Konterr Brilliant and touching

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Timothy_Walton Eastern Championship Wrestling made the move to SportsChannel Philadelphia in April 1993, having been broadcast on a local UHF station before that. From its new home on SportsChannel, the show would gain syndication in many more markets throughout the United States.This series is for the dedicated ECW fan. The early episodes were standard local promotion wrestling for its day - a few has-been veterans working the indy circuit with a group of local guys wrestling for the love (and beer money) of it. Within a couple months the changes begin, first with the arrival of Paul Heyman playing his Paul E. Dangerously character while becoming an associate producer behind the scenes.Eddie Gilbert is the booker when the series begins, so much of the show is focused on the stable he builds, Hotstuff International; yes, he spelt it Hotstuff.Several of ECW's long-term personnel are there from the start - refs John Finegan and Jim Molineaux, ring announcer Bob Artese, and wrestlers J.T. Smith and The Sandman, thought The Sandman has a surfer gimmick and J.T. Smith hasn't yet become The Italian Stallion.The main enjoyment I found in these early shows is watching the debut of the hallmarks for which ECW became famous - chairshots, drink containers as weapons, action outside the ring that sometimes spills into the crowd, high-flying moves from the ring to ringside, balcony dives, and fan signs. And that's just in the first dozen episodes.I'm working my way through the episodes from the start, and the quality improves as it goes, so it's hard to give an overall rating. I expect it will be up to 7/10 within the first three months, having started at 2/10.

syxxpac78 ECW was once an alternative for WWE & WCW fan in the mid 90's that wanted less "gimmicky" wrestling w/ more violence/ T & A/ outrageous storyline, etc! Before ECW was broadcast nationally on TNN, you had to look hard to find this show which was shot in a crummy arena in Philadelphia and obviously did not have much of a budget for television production. I started watching it via tapes and discovered it was being broadcast on a Spanish TV station @ 1:00am Friday nights, but it was worth it. Such an innovative, violent style of wrestling that was upfront and in your face. There was nothing "over the line" in ECW's heyday whether it be barbed wire instead of wrestling ropes, excessive blood, partial nudity, excessive swearing, etc! It was not for everyone, but for someone that was a teenager at the time it was right up my alley and eventually paved the way that WWE still follows in some respects to this day, albeit watered down. If you have a chance to watch this someday it will be worth your while.

adrian2umortal ECW is the best wrestling company that ever existed. ECW delivered what was only being seen in The Carribean, Mexico, Japan, and South America, Hardcore Wrestling ! Paul Heyman a.k.a. "Paul E. Dangerously" took control of what used to be N.W.A. Eastern Championship Wrestling, turned it around 180 degrees, deleted old school tradition, and added more sex and violence. This made ECW number 1 on the Indie Wrestling Circuit. Local broadcasts in Philly led to disputes between ECW and The FCC. When ECW was off the air due to a lesbian kiss between Buelah and another ECW Female, ECW shopped around for air time. They tried everyone in Television and got turned down left and right. Vince McMahon of WWE was supposedly the reason why ECW was being turned down so much. TNN during it's last days as The Nashville Network gave ECW air time for only one hour on Friday Night but each show was 1 hour and edited very badly. Matches were short and brief and were over dominated by long inring shoots and backstage banter. Heyman knew that the end was coming and washed his hands of the whole thing and joined the competition in WWE. He was put into position as color commentator alongside Jim Ross because Jerry Lawler had quit due to his wife being fired. On the final ECW Show which was untelevised, all the stars came out carrying trash cans full of ice and beer and toasted the fans as way of saying Thanks for the ride, it was fun. A majority of ECW talent were snagged to WWE and the soon to die WCW. WCW was bought out by WWE and all those stars were immediately transferred to WWE. Some stars made it, some stars didn't, and some stars quit the business all together. There was a brief ECW reunification in WWE. During the live Atlanta Broadcast of WWE Raw, Paul Heyman admitted that a few Raws before in NYC at The Garden he let the stars of both WCW and ECW into the Garden and that ECW was back ! Not only that but Stephanie McMahon was the new "Owner" of ECW. Vince looked like he crapped his pants as WCW and ECW Stars rallied together and defeated WWE stars left and right in 2001. Eventually that died out in 2002 and ECW and WCW went dead finally. Every now and then when WWE rolls through Philly there is a quasi reunification of ECW and fans still chant the company letters for old time sake. Lately you can find stars like Sandman lurking around NWA-TNA and XPW. Actual ECW Ownership is still being disputed by the courts as Vince McMahon is trying to buy out what is left of the company.

hardcorejrh ECW never ceases to entertain. With brave heroes like Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, Rob Van Dam, and New Jack battling evil villains like Justin Credible, Rhino, Jerry Lynn, and Angel, ECW is the ultimate source for wrestling fans. The violence it portrays and the wrestling it exhibits makes it second to none