Customer Reviews

ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling - Extreme Evolution (Uncensored Version)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Matches: Raven vs. Sandman in a barbed wire match--A great hardcore matchup as these two men risk their lives and careers for ECW's fans. The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Cronus)vs. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy--An odd choice for a match that doesn't really seem to fit in, although Saturn's death-defying flying elbow was a great spot. Jerry Lynn vs.Rob Van Dam in a 30 minute bout for the ECW television title from Hardcore Heaven '99--A great match, and the high point of both RVD's and Lynn's careers. Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka in a show-stealing match from November to Remember '99 for the ECW world heavyweight title--A fantastic match as the Awesome/Tanaka feud reached it's peak. Taz vs. Sabu-- A fantastic hardcore grudge match, and a match that in many ways put ECW on the map and solidified them as a Fed to be reckoned with in Proffesional Wrestling. (From Barely Legal '97, by the way). The Dudley Boys vs. Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley in a world tag team title match--Another excellent hardcore match that sees the Dudleys powerbomb little Spike through two tables which are stacked on top of each other and set on fire, an incredible spot, and a great match. Finally, the match which best defines ECW: Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicuty vs. Shane Douglas and Francine in a mixed tag match-up. First, a fan hits Douglas with a chair, nearly causing a riot, and later, Francine's top comes off while recieving a piledriver from Tommy--All that and a terrific match too! I can not recommend this DVD enough. It is a must-have for any ECW fan, and if you are not yet a fan, and want to know what ECW is all about, buy this DVD and become a fan. The Video version, however, does not contain Taz vs. Sabu or Spike and Balls vs. the Dudleys. And the censored version is well...censored, so if you have to buy the Video, buy the uncensored version, even if it does not have those two matches, it is well worth it!

Not having been able to watch ECW during its Golden Era, (it wasn't shown out in our parts) I immediately purchased this DVD when I had a chance. I WASN'T disappointed. This is the ECW I always heard about. Tons of hardcore, hard-hitting action, great athleticism and insane daredevil spots. THIS IS EXTREME.

Here are the matches featured on this DVD:

1. Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn (5/16/99): CLASSIC match from their high profile rivalry for the ECW TV Title. Athleticism at its finest. Great mat wrestling, aerial action and counter action. Five stars.

2. Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka (11/7/99): Another classic feud spanning both FMW and ECW. This match dispelled any belief that Awesome was not a credible champ. AWESOME spot and bump fest featuring tables and tons of power moves. Dudley Boyz got nothing on these two when it comes to tables. As Joey Styles would say, "Oh My God!!!" Five stars.

3. The Sandman vs Raven (12/7/96): Classic barbed-wire match for the Heavyweight title. Garbage wrestling at its best. ECW hardcore action at its finest. You'll cringe at some of the things these two did to each other. Four stars.

4. The Dudley Boyz vs Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley (8/14/99): Arena spanning WAR between these two teams. Another ECW classic with tons of great spots including a powerbomb into TWO tables LIT ON FIRE!!! Hardcore to the bone. Five stars.

5. The Eliminators vs Dr. Death Steve Williams and Freebird Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy (10/26/96): Special challenge between ECW's greatest tag team and the greatest gaijin tag team from Japan. One-sided battle between two great teams. Highlight is the finish of the match which features an insane bump from high above the ring. Four stars.

6. Sabu vs. Taz (4/13/97): Classic grudge match from ECW's first ever Pay Per View "Barely Legal." GREAT match with tons of great mat wrestling, high spots and good ring psychology. Plus an appearance by Rob Van Dam and the shocking turn that led to the formation of one of ECW's best heel stables. Five stars.

7. Tommy Dreamer/Beulah McGillycutty vs "Franchise" Shane Douglas/Francine (12/7/96): Decent bout with TA and the obligatory catfight. Douglas at his best as a heel. Three stars.

Other extras on this DVD includes:

1. An Extreme Moments Montage featuring: New Jack's insane dive from a basketball backboard, Taz Tazplexing Dreamer off the stage into tables, Chris Benoit breaking Sabu's neck after a bad back drop.

2. Wrestler bios.

3. A preview for Acclaim's "Anarchy Rulz" Video Game.

Here are my evaluations:

Good: AWESOME action. In my opinion, not a single bad match on this DVD. This is the ECW that people always raved about. Extreme action at its best. The "Anarchy Rulz" preview was pretty solid also (though I've heard the game itself wasn't...). The Extreme moments montage was also a decent feature. The wrestler bios were a nice extra, though nothing spectacular.

Bad: Nothing really...

This DVD is great for any ECW fan, wrestling fan or anyone who likes to see great action. Is it worth watching? DEFINITELY. Is it worth buying and owning? In my opinion, yes. That's for you to decide though. If you do get it though, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Highly recommended.

