hardcore
ECW Hardcore TV: February 15, 1997
ECW Hardcore TV: February 8, 1997
Heyman did the impossible and got Raven’s lackey, who Joey Styles would call a
clueless putz and turned him into the most over face in the promotion. Stevie
really should have stuck around, but he followed Raven out the door and WCW
blew past Raven and Stevie’s history in a month, and had Raven beat him rather
easily at the Clash of the champions. Stevie soon after disappeared before
doing a few ECW shows and going to the WWE and never really getting pushed
again. Wat could have been for Stevie. If he could have done it again I bet he
would have stuck around.
recently, I was able to put my finger on exactly what it was that I liked about
the bWo. While the nWo angle was something that went on to redefine the entire
industry, it was all just so serious all the time. Stevie and Meanie coming
along to take the piss out of it just wound up being a real breath of fresh
air, and not coincidentally became about the only real opportunity Stevie
Richards got to show the world how good he really could be.
graves9 alluded to, nothing short of a miracle. Now, Stevie was never so low he
was perceived as a modern day Virgil; but he definitely looked like a guy who
was never going to get much further than playing “and the challenger…” for the
TV title.
something worked, and push the hell out of it. The bWo was supposed to be a one
shot deal; another parody as they’d done with KISS or the Jackson 5. But the
reception it got screamed money, and Heyman let them run with it. It’s this
kind of grass-roots stuff that really makes pro-wrestling so much fun (and so
bloody frustrating in the modern era). The creative freedom the mid-card acts
had in the mid to late-90’s to just keep throwing stuff at the wall until
something stuck was always fun; from Crash Holly and his 24/7 gig, to Mr. Socko,
to Chris Jericho Conspiracy Victim, there was rarely a dull moment.
Line Again, tonight’s show may in fact be a Dull Moment, since we’re likely to be
rehashing the bulk of that and viewing very little new content. But, for the
sake of giving us the complete picture of the year that was 1997, let’s see
what we’ve got.
upcoming re-match against the Pitbulls and Tommy Dreamer. Douglas promises
people will be talking about their team for centuries to come. Well, I’m
looking at this in the 21st century, so he has a smidgen of hope.
the ECW arena, and introduces the phenomenon of the Blue World Order.
Unfortunately, it’s the re-hashed Ricky Morton (with Ugly Girlfriend) match
against Stevie from CTLA. It’s still *1/2.
and FRANCINE, with a message
directly for Gary Wolfe. He’s tired of hearing from Joey Styles about all the
“awful” things he did to Pitbull #1, considering what he did to Douglas’
reputation. He points out that seconds before he broke Wolfe’s neck, Gary was
on the verge of giving Francine a piledriver like he’d have done to a man. And,
Wolfe was the same moron who attacked HIM while in a neck brace, all he did was
defend himself. So, since he hasn’t given it up, the next time we see Pitbull,
he’ll be getting wheeled around like Christopher Reeves. Hey, as much as I
can’t stand Douglas, the mark of a great heel is to believe what you’re saying,
and the guy brought up some fantastic (if one-sided) points to defend himself.
shot against Raven is replayed. Williams was well past his prime at this point,
but his brawl with Raven is fantastic stuff, and should have been the start of
a career re-birth in North America.
their match with Sabu and RVD at November to Remember could be topped; but they
did at CTLA last Saturday. I wouldn’t call a 20-minute ** match anything worth
bragging about; but that’s probably the max you’re getting out of any match
featuring both John Kronus and Sabu. Anyway, apparently they’re doing this
again. Crikey.
minutes long bell to bell, but with all the run-ins and nonsense, went on for well
over 25. The Dudleys homecoming is fantastic, but there is just way too much
stuff going on here, between Bubba’s heel turn, Spike getting sacrificed, the
Gangstas running in and having a mini-match with the Dudleys, all while Sandman
refuses to stay down and keeps wildly swinging away like Casey at the Bat.
hadn’t been syndicated, and this gives everyone awake at 2:30am on a random
Thursday a chance to see what’s been happening at the ECW arena. New content
next week, which is leading us right into CyberSlam on the 22nd.
ECW Hardcore TV: January 30, 1997
Douglas, delivering the strongest January show to date. With one date left
before we check in with Punxsutawney Phil, the month is looking to end with a
bang (but sadly, not a bang bang, since he’s off grinding with strippers while
dressed like a mentally deranged turd).
started and ended last week, with THE TRIPLE
THREAT and FRANCINE. Douglas
forces Styles to stay in the ring, and says he’s fairly sure he knows who the
masked man is. And, if it’s who he THINKS it is, then he knows he’s a ladies
man who’s after Francine and not his belt, and if that’s the case, he best step
off. Just to make sure the masked man keeps away, he’s hired a body guard. Out
walks MIKE AWESOME – holy crap, I
didn’t even know he was around in 1997! Douglas gives away the identity of the
Masked Man for the handful of people who weren’t able to pick up on it by voice
alone; by telling the mysterious fella that Awesome’s in a pretty Rude Mood.
