Product Details

• Format: Blu-ray, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: World Wrestling Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: June 5, 2012
• Run Time: 540 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B007GMKXC0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,539 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

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From 1992 until its ignominious end in 2001, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) offered a full-tilt-gonzo alternative to the "Big Two" (World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation) in raw, bloody, no-holds-barred matches featuring a cadre of future stars like Mick "Mankind" Foley, Rob Van Dam, and Shane Douglas, as well as past veterans like Terry Funk; the promotion's wild history is detailed through some of its best-known matches in volume one of the retrospective DVD series ECW Unleashed. Ringside announcer Joey Styles, the voice of ECW during its heyday, serves as host for the three-disc set, detailing its rise from a Philadelphia-based offshoot of the National Wrestling Alliance to a genuine contender with its own pay-per-view specials and a talent stable that rivaled the majors. Said talent included the aforementioned grapplers, as well as up-and-comers like Bam Bam Bigelow, Taz, and the absurdly athletic Sabu, each of whom delivered ECW's signature brand of rules-free mayhem, which included violent gimmick matches such as Singapore cane and Flaming Table matches, as well as Mexican lucha libre and Japanese wrestling. By the late '90s, ECW was attracting a sizable viewership, as well as the attention of WWE and WCW, which lured away its biggest names with high-priced salaries; the mass migration, combined with other financial issues, spelled the promotion's doom in 2001, and it was soon absorbed by WWE.

But its best brawls live on in the memories of ECW fans, who will undoubtedly appreciate the trip down memory lane via some of the league's biggest matches (preserved in the less-than-high-fidelity presentation of '90s-era TV), including the 1994 World Heavyweight Championship match between Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio, which marked the launch of ECW as its own entity, as well as the momentous 1998 championship bout between Van Dam and Jerry Lynn. Styles's commentary also touches briefly on the low points in ECW history, including the suicide death of Mike Awesome and the money issues that led to the league's downfall, though these are given less airtime than the highlight reels. In short, it's nearly as complete a package as ECW fans might want from a retrospective DVD, save for its surprising lack of extras. These can be found on the Blu-ray edition of the set, which includes two grueling matches from 1994, including Tommy Dreamer vs. Jimmy Snuka and a grisly triangle match between Sabu, Douglas, and the seemingly indestructible Terry Funk. --Paul Gaita

Product Description

ECW started as a small, Philadelphia-based local wrestling company, but rapidly became a sensation that built a passionate fan base and influenced both WCW and WWE permanently. Extreme Championship Wrestling was known for its intense matches, fan interaction, and introducing a number of future superstars to the general public, including Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Sandman, Taz, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, the Dudley Boyz, Rob Van Dam, Shane Douglas, and more. Now for the first time in years, ECW returns to home entertainment with The Biggest Matches in ECW History. Hosted by the longtime unmistakable voice of ECW, Joey Styles, this home video release collects some of the most amazing and over-the-top matches in ECW history, some of which have never before been released on DVD.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ECW Lite, Censored and Unreleased by WWE Vol. 1 June 6, 2012

By TMH

Format:Blu-ray

After the demise of McECW a few years ago, I never thought we'd see WWE release another ECW compilation, but they have and it's a good one! ECW Unreleased Vol. 1 is a an awesome collection of ECW matches that have never been released by WWE (except for Sabu vs Taz from Barely Legal which was included on the Barely Legal PPV bonus disc WWE included with ECW: One Night Stand). First, if you've never seen ECW, you need to start with The Rise and Fall of ECW. To this day, it's still the best documentary WWE has ever produced and will give you some (mostly) true insight into what the promotion was about, along with an awesome collection of matches. Then, if you're hooked pick up this collection (as well as the highly coveted Pioneer DVD releases that are now out of print). While this set has some flaws, which I'll get to, it also has some rare matches that you can't get anywhere else... at least in this quality.

