Review for ECW UNRELEASED - VOL 2

OH MY GOD!!!!

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 is three disks of classic ECW carnage. You know what to expect from ECW... the real ECW, not the one WWE brought back... this is the ECW that people know and remember. The ECW of blood, sweat, tears, tumbtacks, barbedwire and lots and lots of violence. Presented by ECW commentator Joey Styles and ECW Original Tommy Dreamer which is probably how all of these sets should be as the banter between the two is just wonderful.

The set includes many matches which people may not have seen before. It is true that if you were an avid fan of ECW there is nothing here that is new, however if you only discovered ECW after its demise in 2001, then you may have missed all the earlier classics. What is surprising when you watch is just how many people stepped foot in the ECW arena. These include Mick Foley, Tazz, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Steiner Brothers, Sabu, Terry Funk, Arn Anderson, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, The Dudleys, Raven amongst others. The other surprising thing is just how much actual wrestling went on. Most people when you say ECW just think 'blood and barbed wire', but for every match featuring The Gangstas showing no regard to the human body, you have an amazing technical match from the likes of Shane Douglas and Chris Jericho.

The matches are all wonderful and unlike most 'Best of' sets, because it doesn't focus on a particular person, match type etc all of the matches feel fresh and can be watched as such. I found myself watching all of these matches enjoying the fact that I wasn't seeing the same wrestler doing the same moves on 20 different people, or two different wrestlers doing the same moves in the same match over and over. It is true that very few of the matches will be remembered once the disk has ended, but you wouldn't be able to say that you didn't enjoy them at the end.

Highlights include Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack which features the infamous 'throw me a chair' moment that is just insane to watch. For violence and blood, look no further than The Public Enemy against The Gangstas which is just insane and what ECW became infamous for. The Three Way Dance for thr FTW Title between Sabu, Taz and Bam Bam Bigelow is a wonderful example of how those types of matches should be and the later Extreme Three Way Dance between Tajiri, Jerry Lynn and Super Crazy was just as great, even more so with the people involved being almost a precursor for TNA's X-Division style. The inclusion of a number of Dudleys matches is great before they became the table gimmick in WWE, it is nice to see them when they were bloodthirsty and crazy, but still one of the best tag teams in the business.

There are no lowlights on this set. It's odd to say that, but it's true, even a match like Jericho vs Taz in a Hardcore Shoot Fight which Joey Styles introduces as 'a horrible match' is still enjoyable from a hindsight 20/20 way. No matches are disgusting as you may expect and even the ones that do become bloody or extreme they are still enjoyable and it is expected. What is even better, is that the banter between Styles and Dreamer never gets stale or boring, in fact it is one of the best things on the set and if a third set is in the pipeline I would run with this combination as it is certainly a winner.

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 is a nice trip down memory lane for those hardcore fans who followed ECW in the 90s. If you are a newer fan and want to know why people chant ECW when someone goes through a table, then this is a great lesson in hardcore. This was before PG, before odd stoppages for blood, when a hardcore match wasn't going through a playground or being dunked into the river. This was extreme and if that's your cup of tea, then this is the set for you.