FUNK reminisces on the ass kicking he took from Brian Lee. He puts over
Tommy Dreamer as the man with the biggest heart he’s ever seen, reminding him
of his father. His dad always wanted to be the world champion of wrestling, but
he had a massive heart attack in June of 1973. On his way to the hospital, he
asked Terry how much further to the hospital. And even though it was just a few
more blocks, “dad gum it I just can’t make it”. Those were his last words as he
passed away right there in the ambulance. 24 years later, Terry sits here
trying to make sense of his own goals, and like his dad, he wants to be World
Champion one more time. Terry breaks down, and says if he’s able to accomplish
he’s dream he wants all the ECW fans in the arena to come into the ring, link
arms with him in celebration and say “WE DID IT OUR WAY! Not like the WWF! Not
like WCW! AAA, New Japan, All Japan, FMW, UFC … but the ECW way. What is the
ECW way? It’s the only way, because it’s the most physical dangerous form of
wrestling in the world today bar non. WE DID IT OUR WAY! BECAUSE WE LOVE IT
THAT WAY!”
of his father into wrestling the hardcore style, but god damn if that wasn’t
one of the best promos I have seen in a long, long time. Terry came across as a
genuine middle aged dude, stuck at the cross roads of life, unsure where to go
next. However, with father time NOT on his side, he’s getting to be an emotional
guy, and is ready to appreciate and take advantage of every second he has left.
Raw, unscripted promos from the heart like this simply don’t exist anymore, and
it’s sad, because this was phenomenal.
story: In December he tore up his rotator cuff and popped a labrum and had
surgery. It was an old injury, he needed to have it done. He calls RVD a long
haired punk bitch, he despises him. He went into a match with Van Dam thinking
they were gonna have a classic old school grappling match, but the little bitch
used a weapon because he can’t do it alone. Sandman needs a stick. Tommy
Dreamer needs a garbage. And the 169-year old Terry Funk needs a shovel, even
though he should be using it to dig his own grave. His hands are HIS weapons,
he doesn’t need anything else. However, if Rob wants to play with weapons, we’re
gonna play with weapons. The promo work is on FIRE tonight. Taz just came
across as the angriest man in the world and pretty much the #1 most likely name
to come up in a homicide report tonight.
taking Sandman’s wife, son, and sanity. He warns Stevie Richards not to fuck
with him, lest he want to be on the receiving end of Raven’s games. “Just
remember one thing Stevie, no one gets out of here alive.”
Stevie Richards’ win over Little Guido earlier in the night. These guys are
completely intoxicated on blue power.
Fullington) vs. THE SANDMAN (for the ECW world heavyweight title and Raven’s
hair)
possession of Sandman’s wife. No worries though, because Sandman shakes off any
potential pain by getting good and drunk before the match. Raven taunts him
during the intros by having Lori sit on his lap in his sulkin’ corner, but he’s
too busy playing the poster child for indoor smoking bans to notice. So, to get
his attention he attacks from the crowd before Sandman finishes his intro, and
smacks the cane over his head a bunch of times, drawing color all over 8
seconds into this. In the ring, Raven piledrives Sandman, and after a bit of a
struggle, gets a table set up in the corner. Sandman reverses whatever Raven
had planned, throwing the champ into the table, and it doesn’t give. Sandman
returns to his drinking which he never finished (and I mean even now, not just
on this one particular night), saving some to throw in Raven’s eyes. Raven hits
the floor, but he plays possum to lure in Sandman and whip him around into
various uncomfortable ringside objects, including a table which DOES break on
impact. Sandman’s unable to stand, but that could just as well be the beer.
Raven ties Sandman in the ropes by one leg, hung upside down towards the floor,
and then stomps on his face. Back in the ring, Raven throws pieces of table at
Sandman, and is handed a chair from Lori. Karma’s a bitch though, and that has
bad idea written all over it, because Sandman dropkicks it in Raven’s face and
DDT’s him on the steel. Lori saves at 2, but Sandman’s FINE with that, because
he’s got TONS of unsettled beef with her. He rips at her shirt revealing … a
bWo shirt underneath? Raven saves with a Singapore cane shot, but spies the
shirt and he is NOT happy. He looks like he wants to deal with it, but he’s
still got the smelly drunk on the other side of the ring to worry about, and he
can’t seem to decide which is more critical. THE BWO makes it easy by storming the ring, and Raven tries to
threaten Stevie to return to his roots with the cane. Stevie ain’t coming back
though, and Sandman grabs Raven hostage for a Steviekick, and Richards gives
him the blast to end all blasts. In fact, it’s SO hard that it knocks Raven’s
head back into Sandman’s, and Raven falls on top for the pin at 6:20. There was about 8 different
angles taking place here, but they were all intertwined in a way that Vince
Russo couldn’t possibly comprehend if he spent days trying to wrap his peabrain
around it. This was the usual junk from these two, but the sports entertainment
kicks it up a notch. **
ushering us back to the ring because this pair are throwing down RIGHT now. Pitbull
is all fired up, backdropping Lee and jamming a chain into his throat.
