A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: August 12th 2013
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)
Format Reviewed:
DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2
Discs)
What It’s About:
The
second volume of WWE’s attempt to remind us of the glory days of Extreme
Championship Wrestling. Following on from WWE’s ECW Unreleased Volume 1, Joey
Styles resumes hosting duties and is this time joined by ‘The Innovator of
Violence’ Tommy Dreamer. As with Volume 1, Volume hosts a large number of
matches from ECW between 1993 – 2000, previously unreleased on both DVD and
Blu-ray.
Strengths:
The
Sandman vs Tommy Dreamer (ECW Hardcore TV, October 4th 1994) is a very good and
brutal ‘I Quit Match’. Sadly, the match begins outside a hospital where Joey
Styles is commentating on what has just happened in the match we’re about to
see. The way Styles hypes the incident and that most of the ECW staff and
wrestlers are in attendance in the medical facility, it really does sound like
something truly tragic has just taken place. This is a red herring which we
don’t get to find out until the end of the match. This match is the famous
‘blinding of The Sandman’ storyline and when you find out Sandman has been
rushed to hospital because of a cigarette in the eye, it feels like a
disappointing revelation. Credit goes to ECW for shooting it this way though as
beginning outside the hospital and then flashing back to the match, gives the
whole counter a very unsettling atmosphere. As for the match, Tommy Dreamer
puts a car bumper he brings to the ring with him to good use digging it into
Sandman’s head and testicles in a pleasingly unpleasant segment. Dreamer plays
the valiant face but to the match’s detriment, The Sandman dicks around in the
ring for far too long. The cigarette smoking rebel unleashes some unruly head
shots with the Singapore Cane to the head of Tommy Dreamer and ‘The Innovator
of Violence’ returns the favour pelting Sandman with some vicious frying pan
shots – the pan comes from a member of the crowd. Everything Sandman does from
the top rope looks utterly horrendous and hokey. Every time he goes up top is a
cringe worthy moment and the piledriver he takes looks more like he’s taking a
hand stand. The sight of The Sandman smoking in the middle of the match, which
ultimately leads to the blinding incident is just plain dumb. I understand why
ECW did it and what it leads to, but it just looks horrible and worse, the
moment when Dreamer pushes the cigarette into Sandman’s eye doesn’t even look
bad. This moment hasn’t aged well over the years. However the cane shots to
Sandman’s eye look great. The ending to the match is questionable though
Sandman sells the eye to perfection.
Eddie
Guerrero and The Steiner Brothers vs Dean Malenko, 2 Cold Scorpio and Cactus
Jack (ECW Wrestlepalooza 1995, August 5th 1995) is a top notch all action
affair which showcases everyone well, except Cactus Jack. Scott Steiner and
Dean Malenko kick off with some great mat wrestling – Scott Steiner could still
wrestle here – and the suplex to the outside on Malenko and belly 2 belly from
Scott are nailed with such perfection you would be forgiven for thinking that
this Scott Steiner isn’t the same bumbling wreck which graced the WWE’s main
event scene in early 2003. The great Eddie Guerrero and much underrated 2 Cold
Scorpio burn the ring beneath them, executing excellent moves, counters and a
succulent plancha over the top rope by Guerrero and a top class brain buster.
Scorpio works wonders with a stiff Rick Steiner. Rick nails a fine flying
bulldog from the top rope and takes to the high flying like a duck to water and
his belly to back suplex on Cactus Jack onto the concrete looks solid. When the
match returns to the ring Malenko and Guerrero treat the fans to some truly
special exchanges including a super double arm suplex Powerbomb by ‘The
Iceman’. Sadly, Mick Foley never really enters into the spirit of things and if
anything looks severely pissed off that everyone is outshining him. Foley looks
openly lazy when he is required to do anything of note and everything looks
like an inconvenience to him, whilst he in himself is out of place. 2 Cold
Scorpio’s backwards moonsaults leg drop is a thing of beauty to behold and the
double Steiner Line and headscissors from Rick Steiner’s shoulders look
seamless. The ending of the match may be frantic but is well timed and on the
whole the match is paced to perfection from beginning to end.