The tape kicks off with Rob Van Dam versus Jerry Lynn. Although this was a great match I don't understand why it was placed on this tape. This match was shown on the very first episode of ECW on TNN so most fans have seen it. Not a bad match to start off the tape...but also not a great one. I understand why they wanted to put an RVD match on the tape since he is the top star of the promotion but if it was up to me I would have put the RVD/Sabu respect match on.

The second match is Tanaka versus Awesome. This is a very good match. Both men take insane moves from each other. The powerbomb out of the ring through a table is insane. Awesome is an amazing big man and Tanaka is an all around amazing wrestler.

Sandman versus Raven was not a great match...but I understand why it was placed on the tape. It used to be impossible to find this match in its entirety. Although I did not enjoy the match it was still good to see what I had been missing for so many years.

The Eliminator's versus Steve Williams and Terry Gordy is a match that has taken a lot of heat from the ECW fans. I guess for good reason. All four men are great wrestlers but this match was a bit slow. I must admit I am guilty of fast forwarding a bit. I do understand why this match was on the tape since it was in the old intro to ECW TV and it was also impossible to find. The tape could have done without this match.

Sabu versus Taz was a great match at the time. It had good drama to it and some rather stiff moves. This was the first real grudge match on ECW pay per view and it defiantly earned it's place on this tape.

Dudley's versus Spike and Balls was nothing spectacular. I am not a big fan of a total brawl so I did not enjoy this match. Fast-forwarded most of it. The flaming table stuff was pretty good.

Dreamer and Beulah versus Douglas and Francine was not a bad pick. I still think that the Dreamer/Beulah versus Fonzi/RVD was better.

This is a pretty good tape. I still think that the Sabu/RVD respect match should have been on it. Also Douglas/Sabu/Funk from the night the line was crossed should have been on. Still this is a good tape for newer ECW fans as well as older ones who never got to see some of these matches.

Another compilation of matches from various ECW TV shows & PPV's with an introduction to each match by Joey Styles.

Television Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn - What can be said about their series of matches that hasn't already been said. This match topped their match at the PPV before & what can I say but this was professional wrestling at it's best right along Flair/Steamboat & Angle/Benoit.
(Also available on "Rise & Fall Of ECW")

ECW Champion Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka - Every time these two get together, you see one of the most intense & stiff matches in your life & this was absolutely no exception as this was their greatest match in ECW & will go down as one of the greatest title matches in ECW history. I don't know what else to say here that I haven't said about their previous matches except to expect stiff chair shots, tables breaking, & plenty of power moves.

Barbed Wire Match: ECW Champion Sandman vs. Raven - This match gets overshadowed by the more violent match between Sabu & Funk later on but this was still good here as it was your typical Raven vs. Sandman brawl with the barbed wire shredding clothes. This match is real rare as it was never before released.

Tag Team Champions Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley vs. Dudley Boyz - This was at the first ECW on TNN taping that wasn't used on the debut show. This was probably their most violent & best encounter as everyone was fighting all thoughout the crowd with plenty of weapons & even double stacked flaming tables that Spike went though. This was the best tag match between these four guys & another match that was never released before.

Eliminators vs. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy - This was a match between one of the best tag teams in wrestling vs. one of the best tag teams in ECW. However once you get past that fact, this match was nothing special past the ending where Perry Saturn did the most dangerous elbow drop in wrestling history.

Sabu vs. Taz - This was dubbed "The Grudge Match Of The Century" as Sabu & Taz had a legit beef with each other dating back to when Sabu was fired from ECW in April '95 & if was perfectly built as they didn't fight each other for over a year leading up to this match as it had a great mix of wrestling from both men along with each incorporating their styles of Sabu's high flyin' & Taz's judo martal arts submission as well. The match itself lived up to the hype eventhough they would top the match later on in ECW.
(Also available on "Barely Legal")

Tommy Dreamer & Beulah vs. Shane Douglas & Francine - This match itself was full of highlights such as Francine having a "wardrobe malfunction" and a fan attacking Douglas with a chair in the crowd. Besides that it was an average but enjoyable matchup.

DVD extras include an Extreme Moments section which includes the match between Chris Benoit & Sabu where Benoit breaks Sabu's neck earning his nickname "The Crippler", Taz suplexing Tommy Dreamer off a balcony though a table, and a New Jack dive off a basketball backboard. There's also a hidden Cactus Jack "anti-hardcore" promo.

Basically, the only flop on this DVD would be the Eliminators vs. Williams & Gordy match (minus Saturn's elbow drop) so I highly recommend this for anyone.