Following a spinning heel kick, Lee goes low to stop the assault. Primetime
Slam connects, but Pitbull pops RIGHT up and beats his chest. Lee gives him a
boot to the face, and hits a second Primetime Slam. Pitbull ain’t so quick to
move this time, but still has enough to get into a slugfest with Lee. SHANE DOUGLAS and CHRIS CANDIDO don’t care for the heart he’s showing, and attack,
ending this quickly at 1:54. 1/2*
is back and not taking this anymore, taking out all 3 guys by himself! TOMMY DREAMER joins the fray, going after
the Bulldozer, and that leaves only Francine still on her feet. #1 picks her up
by the throat, but Douglas attacks the rehabbed neck to make him drop her. It
works, and then some, because he’s howling that his neck’s broken again. The
Triple Threat manages to take control of things, and pose to a loud “BULLSHIT”
chant.
as Shane and his cronies slither towards the back, and he demands custody of
Francine in exchange for Douglas maintaining his own freedom. He whispers
something to her, and Francine makes her way to the ring as ECW heads off the
air.
rapidly becoming the show I’m looking forward to the most. Crossing The Line is
in two days, and I’m fairly jazzed for it. When these guys hit, they hit.
ECW Hardcore TV: January 23, 1997
ECW Hardcore TV: January 16, 1997
ECW existed, I actually spent a little time reflecting on the shows themselves,
in their original form. While it’s often hard to remember through my mind’s eye
just how much poorly produced TV there was in the 90’s, I decided to jog my
memory by Youtubing the type of quality commercials that made up the era
itself.
a continuous loop, during every late night airing of ECW TV, and WCW Thunder
(which I’d tape during a late Saturday night replay on one of the local
channels). And upon seeing the awful, laughable quality, I’m just reminded that
this is very much the world in which we once lived – and to appreciate ECW it
to appreciate the lazily produced phone sex commercials that sandwiched around
it. Thank you, Youtube, for never letting me down. Bring on the ECW!
couple of months, so it’s good to see Ricky collect a bounced paycheque between
appearances. Straight to the weapons – with Morton beating New Jack over the
head with a frying pan, while Mustafa works over Rich on the outside. New Jack
and Morton head into the bleachers, leaving Mustafa alone to choke out Tommy
with a chain. Rich escapes with a wild kick to the junk, but it doesn’t last
before Mustafa boots him in the face. New Jack gets back in, and takes a thumb
to the eye from old Wildfire, but Rich then accidentally decks his partner.
Jack dives back in with a flying chair off the top, right to the face of Rich,
and scores the pin at 3:08. Tommy absolutely sucked, and it didn’t
get him an NWA title reign this time. *
Frustrated from their lack of cohesiveness, Rich and Morton started punching
each other, creating a vile bloody mess of indistinguishable blonde mullets.
Team Taz Dojo, and after some initial resistance,
eventually let them into the basement,
interview. Taz says he’s been sitting out for the last month, because he’s
waiting on Sabu. Until then, he’s not interested. Styles asks about the rumored
shoulder injury he’s nursing, and Taz admits to it. Joey has his mind blown by
this startling revelation, until Taz tells him to shut up, he’s been hurt since
the day he stepped into ECW. It’s an old judo injury from when he was 19, and
it acts up once in awhile. Regarding RVD, he tells him to get a haircut and
train a little. To prove his shoulder is fine, he says next week he’ll show
what he’s capable of.
pissy. He demands its return; and is greeted by the chain smoking, cane
wielding, and likely drunk Sandman. Raven demands they settle this man to man,
and decks Sandman in the face. No referee, so nothing official, but that
doesn’t stop the inevitable back and forth slugout between the two. The fans,
absolutely behind these guys, chant “BWO” in unison. On the floor, Raven grabs
a table but Sandman spears him through it, and then suplexes the table onto
Raven’s corpse. Raven recovers quickly, sets up the table across the guardrail
and ring apron, and delivers a clothesline over the top that sends Sandman gingerly
through the already broken table. Back in the middle of the ring, Raven gets
his hands on the belt, holding it up proudly as he delivers the Evenflow. With
Sandman incapacitated, THE BWO hit the ring distracting Raven.
Sandman gets a beer in the interim (where the hell did that come from? Do they
just materialize in his hands?), and spits it into Raven’s eyes blinding him.
Raven swings wildly, beating up the entire bWo while missing Sandman
completely. Stevie gives him a shove, and Raven trips over Sandman. Raven pops
up, pissed, and Richards throws a StevieKick – but Raven ducks and he clocks
Sandman! Richards grabs Raven, tells him they’re not finished, and the fans
erupt in a “STEVIE!” chant! They threaten to square off, completely missing
that Sandman’s back up and hits the Evenflow! Stevie shows his allegiance to
Sandman, and nails Raven with the StevieKick just to prove it. He offers his
shirt to Sandman, while is happily accepted … so that he can choke Raven out.
