| The Rise and Fall of ECW | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Kevin Dunn |
| Written by | Paul Heyman |
| Produced by | Paul Heyman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | WWE Home Video |
Release date |
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Running time | 365 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Rise and Fall of ECW was a 2004[1]direct-to-videodocumentary produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It chronicles the history ofPhiladelphia-basedprofessional wrestling promotionExtreme Championship Wrestling. The documentary features interviews with various performers who worked in the promotion including co-founder and former ownerPaul Heyman as well as performersTazz,Tommy Dreamer,Dawn Marie,Stevie Richards,Mick Foley,Chris Jericho,Lance Storm,Rey Mysterio,Eddie Guerrero,Chris Benoit,Rob Van Dam,Rhyno,Nunzio,Spike Dudley,Bubba Ray Dudley andD'Von Dudley.[2] The documentary also featured interviews with ECW rival company executives, WWE ChairmanVince McMahon and former WCW Senior Vice PresidentEric Bischoff. A book with the same title was published by WWE andPocket Books in 2006,[3] with much of the same information and interviews from the DVD transcribed and included. A 2.5 hour version ofThe Rise and Fall of ECW is available on demand, on theWWE Network.[4]
The documentary proved to be one of the most popular pieces of media ever produced by WWE, with DVDs of the documentary selling in the hundreds of thousands.[5]
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awarded the DVD the "Best Pro Wrestling DVD" of 2005.
In June 2005, an unauthorized DVD calledForever Hardcore was written, directed and produced byJeremy Borash in response toThe Rise and Fall of ECW. The DVD featured interviews with ECW alumni who were not employed by WWE telling their side of ECW's history.[6]
The success ofRise and Fall of ECW andForever Hardcore led to WWE reassessing the value of the ECW brand and directly resulted in WWE hostingECW One Night Stand (2005) to further test how much strength remained in the ECW fandom.[5]
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