Mike Reviews Shows Considered To Be Stinkers – ECW Battle of the Belts 1993

Happy Stinky Friday Everyone!

Back with another Stinker Review today, which is where I look at a show with a bad reputation and see if said reputation is fairly earned or not. Today we’ve got ECW Battle of the Belts 1993, a show that sits at a thoroughly miserable 3.18 out of 10 over on Cage Match (as of the day I am looking at the page).

Battle of the Belts is a show from very early on in ECW’s existence, back before they really started making a name for themselves in 1994 with the whole NWA screw-job thing. This event also has involvement from the World Wrestling Association, which is a promotion from New Jersey that folded in the second half of the 90’s.

Former wrestler Larry Sharpe looked to be the one running the WWA promotion from 1993 up until it’s death, and they actually managed to get Dude Love, King Kong Bundy and Jimmy Snuka in for their finale show in 1997.

We’ve got both Kerry Von Erich and Davey Boy Smith making appearances here, with this show actually being one of KVE’s final ever matches. The Main Event of Eddie Gilbert Vs Terry Funk sounds like it will be good, but I have no idea about the rest of the card. Let’s see if Battle of the Belts 1993 is as bad as the “inmates” over on Cage Match seem to think it is.

You can view the full card for Battle of the Belts 93 by clicking below;

ECW Battle of the Belts 1993 Card

Battle of the Belts is emanating from Philly, PA on the 23rd of January 1993

Opening Match
WWA Junior Heavyweight Title
Champion: “Surfer” Ray Odyssey Vs Chris Evans

Odyssey did a surfer gimmick and never made it out of the Indy scene, with working some ECW shots seemingly being as high up the totem pole as he could get. Evans, not to be confused with the actor or the British television presenter, seemingly wrestled solely in the North East and his ECW career extended to Battle of the Belts and nothing else. Evans cuts a muffled promo about the local sports team before the match starts, which ensures that he gets booed during the match. Scott Dickinson of WCW fame seems to be referee here, and he actually played a pivotal role in a match in my Souled Out 1999 review last week. Odyssey gets the better of things early on, and even delivers a body press to the outside onto Evans during the shine, which leads to Evans going to the Larry Z bag of tricks by stalling on the floor.

Evans kind of looks like a combination of Spark Plug Bob Holly and Scotty 2 Hotty during his Scott Taylor enhancement talent days, complete with a mullet that’s starting to thin on top. Odyssey by comparison looks like a cross between Ricky Morton and Lobo from CZW. Evans eventually manages to send Odyssey to the floor and follows with an Axe Handle Smash to take over, giving us our heat segment. Odyssey sells that fine, whilst Evans keeps it simple with strikes and Heel tactics, such as gouging the eyes etc. Neither wrestler has much of a physique or much in the way of good in-ring skills either, but they’re both basically fine for this level of wrestling, so the heat segment isn’t offensively bad or anything. Odyssey eventually makes the comeback, getting a nice dropkick off the top at one stage, and a Sunset Flip soon follows for three.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: RAY ODYSSEY
RATING: *1/2

Thoughts: This was every opener ever, as they established a Heel, established a babyface, did a little bit of stuff to warm up the crowd and then the babyface won. Nothing you’d ever want to see again, and you could tell from watching the match why neither of these guys made it to WCW or the WWF during this period, but for an Indy show like this it was fine as an opener. Evans kicking at 3.1 from the pinning hold almost made the finish look like a botch, but the fans seemed to accept it at least

Dennis Coralluzzo, the WWA promoter, joins us to introduce the WWA team for the next match, whilst Todd Gordon joins us to do similar for the ECW team. Both of them draw some boos from the crowd.

Match Two
ECW Tag Team Title & WWA Tag Team Title
WWA Champs: Lords Of Darkness (Agony and Pain) w/ Tricky Nicky Vs ECW Champs: The Super Destroyers (Super Destroyer #1 and Super Destroyer #2) w/ Hunter Q. Robbins III

The Lords of Darkness are career journeymen Barry Hardy and Duane Gill under masks. Gill will perhaps be better known to some of you as former WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Gillberg. The Super Destroyers are two masked dudes who got a reasonable push in the early days of ECW, with Robbins III being your run-of-the-mill snooty rich Heel who gets underlings to do his dirty work for him. Both of these teams appear to ostensibly be Heels, but The Destroyers clear the ring and pop the crowd to start, so I guess they’ll be the babyfaces for tonight? Coralluzzo and Gordon argue on the mic during the match, whilst The Super Destroyers actually work a decent powerhouse team babyface shine on the Lords of Darkness, with Hardy and Gill both taking good bumps for the opposing team.