Sandman punches Raven a number of times, tying him up in the ropes, allowing
Sandman to grab the Singapore cane and smack Raven in the face repeatedly!
Frickin’ OW! The fans don’t even groan as he does it, completely in tune with
the violence, chanting “ONE MORE TIME!” Sandman downs a beer, crushes the can
on his forehead as he’s wont to do, and leaves with Raven’s title again.
Joel Gertner. And that’s all. Oh.
orders him Joey to get his title back NOW. TOD GORDON happens
by, and tells Raven to grow up and get his title back “ECW style” by taking it.
That’s also the most effective method in getting paid around here, too.
selling after what theoretically would have been a long war. Of course,
Spicolli might well be sucking wind just from the walk to the ring. Candido
tries for a rana, but Louie picks him up and throws him on his shoulders.
Candido knowing the DVD is forthcoming, grabs the ropes, so Spicolli just
throws him over the top and to the floor instead. Chris sells the neck like
it’s broken, and slowly makes his way back in … before admitting it’s a ruse
and packaging Spicolli for 2. Louie heads up, goes for a super sunset flip, but
Candido falls forward and gets the pin.
armbands at him, which just starts shit all over again. SHANE DOUGLAS and BRIAN
LEE rush in, triple teaming Spicolli, accentuated with a
tombstone. PITBULL #2 rushes in, and is immediately
chokeslammed by Lee … but he pops up, coked out of his mind, and kills any
member of the Triple Threat he sees. The heels retreat, as the ECW logo comes
up.
Stay tuned, because hot girls are waiting to talk to YOU.
ECW Hardcore TV: January 9, 1997
ECW Hardcore TV: January 4, 1997
never really Big. ECW is likely the biggest “Indy” promotion of all time,
garnering a cult following in the mid-90’s with its irregular seedy
programming. ECW Hardcore TV aired whenever the hell the stations could slot it
in, regularly changing days, but you could be damn sure it was in the middle of
the night.
ECW literally took a niche that didn’t previously exist, and exploited the hell
out of it. Owner Paul Heyman was more in touch with the ripped jeans headbanger
grunge rebellious youth of the mid 90’s than Eric Bischoff or Vince McMahon
could hope to be; no matter HOW many focus groups they held. Paul could smartly
take underutilized talent from the big stage, or unknown talent from the indy
world, and give them a pulse. In-ring ability was second to connecting with the
Kool-Aid drinking, rowdy Philadelphia locals, and as long as you had the right
attitude, you were set for life.
kind of bad judgment that would have had him castrated in the social media era;
by allowing a 16-year old kid to wrestle without conducting any background
checks, and watching New Jack nearly murder him (legitimately) in front of the
blood thirsty locals. His initial PPV offering was cancelled, and ECW seemed to
be back to square one.
responsible thing and owning your actions wasn’t necessary without an outraged
community hounding you with torches and pitchforks, so Heyman managed to smooth
talk the distributers into getting “Barely Legal” put back on the schedule to
air in April of 1997.
months away, I’m adding ECW to the rotation of shows I recap, so we can watch
the highs and lows of all 3 companies working through the last pro-wrestling
gold rush together.
the ECW Arena; and we have a changing of the guard. The Eliminators captured
the tag-team titles at a live event this week, ending the 4 month reign of the
Gangstas. Yes, even after an unjustified homicide attempt, it would take
another month to get the title off New Jack. THIS is ECW.
ELIMINATORS brag about their path of destruction. They’ve defeated, in no
particular order, the Bruise Brothers, Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck, the
Pitbulls, 911 and Rey Mysterio Jr., The Samoan Gangster Party, Rob Van Dam and
Sabu, Dr. Death and Terry Gordy, and now the Gangstas. They’ve been out of
their element for months, chasing them in street fights where they’re major
underdogs, but Total Elimination is the great equalizer. Same strategy as DDP,
focus on the explosive finisher, and push the hell out of them. Not rocket
science.
CANDIDO
footage. Taken on a grainy VHS camcorder by a shaky front row presence, the
fact this is on TV is embarrassing. Van Dam nails a jumping spin kick, and then
does a super convoluted process including a springboard to take us to an
eventual hiptoss. Springboard crossbody gets 2. Candido charges his opponent,
but gets backdropped to the floor. Chris slowly gets to his feet, missing Van
Dam’s somersault plancha.
flattens Rob with a nasty short arm clothesline. Chris starts to stalk Van Dam
around the ring, but misses a corner charge and eats a springboard jump kick to
the chops. Rolling Thunder gut punch sets up a front suplex for 2. A scoop slam
sets up Van Dam’s ultra-fast top rope guillotine, scoring 2.
