ECW: Bloodsport - The Most Violent Matches

I've been a wrestling fan for some 30 years now. I remember the great bloodbaths between Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol/Tommy Rich in mid-80's Memphis. The "I Quit" match between Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard that set a new standard for brutality in American pro wrestling. The Shiek. Abdullah the Butcher. Bruiser Brody. And of course the bosses of the blade, the giants of the gig, the two most prolific mainstream bleeders in history, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. In the past, there were 2 ways to know you were watching an important match: announcer Jim Ross/Gordon Solie/Lance Russell getting really excited/distraught, and seeing blood. If a guy was gigging on TV, it usually meant a beginning, an end, or an escalation of a big feud. I could never, ever have imagined a wrestling promotion like ECW. Not coincidentally, the aforementioned Lawler/Idol/Rich bouts in 1985-87 Mid-Southern wrestling out of Memphis were nasty affairs; brilliant booking that led to brutal bladings. The manager of the despised Idol and Rich was a new kid on the block who first went by Paul E. Dangerously, then briefly Paul E Dangerly, back to Dangerously, and finally to the brash loudmouth's birth name-Paul Heyman. I love this guy. I missed the original ECW explosion. I heard about it-but I new of no way to see it, and besides, it was just another pro wrestling group, how good could it be? Answer: For about 5 shining years, it was the greatest promotion in the history of the business. ECW;BLOODSPORT was the first true, clear taste I had of Heyman's boys in action. I'd seen YouTube's videos, but most were grainy, and frankly I don't like watching things on my computer. I was blown away instantly. Heyman narrates wonderfully, using that natural carny shill and his earnest love of ECW to draw us in. Then it's up to Cactus Jack, Mikey Whipwreck, and Public Enemy to keep us. And do they, and everyone that follows, deliver. Almost all of the Hardcore greats are here-Mick Foley, who became a legend when he fell from the 'Hell in a Cell' cage in 1998, is here a couple of times. His hero and mentor, former NWA champion turned 53 year old Hardcore newcomer, Terry Funk, shows why he's adored by fans and fellow workers the world over. You'll see The Sandman, pounding beers, smokin cigarettes and swingin kendo sticks. There's Tommy Dreamer, perhaps the heart and soul of ECW. Future hall of famer Chris Jericho bumps with "The Franchise" Shane Douglas, 2 Cold Scorpio, and Pitbull #2. Every match is brutal, bloody, and decidedly NOT for the WWE's current target audience. If Dad pops into Best Buy to buy 8 year old Timmy that Jeff Hardy or John Cena DVD he's been begging for, and they're sold out, Dad might just bring little Timmy this instead, assuming all wrestling to be about the same. And he'll happily hand his sensitive boy 5 hours and fifteen minutes of nightmares. Two matches deserve special mention. The outrageous "Taipei Death Match" featuring Ian vs Axl Rotten-a family feud Richard Dawson would have steered clear of. The rules are simple: Put on gloves, put superglue on gloves, dip gloves in broken glass. Saying this is not for the squeamish doesn't quite do it justice. Suffice to say, there's not much hidden blading going on-the bros. Rotten just slash each other up with the glass. This is not Lou Thesz vs Whipper Billy Watson...or Chavo Guerrero vs Hornswaggle, thank God. Lastly, and my personal favorite, features the "Hardcore Legend" Funk against high-flying, insane-risk-taking Sabu. This little delight takes place in a ring surrounded by barbed wire, and not some phony, "non-painful" kind, either. Both men get their bodies completely immersed in the wire, the barbs piercing flesh without forgiveness. Halfway through Sabu rips his bicep open on one of the sharp barbs. The muscle literally exposed, screaming "My Arm!!" Sabu does what any sane man would do-pushes the muscle back in the arm, gets some tape, and wraps his mangled bicep back together. No time outs, no medical help. Just more agonizing bumps ahead. It's simple: If you're a true fan of this business, this DVD should be the first one you buy. Period.

Experience the classic glory days of the ECW in this compilation of some of the bloodiest matches in pro wrestling history. If you have never seen an ECW match before then you are in for a big treat of gory action violence, epic matches that contain real blood and paralyzing feats of daring. ECW wrestlers did lots of different kinds of hardcore such as barbed wire matches, cane beatings, fire tables, chairs to the head, daring leaps of courage, all out brawls in the crowd, and lots of tables. See some hardcore action from greats such as Taz, Rob Van Damme, The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Sandman, Sabu, Bam Bam Bigelow, and other legends. If you're a fan of Pro Wrestling and want to see how far it can go, this dvd is a must have for the collection.

