Happy Saturday Everyone!
These ECW reviews don’t often do that well, but sod it, I enjoy them so let’s do something for me! The Main Event on this one is The Eliminators Vs Da Gangstas inside a Steel Cage, with Taz taking on Tommy Dreamer in the under card.
The event is emanating from The Arena in Philly on the 24th of August 1996
Calling the action is Joey Styles
Opening Match
Devon Storm w/ Damien Kane and Lady Alexandra Vs Louie Spicolli
Devon and Spicolli would both go on to WCW, as Crowbar and an nWo lackey respectively, but Spicolli would pass away in 1998. Kane was a pretty skeevy looking dude who ECW mostly kept around as they were using his promoter license. He was done following this show I believe, as was Alexandra. Alexandra actually wrestled Lori Fullington on this show but they cut that match out of the commercial release.
Taz storms over to the commentary area and cuts a promo on Rob Van Dam and Sabu before the match starts. This is a decent ECW style match, with both men fighting on the outside and Storm getting a dive out there before Louie responds by destroying Storm’s leg with a chair. That vicious display of violence earns him a “Louie” chant from the sadistic ECW Arena crowd.
Spicolli works over the leg back inside with basic stuff, with Storm selling it well. Storm manages to get himself back into the match by using a chair of his own, as this is definitely an opening match on an ECW show. Storm’s stuff is pretty sloppy here and the crowd gets on his case for it. Spicolli eventually catches Storm with a Spicolli Driver OUTTA NOWHERE and that’s enough for three.
WINNER: LOUIE SPICOLLI
RATING: *1/2
Sloppy in places, but it was okay for an early match on the card
Kane tries to recruit Spicolli to his side following the bout, but Spicolli isn’t interested and gives Kane a Spicolli Driver to write him out of the company.
Match Two
EWA European Junior Heavyweight Title
Champ: Mikey Whipwreck Vs Little Guido w/ JT Smith, Salvatore Bellomo and Big Guido
The EWA belt was created by The Dirtbike Kid and he voluntarily dropped it to Mikey so that he could get a few ECW bookings, although ECW didn’t really do much with him and eventually it just ended up giving Mikey a belt to defend on ECW shows now and then. The Full Blooded Italians sing along to Sinatra before the match starts but they stop it when they see that the crowd is actually enjoying it.
Mikey had switched from Beck to Butthole Surfers by this stage, with “Pepper” being a song that was ironically inspired quite a lot by “Loser”, so Mikey just went from one song to another similar sounding one. This one is also a bit sloppy in parts, but it has the ECW hallmarks of high energy and effort levels from the competitors, which makes up a bit for the sloppiness, although the cut off of Mikey missing a dive onto Big Guido isn’t executed well at all.
Little Guido works some heat following that, showing off his previous shoot experience by going for a cross arm-breaker, which forces Mikey to get to the ropes to break the hold. Mikey is of course excellent at selling, so the heat works well and Little Guido actually manages to draw some boos whilst he works over Mikey’s arm. Mikey gets the odd hope spot, which gives us a brief Aloha-Guido, but Little Guido always manages to regain control.
Mikey eventually makes the comeback with classic babyface stuff such as back body drops and whatnot. Mikey goes for a rana off the top but he slips multiple times and it doesn’t come off correctly. He improvises with an elbow drop off the top rope though and that’s enough for three.
WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: MIKEY WHIPWRECK
RATING: *1/2
This was very sloppy, although both men were working hard
Mikey sells his knee following that.
Match Three
D-Von Dudley and Axl Rotten Vs Buh-Buh Ray and Big Dick Dudley w/ Sign Guy and Chubby
This one came about because Rotten felt sorry for D-Von’s family strife as he’d previously had issues with Ian Rotten in storyline. D-Von cuts one of the all-time Heel promos on the ECW regulars in the crowd, telling the Hat Guy to take a bath because he can smell him from the locker room, and adding that Hat Guy should take his elderly pal to the local nursing home. My friend and I used to quote that promo all the time in our younger days.
This one is a wild brawl from the off, as they work it like a tornado match rather than a regular tag. D-Von was the outcast of The Dudley clan at the time, with Buh-Buh selling for a while that he was afraid of him before finally standing up to him prior to this show. He has no qualms fighting with D-Von here and their exchanges are the best parts of the match, as they have good intensity and the crowd enjoys it.
