WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Exxxtttrrreeeeemmmmmeeeee!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 21, 2013

It's been a good run of late for the ECW on Blu-ray, and all of professional wrestling, for that matter. ECW Unreleased Volume 1 brought home the gritty, hard-hitting reality of the ECW through a collection of fascinating retrospective interviews and classic matches. Now, fans are in for more with volume two, another compilation package that's pretty much exactly the same thing as volume one, except, of course, in terms of specific match and retrospective commentary content. This release brings more thrills and unforgettable matches between some of the finest men to ever step into the square circle while also painting a more complete picture of what the ECW was and why it holds a special place in the hearts of wrestling fantaics. It further compiles the story of what is, arguably, professional wrestling's finest subset, a truly hardcore, groundbreaking, limited-frills style that maintained story lines but didn't let pomp and circumstance get in the way of the action, all of which is on display in every gloriously hard-hitting match.

Happy to be released. Really.

In ECW Unreleased Volume 2, ECW ringside announcer Joey Styles again returns to host, now joined by hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer. The two spend a good bit of time reminiscing, setting up the matches, talking up the wrestlers and their allegiances and rivalries, and delving -- largely superficially but occasionally with a little depth -- into the nitty-gritty details of ECW history. This title follows the same format as the previous ECW Blu-ray (see that review for a more detailed look at what, exactly, fans can expect in terms of basic setup and delivery) and, generally, almost all of the WWE Home Video retrospective compilations by interspersing said commentary with the extreme wrestling mayhem. In Volume 2, fans can expect to see a solid cross-section of action and wrestlers through the history of the ECW, beginning with a Tommy Dreamer-Taz matchup and finishing, chronologically, with a three-way heavyweight title match between Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn, and Steve Corino. In between is a veritable treasure trove of excitement sure to satisfy the appetite of any wrestling fan looking for a little vintage fun in a very agreeable package.

The following vintage matches and moments are included as part of the main program:

Disc One:

• ECW Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Tazmaniac. Hardcore TV -- October 19, 1993.
• ECW Match: Terry Funk & Arn Anderson vs. Sabu & Bobby Eaton. When Worlds Collide -- May 14, 1994.
• ECW Match: Cactus Jack vs. Terry Funk. Hardcore Heaven -- August 13, 1994.
• "I Quit" Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. The Sandman. Hardcore TV -- October 4, 1994.
• ECW Match: Eddie Guerrero & The Steiner Brothers vs. 2 Cold Scorpio, Dean Malenko & Cactus Jack. Wrestlepalooza -- August 5, 1995.
• ECW Match: Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer. Holiday Hell Tour -- December 29, 1995.
• ECW Match: The Public Enemy vs. The Gangstas. House Party -- January 5, 1996.
• Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight: Chris Jericho vs. Taz. Lost Battalion Hall -- April 13, 1996.
• ECW World Television Championship Match: 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Shane Douglas. A Matter of Respect -- May 11, 1996.
• ECW Match: Sabu vs. Chris Jericho. Plymouth Meeting, PA -- August 2, 1996.
• ECW Match: Dick Togo, Terry Boy & Taka Michinoku vs. Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa & Great Sasuke. Hardcore TV -- March 27, 1997.
• Three Way Dance for ECW World Tag Team Championship Match: The Eliminators vs. The Gangstas vs. The Dudleys. Buffalo, NY -- May 17, 1997.

Disc Two:

• ECW Match: The Sandman, Taz, Tommy Dreamer & Al Snow vs. Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Doug Furnas & Philip LaFon. Hardcore TV -- January 5, 1998.
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Shane Douglas vs. Al Snow. Wrestlepalooza. May 3, 1998.
• ECW World Tag Team Championship Match: Chris Candino & Lance Storm vs. Sabu & Rob Van Dam. Hardcore TV -- June 29, 1998.
• Three Way Dance for the FTW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sabu vs. Taz vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. ECW Arena -- August 8, 1998.
• ECW World Tag Team Championship Match: The Dudleys vs. Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney. Hardcore TV -- August 23, 1999.
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Mike Awesome vs. Rhino. ECW on TNN -- October 1, 1999.
• Extreme Three Way Dance: Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy. November to Remember -- November 7, 1999.
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Mikey Whipwreck. ECW on TNN -- January 28, 2000.
• Three Way Dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match: Justin Credible vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Steve Corino. ECW on TNN -- September 29, 2000.

WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 features a mixed collection of new HD video footage of Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles and older SD footage from ECW wrestling from the 1990s and the first months of 2000. As is always the case with these WWE Home Video retrospectives, the SD footage is presented in its original aspect ratio, flanked by WWE/ECW-inspired "black bars" and with the WWE logo in the 4x3 area and the "WWE HD" logo off to the side in the 1.78:1 frame space. The older footage looks quite good, generally, particularly with regard to the later material. It's SD, of course, so clarity, coloring, detailing, and accuracy are limited but all suffice for older material. The new footage, filling the 1.78:1 frame, offers crisp, stable details and natural colors. Light compression artifacts are occasionally visible in the background. All in all, an average WWE Blu-ray presentation.

WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 pounds through sound systems with the WWE-standard Dolby Digital 5.1 audio soundtrack. As with the video, there's a clear distinction between newly recorded music and dialogue and the elements that play over the vintage video clips. The newer musical overlays -- of which there are few compared to everything else -- play with the expectedly strong definition and spacing across the front with a good, balanced surround support structure. New Styles/Dreamer dialogue plays evenly and clearly from the center. The older wrestling footage comes through with adequate clarity but limited stage presence. The oldest footage plays with a more cramped, one dimensional, center-focused sort of presence, yielding minimal spacing and clarity. As the footage progresses to the late 1990s/very early 2000s, it opens up a bit more for a fuller, clearer, better defined experience. Ringside commentary, however, almost always comes through with acceptable definition. In essence, it's the exact same listening experience as found on most retrospective WWE compilation releases.

WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 contains the following features billed as "Blu-ray Exclusives" on disc two:

• ECW Match: 911 vs. Doink the Clown. Hardcore TV -- August 27, 1994.
• Steel Cage Match: The Sandman, 2 Cold Scorpio & New Jack vs. Public Enemy & Mikey Whipwreck. Gangsta's Paradise -- September 16, 1995.
• Four Way Dance for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Terry Funk vs. Raven vs. Stevie Richards vs. The Sandman. Buffalo, NY -- May 17, 1997.
• ECW Match: The Dudleys vs. Public Enemy. Detroit, MI -- January 23, 1999.
• ECW Match: Tommy Dreamer vs. Lance Storm. Hardcore Heaven -- May 16, 1999.
• Japanese Death Match: Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri. Hardcore TV -- February 11, 2000.

WWE: ECW Unreleased Vol. 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

ECW Unreleased Volume 2 is largely the same thing as Volume 1. It follows the same format, simply swapping out the old matches for new ones and offering some new Joey Styles (and now Tommy Dreamer) commentary in between. As is quickly evident when the program starts, this is wrestling at its zenith, more about frenzied action and less about soap opera antics and excess sight and sound distractions. There will probably never be another ECW, but hopefully there will be more of it on Blu-ray in the (near) future. WWE's Blu-ray release of ECW Unreleased Volume 2 delivers standard definition matches and high definition commentary clips. The soundtrack does what's required of it. Supplements include some added matches. Very highly recommended to wrestling fans.