Ryan's Dive into 95 - Part 28 (7/9 - 7/15)

Horowitz wins, the SMW vs. USWA feud continues to cook, more shoot-style tag action, ECW Heatwave '95, and more!

If you haven’t read it already, please check out my introductory article that explains what this series is all about. As a reminder, footage is sourced from the Goodhelmet 1995 Yearbook, unless otherwise stated.

This week at The Dive, we have a memorable upset from a WWF C-show, more awesomeness from the SMW/USWA rivalry, shoot-style tag action from our friends at UWFi, ECW Heatwave ‘95, and much more!

Well…

JULY 9th

WWF Wrestling Challenge - Well, look at that. A rare appearance from WWF Wrestling Challenge! Other than one infamous debut next week that we’ll get into, this is the last hurrah for the syndicated C-show. With RAW, Action Zone and Superstars all on the airwaves, Challenge became more and more irrelevant and was phased out. The last episode aired on August 27th, 1995.

Skip vs. Barry Horowitz - This match was also shown on Action Zone. Barry is a longtime jobber who has NEVER EVER won a match in The Fed. Well, except for all those wins on house shows, dark matches, and Prime Time Wrestling. All signs point to this being a routine squash for Skip as was the norm on Wrestling Challenge. Sunny cuts her usual “fat and ugly” promo on the crowd as Jim Ross and Todd Pettingill talk over her.

Skip is undefeated at this point but hasn't been given anything other than enhancement squashes. Skip armdrags Barry to start, but Barry evades some moves and launches into his own offense, including a European uppercut and a big back body drop. Barold makes the mistake of patting himself on the back and mocking the jumping jacks as Skip reassumes control with a suplex. Skip takes his time between moves, at one point yelling into the camera.

Skip hits a flying fistdrop and a dropkick, then dazzles us with some push-ups…but Barry grabs a three-quarter nelson and GETS THE PIN! JR gives us the legendary “HOROWITZ WINS! HOROWITZ WINS! HOROWITZ WINS!” call as the crowd goes NUTS.

* - There wasn't much to the match, but it's all about the moment which is still remembered to this day. That's not something you can say about much else from B- and C- show WWF from around this time. I wish more enhancement-centric shows had these kinds of upsets more often, if only to wake the crowd up after hours of tedious squashes.

I’d like to say that this led to a sustained push for Barry, but other than a few more victories over Skip and an upset win over (and eventual partnership with) Hakushi, it didn’t really amount to all that much. He did get really over for a period and banked some PPV paydays off the back of this, though, so it wasn’t all bad. Again, it sucks that this was the best they had for Chris Candido, but it at least gave him something to do, and the in-ring stuff and character work he did during this rivalry was quite good.

JULY 10th

WWF Monday Night RAW - We check in with Jeff Jarrett! BREE WOO, MOTHERFUCKER! In a replay of one of Double J's original introductory segments, he's heading to a meeting with a record executive. Jeff has Memphis manager Ronnie P. Gossett in tow.

Jeff and Ronnie are quickly rebuffed and booted out of the office. Jeff then heads to Las Vegas and runs into legendary confetti enthusiast Rip Taylor. Jeff's cow print suit is peak fashion.

Jeff spells his name as is custom and plugs his billion-selling album, “Ain't I Great?”. Fun fact: that album sold so many copies that it is the one and only recording in history to be certified “palladium” by the RIAA.

Next, we have a commercial for the second In Your House PPV. Razor Ramon shows up at this dude's house.

They watch WWF highlights on the couch. There's no way a wrestling fan's house is THAT clean. He totally lives with his mom.

Man Mountain Rock, The Bushwhackers, Ray Rougeau, Bob Backlund, the Smoking Gunns, and several ladies also join in on the fun.

The guy's mom comes home (CALLED IT!) and everyone but the guy is gone.

In the ring, we have an interview segment with SYCHO SID! Ted DiBiase cuts a promo on Diesel while Sid stares at Vince McMahon.

DiBiase introduces their lumberjacks for the upcoming WWF Championship match at In Your House 2. We got:

• Blue shirt-era IRS

• Tatanka

• Henry Godwinn

• Jean-Pierre Lafitte (former ROH Champion PCO with a pirate gimmick)

• Jacob and Eli Blu

• Rad Radford (Louie Spicolli with a grunge rocker gimmick)

• MANTAUR (rest in peace, king)

• Skip

• Hunter Hearst-Helmsley

• Kama

• Jimmy Del Ray

• Mo

• King Mabel

• Ted Turner

• Hank Aaron

• Jeff Foxworthy

• The guy who invented Coca-Cola

• The Magician

Holy shit, what an absolute dog's breakfast of a heel roster.