Tommy
Dreamer vs Raven (ECW Holiday Hell Tour, December 29th 1995) begins with two
very short matches as Tommy Dreamer dispatches both Stevie Richards and The
Blue Meanie within seconds and Dreamer looks good doing it. When Raven enters
the fracas, he dumps Dreamer through a table with a suicide dive through a
waiting table outside which looks stylish and the match takes a vicious turn
when Tommy Dreamer takes a cheese grater to Raven’s head, opening him up the
hard way. The match thankfully doesn’t stay in the ring, spilling into the
stands, seeing Raven throwing Dreamer down a flight of stairs before the bout
briefly spills to the outside. By this time the crowd are heavily involved in
the bout and you get the feeling that no matter what the pair do next there is
no way they can fail. Unusually for a 10 punch in the corner, this version is
hardcore and eye watering. You’ll see what I mean when you see it. Whilst the
ending to the war is an all out brawl. This match is a triumph for both men.
Public
Enemy vs The Gangstas (ECW House Party, January 5th 1996) isn’t the greatest
match you will ever see in an ECW ring, in fact in pales in comparison to most
here, but it is still a watchable effort for two teams who only knew hardcore
wrestling. The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) couldn’t string two moves
together if they tried and Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) had
given up the professional side of the business some considerable time before.
Whilst his in ring work was bordering on dire, New Jack’s mic work is
exceedingly good and brings a needed laugh to proceedings especially when he
goes into WCW and Sensational Sherri. One gets the feeling that having seen many
New Jack matches over the years, he should have been a commentator instead of a
wrestler. This match marks Public Enemy’s ECW swansong and sees New Jack cut
Grunge hardway, whilst the match uses many foreign objects including an iron,
aiding Johnny Grunge in working away on New Jack’s forehead in a gruesome
angle. Rocco Rock’s rolling plancha through Mustafa on a table pops the crowd
as bout develops into a decent hardcore mêlée, one which sees New Jack show
blatant disregard for his own health and safety as he throws himself from the
crows nest and lands with a sickening thud on the ground. Public Enemy leave
the fans with something to remember (they were on their way to WCW) and the
fans reciprocate they appreciation for what the pair did for the company with
“Thank you” chants. Rocco and Grunge do take the time to thank the fans which
is only right.
Shane
Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW A Matter of Respect, May 11th 1996) for the ECW
Television Championship is a very strong wrestling match, one which is rare on
this release. Granted, both are sloppy in places and when the first few minutes
of this 30 minute bout begins it doesn’t look too good but the pair hit back
with slick reversals, which show how much better Shane Douglas was than his WWE
stint as Dean Douglas – which he is still recovering from here. In fact, almost
Douglas’s entire moves look polished, including a sufficient butterfly suplex,
as if he was sticking one finger up at Vince McMahon. Which he was at the time.
Outside the ring, Douglas belts Scorpio with a slingshot suplex off of the ring
ropes and directly onto the guard rail which looked painful but visually
impressive as does the flapjack into the front row on which Scorpio gets some
serious hang time. The chair shots between the pair look like they may as well
be using foam beds, however Douglas’ Powerbomb onto the concrete floor redeems
‘The Franchise’ with haste. Back in the ring, the match begins to pick up pace
and quality with Scorpio’s hand spring, head over heel kick and apron to floor
moonsault. Shane Douglas was trying to redeem himself for his WWE bungle and
Scorpio was beginning to get some serious recognition in the wrestling world
for the first time since the early 90’s. All of that may have been taken away
by WWE when they anchored him to the wrestling sea bed with the awful Flash
Funk gimmick, but here in this match, there was no denying how good he truly
was. Douglas’ corkscrew suplex gets a round of applause but there are not as
many high risk moves as one would have liked. For a wrestler in Scorpio who
made a name for himself with his risky top rope offence, this could have been
an outstanding match had 2 Cold utilised these skills. However the pair make
the final sprint count as best they can with an outstanding 450 splash by
Scorpio and Douglas counters a top rope hurricanrana into a brilliant Powerbomb
as both men get a standing ovation. On the 27 minute mark Douglas drives
Scorpio to the mat from the top rope with a dodgy looking belly to belly for
the victory. A very good match.