I've been an ECW fan since 1995, I became one after hearing all this buzz about a wild daredevil named Sabu. After seeing him wrestle Cactus Jack for the first time, I was hooked! Now, a lot of these matches I've already seen before, but a few are new to me. They included several matches from Hardcore TV that I'm finally getting to see, which made this set a must buy for me. They also cleaned up the early ECW footage really well using some color correction. They've brightened the older video (which I always thought looked too dark) so it's much clearer now. Besides most of the Hardcore TV matches, I've seen everything else, so while it wasn't loaded with new content for me, it was enough to warrant a purchase and add it to my ECW home video collection. So, you get some rare tv matches in this set, that's the good... here's the bad: content has been edited. It's a subtle thing, and you'd only notice it if you lived thru the original ECW, but WWE has edited out the fans obscene chants. Some may argue that this isn't a big deal, but I disagree. The ECW fans were a huge part in creating the atmosphere that made ECW so special. So to censor and replace filthy chants with clean ones, or in some cases just crowd noise, hurts this release. Yes, it's a TV-14 rated release, but I don't understand why they didn't just do what they did with the Rise + Fall and release this as TV-MA. Who knows, it could be any number of reasons. Now, if you don't think they edited anything, here's just one example: watch the Shane Douglas vs Bam Bam Bigelow match. A few minutes in, while Bam Bam has Douglas down on the mat, the fans start chanting at Bigelow. Now, look closely at the fans as they stand up and chant, their mouth movements don't match the generic chant that's playing in the soundtrack. Why? Because fans are chanting an f-bomb laced chant at Bigelow and WWE has censored it. This happens in other matches on this release as well. Is it a deal breaker that this was done? No, because new fans wont be none the wiser, but for longtime fans like myself, it's a bummer. As for the music, I don't care, I'm over it. We all know why WWE edits the music so let's not even get into it.

If you're new to ECW I highly recommend this release because there are some classic matches here. Also, spend the extra couple bucks and get the Blu-ray because they included the legendary Terry Funk vs Sabu vs Shane Douglas triangle match as a Blu-ray exclusive (the first ever 3-way that was later ripped off by both WCW, WWF and everyone else). This is the match and angle that put ECW on the map! And for those that wanted to know... yes, they've included the awesome interview segment that takes place after the match. If you've never seen the confrontation Terry Funk and Shane Douglas have after this match, it will make you fall on your hands and knees wishing that wrestling could be like this again. In a word, it's tremendous!

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ECW Unreleased Volume 1 April 2, 2012

By A. Pierre

Format:Blu-ray

This is the OFFICAL listing for the dvd/blu ray. The list has a few matches added in and one is missing.

Disc 1

Welcome to the Land of Extreme

Hardcore TV
August 27, 1994
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

Hostile City Showdown
April 15, 1995
Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven
Mat Mastery

Heat Wave
July 15, 1995
Dean Malenko & 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Tazz & Eddie Guerrero

Hardcore TV
July 28, 1995
ECW World Television Championship Match
Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero

The Hardcore Legend

CyberSlam
February 17, 1996
Shane Douglas vs. Cactus Jack

The Doctor Is In
August 3, 1996
Chris Jericho vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

Disc 2

Extreme Style

CyberSlam
February 22, 1997
Tables & Ladder Match for the ECW World Tag Team Championship
Rob Van Damn & Sabu vs. The Eliminators

Barely Legal
April 13, 1997
Sabu vs. Tazz
A New National Audience

November to Remember
November 30, 1997
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Shane Douglas vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Heat Wave
August 2, 1998
ECW World Tag Team Championship Match
Sabu & Rob Van Damn vs. Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki

Homegrown Talent

Hardcore TV
August 15, 1998
ECW World Television Championship Match
Rob Van Damn vs. Jerry Lynn

Disc 3

The Foundation of ECW

Guilty as Charged
January 10, 1999
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Shane Douglas vs. Tazz

Heat Wave
July 18, 1999
Impact Players vs. Rob Van Damn & Jerry Lynn

November to Remember
November 7, 1999
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka

Breaking Allegiances

CyberSlam
April 22, 2000
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Tazz vs. Tommy Dreamer

CyberSlam
April 22, 2000
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Tommy Dreamer vs. Justin Credible

Heat Wave
July 16, 2000
ECW World Television Championship Match
Rhino vs. Sandman

Replenishing the roster

Massacre on 34th Street
December 3, 2000
ECW World Television Championship Match
Rhino vs. Spike Dudley

Hardcore TV
December 30, 2000
Jerry Lynn vs. Christian York

Guilty as Charged
January 7, 2001
Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck vs. Kid Kash & Super Crazy vs. The FBI

Closing the doors

Blu-ray Exclusives:

The Night the Line was Crossed
February 5, 1994
Tommy Dreamer vs. Jimmy Snuka

The Night the Line was Crossed
February 5, 1994
Three Way Dance Match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship
Terry Funk vs. Sabu vs. Shane Douglas

This is WWE's attempt to make everyone convert to blu ray by adding the best stuff as an extra on blu ray. I hope this set comes uncensored because I can't stand when they censor stuff. This will be a great set either way.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Round of Applause for ECW Unreleased May 5, 2012

By DHads

Format:DVD

This may have not been reased yet but I have to give this video and WWE an round of applause for the concept because WWE, even if they may not show it, has the sense to realize that not everyone wants to see the same old WWE product with the same old ring, same old production, and same old wrestlers all the time that's why WWE's videos for ECW, WCW, AWA, WCCW have been so successful because it's a way for WWE to expose their fans to wrestling they may not have seen before and a way to give new fans a history lesson in wrestling.