Sid proclaims himself the master and ruler of the world. I'm not gonna tell him otherwise.

JULY 11th

ECW Hardcore TV - Joey Styles throws it over to pre-taped footage of The Gangstas assaulting The Public Enemy after Hardcore Heaven. They spray-paint “G”s on Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock.

The Gangstas cut a promo on TPE, staking their claim as legitimate gangstas as opposed to The Public Enemy being “lyrical gangsters”. New Jack runs down their reputation for getting fined and banned from several promotions. Jack threatens to kick “The Public Enema’s” ass while Mustafa stands there and makes noises, then closes off with “DEEZ NUTS”.

JULY 13th

UWFi Soul The UWF Spirits - We return to UWFi for a bit of shoot-style tag action.

Masahito Kakihara & Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. The Golden Cups (Yoji Anjoh & Yoshihiro Takayama) - Hey, it’s a young, bearded, non-blonde Yoshihiro Takayama! He's just over three years into his career at this point. ‘Yama looks like he could have fathered Yota Tsuji.

Kakihara later moved onto AJPW and joined the NOAH exodus, but got into a tiff with fellow wrassler Takao Omori and ended up spending the rest of his career back in AJPW, then in NJPW. Kanehara started off in pro wrestling but was primarily an MMA fighter who found his greatest success in RINGS (after it pivoted into a fully-fledged MMA outfit).

Kakihara and Takayama start us off, with Kakihara catching Takayama with a stiff open-hand strike then unleashing a flurry of strikes before getting a triangle choke. Takayama escapes and grapples on top for a bit. They do some slick counter-grappling before getting caught up in the ropes.

Back up, Takayama nails some nasty knees and palmstrikes, then suplexes Kakihara onto his FACE. After Takayama works a bit on top, Kakihara escapes and grabs a jujigatame, forcing Takayama to seek asylum in the ropes. Takayama again asserts his will with knees, but Kakihara knees him in the bread basket. Anjo tags in, and a super-intense grappling sequence follows with Anjo getting the best of it to the crowd’s delight. Anjo cranks a standing double-wristlock, but Kakihara eventually wrestles his way out of it and nails a German suplex.

Kanehara tags in and goes head-hunting with some kicks, but Anjo dodges. Kanehara gets a headlock takeover and gets a jujigatame, forcing Anjo to use a rope break. Takayama tags back in and gets a headlock takeover and goes for the leg. Kanehara manages a legbar of his own, but Takayama counters into a rear-naked choke that forces Kanehara to escape via the ropes.

Anjo comes in and knees the tar out of Kanehara, who quickly comes back with an overhead suplex…but Anjo holds onto the arm for an armbar! Anjo converts it to a kimura, forcing Kanehara to burn another rope break. Anjo grabs a legbar, forcing another rope break and Kanehara to wisely tag out. Kakihara wants some of Anjo, but Anjo tags out to Takayama. What a dick. Kakihara grabs a legbar on his much larger opponent, then deftly transitions into a half-crab. Takayama breaks via the ropes as we are square at 18 points.

Kakihara picks the leg, but Takayama snatches a chinlock and works a jujigatame that is immediately broken via the ropes. Back up, Kakihara catches Takayama with a palmstrike that knocks him on his ass. Kanehara checks in and unleashes some strikes until Anjo tags back in. Anjo ends up with a rear naked choke, forcing a rope break. They back into Kanehara's corner, and Kakihara tags in and immediately ROCKS Anjo's shit with a head kick. Team Kakihara is now up 16-12 (as knockdowns deduct three points).

Anjo is so loopy he thought he was back at the Gracie Dojo, and Takayama tags back in. Kakihara grabs his own rear naked choke which Takayama escapes via the ropes. Kanehara tags in and gets in some kicks, the most successful of which being in the midsection, but Takayama catches a kick and lands a damn fisherman’s suplex! Good grief! Another jujigatame from Takayama is broken up in the ropes. Armbar attempt by Kanehara is thwarted with a foot on the ropes. The score is now 15-10 for Kanehara's duo.

