All Rise...

Judge David Johnson is the King of the Bling.

The Charge

Crowning wrestling royalty.

The Case

Also known as "Giant dudes in tight-fitting shorts putting plastic crowns on their heads."

That was a cheap shot. Look, I've actually been doling out some positive grades to these WWE releases. Granted, the audience is built-in—and if you're not a wrestling fan, an evening in a dental chair would likely be more appealing—but the WWE usually knows what it's doing and its productions serve the masses well.

The Best of King of the Ring is essentially a three-disc collection of "Best-of" matches, packing in a solid amount of content with a few goofy moments sprinkled in to remind you of the often lightweight spectacle that is professional wrestling.

Booker T is your host for the festivities and (for some reason) the DVD producers thought it would be wise to have him decked out in his royal gear and talk in a painful faux-British accent. Yeah, let's just move on to the pugilism.

This is obviously the heart of the release and, thankfully, King of the Ring has supplied some memorable bouts over the years. Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kane, Bret Hart—that's a boatload of wrestling's glitterati.

And while these encounters have all been selected because of their entertainment value, none can compare to the true centerpiece of the anthology: Mankind versus Undertaker in the Hell in a Cell match. Say what you want about contrived outcomes and "fakeness," what Mankind puts himself through in this match is ridiculous. The body slam on the pile of thumbtacks alone is worth the price of the set.

The Verdict

Nearly eight hours of squared circle lunacy. Worth it for fans. Not Guilty.

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