Search - ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) - Barely Legal on DVD

ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling - Barely Legal

Stephen Horne | Aberdeenshire, Scotland | 02/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On April the 13th, 1997, the folks at Extreme Championship Wrestling staged the most important event in their short history - their first pay-per-view. For a company that started out as a non-profit regional promotion, this was a crucial date indeed - if the PPV didn't succeed, chances are neither would ECW. Thankfully then, for both Team Extreme and their fans, they didn't disappoint. In a full run-down of the card...ECW World tag team champions The Dudley Boyz (Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von) defended the gold against The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) in an entertaining, yet psychology-lacking opener... Lance Storm took on (substituting for the injured Chris Candido) Rob Van Dam in a decent outing... The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada and (subbing for the injured Gran Naniwa) Masato Yakushiji locked horns with Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo and Terry Boy in a tremendous Six-man match... World Television champion "The Franchise" Shane Douglas battled Pit Bull #2 in a sloppy disappointment... Taz faced (after a year and a half's worth of hype) Sabu in a hard-hitting, enthralling bout... And finally, Terry Funk bested bWo leader Stevie "Big Stevie Cool" Richards and The Sandman in a great Three Way Dance to advance to take on World heavyweight champion Raven in the brutal and bloody finale.A memorable, if not entirely satisfactory, card; Barely legal is available commercially on video and DVD for the first time and, if I were you, I certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to own this fantastic piece of wrestling history."

Barely Legal: The first and still one of the best PPVs

danwwfecw | Toronto, Ontario | 05/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Over the years ECW had done many Pay Per Views with extreme hardcore stuff, but Barely Legal is like comparing ECW to WCW. ;yeah really its that good; Here is the card The Dudley Boyz vs. The Eliminators This is a great match with many spots and aerial maneuvers. 7/10Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm This was one of my favorite matches with great technical wrestling, another high flying match 9/10Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yakushiji vs. Taka Michinoku, Mens Teoh, and Dick Togo This was my favorite match of the night that had unbelivable japan wrestling moves. 10/10 Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull #2 This is the boring match of the night but it did have some surprise guest during the match 5/10Taz vs. Sabu I honestly dont know why everybody thinks this match is so good, I mean sure there was great wrestling and spots but this is Sabu were talking about, compared to his other matches with Sandman this was a sleeper. 7/10Stevie Richards vs. The Sandman vs. Terry Funk this was a good match and the wrestlers made good use of the ladder and barbed wire, this was one of terry funks most Memorable matches. 9/10Terry Funk vs. Raven The main event after the three way were raven beats on a beat up Terry Funk, great match and I bet big dick dudley wishes he was never there. 8/10There is only one special feature and that is the match histories which isnt the greatest but its better than nothing.This DVD is great and has every thing, hardcore, aerial, technical and just plain crazy. Overall mark 8/10 Highly Recommended"

ECW Barely Legal DVD

steeltormentor | Seneca Falls, NY | 03/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Even though this DVD has yet to be released, I was lucky enough to see ECW's first pay-per-view event already. Although it was not a perfect outing for ECW, it is definitely worth buying because there were a lot of memorable moments. In the opening match, the Dudley Boyz [WWF] challenge the Eliminators (Perry Saturn [WWF] & John Kronus) for the ECW Tag Team titles. Next, Rob Van Dam replaces an injured Chris Candido when he takes on Lance Storm [WCW]. My personal favorite match of the night is a six-man tag team extravanganza starring superstars from Japan's Michinoku Pro. The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yukushiji (subbing for Gran Naniwa) face Taka Michinoku [WWF], Mens Teioh, and Dick Togo. In an easily forgettable match, Shane Douglas [WCW] defended his ECW Television title against Pitbull #2. In a match that had been built up for quite some time, Sabu took on Taz [WWF] in a classic encounter. The Sandman, Terry Funk [WCW], and Stevie Richards [WWF] battled in a match to determine who would get an ECW Heavyweight title shot. The winner of that match took on Raven for the title in the next and final match of the night. I really enjoyed this event and would recommend it to any wrestling fan to purchase on DVD. Even big fans of the WWF and WCW will recognize many superstars who appeared on this show. I gave the show four stars out of five only because of the Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull #2 mess that should have never taken place especially for as long as it did."