Taka
Michinoku, Terry Boy and Dick Togo vs Grand Hamada, The Great Sasuke and Gran
Naniwa (ECW Hardcore TV, March 27th 1997) is a high flying feast of Japanese
action. More than this, it freshens up the release which by this time is laying
on the hardcore action heavily with a huge amount of repetition. With a mix of
submission, power moves and high flying, all six men put themselves on the line
in the name of entertainment. Grand Hamada impresses greatly with a great arm
drag reversal out of a Powerbomb on Togo. The Great Sasuke executes a stunning
cartwheel crossbody as the match escalates into a fast and furious affair with
a procession of remarkable moves, including a German Suplex into a full nelson
slam, a sensational flying DDT by Terry Boy (who seems to be wearing Lex
Luger’s old ring gear) on The Great Sasuke, Sasuke perfectly nails an asai
moonsault to the outside which hits Michinoku and the stage and the gut wrench
airplane Powerbomb on Terry Boy is nothing short of brilliant. From beginning
to end, the match is packed with near falls and classic reversals aplenty.
D-Von
Dudley and Big Dick Dudley vs The Eliminators vs The Gangstas (Buffalo, New
York, March 17th 1997) for the ECW World Tag Team Championships is an
entertaining, if wearing, hardcore three way tag team war. The problem with
matches featuring New Jack is that much like matches which feature Sabu, they
all have the same feeling to them. The same moves, done in the same order, at
the exact same time each match. If New Jack isn’t jumping off of something from
death defying heights he’s leathering someone with a cheese greater, or steel
chair and bleeding like Freddie Kruger has just washed his face for him.
There’s no real depth or element of surprise with a New Jack match and this
encounter follows those same lines, but with the excellent Eliminators (Perry
Saturn and Johnny Kronos) and D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley present, though D-Von
is teaming with Big Dick and not Bubba, though the man now known as Bully Ray
does get involved, this match is saved from the usual merry go round of New
Jack violence. That’s not to say that this match isn’t bloody because it is, in
abundance. The match begins with The Dudleys and The Eliminators and to his
credit; Saturn manages to keep the beginning with the inept Big Dick Dudley
lively, displaying some quality moves which show how good Saturn was and how
much both WCW and WWE wasted those talents over the years to come. The
chokeslam by Big Dick onto Saturn which puts both him and Kronos through a
table looks decent, though when The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) enter, the
match degenerates into the usual hardcore warfare with stop signs, VCR players
and video games being used as weapons, to name but a few. Johnny Kronos
impresses as he usually did with a terrific 450 splash and The Eliminators
springboard into a kick on D-Von and the height Saturn gets on what turns out
to be a stunning flying elbow drop are both excellent. But then that sums up
The Eliminators in this match, excellent in nearly everything they do and
without them the whole brawl would have been a shambles.
Tommy
Dreamer, The Sandman, Taz and Al Snow vs Doug Furnas, Philip LaFon, Rob Van Dam
and Sabu (ECW Hardcore TV, January 5th 1998) is once again another all action
bout which is passable as an eight man tag team effort in which most get their
chance to step into the spotlight. Sabu does the usual routine of seated drop
through a table at ringside and plancha into the crowd from the top rope, which
by this time on the release has become overtly boring and predictable. A huge
majority of the match takes place outside the ring as the cameraman loses
control of the bout and decides to concentrate on what little is happening
inside the ring. Rob Van Dam is hugely impressive as usual and keeps the whole
match flowing with rolls and dives galore. Ridiculously, as The Sandman is being
beaten in the ring by all four of the opposing team, Taz, his partner stands on
the apron waiting for the tag. Not once does Taz even think just to get into
the ring as all four of the opposition has. This looks ridiculous.
Unfortunately, the match seems concentrated on Sabu and Taz as they get the
majority of the allocated in ring time thought the match comes to a complete
halt as the FBI (Full Bloodied Italians) invade the ring and Taz turns his
attention to the invaders whilst everyone is restrained. Sabu hits Beulah hard
and nearly takes her head off as the match comes to a close just in time,
before it degenerates into a snooze fest. Al Snow may as well not have been
involved in this at all as all we see of him is when he makes the winning
pinfall.
