DVD Review: WWE presents "ECW Unreleased - Volume 2"
Jan 25, 2015 0:42:20 GMT -5
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Post by adamclark52 on Jan 25, 2015 0:42:20 GMT -5
This is a partial review of the second installement of the WWE's presentation of unreleased ECW matches. I got it for Christmas 2013 and watched a bit then forgot I had it until this past July (2014) and started reviewing it. So I'm missing the first disc.
Raven verses Tommy Dreamer (December 29th, 1995)
I liked this match. But matches like these are better when they're spread out. I can't watch these hardcore bloodbaths one after another after another. What I can watch is Beulah McGuilicutty. Any day of the week. Raven is one of my all-time favorites too.
the Public Enemy verses the Gangstas (January 5th, 1996)
Like I just said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. This is another hardcore bloodbath but a lot less structured (if you can believe that). The last match was nuts but I'd imagine it was somewhat planned out. This was just on-the-fly craziness. It was the Public Enemy's last match in ECW before jumping over to WCW. And you watch these guys and wonder why one of the bigger promotions would ever want anything to do with them? I guess the same could be said these days when a guy like Dean Ambrose comes over from CZW. Adaptability. Public Enemy had none.
Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight: Chris Jericho verses Taz (April 13th, 1996)
This match sucked. Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles even said in the intro that it was terrible. And the problem was that it was just too short and focused too much on the outside drama of Tod Gorden and Bill Alphonso. There were some BRUTAL suplexes delivered from both guys. The end was thankfully very early (less than four minutes) and I don't know why they included this match.
For the ECW World Television Championship: 2 Cold Scorpio (champion) verses Shane Douglas
I actually really liked this match. I don't like Shane Douglas but he always impresses me. And 2 Cold Scorpio was really good. All I can say about this match is that it's worth looking for. There are some brutal spots (like the one Slingshot Suplex outside the ring where I swore Scorpios knees got dislocated). I was having a hard time figuring out who the heel was since both were playing the part. But I think it was obviously Shane Douglas and Scorpio was just being as confusing as normal. He looks like a well proportioned Beetlejuice (that guy from Howard Stern).
Chris Jericho verses Sabu (August 29th, 1996)
I was a little worried by this match at first. It was filmed with something called the "ECW Fan-Cam", which is basically some guy ringside filming (ala a home movie). But the cameraman actually did a really good job. It was like being there in the front row except being able to follow the match wherever it went. Instead of those times when the action is at the other side of the ring and you have no clue what's happening. I wouldn't want to watch a whole tape like that but a match every once and a while is cool.
This was an awesome match. It wasn't in a bingo hall but it was a banquet hall and there were probably two hundred people there. And the two guys beat the hell out of each other. This match had all the viciousness of ECW without all the insanity that can sometime happen. A match like this gives you a greater respect for a guy like Jericho paying his dues and getting to where he got. Even a light match with Sabu must have destroyed your body. The match also made me feel a little bad for Sabu, who's probably wrestling at the same banquet hall tonight in front of a similar sized crowd.
And John, you'll love this match when Sabu does his jump from the ring into the crowd and there's a guy wearing a Great Southern Trendkill t-shirt.
Dick Togo, Terry Boy & Taka Michinoku vs. Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa & Great Sasuke (March 27, 1997)
This was a preview match a week before Barely Legal '97. And watching it today is pretty funny considering how TNA botched up Bound for Glory a few weeks ago. Dixie should have watched this and learned a thing or two about cross-promotion. This match was pretty brutal. I know I've seen all these guys on one of my other ECW videos but I don't think I've seen this match. I always think Terry Boy is Funaki but he's not, he's much better looking.
The Eliminators (champions) vs. The Gangstas vs. The Dudleys (May 17, 1997)
Three Way Dance for ECW World Tag Team Championship Match
These disjointed brawls are okay once and a while but this one went on a little too long. There was a lot of blood in this one. I can't remember ever seeing Big Dick Dudley in a match. He's strong but he couldn't sell for shit.
The Sandman, Taz, Tommy Dreamer & Al Snow vs. Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Doug Furnas & Philip LaFon (January 5, 1998)
This is more chaos but it's at least organized chaos. They give this match a one hour time limit. Anyone who could sit through an hour of this is insane. It's pretty dumb that Taz stands on the apron waiting for a tag while the other seven guys battle in the ring, even attacking him a few times. Beulah ends up in the ring at one point, which is always okay in my books. She was so hot. And she takes a wicked clothesline too.