This is a good brawl in general, although if you don’t like this kind of wrestling then it’s unlikely the match will convert you. It’s mostly guys wandering around hitting one another with weapons, but it’s entertaining in that regard and the crowd enjoys it. Buh-Buh even dives off the stage area onto the Heels at one stage for a big pop. Buh-Buh eventually gets the win when Big Dick slams him onto Rotten after all four guys have fought all over the arena.
WINNERS: BUH-BUH RAY & BIG DICK
RATING: ***
This was a fun wild brawl and the months of storyline prior to it meant that they’d earned the anarchy when this match finally came along. Part of me also felt like this was ECW reasserting themselves as the best in brawling following the Sullivan/Benoit matches in WCW
The fact it was Rotten and not D-Von getting the pin makes me think we’re going to see more of this feud going forward, at least until D-Von and Buh-Buh form a team together in early 1997.
The Sandman and Missy Hyatt are out at the ring as Missy is supposed to wrestle Lori Fullington. However, ECW had decided to stop using Missy as part of a cost cutting measure, so they decide to write her out by having her going Heel on Sandman. Stevie Richards had a sexual harassment lawsuit outstanding on Missy, but Stevie says he’ll drop it provided that Missy stops managing Sandman. Missy agrees and insults Sandman, which leads to her getting Singapore caned right out the promotion.
Match Four
Badstreet Rules
Prime Time Brian Lee Vs Terry Gordy
Badstreet basically means no rules. So just a normal ECW match then? Lee used Gordy’s own Asiatic Spike on him, so Gordy is looking for payback tonight. This could have been a gigantic Main Event in Smokey Mountain Wrestling during the first half of the 90’s. This is our second brawl in a row, which makes me think they probably should have mixed up the match order a bit, as this match is going to automatically be less impactful than the previous one as we’ve already seen guys fighting all over the building.
The brawl itself is solid stuff as both men know how to work this sort of match and they even fight out into the car park at one stage, which just once again extenuates what a dump the ECW Arena and surrounding area are. I’d still like to go and see a show there though, just because it’s such a famous wrestling venue. The ECW Arena and Korakuen Hall are definitely on the list of venues I’d like to attend.
They eventually make it back into the ring, where the match becomes more of a mean guy slugfest, with both men trading strikes and throws. They don’t appear to be fully on the same page, but the action isn’t terrible or anything. Gordy eventually manages to catch Lee in the Asiatic Spike and that’s enough for the pin.
WINNER: TERRY GORDY
RATING: **
This was okay, but it felt a bit flat
They didn’t make Lee do a lot of jobs like that in ECW during this run but for a guy like Gordy you’ll make an exception.
Match Five
Rob Van Dam Vs Doug Furnas
Furnas was mostly working for All Japan Pro Wrestling at the time of this show, although he and regular partner Philip LaFon would eventually get a WWF gig later in the year. RVD was coming off a long feud with Sabu, and he takes some wild bumps in this one, including one off the apron into the crowd when Furnas gives him a shoulder tackle. That looked pretty darn amazing and it got a big pop from the ECW faithful.
We get some more crowd brawling, which kind of seems counterproductive when you’ve got two guys who can actually wrestle a bit and we’ve already seen a fair few brawls on this show already, but I guess Furnas wanted to show that he could wrestle ECW Style so that the fans would accept him right away? It’s not like the brawling is bad, but I’ve already seen it you know? Let’s have some wrestling now we’ve got guys who can give it to us.
They do eventually get back to the ring, where RVD gets some chair assisted offence and looks good in the process. They trade stuff back and forth in the ring, with RVD running through a lot of his big high-flying moves, whilst Furnas mostly does power stuff, and its fun for the most part. Furnas even comes off the top with a clothesline at one stage, as he’s working really hard here, possibly in an effort to get booked again.
RVD sets up for the Van Daminator but he takes way too long and Furnas just throws the chair away, which stops him looking like an idiot at least. RVD has to pivot to a flying cross body in response, and it doesn’t look great, neither does a Furnas follow-up Tenzan Tombstone on a chair. Furnas blocks a monkey flip attempt with a spine buster onto a chair, but when he tries to use the chair as a weapon RVD is able to catch him with the Van Daminator for three.
