This one is the gold standard that I measure any other wrestling DVD to. I think the fact that it's still one of WWE's best-selling DVD's ever probably reinforces what I liked about it.

 

For the uninitiated: this was WWE's crack at creating the ultimate ECW documentary. Sure, you have to understand that this has some McMahon propaganda to it, but not a lot. Plus, they allow Paul Heyman and others to openly knock WWE and its practices around the time they co-existed with ECW. That's definitely appealing.

 

In addition, you've got everyone from Heyman to Tommy Dreamer to Bubba Ray Dudley to Mick Foley telling the ECW's story. Yes, there are about a half-dozen non-WWE guys that should have told their stories here, but given that those ones are/were affiliated with TNA, you can understand why they weren't invited to speak.

 

Clocking in at three hours, virtually everything about ECW is covered off here quite nicely, including its humble beginnings, what made the product different, how it unwillingly became a "victim" of the Monday Night Wars, and its preventable demise.

 

Of course, this means that you have the appropriate level of Vince McMahon groveling and some serious knocking of Eric Bischoff, but I have yet to see a WWE documentary that doesn't do that. And the documentary is captured with a great mix of humor, candor and coarse language.

 

Production Values: As if you have to ask - see earlier "gold standard" comments. WWE mixes old and new footage in seamlessly, even explaining in one scene how Heyman would hide ECW's weaknesses and promote its strengths. You also have WWF, WCW, ECW and NWA footage interspersed within the documentary, which must be some type of DVD first.

 

Extras: You've got six matches here, all of them fantastic in their own right: The Pitbulls vs. Raven and Stevie Richards (a 2 out of 3 falls dog collar tag team title match!); Rey Mysterio vs. Psychosis; Mikey Whipwreck vs. The Sandman (a ladder match); 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu; Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven (with surprisingly-good commentary by Dreamer and The Coach); Taz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (the same match as on Deep Impact, but featuring commentary by Tazz and Michael Cole); and Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn (with The Coach and RVD on commentary). Plus, there are three other mini-interviews that were left on the cutting room floor from the documentary.

 

Overall: I would be hard-pressed to come up with a more complete look at the ups and downs of ANY wrestling promotion out there. It's just one of these shows I can watch numerous times without getting tired of it, and the matches are a great collection to boot.