Shane Douglas (champion) w/Francine vs. Al Snow (May 3, 1998)
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Wow, I've never seen a crowd pop for Al Snow like they were during his entrance. It just shows you that in the Golden Days of the late-1990's even jobbers got pops. The crowd dies once the match starts. It must have hit them that their main-event that night was Leif Cassidy verses Dean Douglas. Unlike Beulah in the last match Francine was such a dog. Someone thought it was a good idea to hand out foam heads before this match. You can imagine what happens at the end.
Chris Candido & Lance Storm (champions) vs. Sabu & Rob Van Dam (June 29, 1998)
ECW World Tag Team Championship Match
This match kind of sucks because it was a TV match. As soon as it started they went to commercial and once they came back all hell had broken loose. I can't see why that footage was lost. RVD did his crazy piledriver spot where he bounces a foot into the air after Lance Storm hit the piledriver. Not as impressive as when he did it in that match with Tommy Dreamer but still awesome. This match only lasts about ten minutes and really shouldn't have been included.
Sabu vs. Taz (champion) (vs. Bam Bam Bigelow) (August 8, 1998)
For the FTW Championship
I know I've seen these three in the ring against one another in one form or another before but I don't think I've seen this match before. This was Taz verse Sabu but Bam Bam just sort of comes in and it's made a three-way dance "because". That's borderline what I can handle/what I hated about ECW. The FTW Championship and this era of ECW are even when ECW sort-of started to become a parody of itself to me. I have fond memories from this time but I can see cracks too. Whatever. This at least isn't as retarded as some of those Axl and Ian Rotten matches (although it almost gets there when they bring out the spike). I always have liked Bam Bam Bigelow. He seems real "real" to me. A legit badass. And Taz! He gets his head rocked so bad. This match started off boring (and sloppy) but by the end got pretty brutal (and sloppy). There was some especially brutal stuff with steel chairs towards the end. But it loses all credibility when time runs out...I f***ing hated when they did that. It makes it seem a bit more “real” but I’ve seen so many good ECW matches end that way.
The Dudley Boys (champions) vs. "Fat Raven" Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley (August 23, 1999)
For the ECW Tag Team Championships
This was exactly what you'd expect. Blood, Spike jumping off stuff he shouldn't have and (since it was aired on TV, it may have even been the debut episode on TNN) a commercial fadeout right at the beginning. I wouldn't call this essential but the last five minutes are pretty brutal.
Mike Awesome (champion) vs. Rhino (October 1, 1999)
For the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
I'm just happy to see Mike Awesome fight someone other than Masato Tanaka. They had great matches but I swear every ECW video I have has one. I think I even remember watching this match on ECW on TNN. That was a long time ago. This match should have been on a pay per view. It lasted less than six minutes and didn't really do Rhino justice. It made Mike Awesome look really good. The more I watch of the guy…he was f***ing awesome.
Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Jerry Lynn (November 7th, 1999)
The crowd for this match was full of marks. And ECW marks were even worse at pay per views. I'll admit that in 1999 I was a mark too but fifteen years later do you think anyone from that crowd even knew this collection had been released? This match was okay. I've seen Super Crazy and Tajiri in a ton of three-way matches so it was nice to see someone other than Little Guido as the third.
Rob Van Dam (champion) vs. Mikey Wripwreck (January 28th, 2000)
For the ECW Television Championshio
This match was really nothing special. Rob Van Dam was pretty awesome.
Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible (champion) (September 29th, 2000)
For the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
I never really cared for Jerry Lynn, Steve Corino was always "just there" and I hate Justin Credible. So I almost didn't watch this match. I did anyway and it was okay. There was a stupid referee spot/brawl the was probably poignant at the time but was really lame now. And there was a catfight between Francine and Dawn Marie but l hated those things. Especially when the girls involved were pigs. This match was good for a bit of blood and a hot ending but that's about it.
