Michael Fitzgerald – Scotts Blog of Doom!

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #342 – 13/11/1999

November 11, 2019November 13, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Welcome to all the fallout from November to Remember 1999. As usual I expect this post pay per view show to be more of a recap than feature anything new, but maybe ECW will surprise me on that front?

Sadly I have now gone beyond the point that Scott Keith has reached in his ECW on TNN recaps, so I’m afraid I can’t link you up to some lovely Scott ECW goodness. However, I will share the link for his excellent review of AEW’s “Full Gear” Event, which you can read by clicking HERE, as well as Thomas Hall’s review, which you can read by clicking HERE.

I personally enjoyed the show and especially liked the Hangman Page Vs Pac match (I think Hangman’s “Cowboy S***” shirt is great, but I don’t know where I’d ever be able to get away with wearing it). I’m one of the few who didn’t really have especially strong feelings one way or the other in regards to the Lights Out main event. It’s not really my favourite genre of wrestling but there was other stuff on the show that I did really enjoy so I was content when all was said and done.

If you’d like to read my Review of ECW November to Remember 1999 then you can do so by clicking right HERE. I didn’t especially enjoy the show but it did have an excellent Mike Awesome Vs Masato Tanaka match, so that’s something to consider if you like both men.

So with all that dealt with, let’s break a glass table and cover the floor in its remains as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: ECW November to Remember 1999

November 2, 2019November 7, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

So here we are again with another ECW pay per view event of 1999. It’s been a tad hit and miss for ECW on pay per view this year, with Anarchy Rulz being good whilst Heat Wave and Hardcore Heaven were kind of just there and Living Dangerously was pretty bad. Hopefully tonight ECW can knock this one out of the park, especially as this show is supposed to be the biggest one they do all year.

I actually bought the live American pay per view version of this show years back from the dearly departed Extreme Central UK store in Manchester, which was a fantastic place to buy ECW/CZW/ROH tapes without having to faff about with arranging things online. The picture is a bit fuzzy but I get the real entrance music at least, so I’m counting it as a win.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #341 – 06/11/1999

November 2, 2019November 6, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

I enjoyed last week’s episode quite a lot, as we got an excellent match between Tajiri and Jerry Lynn and a huge angle at the end of the show when The Sandman made his return to ECW. This week’s show will be the go-home one for November to Remember 1999 (Which I’ll upload tomorrow) so I expect we’ll get a heavy hype job.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, let’s tape up our fists and dip them in poisonous gummy bears as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: WWE Smackdown – 31/10/2002

October 27, 2019October 31, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Seeing as its Halloween today I thought I’d go back and look at one of my favourite episodes of Smackdown from back in 2002. Indeed, I’ve watched this one episode of Smackdown many times over the years and tend to come back to it when this time of the year comes around.

It not only features some good wrestling but it also has a fun Halloween theme to it that they make good use of throughout the show in different ways.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #340 – 30/10/1999

October 27, 2019October 30, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

I enjoyed last week’s show as The Impact Players of Justin Credible and Lance Storm did an excellent job of making Danny Doring and Roadkill look good in their match before ultimately defeating them. It seems like ECW has finally found the right way to book the team (They’re heels who show a lot of ass but then eventually prevail because they’re resourceful villains) and their feud with Raven and Tommy Dreamer seems like it could have some mileage.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, let’s order a pizza and then hit the delivery boy with a flaming chair as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: CZW Tournament of Death 16

October 25, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Back to working my way through my Smart Mark Video On Demand splurge from a couple of years back, as we take a look at Tournament of Death 16. I really have no idea why I purchased this as Deathmatch wrestling isn’t really my thing, but I can only assume that it was because I felt like broadening my horizons a little bit and taking myself out of my comfort zone.

There’s really only one Deathmatch styled show I’ve ever watched in full and that’s the King of the Deathmatch tournament from 1995, which featured Cactus Jack, Terry Funk and Terry Gordy. I liked that show well enough for what it was, but that may have mostly been down to the fact that I’m a big Mick Foley fan and also because they broke up things up with non-tournament matches so it wasn’t just a cavalcade of people doing Deathmatch spots.

I may not particularly enjoy this, but I’m willing to give it a go because I am somewhat interested in the whole Deathmatch scene as sub-genre within the wrestling business. I really do ponder sometimes why the guys put themselves through this pain, especially as most of the time there doesn’t even seem to be a backstory to explain why. I get doing a big brawl with blood and weapons if it’s to blow off a long running and hate filled feud, but to just do it for the sake of doing it seems to fly in the face of wrestling logic (It’s why I didn’t really dig that Omega/Janella match as much as others did because they were doing stuff that could really mean something in a heated blood feud but were burning it off on a thrown together match for YouTube).