on the top rope. He fights off a powerbomb attempt with a backdrop, and hits a
big crossbody – but Candido rolls through for 2! A bunch of standing switches
are won by Van Dam, and Candido is laid out crotch first on the top rope. A
springboard back elbow knocks Chris off, and gets 2. Van Dam attempts to do
more, but is backdropped over the top rope where he hits the guardrail. A
frustrated Van Dam grabs a giant wooden chair, tosses it to Candido and tries
the Van Daminator. Candido ducks and throws the chair in Van Dam’s face. He
goes for another, but the Van Daminator is waiting for Candido, knocking both
he and the referee who was a little too close, out. And, a knocked out referee
is all SHANE DOUGLAS needs to hit
the ringside area and wrap a chain around his Triple Threat buddy’s arm. He
punches Van Dam in the face, as LOUIE
SPICOLLI enters the frey in a referee’s shirt. Spicolli takes the place of
the downed referee, so when Candido goes to try and wake him up, he’s given a
big surprise to see his current nemesis lying there. A Death Valley Driver is
delivered, and Van Dam dives on top as the referee recovers for the win at 8:02 (at least of what aired).
as he left the ECW Arena. He’s pissy because Rob Van Dam needed to bring a
chair into their match, when all the weapons he needs are his fists. However,
he’s not a complainer, because he knew he’d one day choke him out. And now,
he’s going to teach him something else … disrespect.
recently hand-picked by Bryant Gumble to replace him on “Today”, but he chose
to stay back in ECW. Also, he’s allegedly pantless and fully erect. Like,
that’s literally it. Glad he’s here.
some 20 years after losing the NWA World Title, Terry Funk will return to ECW
to … face Brian Lee? I’m not drawing the connection, but we’ll roll with it.
thrown off TV if they air it because it’s so controversial? Well you can have
it, sight unseen, for only $20! I don’t hate the marketing, even if the only
thing that’s controversial here is the fact that they’re making money off a WWF
guy instead of their own talent, but bottom line is bottom line yo.
run. Of course, I imagine the number of men that Douglas put down pales in
comparison to Francine; so really she’s probably deserving of the promo time.
He tells Tommy Dreamer he isn’t allowed the belt, because it’s all his – just
like Francine and her 2 inch vertical gumline.
(with Lori Fullington) (for the ECW world heavyweight title)
unprecedented run of success without so much as knowing how to perform any
moves. As one might expect, Mikey managed to grow into role, and learned a few
things along the way. With an offensive repertoire now at his disposal … his
days as a champion were over. Go figure. These days he’s kicking around in the
loser gimmick, and somehow inspiring clones in his likeness over in WCW (wassup
Jimmy Graffiti!). Raven works a headlock, but releases it to take issue with
the fans paying more attention to his lackeys (THE BWO, who are looking on from Raven’s Nest) than him.
Mikey’s knee, and Raven retains at 1:29
of what aired. Lori throws in a couple of extra shots after the match, as THE SANDMAN rushes the ring. Raven DDTs
him quickly, and hands the Singapore Cane to Sandman’s ex-wife. Lori happily
belts the Sandman in the eye. Mikey tries to save, allowing Sandman back to his
feet … where he takes another Evenflow. Raven breaks the cane in half, and
poses for the fans, missing the fact Sandman’s on his feet again. Raven takes a
DDT, and Sandman leaves with the World Championship belt as ECW heads off the
air.
planet; but it’s got plenty of violence, and for the hungry fans who’d never
seen anything like it before, it wound up being the perfect storm of Right
Place, Right Time. They never really had a legitimate chance at taking over one
of the big 2, due to the graphic nature of their shows, but as long as they’re
able to accept their niche role as the Alternative, they’ll be alright.
Hardcore Hak Memorial WCW Hardcore Champion Invitational
While we wait for the Main IC Title Tournament to begin, the Blog of Doom presents this no-holds-barred (and likely no holds used) free-for-all battle to determine the greatest WCW Hardcore Champion of all time!
ECW Hardcore TV – Episode #43 – 2/8/94
From the Network vault, it’s episode #43 of Eastern Championship Wrestling.
We kick things off with a video clip: Saturday, February 5th, 1994: The Night the Line Was Crossed. Terry Funk, Sabu and Shane Douglas are receiving a standing ovation from the Philly crowd, as the ring announcer declares the match a draw.
Roll the opening credits!
Joey Styles is in the Eagle’s Nest, and declares the three-way match that ended in a 60-minute time limit draw the greatest match the country has ever seen in quite some time. I Christen Thee, Joseph “Joey” Schiavone! Joey says that later on we will be seeing some footage that is pretty graphic. I’ve seen the David Hasselhoff-cheeseburger video, so it better be more graphic than that, or I’ll be disappointed.
Match #1: Mikey Whipwreck vs. 911 (w/ Paul E. Dangerously).
911 grabs Mikey and chokelams him. 1…2…3! DUD.
WINNER: 911. That’s his move! After the match, he chokeslams Mikey again. Paul taunts Mikey, then 911 chokeslams him a third time.
Video clip: On February 5th, the Line Was Crossed. Footage of a Bruise Brother slamming Rocco Rock on Joey’s announce table, and Joey freaking out. “ECW……It’s not a secret anymore!”.
Another video clip: On February 5th, the Line Was Crossed. Paul E. runs to the ring and nails Sherri Martel from behind with his phone, prompting Shane Douglas to attack Paul. “ECW….It’s not a secret anymore!”.