HISTORIC/ENTERTAINING/EMOTIONAL

fmwaalex | Austin, TX USA | 09/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ECW
BARLEY LEGAL

I remember it like it was yesterday, ECW was a little known up and coming promotion on the east coast [how lucky was I to be living there at the time] that over time became a cult hit and went as far as to get not only pay-per-view events locked but had a weekly show on what is now Spike TV. This was that first p-p-v, and to be honest it was not the greatest event ever, but it was historic for the little company that could.

We kick things off with Joey Styles introducing the event and being interrupted by the ECW tag champs The Dudley Boys. The crowd reaction to these two is great, and shows why the Dudleys caused so much controversy while there.

1.[ECW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP]-DUDLEYS VS ELIMINATORS-this is a fairly quick bout here but it is definitely and exciting one, before and after the match are quite enjoyable as well. There are a lot of good high spots during this match, and surprisingly the Dudleys pretty much get dominated. The Eliminators take the titles and the win after a very entertaining match.4/5

Here we have a nice speech by Chris Candido talking about his accomplishments in wrestling, and not being able to perform on the card. He goes on to a cool rant on a bunch of ECW wrestlers. R.I.P. Sir.

2.ROB VAN DAM VS LANCE STORM-a battle between two of the best in my opinion who ever laced up some wrestling boots. This is a really good back and forth battle between these two, Storm is the technical of the two and Van Dam is the risk taker. That combination made for an interesting battle, a lot of people don't really like this as much as I do but I thought it was great. Van Dam takes it after a good Van Daminator. What is really cool is the rant that Van Dam lets loose on everyone, this was apart of his Mr. Monday Night persona he was doing with his trips to WWF Monday Night Raw at the time.5/5

3.GREAT SASUKE, BRAN NANIWA, MASATO YAKUSHIJI VS TERRY BOY, DICK TOGO, TAKA MICHINOKU [BWO INTERNATIONAL]-another good match up that is just as entertaining as any of the others, great showcase of other talent. I found this to be one of the most competitive bouts on the entire card. And while not as crazy as some would think this match really heats up at times and really showcases these guys well. Some of the greatest triple team moves I have seen take place during this one, one moment in particular is picture perfect. This honestly could be the most entertaining match on the card, I don't care what any one else says. Sasuke, Bran, and Masato take this well deserved win, great match.4.5/5

4.[TV CHAMPIONSHIP]-SHANE DOUGLAS VS PITBULL # 2-I have to start out saying that Shane has always been one of my favorite heels in ECW, he really can get under peoples skin and I love it. In this fight Shane puts the TV title on the line against fan favorite Pitbull # 2. This one is ok, it really is interesting more because of the story line that was involved. It is not a boring match it was just not the best on the card, the end though is great. Brian Lee and Ravishing Rick Rude take Shane out, great ending.3.5/5

5.SABU VS TAZ-this is the match that everyone wanted to see, and Taz wanted this one badly. These two extreme legends went at it in a match that was more technical then extreme, don't get me wrong it had hardcore moments. This was a great match I don't care what people say, people may hate on it because their first battle wasn't an all out extreme bout. Me personally I think that is what made this a classic, it wasn't what people expected. And after Taz wins this excellent match there is a great aftermath involving RVD.5/5

6.TERRY FUNK VS THE SANDMAN VS STEVIE RICHARDS-ever heard of a man from Texas named Terry Funk, if yes you probably heard of this match. This is one of those matches that is credited as one that made ECW what it was because of the Funker. This is by no stretch of the imagination a classic wrestling match, this is a wild brawl that makes good use of a ladder. Many fans love this match, I one of them and think it was highly entertaining. Funk goes one to win this extreme match up and get a shot at the championship. Good solid fight, and very entertaining.4.5/5

7.[ECW CHAMPIONSHIP]-RAVEN VS TERRY FUNK-Raven comes and attacks Terry right after he wins his last match. This is a match full of emotion, the fans are really into this one and keep Terry alive really. Raven really puts it on Funk in this one, and Funk is bleeding like crazy. Tommy Dreamer [an all fav of mine] is doing commentary during this match to continue his feud with Raven. And after Raven calls him out Dreamer is attacked by a Dudley, but turns it around and throws Dudley off of the balcony. After which he takes out Raven and Funk becomes the new ECW champ. I will give this one five out of five because the atmosphere and emotion of this bout were crazy.5/5

So there it is, I am sure a lot of people will disagree with some of this but that is my opinion. I found this to be a very entertaining event, and while it is not the best event held by ECW it has a special feeling about it. You can tell these guys were doing every thing they could to make this enjoyable. To all those who worked in front of or behind the scenes of ECW, I salute you for your efforts.
"