Extreme Championship Wrestling: the Doctor Is in [VHS]

ECW The Doctor Is In was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia on August 3rd 1996.Here are the matches:

1)Mikey Whipwreck VS Dangerous Devon Storm.
(A good opening match which was given a decent amount of time,some impressive moves by both)***

2)Louie Spicolli VS Johnny Smith.
(This was a surprisingly good technical match.The crowd wasn't into it at the start but they soon livened up.Solid match)***

3)D-Von Dudley VS Axl Rotten.
(.It's short and pointless as both men leave together.Confusing)*

4)ECW WORLD TITLE:
Stevie Richards(defending for(c)Raven) VS Sandman.
(A hardcore style match with Stevie taking the beating of his life for Raven who also makes an impact.Stevie bleeds quite bad in this one)***1/2

5)Chris Jericho VS 2 Cold Scorpio.
(This was Jericho's last ECW match before joining WCW.Match of the night in my opinion.Awesome technical and aerial wrestling.)****1/2

6)TV TITLE:
Shane Douglas(c) VS Pitbull #2.
(Pretty good,better than their boring Barely Legal match.PB2 does a very nasty blade job in this match)***1/2

7)DREAM PARTNER TAG MATCH:
Tommy Dreamer & Dr Death Steve Williams VS Brian Lee & Taz.
(This was an average match...until...Tommy gets Tazplexed off the stage through a table.I could watch that bump every day and it would still be extreme)***1/2

8)TAG TITLES:
Eliminators(c) VS Gangstas VS Bruise Brothers VS Samoan Gangsta Party.
(This was a mess.Some decent spots but too hard to follow and the camera men can't keep up with it)**1/2

9)STRETCHER MATCH:
Sabu VS Rob Van Dam.
(RVD-Sabu matches are always worth a look.This one was very brutal.Top notch hardcore match but far from the best from these 2.A lot of high spots and a great table bump.However I thought this was their least impressive match)***3/4

A packed card with some excellent matches.If you want a great RVD-Sabu match I recommend:
1)The 1st big match of the feud-(Hostile City Showdown 96)
2)The revenge match-(Hardcore Heaven 96)
3)The 30 minute classic-(Wrestlepalooza 98)
AND/OR
4)The last RVD-Sabu ECW match-(Guilty As Charged 2000)

Held at the ECW arena in August 1996, this show caught my attention becuse it was held at the time when many hardcore fans claim that the company was at its creative peak.
The show opens with Mikey Whipwreck taking on Devon Storm. This was a good opening match, though it was given a little more time than the two wrestlers knew how to fill. Still, it does have some impressive spots.
Match number two features two ECW newcomers at the time Louie Spicolli and Johnny Smith. Though neither would enjoy much success in the company, they put on a decent if unremarkable wrestling match here. Keeps the flow going nicely but hardly essential.
Advertised on the back of the DVD as match number three is D-Von Dudley vs Axl Rotten. This match never actually gets started as the rest of the Dudley clan get involved, and what should be a match degenerates into a very long series of chair shots. Odd, and not very entertaining.
Up next, Stevie Richards replaces Raven in an ECW World Title match against The Sandman. I personally prefer the ECW technical wrestling matches to hardcore, which often comes across as a mess, but this was a very good match. The Sandman had a gorey eye injury coming in, and has to fight off the group that would become known as the BWO. Hardcore in some places, silly in other, this was a good fun match.
Chris Jericho takes on Too Cold Scorpio in a match that starts off with some good technical and athletic wrestling, but begins to drag as the pace slows down. Maybe the infamous heat at the ECW arena got to them, but the match does drop off. All the same, it does feature some great wrestling at the start.
Shane Douglas defends the ECW TV Title against Pit Bull #2 in the first match after Pit Bull #1 broke his neck. My hopes were low for this after seeing the dreadful match they had at Barely Legal, and this was better (just). The crowd keep it interesting.
A four -way dance for the ECW World Tag Team titles follows. The only teams worth mentioning are The Elimenators and The Gangstas. A dull, sloppy, match that explains why hardcore wretling has so many critics. Because most of the matches look like this.
Finally, in the main event Sabu and RVD go one on one in a stretcher match. Some good spots, some mistakes, same as ever when these two meet. Not their best match, but not their worst either.
This was a good show from the ECW heyday. Well worth checking out.