I’ve decided that giving these matches actual ratings probably isn’t going to work because it’s very difficult to actually rate them on any sort of scale because this style of wrestling is so niche and unusual, so I’ll just give my thoughts on each match and leave the stars at home for today.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #339 – 23/10/2019

October 22, 2019October 23, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

I felt last week’s show felt rather flat, so hopefully this episode has a bit more bite to it, especially as we’re not too far away from November to Remember, the event that was usually ECW’s version of WrestleMania/Starrcade.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, let’s wrap a some mushrooms in barbed wire, sauté them gently with some potatoes dipped in broken glass and then simmer for a couple of hours in the tears of the censors as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: WWE No Mercy 2007

October 18, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

The reason for this one is that it’s a show I’ve never seen in full, owing to the fact that when it happened way back in 2007 I was in the middle of moving house and thus didn’t have the disposable income to burn on a WWE pay per view. It’s quite an interesting show however due to what happens in regards to the WWE Title. And hey, now I have WWE Network it’s never been easier to catch up on the shows I missed back in the day and we’re still in October so it kind of fits.

The original main event of the show coming in was supposed to be John Cena defending the WWE Title to Randy Orton, but Cena then suffered a severe injury in a nothing Raw match with Ken Anderson which took him out of this show and meant he’d likely have to miss WrestleMania as well.

Thus WWE had to scramble to find a way to crown a new Champion and also rescue the pay per view card that had now been left without its main event. Did they manage it? Let’s take a look and find out.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #338 – 16/10/1999

October 15, 2019October 16, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Last week’s show was pretty rubbish as we just got clips from the TNN Show and some other clips from the Anarchy Rulz pay per view as Hardcore TV continues its Velocity-cation.

Hopefully we can actually get something new this week, especially as we’re not too far away from November to Remember, the event that was usually ECW’s version of WrestleMania/Starrcade.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

I also did a review of New Japan’s King of Pro Wrestling show from 14/10/2019, so why not give that a goosey gander?

So with all that dealt with, let’s drive down to the store and buy a shedload of baking trays as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

New Japan Pro Wrestling – King of Pro Wrestling Review – 14/10/2019

October 14, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

New Japan had one of its traditional big events of the year today with some very interesting matches on the docket, so I decided to review it seeing as I was going to watch it anyway.

The one I’m most looking forward to is Minoru Suzuki taking on Jushin Liger, but there’s also a match scheduled between Kazuchika Okada and SANADA that should be great because the two of them tend to always have great matches together.

So without further ado, let’s watch some chuffing wrestling!

Mike Reviews: Ring of Honour – “Japan’s Finest” – Disc One

October 12, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Back with something else in my “to watch” pile, as we take a look at a compilation DVD that ROH put out covering some of the best matches from the company’s history that featured Japanese wrestlers.

Obviously ROH isn’t what it once was, but throughout the years the company has featured some truly excellent wrestling and one of the reasons why was because they were able to bring in wrestlers from major Japanese companies like All Japan, New Japan, NOAH and Dragon Gate to compete on their events.

The main reason I picked this one up is because it features the excellent main event from the first Supercard of Honour Show (An event I did have on DVD but sadly lost during a house move back in the day) as well as some cool sounding matches that I’d never seen before. We’ll just do Disc One today and I’ll try to get to Disc Two when I can (There’s a lot of matches on this here collection)

You actually can still buy this DVD on eBay, but golly gosh is it pricey! Still, if you like the sound of these matches then the option is there (Although it might be better possibly just to cherry pick the individual shows as that will probably set you back less in the long run)

And yes, I spell “Honour” with a “U”. I also drive on the left hand side of the road, drink copious amounts of tea and have terrible teeth. Deal with it!

Mike Reviews: CHIKARA The Renaissance Dawns – 25/05/2002

October 10, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Back again with more of my Smart Mark Video On Demand “watch pile”, with a show that I bought for two reasons. Firstly it’s the inaugural CHIKARA event, so I decided to pick it up to see what CHIKARA was like back in the day. In addition, the show also features CM Punk in the main event, and I found the idea of him being part of all this very amusing, so decided to buy the show to see what sort of shenanigans he would get up to in a CHIKARA ring.

For those not au fait, CHIKARA is a company out of the Tri State area that mostly deals in family friendly Lucha Libre inspired wrestling. The best thing I could compare it to would be a comic book movie where the fight scenes are replaced by wrestling matches. As a result CHIKARA can get pretty silly sometimes, but there’s a joviality about it all that I really enjoy and I was a semi-regular viewer of the company’s major shows up until about 4 years ago or so when I fell out of touch with the product.

I’m not expecting much in the way of amazing wrestling here, but every company has to start somewhere and this show certainly has its fair share of the tropes that CHIKARA would go on to be known for.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #337 – 09/10/1999

October 9, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Last week’s show was pretty good, with a fine Jerry Lynn Vs Super Crazy bout closing things out. Hopefully we can have some more good action this week.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

Whilst we’re talking about hardcore companies, why not take a look at my review of CZW Cage of Death by clicking right HERE?

So with all that dealt with, let’s stack a table on top of another table and stand precariously atop a ladder as we once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: CZW Cage of Death – 16/10/1999

October 8, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Back once again to my Smart Mark Video On Demand haul, as I watch a show I actually remember buying this time! I think I bought this just to see what super early CZW was like, and seeing as we’re very close to this show being nearly 20 years old, I felt I’d write up a review for it as it felt timely.

