I just figured I'd make a thread about this. I started watching it last night and I enjoyed what I'd watched (I've seen pretty much everything except for a few matches on here before) and I was a little surprised at the style of the DVD. They did this one the same style as Shawn Michaels In the Vault DVD. There's not really a piece on the wrestler, but it has matches with stories around them. Not a bad idea for RVD as I don't think they'd do anything more than a fluff piece on him anyway. The match selection here isn't too shabby as they put his best ECW stuff on here except with maybe a few exceptions, but I understand why some where left out. To be totally honest though, I really didn't like the match choices from the WWE however. I thought he's had several matches better than those in the WWE, although the ladder match with Christian I do think should be on here though.

I bought it last night and have only made it through 3 matches so far (due to time constraints in my life).

So far I'm really enjoying it and it looks like WWE have scored another hit DVD.

I must say though, that every sort of WWE DVD release of ECW material pisses me off though. This is a good DVD and all, but I hate the fact that they have to edit all the original music out of it. UGH, that is SOOOOOO fucking annoying.

Unfortuneatly, that's music rights for ya.


Of course, they NOW own the rights to the music, but that's a great help for this set.
Maybe if Raven comes back and he gets his own DVD (which I'd kill for)......

I've read that they now have the music rights to it, when did that news break? I didn't hear anything about it until today....

They bought them from Harry Slash on Monday

Of course they do all of that, after the RVD and the ECW DVD's are released.

That's WWE for that. I so want this DVD... although I'm still not bored with my Chris Benoit DVD. So... Awesome... I'm obviously not a big fan of RVD anymore, but I love these kind of things.

The dvd has RVD at his very best. I just watched the Bigelow match last night and marked out like a little kid.

I always thought highly of that match, I know it's not the smartest match ever worked.....but it always got the job done for me.

Lance Storm did the absolute WORST CHAIR SHOT ever on RVD at Barely Legal. I MEAN THE WORST!

So far, saw Robbie V v. Scotty Flamingo, RVD vs. Axl Rotten, RVD vs. Sabu, and RVD/Sabu vs. Eliminators. Enjoyable so far, although the first match was basically a 3:00 squash, and the match with Rotten was as paint-by-numbers as you could get.

I just bought this last night, and have found it entertaining so far. I'll post some more in depth thought in the next day or so, as I've only gone through a couple of matches so far.

How goofy did RVD look in WCW? I don't remember him at all, but it was cool having one WWE disc that didn't speak so poorly of WCW. Seing Raven play the traditional heel as Flamingo was also kind of strange.

vs. Axl Rotten - We only got ECW TV here for a few weeks in the early ECW days before it was taken off the air, but Axl Rotten was the idea I had of a typical ECW worker...and I hated it. I still hate guys like that. I didn't like the match, but being RVD's first in ECW, it was cool to see.

After seeing the match with Dreamer from N2R, I just realized how seriously over-booked ECW was at times, even moreso than WCW during the Russo days.

Weirdly enough I attended that show. You think it's overbooked watching it....you should have seen it live.

The thing with the overbooking while comparing ECW and WCW was, Paul KNEW how to overbook, even if he did over do it, while Russo's booking always fell flat and came off looking retarded. Any early ECW is so much better than Russo-era WCW.

The over-booking I forgot to mention, had me cheering like a bitch. Can someone explain why Stevie Richards, Doug Furnas, and Phil LaFon helped RVD? I thought Lafon/Furnas were gone from WWF by then, and Richards... I guess thats coming from the old feud with Raven, but my ECW history sucks ass.

They were still kinda using them as "Team WWF" even though they were all gone. They just made it like a band of misfits type deal where Vince although not using them, sent them(with the steroid freak Barrackas or however it's spelled) to team with Sabu/RVD/Fonsie to destroy ECW.

OK two more things to comment on:

RVD's ability to sell has often been questioned, and rightfully so, but his ability to sell a single move is great. The way he takes a DDT, going straight up on his head, sometimes flipping over, is incredible. It makes that move look devistating. Also, check his sell of Dreamers piledriver from N2R. Un-freaking-believable. He made it look like that piledriver had absolutely killed him. Check the crowd's reaction. Beautiful.


This was the first time I had watched the Bam-Bam match, and Holy God was that entertaining. Those two jumps to the crowd were just sick, and apparently what made RVD a bonafide star in ECW. I want WWE tot turn him heel. Bring in Fonzie, and take the chains off his moveset. Let him go all out. The guy will draw huge.

(image of Triple H appears out of thin air)

THOU SHALT NOT DRAWETH BETTER THAN THEE!

WMD, I usually stand on my own with this....but I though that match against Bam Bam's was RVD's best match of his career.

Well, the next match I'm gonna comment on is vs. Lynn from Living Dangerously, which I think trumps the Bam-Bam match. Not by much though. I was shocked at how good that match was.


About RVD/Lynn: OK, let me get this out of the way. Yes it was a spotfest. Psychology great? Nope. Over-all good selling? No. Technically perfect? Huh-uh. Two gifted athletes putting everything out there for the crowd, going HARD for the entire match, pulling out incredibly creative moves all along? You betcha.

Seriously, the guys didn't slow down for the whole match, and there weren't even any really contrived spots. This was probably the best full-out spotfest ever. I don't know how anyone wouldn't enjoy this. If there were one match used to properly represent ECW, this would be the best they could offer.

I hear everyone talking about how the Lynn/RVD series "hasn't aged well."

I think those people are full of shit.

I agree with you. I love those matches.

I wanted to add my thoughts on the rest of the DvD. Boring.

Not all of it, but nothing stands up to those two (Bam-Bam, Lynn) matches, so it just kind of leaves you hanging. Most of the first disc is very good, while most of the second disc is useless.

Hardy/RVD from Invasion was a pretty good match I thought, but RVD/Jericho was eh and the Ladder Match vs. Christian was OK, but not spectacular.

Personally I would take RVD/Christian Ladder or RVD/Y2J over Hardy/RVD anyday.

To each his own... Back in 2001, I sadly never saw an RVD match (ducks flaming toilet), and this was the first time I got to see him wrestle, so it's more of a sentimental favorite of mine.

See I was raised on "Extreme" RVD so I am also a little biased......

His WWE work is so watered down, with the same exact semi-high spots in every match. It's just not exciting to me.