Kakihara comes in and lights Takayama up with strikes, with a high kick and some palms putting him on the canvas. We're at 15-7 now as Takayama misses a rolling solebutt, but does tag in Anjo. Anjo and Kakihara do a nifty exchange that results in a legbar on Kakihara. He breaks via the ropes and tags in Kanehara who has some success when grapping Anjo. He goes for some kicks, but Anjo parries the blows and tags Takayama back in.

Yoshihiro knees the crap out of Kanehara, resulting in a knockdown to make the score 11-7. Kanehara burns another point with a rope break after Takayama grapevines the legs. Kanehara limps back to the corner and tags out.

Kakihara and Takayama grapple for a bit, with Kakihara forcing Takayama to eat another rope break. 10-6 now for Kakihara's Krew. Anjo tags in and eats a German suplex. Kakihara works an armbar but can't quite get it. Kanehara tags in and kicks Anjo, but Anjo catches a head kick, takes him down, and applies an STF! Kanehara taps! Anjo and Takayama win!

**** - This was a great shoot-style tag affair. Tons of interesting and intense grappling sequences with brutal strikes and throws throughout. Takayama was an absolute BEAST here with his raw power and skill on full display, and Anjo and Kakihara were great tacticians with their grappling and striking. Kanehara was brutal with his strikes yet at times overly ambitious, creating an interesting narrative throughout the match. His over-reliance on kicks and need to score with headshots ended up costing his team despite them being somewhat far ahead on points.

JULY 15th

USWA Championship Wrestling - We're walkin’ in Memphis today with arena clips of PG-13 vs. The Rock N’ Roll Express as JC Ice immediately pins Rick Morton in the Midsouth Coliseum. Post-match, Mark Curtis hands Morton his boot spur and the beatdown is ON! And WHAT a beatdown it is! PG-13, the referee, and Randy Hales all get the living turd kicked out of them. Hales even does a nasty blade job while Curtis attacks him with maniacal glee.

PG-13 are pummeled with hubcaps and they're bleeding, too! Scott Studd and Brickhouse Brown try to intervene and are immediately yeeted. Curtis drops a leg on Hales, then another, then one on the ref! MARKAMANIA IS RUNNING WILD, BROTHER! Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher finally come out to chase them away. We get stills of the aftermath and footage of Hales being tended to by medical staff. The EMT tells the cameraman to “shut it off”.

This whole thing was a SPECTACULAR piece of business. Heel R&R Express and Mark Curtis continue to rule.

Hales is taken to a hospital local medical facility as we kick it to Lance and Dave. Lance Russell is rather somber here, mentioning Hales’ severe drop in blood pressure to REALLY ramp up the seriousness of the situation. Lance recaps the PG-13/R&R feud and dissects the rationale of why Morton and Gibson have been acting like total bastards. Basically, they were the ‘it’ team back in their day, but that time is long past and they DON’T LIKE THAT. PG-13 is the hot new team of the ‘90s, so they’re incurring the wrath of the veterans.

Dave then calls Mark Curtis a THUG. Great stuff from Lance here, being appropriately angry while not being over the top or beating you over the head with plot points like many announcers would.

We cut to Marky Mark and the Rocky Bunch backstage as Curtis gloats about wasting Randy Hales and upsetting all the USWA staffers and everyone on the roster. Ricky boasts about the beatdown, saying it took TWENTY GUYS to stop them. PG-13 wants the Express in a TEXAS DEATH MATCH. Morton puts over how dangerous the stip is and says that PG-13 will end up in a hospital bed next to Randy Hales. Robert Gibson says maybe two words here, but that's fine as Morton and Curtis cut great dickhead promos.

We throw it back to Lance Russell, who refers to Smoky Mountain as “a haven for outlaws”. Mark Curtis then comes out to accost Lance and snatches the microphone! Lance gets up and grabs it back, again calls Curtis a thug, tells him to hit the bricks, and goes to walk away…but Curtis grabs him! Lance swats his hand away and almost decks him! They argue for a bit, with Curtis threatening violence.

Curtis runs like a scalded dog when PG-13 come out to stop this from escalating further. Lance interviews them, with Wolfie D discussing Randy Hales who is now out of the hospital. He puts over Hales’ kindness and explained how bad he felt about what happened to him. Lance even interrupts to state that it was Dave Brown and Randy Hales that brought him back to the USWA.

Wolfie tells the Rock N’ Roll Express to call Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich and ask them what happens when you cross PG-13.

