DVD Review - The Rise And Fall of ECW

Wow.

I know a lot of people have already voiced their opinions (mostly favorable) on this particular video, and we damn Canadians always end up getting new releases a few weeks late. Add to that that it's taken me four nights to get through the entire thing (I was quite busy this week, and I didn't watch rush through the first viewing). I am among those who will be heaping praise on this DVD.

For starters, the 3 hour history package is easily the best one they've done to date (and keep in mind, I thought the Hulk Rules, Monday Night War and Chris Benoit stories were fantastic in their own right). But this one blows all of them away. Perhaps it was the fact that there so much new information here, or maybe the fact that everyone involved was allowed to speak their mind. Probably a little bit of both, actually.

I mean, you have former ECW workers like Rhyno and Spike Dudley all but saying they would rather be working for ECW now, you have Paul Heyman saying that Eric Bischoff was full of shit, and you've got guys like Tommy Dreamer openly saying Heyman didn't know how to run a business. This is as close to a "shoot" interview as they're ever going to allow in WWE. Another nice touch is that Raven, Shane Douglas, Sabu and others who are technically with the competition right now are shown in as positive a light as RVD, The Dudleyz and Tazz.

I never had access to ECW pay-per-views or television shows (damn Canadian thing again) until 1999 or so, and by that point, I had really missed out on the importance of this company. Sure, I had read it in magazines and on the Internet, but to see the actual footage, complete with Paul Heyman telling you the behind-the-scenes stories, it really is something else.

The seven matches that are featured are just top notch. As I mentioned, I only started watching ECW when it was in its "TNN era" and even the few DVD's I've found since its demise, they're good but they're not great. These are the cream of the crop, though (unless there are better ones out there, but I have yet to hear about them). Especially tremendous is the RVD-Jerry Lynn match from Hardcore Heaven, which isn't as good as I'd previously heard it was.... it's far better! One of the best matches I've seen in a while. The alternate commentary (even the matches with Coach and Michael Cole) is very well done. As I mentioned about a month ago on the Guerrero DVD, make sure that Todd Grisham never gets near a recording studio again. Guys like Coach, Cole and Tazz are custom-made for these types of things, and they really do a great job or steering their guests on the right track.

In short, if I haven't convinced you enough yet.... BUY THIS F'N DVD!!! They even have it available in Canada now, I hear.