Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part 31 (7/30 - 8/5)
ECW has great matches and loses a TV deal! Also, SMW SuperBowl of Wrestling dominates the week, Hayabusa and Gladiator throw down, 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.
How ya now?
I hope you’re ready for Smoky Mountain’s SUPERBOWL OF WRESTLING, because that’s going to be the meat of this week’s coverage. Aside from that, ECW has a very up-and-down week, more vignettes come your way from the WWF, and we have a great little slugfest from FMW.
Well…
JULY 30
FMW New Century ~Chapter 2 The Beginning July Series, Night 9 - Another FMW show, another ridiculous word salad for a show name.
Hayabusa vs. The Gladiator - For those who may not be aware, The Gladiator is Mike Awesome, and he fucking ruled. Incredible combination of size, power, and agility. He’s built like a steakhouse but handles like a bistro.
Gladiator starts hot by attacking FMW's ace before the bell! Hayabusa fights back with a handspring elbow, then points to Gladiator as if to say “try that again, you mulleted fuck”.
After a proper circling around, Hayabusa grounds Awesome and works the arm, employing several holds and techniques. This goes on until Gladiator lifts Hayabusa while he's applying a short-arm scissors and slams him to the mat. Awesome uses his power to his advantage, even hitting an overhead belly-to-belly WITHOUT going down with ‘Busa!
Awesome gets a clothesline for two, then locks in a camel clutch. Hayabusa breaks via the ropes, but Gladiator lande a HUGE German suplex for two! Awesome goes to launch ‘Busa, but he counters with a dropkick, then hits a springboard moonsault to the floor! Back in, Hayabusa hits a slingshot hilo and a standing moonsault for barely two. Hayabusa heads upstairs and hits an inverted frog splash for two! Hayabusa heads up again and lands a NICE 450 splash for another near-fall.
Awesome stunguns Hayabusa, catches a hurricanrana attempt with a powerbomb, and hits a huge running splash for two. The HEIGHT and hangtime he gets on this.
Electric chair drop from Awesome, then he lands a big top-rope splash for another two. Gladiator hits another powerbomb and heads upstairs, but Hayabusa cuts him off. Awesome fights back and looks for an avalanche powerbomb…but Hayabusa reverses that into a Frankensteiner! Holy shit! Awesome barely kicks out.
Hayabusa goes for a shooting star press, but he under-rotates, landing with his head and neck on Awesome’s body! Jesus FUCK, that was sickening.
Hayabusa is somehow able to get up and legdrop Awesome. He scales the ropes, but Awesome interrupts and lands a running Awesome Bomb for two!
Sitdown Awesomebomb gets another near-fall, then Awesome hits a TOP ROPE SITDOWN AWESOME BOMB for the three! Good grief!
***1/2 - Terrifying landing on the SSP aside, this was an incredibly entertaining car-wreck match. There isn't much in the way of long-term selling here, but sometimes I just want two guys throwing bombs at each other for ten minutes, and that's exactly what I got. I dug the “flying vs. power” wrinkle in the formula as Hayabusa busted out all kinds of nutty high-risk moves while Awesome was a complete beast with the high-impact offense. I also loved that they actually finished with the most spectacular spot of the match. Even the best highspot fests tend to get that wrong.
After the end credits, footage shows Hayabusa climbing into an ambulance and heading to the hospital. TO BE CONTINUED…
The errant SSP resulted in a cracked vertebrae and a busted lip, but Hayabusa would be back before long. Not surprisingly, he started to phase the shooting star press out of his repertoire and focus on all the other cool shit he could do.
JULY 31
WWF Monday Night RAW - We go back to last week as Jerry “The King” Lawler slags on Shawn Michaels during an interview. Everyone is gunning for the Intercontinental Title, even Lawler himself!
Shawn responds by calling Jerry's bluff and asking for a match between the two. We cut back to this week as Lawler catches up with Shawn backstage. Lawler taunts Shawn with the prospect of what Sycho Sid will do to him when he gets him in the ring at Summerslam.
