TripleG

Just got a copy of "Best of AMW" one of TNA's early DVD releases, and I must say it's a hell of a set.

Unfortunately, it doesn't cover anything from the 3 hour PPV era as the DVD was released before they started doing 3 Hour PPVs. But this collection is a great look at the early days of TNA's tag team division which was centered around their greatest team, America's Most Wanted!

- In between the matches are segments interviewing Harris and Storm and asking them basic questions. Nothing earth shattering was said in this (for those of you who have seen Best of AJ Vol. 1, its basically the same thing) but it was cool to see Harris & Storm out of character a little bit and having some fun talking about their time in TNA.

- The first match in the collection is the Tag Team Gauntlet where AMW first won the tag team titles. The match begins in progress, and you only catch the end. It was ok, but the only reason its on the set is because it was AMW's first tag title win.

- Much more interesting are the next three matches where AMW battles The Diciples of the New Church. These matches were cool! Basically each match would start with a gigantic brawl all over the arena and would then settle down into a regular tag match. It really seemed like these two teams hated each other. The matches were early classics for TNA's tag team division, and put the division on the map. The New Church defeated AMW in the first match via Pinfall to win the titles. This was said to be their second encounter as the first one the week before ended with The Church getting DQ'd. The second match also saw AMW go down, but only because they snapped and got extra violent with their opponents. The third match on this set is the same one of the "History of TNA: Year One" DVD and on the very early "Best of TNA Title Matches" DVD. It was a NODQ match that was very good and it saw AMW win back their titles, putthing the rivalry to an end.

- Next we move on to their feud with Triple X, specifically the members of Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper. Two matches from this feud are present. The first is the tag team title match from the One Year Anniversary show, which was a very good match that saw Triple X steal the victory (their fourth over AMW), and the second is the now famous Cage Match, the first in TNA history. IMO, their Six Sides of Steel at TP 2004 topped it, but this is still a great classic to have in your collection as it was one of TNA's earliest classics, and .

- The last match on Disc 1 is AMW vs. The Rock & Roll Express. This match was short and pretty boring. The only reason its on here is for historical purposes. However, it wasn't that good of a match at all. The only noteworthy thing is that Harris won the match with The Perfect Plex, an obvious tribute to the late great Curt Hennig.

- Disc 2 opens with AMW's feud with The New York Connection, the team of Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger with Glen Gilberti as their manager. Now after watching the New Church & Triple X matches, I thought "These aren't going to be as good" Boy was I wrong! The first two matches were VERY good. Lot's of action and nearfalls. The first match was a straight up tag for the belts which saw AMW retain their titles, while the second was a "Rawhide Strap Match" where lethaer straps could come into play. AMW was once again victorious. The third, and less spectacular, match was AMW teaming with Dusty Rhodes against The NYC with Gilberti as their partner. This match was ok, but nowhere near as good as the first two. Like the Rock & Roll Express match, I think they were going for history here as AMW tagged with Dusty Rhodes. But this forgotten tag team feud yeilded some pretty damn good matches, so check it out.

- The final match in the official documentary portion of the disc is a tag team title match from the first ever Impact on FSN where AMW defeated Kid Kash and Dallas (Lance Hoyt) to win back their titles. This was a really good match. I remember that first episode of Impact like it was yesterday, and I remeber how impressed I with AMW as this was the first time I saw them. I enjoyed seeing this match again.

Now onto the extras, which oddly enough are just more matches and a music video (the music video sucks, so I'll just skip that)

-The first match in the extras is an AWESOME match between Harris & Storm from an independent show prior to TNA's birth. The match was so good, it was the main reason Harris & Storm got jobs with TNA. Highlights of this match are shown on the "History of TNA: Year One" DVD, but the AMW DVD features the entire match with Harris, Storm, and JB doing commentary. Like I said, the match was great, even though the commentary is referring to everything in past tense, so it was kind of weird in that aspect. Special treat of this match. If you want to see Abyss unmasked, pay close attention to the wrestler Justice, who interferes towards the end. Storm picked up the win, and Harris turned heel on him afterwards. This match showed just how good both guys can be as singles wrestlers, and it is a real treat to watch, and one of the main reasons to pick up this DVD.

- The second extra match is a short match with Harris & Storm taking on The Rainbow Express (remember Lenny & Lodi?) with Harris & Storm getting the quick win. This match came about as The Dupps were supposed to face the Express, but they declined, citing that they didn't want to fight any "Alternative Lifestyle" guys. Harris and Storm, who had just walked in the building, took their place and got the win. It was the first time Harris & Storm teamed together, so its cool for that reason.

- 3rd in the extras is IMO a huge forgotten classic in TNA. Jeff Jarrett defended the World title against Chris Harris in a one on one match in early 2004. This match was great. It's actually one of the best matches on the entire DVD set, and I'm amazed that Harris didn't get a chance to be a main event main stay after this match. Oh well. Jarrett obviously won, but Harris' singles push continued a little bit longer until AMW was put back together again on the first FSN Impact.

- The 4th and final extra match is Jeff Jarrett taking on James Storm, which was a match Jarrett a week prior to what was supposed to be his rematch with Harris (ultimately AJ got the title shot) This was a good match. Nowhere near as good as the Harris/Jarrett bout, but still pretty exciting.

Overall, if you can find Best of AMW, I recommend that you get it. I was a little disappointed that no Vol. 2 ever came about, but what can you do? There was definately enough material for it.

__________________
Top Five Fav TNA Wrestlers:
1) AJ Styles
2) Samoa Joe
3) Christian Cage
4) Rhino
5) James Storm

Top Five Fav WWE Wrestlers:
1) The Undertaker
2) Shawn Michaels
3) Chris Jericho
4) CM Punk
5) Santino Marella