For those not au fait, CZW (Combat Zone Wrestling) is a company that was first formed in 1998 by John Zandig, a man who is perhaps more known for yelling “Jeeeeeezus” on Botch-a-Mania these days rather than being a wild garbage wrestler in his own right. CZW’s main selling point over the years is that they provide high flying Junior Heavyweight styled wrestling alongside their patented brand of garbage wrestling called “Ultra Violence”, which essentially means light tubes, chairs, tables, barbed wire, weed whackers etc.

I should stress that the company has had its fair share of good wrestling over the years as well, with guys like Alex Shelley, Adam Cole (Bay-Bay), Jimmy Jacobs, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli all being counted amongst the promotions alum. However, I’m not sure just how much good wrestling we’re going to find on a 1999 era CZW Show, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up too highly.

Anyway, let’s brace ourselves and take a journey into the world of Ultra Violence!

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #336 – 02 10 1999

October 1, 2019October 2, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Last week was mostly just recaps, so hopefully we get some new stuff this week.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN prior to this issue of Hardcore TV from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, let’s rearrange our DVD collection in order of which movies are most violent and once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: SMASH Wrestling “CANUSA Classic 2014”

September 28, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Women’s wrestling (Most commonly of the Japanese variety) is quite popular on this here Blog, so this show seemed apropos as it features nothing but women’s matches. This was one of many shows that I bought from Smart Mark Video On Demand a while back during a splurge and I’ve never actually had a chance to watch it. I can only assume that I thought the main event looked intriguing and that’s why I gave it a go.

SMASH Wrestling is a company based out of Toronto that quite a few big indie names like Johnny Gargano have passed through over the years. Seeing as it’s based in Canada, it makes sense that they’d have a Canada Vs USA styled competition, as that’s always easy heat. This show is all women’s matches but SMASH does also have men wrestling for it as well. It’s nice they have a whole show for just the women though. I kind of wish WWE would bring back that concept as I enjoyed the Evolution Pay-Per-View.

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #335 – 25/09/1999

September 23, 2019September 25, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Well Anarchy Rulz 99 is now in the books, so this week’s episode of Hardcore TV will most likely be lots of recaps and little in the way of new content. As a result, I’ve decided to add a special section at the bottom of the review where I try to calibrate who the overall best wrestler was at this exact period in time. So read on for that if nothing else.

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, let’s order ourselves a pizza, stick it on top of a flaming table and once again take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: ECW Anarchy Rulz 1999 – 19/09/1999

September 14, 2019September 19, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Welcome to Anarchy Rulz 99, an event that is often looked upon fondly by fans of the now departed company. Certainly this show was one of my more treasured and regularly watched wrestling VHS’ back in the day, although I’m watching it on WWE Network this time just for the ease of being able to type everything up on the laptop. I’m not sure when this one was moved over to the Network, but it features some dubbed themes for the wrestlers that I’ve never heard before, some which suit them and others which don’t.

Scott sadly didn’t go back to recap this show as part of his revisit of ECW on TNN, but he did watch it back in the day and you can read what Scott from twenty years ago thought about it by clicking HERE. This review actually caused Scott some backlash from the ECW faithful back then, which led to possibly my favourite ever rant of his in the form of Netcop Vs The Mutants From Philly. This featured perhaps one of the most brain dead and hilarious emails that Scott has ever received from a reader, so I’ll post the link for it HERE.

Maybe if we all politely pester Scott he’ll go back to look at this one or again (or at least do a 2019 Scott Sez on his previous write up)? This show actually created quite a buzz online at the time as it was not only ECW’s first Pay-Per-View since getting national TV but it was also widely regarded as a good show with a big surprise appearance that got everyone talking? What was that big surprise? Well read on and you can find out!

So without further ado, let’s all recline in our favourite broken chair and nibble away on some shards of table as we take things to The Extreme!!!

Mike Reviews: ECW Hardcore TV #334 – 18/09/1999

September 14, 2019September 18, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

Here we are at the go home show for Anarchy Rulz 99. They’ve announced Taz Vs Masato Tanaka for the ECW Title in decent time ahead of the show at least, but maybe we’ll get some other matches announced as well?

As always, you can read a recap of the previous episode of ECW on TNN from Mr. Scott Keith by clicking right HERE!

So with all that dealt with, lets relax into our blood encrusted slippers and once again take things to The Extreme!!!

New Japan Pro Wrestling Super J Cup 2019 – Night One (22/08/2019)

September 16, 2019 by Michael Fitzgerald

Hello You!

The J Cup finally got uploaded to New Japan World last week. Seeing as I’ve got a day off today I’ll get Night One done. Not sure when the others will be up, so watch this space.

For those not acquainted, this is a big 16 man single elimination tournament to decide who gets to win a cool golden jacket. They’ve been doing this tournament on and off since 1994 and it’s usually provided some classic matches in past iterations, so hopefully this year’s tournament does similar!

Anyway, less chatter, let’s watch some chuffing wrestling!