Barely Legal Thoughts
*Note I watched the DVD version from 2005.
Barely Legal was the first ever ECW PPV event produced by ECW. It took place on April 13, 1997 at the ECW Arena (now known as the 2300 Arena) in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Attendence was at 1,170 with buyrate approximately at 104,000 buys. ECW made it to PPV with a little help from the WWF which they had a small mini alliance with around 1997. Company went with some struggle of airing the PPV due to an incident around the end of the previous year getting the show canceled. It also had some struggles finding a channel to host under Television due to the violence and graphic content that was produced.
The Match Card had a total of 7 aired live with 3 Championship matches. We also had under and midcard matches of feuds setting up for future feuds that would mark a hot time period for the Wrestling promotion.
The Good - The 6 man tag team match would go as the best match of the night. It was wild and the crowd was into it. Was a few botches here and there (I'll get to soon) but at the end it was a wild match between all 6 stars. RVD & Lance Storm had a fun match. It was more of a typical spot fest but it still was entertaining. RVD did well as the cocky heel spitting in the fans face. The 3 Way ended up being fun too and Terry Funk had by far the loudest pop of the night being incredible at his age (53) taking shots like that.
The Meh - Taz vs. Sabu for being well-build up intense feud didn't feel like a brutal match. They just didn't get enough time to do much. This was later explained due to time cut. The opening was kinda dull as it was just a typical squash. Side-note Bubba Ray was said to be injured. Not sure if it was the right decision to give Funk the ECW title belt from Raven. While it was a great moment for the crowd, it was said Raven looked kinda weak getting it taken from him for the next period.
The Bad - Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2 was the only snooze fest for the night. It went 20 minutes too long and the crowd didn't care for it. The 2 didn't have no chemistry. Shane should have been in a better position. Time for the show also messed up the last 30 minutes with clear rush booking. Last thing was the amount of botches. Show had a bunch of Botchfest moments that were pretty hilarious.
Overrall - This show has many opinions now in days. Some say it clearly didn't age well due to budgets by the promotion back then. Others say it's still great as they remember and REAL hardcore fans will still love it as it is. Being a first time project on PPV, I feel Heyman did an good job and it was a fun show at the end. Not one of the best shows of all time but still a Memorable one.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Eliminators: ECW World Tag Team Championship - 2/5
2. Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm - 3/5
3. The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji vs. BWO Japan - 4/5
4. Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2: ECW Television Championship - 1/5
5. Taz vs. Sabu - 2.5/5
6. Stevie Richards vs. Sandman vs. Terry Funk - 3/5
7. Raven vs. Terry Funk: ECW World Heavyweight Championship - 3/5
Best Match - The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji vs. BWO Japan
Worst Match - Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2
Most Memorable Moment - Sabu's botch and repeat. The You F**ked up chants were hilarious.
Top 5 Performers
1. Terry Funk - Still had it
2. The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji - Good Performance
3. BWO Japan - Good Performance
4. Rob Van Dam - Good Performance
5. Lance Storm - Good Performance.
Barely Legal was the first ever ECW PPV event produced by ECW. It took place on April 13, 1997 at the ECW Arena (now known as the 2300 Arena) in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Attendence was at 1,170 with buyrate approximately at 104,000 buys. ECW made it to PPV with a little help from the WWF which they had a small mini alliance with around 1997. Company went with some struggle of airing the PPV due to an incident around the end of the previous year getting the show canceled. It also had some struggles finding a channel to host under Television due to the violence and graphic content that was produced.
The Match Card had a total of 7 aired live with 3 Championship matches. We also had under and midcard matches of feuds setting up for future feuds that would mark a hot time period for the Wrestling promotion.
The Good - The 6 man tag team match would go as the best match of the night. It was wild and the crowd was into it. Was a few botches here and there (I'll get to soon) but at the end it was a wild match between all 6 stars. RVD & Lance Storm had a fun match. It was more of a typical spot fest but it still was entertaining. RVD did well as the cocky heel spitting in the fans face. The 3 Way ended up being fun too and Terry Funk had by far the loudest pop of the night being incredible at his age (53) taking shots like that.
The Meh - Taz vs. Sabu for being well-build up intense feud didn't feel like a brutal match. They just didn't get enough time to do much. This was later explained due to time cut. The opening was kinda dull as it was just a typical squash. Side-note Bubba Ray was said to be injured. Not sure if it was the right decision to give Funk the ECW title belt from Raven. While it was a great moment for the crowd, it was said Raven looked kinda weak getting it taken from him for the next period.
The Bad - Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2 was the only snooze fest for the night. It went 20 minutes too long and the crowd didn't care for it. The 2 didn't have no chemistry. Shane should have been in a better position. Time for the show also messed up the last 30 minutes with clear rush booking. Last thing was the amount of botches. Show had a bunch of Botchfest moments that were pretty hilarious.
Overrall - This show has many opinions now in days. Some say it clearly didn't age well due to budgets by the promotion back then. Others say it's still great as they remember and REAL hardcore fans will still love it as it is. Being a first time project on PPV, I feel Heyman did an good job and it was a fun show at the end. Not one of the best shows of all time but still a Memorable one.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Eliminators: ECW World Tag Team Championship - 2/5
2. Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm - 3/5
3. The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji vs. BWO Japan - 4/5
4. Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2: ECW Television Championship - 1/5
5. Taz vs. Sabu - 2.5/5
6. Stevie Richards vs. Sandman vs. Terry Funk - 3/5
7. Raven vs. Terry Funk: ECW World Heavyweight Championship - 3/5
Best Match - The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji vs. BWO Japan
Worst Match - Shane Douglas vs. Pitbull 2
Most Memorable Moment - Sabu's botch and repeat. The You F**ked up chants were hilarious.
Top 5 Performers
1. Terry Funk - Still had it
2. The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji - Good Performance
3. BWO Japan - Good Performance
4. Rob Van Dam - Good Performance
5. Lance Storm - Good Performance.
