By Phil Allely
Its was one of TNA’s best offerings of the year and yet somehow HardCore Justice became labelled as a late and less well-meaning ECW tribute show, instead of the nostalgic trip down memory lane it was for everyone in attendance, watching at home and participating.
This well timed double disc set adds even more value to what could have been a hugely successful single DVD set. All of the Pay-Per-View matches and here in their entirety, plus some backstage interviews and segments that they didn’t have time for on the night.
This was a night that TNA President Dixie Carter handed over to former ECW legend Tommy Dreamer, after he and his group of interlopes decided to gatecrash TNA programming, Dreamer bringing Raven, Stevie Richard and Rhino with him to make his point. Dreamer even went as far as to book the entire show, including his brutal and bloody final encounter with longtime foe Raven.
So settle down to see the likes of The F.B.I (Guido, Luke, Smothers, Big Sal), Kid Kash, Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, PJ Polaco, Brother Runt, Sabu, The Gangstas, Too Cold Scorpio and many others come back for one last hurrah.
TNA may not have been able to use the ECW letters, but that didn’t stop the fans chanting them and the imported roster of former Philadelphia grapplers mentioning a three letter company every so often either. ECW’s short-lived reign as the ultimate hardcore promotion has stood the stead of time very well indeed, even after two attempts by the WWE to reinvent the promotion and in turn kill it off once again, the legacy of Paul Heyman’s dream has lived on. Heyman was the only thing missing at the event here. He was said to have been contacted, but a deal could not be struck unfortunately.
The match quality of HardCore Justice does vary, but that doesn’t sway from the enthusiasm and energy the participants bring to proceedings, many of these guys are so beat after their decades of violence that they really have no reason to be ashamed of how they now perform. It’s amazing to see people like Sabu still able to pull of the moves he does, on the flip side it’s painful at times to see the former Balls Mahoney (Kahoneys here at HCJ) still putting himself in situations involving fire and so many of the guys happily bleeding for our entertainment, but that is what ECW and it certainly is in their lifeblood.
HardCore Justice was a great night for old school hardcore wrestling fans, people who longed for ECW to continue and those younger fans who wondered what was so special about a company that WWE made PG.
The extras are superb too, the second disc houses an hour long documentary style piece that sees all the former ECW guys talk about the show, their hopes, dreams and memories. There is also a Q&A session with Tommy Dreamer and Mick Foley, plus a selection of photo galleries and a music video of the event.
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