Customer Reviews

The Rise and Fall of ECW

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ECW was a revolution in the wrestling world that still goes underrated to this very day in terms of the impact it had. It introduced the world to madcap capers of Hardcore wrestling, it brought wrestling to the 18-34 male demograph, it introduced to a certain extent real wrestling to the public.

This DVD covers the entire lifespan of ECW from it's indie days all the way to it tragic end. From nothing to PPV to TNN ECW had a long run.

In terms of who they interview they only talked to (from those who were in ECW) only the guys who are in WWE at current time. So in terms of some of the history you get to hear from Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, Taz, the Dudly Boyz and so on. It would of been nice to hear from other big names, non-WWE guys such as Sabu, Raven, and Sandman but you can't get everthing.

Probably the only disapointment is the second Disk of the DVD. There are only a few matches (I believe only 6) and deleted moments. There is such a rich history of ECW you would of thought they put more effort into finding matchs that showed what ECW was about. But then again each big match had such buildup to it that they might be afraid would confuse the audience.

Overall however this is a very well done, and put together documentary. Some may criticize WWE for making half assed documentary DVD on certain aspects of Wrestling History, but this one does the legacy of ECW justice and after watching it makes me wish I was part of it (from a fan standpoint). I kind of wish I would have found a way to watch it and been part of it. However the past is the past and even today the effects of ECW still hold today. Be warned however there is really strong language in this and very graphic violence (lot's and lot's of blood). However if you were an ECW fan than you already knew that then didn't you.

I have my copy on order but I have already watched it and I assure you that this is well worth your hard earned money if you are a wrestling fan. The first disc is a near three hour account of the fed that changed wrestling from 1993-2001. It took a long time to get ECW in syndication on the stations in my area but when I finally got to watch ECW in 1996, I seen what all the hype was about. The first disc has interviews with the likes of former ECW owner Paul Heyman, Tazz, Tommy Dreamer, The Dudley Boyz, Steven Richards, Lance Storm, Rob Van Dam, Rhyno, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Nunzio,and Dawn Marie, all of whom where employed by ECW at one time or another. Also interviews Kurt Angle, who was within an eyelash of being signed by ECW before he signed with the WWE, which is an interesting story in itself, Jerry Lawler, who was lent to ECW by Vince in order to hype there second ppv, and interviews the head of the two companies ECW was competing against, Vince McMahon with WWE and Eric Bischoff, who is a former GM of WCW. You can see the respect Vince had for Paul but you can see the obvious disdain Eric and Paul had for each other. This first disc chronicles ALMOST every major superstar in ECW, and is worth the price alone.

The second disc contains seven bonus matches, all which are classics. It disappoints me because they could have easily made this a three disc set like the Ric Flair DVD but who knows, with the success of this dvd, maybe there will be a volume two worth of matches put out by WWE in the future. The Seven matches include:

Raven and Stevie Richards vs. The Pit Bulls in a two out of three dog collar match for the ECW tag team belts: This match is a perfect start to show the chaos of ECW. Great brawl. Look for an appearence by the seldom remembered Dudley Dudley and Dances with Dudley.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psychosis in a two out of three falls match: This is the match that set the pace of cruiserweight action in America. These two were lent to ECW by Konnan, who owned a Mexican wrestling company, and this match is one of the reasons Eric Bischoff and WCW started signing crusierweights away from Mexico, Japan, and ECW. The match itself will leave you speechless.

Mikey Whipwreck vs. The Sandman in a ladder match for the ECW Heavyweight title: Match is probably under ten minutes long but it is brutal and it is very entertaining. Best part is the ring introductions when "Superstar" Steve Austin cuts an in ring promo that was an instant classic and showed the world that WCW had misused this individual.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu for the ECW TV title: Great high flying match featuring one of the most underated wrestlers in Scorpio, and the man who brought attention to ECW, Sabu. If you are one of the younger fans or an older fan who has never watched Sabu, this is the match for you.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven: This is the final match in a feud that lasted from 1994 to this match that took place in May of 1997. A brutal, hardcore match that doesn't mean much if you don't know the history of this feud, which is why I urge you to watch disc one before you watch this match.

