Great DVD, exclusive to silvervision and a great show. Must buy for any WWE fan.

WWE's "Homecoming" on October 3 2005 was a special 3-hour edition of Raw to commemorate the promotion's flagship television show returning to the USA Network, the U.S TV station who broadcast Monday Night Raw from 1993 to 2000 (WWE previously had a 5-year deal for Raw with rival network Spike). With an almost pay-per-view-like feel to proceedings, Raw Homecoming promised big time matches, guest apperances from numerous wrestling legends, and current WWE superstars making their in-ring return.

A Piper's Pit where, unusually, the guest introduced the host, kicked off the 3-hour broadcast, as Mick Foley welcomed 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper back to the WWE. What was threatening to turn into an incoherent mutual appreciation society between 'Hot Rod' and 'The Hardcore Legend' was thankfully interrupted by SmackDown's Randy Orton, who, accompanied by father 'Cowboy' Bob, gave the RKO to Piper and Foley.

The first match of the evening soon followed, and it was the "rubber match" between wrestling geniuses Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. Tied at one bout apiece due to their classic collisions at WrestleMania 21 and Vengeance 2005, this was a 30-minute Ironman match (due to commercial breaks, the length of the bout on DVD is more like 20-odd minutes) to settle the long-running feud once and for all. Unfortunately, though a very good match, HBK-Angle III wasn't a patch on their previous two bouts, and nothing was really settled after all with the Ironman score at 2-2 after 30 minutes. Kurt refused Shawn's pleas for sudden death to a winner.

Mr. McMahon came out to gloat about the successes of Raw and, in particular, his personal triumphs over the years against arch nemesis Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the most predictable occurance ever, 'The Texas Rattlesnake' came to the ring to show some Titantron videos of him getting the better of Vince, then he proceeded to Stun the Chairman of the Board and, of course, drink some beer. Then, one by one Austin proceeded to Stun the rest of the McMahon family, Shane, Stephanie and finally Linda in the ugliest-looking Stone Cold Stunner ever caught on camera. This was an amusing segment in places, but went on for WAY too long, and it's since been reported that other matches and segments following this were hurridly shortened on the night by WWE staff because this over-ran for so long.

A ladder match between Matt Hardy and Edge was exciting at times, but way too short. Edge, accompanied by Lita, was victorious and retained his Money In The Bank briefcase, whereas Matt, by virtue of his loss, was forced to jump ship from Raw to SmackDown. Later on, former 10-time World Champion Triple H, not seen in WWE since Vengeance in June, made his in-ring return, partnering best friend Ric Flair for a well-received victory over Chris Masters and Carlito. However, celebrations between 'The Game' and 'The Nature Boy' were short lived, as Triple H turned heel on the Intercontinental Champion by busting him open with his trademark sledgehammer after the match. 'The Cerebral Assasin' continued the vicious beating of Flair backstage as fans in the arena and at home sat puzzled, wondering why the comeback King of Kings was attempting to destroy his supposed best friend.

A 3-on-2 Bra and Panties match pitting Women's Champion Trish Stratus and Diva Search Winner Ashley Massaro against Victoria, Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson was mercifully short. There was another brief segment where many legends of WWE's past gathered in the ring. Dusty Rhodes rambled on like he often does, and was interrputed by terminal mid-carder Rob Conway, who admittedly did make one or two amusing cracks about the legends' ages. Rhodes and the rest took exception, and Conway was given what for, including the Claw from Kevin Von Erich (who received a big ovation earlier in the evening from his hometown crowd in Dallas, TX) and the Superfly Splash from old age pensioner Jimmy Snuka.

SmackDown GM Theodore Long had previously arranged with Mr. McMahon for six of his Friday Night Superstars to showcase their talents at Homecoming in a tag team extravanganza, and Rey Mysterio, U.S Champion Chris Benoit, World Champion Batista, Christian, JBL and Eddie Guerrero all made their entrances. But just as the match was about to start, Raw GM Eric Bischoff, still smarting over Randy Orton's intereference at the beginning of the night, ordered "lights out" for the SmackDown Showcase bout, rendering it a non-starter. As promised throughout the evening, Hall Of Famer and multi-time WWE and WCW Champion Hulk Hogan made a brief appearance in an in-ring interview with 'Mean' Gene Okerlund. 'The Hulkster' gave a tantalising hint to fans that he wanted to wrestle Stone Cold Steve Austin in a dream match. Sadly, the egomania of both Hogan and Austin has prevented this first ever 1-on-1 meeting from ever happening, as neither man is willing to lay down for the other. Hogan-Austin will remain exactly that, a dream, until both men can come to terms with their real-life disdain for each other, which I personally don't ever see happening.

Raw Homecoming's main event was a no-disqualification match for the WWE Championship, with John Cena defending against Eric Bischoff. Despite having No.1 Contender Kurt Angle in his corner, Bischoff lost easily and quickly to the champ, and the show ended with a mass brawl between Raw and SmackDown superstars, setting up big matches at upcoming PPVs Taboo Tuesday and Survivor Series.

As an extended edition of Monday Night Raw, Homecoming was a lot of fun in places, with Legend cameos and some decent action in the Ironman and Ladder matches. This wasn't a patch, however, on the more recent 15th Anniversary 3-hour Raw from December 2007, which I'm suire I'm not the only one who thinks Silver Vision/WWE Home Video should release ASAP! But as a night of celebration, with the past, present and future of WWE all plying their trade, Homecoming did it's job: that is, celebrating the return to the USA Network in style. A nice addition for your DVD collections if you haven't already.