Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Greatest ECW Match Ever?, 4 Dec 2002
ECW - Gangstas Paradise is a show of two halves. The first three matches are throwaway duds involving largely uninspiring talent in uninspiring brawls. However, once the 'name' talent hits the ring things really start to heat up....The ECW World Tag Title Double-Dog Collar match pitting Raven & Stevie Richards against The Pitbulls in an ECW classic. In terms of in-ring action, by todays standards, this match may not seem that hardcore (although the table-assisted PileDriver and SuperBomb spots stand the test of time) but it's the various backstories that make this match one of ECW's greatest. So many long running storylines were woven together in this match that it is truely a testiment to ECW owner/booker Paul Heymans' creativity. This match is booked superbly, as evidenced by the fans' reactions to the numerous twists and turns, and is a great example of pro-wrestling done right. The mayhem them continues as Rey Mysterio and Psychosis contest a lucha-libre scorcher in their ECW debut. Highflying moves a plenty, this match was a sign of things to come in terms of ECW promoting highflying technical encounters to counterbalance their Extreme stylings. The show rounds out with a typically insane Cage Match featuring The Public Enemy and Mikey taking on Sandman, Scorpio and New Jack. A weapons based brawl, the action drags at times but there are enough highspots to keep the attention; multiple moves off the top of the cage and table breaking madness abound keep this match worthy of a look and, again, there's some great storyline progression. A good show from ECW's heyday that perfectly highlights the mix of HardCore violence, hellacious highflying and complex storytelling that typifies The Real Team Extreme's approach to professional wrestling. Well worth a look. The full card; The Broadstreet Bully -VS- Bull Pain
Chad Austin & Don E. Allen -VS- Dudley Dudley & Dances With Dudley
JT Smith -VS- Hack Myers
The Steiner Brothers & Taz -VS- The Eliminators & Jason (clips)
ECW World Tag Title Double-Dog Collar Match - Raven & Stevie Richards -VS- The Pitbulls
Rey Mysterio Jr. -VS- Psychosis
Cage Match - Sandman, 2 Cold Scorpio & New Jack -VS- Public Enemy & Mikey Whipwreck
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ECW Gangstas Paradise, 12 Sep 2007
I brought this show on DVD because i have never seen an entire pre-Barely Legal ECW show, and wanted to do so before these DVD's dissapear for good. I chose this show because i was drawn by the supposedly classic tag team title match and the debut of Extreme Lucha Libre. However, i found this show very dissapointing.
As other reviewers have already mentioned, the first three matches on the card are throw away matches that in all honesty do not belong on an ECW event. The Broadstreet Bully and Bull Pain meet in the opening match, and have an unispiring brawl to match their ridiculous WCW names. The second match features the original, and certainly not the best, Dudley Boyz taking on a couple of jobbers. There is just no excuse for matches as bad as this. Finally on the undercard, JT Smith takes on Hack Myers. The match has a number of cuts made, which is odd given that the DVD is only 95 minutes long. Still, it is reasonably entertaining due to the interaction between JT and the crowd.
The second half of the show is easily superior, starting with the two out of three falls dog collar match for the tag team titles. The match features Raven and Stevie Richards taking on The Pit Bulls. In many ways this is a messy hardcore match, but it is done well with some good spots and a lively crowd that help the action along. I know a lot of fans enjoyed the way the match ended, with a number of storylines coming to an end in one match, but seeing it for the first time twelve years on, it seems overcrowded and ridiculous at times. Too much happens, and in the end it is Todd Gordon rather than a referee that counts the final fall. An odd ending that spoils the match slightly.
Folowing this, it was the debut of Extreme Lucha Libre. Having seen other Extreme Lucha Libre matches i was looking forward to this. Though it was a very entertaing match, it could have been better. A young Rey Mysterio always manages to liven things up, but Psicosis seems to work a traditional American pro-wrestler heel style and does very little Lucha Libre. In the end it's a solid match but nothing remarkable.
Finally, the show ends with a six man steel cage match, which sees The Sandman team up with Scorpio and New Jack to take on The Public Enemy and Mikey Whipwreck. This is just an appalling match that destroys the momentum of the previous two efforts. There was little point in the steel cage as it was only used in one spot and the wrestlers still brawl all over the arena. The Sandman lived up to his sloppy reputation and the other five were not any better. Despite featuring some very violent wrestlers in a twenty minute match, not much happens and the ending is a relief.
On the whole i found this to be a dissapointing event. The tag title match and Extreme Lucha Libre are solid but the rest varies from average to dreadful.
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