Tazz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow for the ECW TV title: Probably the weakest match on the DVD. I think for a Tazz match, they should have shown his match with Sabu at ECW's first ppv. Still an entertaing match for those of you that only know Tazz as Smackdown's color commentator.

Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn for the ECW TV title: Best match on the DVD in my opinion. For those of you like me that think RVD is being robbed by being pushed back in WWE and that his talent is misused, wait till you see what he does in this match. This is an example of why RVD is one of the better performers today and will make you wonder why he doesn't get to do some of the in ring spots in WWE, that he does in this match.

There is three interview extras on Disc 2 that features Stevie Richards, Tazz, and Chris Jericho.

Classic collection. Only drawbacks is no mention of The Eliminators, no match featuring the Dudleys, and there is no mention of the best heel faction in ECW, The Triple Threat which was helmed by Shane Douglas.

A must buy.

Now I was only a kid when ECW was in its prime so I really didn't see most of it. But after I saw the WWE realease this DVD I immediately went out and bought it. This is an awsome documentary of the rise and fall of a great brand of wrestling.

Paul Heyman took a small not well known company and in a few years turned it into one of the most unbelievable shows ever seen. ECW had only a few hundred fans in the back of a bingo hall in one room, and they didn't have enough money for lights and pyro shows.

But Heyman didn't let that stop him, he stayed away from what they lacked and went on to what they did best at, guys putting other guys through tables set on fire.

This almost 3 hour documentary comes with jawdropping moments ever seen. From the Dudley boys starting riots from insulting people, to Shane Douglas throwing the NWA world title belt on the ground and saying he would rather be the ECW champion. And even to where the crowd threw hundreds of styrafoam heads into the ring with Al Snow.

The Documentary goes from all the major ECW superstars one by one. Raven, Tazz, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, Cactus Jack, Sabu, The Dudleys, Rob Van Dam, and others. It even goes to the moments where Kurt Angle was supposed to work for ECW but changed his mind after a really religious/horrifying moment.

It also goes onto an argument between Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff where Heyman accused Bischoff of raiding their superstars to join WCW. Bischoff declared that the Superstars left to get a better deal. Heyman declared, point blank, that Bischoff was full of sh*t.

The last moments of the documentary are great, as each superstar gives their personal feelings about working at ECW and how they were saddened by the loss of it. I gave this 4 stars just for the documentary alone.

The last star was for the matches on it. Though I have to admit I wished there were at least twice as many as there were on the disk. Anyway the three best matches on the disk are...

Sabu vs. Too Cold Scorpio: A 30 minute match where both men took crazy high flying moves. Sabu gives an insane table bump after leaping off a chair, onto the top rope, then doing a summersault in the air and crashed onto a table. Great match and the ending is surprising. 9/10

Rey Mysterio vs. Physcosis: A great high flying match with the crusierweights. All over the arena they fought, with moves over barriers and off of walls. A great match and the crowd was into it as always. 9/10

The Pit Bulls vs. Raven and Steven Richards: This was a two out of three dog collar match. It means that Raven would be linked to one of the pit bulls by the neck with a collar and chain as would steven richards be with the other pit bull.

four or five tables were broken in this one, and Raven's head clips the side of another table after the pit bull missed putting him through the table. Tommy Dreamer makes an appearance as do the dudley boys. 10/10

I would definately reccomend this just for the documentary alone, it is one of the best DVD's ever made by the WWE.