Chris
Candido and Lance Storm vs Rob Van Dam and Sabu (ECW Hardcore TV, June 29th
1998) for the ECW World Tag Team Championships, plays out at one hundred miles
per hour and is breathlessly luminous. The beginning is very untidy which is
unlike Rob Van Dam, but there’s no denying that Lance Storm never looked better
than in his ECW matches with Van Dam. This is evident here. Van Dam is slippery
and it’s hard to keep track of his movements but this only adds to the pace and
excitement of the match. There was a certain quality which was guaranteed with
a Rob Van Dam match in ECW over the years and especially when he was Television
Champion, that quality never slipped. The wonderful Chris Candido doesn’t get a
good a showing as I’d have liked to have seen here but he does enough to prove
to the world that he both better that his Skip gimmick in WWE and one of the
best all round wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. It’s a shame we lost
him so early. One of his highlights here includes a hurricanrana through a
table. Once again, the only weak link in the match is Sabu and had this been a
triple threat it would have blown the release out of the water. Sabu once again
trawls through his set routine with annoyance, though he does take some hard
bumps to preserve Van Dam’s body for other things. Sadly, Sabu is seen several
times audibly calling spots to Van Dam which takes the element of realism out
of the bout. On the whole, the match is overtly impressive and exciting, whilst
the double leg drop through a table ending is the icing on the cake.
Taz
vs Sabu vs Bam Bam Bigelow (ECW Arena, August 8th 1998) is a grand 3 Way Dance
which highlights Taz and Bigelow as the great wrestlers they were, whilst
covering Sabu’s flaws of which there were many. A ‘Taz Plex’ onto Sabu, over
the top rope and onto Bigelow looks terrific, whilst Taz gets put through his
fair share of tables. Seeing some of the bumps that Sabu takes in this match,
it really is a wonder that he can still walk today, whilst his usual crowd
plancha receives the custom ‘ECW’ chants from the attending audience. Though
this is forgivable, seeing as they didn’t have to sit through back to back
matches which see Sabu execute the same moves over and over again. Taz flaws
Bigelow with a suplex like he weights nothing, which is impressive that Bigelow
could even take those bumps at his height and weight, though the triple arm
breaker is a visual treat as the thirty minute match makes the transition from
hardcore brawl to submission special. This may be half and hour long but it’s
worth every moment.
Spike
Dudley and Balls Mahoney vs The Dudley Boyz (ECW Hardcore TV, August 23rd 1999)
is a pure bloodbath, but an enormously entertaining one. Spike’s dive from the
top of the ladder at the beginning of the match, landing on Bubba Ray and D-Von
is daring especially since he loses his footing and almost comes crashing down
head first. D-Von using the cheese grater on Balls Mahoney always makes you
wince no matter how many times its been done. If you’ve ever caught your finger
on a cheese greater then imagine how painful it is to have one dragged along
your forehead. Taking place in 1999, at a time when the Dudley’s had signed a
contract with WWE and were seeing out their obligations to ECW before jumping
ship, the match contains a mildly amusing segment in which Bubba Ray, whilst in
the crowd with Spike, looks into the camera and shouts “I love you Vince!” How
times have changed. With Bubba and Spike taking the fight across the arena, the
cameramen once again have their work out splitting the action between the two
Dudley’s in the crowd and D-Von and Balls in the ring. Suffice to say the
action which transpires around the arena gets the majority of the coverage and
is more entertaining, especially when Spike levels Bubba Ray with a sickening
tray shot across the head which Bubba never even bothers to attempt to block. These
aren’t the last unprotected shots to the head Bubba takes as later in the match
Balls and Spike wail away with chairs and it is uncomfortable to watch. When
Spike and Bubba do return to the ring the match swiftly picks up pace and Balls
Mahoney sheds the useless, overweight, hardcore gimmick with some fine moves
including two agile ‘Nutcracker Suite’ finishers. The ‘Bubba Bomb’ on Mahoney
from the top rope is hard hitting and send Bubba head over heels upon landing
also. The crowning glory of the match however is the Powerbomb through the
double stacked flaming tables at the death of the encounter. This truly caps
off an excellent tag team brawl.
