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This is the third John Cena DVD that WWE Home Video has released. I was not a fan of the first two. Is the third time the charm for them to finally get it right?

Review and Recommendation

Format of the DVD: Disc one features a behind-the-scenes look at all the extracurricular activities John Cena has recently been involved with as he promotes World Wrestling Entertainment. Discs two and three contain matches.

The Documentary: This is not an autobiographical documentary that tells the story of John's life. That was covered in John Cena: My Life, which was released in 2007. The best way I can describe the action on this DVD is by comparing it to the little vignettes that appear on WWE programming when one of their stars does something outside of the ring. This DVD is just a bunch of extended versions of those as we follow all the promotional tours John does from late 2009 through the summer. Some of them are interesting but only the most hardcore John Cena fan will be able to keep interest throughout this entire disc.

Length of the DVD Set: One of the problems I have with this DVD set is the length of it. Usually WWE DVD sets run about 9 hours. Despite listing a running time of approximately 9 hours for this set on the packaging, it is actually closer to 7 hours. The documentary on disc one runs a little less than two hours and the action on disc two runs for a little more than two hours.

Match Selection: Despite having a match featured on almost every WWE DVD set, credit goes out to WWE Home Video for having no matches that appear on other non-PPV DVD sets.

Unfortunately, none of his epic matches are on this DVD. Considering disc one featured so much of his promotion for this year's WrestleMania, I was shocked that his match against Batista wasn't on this DVD.

Overall Recommendation: While better than his prior two DVD releases, this still isn't the DVD set that John Cena fans deserve. If you're a huge John Cena fan I recommend buying the DVD. If not, there are better DVD sets on the market that you would be better off spending your money on.

Matches on This DVD Set

Please note that none of the matches on this DVD set have been released on any non-PPV DVD release. Additionally, every match prior to the 2008 Royal Rumble was not filmed in HD. All of those matches feature a pillarbox effect on wide-screen television sets.

Disc Two

• No Mercy 2004: John Cena vs. US Champion Booker T - This is match five of their best-of-5 series for the US Championship.
• No Way Out 2005: John Cena vs. Kurt Angle - This was the final match of the tournament to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at WresttleMania 21.
• Taboo Tuesday 2005: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - The fans voted for Shawn to be in this match over Kane and the Big Show.
• Royal Rumble 2006: John Cena vs. WWE Champion Edge - Never before has a challenger had such a better ring entrance than the champion.
• Tribute to the Troops 2006: John Cena vs. Edge - John's title was not on the line during this match.
• RAW 2/29/07: World Tag Team Champions John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. Rated RKO - Despite being tag team champions, Cena and Michaels were scheduled to fight each other in a few weeks at WrestleMania 23.
• One Night Stand 2007: WWE Champion John Cena vs. The Great Khali - This was a falls count anywhere match.

Disc Three

• Great American Bash 2007: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Bobby Lashley - This turned out to be Lashley's final WWE PPV appearance.
• SummerSlam 2007: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Randy Orton - This was the first time these two men faced off in a one-on-one match on PPV.
• Royal Rumble 2008: John made his shocking return from injury in this match and entered at #30. Footage from the match begins a few seconds before he makes his entrance.
• Night of Champions 2008: John Cena vs. WWE Champion Triple H - Despite being two of the biggest stars in the company for the past few years, these two men have only fought each other twice on PPV in one-on-one matches.
• RAW 1/26/09: World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - This is not the epic one-hour encounter the two men had on RAW. This match took place during Shawn's period of being JBL's servant. The rules of the match stipulate that if Shawn wins then JBL gets a spot in the upcoming Elimination Chamber Match.
• RAW 4/13/09: World heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. ECW Champion Jack Swagger - No titles are on the line in this match but two draft picks are.
• Judgment Day 2009: World Heavyweight Champion John Cena vs. The Big Show - Following the bout John celebrates with Alfonso Soriano, who the Miz insulted earlier in the show as part of his tirade against John Cena.
• RAW 6/29/09: vs. The Miz - This match was part of a tournament to determine a challenger for Randy Orton's WWE Championship.
• Survivor Series 2009: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels - Usually fans talk about the last three seconds of a match. This time, the most entertaining and talked about part of the match took place in the first three seconds of the bout.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.