This DVD features matches from ECW circa ‘94/’95 with comments and memories from Ian & Axl Rotten. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I thought getting a collection showcasing their feuds with each other, The Pitbulls and Public Enemy had to be worth a look, especially with the Rottens themselves as tour guides. Having seen their shoot interviews, I knew they could be counted on for comments as outrageous and hardcore as their matches… They certainly didn’t disappoint.

The DVD begins with Ian and Axl sitting in the "luxurious" RF Video office giving a brief introduction while an on screen graphic displays the date of the filming - 5/23/2005. Compared to the way they’re dressed, the plain white walls of the RF offices look luxurious indeed! Both dressed in T-shirts and Ian sporting a ratty ball cap, they look like they just climbed out of a semi-truck on their way to delivering a load of string beans to Utah.

This matches run complete with the original commentary while the Rottens provide voice-over comments. As most people are probably familiar with the matches themselves I will forgo any in depth descriptions of the action and concentrate instead on the newly added Rotten insights. The view switches throughout the DVD from the action in the ring to shots of them watching which was at first a little distracting but soon became quite enjoyable. People unfamiliar with Ian and Axl may get a little confused because at the time these matches were filmed Ian was the fat one and Axl was… well, the not so fat one but now it’s the other way around.

With little preamble the first match, their "Bad Breed Death Match" from 2/4/95 begins. Axl explains this was their first match against each other in the ECW arena and the basic premise of the match was for him to beat the shit out of Ian, which is certainly what he did. Ian remarks that the story behind it was him wanting a piece of Axl for "stealing my girlfriend" and that it was based in some truth. Nothing like a little "legit heat" as he put it, to make for a hard hitting encounter. He also remarks that he would never have put the moves on Axl’s girlfriend at the time because she was only 14.

The match itself is a beat down of epic proportions as Axl pounded Ian from one end of the ECW arena to the next. They laugh and reminisce about the infamous ECW frying pans. Axl is quick to point out Ian’s copious amounts of blood spillage describing him as "bleeding like a fucking pig." Ian seems bemused at the lack of scars on his arm back then. When the fight goes over the guardrails into the crowd it begins a running joke that continues throughout the disc – Ian’s ungainly and clumsy efforts to climb over the steel barricades. They talk about a "bleacher suplex" that turned into a brainbuster by mistake but seem unsure what match it actually occurred in. (Wasn’t this one.) Near the matches end, with Ian a bloody mess in mid-ring being beaten and savaged, Axl remarks with some pride "I’m just fucking you up!" They both get a kick out of watching the finish where Ian pleads for mercy before pulling off the quick pinfall using his feet on the ropes for leverage.

Match 2: Barbed Wire Bat Match 2/25/95

Axl describes this as the first ever barbed wire bat match in ECW and adds it "never would have happened if I hadn’t made the bat." The match begins with Ian running to the ring and grabbing the bat from a ring attendant then smashing him with it which Axl calls him on. Ian laughingly relates a story about the same guy also driving a ring to Kentucky for him and Ian stiffing him on the rental. "I paid him eventually, just not right away." They give a running commentary on the action with Ian remarking that swinging the bat into the post "really hurt" which I found hilarious considering how much punishment I’ve seen this guy endure. Axl seems in awe of Ian’s ability to bleed from anywhere, in this case the back of his head.

They question Joey Style's sexual orientation and talk about finding out they were booked in the match from a "mark lackey" over the phone which leads into the first of many rips on Paul Heyman. These guys had me laughing out loud with their commentary on this match and still managed to convey some interesting information – like how the boys in the back reacted to them really hitting each other with the bat. Axl laughs about the infamous spot where the bat gets stuck in his leg and he just knew that was "a great photo op!"

It’s one crack after another from the Rottens as the match unfolds and it’s apparent they have fond memories of this encounter. One second they’re laughing about the one or two weak blows they delivered during the match and the next threatening cameraman Doug Gentry not to eat the pizza before the bout is over. This was always a favorite match of mine and seeing it again with added commentary from two of wrestling's best "color" guys was a real treat. I challenge anyone to watch this and not laugh.

