WWE: The Rise & Fall of ECW (2004)

Director
Kevin Dunn

Main cast
Donna Adamo; Bill Alfonso; Michael Alfonso; Kurt Angle

Genres
Documentary

Description
ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling redefined professional wrestling in the '90s with a reckless, brutal, death-defying, and often bloody style that came to be known as "hardcore." It attracted a rabid, cult-like following that is still going strong today.


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Beyond the Mat is a 1999 professional wrestling documentary, directed by Barry W. Blaustein. The movie focuses on the lives of professional wrestlers outside of the ring, especially Mick Foley, Terry Funk, and Jake Roberts. The film heavily focuses on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), often criticizing it and its chairman Vince McMahon. It also follows Extreme Championship Wrestling, it's rise in popularity, and many other independent wrestlers and organizations.
The film studies the history of, and people who made, Extreme Championship Wrestling a cult sensation in the 1990s. Its an intimate look at the subculture of a subculture, and the athletes who were willing to take massive amounts of punishment for little money based on the promise of something more within their industry. This is a film about culture and human beings - who just happen to use tables and chairs and violent acts as part of their performance art. This documentary is not owned or supported by the WWE.
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