The fans even in the WWE and TNA still chant this league's f'n name! THE MOST VIOLENT, DECADENT, BLOODY, BANNED FROM TV WRESTLING LEAGUE OF ALL TIME. Funk vs. Sabu IN... BARBED.. WIRE... was banned from television and even pay-per-view and can be seen only on DVD. Van Dam vs. Sabu(my personal favorite), Tazz vs. Bigelow, Cactus Jack vs. assorted,etc. The Rottens in a match nearly banned for levels of blood displayed as well. TV MA IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. Paul Heyman states "we never had another barbed wire match because we felt the Funk vs. Sabu match coud never be topped and also because it is the only match to EVER make me feel disturbed due to the level of animal violence displayed". Need I say more? The other leagues FEAR the ECW and TNA is already finding this out(Dudleys, Tazz, Van Dam, Abyss, Richards, Dreamer, Sandman, etc.). You have never seen or possibly will ever see again the LEVELS of blood, skill, and animal instinct the ECW is still known and feared for. If you want violence, in the immortal words of Arn Anderson:"be careful what you wish for because you just might get it and the life you save may be your own". The way I would say it:"Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Sid Vicious, all of those overated bums got TRASHED the day they set one foot in the ECW or WCW. Trashed and run out of the league. NUFF'...SAID...PUNK.

Other people have gone over the matches already. Pretty good variety of things on here. Sad there isn't more Public Enemy or The Gangstas, 911, the luchadors, etc, but still tons of good stuff. Great for bringing back memories of some of the craziest stuff you'll ever see.

This DVD arrived at my house on Friday (1 business day early GO AMAZON SHIPPING) and I ended up watching every match on it over the weekend. This DVD brings back alot of good ECW memories for all of the old school fans. Terry Funk celebrating with Tommy Dreamer after beating Raven to become the champion is still one of the best thins I have ever seen in wrestling. This DVD also contains the greatest match in the history of wrestling, the Sabu vs. Terry Funk Barbed Wire match from Born to be Wired. The only thing I didn't like was that it included the Buela/Alfonso match and none of New Jack's matches. All in all a GREAT buy for anyone that has ever chanted "F** em up Tommy, F** em up!"

This is a pretty sweet combination of some really good & brutal matches. Almost everyone else has put up the matches on the dvd,so i am gonna talk about the quality. The first few matches are okay but not much bloodshed,until the Taipei Deathmatch however the other Taipei match with the same 2 guys where Axl pulls a fork out & starts prodding Ian's forehead,that was vicious ! But then again this match was nice. The matches with Dreamer are always good but i wish the scaffold match was in it,Tommy never disappoints. The Dudley Boyz match was insane with the amount of table action. The followup match with Spike Dudley competeing for the Heavyweight title was intense,he fought like hell but didn't quit & i thought that was wicked. The Sabu barb wire match was insane with Sabu really getting a beating but he took the win,he did some really insane technical and high-flying stunts that just make him such a legend. A truly hardcore match. The Stretcher match was really technical with Sabu vs RVD i enjoyed that because the 2 rivals work so well together & eventually become a team.(RVD coming out to aid Sabu in the barbwire match) The Mexican Deathmatch had no bloodshed or nothing like that but lots of high risk stunts. The 3 Way Dance match for the title was brutal and i loved every minute of it. The 4 corners match was crazy,bodies & battery everywhere. Tazz vs Shane Douglace was kinda tame but it shows just how strong Tazz is & i personally thought he was a very good wrestler & way better than being a commentator. Rhino vs Sandman was shirt but Rhino gave 1 hell of an ass whipping to Sandman & i wish there was more Rhino matches here. 3 way dance with Tajiri,Lil' Guido & Supercrazy was really cool cuz i had no idea Tajiri was with ECW because i grew up in the 90s & prolly don't remember. That match was crazy,not too much blood here nor with the Tazz or Rhino matches but good nonetheless. The I Quit match was pretty brutal with some great spots & bloodshed. The Intergender match with Beulah vs Bill Alfonso was not much of a match,just Bill Alfonso getting busted open & bleeding like a tweeker on blood thinners(cuz he was) and getting beat by Beulah. Tazz vs Bam Bam was alright but nowhere near as wicked or intense as the match for the title against Douglace. There are some good bloody matches & the others not so bloody just memorable i guess,but they were selected by the WWE not Paul Heyman on his own. There are extras about ECW & blood,the talk of the flaming table tactics. The Pitbulls & Justin Credible interviews,the Gangstas vs Public Enemy(House party) Axl & Ian discussing the Deathmatch,C.W. Anderson & Dreamer talk about their I Quit match. All in all i would say it is a fair amount of blood & good matches,some in depth interviews and some memorable moments. If you are a fan of the ECW matches & historical stuff then look no further,also look for the Rise & Fall of ECW,that dvd i found to be better and more interesting. Simply because they covered alot of ground,history being explained after it unfolds kinda thing. There is also a 1 Night Stand ECW dvd that i have yet to check out but i am sure it's good. I could have picked better matches but we can all say which match we prefer over the other it is all a matter of preference.