Hardy and Gill kept getting booked as enhancement talent for a reason, because they could be relied upon to have an acceptable match with most opponents and take good bumps, so they are both well suited to being generic masked Heels who are there to make a more limited team of powerhouses look good. The Super Destroyers look about average for this level of wrestling, but they’d definitely be exposed on a bigger stage, whilst Lords of Darkness could hold their own in a bigger promotion from an in-ring perspective, but their lack of marketable looks or charisma would keep them firmly locked to the lower reaches of the card. Eventually one of The Destroyers misses an elbow drop, and that allows the Lords of Darkness to work a little bit of heat, which leads to the two managers going at it. One Super Destroyer pins a Lord of Darkness, whilst one Lord of Darkness pins a Super Destroyer, but I guess the Destroyer’s pin was the legal one, so they win the belts as a result.

WINNERS AND NEW WWA CHAMPIONS: THE SUPER DESTROYERS
RATING: *1/2

Thoughts: Like the opener, if you put this match in a major promotion it would be awful, but for a smaller show like this it wasn’t too bad. Hardy and Gill held things together well enough and they mostly kept things simple, so it was an acceptable enough contest for this kind of setting

Match Three
Salvatore Bellomo Vs “The Modern Day Warrior” Kerry von Erich

Bellomo was a lower card WWF wrestler during the 80’s and he mostly worked the North East Indy scene in the 90’s. During a time when ECW was still trying to draw the family crowd before they fully embraced the whole “Extreme” aspect of the promotion, Bellomo was the beloved comedy worker who was there to be a hero for the kids. KVE was a huge star in his father’s Texas territory and then eventually moved to the WWF in the 90’s, where he became the Intercontinental Champion. Sadly his life totally fell apart due to personal issues and he’d end up un-aliving himself less than a month after this Battle of the Belts show. I think KVE is supposed to be a mystery opponent of some kind here, but he clearly didn’t understand that or just didn’t get the memo, so he enters wearing a mask but also wearing his ring robe that has “Kerry” written on the back of it, so even Stevie Wonder would be able to work out who this masked mystery man is supposed to be.

Bellomo appears to have a manager here who is dressed up like The Grand Wizard, whilst KVE is being managed by Nancy “Woman” Toffoloni. KVE quickly punches the less-than-Grand Wizard to send him tumbling off the apron, and the match starts soon after, with KVE keeping the mask on at first until Bellomo removes it for the “big reveal” although it’s not like it’s some great surprise. The match is mostly a stand-up brawl, with punches and rest holds being the order of the day. KVE’s selling is actually decent here, although he does seem to have it in cruise control for the most part. Bellomo doesn’t really do much as far as being an interesting opponent for the former Texas Tornado, but KVE at least has enough fans in the crowd that the bout has some atmosphere. KVE eventually does a half-interested comeback from a Bellomo rest hold and the two tumble to the floor for the double count out.

DOUBLE COUNT OUT
RATING: 1/2*

Thoughts: Kerry Von Erich had little to nothing left in the tank by this stage of his career, and the match was pretty dull as a result, with it mostly being the two standing around and punching one another. The crowd at least seemed to be invested in KVE, so it had that going for it, but that was about all. The finish was super lousy too, although you’d get less of those kind of finishes in the coming years when ECW became “Extreme” and didn’t do DQ’s/Count Outs as much

Battle of the Belts has certainly been one heck of a show thus far!

KVE cuts a post-match promo, where he says he’ll fight Bellomo again anytime anyplace. It was heartening to hear him get such a good response from the crowd at least, hopefully that gave him a modicum of comfort during such a miserable period of his life that he sadly couldn’t bounce back from.