Axl is in fine form, ragging on Ian's struggle to get over guard rails and dryly remarking "I'm very spry" while watching himself splat on the floor like a chunk of raw liver after a clothesline from the apron. Ian is still looking for the "bleacher brainbuster" but again, wrong match. Watching the footage of Ian getting his shirt ripped off then doing the "Jerry Lawler thing" to reveal his breasts leads to observations about ECW's other pair of famous titties. They talk about the finish not going as planned and Ian taking the bat right square in the "ding ding." After the match Axl rips on Heyman some more calling him a "prick" and a "cocksucker."

Match 3: Hair vs Hair 4/8/95

I'd never seen this match before and apparently, neither had the Rottens. "Is this hair vs hair?" Rather than provide a background they seem unable to recall, the boys start giving pointers and revealing the "secrets of pro wrestling." For instance... "Black hides fat but it doesn't show color." - Ian, and "If you're gonna bleed all over the place, wear a white shirt." - Axl. When the match action heads into the stands they reminisce about how it was always interesting back in those days to brawl through a crowd with no security present. Ian takes a moment to point out an actual wrestling move: "That was a snapmare down the stairs!"

Obviously getting a chuckle out of seeing this old match, the Rottens joke about looking like "Booker T and Stevie Ray hitting each other with aluminum foil." When the action returns to the ring and depicts Axl digging an object into Ian's neck they remember the spot clearly and talk about wanting to do more than just tables and chairs. Very funny stuff as Axl describes Ian suggesting he stab him in the neck and Ian recalling asking Axl to stick it right in his pec "cause I had lots of fat there." It is a very brutal segment in the match and the boys proudly exclaim "We were stabbing people before it was fashionable!" Ya gotta love the Rottens!

Eventually the mat action spills outside again and another Ian flop over the guardrail breaks both guys up as they remember him kicking some chick in the face on the way over. Finally, to Ian's excitement, we get the botched "bleacher suplex" that turned into a near fatal "bleacher brainbuster." I'm sure it was as great as he exclaims but the footage reveals nothing of the actual move because the crowd blocks the view. As the match returns to the ring they criticize the finish for going too long and Axl suggests that he never went for enough pin attempts in his matches and why he should have.

They watch Ian's post match assault on Axl and rip on Sign Guy Dudley and Paul Heyman. Axl thinks hair vs hair was a pretty lame angle at this point in their feud and offers a hilarious alternative for a match stipulation. They both howl at the ECW fans chanting "Sid" while Ian stabbed his brother with a pair of scissors.

Match 4: Taipei Death Match 7/1/95

This is probably the single most famous match of their feud and Ian claims the idea as his own. He describes smashing the beer bottles for the glass shards used in the bout and relates a funny story about labeling the cooler he carried them in with "Fragile" stickers just to fuck with people at the airport. They talk about how important it was to show fans at ringside that it was real glass and Axl describes the limited psychology behind such a match as "all about punching."

They rag on Bill Alfonso and reveal that when he was 'checking' the cut over Ian's eye he was actually squeezing it to open it up more. They also say the ringside brawl between the Gangstas and Public Enemy was just to get Alfonso out of the ring so they could get down to it. As everyone who's seen it knows, they got down to it indeed.

Rather than comment on something they could probably call with their eyes closed the brothers Rotten instead rip on various ECW employees and tear into Wade Keller and Bruce Mitchell. (I wonder if they reviewed this DVD?) Eventually, Axl remarks that they really weren't doing much - "just a fight" but the crowd was super hot for it because it was a good fight. Ian points out another ECW first... the use of thumbtacks and explains there wasn't very many because ECW's limited budget meant he had to buy his own. (Insert your own rip on Paul Heyman here.)