Overall, this was a really good collection. The segues with Joey Styles and Tommy Dreamer were pretty good. They got a bit tiresome towards the end (and I watched this over the course of a year) but I was glad the got two people who lived it and loved it to do it. As a person who's seen a lot of ECW it offered nothing new or special. But if you'd never seen ECW it would be a good place to start.
Raven verses Tommy Dreamer (December 29th, 1995)
I liked this match. But matches like these are better when they're spread out. I can't watch these hardcore bloodbaths one after another after another. What I can watch is Beulah McGuilicutty. Any day of the week. Raven is one of my all-time favorites too.
the Public Enemy verses the Gangstas (January 5th, 1996)
Like I just said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. This is another hardcore bloodbath but a lot less structured (if you can believe that). The last match was nuts but I'd imagine it was somewhat planned out. This was just on-the-fly craziness. It was the Public Enemy's last match in ECW before jumping over to WCW. And you watch these guys and wonder why one of the bigger promotions would ever want anything to do with them? I guess the same could be said these days when a guy like Dean Ambrose comes over from CZW. Adaptability. Public Enemy had none.
Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight: Chris Jericho verses Taz (April 13th, 1996)
This match sucked. Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles even said in the intro that it was terrible. And the problem was that it was just too short and focused too much on the outside drama of Tod Gorden and Bill Alphonso. There were some BRUTAL suplexes delivered from both guys. The end was thankfully very early (less than four minutes) and I don't know why they included this match.
For the ECW World Television Championship: 2 Cold Scorpio (champion) verses Shane Douglas
I actually really liked this match. I don't like Shane Douglas but he always impresses me. And 2 Cold Scorpio was really good. All I can say about this match is that it's worth looking for. There are some brutal spots (like the one Slingshot Suplex outside the ring where I swore Scorpios knees got dislocated). I was having a hard time figuring out who the heel was since both were playing the part. But I think it was obviously Shane Douglas and Scorpio was just being as confusing as normal. He looks like a well proportioned Beetlejuice (that guy from Howard Stern).
Chris Jericho verses Sabu (August 29th, 1996)
I was a little worried by this match at first. It was filmed with something called the "ECW Fan-Cam", which is basically some guy ringside filming (ala a home movie). But the cameraman actually did a really good job. It was like being there in the front row except being able to follow the match wherever it went. Instead of those times when the action is at the other side of the ring and you have no clue what's happening. I wouldn't want to watch a whole tape like that but a match every once and a while is cool.
This was an awesome match. It wasn't in a bingo hall but it was a banquet hall and there were probably two hundred people there. And the two guys beat the hell out of each other. This match had all the viciousness of ECW without all the insanity that can sometime happen. A match like this gives you a greater respect for a guy like Jericho paying his dues and getting to where he got. Even a light match with Sabu must have destroyed your body. The match also made me feel a little bad for Sabu, who's probably wrestling at the same banquet hall tonight in front of a similar sized crowd.
And John, you'll love this match when Sabu does his jump from the ring into the crowd and there's a guy wearing a Great Southern Trendkill t-shirt.
Dick Togo, Terry Boy & Taka Michinoku vs. Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa & Great Sasuke (March 27, 1997)
This was a preview match a week before Barely Legal '97. And watching it today is pretty funny considering how TNA botched up Bound for Glory a few weeks ago. Dixie should have watched this and learned a thing or two about cross-promotion. This match was pretty brutal. I know I've seen all these guys on one of my other ECW videos but I don't think I've seen this match. I always think Terry Boy is Funaki but he's not, he's much better looking.
The Eliminators (champions) vs. The Gangstas vs. The Dudleys (May 17, 1997)
Three Way Dance for ECW World Tag Team Championship Match
These disjointed brawls are okay once and a while but this one went on a little too long. There was a lot of blood in this one. I can't remember ever seeing Big Dick Dudley in a match. He's strong but he couldn't sell for shit.
The Sandman, Taz, Tommy Dreamer & Al Snow vs. Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Doug Furnas & Philip LaFon (January 5, 1998)
This is more chaos but it's at least organized chaos. They give this match a one hour time limit. Anyone who could sit through an hour of this is insane. It's pretty dumb that Taz stands on the apron waiting for a tag while the other seven guys battle in the ring, even attacking him a few times. Beulah ends up in the ring at one point, which is always okay in my books. She was so hot. And she takes a wicked clothesline too.
