Disk 1 - One Night Stand
Ah, so this is where it began. Where Cena (the 'good guy') got booed unlike any other time before or since. Where RVD finally got what had been due him for a very long time. Where Edge continued his meteoric rise. Where WWE started to firmly play with the idea of ECW coming back.

Well, some of the event is outstanding. Some of it, average. Some of it, appalling. But all of it, fascinating. Some matches (Lawler vs. Tazz) were just a joke and really, I could have done without the 'laughs'. Some seemed a bit strange - Kurt Angle may have been aiming to become the new face of ECW at this point, but a match vs. Orton still placed this match in severely WWE territory, defeating the point of an ECW vs. WWE event. Plus it was standard fare for both, unfortunately.

Where the rest of the DVD shines are in the mix-matches of previously ECW talent with WWE. The Rey / Sabu match had so much to live up to. Many saw it as a disappointment, but to be fair to both, if taken on its own merits, this was almost match of the night. Almost, except Foley / Edge vs. Funk / Dreamer was so charged with emotion and storytelling (albeit gory storytelling...), it just ran away with itself. And Cena / RVD? Cena has such a hard time on this DVD, it's hard not to respect how he manages to keep composed. His match with RVD isn't exactly legendary but it's not bad at all either, concerning the circumstances. So putting these three matches together and you have something extraordinary. The other matches are filler, are average or are just unappealing for whatever reason (which is sad concerning the talent of some of the others).

I hate to say it, I enjoyed One Night Stand but the sum isn't the whole of its parts. Glad we have Barely Legal on the same DVD, then. :)

Disk 2 - Barely Legal

ECW's premier PPV event, and it's a masterstroke. Some of the matches are purely excellent - the Japanese match alone has to be seen to be believed - and the three-way dance is viscious, if you like that sort of thing (I don't, but admire how good it is in it's own context). For me, however, the Lance Storm / RVD match steals it. It's a good, clean match. Purely technical, well told, and showing two young stars desperately trying to break out. Neither of which were always allowed to go 'the whole way' during their WWE tenure (for right or wrong), but were allowed to tell a good story here.

It also has to be said that WWE, owning the ECW / WCW pie now have the chance to release PPVs like this in their Tagged Classics range. I don't know about anybody else but I'd buy them. Sadly, watching Barely Legal here made me realise what we're missing that is stuck in WWE's vaults. So many great matches, so many great PPVs and we're not seeing them. What a shame.

Overall
Well, the ONS 2006 part is decent but average. It wasn't the kick-start ECW (WWE Version) needed, but if you've got some of the better PPVs and want a few outstanding Rey / Sabu / Edge / Foley / Dreamer moments, well, here is the place to come. It's worth the price of admission to see the look on Cena's face when the crowd go ugly (poor Cena!). On the other hand, Barely Legal IS the correct way to kick off ECW on PPV, and Heyman did it right first time there (no matter what else happened to his company).

I'd recommend this alone for Barely Legal, but if you already own it, or want One Night Stand '06 on its own, I'd probably advise to try something better before coming here. If you don't own Barely Legal, however, I'd jump in as quickly as possible and cherish this disk as it juxtaposes both the WWE and ECW approaches to the Extreme, and gives enough classic moments to warrant the price tag between the two PPVs.

this is a must have for any old school ecw fan. it captures the momment when rvd wins his first world heavyweight championship. also you get ecw's first ever ppv on dvd for free.

a great dvd a must have for any ecw fan or a rvd fan