

Another great addition to the area is an early interview Cage did during his time with tag team partner Adam "Edge" Copeland when they were known as the "Suicide Blondes." Cage noted that they probably used every wrestling cliche in the book - and man was he right. To see how far both have come on the mic is amazing when you watch the promo. Copeland using the line "kick booty" and Cage throwing out "primetime baby" in the promo alone is worth the price of the DVD!

The interview area of the DVD, which runs close to 40 minutes, is where you really get to know Christian Cage and where he has come from. What the interview lacks in discussing his time in WWE (and hey, this is a TNA production so why not put more focus on his time in TNA), it makes up for it by going into detail about his childhood, how he become a fan of professional wrestling and eventually having aspirations to break into the business after he grew tired of going to college - in what he described as something he felt he had to do when in the back of his mind he always wanted to become a professional wrestler.

Probably the most unique thing about this portion of the DVD is that it features old footage of Cage's in-ring career on the independent wrestling scene in Canada. From a production standpoint, it is hard to do a documentary-like presentation without some type of video as the constant use of photos becomes tiring. TNA does an excellent job of going back-and-forth between shots of Cage discussing his early wrestling career while featuring old footage that we probably never could have seen before.

In keeping with this same idea, another great part of the interview section is the use of footage involving WWE's Adam "Edge Copeland where Cage discusses the two becoming friends and learning that both had a passion for wrestling. Cage has some great stories about his friendship with Adam and how the two first began entertaining wrestling crowds by working for a local promotion bringing in chairs, taking down the ring, etc. and jumping in the ring to see what it was like during intermission.

The progression and transition of the interview is very well done as it takes you from his childhood to breaking into the business and then making his decision to leave WWE when he felt he deserved to be featured more prominently and the company didn't seem to agree. Cage makes a powerful statement about the end of his run in WWE that really sums it up perfectly.

"I always tried to live by the rule - let the fans decide...who they want to see and who they don't want to see. And I felt I was getting reactions whether I was getting cheered or booed. They were reacting to me very strongly at the time. And I felt that the people I was in the ring with - I was wrestling guys like Shawn Michaels, guys like Chris Jericho - you know, guys of that magnitude. And being in the ring with them and doing the things I was doing, I knew I had what it took to be at that level and stay at that level. All I needed was the opportunity to stay there and for some reason it wasn't happening at the time. I racked my brain about it a million times trying to figure out what more I had to do or whatever and I couldn't come to any good conclusion. I think the fans wanted to see me at a different level too. The fans knew it should happen. I knew it should happen. And it didn't. And that's fine. Everything happens for a reason."

Cage's jump to TNA in November of 2005 at the "Genesis" PPV is really where thinks take off for this part of the DVD and gives you an idea of some of the things Cage was thinking about at the time during his jump. With this month marking the second year Cage has been with TNA, we also get to see some of his favorite moments in the company including winning his first ever World Title by defeating Jeff Jarrett on February 12, 2006 to become the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. His work with AJ Styles and other TNA stars is also profiled as well, describing it as a "blank canvas" where he gets the opportunity to work with talent he has never worked with before.

Final Thoughts: Fans of Christian Cage from his days in WWE to his days currently in TNA will no doubt enjoy this DVD release as it gives you a different perspective on his life and career in pro wrestling since debuting on the scene in 1995. Even those who may not call themselves "hardcore" fans of Cage would enjoy getting a look at where he started to where he is today, something we don't always get the opportunity to witness with many wrestling stars. TNA Home Video has definitely stepped it up a notch with this DVD release and it's worth your time to check out.