Plot: What’s it about?
As we all know, Paul Heyman and his ECW wrestlers changed the face of American sports entertainment, thanks to their outrageous approach. Although hardcore matches had been taking place for years in Japan and Mexico, America hadn’t seen much of it, until ECW stormed the scene and set a new standard. ECW was a smash success and produced many great events & superstars, but this is where it all started. This is their first effort on the Pay-Per-View world, one which offered an excellent selection of matches, without a doubt. Even the lower card matches are great ones, but as the card moves ahead, they get even better, as Terry Funk kicks & claws his way toward the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. I hold the Sabu & Taz contest as the best match of the night, but this is a rock solid card, from start to finish. The three way dance is a classic, while the Michinoku Pro matchup is superb as well, not to mention “The Franchise” in action. Below is a list of the matches that take place during Barely Legal, ECW’s Pay-Per-View debut.
1. The Eliminators vs. The Dudley Boyz
2. Lance Storm vs. Rob Van Dam
3. Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, and Mens Teioh vs. The Great Sasuke, Gran Naniwa, and Masato Yakushiji
4. Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull #2
5. Sabu Taz
6. Terry Funk vs. The Sandman vs. Big Stevie Cool
7. Raven vs. Terry Funk
Video: How does it look?
Barely Legal is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. I was unsure of what to expect here, as the original broadcast didn’t look too good and of course, neither have the various duped tapes I’ve watched since. I was pleasantly surprised however, as this is a very clean and very sharp overall presentation, excellent work. The image shows no signs of flaws at all really, taken from pristine source materials and moved to DVD, with nary a hitch to report. The colors look natural and as intended, while contrast remains on the mark at all times. In the end, Barely Legal has never looked this good and I can’t imagine how it could look much better.
Audio: How does it sound?
A new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is included here, but as this event wasn’t put on with dynamic audio in mind, don’t expect the world here. As usual for ECW, the audio sounds very “live” and while the in-ring vocals are a little soft, the rest of the elements seem in order. The mic work comes through well enough and while I did turn up the volume a couple notches, I often have to do this, even when ECW still had their events on Pay-Per-View. This has a thin texture at times, but supplies a nice overall sound, no real complaints here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes match histories, which focus on how the particular feuds came to be and I think that’s a cool feature indeed.
