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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice show with a great set of DVD extras, December 16, 2005
This review is from: Hardcore Homecoming: Platinum Edition (DVD)
Two days before WWE was having their "ECW: One Night Stand" event, a bunch of non-WWE talents got together for a reunion show of their own at the building formerly known as the ECW Arena titled "Hardcore Homecoming." Due to WWE owning the ECW footage & all their copyrights, this show as limited in some ways that effected this event in regards to editing (the DVD goes mute whenever an "ECW" chant happens) & re-dubbing (Joey Styles had to redo the commentary alone when he had Cyrus with him during the event itself) which hurt the event but the second disc full of extras, the use of current TNA stars & those who chose this show over the WWE show heavily make up for it. They also use footage from the "Forever Hardcore" documentary as a back-story/highlight video for each match/event of the night. Disc one had the actual event while disc two was full of DVD extras.
The show opened with Todd Gordon acknowledging the crowd followed by Joey Styles (who was almost in tears), Cyrus, and Joel Gertner doing their usually opening promo full of dirty sex jokes to the point where even Cyrus had to break character & laugh before this went the direction you knew it was going to go with Gertner & Cyrus.
Chris Chetti & Mikey Whipwreck vs. C.W. Anderson & Simon Diamond - This was just your average opening match with both Anderson & Diamond working over Chetti's back (which was injured years ago) building up the hot tag to Mikey.
Blue Meanie vs. Tracy Smothers w/J.T. Smith (F.B.I.) - A comedy match filled the the typical spots you expect from the two from the referee getting involved to the dance off.
Fallen Heroes of Hardcore Trible - A nice tribute by Johnny Grunge (Public Enemy), Gary Wolfe (Pitbulls), Tammy Synch (Chris Candido) with appearances from Danny Doring, Roadkill, and 911.
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Kid Kash - This was build up as "Old School vs. New School" with both of these men having the reputation for being some of the best high flyers in ECW. Kash was in heel mode to the point where he picked on Hat Guy in the front row before Scorpio grounded Kash. The match turned into a very physical & athletic contest both in & out of the ring with Kash pulling off his somersault from the stage to the floor while Scorpio later did his own somersault legdrop off the top rope along with the 450 splash. Great contest.
New Jack/Kronus vs. Ian & Axl Rotten (Bad Breed) - This was originally suppose to be a reunion of the Eliminators against a mystery team but Perry Saturn got injured leaving Kronis alone to fight a mystery team...the reunited Bad Breed. This wasn't an official match but a hardcore brawl as they beat down Kronis until New Jack made the save turning this into what you expect from a New Jack match...a bloodbath weaponsfest complete with a balcony (in this case, scaffold) dive. Stay tuned afterwords when New Jack let his feelings known about his history in that building the only way New Jack can.
Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible w/Jason - This was Lynn's first match back after a year due to shoulder surgery. They started off slow with ground wrestling but picked up the pace over time with Justin bleeding on the outside causing Jerry to work over the cut including biting him. A chair got involved with Justin powerbombing Lynn right on his shoulder while Jason kept getting involved causing an old nemesis of his to appear to even out the odds. Good encounter between both men.
Sandman vs. Raven - For those who complained about Sandman's entrance music being dubbed over on the One Night Stand DVD, it's done on here too & replaced by footage of Sandman talking various thing such as the significance of his entrance & the evolution of his character. There's a couple of comedy spots involving Meanie & Musketter at the beginning before the match actually starts with Raven beating up Sandman on the outside with his own cane & suplexing him on a ladder. Sandman returned the favor using the ladder to bust open Raven before doing his "rolling rock" off the top rope onto Raven onto the ladder on top of Raven & the airplane spin with the ladder. A tables came into play as Raven went through one via a leaping somersault by Sandman. We got appearance from various people including Blue Meanie doing 3 Meanie-saults that ended up injuring his ankle & others ending in a "Stone Cold" whippersnapper for Sandman.
Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas w/Francine vs. Sabu w/Bill Alfonzo - It should be noted that Terry was accompanied to the ring by Tammy Lynn Sytch, Sabu was managed by Bill Alfonzo, and Shane Douglas was managed by Francine making this the first time they've appeared together in 6 years. This was a rematch from the 3 way dance that put ECW on the map from "The Night The Line Was Crossed" with a bonus addition of it being a no ropes barbwire match which you saw how effective it would be right from the start as Shane Douglas had some issues getting into the ring via the wire. You had some traditional spots in this match such as the 3 way tie up & headlock chain before the match turned into a brawl with the wrestlers fighting on the outside. The wire came into heavy effect throughout the match such as all 3 men had their head raked across the wire, Sabu's leg got caught causing him to tape it up, Funk's arm got wrapped up between two strands of it causing it to be cut lose with wire cutters, Sabu's head caught between the two wire ropes. Chairs & a ladder were brought into play with the ladder being so unsteady that it collapsed on Funk at one point. The big surprise here was the appearance of Mick Foley as a special referee only for him to do bring in an object that caused the arena to boo him until he got hardcore with it. This was "extreme" to say the least but definitely a performance you expect from these three men.