JC Ice reiterates the challenge for a Texas Death Match…but wants to call it a “Boyz N The Hood” Death Match. JC promises on his MOTHER that the Express will leave in an ambulance.

Great intensity and gravitas from everyone here, with Lance again being brilliant. This whole SMW vs. USWA angle is absolute FIRE.

We now get a promo from Jim Cornette and Buddy Landel. Cornette recounts the recent happenings with Mark Curtis, Randy Hales, Rock N’ Roll Express, and PG-13. Landel is coming to the USWA to wrestle Jerry “The King” Lawler for the Unified World Championship. Budro cuts a promo putting over his achievements since last year, overcoming his greatest enemy (himself), losing 50 pounds, and winning the SMW Heavyweight Championship. He is WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATERIAL and pledges to take the belt from Jerry Lawler. Another great promo from Buddy here.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling - We start off…WITH A MATCH?

PG-13 vs. Matt & Jeff Hardy - Oh, shit, it's a young Jeff & Hardy!

Shoutout to Twitter user MattyDTrash for that screenshot. High Voltage is 20 at this point and Jeffrey Nero is 17.

PG-13 attack before the bell, but the Hardys get a bit of early shine with some dropkicks. PG-13 soon regain the advantage and beat down Matt for some heat. Matt dodges a double clothesline and hits a double-clothesline of his own and tags in Jeff. He's a house afire, though his dropkicks are ASS at this point. Not Erik Watts bad, but still terrible. He misses one and PG-13 hit a double-facecrusher for the pin.

3/4* - Novelty aside, this was a basic squash that showed PG-13's tag prowess while giving the Hardys a bit of offense. The Hardys were green as hell but did show some promise…well, other than Jeff’s dropkicks.

Les Thatcher catches up with the USWA tag champs after the match. Wolfie D boasts about there being NO COMPETITION and run down the Rock N’ Roll Express and The Thugs. JC Ice brings up Randy Hales and suggests that SMW will be hearing from his lawyer. All of these guys need to be commended for being able to slip effortlessly into either face or heel roles depending on the territory.

We catch up with Paul Bearer and The Undertaker as they are coming back to Smoky Mountain. Undertaker cuts a promo on future opponent Unabomb, putting over his athleticism. He posits that Unabomb's allegiance to Jim Cornette will COST HIM HIS SOUL.

We now have Cornette's Militia backstage with Les Thatcher. On August 4th, Tommy Rich and Terry Gordy are set to face the Mongolian Stomper and Boo Bradley. Tommy Rich insults the fans and cuts a promo on their upcoming opponents. Not much of note here.

Interview-a-palooza continues with Al Snow & Unabomb. They were set for a TV tag title defense against the Rock N’ Roll Express, but the Express aren't in the building yet. SMW commish “Bullet” Bob Armstrong comes out and books a title match for RIGHT NOW.

SMW Tag Team Championship: Al Snow & Unabomb (c) vs. The Thugs - Fans pop huge for Tracy Smothers and Dirty White Boy. Like, actual high-pitched screaming like it was…blast, who the devil do the teenagers like…uhhh…ummm…Morgan Freeman.

Unabomb and Smothers start off, with the idiot mayor asserting his will until Smothers comes back with a leaping heel kick for two. Snow and DWB check in, with the future TL Hopper bumping Snow out of the ring off an elbow. Dirty hits a big side slam for two, then tags Smothers back in.

Al eats a double-team, but Unabomb low-bridges Smothers to shift the advantage to the Dynamic Duo. Snow hits a DANDY springboard plancha to Smothers. Snow suplexes Smothers gut-first on the ropes, then Unabomb hits a huge legdrop to the prone Tracy! The champs dominate for a while as Snow hits a standing moonsault for two. More double-teams follow, including an elbow variant of the Poetry in Motion. The heels attempt another one, but Smothers moves and it's HOT TAG DIRTY WHITE BOY!

DWB unloads with the punchings, but Unabomb overwhelms him and holds him in place for a superkick from Snow…but the White Boy ducks!

White Boy boots Snow into a roll-up from Smothers for the three and the belts!

**1/2 - Not a bad little TV tag match at all. Dirty White Boy continues to be much more fun in a tag setting than as a singles guy on top. Smothers is a great babyface, Snow busted out creative offense, and Unabomb…didn't do a ton other than the odd flash of athleticism. The title change makes sense as Unabomb was on his way to New York to be a dentist. Come to think of it, all four of these guys would end up in The Fed with dead-end gimmicks within a year.

