I think they got a lot right with this set, but they also got some stuff wrong.
I like the segments with Joey Styles talking about the history of ECW. He shoots it pretty strait, and talks about some of the stuff that was not mentioned in The Rise and Fall. He talks about how ECW was influenced by FMW, Taz's revolutionary MMA character that was the first to bring the "Tapout" to pro wrestling, and The Mike Aweseome/WCW incident.
I didn't like the way they harped on Awesome again. They painted Bischoff as this slimy evil fuckmook pretty much like they did in The Rise and Fall, but as usual they left out the other half of the story(The way Dreamer/Taz jobbed out to Triple H with the ECW title on Smackdown, looking like a couple of idiots in the process with the booking). Awesome has been dead for a while now. He just wanted to get paid for his talents, and I think he deserved what he went after. Tons of other little stories they could have told here instead of harping on the late Awesome.
One thing they got right with this set? Shane Douglas. The motherfucking franchise. People don't realize how big of a deal he was for the ECW in its early days, and they forget how over he was in his later days. The previous WWECW dvd's barely mentioned Douglas, but he is prominently featured in this set(even on the cover with the late Bam Bam, one of his best friends). Douglas is in 5 matches in this set.
Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero: Of the 9 singles matches these guys had in ECW I would rank this one in the top 3. Their final farewell match, and their first ECW match from Hostile City Showdown were their best ones, this one fits right up under those on my list.
Shane Douglas vs Cactus Jack: This is the match that helped get Douglas over as "THE" heel in ECW, and arguably the best heel in pro wrestling in 1996. Foley is handcuffed, and beaten with a chair. Douglas puts Foley in the figure four while handcuffed in one of the biggest "Oh man, that has to suck" moments ever. Foley cries out for help from his former tag partner, but takes one of the stiffest chair shots in the history of wrestling at the end. Pretty cool little scene that was copied by WWF with The Rock 3 years later, with the same effect on his heel status.
Chris Jericho vs 2 Cold Scorpio: HIGHLY UNDERRATED match right here. Easily one of the best on this entire set. Jericho had a bunch of matches like this that nobody has seen in ECW. I laugh when people try to make the "Cup of Coffee" argument for Chris Jericho in ECW.
Van Dam & Sabu vs Shinzaki & Hayabusa: The one match where Sabu doesn't botch, and people just brush it off as a "Spotfest". Haters gonna hate. All wrestling moves are spots. I'd rather watch this type of "Spotfest" than the type where guys are just trading traditional armdrags/bodydrops and restholds. One of my all time favorite matches. Non stop action. That is what I watch wrestling for, action.
Shane Douglas vs Taz: This is the match from Guilty As Charged pay per view where Taz wins the title. I think the match they had in the ECW Arena like a week later on Hardcore TV was WAAAAAAAAY better than this one. "Lets give these fans a fucking world title match that we can be proud of!" -Shane Douglas.
Tazz vs Tommy Dreamer: This is the match/moment that they are making the selling point for this set. This was the title match from 2000 where Tazz was still under contract with WWE. Not much of a match, but the moments after the match were pretty cool. Raven & Dreamer bury the hatchet for one of the greatest fueds in wrestling history. The ECW was actually legally prohibited from airing this match completely on TV, so this is pretty good to have on this set.
Overall I really liked this set. I think there is plenty of material for a Volume 2, and a Volume 3 even:
Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero Hostile City Showdown 95
Dean Malenko, 2 Cold Scorpio, & Cactus Jack vs The Stiener Bros & Eddie Guerrero(excellent match)
Bam Bam wins ECW World title from Douglas(with help from Rick Rude)
Taz vs Douglas from House Party 99
Shitload of Dreamer vs Raven
Shane Douglas vs Marty Janety Return of the Funker 95
Chris Jericho vs Mikey Whipreck A Matter Of Respect 96
Shane Douglas vs 2 Cold Scorpio A Matter Of Respect 96
Sabu vs RVD A Matter Of Respect 96
2 Cold Scorpio vs RVD Living Dangerously 98
Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk vs Shane Douglas & Brian Lee November 2 Remember 96
Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn Living Dangerously 99
Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn Crossing The Line 99
Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn Hardcore TV Sep. 99
Rob Van Dam vs Jerry Lynn Hardcore Heaven 2000
Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka Heatwave 98
Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka ECW Hardcore TV(Tanaka wins title)
Tanaka vs Awesome vs Taz 3 way Anarchy Rulz 99
RVD vs Balls Mahoney Anarchy Rulz 99(underrated)
RVD vs Sabu Wrestlepalooza 98
Al Snow vs Shane Douglas Wrestlepalooza 98
Lance Storm vs Chris Candido As Good As It Gets 97
Lance Storm vs Chris Candido Cyberslam 98
Lance Storm vs Chris Candido Heatwave 98
Lance Storm vs Jerry Lynn Anarchy Rulz 99
6 man Michinoku Pro tag match from Barely Legal
Rob Van Dam vs Bam Bam Bigelow House Party 98
Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible 2/3 falls A Matter Of Respect 98
Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri Guilty As Charged 99
Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri House Party 99
Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri Crossing The Line 99
Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri Living Dangerously 99
Super Crazy vs Rhino ECW on TNN Sep 99
Tajiri vs Tommy Dreamer ECW on TNN fall 99
Rhino vs Spike Dudley ECW on TNN summer of 2000
Rey Mysterio vs Juventud Guerrera 2/3 falls match Big Ass Extreme Bash 96
Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack Hostile City Showdown 95
Public Enemy vs Pit Bulls Hostile City Showdown 95(one of the all time best hardcore tag matches)
