Collect The Rise Fall Of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling Fabricated By Thom Loverro Distributed As E-Text

any former ECW fan this book is a must read, I loved ECW and was sad when it folded, I know they made a DVD before this book was made but they could only fit so much of the story of ECW into aminute DVD.
They book filled in a lot of holes, If you loved ECW like I did you should read this, The best book about professional wrestling, This book is another one of my thrift shop finds, I was really excited to find this there, The book gives the history of ECW from it's first days inuntil it's last in, I loved learning more about the company How it started and what made them popular, the business side of things merchandise, setting up shows, pay per views, etc.
and, of course, the wrestlers,

I really like that the author didn't censor the wrestlers when he interviewed them, If you don't like swears, especially the "f word", you might not like that, For me, it made it that much more authentic, There are interviews with a lot of the top of the promotion: Paul Heyman, Tazz, Tommy Dreamer, Chris Jericho, Stevie Richards, Spike Dudley and many more.


I watched ECW as a kid, but I didn't understand or appreciate how much freedom the wrestlers had with their characters, They connected with fans on such an intense, personal level because they were your average joes, Nobody was extra good looking, nobody had really flashy stuff, They just went out there and gave it their all night after night, And they were super violent,

I felt bad for them as I read about their missed opportunities and how some of the things they needed to stay open fell through and, in the end, it got to the point where Heyman couldn't even pay the wrestlers.
As cocky as he may be on TV, he sounded heartbroken about the way things went,

Reading this book was like reliving my childhood and watching these great matches for a second time, I would recommend this to fans of ECW, fans of pro wrestling and anyone who likes books about sports, It's a good read for people who like ECW, but not for people who like wellwritten books, It's a disjointed but informative book with some interesting interviews and some new insights into the company, It's nothing groundbreaking but a good summary of ECW, Really cool book. Rated highly partly because it brought back so many memories, Rating.

Not the most comprehensive read amp you can sense the WWE spin machine not being too harsh on Heyman amp the vitriol towards WCW yet an enjoyable exploration behind the scenes of Extreme

The wrestler interviews are what standout amp reliving the feuds in the glory days also make for a good read Constant match results could have been replaced w more backstage wrestler comments


This was an enjoyable read but not really in depth enough to make it an excellent read.
It was very much a whistlestop account of how ECW came to be, was built up and then how it fell, While entertaining a fan of this genre might feel a tad disappointed that major issues and stories don't get the amount of space they require and that the history of the federation is very much watered down.
As a huge fan of ECW when I was younger, I was eager to read this one, I was expecting some interesting behind the scenes tidbits and even a bit of gossip,

What I ended up reading was a book that managed to be both informative but also rather disjointed, Each chapter, as it seemed to get going and becoming interesting, would then come to a halt with endless results listed, Don't get me wrong, I don't mind seeing who beat who but it made the chapters feel disjointed and jerky,

I would have liked to have read more of the interviews with the wrestlers and the other people involved with ECW, Even the short bits here were some of the most interesting parts for me, as a fan, They had some of the most unique insights due to having been there,

All in all, an interesting but rather hit and miss book, Still worth picking up, even just for the short interview parts, interesting, but could have focused more on the stores and less on running down the match list of every ecw show ever, Very proPaul Heyman biased, none of the stories about wrestlers not getting paid, A fun, quick read about the company which changed professional wrestling, Would be interesting to have a follow up regarding the WWE reincarnation of the brand and the continuing journey of the legend who is Paul Heyman.
Very well put together book, but it is slow at spots, Just reading the names from wrestling world past was enough to keep reading, It did bring back a lot of memories, Well worth the read.

This book is just ok, it doesnt really go in depth and it seems like most of the quotes from the people involved were all taken from documentaries that were already done on the subject and that Ive already watched.
Still on my wrestling kick I picked this one up giving some of the history of the wrestling promotion that really changed the scene of wrestling back in thes.
I enjoyed this one because I am a wrestling geek, This book even reviewed some of the storylines from the promotion, This filled in some of the back story to some of the wrestlers that I saw when I was watching WWE, I so wanted this book to be astar book, I was a big wrestling fan, still am to some extent, but I missed seeing the ECW hype in it's time, being on the wrong side of the Atlantic.
This isn't a bad book by any stretch of the word, it just feels to sanitised and rushed, whether this is because it's bought out by WWE I've no idea.
Certainly reading about it in the wrestling magazines there seemed to be more issues between ECW and WWF now WWE than are covered in the book.


At the end of the day, and enjoyable albeit brief look at what was a supernova in it's time, but I feel there's a real book about the rise and fall of ECW waiting to be written.
ECW! ECW! ECW! The greatest tribute is to founder Paul Heyman!!!!!! Lightwieght and very little, 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 One of my least favorite wrestling books that I've read.
It was essentially a work, just giving results of ecw shows in chronological order, No real "behind the scenes" dirt or anything interesting, While watching the originalhour WWE documentary of the same name at the same time I was reading this book, I feel that “The Rise and Fall of ECW” provides a fantastic overview featuring select storylines and numerous interviews with key subjects into one of the greatest wrestling promotions of all time, Extreme Championship Wrestling.


As a wrestling fan who grew up in the earlys era of WWF Smackdown, I was always curious into the nowdefunct promotion known as ECW.
This companys history wasnt as widely told or featured as WWE or WCW, while only quick highlights involving true hardcore moments ever came across my TV screen when referring to ECW.
Now, my thirst for knowledge has been satisfied though I am thirsty for more after reading and watching this book and documentary, respectively, Here I learned how special this wrestling company and its talent were and how important Paul Heyman and his philosophy were in making ECW successful for so long.
I also sympathize with Heymans rationale for the death of ECW and how truly close they were to ensuring ECW would still be running strong today.


NOTE: I do wish to warn the reader that/of this book reads as a wordforword transcript of the aforementioned documentary, and though I highly recommend that the video be viewed as well, maybe you should not watch it at the same time as when you read this book.
I committed this sin and was quite irritated by hearing and reading the same interviews being used in each project, As important as the documentary is to telling the story of ECW and beautifully done,stars, this book should still be given a chance as new details and opinions are shared that have not been featured anywhere else.
Is it possible for a book to have too much information I am easily the most enthusiastic fan of professional wrestling I know, and this book seemed to drag for me.
There was definitely a great attention to detail, but I think the largerthanlife characters and their unbelievable stories were obscured by the tedium, Given the option, watch the DVD instead, .