Backstage, the new champs celebrate their win with Bullet Bob and Brad Armstrong. Tracy puts over the former champs, and the beers are on Dirty White Boy!

However, the Rock N’ Roll Express FINALLY show up to the arena and are none too happy about The Thugs getting their title shot. They have call times for a reason, guys. The seeds of dissension have been sown in the babyface ranks!

WCW Saturday Night - On The Mothership this week, we head back to the Dungeon of Doom. The Master introduces the next warrior to drive the proverbial stake into the very heart of Hulkamania: THE ZODIAC! The Taskmaster is GIDDY as Zodiac just says “yes” and “no” a lot. He’s just like Bryan Danielson during his WWE stint, but one one-billionth the worker. Zodiac is of course Ted Cruz Ed Leslie in his 4th or 5th gimmick since joining WCW. He’s just some goober in black and white makeup, but he would later turn out to be A MOLE sent to infiltrate the DoD by the Hulkster himself.

We then cut to another warrior joining the ranks. This time, it's KAMALA. He arrives, slaps his tum-tum, and leaves.

Zodiac returns to the land of light, I guess. Shark comes out as The Master screams about tidal waves and and shit. I made a comment earlier about the state of the WWF heel roster, but WCW's rogues gallery was also ridiculously dire. This is all really bad, but perversely entertaining 28 years later.

We send it over to “Mean” Gene Okerlund, who brings out Ric Flair for a chinwag. Flair comes out with a harem that Rean Schwarzer would be proud of.

Gene asks Flair about the upcoming Lifeguard match (a beachified lumberjack match) at tomorrow's Bash at the Beach pape. Flair says that the ladies are the party for after he destroys “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Flair has his “Space Mountainettes” surround the ring as he goes into the ring to face an unnamed jobber (Barry Houston, maybe?) while wearing his suit.

Flair beats down the jobber and tosses him to the lifeguards who roll him into the ring. Macho Man runs in to get him some of Flair, awarding him the “match” via DQ. Savage beats the crap out of Flair, and the ladies keep rolling Flair back into the ring! A battery of jobbers restrain Macho as Flair gets in a few free shots before hightailing it.

Savage comes back out and attacks the jobbers for holding him down, as he SHOULD. Mean Gene catches up with him at the interview station. Savage promises to clear a path to Huntington Beach and take out the Nature Boy at SLIM JIM'S BASH AT THE BEACH! SURF'S UP!

Another fun, heated segment with Flair and Savage. These guys are carrying WCW at this point.

ECW Heatwave ‘95 - We start off our look at ECW's latest supercard with Bill Alfonso coming into the ring and saying stuff I can't really hear because of a combination of nuclear crowd heat and the sound system being shit. Probably something about wanting to shut the show down. A few fans pelt the ring with garbage.

Tod Gordon comes out looking to kick some ass. They snipe at each other as Tod takes off his jacket, indicating that he MEANS BUSINESS. After Fonzie counts down for some reason, Tod lariats his damn head off to rapturous applause! He hits some punches as the chaos is broken up by jobbers and refs. Tod going King’s Road on Fonzie was fun, but the sound system suuuuuuucks.

Cage Match: Stevie Richards vs. Luna Vachon - Yes, it’s an intergender cage match. You don’t see THAT everyday, especially around this time. Stevie is rather apprehensive about the whole deal.

Not that I blame him. I mean, look at her! Would you want to get in a cage with THAT?

She’s walking down the ring looking ready to kill Stevie; kinda the same way Gordon Ramsay looked at her son Van when he left plastic wrap on the fish during Season 6 of Hell's Kitchen.

Luna chases Stevie around the ring during the ring intros and tosses him into the cage. Stevie bumps around like a rubber ball and sells his ass off for Luna here. Luna hits a double legdrop as Stevie is BUSTED OPEN. She then applies the dreaded STOMACH CLAW!

Richards goes to the eyes to escape but again eats steel. Luna hits a swinging neckbreaker and lands a pump splash off the cage! Luna PICKS RICHARDS UP at two as she wants to further castigate Big Stevie Cool. Steven comes back with an inverted atomic drop, drawing a dramatic “oh my god” from Joey. Richards misses a dropkick, so Luna hits a series of hair-assisted throws. Stevie's a bloody MESS at this point. Luna claws at Stevie's face, but he again goes to the eyes to escape. Stevie hits a POWERBOMB!