Shane Douglas (champion) w/Francine vs. Al Snow (May 3, 1998)
ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match
Wow, I've never seen a crowd pop for Al Snow like they were during his entrance. It just shows you that in the Golden Days of the late-1990's even jobbers got pops. The crowd dies once the match starts. It must have hit them that their main-event that night was Leif Cassidy verses Dean Douglas. Unlike Beulah in the last match Francine was such a dog. Someone thought it was a good idea to hand out foam heads before this match. You can imagine what happens at the end.
Chris Candido & Lance Storm (champions) vs. Sabu & Rob Van Dam (June 29, 1998)
ECW World Tag Team Championship Match
This match kind of sucks because it was a TV match. As soon as it started they went to commercial and once they came back all hell had broken loose. I can't see why that footage was lost. RVD did his crazy piledriver spot where he bounces a foot into the air after Lance Storm hit the piledriver. Not as impressive as when he did it in that match with Tommy Dreamer but still awesome. This match only lasts about ten minutes and really shouldn't have been included.
Sabu vs. Taz (champion) (vs. Bam Bam Bigelow) (August 8, 1998)
For the FTW Championship
I know I've seen these three in the ring against one another in one form or another before but I don't think I've seen this match before. This was Taz verse Sabu but Bam Bam just sort of comes in and it's made a three-way dance "because". That's borderline what I can handle/what I hated about ECW. The FTW Championship and this era of ECW are even when ECW sort-of started to become a parody of itself to me. I have fond memories from this time but I can see cracks too. Whatever. This at least isn't as retarded as some of those Axl and Ian Rotten matches (although it almost gets there when they bring out the spike). I always have liked Bam Bam Bigelow. He seems real "real" to me. A legit badass. And Taz! He gets his head rocked so bad. This match started off boring (and sloppy) but by the end got pretty brutal (and sloppy). There was some especially brutal stuff with steel chairs towards the end. But it loses all credibility when time runs out...I f***ing hated when they did that. It makes it seem a bit more “real” but I’ve seen so many good ECW matches end that way.
The Dudley Boys (champions) vs. "Fat Raven" Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley (August 23, 1999)
For the ECW Tag Team Championships
This was exactly what you'd expect. Blood, Spike jumping off stuff he shouldn't have and (since it was aired on TV, it may have even been the debut episode on TNN) a commercial fadeout right at the beginning. I wouldn't call this essential but the last five minutes are pretty brutal.
Mike Awesome (champion) vs. Rhino (October 1, 1999)
For the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
I'm just happy to see Mike Awesome fight someone other than Masato Tanaka. They had great matches but I swear every ECW video I have has one. I think I even remember watching this match on ECW on TNN. That was a long time ago. This match should have been on a pay per view. It lasted less than six minutes and didn't really do Rhino justice. It made Mike Awesome look really good. The more I watch of the guy…he was f***ing awesome.
Tajiri vs. Super Crazy vs. Jerry Lynn (November 7th, 1999)
The crowd for this match was full of marks. And ECW marks were even worse at pay per views. I'll admit that in 1999 I was a mark too but fifteen years later do you think anyone from that crowd even knew this collection had been released? This match was okay. I've seen Super Crazy and Tajiri in a ton of three-way matches so it was nice to see someone other than Little Guido as the third.
Rob Van Dam (champion) vs. Mikey Wripwreck (January 28th, 2000)
For the ECW Television Championshio
This match was really nothing special. Rob Van Dam was pretty awesome.
Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible (champion) (September 29th, 2000)
For the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
I never really cared for Jerry Lynn, Steve Corino was always "just there" and I hate Justin Credible. So I almost didn't watch this match. I did anyway and it was okay. There was a stupid referee spot/brawl the was probably poignant at the time but was really lame now. And there was a catfight between Francine and Dawn Marie but l hated those things. Especially when the girls involved were pigs. This match was good for a bit of blood and a hot ending but that's about it.
Overall, this was a really good collection. The segues with Joey Styles and Tommy Dreamer were pretty good. They got a bit tiresome towards the end (and I watched this over the course of a year) but I was glad the got two people who lived it and loved it to do it. As a person who's seen a lot of ECW it offered nothing new or special. But if you'd never seen ECW it would be a good place to start.
