By Richard Gardner, Torch specialist

"For everyone who said we were old, for everyone who said we couldn't do it, that was one hell of an f'n PPV."
- Tommy Dreamer at the end of the Hardcore Justice Pay Per View.

No it wasn't. For all of the questionable booking that plagues TNA, there are normally two or three very good matches on their pay shows. From my view, Hardcore Justice was easily the worst Pay-Per-View of the year.

TNA should not be demonized for trying something different. The sheer volume of PPV events they put out means there is some room for experimentation. Putting on a tribute to a promotion of which they did not own the intellectual property was a tall order.

Taz opened the PPV delivering a speech about how ECW was categorized as garbage by some critics, when in actuality the promotion regularly delivered excellent wrestling over the course of its existence. I have no idea if these comments were aimed directly at Eric Bischoff, but he was on the money with his remarks, which were a great way to open Hardcore Justice. Unfortunately, quality wrestling was absent on Sunday night, with the main event between Rob Van Dam and Sabu being the best of a bad bunch.

ECW was revolutionary when it was in business, but the concepts that Paul Heyman used to push his wrestlers have been rehashed by other promotions ever since and no longer look ground-breaking a decade-and-a-half later. What was universally recognized as Heyman's best trait as a booker was getting the most out of his wrestlers by hiding their weaknesses. This would have been a welcome philosophy on Sunday night.

RVD vs. Sabu was a lively encounter, owing to Sabu being far more mobile than expected. However, the fact that they moved so blatantly from one spot to another reinforced some of the more negative perceptions of ECW. Nevertheless, the main event had its moments and was far superior to the undercard.

Everyone has the right to make a living, and it's difficult to criticize the wrestlers who turned up on Sunday night, many of whom have been out of top promotions for a number of years. Still, there was nothing on the undercard that ever threatened to turn into a good match. Stevie Richards was in decent shape, but you sense that some of the other wrestlers could have done with greater notice of the reunion. Added to which many of the wrestlers seemed to be moving gingerly as a result of years of wresting a punishing hardcore style, the combined effects of which did not help the quality of the PPV.

Despite the plethora of blown spots in the undercard, the two low points came later in the show. Team 3D's match against Axle Rotten and Balls Mahoney seemed to be an attempt to take pro wrestling back to the dark ages, complete with potentially concussion-inducing headshots. The brutal post match fight between the Dudleys and the Gangstas was equally brutal, but laughably ended with the two teams hugging each other. The word "kayfabe" doesn't seem to be in the vocabulary of most wrestling bookers these days, but to end the fight this way was utterly ridiculous. The majority of wrestling fans know that it is a work, but suspension of disbelief is an essential element of enjoying any wrestling show.

Still, the low point of the card was yet to come. Early in the Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven match, Dreamer took a drop toehold to an upright chair, resulting in him opening up a large gash. Raven then proceeded to beat down the bloody Dreamer right in front of his kids in the front row. It was an idiotic spot, which drew no heat, and all of the participants involved should have known better before performing it. The spot added nothing to the match except the feeling that viewers were watching something incredibly seedy.

TNA putting on an ECW-themed PPV without being able to legally use the word "ECW" or the majority of the character's names was a challenge in itself. Unfortunately, TNA did not rise to the challenge and were unable to produce an authentic ECW experience. The negative stereotypes that Taz referred to in his opening speech about ECW being all violence and no substance were reinforced by the spotfest of a main event, the headshots in the Dudleys-Gangstas brawl, and the needless brutality of the Dreamer-Raven match.

If you are looking to relive what was a historically important promotion, then track down some ECW DVDs, especially WWE's products. Despite being demonized by TNA during the hype for "Hardcore Justice," Vince McMahon has produced two excellent footnotes to the company's legacy in "Rise and Fall of ECW" documentary and the 2005 "One Night Stand" PPV, both of which really captured the spirit of the promotion. The ending of Hardcore Justice, with the wrestlers deferring to TNA president Dixie Carter, proved what an inauthentic ECW experience this was.

No wonder Paul Heyman did not want to get involved.

[Torch art credit Joe Borzotta (c) PWTorch.com]

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