Now Luna eats the steel, and SHE is now busted open! Luna comes back with a DDT for two, but Stevie immediately hits another powerbomb…for two! Stevie hits his own swinging neckbreaker, then scales the cage for a SUPER DUPER FLYING NOTHING (shoutout Brian Zane) as he eats a boot from Luna!

Luna hits a swinging neckbreaker and hits a splash off the ropes (well, with her legs), but pulls Stevie up again! Luna applies the TESTICULAR CLAW for the submission!

*** - Your mileage is going to vary depending on your feelings on intergender wrestling and the level of violence here, but I enjoyed the hell out of this. Some may say that Luna dominating is ludicrous, but, I mean, it's fucking Luna Vachon. Stevie did a great job as the hapless lackey getting his ass beat and making Luna look like a killer while hitting his own spots as needed. It was dumb as shit at times, sure, but add in the nutty highspots, copious amounts of blood, and a hilarious finish, and you end up with some highly entertaining trash.

Post-match, Luna continues to pummel Richards. Raven makes his way into the cage, locking the door, and DDTing Luna as The Dudleys and The Pitbulls brawl at ringside. Tommy Dreamer and The Pitbulls (kinda sounds like a 60’s soft rock band) come in for the save. The Pibbles escort Luna out of the cage, and Dreamer tosses Stevie out.

Raven is pummeled, then cuffed to the cage as if he is being crucified. Dreamer whacks Raven in the dick with a piece of lumber, shouts “ECW!” and absolutely UNLOADS with a chairshot on Raven’s unprotected skull.

Yes, this was the famous “Chairshot Heard ‘Round the World” that would feature heavily in ECW video packages and low-quality videos from P2P file download services for years to come.

Knowing what we now know about concussions and CTE, I would SO not be into the idea of anyone replicating this nowadays, but it was a hell of a deal back in the day. At the very least, it gave Dreamer another one-up on Raven that doesn't involve a pinfall victory.

Other stuff that happened:

• Mikey Whipwreck pinned “Stormin’” Mike Norman after a FrankenMikey.

• Raven & Stevie Richards retained their ECW Tag Team Championship against Don E. Allen & Tony Stetson by way of being counted out. Raven and Richards were distracted when Beulah got in an altercation with Richards’ admirer/stalker (the future Francine), thus they left the ring and ended up getting counted out, awarding the match to the undercarders. A big brawl involving the champs, the Dudleys, the Pitbulls, and Tommy Dreamer erupts, resulting in Dreamer breaking some of Raven's fingers in retaliation for what happened at Barbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams. This was also semi-famous for Joey's “I'll be damned, Stevie likes girls” line that I can't imagine would fly nowadays.

• Hack Meyers pinned Val Puccio (the former Big Malley) in a rematch from Hardcore Heaven that nobody asked for.

• Tommy Dreamer & The Pitbulls defeated Raven & The Dudleys via superbomb on Li’l Snot.

• Taz & Eddy Guerrero upended 2 Cold Scorpio and Dean Malenko after Paul E. Dangerously cellphone’d Scorpio in the head, leading to a TAZPLEX. However, Bill Alfonso negated the decision due to Heyman’s interference, resulting in the match restarting. Soon after, Scorpio and Malenko pinned Guerrero and Taz simultaneously for the win. This match, among others, was clipped to hell on the home video release.

  • Afterwards, Dangerously and Alfonso went at it, and it led to 911 coming out to chokeslam Rob Feinstein. I can't imagine that's the only time 911 was ever called on that guy.

• The Sandman retained the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against Axl Rotten in a real match that actually happened.

• In the main event, The Gangstas beat The Public Enemy in a cage match after Mustafa sprayed something in Johnny Grunge’s eyes and pinned him.

---

Well, we certainly ended this week with a bang; the ‘bang’ being an absolutely sickening chairshot to the head. The highlights of the week are the Horowitz win, the UWFi tag, the ECW cage match and the aftermath, and all of the USWA/SMW stuff. Pretty fun week all-round.

NEXT TIME: WCW Bash at the Beach is on the horizon. Also, more fun from the USWA/SMW feud, another UWFi tag bout, and BONUS CONTENT featuring another infamously bad WWF gimmick.

Smell ya later!