When I got this DVD I thought it would ... but I was wrong it is a great DVD and you have to buy it here are the matches on the DVD and the special features

1. Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn for the ECW TV Title from Hardcore Heaven 1999 this is a great match two of the best wrestlers in ECW at the time I give this match (5 stars)

2. Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka for the ECW Heavyweight Title from November To Remember 1999 a good match with insane chair shots and table breaks (4 1/2 stars)

3. The Sandman vs Raven for the ECW Heavyweight Title Barbwire Match from 1996 this match is a bloodbath not a lot of wrestling but a lot of hardcore fighting (4 stars)

4. Dudley Boyz vs Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley for the ECW Tag Team Titles from 1999 this match goes all over the arena even into the concession stand and the high spot in this match is Spike Dudley being driven through 2 Flaming Tables! (4 1/2 Stars)

5. Eliminators vs Steve Williams and Terry Gordy from 1996 this match ... big time I don't know why they put this match on they could have put another match on instead of this stupid match (1 Star)

6. Sabu vs Taz from Barely Legal ECW's first PPV this match is awesome with a lot of high spots and good wrestling and harcore wrestling (5 Stars)

7. Tommy Dreamer and Beulah vs Shane Douglas and Francine from 1996 good match with Francines Top coming off during a piledriver by Tommy Dreamer and a fan hits Shane Douglas with a chair and a riot breaks out (3 Stars)

The Special Features are 1. Dolby 5.1 2. Extreme Moments Montage (Chris Benoit breaks Sabu's Neck!) 3. Interactive Menus 4. Match Access 5. Wrestler Bio's 6. ECW Anarchy Rulz Video Game Preview

well go out and buy this DVD it's good!

ECW's first commercial release... while still rad in itself (finally getting out the Raven/Sandman barb match), it just leaves a bit to be desired. Odd choice for a Sabu match, and whats with the Dr Death match?

Friends and fans of hardcore wrestling, and genuine wrestling in itself, this is the DVD for you. The now-defunct promotion of Extreme Championship Wrestling was always controversial, down its dying days, and produced many WWF and WCW friendly faces. But in ECW, where television standards and practices weighed little, everything was a little more intense. Taz was darker, Rob Van Dam flew higher, and the Dudley Boyz would still put you through a table, but first, they'd light it on fire.

TV Champ Rob Van Dam VS Jerry Lynn: Many consider it to be the greatest ECW title defense of the decade, pitting a cruiserweight high flyer against a heavyweight acrobat. Fast-paced action follows Van Dam's enormous ego and Lynn's injury, which doesn't cost him the match, but makes him fight harder than ever.

World Champion Mike Awesome VS Masato Tanaka: Superior to many of the FMW matches, these two gave Vince McMahon a lesson on what his wrestlers could do with chairs, and shows progressive high impact to a finale you can feel.

Barbed Wire Match: World Champion Sandman VS Raven: Neither man was famous for their technical wrestling skills, and even if Raven has bored you to death on WWF television, this is that one, special match where the two men used their bodies to entertain, no matter how much blood was spilled.

ECW Tag Champion Dudley Boyz VS Little Spike Dudley and Ballz Mahoney: A testimonial to Paul Heyman's booking tag teams in the main event, this match featured fire, ladders, cheese graters, and exotic wrestling maneuvers that make even fans of the TLC matches sweat.

The Eliminators VS Terry Gordy and Steve Willliams: A weaker match with less high impact and more of the classic, big bully wrestling. Except when Perry Saturn noticed the scaffold hanging dozens of feet above.

World Champion Taz VS Sabu: Joey Style's favorite match, a classic of grapple wrestling meeting suicidal high-flying, two ultraviolent opponents met in a match that wasn't without table spots, but didn't need them.

Tommy Dreamer and Beuluh VS Shane Douglas and Francine: A mixed tag main event is questionable, and certainly pales in comparison to half of the other matches on the DVD, but there are high points. The most sought-after wrestling chest shot of the 90's, a fan trying to start a riot in the middle of a match, and a story told through the match that smells of nostalgia for the simpler WWF days.

But on DVD's, you're paying for the little extra's, because VHS offers the same matches. Here, you'll get to see a young Chris Benoit's entire match against Sabu. It's less than two minutes, because Chris breaks Sabu's neck. If that doesn't sell you, a man named New Jack does a flying splash, off of a basketball backboard, and a poor man is sent off a stage, through tables. There's a few bio pages on the DVD for you history enthusiasts, who want to look up such familiar faces as Rhino or Steven Richards. And to be honest, the ability to click between matches, Joey Styles' introductions, and musical tributes to the athletes, instead of just fastforward or rewind, is worth a dollar, too.

what a dvd\video in this one. When I heard ECW was going out of buisness I was so... off! Because I am a huge die hard ECW fan and I want some more and I heard they were releasing more ECW videos and I couldnt wait to pick this baby up and I was not disapointed. here are the matches and my ratings

