By Tommy Dennis:
It's been a while since wrestling was discussed in my articles (like never), but I like to discuss the gold ol' days of wrasslin so here goes. In a world where WWE is the big shark or even the only shark of wrestling home video...there have been some great independent documentaries. One great underground documentary is "Forever Hardcore."
This 2005 classic was directed by Jeremy Borash (yes the TNA guy) and featured uncensored and in depth behind the scenes history of ECW. This is achieved via in depth interviews with the hardcore legends themselves.
Names like Terry Funk, Sandman, Sabu, New Jack, and Francine give the inside scoop down memory lane.
What stands out is the vivid detail that the most memorable moments in ECW are described with commentary. The "night the line was crossed" in which Extreme Championship Wrestling came to be is put in perspective by Shane Douglas (including his now legendary "shoot" promo). New Jack holds no punches in describing his many controversial matches including the one that lead to his arrest! My favorite moment was Terry Funk and Sabu (who rarely does interviews) discussing their brutally famous barbwire match that they have the scars to show for.
This low budget video has become an underground legend because of the pure and gripping honesty it brings home. There is no filter or conflicting interest to censor the details. In WWE video ECW releases there is always that thin level of barrier since Vince McMahon's company owns the rights to the former hardcore company. This video does not involve anyone with a financial conflict that might sugarcoat old stories involving current wrestling money banks.
It's been a while since wrestling was discussed in my articles (like never), but I like to discuss the gold ol' days of wrasslin so here goes. In a world where WWE is the big shark or even the only shark of wrestling home video...there have been some great independent documentaries. One great underground documentary is "Forever Hardcore."
This 2005 classic was directed by Jeremy Borash (yes the TNA guy) and featured uncensored and in depth behind the scenes history of ECW. This is achieved via in depth interviews with the hardcore legends themselves.
Names like Terry Funk, Sandman, Sabu, New Jack, and Francine give the inside scoop down memory lane.
What stands out is the vivid detail that the most memorable moments in ECW are described with commentary. The "night the line was crossed" in which Extreme Championship Wrestling came to be is put in perspective by Shane Douglas (including his now legendary "shoot" promo). New Jack holds no punches in describing his many controversial matches including the one that lead to his arrest! My favorite moment was Terry Funk and Sabu (who rarely does interviews) discussing their brutally famous barbwire match that they have the scars to show for.
This low budget video has become an underground legend because of the pure and gripping honesty it brings home. There is no filter or conflicting interest to censor the details. In WWE video ECW releases there is always that thin level of barrier since Vince McMahon's company owns the rights to the former hardcore company. This video does not involve anyone with a financial conflict that might sugarcoat old stories involving current wrestling money banks.
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