Back in the Eagle’s Nest, Joey promises footage of Shane Douglas and his dastardly ways.
Match #2: Chad Austin vs. Johnny Hotbody (w/ Tony Stetson).
Last week, in a match between these two, Hotbody was knocked unconscious by Austin, prompting this rematch. Stetson is taunting his own partner, getting Hotbody fired up. Lock up, and to the corner they go. Stetson mocking Hotbody by saying he let Austin knock him out. Hotbody retorts, and Austin tries a roll up off the distraction for 2. Whip off the ropes and Austin gets the hiptoss, and Hotbody bails to the floor. Now Hotbody and Stetson are arguing on the floor, while the referee counts. Back in, another lock up and to the ropes. Hotbody hits a forearm then goes back to arguing with Stetson. Austin tries a sunset flip for 2. Whip off the ropes and Austin hits a spinkick, and Hotbody bails to the floor again, where Stetson continues to ride him for letting Austin get the upper hand. “He’s a little kid!”. Back in, Austin slingshots him in and gets 2. Now Hotbody takes over with some forearms, then a whip off the ropes for a clothesline. Body slam for Hotbody, then a suplex is reversed by Austin for a roll up..1…2…3! *
WINNER: Chad Austin. Not much to see here, as it was really about Tony Stetson giving his partner a hard time about losing to Austin.
Video clip: On February 5th, the Line Was Crossed. Mike Awesome leaps over the top rope onto J.T. Smith on the floor, bending Smith back first over the guardrail. Yowch! “ECW…It’s not a secret anymore!”
Match #3: Pat Tanaka vs. Keith Shearer.
Joey informs us that Paul Diamond is still injured, so Tanaka goes the singles route for now. He offers Shearer a handshake, which Shearer obliges….until Tanaka turns his back and Shearer nails him from behind. Some punching in the corner for Shearer, then a suplex. Shearer drops the headbutt to the chest. Whip off the ropes, and clothesline puts Tanaka down. Shearer kicks him out to the floor, then follows him out. Shearer drops the arm across the guardrail, then presses Tanaka back into the ring. In the corner, some rights for Shearer. Tanaka then comes back with some chops and whip to the opposite corner. Sit out powerbomb for Tanaka. 1…2…3! *1/2
WINNER: Pat Tanaka. Tanaka takes a solid ass-whipping for a few minutes then hits one move to end it. Tanaka was better suited to tag team wrestling and taking the heat segment.
Video clip: On February 5th, the Line Was Crossed. Terry Funk with a sleeper on Shane Douglas with a sleeper on Sabu. “ECW…Secret No More It Is!”.
In the Eagle’s Nest, Joey throws it to Matty in the House. He’s backstage with the biggest story of the year. He has talked to a few of the witnesses of the incident between Terry Funk and Shane Douglas. Offering their opinions were J.T. Smith, Hunter Q. Robbins, Public Enemy (who give a hilarious account of past discretions involving stealing some stuff), Jason and Pat Tanaka. They all think Shane Douglas is a dick, man!
Hunter Q. Robbins III joins us to let us know that he is now managing Jimmy Snuka. “Isn’t that just…ducky.”
A pre-taped interview has Jimmy Snuka and Tommy Dreamer backstage with Jay Sulli. Dreamer tells Snuka that it’s a dream of his to get in the ring with Superfly, calling him a legend. Snuka takes it as Dreamer calling him old. “You’ve been wrestling since before I was alive.” Snuka tells Dreamer to remember……………and Snuka shows us that he’s a horrible interview, as he can’t even think of what he’s going to say. “The Superfly is always going to fly always.” Then he just barks, and calls Dreamer a punk. I think Snuka’s mind was on the dead body in his hotel room.
Joey let’s us know that the February 5th show will be available on home video, and you can pre-order by calling this number, and THE NUMBER IS BLURRED OUT. Damn it, I just bought one of those new-fangled TV/VCR combos and I sorely need a tape collection!
Match #4: Tommy Dreamer vs. Jimmy Snuka.
Dreamer with a series of slams on Snuka, who bails to the floor. Crowd chanting “Piper, Piper” at Snuka. Back in the ring, lock up and Dreamer unloads some rights, then goes off the ropes and dives at Snuka, who moves, letting Tommy crash through the ropes to the floor. Snuka goes out and hits Dreamer with a chair across the back. Back in the ring, Snuka with a whip and a chop. Back breaker across the knee for Snuka. Snuka slowly goes to the top, and hits the splash. 1…2..kick out! A graphic comes on the screen, letting us know that Dreamer is the first man ever to survive the Superfly Splash. Really? Snuka continues to hammer on Dreamer, and then climbs the top again. A second Superfly splash. Snuka opts not to cover him, then climbs to the top again. A third splash hits! 1…2….3! **
WINNER: Jimmy Snuka. Dreamer is bleeding from the mouth, which MUST indicate he’s bleeding internally. Snuka hits a fourth splash, then attempts a fifth before Tod Gordon comes out to prevent it. Snuka hits Gordon with a double axehandle from the top. Now a few of the wrestlers come out from the back to call this off.
