The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)

The book is labeled a Media Tie-In, hence it coincides with the DVD that has the same title.Simply, ECW was too small to become a national power and became too big to not meet its financial ruin. It was always one big financial deal from taking that giant step into the big leagues of WWE and WCW, but every turn was greeted with a brick wall.That doesn't diminish the impact the group had on professional wrestling, but author Thom Loverro doesn't present the financial angle to the reader until the closing pages.Throughout the chapters there is criticism of WCW for "stealing" talent while WWE had a reciprocal agreement to loan/share wrestlers, in particular during the years that Paul Heyman assumed full control of ECW.I question this, as it seems that ECW talent was basically buried by both organizations, with wrestlers returning simply because their characters were nothing but jobbers with the "big two." It made the wrestlers appear to be damaged goods and certainly hurt ECW in expanding its audience.For example, is there any difference with Shane Douglas becoming an obnoxious teacher of rasslin' and Justin Credible being squashed in WWE or Mike Awesome portraying a dopey 1960s beach bum and the fabulous Lucha Libre flyers losing their masks and high spots in WCW? These performers were all champions or those who had unbelievable main events in ECW before moving on (and, for some, returning to ECW).For those who were fans of ECW, though, the book is a great read.For the fans who are watching the "new" ECW for the first time, you will learn what made the product so exciting and controversial. And why it can never recapture that magic.

Over all a good quick read. Thought at times they glossed over issues that Paul Heyman had with lying to the wrestlers or his constant money problems. But overall worth the read.

When the publisher of book is associated with some aspects of the real history that is the title of the book, a good portion of the "true story" is intentionally neglected.

A lot of unknown information about the creation and rise of ecw would defiantly recommend to read if you enjoy wrestling

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! IF YOU ARE A ECW FAN THIS IS A MUST IT GOES FROM THE EARLY STAGES OF THE COMPANY ALL THE WAY TO THE CLOSING OF THE DOORS OF ECW BUT. I WOULD RATE THIS BOOK 5/5. THIS IS A ABSOLUTE GRAB A MUST READ!!!!!!!

A great companion piece to the Rise and fall of ECW DVD. A lot of the information is the same as whats in the DVD but there is also new interviews and some great pictures. A must read for fans of ECW and fans of wrestling history

I enjoyed the behind the scenes look. I didn't realize the number of individuals who got their start in ECW.

Wonderful book! If you're an old ECW wrestling fan, you won't put it down.

Very good read on ECW earlier days and up to the first PPV in 1997. Ends a bit abruptly and lacks in detail somewhat on the final days of ECW. Good read in any case.

The book pretty much covers the same ground as the DVD does just with a few extra interviews so if you want the definitive story then you are better buying the DVD, however if you have not heard of the story then the book is a must read

Kept him out of mischief for a while. Great wrestling fan both WWE and TNA. Hard to source, Amazon is a great website for some unusual items that are not freely available to buy. Thanks

Very enjoyable read

Brilliant book. Quick dispatch time