The Rise and Fall of ECW is without a doubt the best DVD the WWE has ever produced. Sure the Ric Flair Collection and Chris Benoit DVD had better matches, but the main feature in "The Rise and Fall of ECW" is just amazing. At 2hr. 50 minutes, they are able to tackle the important issues. You get the feeling that another disc could have been used. The main feature shows real emotion from all the former employees of ECW. You really get a background on just how much they cared for the company. The Double DVD also comes with a disc full of matches. People who have purchased the Pioneer ECW releases probably have 4 of the matches, but they don't feel like retreads. 3 of the 4 matches have audio commentary on them. The commentary with Michael Cole and Rob Van Dam is hilarious. RVD is so funny to listen to. In many ways he seems like a fan. He is always noting a cool move while discussing the match and ECW in general. Here are the matches!

*Raven & Stevie Richards v. The Pitbulls- 2/3 Falls Double Dog Collar Match -ECW Gangstas Paradise 1995: This is solid match with epic heat. The story behind the match makes it a historic match. So many storylines seem to be built into this one 20 minute match. People who only like scientific matches may balk at the action, but still extremely enjoyable. ****

*Rey Misterio, Jr. v. Psicosis- 2/3 Falls -ECW Arena 1995: This is an amazing match, in my opinion, the best these two ever had. The action is off the charts. You really get to see just how good Rey Misterio, Jr. was before injuries took him down a notch. Psicosis is really impressive as well in the match. Overall, just an off the charts match, probably the best on the DVD. ****1/2

*The Sandman v. Mikey Whipwreck- Ladder Match for ECW Championship: Before the match you get the Extreme Superstar Steve Austin doing an in-ring promo. Austin's character in ECW provided some of the greatest worked/shoot type promos ever. He bashes Whipwreck, Sandman & Woman. The match is only about 7 or 8 minutes long, but really brutal. Sandman takes a ladder shot flush in the face from a foot away. ***

*Sabu v. 2 Cold Scorpio- ECW Televison Championship- Cyberslam 1996: This is a very good match that I have never previously seen. I had heard about how good it was. I have to admit that its not quite as good as I heard it was, but I'm being pretty picky. Sabu and 2 Cold Scorpio really put their bodies on the line in this match. Some of the manuevers are breathtaking. Overall its a very good match, that's only a few mistakes and missed spots away from being a near classic. ****

*Tommy Dreamer v. Raven- WrestlePalooza 97: This is the final battle and really a good ECW style brawl. Some of the moves are just sick. The story of the match also makes it really good. The question was whether Tommy could finally beat Raven. Really solid stuff. ***1/2

*Taz v. Bam Bam Bigelow- ECW Television Championship-Living Dangerously 1998. Really decent match with the insane ending. This would have been better placed only in the documentary. Not really up to the standards of the other matches. **1/2

*Rob Van Dam v. Jerry Lynn- ECW Television Championship-Hardcore Heaven 99. I believe that this is not their best match. Their match from Living Dangerously 99 and their 9/10/99 match from the ECW Arena were better. Still, this is an amazing athletic match. The two participants really put it all on the line. Lynn actually gets knocked out 5 minutes into the match, but still gives it his all. The manuevers in the match are pretty great. You wouldn't see the WWE give these two the kind of time to do a match like this. Overall, really good match ****

Overall, great DVD definitely check it out!!!

Sitting back and watching this DVD made me realize just how much I miss the old ECW days. This is actually the first time in awhile that I've been excited to pick up a wrestling-related product. While it is being released by Vince McMahon and the WWE, this documentary chronicling the origin and demise of Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling is actually quite an insightful look at the company. All of the newly-recorded interviews for "Rise & Fall Of ECW" are conducted only with ECW talent that is signed to WWE so you won't be hearing any new commentary from Joey Styles, Raven, or Shane Douglas to name a few. The talent involved which includes Paul Heyman, Tommy Dreamer, Tazz, Rob Van Dam, The Dudley Boyz, and Stevie Richards actually do an excellent job of telling the story. Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff also provide their own comments from the perspective of rival companies, the WWF and WCW. My biggest pet-peeve is that the company workers refeer to past-tense WWF by its current "WWE" title. Other than that, I enjoyed every moment of this DVD.