We get a Mike Awesome highlight video. I would be remiss in not mentioning that Mike Awesome got all of his powers from the mullet.
We come back to Joey Styles, backstage immediately after the 60-minute draw between Funk, Sabu and Douglas. Joey is with a beaten, bloodied Funk, he retained the ECW Heavyweight Championship in that match. Funk is in tears, as he states that he loves wrestling. He doesn’t think WCW or (muted) are worth a damn. He praises ECW for bringing the passion and the wrestling to the people. Cut to Shane Douglas and Sherri joining Joey and Tod Gordon. Douglas thinks he’s the uncrowned champion. Shane keeps getting bleeped, and then Funk rejoins the scene. He calls Douglas a fool. Shane retorts that Funk is a shell of his former self. Funk takes umbrage at Shane calling him an old man. Shane walked out under his own power, while Funk and Sabu were carried out. Funk is ready to hand over the title to Shane, who takes it. Shane fires it back at him, calling him a piece of BLEEP. Then the brawl is on. WE’RE OUT OF TIME!
The Post-Game Opinion: Good episode. The matches were short, but the main focus appeared to be on the fallout from The Night the Line Was Crossed. A nice angle at the end of the show between Funk and Douglas with good promo work from both. But, man….that Snuka needs to just retire, or get some sleep, or get indicted for murder or something. Thanks for reading, and watch out for another Old School review coming soon.
ECW Hardcore TV – Episode #41 – 1/25/94
From the Network Vault, it’s episode #41 of EASTERN Championship Wrestling.
The Network Vault skips about three episodes, and a lot has changed in those few missing episodes. First, Terry Funk captured the ECW Heavyweight Championship from Sabu at Holiday Hell, which took place on December 26, 1993. Sabu remans TV champ, and Shane Douglas was granted a shot at Funk and they had themselves a 45 minute draw. So with that, the first available episode in the Vault is from 1/25/94.
Joey’s in the Eagle’s Nest, recapping events from last week’s show (which is not available on the Network). ECW Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk and challenger Shane Douglas went 45 minutes without a winner. Now, on February 5 they have a rematch with Sabu also thrown in the mix. Public Enemy were bumped from last week’s show because of the long match, and Joey throws to Jay Sulli, who was backstage to let PE know the bad news.
Taped last week, Sulli informs Public Enemy that their match has been postponed. They’re upset about it, but Tod Gordon steps in. They threaten Gordon for this injustice, but he mentions the police and they are apologetic. Cut back to Joey, who intros the match that was supposed to air last week.
Match #1: The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge) vs. Duane Gill & Don E. Allen.
Yes sir, it’s Gillberg, which was funny as a one-time gag….and then they gave him a title. Anyway, PE jump the jobbers before the bell. Don E is dumped to the floor, while Rocco chokes Gill in the corner. Grunge takes a chair to Allen on the floor. Rocco slingshots Gill from the apron hard. Blind tag to Grunge leads to big clothesline coming off the ropes. Grunge drops some elbows and tags Rocco back in. Double DDT puts Gill down. Rocco misses a corner splash, and Allen gets tagged in. Rocco suplexes Allen, then drops and elbow. Tag to Grunge, then a double team Decapitation elbow from the middle rope. Scorpion Deathdrop for Grunge, tag to Rocco, who hits the cannonball splash for the 1…2…3. *1/2
WINNERS: The Public Enemy. Big time squash here, as PE looked pretty good destroying these guys.
Backstage, Sulli is back with Tod Gordon and he is seeking repercussions with the Board of Directors for Public Enemy threatening him earlier. PE show up and are making nice, but Gordon says that they will be facing The Bruise Brothers on Feb. 5……1994. The ECW Arena ticket booth awaits your phone call RIGHT NOW….in 2014.
Match #2: Tommy Dreamer vs. Dr. Disaster.
Disaster is a generic masked guy, so that PhD in Disasteronomy better be legit because I can’t see this wrestling thing working out for him. At least he stayed in Disaster School, or as you and I know it, Penn State. Dreamer is in pretty boy suspenders phase here. Tommy tries some amateur style to start, then they get to slapping in the corner. Dreamer dumps Disaster to the floor, then rams him into the post. A whip to the guardrail for Dreamer. Dreamer pulls a cane from a fan then hits Disaster with it. Dreamer hits a crossbody from the apron to the floor. Back in the ring, Dreamer mounts Disaster in the corner and bites him. Dreamer with a snap suplex, then drops the leg to the groin. Whip to the ropes, and Disaster fails on the sunset flip attempt and Dreamer drops a leg. Dreamer hits the Dream Weaver (Cobra Clutch Legsweep) for the 1…2…3. *
WINNER: Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer showed some aggression here, with Joey selling it as the pretty boy who has learned to adapt to the company style. Dr. Disaster needs a new profession, so maybe he should start shopping the PhD to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants or the New York Yankees.