The second disc was full of behind the scenes events like a hidden New Jack promo with a fan outside the building, a tour of the former ECW area, Axl Rotten with the fans outside, Shane Douglas & Francine meeting for the first time in years, and watching the fans enter the area as the doors open. There was also footage of the autograph signing & the "Q&A" session after the event. There's an interview with Axl Rotten & another one with Blue Meanie who talks about the events at both ECW events from the weekend & gives his side of the story involving the assault by J.B.L. Matches from the XPW promotion (since they couldn't use any ECW footage) featuring Douglas vs. Candido with an appearance from Sabu, Douglas vs. Funk, Douglas vs. Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn vs. Juventud Guerrera & a hidden match between Axl Rotten & Kronus. There's also snippets from the "Forever Hardcore" documentary with the wrestlers talking about things revolving around Hardcore Homecoming (ECW area, their matches, the fans, their history) along with a hidden clip of Joey Styles telling a story about an incident involving his wife, Dawn Marie, Electra and their boobs. Commercials & video clips from the website round out this DVD extras.
Basically, good event with a great set of extras. I would recommend for any ECW fan.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3 and a half stars because of editing....., November 12, 2005
This review is from: Hardcore Homecoming: Platinum Edition (DVD)
Hardcore Homcoming took place on June 10, 2005, where a lot of top names such as; Sandman, Raven, New Jack, Sabu, Justin Credible, Terry Funk, and Jerry Lynn came together along with others for one night of Hardcore action at its finest.
The only problem is that the editing really brings down the atmosphere as every single ECW chant is blocked out. Other than that and some medicore matches, there are some treasures in here that are worth it.
Chris Chetti, Mikey Whipwreck vs. Simon Diamond, CW Anderson:
Okay match with Mikey Whipwreck getting a lot of cheers from the crowd. Some nice chain wrestling and Chris Chetti, who hadn't wrestled in a while, shows no ring rust at all. Mikey Whipwreck and Chris Chetti win. 7.5/10
Blue Meanie vs. Tracy Smothers:
More of a comedy match than an actual match. Tracy Smothers and JT Smith continue to complain about illegal holds that didn't happen. Tracy challenges Blue Meanie to a dance contest before attacking him from behind. The ref even got involved and gave a scoop slam to Tracy Smothers. In the end JT Smith hits Blue Meanie with a chain and Tracy gets the pin. 7/10
Two Cold Scorpio vs. Kid Kash:
Kash got in the fan's faces a lot during the match. The action spilled to the outside as both men continue to give chops and stiff kicks throughout the entire match. Scorpio hits a summersault leg drop from both the middle rope and the top rope before hitting the 450 splash for the win. 8/10
Justin Credible vs. Jerry Lynn:
One of the best of the night. Both men use chain wrestling at its finest and chairs were used throughout the entire match. One great moment was when Jerry Lynn uses a hurricanrana type move and sends Credible and himself through a table. The self proclaimed sexiest man on earth, Jason, interferes but Jerry Lynn still gets the win with the cradle piledriver. 8.5/10
Kronus and New Jack vs. Ian and Axl Rotten:
Wild, bloody brawl, with both Ian and New Jack using a knife on each others heads. Chairs, street signs, and a scaffold come into play as New Jack jumps 15 feet off the ground onto Ian through a table. No clear winner was declared, but all four men shook hands after the match. 8/10 Best moment was the jump by New Jack, no question about it.
Sandman vs. Raven:
Another hardcore war by these two men. A ladder, two tables, and even a sword was in this match as Raven's friend, the musketeer, duels the Sandman at the beginning of the match.
Highlights include the Rolling Rock by Sandman on the ladder onto Raven, and Raven caning Sandman repeatedly in the head. Mikey Whipwreck helps Sandman for a while, drinks a beer with him, and then gives him the whippersnapper for Raven to get the pin. [The only problem was that it was WAAAAY too short. 8/10
Three Way Dance
Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas vs. Sabu
Know why this was the best of the night? Instead of ring ropes they used coils of BARB WIRE!!! Sabu didn't even have a shirt on!!! All three men cut each other up and both Terry and Sabu have to be cut free from the wire as Terry gets his hand caught up and Sabu gets his neck caught up in it.
The lights go out as Douglas is on a ladder and come back on and Mick Foley is standing in the ring with a ref shirt on. Mr. Sock comes out to boos from the crowd, but turn too cheers as Mick wraps it up in barb wire. First Douglas is pinned, then Sabu gets the pin after a ladder collapses for Terry's weight as he tried to climb it. 10/10 Absolutely brutal and worth it.....
The only problem again, is the editing. However if you can mind the sudden quiet moments and the sound changing to dubb out the ECW chants, the main event, Raven/Sandman, and Lynn/Credible matches are well worth the money. The extras aren't that bad either.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Depends what you're looking for, September 25, 2005
This review is from: Hardcore Homecoming: Platinum Edition (DVD)
I saw this live, and it was one of the best nights of wrestling ever. The crowd is into it, the matches were fantastic, and the atmosphere unreal. I couldn't wait to see it on DVD. But...
well...
It doesn't hold up.
2 reasons.
1) Dubbing. They overdub ALL the music. It's noticeable most with Tracy Smothers dancing to nothing, and Sandman getting a split screen interview while walking in the crowd as everyone sings along to a song you don't hear. AND they overdub EVERY SINGLE TIME an "ECW" chant starts. AND Cyrus doesn't do commentary, though we saw him doing so live.
2) Most of the matches aren't that good. Kash vs. Scorpio wasn't bad, Sandman vs. Raven was the usual, the 3-way was unreal, but the rest was mediocre at best. So, actually, it was like a REAL ECW show!
If you're looking for a knock-down, drag out event that shows only the best of ECW, it's not happening here, ESPECIALLY with the overdubbing. But if you want a nice complement to One Night Stand, it does do that, and the main event is really, really awesome. And that takes a lot for me to say, since I hate both Terry Funk and Shane Douglas.
Extras are sparse, too, just so you know.
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