ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) - Barely Legal
The first Extreme Championship Wrestling pay-per-view production is immortalized on this disc, which returns the viewer to the hellish confines of the ECW Arena in Philadelphia in the spring of 1997. Stars of the upstart federation square off in a variety of matches, and the action is relentlessly brutal and bloody. The Dudley Boyz kick things off by battling the Eliminators for the tag team championship, but it really takes a few matches for things to get nasty. And when they do, watch out! Shane Douglas and his sidekick in a thong, Francine, get a wicked surprise from Ravishing Rick Rude. And Sabu and Taz, meeting in the "Grudge Match of the Decade," bloody each other while taking their epic battle into the crowd (which loves having the action brought even closer) before ending up with a table-smashing finish. A "three-way dance" featuring Terry Funk, the Sandman, and Big Stevie Cool features a ladder being put to some creative uses. And eventually the evil slacker Raven turns up in the ring to battle Terry Funk, who bleeds so profusely he needs medical attention. That doesn't daunt Raven, who naturally assaults the doctor with a table before resuming the battle with Funk. The over-the-edge wrestling in ECW won't be to everyone's liking, but the real hardcore fans will loveBarely Legal.--Robert J. McNamara