What the World Was Watching: ECW Hardcore TV – September 5, 1995

Joey Styles calls the action, coming from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from August 26.

Opening Contest: Hack Myers (4-4) beats J.T. Smith (w/Val Puccio) (1-0) via count out at 3:34:

In a funny callback to his botch the last time he faced Myers, Smith teases going for it again but just cartwheels into the ropes. As Smith and Myers wrestle, Puccio sits and eats a box of cannolis, more interested in the food than the match. His meal is interrupted when Myers tossed Smith over the top rope and over his head. Angry, Puccio and Smith argue and that causes Smith to get counted out. Both men did very little, but the crowd was into everything that they did do. Rating: *

After the bell, Myers has a disjointed brawl with Smith and Puccio where the heels come out on top. To cap off the beating, Smith shoves cannoli down Myers throat.

In a rebooted “Danger Zone” segment, Paul E. Dangerously hosts referee Bill Alfonso. As Alfonso lays down the law, the crowd chants for 911. Alfonso announces that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission voted 3-2 to reinstate Tod Gordon’s promoter license. However, Alfonso takes credit for ECW losing their slot on the Sunshine Network. When Dangerously tells Alfonso that he is getting chokeslammed tonight, Alfonso counters by banning it. If 911 violates the ban, his career in ECW will be over. Alfonso says 911 might go to WCW anyway. Dangerously threatens to deck Alfonso with his cellular phone, but when Dangerously turns his back on the referee, Alfonso decks Dangerously with his own cell phone and when Gordon runs in to attack him, he eats a cell phone too. 911 comes out and grabs Alfonso by the throat, but Big Dick Dudley gets into the ring and has to be held back by Stevie Richards and Dudley Dudley. Alfonso then prepares to referee the next match, only to have Dangerously attack him from behind. The segment was heavily clipped, so it went for a long time in the ECW Arena, but Alfonso was fantastic in this as Dangerously’s rebuttals were childish and laced with cheap heat.

Alfonso tells Dangerously that he is now banned from ECW for attacking him at the ECW Arena.

An ECW fan cam provides highlights of the action in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. On the show ECW Champion the Sandman caned Chad Austin after their match, with Mikey Whipwreck attacking the Sandman with his own cane. Also, respective members of the Public Enemy and the Gangstas traded wins in singles matches, with both teams brawling with weapons during those bouts. With the ECW Arena card looming the next day, the Sandman and Mikey Whipwreck got involved in the post-match antics as well.

ECW Tag Team Championship Match: Raven & Stevie Richards (Champions w/Beulah McGillicutty) (3-1) beat the Pitbulls (4-5) when Richards pins Pitbull #2 after Big Dick Dudley interferes at 8:45 shown:

These two teams have great chemistry since Richards and Raven bump well for the Pitbulls power offense, even if it not completely safe. When Raven takes a beating in the early going, Richards is reluctant to get involved so Raven tags in his partner and tosses him to the Pitbulls. Richards is dead to rights after the Pitbulls do a dangerous Doomsday Device-like move where Pitbull #2 puts Richards on his shoulders and Pitbull #1 clotheslines Richards off from the canvas and both men tumble over the top rope and to the floor. The Pitbulls follow up with a superbomb-neckbreaker combination, so Raven is forced to break it up. Like their previous matches, the Pitbulls are on the verge of winning the titles after Raven eats a superbomb, but McGillicutty gets in the ring to break up the fall. Interference from Dudley Dudley and a Raven DDT set up other false finishes for the champions. They eventually need Big Dick Dudley to stun gun Pitbull #2 over the guardrail and roll him into the ring to retain. This was total chaos, but it worked. Rating: ***

Via satellite for Japan, Cactus Jack puts over his victory over Terry Funk in the IWA King of Deathmatch Tournament. He delivers a woke promo about the United States government killing babies, women, and innocent people via the atomic bomb in World War II and how people trust the government’s word that it is needed. To make the promo relevant, Jack says that if fans can trust the U.S. government to kill people if there is a higher purpose, then fans should give him the benefit of the doubt for turning on Tommy Dreamer because he and Raven did it for a higher purpose too.

The Last Word: This episode was on fire with lots of great promo work and a fun brawl as the feature match. Cactus Jack is already overshadowing Raven as ECW’s top heel through his recent promos and there is no way that Tommy Dreamer is going to be able to come anywhere close to matching them in their feud. It is also a testament to Paul Heyman’s booking that the Pitbulls are still seen as a dominant force in ECW despite losing all of their tag team title shots this year and sporting a losing record.

Up Next: ECW Hardcore TV for September 12!