WINNER: ROB VAN DAM
RATING: ***
There were moments where their timing was off and the match ranged from being kind of sloppy to being genuinely spectacular depending on what move or sequence they were going for. Overall it was a good effort though
We get some replays of that following the match; with RVD offering a handshake following that, but Furnas takes him out with a clothesline to a big pop before following with a release German Suplex. RVD sells the move big and even gets taken out on a stretcher.
Match Six
Taz w/ Bill Alfonso and Team Taz Vs Tommy Dreamer w/ Beulah
This one came about because Brian Lee picked Taz as a partner for a tag match when facing off with Dreamer and Terry Gordy, so now Taz and Dreamer are wrestling each other to follow on from that. Taz tells the fans that he’s going to just wrestle tonight without chairs and tables, which of course makes him a Heel in ECW. Although I will say that some fans did actually clap when Taz said he was going to focus on out-wrestling Dreamer here.
They push the idea that Dreamer is walking wounded here, which will play into the finish later. Taz of course immediately reneges on his promise of this being a wrestling match, taking Dreamer out to the floor and hitting him with a chair. Dreamer does indeed get some token wrestling moves in such as hip-tosses and what have you once they get back in the ring, with Dreamer’s technical wrestling not being that bad. It could just be that you don’t expect Dreamer to have that in his locker though so any technical acumen will automatically seem better than it possibly is.
Dreamer eventually starts selling his back and mid-section, which allows Taz to take over and start working Dreamer over. Dreamer sells that well, with Taz’s offence looking good as well. We see that Dreamer has a case of DDPitis with some taped up ribs underneath his ECW shirt. Dreamer manages to fight back with a bulldog on a chair for two, and then dives out onto Team Taz as revenge for them messing with him earlier.
Dreamer puts a table in the ring now that he has Taz reeling, and because Taz introduced all of the hardcore stuff first it doesn’t make Dreamer look like a weak babyface for doing it as well. Taz cuts Dreamer off with a suplex though and then suplexes the ref for good measure before setting up the table in the corner. Dreamer gets suplexed through the table and Taz follows up for the REDRUM, although there is no ref to call for the bell.
Beulah tries to get Taz to let go of the hold, but Alfonso threatens him with a chair. Terry Gordy makes the save, but that leads to Brian Lee and The Eliminators running down to attack Gordy and another referee who comes down to the ring. Other roster members join us and they get taken out as well, as it looks like the match has just been thrown out in the lamest ending ECW could ever do.
NO CONTEST
RATING: **
The match was going along okay up to the terrible finish. ECW’s big appeal was that you would usually get a finish, so lame non-finishes like this always left a sour taste in the mouth. It’s not like it was unheard of for Tommy Dreamer of all people to do a job as well you know? He’d spent the past year losing to Raven in every possible stipulation you could conceive, so a job to Taz in the midst of Taz’s Path of Rage wasn’t exactly going to kill him off
Taz, Lee and The Eliminators destroy a whole host of people and then leave the ring. Buh-Buh Ray and Hack Myers are amongst the battered and bruised.
Match Seven
Double Dog Collar
ECW World Champ Raven and ECW World TV Champ Shane Douglas w/ Lori Fullington, Tyler Fullingtion, Stevie Richards, Super Nova, Blue Meanie and Francine Vs The Sandman and Pitbull #2
Sandman says that Douglas actually injured Pitbull the previous night in Reading, PA, so he’s going to take on both Raven and Douglas by himself. Raven and Douglas don’t have entrance music for whatever reason, which makes their entrance a little flat. Raven’s right foot still doesn’t appear to be in the best condition, as he’s wearing a protective shoe and doesn’t have full movement. Sandman is massively outgunned here, but he bravely fights on whilst the Heels work him over and bust him open.
We see that Pitbull #1 has come down to the ring to support Sandman as a second, but Pitbull #2 is still nowhere to be seen following the attack the previous night. Sandman has done an excellent job selling this beat down and he’s timed his sporadic attempts to fight back well, although the crowd hasn’t really been that into the drama. Pitbull #2 finally does join us wearing a neck brace, which wakes up the crowd. In a cute spot, he hits both of the Heels with their own finishing moves (DDT for Raven and Belly to Belly Suplex for Douglas).
Now that he finally has some help, Sandman starts to rally and the crowd gets into the idea of the babyfaces seriously injuring the Heels in order to get their revenge for all of the horrors the Heels have inflicted upon them. Soon blood is flowing all over the place, as this has been a really messy bout in some ways but it’s also been the Raven Special of a grungy hardcore match with a lot of strong storytelling and dramatic elements interspersed.