Match #3: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Mr. Hughes (w/ Jason).
Mikey’s debut, right here! Hughes immediately grabs Mikey by the ears and tosses him to the mat. Big right hand puts Mikey down. Hughes chokes him on the ropes now. Whip and Mikey ducks under, ducks under again, cross body is caught by Hughes. Hughes hits three consecutive backbreakers, covers for 2 and then pulls him up. Hughes whips him to the corner hard, and Mikey drops to the mat. Whip to the ropes, Mikey ducks under, but Hughes catches him with a huge sidewalk slam for the 1…2…3. 1/2*
WINNER: Mr. Hughes. Another total squash here. So there’s Mikey Whipwreck’s ECW debut. That’s all I have to say about a Mr. Hughes match.
Match #4: Terry Funk (c) vs. Pat Tanaka (w/ Paul Diamond) for the ECW Heavyweight Championship.
Funk gets on the mic and suggests Diamond leave the ring area. It’s all a ruse however, as Funk jumps Tanaka before the bell. Funk dumps him to the floor. Funk climbs out and takes some lefts to Tanaka. Head to the guardrail. Back in the ring now, Funk drops Tanaka with some rights and lefts. Piledriver for Funk! Cover…1…2…kick out! Funk again dumps Tanaka to the floor. Funk uses some tape from his injured arm to choke Tanaka. A series of lefts and headbutts for Funk. Tanaka fires back and Funk bails to the floor. Tanaka has Funk in the ropes now, as we work in the Funk spot where he swings back and forth in the ropes. Off the ropes and Tanaka hits the flying double chop. Cover..1…2…kick out. Now Axl and Ian Rotten are out, and Diamond heads them off. Now Kevin Sullivan is out and he hits Diamond with a trash can, Tanaka is distracted by this and Funk rolls him up, pulling the tights…1…2…3! **
WINNER: and STILL your ECW Heavyweight Champion, Terry Funk. Not much of a match here for the most part. A quick match with back and forth action but nothing too exciting. Tanaka heads out to help his partner with Sullivan and Taz, as they have a match on Feb. 5….1994. The ECW Arena would love it, if you somehow showed up for this match in 2014.
Matty in the House is backstage with Paul E Dangerously and wants to know about this huge guy he has seen with Paul and Sabu. Paul says that his name is irrelevant. This guy is responsible for handling Sabu and making sure he is contained and Paul says that it must be the toughest job in the world. Guy: “Not in my world”. Hint: “Don’t bother calling 9-1-1 anymore, here’s the REAL number.”
Match #5: Duane Gill & Don E Allen vs. ECW Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan & The Tazmaniac.
The jobbers make their way to the ring, but are stopped by Badd Company who take this match from them (can anybody just DO that?) and jump the champs in the ring. Tanaka takes Sullivan to the ringside table. All four continue brawling at ringside, as Sullivan takes a chair shot from Diamond. In the ring, Tanaka chops Taz’s throat. Sullivan tagged in, Diamond tagged in. In the corner, Sullivan with chops to the head. Whip to the corner, and Sullivan meets boot. Diamond hits a bulldog from the middle rope. Taz tagged in now, he reverses a whip, puts the head down and Diamond hits a DDT. Tanaka tagged in, and Taz hits a Taz-plex. Whip off the ropes, but Tanaka hits a sit out power bomb, as Sullivan breaks up the pin. Sullivan takes over. After some chops, Taz is tagged in. Belly to belly overhead suplex by Taz. Tag to Sullivan, who slams Tanaka. Quick tag to Taz, who misses a diving headbutt. Tanaka makes the hot tag, who takes out both Sullivan and Taz. Tanaka and Sullivan to the floor and they head out to the crowd and out the EXIT door. Diamond hits a crossbody to Taz for 2. Diamond with a front suplex and Taz kicks out. Sullivan and Tanaka make their way back, as Diamond rolls up Taz for the 1…2…3. **1/2
WINNERS: Badd Company. Good action in this match. Badd Company are so underrated when it comes to tag team discussions. Everything they did was crisp. I haven’t witnessed any botches in their ECW run. Sullivan & Taz hit a spike piledriver to Diamond, as Joey wonders about the condition of Diamond for the title match on Feb 5…..1994.
Coming back from break, Joey is receiving instructions on air from the producer. They have a phone interview with Pat Tanaka. Diamond is out of the title match and Tanaka has to find a replacement. Tanaka is a HORRIBLE interview, by the way. Tanaka relates a story about his father (Duke Keomuka) one time finding a man that actually scared Kevin Sullivan out of the country. Joey wants to know who it was. Tanaka says that it’s THE SHEIK!
The Post-Game Opinion: Not a bad show with this episode. Some quick squashes to establish the stars like Tommy Dreamer and Public Enemy; the noteworthy debut of Mikey Whipwreck, and an injury angle. The company continues to cruise under the book of Paul Heyman. Thanks for reading, and go see Dr. Disaster for all your botched surgical needs. Tell him Stranger sent you, and you get a discount.