Lawler wishes it was HIM facing Shawn instead of Sid. Shawn again tries to get him in the ring, but Lawler balks because of he took an oath to uphold JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY. Shawn keeps trying to goad Lawler into a match as the screen fades out.
There was a rumor going around that the Fed was going to pivot to Michaels vs. Lawler instead of the Michaels vs. Sid match at The Summerslam, so this was possibly meant to plant the seeds for that. Of course, neither of those matches happened.
Newly-minted Interim WWF President Gorilla Monsoon, wants to establish himself as a fan-friendly authority figure, scrapped Michaels vs. Sid and gave us Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match instead. In reality, the Summerslam card was looking like an ass sandwich, so the WWF opted to make some changes so they don’t get soundly panned again like they did for King of the Ring. Out went Sid and a tag title match between Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. The Allied Powers and in went Razor, a ladder, and 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi.
We now kick it back to “Make a Difference” Fatu as he continues his “Say No to Drugs” campaign.
He encourages YOU to stay in school and clean up the streets!
Oh, goody, another edition of The Report Card with Dean Douglas HA HA. Shane discusses Bam Bam Bigelow, using the dictionary definition of “beast” to refer to him as a contemptible person. Rude!
Feel free to use the above as a meme format or in response to something particularly awesome.
Douglas gives his future Triple Threat teammate an ‘F’. I give these segments the worst grade imaginable:
AUGUST 1st
ECW Hardcore TV - We have a surprisingly hefty amount of content from Hardcore TV this week. Joey Styles is joined in Paul Heyman's mom's basement The ECW Studio by Mikey Whipwreck.
Mikey addresses The Sandman and challenges him to a Singapore Cane Match. If Whipwreck loses, he has to take ten whacks with the cane. Same goes for Sandman. To prove his manliness, Mikey tries to light up a dart. It doesn't go well. Did NOBODY listen to Fatu earlier?!?
We'll see that Singapore Cane Match in a bit. Oh, boy.
ECW Television Championship: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Dean Malenko - Sweet! Just hook this shit to my veins! This took place in Tampa, Florida, so Deaner has the homefield advantage. This was taped on July 21st but broadcast on August 1st.
We get some of that killer mat grappling to start, with Eddy working the arm. We then get an incredible parity sequence leading to the requisite stalemate and applause. We get a knucklelock that ends with Eddy landing on his feet after a monkey flip. Malenko then grounds Guerrero with a facelock, but Eddy grabs a version of Wheeler Yuta's Seatbelt for a near-fall.
After a bit of circling around, Eddy lands a leg lariat and a slingshot hilo for two. Eddy grabs a surfboard, but Dean reverses it. Eddy soon hits the flying anklescissor, so Malenko returns fire with a headscissors of his own. Guerrero soon dropkicks the knee and goes to work on the leg.
Eddy transitions into an STF, but Dean grabs the ropes, then knees Eddy in the guts to take over. Nasty gutbuster from Dean gets a nice reaction from his hometown fans. After an abdominal stretch, Eddy gets a roll-up out of nowhere for two, then hits a pumphandle backbreaker for another near-fall. Guerrero applies a Gory Special.
Malenko escapes and gets a roll-up for two. Guerrero hits a powerslam and a frog splash for two. Malenko comes back with a flying crossbody for two, but Guerrero fights back with a brainbuster for a near-fall of his own. Sunset flip powerbomb gets two for Eddy! Malenko fights back with a powerbomb for two, then drops Guerrero with a brainbuster for another close call. Eddy hits a Frankensteiner for another nearfall. Eddy goes up, but Dean catches him in an electric chair position…and they both tumble to the floor!
Moments later, Guerrero hits a missile dropkick to the back of the head and grabs a German suplex for two. Fisherman's suplex gets two for Eddy, then Dean hits a tiger driver for two! Guerrero snaps off a hurricanrana, and they reverse pinfall attempts until Malenko shifts his weight and keeps Eddy down for three and the title!