Match Four
Brass Knuckles Bullrope Cowbell
Johnny Hot Body Vs Tony Stetson

Hot Body would go on to form a tag team with Chris Candido later on in 1993, whilst Stetson would end up as the hockey themed Broadstreet Bully character. We don’t get ring introductions here, so I’m not sure which wrestler is which, due to them both looking pretty generic. The fans mostly just want blood and they eventually get some, with Hot Body getting a quick pin in what looks to be a botched three count. Stetson had taken most of the match prior to that and it looked like there was more match to come, so I’m happy calling that one a botch.

WINNER: JOHNNY HOT BODY
RATING: DUD

Thoughts: Yeah this blew; with no ring introductions making it hard to know who either wrestler was, and the quick out of nowhere finish appeared to be a screw up on either the wrestler’s or referees part

Match Five
The Masked Superstar Vs Davey Boy Smith

Masked Superstar had success with both that gimmick and also as Demolition Ax in the WWF. Davey Boy had just left the WWF and was soon to be joining WCW, with this ECW run being a brief stopgap. He also did some shows for All Star Wrestling back home in the UK too during this period. Superstar looks absolutely awful here, as he gets a few punches before quickly getting Powerslammed for the three count.

WINNER: DAVEY BOY SMITH
RATING: SQUASH

Thoughts: Miserable stuff there, as Superstar’s offence was terrible and Davey Boy did all of one move before picking up the win. I can’t imagine paying a ticket specifically to see either of these guys and then getting THAT

Co-Main
ECW Heavyweight Title & WWA Heavyweight Title
ECW Champ: The Sandman w/ Miss. Peaches Vs WWA Champ: The Spider

Sandman hadn’t yet developed his violent cane swinging gimmick yet, with him being a wacky guy in brightly coloured outfits who actually attempted to wrestle, badly. The Spider would go on to become Headbanger Thrasher in the WWF. Coralluzzo demands that Scott Dickinson referee this one instead of John Finnegan, and he gets his way. Spider seems to be more popular with the crowd here, but Sandman doesn’t really play Heel and instead goes into the subtle Heel role by controlling things in the middle of the bout. Sandman doesn’t cheat or anything like that, he just gains control with a suplex and works Spider over a bit with clotheslines and holds.

This match has consistently had some of the best crowd reactions all night thus far. Wrestling wise it hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been actively bad either. There’s been some sloppiness at points, but overall it’s been fine for a Co-Main on an Indy show, especially as both wrestlers are clearly putting in the effort and the crowd response has been decent throughout the bout, with the vast majority of the crowd showing their support for The Spider, who gets the occasional roll-up and hope spot, but Sandman always manages to regain control. Eventually Dickinson gets squashed in the corner accidentally by Spider, and then replacement ref Finnegan gets bumped as well. Coralluzzo and Gordon both wind up in the ring, and things breakdown for a Double DQ.

DOUBLE DQ (BOTH BELTS RETAINED BY RESPECTIVE CHAMPIONS)
RATING: **

Thoughts: If they weren’t going to switch one of the belts then this was probably the best way to do a non-finish, as I don’t think either Sandman or Spider had enough in the tank for a Broadway. The Promotion Vs Promotion aspect of this did seem to get over with the crowd and the non-finish with the two promoters scuffling seemed to satisfy the crowd, so the lame finish doesn’t get too bad of a reaction

The ECW and WWA locker room’s empty following that in order to break up the fight between the two Champion’s, and the crowd is into it. It just shows how effective inter-promotional stuff can be if you do it correctly, even at this level of wrestling.

Main Event
I Quit Texas Death
“Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert Vs Terry Funk

Gilbert was the Main Event star of ECW during it’s initial run before he got forced out later on in 1993. This was actually Funk’s ECW debut, and he would go on to take part in some of the company’s most famous moments. They just go straight to brawling in this one, with Funk getting the better of things and Gilbert taking all kinds of bumps for it, including a bump off the apron to the floor at one stage that didn’t look fun at all. Funk is playing the babyface here, as he’s happy to fight, whilst Gilbert keeps employing stall tactics and actively tries to run away at points. Gilbert eventually manages to tangle Funk up in the ropes and throws some punches, which causes The Funkster to swing back and forth in his own imitable style. There’s a lot of bumping going on from both wrestlers actually, as both of them are putting in genuine effort here and they’re not dogging it anywhere like some of the other veterans we’ve seen tonight. Granted the focus is on brawling and character work, but that’s what both of these two were best at in 1993 due to Funk creeping up in age and Gilbert’s body breaking down as a result of a prior traffic collision, as well as all of the personal issues he had going on at the time.