Mike
Awesome vs Rhino (ECW on TNN, October 1st 1999) is short and nowhere near as
thrilling as Mike Awesome vs Tanaka, which was a highlight of Volume one, but
is still a worthwhile encounter for both men’s careers. Mike Awesome is nothing
short of impressive in ever match ECW booked him in and the way he moves for a
man of his size else you he was truly a one off. So much so, that had WCW used
him to his full potential when he joined from ECW and not just concentrated
their product on the NWO, he could have saved the company and taken it to a
different level. The way Awesome runs the ropes and dives to the outside
without any assistance whilst clearing the top rope is a pleasure to watch.
Interestingly, Rhino is accompanied to the ring by a very young and healthy looking
Steve Corino, who looks far from his former self in 2013. The ‘Awesome Bomb’
over the top rope which sends Rhino sprawling through a table at ringside is
outstanding. Rhino shines and it’s easy to see why Paul Heyman chose him to
replace Taz as the main man on the roster and had this match gone another ten
minutes it would have been the stand out match of our generation. Mike Awesome
is another wrestler we lost too soon.
Jerry
Lynn vs Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri (ECW November to Remember, November 7th
1999) is, and its getting boring repeating myself her, excellent. There is no
other word to describe this high flying three way. In fact it’s guaranteed that
if you blink you will miss something spectacular. The trio contest a fast and
furious opening few seconds from which Lynn and Super Crazy break out on their
own and trade an amazing and somewhat beautiful twenty or so seconds packed
with more moves you than you could ever dream of. Tajiri assert himself back
into the match with a spot on asai moonsault to the outside, which may not be
the first on this release but is by far the best. Super Crazy’s balcony
moonsault is opulent and Jerry Lynn executes a lavish tilt-a-whirl backbreaker
back inside the squared circle. After Super Crazy is eliminated, much to the
irritation of the audience, the match does slow slightly whilst Lynn and Tajiri
prepare for the next spot in their planned sequence but even with just the two
of them the pace manages to keep on an exciting course. Gelling well together,
Lynn and Tajiri pull off great counters and hard hitting German suplex’s, all
whilst showcasing how proficient Jerry Lynn was. Could he have succeeded RVD as
Television Champion? I guess we’ll never know.
Mikey
Whipwreck vs Rob Van Dam (ECW on TNN, January 28th 2000) for the ECW Television
Championship is mostly held together by Van Dam in his only singles outing of
the entire release, and he sells brilliantly for the shaky Whipwreck who wasn’t
the best wrestler as is evident by this match. Don’t get me wrong, some of the
stuff that Whipwreck does such as a flying clothesline, German suplex and
Pedigree onto a chair looks good, but he can never match RVD in the ring. Once
again, Van Dam’s impressive athleticism is on show and with his trademark
‘Rolling Thunder’ and spinning leg drop from the apron onto Whipwreck on the
railing, amongst other moves, he looks a million dollars. The ending which sees
Van Dam reverse a ‘Whipper-Snappers’ into a ‘Van Daminator’ is stylish and the
‘Five Star Frog Splash’ looks as good as it ever did. Not the best Television
Championship match ECW ever booked but it is a worthy entry and goes to show
how good RVD was.
Jerry
Lynn vs Steve Corino vs Justin Credible (ECW on TNN, September 29th 2000) for
the ECW World Heavyweight Championship begins as just about decent and ends as
a must see match. When the three step into the ring, forgetting all the posing
and face offs, the action does fill you with confidence. Justin Credible
matches either went two ways. Unforgettably good, or utterly messy. This is the
former. All three men try their best to keep the match moving and to keep
interest high Lynn bleeds like a pig from the early onset. After his blade is
put away and his wearing the proverbial crimson mask, Jerry Lynn pulls out the
skill set to keep the match on its feet. Justin Credible ups the ante the only
way he knows how and that’s with his signature Singapore Cane. The cane shot to
Corino’s head is brutal as is the shot to Lynn’s face which could have easily
broken his nose, cheek bone or jaw. Jerry Lynn’s elimination is a well timed
reversal sequence and when left alone, knowing they don’t have Lynn to aid
them, Corino and Credible put on the burners, trading some great near falls and
big moves galore. The ending does come without any real build up or warning but
that doesn’t ruin a very fine ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match.
The
Segment on Chris Candido is ably handled by Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles as
they go back through some classic clips of the legend. To make this even
better, WWE should have and could have added a tribute video to Candido.