Awesome tv and ppv matches filled with blood, weapons, action, violence all to the extreme. Heyman is a great host and explains the backstory to all the matches. Best dvd that WWE has produced in a long time, and they keep it rated mature, so nothing is edited out. Very much worth the price.

This dvd is worth buying, and if you have never seen ECW you MUST BUY this. And for every one going "Yeah well I saw ECW on the SCI-FI channel and it sucked" yes it did SUCK.........you know why? It wasn't the real ECW it was the WWE-ECW. This dvd has captured some of the BEST macthes ever in wrestling, sure there ARE that should be on here that arnt but hey VOl 2 will be comming along soon. IN other words the dvd is ECW that we have 100% been addicted to for sooooooooo many years, this IS 100% ECW. Buy this NOW.

Wer wie ich auf Hardcore Wrestling steht kommt an dieser DVD nocht vorbei. Die Matches sind sehr gut gewählt und es wird zu fast jedem Match in einem kleinen Hype Package nochmal alles wichtige zusammen gefasst.

Lieferung der DVD war gut nix beschädigt oder sonst was. Endlich kann ich matches von der ecw sehen was sie aus machte. Ich bin Riesen Fan dieser legendären Liga und es ist Hammer Und mit dem regionalcode den bekommt man zum Glück schnell raus muss sagen für den Preis HAMMER

Blut Schweiß und Tränen ...wer extremes Wrestling liebt ist mit ECW bestens bedient. Stacheldraht , Feuer, Tische , Stühle ...riskante Aktionen ...alles vorhanden. Bin sehr zufrieden !

Dies ist eine Rezension über die DVD ECW: The Most Violent Matches, diese Doppel DVD mit dem Regionalcode 1 (![Achtung, erst kontrollieren ob ihr DVD-Player dies abspielen kann]) kommt in einer normallen DVD-Hülle und hat ein Inlay mit den Kampfpaarungen. + die DVD's liegen nicht übereinander + Plastikhülle +/- kein deutscher Kommentar - Regioncode 1 Die Paarungen ECW World Tag Team Championship Match Hardcore TV 27.8.1994 Cactus Jack und Mick Whiprwreck vs Public Enemy Extrem Warfare Vol. 1 18.3.1995 Sandman und Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack und Shane Douglas Taipei Death Match Hardcore Heaven 1.7.1995 Ian Roten vs. Axl Rotten Mexican Death Match November 2 Remember 18.11.1995 Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis Four Corners Match for the ECW Television Title Heatwave 13.6.1996 Shane Douglas vs. Chris Jericho vs. 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Pitbull #2 Weapons Match Hardcore Heaven 22.6.1996 Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Lee Stretcher Match The Doctor is In 3.8.1996 Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu 3 Way Dance #1 Contender's Match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship Barely Legal 143.4.1994 Terry Funk vs. Sandman vs. Stevie Richards Disc 2 Barbed Wire Match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship Born to be Wired 9.8.1997 Sabu vs. Terry Funk Intergender Match As Good As It's Gets 20.9.1997 Beulah McGillicutty vs. Bill Alfonso ECW Death Match Hetwave 2.8.1998 Tazz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match Hardcore TV 17.1.1999 Tazz vs. Shane Douglas Chicago Street Fight Falls Count Anywhere Match For The ECW Tag Team Championship Hardcore TV 5.7.1999 Dudley Boyz vs. Spike Dudley und Balls Mahoney ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match Guilty as Charged 9.1.2000 Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley ECW on TNN 25.2.2000 Rhino vs. Sandmann 3 Way Dance ECW on TNN 3.3.2000 Super Crazy vs. Yoshihirio Tajiri vs. Little Guido "I Quit" Match Guilty as Charged 7.1.2001 Tommy Dreamer vs. C.W. Anderson ECW One Night Stand 12.6.205 Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka Das sind soweit die Matches, es gibt auch noch ein paar Extras.

Eine sehr schöne Sammlung alten Wrestling-Materials :D ich hatte viel Spaß beim Ansehen der DVD's. Klare Empfehlung an alle Fans von Hardcore-Wrestling