After the match, Eddy presents the title to Dean and shakes his hand…but it was a RUSE! Eddy nails Dean with a short-arm clothesline and SPITS on him!
**** - This was more primo technical wrestling from these guys. Everything on the mat was slick and the big moves were applied with terrific snap and impact. People will tell me that Dean Malenko was boring, but I vehemently disagree. He may not be a super-charismatic guy, but I’ve always found his work engaging. Guerrero of course was also fantastic. This was a very fun watch, though some spotty selling keeps it below the level of other matches these fellas have had.
ECW World Heavyweight Championship, Singapore Cane Match: The Sandman (c) vs. Mikey Whipwreck - Mikey starts quick by leaping at Sandy as he makes his entrance, then hits some dropkicks for near-falls.
Sandman dodges another dropkick, but Mikey fights back with a spinning kick. In an odd sequence, Mikey scales over referee Jim Molineaux in the corner, but Sandman catches him with a fist coming down. Mikey mounts another comeback, grabbing a bulldog and a piledriver. He goes for a top rope…something, but he slips and lands on his face. Sandman collapses on top of him for the win!
3/4* - Short, weird match, but the actual contest isn’t the story here.
Per the stipulation, Mikey must endure ten whacks with the Singapore cane. Woman tells Mikey to “assume the position, little boy”. Mikey assumes said position and takes a nasty blow from Sandy to the back of the head. Jim Molineaux offers to take the blows himself, but no dice. Woman insists it be Mikey.
Mikey takes two more BRUTAL whacks as Woman MOANS IN ECSTACY. What in the “Natural Born Killers” is this?
Ring announcer Ron Lemieux now comes in and offers to take the canings, but again Woman is all like:
Like Molineaux, Lemieux doesn't have enough money, clout, or fans to warrant a caning. Sandy whacks Whipwreck again twice as Woman continues to moan and call him a little boy. Good lord. Another sickening shot follows, as does more taunting from Woman. And another one! Tod Gordon and Hack Meyers come out with a backboard to carry Mikey out. Gordon calls it off at seven, but Bill Alfonso comes out and demands the stipulation be upheld as not allowing the full ten whacks would be FRAUD and FALSE ADVERTISING. What a dick!
Sandman leaps over the top rope to the floor and wallops poor Mikey while he's on the backboard! Sandman lays in the last two, then another one for good luck. Marty Jannetty then comes out to shield Mikey from further canings.
Holy shit, that was quite the piece of business. The ridiculous moaning and repetitive taunting aside, this was an effective way to build sympathy for Mikey and put big-time heat on Sandman, Woman, and Fonzie.
This whole deal allegedly got Extreme Championship Wrestling in deep “d’oh” with the Sunshine Network, a broadcast partner responsible for showing must of ECW’s programming in Florida. Per Paul Heyman, the programming director of the station saw a tape of the angle and was so disgusted by it that he immediately yanked the episode off the network. As the show did not air, Heyman did not send in the next scheduled payment (Heyman defaulting on a payment? No way). When viewers were calling in asking where ECW was, the network told them that ECW pulled out of their contract.
Heyman thought that some negotiations and censoring of the more risqué content would smooth things over, but Sunshine was all like “hahaha eat shit, you fucking walrus” and asked for $1,500 per week to air the show, double what the previously deal entailed. Of course, Heyman was unable to pay that.
This resulted in a tour of Florida being canceled as they couldn't promote it on local television. Hell, ECW would even incorporate this in an angle with Bill Alfonso taking credit for getting ECW removed from Sunshine.
AUGUST 4th
SMW SuperBowl of Wrestling - Here it is, one of the biggest shows in Smoky Mountain history, if not THE biggest. This show will provide the lion’s share of this week’s content. It's also the first handheld content we had in a while.
MTW Heavyweight Championship: Marty Jannetty (c) vs. Al Snow - The MTW Heavyweight Championship is the main title for the small Midwest Territorial Wrestling promotion. Interestingly enough, this is the first (but not last) instance of future WWF tag team partners going at it on this show.
Marty comes to the ring flanked by police officers. You can make your own jokes.
They circle to start, with Snow jawing at the fans. We continue with the slower start as they trade collar-and-elbow tie-ups and assorted holds for a bit. Jannetty scores with a hiptoss to irritate Snow. They trade arm-wringers, then they enter a fast-paced reversal sequence that sees Marty come out on top. Snow and Jannetty then do a sequence where they shoulderblock and pin each other, with the other guy quickly kicking out.
Things slow down a bit with the ol’ stalleroo from Snow until Marty socks him and works the arm. The guy holding the camera must have been hitting the moonshine because he is all over the place at times. Things go Jannetty's way for a long time until Snow escapes. They do another athletic evasion sequence (with Marty cartwheeling away from a monkey flip), then they both attempt to superkick each other.
Marty resumes control of the arm until Snow bails to the floor. Marty follows him out and they exchange punchings until they end up back in the ring. They flub an armdrag/hiptoss, and Marty ends up back in the armbar. We hit the knucklelock, then Snow goes for a sunset flip but Jannetty counters into his own pin for two. Jannetty counters a back body drop with a facebuster and superkicks Snow out of the ring. Snow milks the count, then crawls under the ring in an attempt to launch a sneak attack that doesn't work.
Jannetty pulls Snow up, but Al flips into the ring and takes over with a thrust kick and some karate punches. Snow's advantage does not last as Marty flips out of a hiptoss and clotheslines Snow down. We hit a pinfall reversal sequence, then Marty again grabs control of the arm.
Snow mounts a comeback with a backbreaker, then hits a back suplex and a couple baseball slide dropkicks to the guts. Snow then hits a springboard plancha as this thing is finally cooking over 15 minutes in. Marty does a flip bump into the guardrail, then finally makes it back into the ring. Snow hits his version of an Arabian press for two.
Uranage gets two for Al, then we hit the camel clutch for a bit. Marty comes back with a hurricanrana for two, but Snow comes back with a lariat as Jannetty does his 360 sell. Snow continues control with a chinlock, then hits a slingshot legdrop for two. Snow attempts a springboard legdrop, but Marty moves! Marty works the coccyx with an atomic drop.
Seconds later, they throw dropkicks at the same time, then Snow catapults Marty into the turnbuckle. Snow HEADS up the ropes (get it?!?) and misses a frog splash. Marty climbs up and tries a fist drop, but Snow moves. Marty lands on his feet, though, and plants Snow with a DDT…but Snow gets his foot on the ropes. They block each other's superkicks and clothesline each other down.
Marty snags a crucifix for two, then Snow gets a rolling prawn hold for two. Snow flies out of the ring from the kickout. Marty follows with a suicide dive to knock Snow into the edge of the announce table! Ouch. Snow makes it back and lands a top rope sunset flip for two, then Marty fights back with a dropkick for two. Snow hits a sit-out spinebuster for two, but Marty counters a powerbomb into a sunset flip for two. Marty hits a crossbody, but Snow rolls through, grabs the tights, and wins the title!
***1/2 - The latter half of this match was terrific stuff, with crazy offense from Snow, great bumping from Jannetty, and some close near-falls. There were some really fun sequences throughout, too. However, this took way too long to get out of first gear. I like a good slow burn, but it was a bit much and too repetitive. The match went over 28 minutes, which was just too long for the story they were telling. If the early fat were trimmed, this is an easy ****+ match.
Al Snow would vacate the championship less than two months later after he signed a deal with the WWF, and MTW would close its doors in October. Marty would end up back in the WWF in September, possibly as a result of a backstage talk with Shawn Michaels.
We now cut to the finish of the first of what would turn out to be MANY Undertaker vs. Unabomb matches. Taker does the zombie sit-up and mounts a comeback with a clothesline and a corner splash. Unabomb catches a back body drop attempt and hits a powerbomb.
Unabomb stalls and chats with Al Snow, resulting in another zombie sit-up. Leaping clothesline, big chokeslam, and Tombstone puts Unabomb away. Get used to taking THAT move, Glenn.
SMW Tag Team Championship: The Thugs (c) vs. The Rock N’ Roll Express - This, of course, does not end up happening. “Bullet” Bob Armstrong comes out with Robert Gibson and reads a statement about Ricky Morton’s firing. After a thorough burial of Morton, Gibson shakes the hands of the Thugs to put an official end to that burgeoning feud. Jim Cornette comes out and requests that the Thugs put the titles on the line against a replacement team.
SMW Tag Team Championship: The Thugs (c) vs. The Heavenly Bodies - The Bodies haven’t been fired by the WWF, but they were being phased (further) down the card. The crowd pops pretty big for the reveal.
Dirty White Boy starts off with Dr. Tom Prichard, with Dr. Tom pulling at the skullet until DWB socks him. White Boy continues the advantage with clotheslines until the Bodies bail to seek counsel from Cornette. Back in, DWB is backed into the heel corner, but he fights off both guys. Tracy Smothers tags in and the Thugs double-armwringer Prichard. Smothers gets the best of Dr. Tom, who ends up tagging in Jimmy Del Ray.
Smothers punches Del Ray and works a side headlock. Shoulderblocks abound by Smothers, and a dropkick sends the Gigolo to the floor. Dirty White Boy tags back in and continues working over Del Ray until Jimmy takes over with punches. Dr. Tom checks back in and immediately gets hiptossed by DWB. Dirty goes for a chokeslam, but Del Ray hits an axehandle off the ropes. The Bodies take over and do what Rodney Mack did on RAW in 2003: beating down the White Boy. Quick tags and illegal tactics from the Bodies wear down DWB until he comes back with a double-DDT.
HOT TAG TRACY as he goes wild with dropkicks and elbows…until Prichard crotches him on the top rope. Smothers falls onto the floor and gets rolled back in for the beating. Tracy is busted open (I think) and gets Ricky Morton'd for a while. Cornette hits Tracy with ye olde tennis racket behind the ref's back, then Smothers takes a chopping from Prichard. The pounding from the Bodies resumes with a double-team legdrop for two. The crowd rallies behind Tracy as he fights out of a chinlock.
Dr. Tom snatches a sleeper, which Smothers reverses, then Prichard turns that into a back suplex. Del Ray tags in after Smothers hits knees with a splash and nails a superkick after escaping a sunset flip. Del Ray dumps Smothers to the floor for more abuse from Prichard and Cornette. Back in, neckbreaker from Del Ray gets two. Jimmy goes for a moonsault, but there’s no water in the pool!
Smothers leaps into his corner and it’s HOT TAG DIRTY WHITE BOY! DWB is a house afire, beating down both Bodies. DWB rams Prichard's face into the turnbuckle pad a ludicrous amount of times (like, remember when Delirious would do a ton of clotheslines in the corner? It was like that), busting him open in the process. Prichard then gets backdropped onto a table on the outside and Smothers piledrives him through it! DWB chokeslams Del Ray, but the ref is distracted by Smothers who is tangled in the ropes. Cornette comes in and sprays a towel with ETHER and incapacitates DWB with it.
Del Ray covers for the pin and the titles!
***3/4 - This was another highly enjoyable SMW tag match. It went about 20 minutes, but everything was paced quite well so it didn't drag. The Bodies were great heels that were more than happy to show ass and kept the crowd into it during their heat segment, and the Thugs were again strong babyfaces. Ironically, they worked a really fun Rock N’ Roll Express formula match in a bout that the namesake team was removed from.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Shawn Michaels (c) vs. “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel - This one appears to be a multi-camera set-up. We also get commentary and a lovely timecode on the bottom of the screen. This was apparently set to be on a commercial release which didn’t end up happening, but the raw footage was leaked years later and used for this compilation.
Shawn had just wrested the title away from Jeff Jarrett last week while Budro comes off the back of an all-time promo. Buddy comes out to “Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which is awesome.
Despite being in Buddy’s hometown, the crowd is more happy to see Shawn. The ring announcer says “LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!”. Michael Buffer’s lawyers:
Michaels offers a handshake to start…but that was a RUSE as Michaels pulls away. That cad!
Michaels gets the best of Landel early on until Buddy hits some punches and kicks. Budro dodges a superkick and bails to compose himself. Back in, Michaels gets a hurricanrana and some punches out of a drop-down sequence. Shawn continues to flummox Buddy in the early going. Buddy backs Shawn into the corner for chops and punches, but Shawn fights back with some corner punchings of his own.
Landel face-flops after that, but does get an armbar moments later. Shawn backs Buddy to the corner but misses a blind charge and runs shoulder-first into the post. Buddy finally gets a sustained advantage, working Shawn over with punches and kicks. Shawn bumps like crazy for Buddy's stuff, at least. Landel clotheslines the ringpost in error, but Shawn eats the post himself seconds later.
Back in, they exchange punches until Shawn lands a headbutt for a near-fall. Shawn continues on the offensive with a flying forearm and the flying elbow for two. Sweet Chin Music is dodged, then they both attempt trunks-assisted roll-ups for two-counts. The referee is bumped after a collision of heads near the corner, so Cornette comes in and attempts to smash Shawn with his tennis racket…but Shawn kips up to dodge the blow! Great timing on that one.
Shawn punches Cornette out, but Landel lands a DDT and hits a corkscrew elbow. Mark Curtis counts the pin…but stops because he sees the tennis racket! Landel pleads his case to the ref, them walks into Sweet Chin Music (GREAT sell by Landel here). Shawn pins and retains.
*** - This wasn't a blowaway match or anything, but it was still pretty good. Other than the near-fall at the end, it didn’t look at all like Buddy had a chance to take the title, and his offense wasn't much more than punches and kicks.
I do like the story they told, though, with Buddy trying to do this himself and almost pulling it off at the end. Cornette's interference, which Budro promised would not happen, ending up costing him the match. Both guys also bumped well for each other and Michaels again performed well in a southern-style match. Overall, it was a lot of fun, like a pleasant WWF Superstars main event from around this time, but I wish they had more time to flesh the story out even further and Buddy to use more varied offense.
Post-match, Landel and Cornette have it out, with Buddy ready to pop Cornette (DO IT!). The Militia comes out, but Brad Armstrong and Shawn fight them off as Landel just chills in the corner. Michaels and Armstrong offer a truce to Landel, but Buddy walks out. Brad and Shawn pose down to close things out, with Brad showing more charisma here than in all those years in NWA and WCW.
Other stuff that happened:
Brian Armstrong (the former Roadie, fresh off of peacing out of The Fed) defeated D-Lo Brown.
The Headbangers (Mosh & Thrasher) defeated Chris Michaels & Flash Flanagan.
According to Dave Meltzer, The Steiner Brothers were set to face The Headbangers, but got into a pay dispute (Steiners wanted $1,000 each, but Cornette would only offer $500). They ender up working the ECW show instead, which we'll see later.
PG-13 (c) successfully defended their USWA Tag Team Championship against Curtis Thompson (the former Firebreaker Chip of WCW SPECIAL FORCES!) & Jackie Fulton.
The Punisher beat Bob Armstrong via foreign object.
Dan Severn (c) only needed a little over four minutes to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Bobby Blaze via submission with a Fujiwara armbar.
Terry Gordy & Tommy Rich defeated Boo Bradley & The Mongolian Stomper
Brad Armstrong pinned the utterly batshit-insane Billy Jack Haynes (c) to win the USWA Heavyweight Championship.
Thanks to the hot angle with the USWA and the WWF stars on the card, the show ended up setting a paid attendance record for SMW with 4,600 packing the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. However, this underscores a huge problem with the promotion in that they can't draw healthy houses without outside talent. We’ve seen this happen so far this year, and it will become VERY apparent as the rest of the year rolls on.
AUGUST 5th
WCW Saturday Night - On The Mothership this week, Arn Anderson and Ric Flair join Mean Gene for a chat ahead of their handicap match against Vader at Clash of the Champions XXXI tomorrow.
Arn compares himself and Flair to wild dogs hunting a lion (the lion being Vader if that wasn't obvious). Flair is crazed, asking Vader to come out and get some and BEGS him to hit him. Fun little promo from both guys to set up tomorrow's Clash main event, but a handicap match involving three heels isn’t exactly a tantalizing prospect.
ECW Wrestlepalooza - We close out with another big ECW show. If this were a Friends episode, this would be “The One With All The Substitutions”. I’ll get into the replacements as I go along.
Cactus Jack, Dean Malenko & Too Cold Scorpio vs. Eddy Guerrero & The Steiner Brothers - Cactus Jack had actually turned heel earlier that night to join Raven’s Nest. I’ll get into THAT later. He’s substituting for Chris Benoit who had left ECW due to visa issues. Eddy Guerrero is substituting for an injured Taz and is once again ECW Television Champion. He defeated Dean Malenko on July 28th, one week after he lost it in the match we reviewed earlier. That match will be broadcast on August 8th, and we’ll be reviewing that in the next article.
Let’s get one this out of the way: fuck that transphobic dickhead, Rick Steiner.
Alright, onto the match. Scott Steiner and Dean start us off. Scott’s wearing a shirt under his singlet, which looks a bit weird. He’s usually one to let his nips hang free.
Malenko and Scott do some nifty mat wrestling to kick things off. Malenko tries a shoulderblock but ends up eating a STEINERLINE! Press slam sends Malenko bailing, but Malenko retaliates by suplexing Scott from the apron to the floor! Dean follows with a baseball slide dropkick. Back in, Dean escapes a powerslam and dropkicks Scott into the turnbuckle pads, but Scott comes back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a BIG pop. Scorpio tags in, as does Eddy.
Eddy escapes a powerbomb and gets a couple of sweet armdrags and a dropkick…then a plancha! Great string of moves from Eddy, and the crowd agrees. Back in, Eddy nails a brainbuster and tags in Rick. Rick has his way, shoulderblocking Scorp out of the ring. Back in, Scorpio catches Rick with a dropkick and a messy headscissors. That earns a “YOU FUCKED UP” chant from the ECW faithful. There's a chant that absolutely needs to die a fucking death. Rick presses Scorp off the ropes but runs into a superkick. Rick dodges a crossbody, then goes upstairs. Scorpio intercepts and goes to suplex him off, but Rick reverses that into a bulldog off the top! Holy shit!
Scorpio kicks out at two, then eats a release German suplex. Cactus Jack tags in and brawls on the floor with Rick. Rick hits a belly-to-belly on the concrete! Seconds later, Rick catches Scorpio with a powerslam and tags in Guerrero, giving us a rare Eddy/Mick showdown. Eddy goes for a victory roll, but Jack counters with an electric chair drop.
Dean tags in and dodges a frog splash seconds later. Back suplex from Malenko gets two, as does a butterfly powerbomb. Eddy gets a victory roll for two, but Dean cuts off Eddy's tag out attempts. Cactus comes in and beats Eddy down for a bit until Eddy gets a dropkick. Again, though, Guerrero is prevented from making the tag. Scorp slams Eddy on the floor, and Jack follows with the Cactus Elbow as THIS MATCH WILL CONTINUE. This one was filmed for the TV show, hence the commercial break.
We're back with Scorpio hitting a moonsault legdrop but releasing the pin early. Scorp hits a powerbomb and taunts the Steiners before going for the cover, which both brothers rush in to break up. Scorpio goes for a huge splash, but only gets knees! Guerrero gets a Frankensteiner and it's HOT TAG RICK. He runs wild, hitting STEINERLINES and belly-to-belly suplexing Scorpio off the ropes.
Scott hits Jack with a double-underhook powerbomb and the faces hit a triple Doomsday Device on Scorpio and a triple Doomsday Device Dropkick on Cactus! They attempt a hurricanrana version of that on Dean, but it doesn't work out. Flew too close to the sun with that one, lads. Scorpio breaks up the pin, but Malenko scores a front roll-up on Guerrero to squeak out the pin!
***3/4 - A couple of rough spots aside, this was a terrific trios match especially considering the multiple last-minute replacements. The Steiners got to look like badasses with suplexes and big moves (that top-rope bulldog was especially killer), and we got a lot of crisp wrestling sequences from the usuals. Cactus seemed like he would be a stylistic square peg, but he still added to the fun here. Dean pinning the current TV champion means that the feud with Eddy will continue.
Other stuff that happened:
JT Smith pinned Hack Meyers after interference from Val Puccio.
This match is notable for JT Smith completely eating shit on a tope after his kneepads got caught on the ropes, resulting in him landing on his head. This gave him a rather large bump on the head and a concussion. Concerned for the health of this young athlete, the ECW faithful showered him with “You Fucked Up” chants.
This resulted in not only botches being integrated deliberately into JT’s matches, but in kayfabe, the brain damage from the concussion caused Smith to think he was ITALIAN and start speaking with an Italian accent. This would lead to the formation of the Full Blooded Italians stable that lasted until the end of the promotion. Hell, it even carried over to WWE.
Val Puccio defeated Tony Stetson via disqualification after Hack Meyers interfered and attacked Puccio.
Raven’s Nest (Raven, Stevie Richards, Dudley Dudley, and Big Dick Dudley) defeated Tommy Dreamer, The Pitbulls, and Cactus Jack. In a pre-match promo, Raven had told Jack that “I feel your pain”. Near the end of the match, Dreamer had Raven dead to rights after a piledriver on a chair, but Jack turned on Dreamer, double-arm DDTing him onto the chair and putting Raven on top for the pin.
Big Dick Dudley replaced Lil’ Snot Dudley who had been injured in a jet-ski accident and would be done with ECW.
Cactus Jack substituted for Luna Vachon who was unable to make the booking due to Hurricane Erin. The Cactus heel turn was apparently planned for later on down the road, but the various absences on this show caused it to be moved up.
Cactus Jack substituting in two different matches is wild.
In a non-title contest, Mikey Whipwreck (substituting for Marty Jannetty who missed the show because, well, Marty Jannetty) pinned The Sandman in a Singapore Cane Match.
Sandman refused to take the canings until the referee threatened to strip him of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship if he did not comply. He finally relented and Mikey got some shots in until Sandman attacked him and repaid him with whacks of his own. The Public Enemy ran Sandman off.
The Gangstas defeated Public Enemy in a main event Stretcher Match after interference from The Sandman.
Mikey Whipwreck came out and got some of that sweet revengance after the match, giving Sandman more cane shots.
What a bizarre week this was, but a lot of fun was had. Definitely check out Hayabusa/Gladiator, Malenko/Guerrero, the ECW trios match (though I wouldn't blame you if you didn't based on Rick Steiner's actions at WrestleCon), and the matches from SuperBowl of Wrestling if you can stomach fancam footage.
NEXT TIME: It’s G1 Climax season as we see some block action from NJPW’s annual tournament. Plus, we get a tiny bit of Clash of the Champions XXXI, more Guerrero/Malenko, some SMW Fire On The Mountain, and more!
Smell ya later!