As
hosts, Joey Styles and an extremely overweight Tommy Dreamer are a great duo.
Funny, honest and sharing some good stories from the old days of ECW, the pair
aren’t afraid to tell real life stories which some times cut to the bone, even
if they embarrass one particular person. Their tales and jokes about behind the
scenes of ECW are always entertaining and they both seem to be having a good
time. The pair make the release flow well, though the sight of a severely
overweight Tommy Dreamer whose suit does him no favours as to hiding his girth
in 2013, is grim. Dreamer goes into detail in some cases especially when he
relays that he never liked or got on with Scott Steiner. If every host(s) were
this good on every release then WWE would be able to breeze through their compilations.
Weaknesses:
Tommy
Dreamer vs The Tazmaniac (ECW Hardcore TV, October 19th 1993) starts out
promising but degenerates into a drag when The Tazmaniac (Taz) digs into his
wealth of wrestling knowledge only to find those rest holds which zap any and
all enthusiasm from the encounter. It’s true that the action does liven up once
the fight spills to ringside but the footage hasn’t aged well in twenty years and
you could almost swear you’re watching an offering from WCW around that time.
Slow, by the book and mostly aloof from the rest of the release. Taz hits
Dreamer with a northern lights suplex from the middle rope which is the most
exciting and impressive thing about the whole match. I know Taz had a really
dumb gimmick and ring attire and this was Dreamer’s ECW debut, but both are
capable of better than this, even so early in their careers. It’s safe to say
that had they continued along these lines for the rest of their careers then
neither would have hit the heights they eventually did.
Bobby
Eaton and Sabu vs Arn Anderson and Terry Funk (ECW When World’s Collide, May
14th 1994) is a respectable match but adds nothing to the release or the ECW
product. For a match which featured Terry Funk and Arn Anderson this should
have been much better. The pair were on loan from WCW thanks to copyright
problems over the shows name (WCW also promoted an even called When World’s
Collide) which was named by WCW after ECW had copyrighted it. The match is
affected by the inferior quality of the footage which looks like it could have
just come straight from You Tube. The audio too is patchy, dipping in and out
throughout the match. One moment you can barely hear what’s being said the next
you’re being shouted at. The main problem with the tag bout is that nothing
much happens. There’re no huge OMG moments and the actions stops and starts
more than a WWE Superstar’s push. Terry Funk misses a moonsault which is aimed
at Sabu but misses its mark and the piledriver through a table section are
okay, as are the near falls Funk and Sabu share throughout. Sabu tries to liven
up the match with a rolling senton over the top rope to the floor and brings
the weapons out to much relief from the fans but by this time it is already too
late. What’s more baffling is that the fans love this match, yet there’s
nothing here.
Terry
Funk vs Cactus Jack (ECW Hardcore Heaven, August 13th 1994) is a disappointing
match, if you can call it that. Out of all the great brawls these two had, WWE
picks this dud to represent their feud. It was a wrong choice. Though I suspect
some wrestling magazines will sing this match’s praises from the rooftops. The
sad truth is that both men had such great matches across Japan and the world
yet they couldn’t produce it for this outing which is hindered from the
beginning with a criminally short running time. The match is dull and tame when
it should have been violent and explosive. The pair throw some punches, amble around
ringside for a while whilst the most we get in the way of hardcore is the
visually spectacular finale in which the fans throw their chairs into the ring
and bury Terry Funk underneath them. If this is the reason the match was picked
for this release then WWE need to comb through their criteria for matches
worthy of inclusion on future releases. Public Enemy make an appearance for a
short brawl with the two hardcore legends but that never rises above tepid
either. As far as timing on the release goes, this is the third match in a row
on Disc 1 which is pointless.
Chris
Jericho vs Taz (Lost Battalion Hall, April 13th 1996) is wholly dumb. The match
is billed as an ‘Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight’ but never lives up to the
promise or booking. Before the match, in the link, Joey Styles describes the
match as a ‘debacle’. Which begs the question why did WWE even include it?