TV Champion RVD vs. Jerry Lynn - this is the rematch from Living Dangerously and what a match at that. the only bad thing about this match is that RVD showboats and brags too much in the beginning which takes up about 5 to 6 minutes, but otherwise this is one of may favorite matches of all time!!! I watch it over and over. This match runs 26:57 but every min except the 1st 5 are classic. this match is worth the price of the whole video My rating: *****

ECW Champion Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka get every single tanaka-awesome match you can find b/c its all good believe me on this one. Brutal Awesome Classic Match My rating: *****

ECW Champion Sandman vs. Raven in barbed wire match this is the first barbed wire match I saw and it's not as good as the Funk-Sabu match but it's still an ecw classic. My Rating: ***1/2

The Eliminators vs. Terry Bam Bam Gordy and Dr. Death I'm a big fan of all these guys. this is when Saturn was good and not a cuckoo head in WWF. nothin really special about this one except Dr. Death getting Powerbombed on the concrete and Saturn dropping an elbow drop off a scaffolding!!!! I think this match is reconzied for historical reasons though My Rating: ***

Beulah and Tommy Dreamer vs. The Franchise and Francine this is the tag match when Francine has a... slip!! good spots with Tommy and Douglas though and a good spot where a fan hits Franchise with a chair and a brawl erupts. My Rating: **** (a star for the ... slip)

The Dudley Boyz vs. Spike & Ballz this is an awesome match here!!! good brawl and man is that spike a good bumptaker!! good spots with flaming tables too and a good bloodbath My Rating: ****1/3

Sabu vs. Taz Taz was awesome at this point!! and Sabu had another world title reign ahead of him!! awesome match that set new standard for ECW My Rating: *****

Bottom Line: get this you will not be disapointed

First off, if you're an ECW fan or want to get introduced to ECW, buy this NOW!! Some of ECW's greatest matches are on here including two of the best wrestling matches ever which are RVD vs Jerry Lynn for the tv title and Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka for the heavyweight title. A few other great matches included on this DVD are the never before seen barbed wire match between Raven and the Sandman as well as one of the Dudley Boys's last matches in ECW which pitted them against Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley (Spike gets powerbombed through 2 flaming tables, UNBELIEVABLE!!). Other classic matches include Sabu vs Taz, The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus) vs Dr.Death and Terry Gordy, and the mixed tag team match between Tommy Dreamer and the beautiful Beulah vs Shane Douglas and Francine. Joey Styles is of course doing the commentary (the best commentator in wrestling, BAR NONE) which only adds more greatness to these matches. Buy this now or you'll regret it later!

After being somewhat disappointed by ECW's debut on the Sci-Fi channel, I popped this old tape in my VCR to see something that wasn't filled with 30 minutes of lame skits.

The first match I saw was Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam. This is Jerry Lynn's most famous match I'm sure. He takes a nasty fall from the turnbuckle to the floor and lands right on his face, and he's out of it for a little while after that. Still manages to tough it out to put on an outstanding match loaded with unexpected reversals.

Next matchup is Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka. These guys had some of the best matches I've ever seen. Man, they can put on a show. This match was right up there with all their other ones. Tanaka tries a tornado DDT and gets it reversed into a spinebuster right on top of some steel chairs. Ouch. Tanaka superplexes Awesome through a table. Great. Awesome finally ends the match after powerbombing Tanaka from the top rope. Personally, this is my favorite match on the tape.

Next I see Raven fighting the Sandman in a barbed wire match. This is without a doubt one of the most violent matches I've ever seen, but then again, I don't watch Japanese wrestling too much. The Sandman looks pretty fat in this video, but he's definitely as crazy as ever. He throws himself around into tables quite well in this match. It gets my attention as well as the attention of Joey Styles. Both Raven and the Sandman cut themselves to bits. Blood everywhere. Crowd seems to like it. This is as real as wrestling gets right here. It sure ain't pretty, but it's definitely something to see.

Fourth match I see is a tag match and the only guys in the ring I remember are Saturn and Dr. Death. Dr. Death is pretty intense, and Saturn's hefty looking partner is surprisingly athletic. Saturn does an elbow drop from a scaffold and wins. I wonder what Saturn is up to these days.

Last match is a mixed tag match with Shane Douglas and Fancine against Tommy Dreamer and Beulah. This is a fun match to watch. Shane Douglas tries his best to make the crowd mad, and does a good job I think. Beulah does a moonsault and ends up getting the heck beat out of her. I was laughing through this whole darn thing.

Even though ECW was some sinful programming, this tape definitely delivers some excitement. Sometimes I wish wrestlers didn't put themselves through so much, because my enjoyment of the footage depicting their most painful moments makes me feel guilty.