The crowd responds well to this one, with them clearly being into the violence on display, as Gilbert slams Funk’s head into a table at ringside at one stage. We get some crowd brawling following that, which feels special because we haven’t seen a tonne of it tonight already, which was a mistake ECW would make in it’s later years by overdoing it with the brawling rather than rationing it so that it meant more when it happened. We of course get some classic I Quit “hit your opponent with the microphone and demand that they quit” stuff, which always goes down a treat when done in well in these types of bout. Funk is especially good at being a defiant babyface in that kind of situation, as Gilbert gains control of the bout and batters Funk with anything not tied down, but Funk bravely keeps fighting and the crowd stays with him. Funk does the punch drunk “swinging at air” stuff at one stage, but he eventually fights back and soon everyone has some blood on them, which placates the people in the crowd who bought a ticket in order to seem some violence tonight.

I’m wondering, is this the famous show where fans were dipping their ticket stubs in Funks blood? To be honest, it looks like they’d have more luck trying to get some of Gilbert’s plasma here, as he’s in far worst shape of the two. Gilbert shows he isn’t a total wimp by refusing to quit, but that just earns him a suplex out on the floor from Funk. The floor does have carpeting on it at least, so it’s not like Gilbert is falling on bare concrete or wood, but it still doesn’t look fun to take bumps out there. I’d hate to work at the venue and have to arrange for a carpet cleaner following this show though. Telling someone you need them to come and clean up blood from a carpet is probably never a fun conversation to have. Gilbert gets desperate and goes to the old Mempho Fireball, but Funk still won’t quit, although he sells the pain of the fireball fantastically, to the point that you can sense some of the crowd are almost uncomfortable. When you can make ECW fans actually worried for your safety, then you know your selling is on point!

Funk eventually starts fighting back, with it sounding like that he’s yelling that Gilbert is crazy, although he might have been yelling something else. It’s Terry Funk, screaming incoherently during a bloody brawl is very on brand for him, so who knows. Whatever he says fires up the crowd though, as we get a “Terry” chant and that leads to Funk bringing in the wooden ring steps and tying up Gilbert’s leg in the ropes. Funk clobbers Gilbert’s leg with the steps over and over, with Gilbert yelling that Funk is going to break his leg, but Gilbert still won’t quit, although he’s doing one heck of a sell job. I’m not sure if Gilbert does eventually quit or if it just gets waved off, but Coralluzzo gets into the ring to check on Gilbert and the bell rings soon after. Either way, Gilbert was all but doomed there, so if it was called off then it was the right decision.

WINNER: TERRY FUNK
RATING: ***1/2

Thoughts: This was a really good brawl, and the show needed a good match like this after an evening of bad/so-so ones. It wasn’t a crisp or smoothly executed match from a mechanical perspective, but they did an excellent job of getting across the idea that they were having a wild fight between two people who really didn’t like one another. Blood, brawling and character work were the name of the game here, which was something that ECW would latch onto and use as a way to gain more and more attention as the 90’s wore on. The selling from both wrestlers was on point, with them using the microphone to good effect as a way of creating drama, with both of them playing all the way to the back row both physically and vocally. This probably won’t be for everyone, but if you like your bloody brawls with plenty of selling and character work, then this will be the match for you!

Gilbert yells that he didn’t actually quit, so this feud will continue.

Is It Really A Stinker?

You know, after the first two matches I was going to say that Battle of the Belts wasn’t a Stinker because you have to grade these smaller shows on a curve sometimes. However, the run between Matches 3 to 5 was so bad that it pushed the show dangerously close to Stinkerdom. The Indy level wrestlers in the first two matches actually put some effort in, and for this level of wrestling their performances were acceptable. However, once the experienced wrestlers who actually could do better came out, they totally dogged it and the matches they had stunk as a result. The lads in the Bull Rope match seemed to actually care at least, but then their finish got blown and that was that for their contest being worth anything.

Thankfully the lads in the Co-main were working hard and the Main Event was actually good, so that bumps the show up ever-so-slightly, but I totally get why Battle of the Belts has such a bad rating over on Cage Match.

Final Rating – Stinky
(Scores done on a scale of Stinker/Stinky/Odourless/Pleasant/Fragrant)

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