I recently watched Tommy Dreamer's "House of Hardcore" show which is now on DVD and Blu-ray. For ordering information check out HouseofHardcore.net.
The event took place at the Mid Hudson Civic Center. This venue has has some interesiting wrestling history which include the debut of Miss Elizabeth, Monday Night Raw tapings and Andre the Giant getting his hair cut by Big John Studd.
House of Hardcore featured nearly 20 former WWE Superstars and also had an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Adam "Edge" Copeland.
Edge talked to the crowd towards the end of the show and stated he was there to support his friend Tommy Dreamer. He also mentioned that he had not been apart of a independent wrestling show since the late 90's and spoke highly of the talent on the card. He emphasized a group of guys who reminded him of two young tag teams from his career ― that would be Paul London, Brian Kendrick and The Young Bucks.
An easy call for me to make in this review, the tag team match between London/Kendrick vs. the Young Bucks was the match of the night.
This match alone is worth the price for DVD. Both teams worked hard and impressed the live crowd. The match was fast paced and had a number of high spots. The crowd seemed to be as exhausted as the performers by the end of the match. Its that good.
Another match worth paying to see was Rhino versus Sami Callihan.
Callihan recently worked some dark matches for WWE and has been reported to be on their radar. These two went all over the building for their match. They fought ringside, up the near the entrance way and had some nice spots on the entrance ramp. Crowd was on the edge of their seats with some false finishes, such as Callihan kicking out of gore and even reversing Rhino's second gore attempt into a submission hold. In the end Rhino won with a Rhino driver (piledriver) off the middle turnbuckle.
The Main Event was a triple threat match for the FWE championship featuring Carlos Colon (aka Carlito), Mike Knox and the man who put the whole show together, Tommy Dreamer.
A well worked match that saw tables, ladders and even apples. Yes, apples. The spot of the match came when Dreamer lifted Colon over the top rope and drove him through a table on the to the arena floor. In the end Colon would pin Dreamer to capture the FWE Championship. The entertainment continues when former ECW Championship Raven came to the ring to join Mike Knox and took out Colon and Dreamer. In response, cue the surprise entrance of The Sandman. The ECW original canned Raven and Knox to send the crowd home happy.
This show was a terrific variety of talent and styles. Younger talents such as Alex Reynolds and Tony Nese along with while having big names like the Steiner Brothers and Big Daddy V.
Another interesting show note for "House of Hardcore" was the announce team that started with two and expanded to three.
Following her match Katarina Leigh, aka Winter from TNA, joined the announced team. She joined Jordan Schneider and Vic Travagliante. Schnieder, helped promote the event and is also the CEO of FWE Wrestling. Travagliante, a sports broadcaster with experience in Major League Baseball and is currently in Cleveland, Ohio signed by CBS. Travagliante's name has came up in wrestling circles and rumors as someone on WWE's radar for the WWE Network with his sports and wrestling credentials.
The announce team narrated this show quite well with entertainment and comedy for their first time together. If you're a true wrestling fan, this DVD is for you. It can appeal to both older and younger fans with the range of styles and names who are featured.
Tommy Dreamer's motto for the company is "no BS, no politics just wrestling" and this show delivered from every angle. I am eagerly waiting for "House of Hardcore 2!"