There were hundreds more matches WWE could have put in its place but never
bothered. Was this laziness by WWE or couldn’t they find another match which
included a current member of the WWE roster? Bill Alfonso is handcuffed to Todd
Gordon outside the ring whilst a martial arts expert referees the match. The
bout itself is a parade of banal suplex’s and submission holds which leave you
numb and whatever the pair could have conjured up is ruined by constant cameras
cuts to Gordon and Alfonso outside. Short in time, the match ends when Taz’s
cousin knocks the referee out, unlocks Bill Alfonso and Alfonso nails Chris
Jericho with a chair to allow Taz to lock in the ‘Tazmission’. Even more
baffling, when Todd Gordon gets into the ring, the referee makes a spectacular
recovery to turn on Gordon and Jericho. As commissioner of ECW at that point,
did no one even stop to ask why Todd Gordon didn’t do something about the
interference? Utterly worthless.
Chris
Jericho vs Sabu (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, August 2nd 1996) is a
difficult match to judge. Putting aside the fact that the footage is filmed
from one camera angle which misses some action when it goes outside the ring
across from where the cameraman is stationed, this match, whilst not horrible,
is full of repetition of everything we’ve just seen before. A routine affair
then which barely gets you excited and those with short tempers will be sighing
and pressing the fast forward button on their remotes before the end of this
one. Like I said, it’s not a bad match and it even has some fluid action which
with any other competitor but Sabu would have earned it a spot in the strengths
category. However, Sabu yet again reels out the same routine, this time, to
mind numbing effect. Really WWE, there is only so many times we can see one man
execute the same five moves on one release without getting bored of it all. On
top of Sabu’s repetition, Chris Jericho struggles to do anything of note. By
the time the pair manage to heat the match up with near falls, you’re left cold
with the lack of substance with anything the pair do. The dives are good, the
near falls are okay and some of the action towards the end of the bout is
respectable but there’s nothing we haven’t seen before on this release and
nothing here you won’t see from the rest of the DVD and Blu-ray. Chris
Jericho’s middle rope dropkick as Sabu launches off of a chair looks good, but
what makes it even more baffling is the crowd reaction to match which they lap
up. Some will like this, some will be indifferent to it and some will loath it.
This is one which you’re going to have to make your mind up about.
Shane
Douglas vs Al Snow (ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998, May 3rd 1998) for the ECW World
Heavyweight Championship, is so slow that you fear time may actually go
backwards whilst you’re watching it. The interviews before the match paint both
men in different lights. Shane Douglas is fired up and ready for a fight. The ECW
World Champion looks and sounds the part as he reels off an impressive promo
and seems like he will do anything to keep the gold around his waist. Al Snow
however, looks and sounds like he’s reading from a script which isn’t visible
on camera. Snow puts no enthusiasm into the promo and it resembles more of a
bedtime story than a promo. Snow is going into the biggest match of his career,
yet to hear him talk you could be forgiven for thinking that he’s been asked to
lose in the opening match of the show. Sadly, this sets the tone for Al Snow’s
performance during the match. The sea of polysterine mannequin heads in the
crowd is impressive during Snow’s entrance and you’ll have trouble keeping your
eye off of Billy Bunter in the front row who takes up two seats but apart from
that, little else here is of any value. When the bell rings, Al Snow is
lacklustre and moves around the ring like it’s his first professional match.
We’re informed several times that Al Snow has been waiting for this opportunity
since 1982, yet to watch him you’d never know it. Shane Douglas, who is already
carrying a legitimate arm injury, is overly cautious making sure the match
actually looks like it’s following a pattern. One of the few big moves in the
match, which sees Douglas Powerbomb Snow through a chairs fails, when the
chairs part and Snow hits the canvas instead of the steel. Snow manages to
spark with a moonsault from the middle rope to the outside onto Candido and
Bigelow and there are some decent near falls but the outcome is never in doubt.
Al Snow didn’t deserve to be this high up the card and as a main event it
totally fails on every level.
In
between links Joey Styles says that Mikey Whipwreck came before Rey Mysterio,
yet everyone knows this clearly isn’t true. WWE then proceed to show a clip of
Rey Mysterio vs Mikey Whipwreck proving that the bumbling Whipwreck is no where
near as experienced as Mysterio is or was. Mysterio was wresting in Mexico
years before Mikey Whipwreck stepped into a wrestling ring. On the subject of
underdogs, WWE then show a clip of Zack Ryder and other WWE underdogs. When the
camera cuts back to Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles, the pair have a good laugh
at Zack Ryder’s expense and verbally bury the current WWE Superstar and show
him no respect, when Dreamer tries to pretend that the match which pitted him
against Ryder thus forcing him to exit WWE never happened. Dreamer than says
whoever hired Ryder was an idiot. This is just appalling. It may be WWE’s
unforgiving way of burying Ryder still for getting himself over via the
internet but Ryder could have done without this.