Match 5: Bad Breed vs Public Enemy - Baseball Bat Match 8/13/94

The Rottens comment on the extended delay to any real action in this match by saying it was old style heat building. Axl remarks that ECW fans in '99 would never have sat still for Public Enemy's stalling but puts it over as a way of getting the people involved. Ian seems more amazed at his own scar-free sans tattoos appearance. They talk about Ted Petty in respectful terms but remark that the workrate goes down considerably whenever Johnny Grunge enters the match.

The Rottens seem confused about where the match took place but remember clearly how much the heavy wooden chairs in the venue hurt. Ian takes a few good natured shots at Axl during this match about him always letting Ian do the bulk of the work and calls Axl a son-of-a-bitch for always sticking him with Grunge during the brawls. Axl laughs about his own selling, likening it to suffering a stroke. In a totally surreal moment they both admit to being huge Dusty Rhodes marks!

At times they fall silent and just watch the action occasionally pointing out a blown spot. "Blame Grunge." The bulk of the match is spent discussing just what the hell the Bat stipulation was. Frankly, I'm glad I never saw this match before because the Rottens commentary was its saving grace! Watching Johnny Grunge spill himself over a guardrail is funny but hearing Axl describe it with "Wow. I never realized he was such a luchador." is gold. Pure gold.

Match 6: Bad Breed vs The Pitbulls 10/1/94

The Rottens describe this match as the complete opposite of the prior Public Enemy match. (And they'd be right.) They talk about having a "good run with these guys" and speak kindly of Anthony Durante. "God rest his soul." Axl explains the back story about Bad Breed laughing at the Pitbulls being choke slammed by 911 and this was their revenge.

The match itself is short and basically a squash that sees Ian take a top rope power bomb before succumbing to the pin. Seeing this prompts him to once again chide Axl for being such a "lousy partner." Axl describes their post match beatdown of the Pitbulls as the set up for their dog collar match and laughingly comments on Anthony struggling to free his blade for the required color. When he finally does do the blade job he strikes a gusher and Ian comments about the amount of blood. When Ian Rotten is impressed with your blood loss you know you've done a great job, (and probably going to need a transfusion.) Axl berates the Pitbulls for not understanding that babyfaces should "stay down" after a beating like that and basically fucked up the whole thing by getting up and walking out of the ring.

Match 7: Bad Breed vs The Pitbulls - Dog Collar Match 11/18/94

At this point in the filming it looks like the pizza is catching up to the Rottens. They both seem tired and Axl in particular looks hot, tired and sweaty. They make a half hearted effort at recalling the match.... Ian: "This isn't the one where losers split up?" Axl: "I don't know, they all look the same." The match up itself saw Axl and Anthony chained together and Ian hooked up to Wolfe which prompts him to once again exclaim he always got stuck with the worst guy.

They don't spend a lot of time commenting on the action as Ian recognizes the ring posts as ones used in a different match between him and Axl. This leads into them relating a story about Ian posting Axl and busting him open the hardway and Axl's subsequent trip to the hospital for stitches. Turns out their match was the same night as a Grateful Dead concert and a bloody Axl had to share the emergency room with a bunch of Dead fans freaking out on acid. Truthfully, the story is better than the match they're supposed to be talking about.

They do offer some insights on the match - Axl relates how he hated big muscled guys not selling, especially a punch to the face and Ian talks about him and Wolfe getting shit for breaking a table. (It was the night of the first Public Enemy - Sabu/Taz match up and tables were reserved.) At one point, Ian turns to the camera and says: "Doug, we have to stop after this. After eating that pizza I have to take a Cornette and wipe my Heyman." When the match does end, Ian remarks that it went too long and Axl... God love his honesty, replies: "Exactly. Quite frankly, I'm bored."

The closing wrap-up sees the Rottens shilling their shoot interviews and Ian delivering the most God awful rendition of "Behind Closed Doors" ever recorded.

Wizard wrap up: Not for the casual fan by any means but for fans of ECW and the Rottens this DVD is well worth the purchase price. Axl is a funny guy and Ian is... well, Ian and if you're a fan of ball busting hardcore action, that's a good thing.

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