The second disc of "Rise + Fall" features seven classic ECW matches, complete with original commentary from Joey Styles (though the non-licenesed theme music has been altered and a WWE logo is present in the left corner). Three of the matches feature alternate commentary from the participants though it often comes off "uneven" as half of the time the wrestlers tell the stories from the point-of-view of their characters and the rest of the time, they tell from a "kayfabe" stance. The second disc is a bit underwhelming as the matches are hardly some of ECW's best.

All in all, this disc is easily worth the purchase if you're a true ECW fan though if you're really looking to go through the true ECW experience, I would recommend trying to obtain some of Pioneer's commercially-released ECW DVD's.

Should be as good as the DVD's WWE has been releasing lately.
The extras include:
The Pit Bulls vs. Raven & Stevie Richards
2 out of 3 Falls Dog Collar Match for ECW World Tag Team Championship
Gangsta's Paradise - Philadelphia, PA (09-16-95)

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psichosis
2 out of 3 Falls
Hardcore TV - Philadelphia, PA (10-17-95)

Mikey Whipwreck vs. The Sandman
Ladder Match for ECW Championship
Hardcore TV - Philadelphia, PA (10-28-95)

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu
ECW World Television Championship Match
CyberSlam - Philadelphia, PA (02-17-96)

Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven
WrestlePalooza - Philadelphia, PA (06-06-)97
(Alternate Commentary)

Tazz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
ECW World Television Championship Match
Living Dangerously - Asbury Park, NY (03-01-98)
(Alternate Commentary)

Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
ECW World Television Championship Match
Hardcore Heaven - Poughkeepsie, NY (05-16-99)
(Alternate Commentary)

Steven Richards Apologizes for Leaving ECW

Tazz Seeks Paul Heyman's Blessing

Paul Heyman: Travel Agent

ECW was the best thing to ever happen to wrestling. The passion, violence, athleticism and characters were all wrestling's best. It its ironic that the company with the least promotion and pay scale could have invented many concepts that are taken today. The only problem I have with this DVD is that for one it doesn't talk to people not hired by WWE such The Sandman, Raven, The Franchise, New Jack etc. It also doesn't contain original music. The music was a heightener of ECW's greatness but is overdubbed. The DVD also ends when Dreamer won the ECW title. Unfortunately it ceases to mention that Justin Credible hit the ring and beat him for the belt after his speech. It also doesn't show Sandman's return to the company which I believe is the best moment in ECW history. It would have also been good to see footage of the mass transit incident, the last ECW show and the last ECW Arena where everyone threw their chair in the ring (I was lucky enough to be there. the matches are good but should have included The Gangstas vs Dvon and Mass Transit and the stairway to hell match between Sandman and Sabu which was the best match ECW ever had. Wrestling isn't anywhere as good as the days of Extreme Championship Wrestling and never will be.

Excellent DVD for any wrestling fan. It has alot of information about the promoter and wrestlers that made ECW what it was and is today. I enjoyed this 2 Disc DVD.

Disc 1
This is a no holds barred look at the wrestling company that changed the landscape of wrestling for good. In a near 3 Hours Documentary (Yes 3 Full Hours) Paul Heyman, Tommy Dreamer, Nunzio, Rhino, Vince Mcmahon, Mick Foley and Others talk about the 8 years Paul E run the company and push the envlope so far - Feauting the High points like Barley Legal the company first PPV, creating The BWO, making people like Raven, Tommy Dreamer, RVD, Sabu, Al Snow, Public Enemy, Micky Whipwreck and others and the fan suppor and loyalty to the ECW brand. It also talks about Low Points the death of an underage kid - 17 he was - (Which cost them the Barely Legal PPV for a while.) , The crucifixion which angered guest Kurt Angle. Going national on tv and losing Taz and the Dudleys to the WWE, and it slow painful death with fans who still care for the company. Your Laugh, Cry, wonder how the WCW Eric Bischoff got on this DVD - (I wish Bischoff would say he did nick alot of ECW stuff.) Your see the most personal shoot promo ever and Paul Heyman debut on WWE Raw. But that only half of this 2Disc set covered.