Meanie misses a Moonsault at one stage, because it’s a day of the week that ends with a “y”, and that leads to all four men heading out of the ring to continue the brawl. Raven and Douglas manage to get Sandman with a Super Bomb at one stage (The Pitbull’s tag team finisher) but Sandman manages to kick out at two in a good near fall. Pitbull #2 ends up hitting Raven with his own loaded boot and that’s enough for the three count.
WINNERS: SANDMAN & PUTBULL #2
RATING: ***
This was your typical Raven dog and pony show, with the wrestling almost being secondary to the story being told of the babyfaces fighting against the odds in order to try and get some revenge against their hated foes. It worked well as a storytelling exercise, although the crowd didn’t really get on board until Pitbull #2 got introduced into proceedings. It was a really messy bloody brawl for the most part, so it won’t be for everybody, but they told a good story with it and the match structure worked for me. Your own mileage may vary
Interestingly, Douglas had a chance to break up the pin but he decided to bail so that he wasn’t around when Pitbull #2 was no longer distracted by winning the match, because he’s a disloyal coward who only thinks about himself. This was the Paul Heyman Special as much as it was the Raven Special in some ways, as neither Sandman or Pitbull #2 pinned the guy they were feuding with, so those feuds can continue, but we still got a babyface victory and you can now realistically have Raven wrestle any of the three other men because he has the pre-existing feud with Sandman, Douglas left him in the lurch, and now Pitbull #2 holds a pin fall victory over him. Very smart booking.
Sandman tries to get some of Raven following the bout, but Raven uses Tyler as a distraction so that he can get some shots in on Sandman in order to keep their feud going.
Main Event
Steel Cage Match – Pin and Submission Rules
ECW World Tag Team Titles
Champs: Da Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed) Vs The Elimators (Saturn and Kronus)
Da Gangstas won the belts in a four way dance at Doctor is In, so tonight The Elims have a chance to win them back. Natural Born Killaz of course plays in the background whilst the two teams go at it, with us getting a section of them fighting in the crowd before they actually make it into the cage. Eventually Saturn dives off the cage onto everyone and we finally get into the cage, with it not taking long for the claret to flow for both teams.
Saturn does some more stuff off the top of the cage, and he’s been the real standout guy in this match to be honest. It’s kind of just guys trading punches and weapon shots in the cage with the occasional flashy move from Saturn, so it’s not a bad watch or anything but it’s not exactly a great wrestling match either. It feels a bit meandering at points actually, but it works in the context of these two teams hating one another and trying to settle a long running feud.
Mustafa actually does the most stuff I’m ever seen him do in this one, including a Pump Splash and a dropkick at certain points, which beats the usual stuff I’ve seen from him. There are masked guys at ringside passing weapons into the cage, which leads to a keyboard of all things finding its way in there. It’s one of those chunky 90’s style keyboards as well. One of the masked guys eventually turns on New Jack, revealing Shane Douglas for some reason.
I’m not sure why Douglas wanted to screw over Da Gangstas and I’m not sure where they went next with that either. New Jack still manages to kick out of the resulting pin attempt from The Elims, but Douglas remains at ringside. Saturn tries going up the cage one time too many, and that leads to New Jack knocking him off through a table in a wild spot. That allows New Jack to hit Kronus with a chair back inside the cage and that’s enough for three.
WINNERS AND STILL CHAMPIONS: DA GANGSTAS
RATING: NEW JACK MATCH
This perhaps went a bit too long and felt a bit aimless at points, but there was still some entertaining stuff in it and the Douglas attack on New Jack was a genuine surprise, but it won’t really mean much unless they follow it up
Douglas tries to form a new Triple Threat with The Eliminators following that, but they don’t agree to join his side and I don’t think they ever did, with Brian Lee and Chris Candido getting the nod instead.
In Conclusion
This was one of those instances of having too much of a good thing, as there were quite a few good brawls on this show but there wasn’t really enough good actual wrestling to compliment it and the show ended up feeling a bit samey when all was said and done. Still, three matches at *** or higher on an eight match ECW Arena show from the mid-90’s isn’t a bad return when all is said and done, and the general storyline advancement was strong as well.
Mildly Recommended Show