The
entrance video to the release is almost, if not exactly identical to Volume 1.
This is lazy by WWE and screams that they couldn’t be bothered to make a brand
new highlight video for Volume 2. Would it really have cost them that much
money to put a new one together or couldn’t they be bothered?
Blu-ray Exclusive
Extras:
ECW Hardcore TV –
August 27th 1994
911
vs Doink the Clown
ECW Gangsta’s Paradise
– September 16th 1995
Steel Cage Match
The
Sandman, 2 Cold Scorpio and New Jack vs The Public Enemy and Mikey Whipwreck
Buffalo, New York – May
17th 1997
Four Way Dance
ECW World Heavyweight
Championship Match
Terry
Funk vs Raven vs Stevie Richards vs The Sandman
Detroit, Michigan –
January 23rd 1999
The
Dudleys vs Public Enemy
ECW Hardcore Heaven –
May 16th 1999
Tommy
Dreamer vs Lance Storm
ECW Hardcore TV –
February 11th 2000
Japanese Death Match
Super
Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri
Conclusion:
ECW
Unreleased Volume 2 is another decent look back at what made ECW a household
name and features some cracking matches from 1993 – 2000. The violence is a
welcome break from WWE’s usual glossy product though the release does suffer
from some hideous repetition and a few of the matches feature inferior quality
which make it hard to get into the action on show.
The
release doesn’t begin too promising as it’s nearly 55 minutes into the first
disc before anything really gripping takes place and on a second volume that is
unforgivable. WWE should have seen the weaknesses of the first three matches on
the release and replaced them with something which hooked the viewer from the
beginning. Some people who watch this won’t have the patience to sit through 55
minutes of dull matches before the release really kicks off and are in danger
of turning off before everything takes a turn for the better. This is an
oversight by WWE which must be caught in the future before it happens with
other box sets like this.
As
stated elsewhere, repetition is the killer here. Too many matches feature Sabu
doing the same moves in the same order and in the case of marathon matches
(matches which go and go for twenty minutes or more), Sabu repeats moves
several times. By the time you get to the third of fourth Sabu match it is
overkill to point where you can’t stomach another dive through a table or into
the crowd from the top rope. Yet again this is another WWE oversight. By
putting so many Sabu matches on one release, WWE have failed to leave room for
matches which could been put here and been a welcome release from what turns
out to be ‘Same old, same old’. Instead of a constant stream of Sabu, this DVD
and Blu-ray could have done with more Rob Van Dam, Mike Awesome and Lucha Libre
matches, including at least 2 RVD vs Jerry Lynn classics.
The
releases’ saving grace is that its title is ‘Unreleased’ and not ‘Best of’. Had
WWE gone with their favourite release title then it would have certainly been a
questionable release. This is not the ‘best of’ by any stretch of the
imagination, but as ‘Unreleased’ WWE have taken the pressure off of the match
selectors to pick the very best and even saved material for an inevitable
‘Volume 3’.
The
last three hours of the release (DVD disc 3 / Blu-ray disc 2) are the best of
the whole bunch. Featuring only one or two dud matches, the rest of the disc is
packed full of great and exciting matches. Had the rest of the release been
like this then it would have been a must have.
In
the end, like Volume 1, Volume 2 is a good buy. If you like your wrestling
hardcore, fast paced or bloody then there’s something here for you. The hosts
are very good at telling us takes and I imagine even the dud matches will
appeal to some people out there. This is a good recollection of Paul Heyman’s
glory days, though if I were WWE, I would think long and hard before giving the
green light to Volume 3. Surely now we’ve seen enough ECW releases and footage
to last a life time. There’s going to come a time when WWE run out of ECW matches
in their archive, you really can have too much of a good thing.
Rating: B
Next Time on Review
Corner: WWE Payback 2013 DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards
and upwards...
