TNA is the other white meat of wrestling; they’re an alternative to what we’re exposed to the most (WWE, of course). If you watch it, this next part will bore you because you already know most (if not all) of what I’m going to say. TNA prides itself on being a somewhat “evolution” of wrestling, due to their roster of unique stars (AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Abyss) and previously established wrestlers (Sting, Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Rhino, Jeff Jarrett) combined with innovative concept matches (King of the Mountain, Ultimate X) and a six-sided ring. They are also known for the “X-Divison” (and its championship) , which is high-flying, high-impact wrestling based mostly around the smaller wrestlers.

However, TNA didn’t always have the identity they do now; the company actually began in 2002 as an NWA territory based out of Nashville, Tennessee and has had some very interesting things happen in their short history - enter this DVD.

TNA: The 50 Greatest Moments is a DVD released in November 2006 highlighting (guess what) the top fifty moments in the promotion’s history since it’s inception in 2002. Now, I don’t want to give an in-order list of all of the moments in this review, because that would make me a class-A douchebag for completely ruining any reason to buy/watch said DVD. What I will do, however, is simply give my brief opinions on the disc as a whole and bottom line it for you so you can decide whether or not it’s worth your time, which comes as follows:

This DVD is a great view if you are unsure of some of the history of TNA. Many people only know TNA from what they’ve shown on SpikeTV, and many of the moments from this disc are from that era, but there was a lot going on in this upstart promotion when they were stuck simply running weekly PPV shows or having a terrible time slot on Fox Sports Net.

Personally, I enjoyed it primarily for that reason - I was able to visit some events that occurred long before I had any idea what this TNA business was all about. I began watching TNA full time nearly 2 years ago (at their PPV “Lockdown” 2005) and it was very cool to see some of the stuff that I had completely missed and likely would have never even known about.

Another positive to the DVD is that for all of the moments, they were able to have TNA wrestlers/employees talk about what that moment meant to them, and most of the time if the moment involved a particular wrestler, they got that guy to give his thoughts. I thought that was a nice touch, rather than a damn narrator just going down a list. That would have sucked butt, which this DVD does not.

Usually with most lists, there are certain items included that are either ranked higher/lower than one believes they should be, or items that are on the list that don’t belong and vice versa. I didn’t feel that was the case with this ranking, as each moment was viewed from how important it was to the company AT THE TIME THE EVENT HAPPENED. This is most definitely true with the top ten moments, and no one alive can argue with the moment they included at number one.

Now, there are two sides to every coin. There are a couple downsides to this disc. First of all, there wasn’t any bonus matches or features or anything of the sort. Not really a complaint, but little bonuses are always nice. You’ll just get the bare bones program here, kids - options are “play” and “chapters”. Secondly, the disc is one of those that you’ll probably only watch once all the way through. It’s a great way to do some homework on TNA, or simply remember some of the great moments in its existence, but once you’ve done that and seen the order that the moments are in and you know what’s coming next, the re-watch factor kinda plummets. If you’re like me, a second viewing of this disc will just make you want to check out some of these moments in their entirety. It’s also a 3-hour disc, which is great for the first viewing, as it’s very in-depth and informative and helps you understand why these moments were a big deal. However, because it’s 3 hours, it’s not one you’ll pop in again unless you’re really bored.

Bottom Line: TNA - The 50 Greatest Moments is most definitely worth a viewing. Whether you’re a TNA diehard, a casual fan who’s seen it a time or two, or completely in the dark (and wondering where the hell Kurt Angle went), this DVD is a great trip through the history of the “other league”.

El Gringo’s Grade: 3 out of 5 (very high-quality disc with very little replay value)

But what you really want to know is…..

Should I Buy It?

Yes, unless you know someone who already bought it. Then just borrow it and watch it. Either way, see it however you can.

You can purchase this DVD by clicking here, but you can’t borrow my copy, cheap-ass….

Adios, amigos!

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed!