Timeline: The History of ECW 1997 as Told by Sabu
Kayfabe Commentaries
Released March 2011
By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

One of the better wrestling-related DVDs I’ve seen in a long time is Timeline: The History of ECW 1997 as Told by Sabu. Kayfabe Commentaries has released a number of Timeline themed releases in the past marching through the history of WWE, but they overhauled everything and perfected the concept with this release.

The kicker here is that thanks to RF Video owning the rights to ECW footage, Kayfabe Commentaries was allowed to use actual footage of ECW’s matches and angles here while Sabu discussed the entire year in-depth. This was truly amazing to look back as Sabu took the viewer back through what was a pivotal year in ECW history.

Kayfabe Commentaries also introduced a grittier setting for this release to complete the ECW theme, as host Sean Oliver interviewed Sabu in a dimly-lit room with a unique overhead camera shot throughout the interview, although standard camera shots were included as well. This release had an ECW feel, which is the biggest compliment I can give the production. The graphics and music were also overhauled for this release.

The DVD marches through 1997 in chronological order. One of the biggest stories covered in-depth is ECW invading Raw on Feb. 24. Sabu talked about jumping off the Raw logo that night and how scary it was for him because of his fear of heights. Sabu also talked about how Vince McMahon wanted to portray him on television. “I was not happy because Vince wanted me to be a regular guy. He didn’t want me to be Sabu. I didn’t want to be typical.”

The first ECW PPV is discussed as well, but one thing I would have liked to hear about from Sabu is his thoughts on the PPV almost getting shut down by the cable provider because of ECW’s violent reputation. Sabu talked about his match against Tazz at the PPV. It was interesting to hear about the heat between the two and the ego’s they had. It was really great to hear how Paul Heyman worked with the talent at this time and to see how he manipulated wrestlers to get his way. Sabu talks about his discussions with Heyman and how he ultimately agreed to let Tazz go over in the match.

Jerry Lawler coming into ECW in June of 1997 is also discussed. Sabu talked about how he felt Lawler genuinely disliked ECW. Lawler actually came in for his angle right before it happened and left right after it occurred. Sabu’s response to Lawler just coming out was hilarious because he said that it was fine with him because he didn’t want to hang around Lawler.

The topic of drugs in ECW comes up several times and it’s alarming that wrestlers were allowed to perform under the influence with no consequence. It’s especially alarming that there’s a story discussed about the Pitbulls getting arrested for dealing with drugs and Sabu’s response was that he didn’t feel it would bring about any additional police attention to the company.

When it came to the ECW Title, Sabu talks about how much it meant to him to win it on Aug. 9 shortly before the Hardcore Heaven PPV. Sabu talks about how Heyman didn’t tell him until the day of the show he was going to win it and Sabu also didn’t know he was going to drop it at the Hardcore Heaven PPV until the day of the show as well.

One part of the DVD that I wish they had included footage of was members of the ECW roster dressing up in their WWE gimmicks for a show on Halloween in 1997. That would have made for some great clips. Sadly, the footage isn’t included, but it made for a great story.

Sabu talked about the November to Remember PPV where he faced Sandman. He talked about how several of the wrestlers dropped acid that day. Sandman was in no condition to perform and their match was a mess because Sandman thought Sabu was a monster that he was fighting in the ring. It’s really scary to look back at ECW and some of the risks the wrestlers took going into the ring under the influence of drugs and there were no consequences from Heyman.

The end of the DVD closes really strongly with Sabu giving us a look into dealing with Heyman from a business standpoint. Sabu tells a story about trying to negotiate a deal between FMW in Japan and ECW. He talked about how difficult Heyman was to deal with and that he always had to think he had gotten his way in the end. Sabu actually ended up paying money out of his own pocket to ensure the deal went down as planned as opposed to having Heyman ruin the entire deal. There are other stories as well, but it’s just incredible Sabu was able to deal with Heyman for so long without ringing his neck.

Sabu closes the DVD talking about Heyman tearing him down in front of the crowd after he couldn’t get a flight out of Japan to make an ECW show in December of 1997. Sabu actually gets really emotional telling the story and talks about how hurt he was by Heyman for tearing him down because he had been loyal to the company for so long. It’s amazing to hear these stories and see what Sabu went through dealing with Heyman at times. It’s even more amazing that Sabu is actually able to look back and forgive Heyman now for his action.

I give this DVD my highest recommendation. ECW is looked back upon fondly, but it’s also a disturbing reminder of how the wrestlers and the company operated at the time. The injuries, the drug use, and Heyman’s actions as the leader of the company are scary and compelling to hear from Sabu’s point of view. It’s going to be hard for any other wrestling DVD to be better than this in 2011.

You can purchase this release at Kayfabecommentaries.com

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

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