Disc 2

The Matches

Match 1 - The ECW Tag team Titles
Raven And Stevie Richards (C) VS The Pitbulls
8/10
A bloody match featuing a Dreamer attack, A catfight and the biggest SuperPowerbomb Ever.

Match 2
Rey Mysterio Jr VS Psicosis 2/3 Falls Match
8/10
A great rivalry taken to the Exterme.

Match 3 The ECW Title Match - Ladder Match
Micky Whipwreck VS The Sandman (C)
7/10
It gets this becuse of Steve Austin great Promo
A different kind of Ladder match.

Match 4 The ECW TV Title Match
Sabu VS 2 Cold Scorpio (C)
9 1/2/10
A 30 Minute Wresting Classic as 2 of the best high flyers collide watch out for SABU sick table move.

Match 5 - Feauting Alt Commentary with Dreamer and Coach
Tommy Dreamer VS Raven
9/10
The last great battle in this rivalry with Jerry Lawler coming to the ECW Arena at the end and nearly causing a riot.

Match 6 - The ECW TV Title Feauting Alt Commentary with Michael Cole and Taz
Taz (C) VS Bam Bam Bigelow
8/10
Bigelow in front of his home town crowd look to beat Taz - (the answer to Taz question at the end of the Alt Commentary is Dayton Ohio Heatwave 98 that was his next match with Bigelow.)

Match 7 The ECW TV Title Feauting Alt Commentary with Michael Cole and Rob Van Dam The Whole F'N Show.
Rob Van Dam VS Jerry Lynn
10/10
The Best Match on this DVD and Proof that the WWE is underusing RVD as Mr PPV and Jerry Lynn tear the house down in a epic match up.

There also piece from Stevie Richards,Chris Jerchio and Taz.

This is a DVD ever Wrestling fan should own. ECW will live forever in my Heart as a Wrestling fan and if a see an ECW wreslter at a show I will proudly chant ECW! ECW! ECW!.

The now infamous chant of EC-Dub has been silenced by the closing of the company and the end of what was an innovator in the world of professional wrestling. I have been a fan of ECW since mid-98 and after seeing the likes of Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, The Living Legend Terry Funk and The Legendary tag-teams 'The Public Enemy' (RIP Rocco Rock) and 'The Dudley Boys' who willingly put their body's on the line for the sport they love, I was hooked on ECW, whether it was the violence, the un-scripted promos, the amazing commentary from Joey Styles or the innovation of matches like the 'Triple Threat' which if it wasn't for ECW, WWE wouldn't have been using the 'Triple Threat' until later on. ECW even held the first 'Tai Pei Death Match' where both wrestlers tape their fists, then dip them into glue and then into broken-glass, a match type so violent it was not done again until CZW made it's presence known. ECW also made the 'Stairway to Hell'(a ladder match with barb-wire hung above the ring) famous even though a memorable 6-man tag match including current WWE superstars 'The Dudley Boys, Tommy Dreamer and Spike Dudley from A Matter Of Respect 1998 was not included in the extra matches. The first disc contains the history with interviews from former ECW veterans like Taz and Tommy Dreamer and the second disc contains 7 bonus matches such Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn and Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven. One problem I have is that the DVD ends where Tommy Dreamer became the ECW World Heavyweight Champion, there is nothing about Justin Credible challenging and defeating Dreamer only 22 minutes after Dreamer won the title and there is nothing about Rhyno winning the title and being the last champion which to me puts Rhyno down as a great talent (who I don't think is getting the respect from WWE that he deserves) or the very last ECW PPV where all the ECW regulars gathered in the ring to say goodbye as the infamous chant of EC-dub filled the Hammerstein ballroom to end an era I will certainly not forget for a long time to come.
Long Live ECW and the men who made ECW what it is, was and always will be.
Extreme!