Ryan's Dive into '95 - Part 46 (11/12-11/18)
"If you missed this year's November to Remember, it's a Regret You'll Never Forget!"
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?
ECW is pretty much going to dominate this go-round. Not only do we have the historically significant and much-loved November to Remember show, we actually have quite a bit of content from Hardcore TV.
Aside from that, we have a heel turn from the WWF that I'm sure nobody saw coming, some WCW B- and C-show action, KARATE FIGHTERS, and more!
Well…
NOVEMBER 13th
Giving us the inverse of last week, we have content from RAW, but no Nitro. Nitro was actually taped this week as a lot of the talent were on the other side of the world doing shows for New Japan.
Onto The Fed!
WWF Monday Night RAW
We start off with an interview with both Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Diesel via satellite ahead of Sunday’s WWF Championship match at Survivor Series.
Diesel says despite Bret’s catchphrase, the belt makes HIM the best there is. Bret still has an issue with how he lost the title at last year’s Survivor Series via Helen Hart being coerced into throwing in the towel on her son’s behalf. Thank God THAT’s the last time Bret would lose the title in controversial fashion at a Survivor Series…
They snipe at each other about the non-finish for their Royal Rumble match. Bret claims that his match with Diesel was the latter’s hardest defense, but Big D says Shawn Michaels also gave him a run for his money.
Vince McMahon asks about professional jealousy between the two. Bret puts over Diesel’s reign, but says he can’t hang with technical wrestlers. Diesel says he faced all comers and plans on using his power and leverage to beat the crud out of Bret at the PPV. Bret plans to prolong the match as that will play into his favor, then closes it out by saying that Diesel’s been walking around with HIS title for the last year and aims to get it back on Sunday.
Got a little rambly and dull at times, but I liked this very sports-like piece of build. Bret generally comes off well in these kinds of interviews because he has that level of everyman relatability, and Diesel actually sounding like a real human being instead of the cartoon character he’d been portraying since winning the belt was greatly appreciated.
But now it’s time for REAL SHIT. It’s another Karate Fighters duel, this time between announcers/weirdos Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler!
Todd Pettingill and his shitty Howard Cosell impression return to commentate over this thrilling action. Vince is wielding Native American stereotype Thunderfoot.
Lawler is in control of Skull Crusher!
After some sloppy scrapping, Lawler unseats Vince…but it’s revealed that Lawler TAPED Skullcrusher’s foot to the base! Dude, you used ELECTRICAL tape! At least use scotch tape so that it doesn’t stand out nearly as much.
Vince taunts Lawler by saying that The Undertaker will return and fuck up Lawler’s team at Survivor Series.
We cut to the end of Razor Ramon vs. Sycho Sid with 1-2-3 Kid as the guest referee. This was originally set to be an Intercontinental title match, but WWF President Gorilla Monsoon, likely smelling a rat, made it non-title at the last minute.
We pick it up with Sid and Ted DiBiase distracting The Kid, allowing Dean Douglas HA HA to attack Razor on the outside to prolong THAT issue. Fucking…hooray.
Razor beats the count on the outside, but Sid maintains his advantage with a back suplex and a HUGE legdrop for two. Sid puts on a laughably lazy chinlock, then applies a camel clutch…but Razor gets up and absolutely WRECKS Sid with an electric chair drop! Dude seriously gets folded in half like a flour tortilla.
Razor mounts a comeback with a second-rope bulldog for a long two count, then goes for a Razor’s Edge…but the 1-2-3 Kid pulls Sid off! Sid hits a powerbomb for a fast three-count, giving the match to Sid! The Kid has turned on his best friend and joined the Million Dollar Corporation, which we totally did not see coming!
Ted DiBiase then stuffs a CANADIAN five-dollar bill in Razor’s mouth! That’s a true insult because it was worth only around $3.70-ish USD around that time. That’s enough for a coffee and a couple of donuts from Tim Horton’s, but not much more.
The Kid picks up the saliva-covered Wilfrid Laurier and pockets it. THE KID HAS BEEN BOUGHT! FOR FIVE CANADIAN DOLLARS! Jokes aside, the turn was overall well-done even if it was the obvious outcome.
For this week on the Monday Night Wars scoreboard, RAW again dominates with a 2.6 vs. Nitro’s 2.0, the exact same numbers from last week. The WWF is currently leading 5-3-2.
NOVEMBER 14th
ECW Hardcore TV
We start off Hardcore TV this week with a VERY lengthy feature about the Cactus Jack/Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer/Terry Funk rivalry. Cactus is in the ring ahead of a match with Dreamer and talks about how proud he was of former tag partner Mikey Whipwreck winning the ECW title, but the moment was RUINED by the people! He says that if it were up to him, he’d rather be home watching “Movies for Guys Who Like Movies” on TBS! I popped huge for that one.
Jack turns his attention to Dreamer, expressing desire to slap the shit out of him… but not in front of the fans. He wants to give the Philly faithful the most boring match possible!
We cut to Tommy Dreamer brooding in a very dark room, taking issue with Jack’s wanting to have a shitty match. We then get Dreamer heading to the ring with Terry Funk, which Dreamer says is a dream come true.
Dreamer waxes nostalgic about watching wrestling with his father at The Meadowlands and brings up an interaction with Terry Funk he had as a child. I’m truly disappointed that the shirt Dreamer has on doesn’t feature Bugs Bunny dressed as The Sandman or anything like that on the front.
We get footage of the aforementioned Dreamer vs. Cactus match, featuring CLEAN BREAKS from Cactus. Dreamer slaps Jack and tries to goad him into punching him, but Jack grabs some headlocks! I love that both Cactus Jack and MJF got the side headlock over. They hit the floor, where Cactus gets a HEADLOCK TAKEOVER ON THE CONCRETE. This is incredible.
Jack works the arm, so Dreamer grabs a testicular claw slam…then a CACTUS CLOTHESLINE! Dreamer dinks Jack with a chair, but Foley remains steadfast in his refusal to brawl. Raven comes out and blindsides Dreamer, leading to a hug from Jack! We cut to Jack teasing a Cactus Elbow…but Jack leads the crowd in a CHEER for WCW! Holy crap.
Moments later, Jack finally gives in and pounds away at Dreamer in front of the ringside camera. This goes unabated for a very long time until Jack grabs a mic and declares the match a NO CONTEST due to the injuries sustained to his hand from punching Dreamer! Referee Jim Molineaux tells Jack to return to the ring, but Jack asks him to do his JOB and count him out!
Now it’s Terry Funk’s turn to politely convince Cactus to come back.
He starts off by calling Jack’s mother, wife, and girlfriend “whores”, but no response. Funk calls DEWEY a “whore”, and that finally works! Jack returns and engages in fisticuffs with Dreamer. Dreamer gets the upper hand and spikes Jack with a piledriver but ends up getting backdropped onto a chair. Jack pulls at Dreamer’s leg, but Dreamer hits a chair-assisted enzuigiri! Raven DDTs Dreamer on the concrete as Jack smacks Funk with a chair. Funk comes back with punches and liberal use of a crutch.
Stevie Richards, rocking an “RSPW Sucks” shirt, distracts Funk, allowing Jack to get the advantage. Raven attacks Dreamer with brass knuckles, then tapes them to Jack’s cowboy boot. Jack kicks Funk in the dick! Jeepers!
We clip to Jack double-arm DDTing Dreamer for two as Tommy is a bloody mess. Raven tries to convince Jack to use the chair, but Dreamer whacks Foley’s chair back into his face with a chair of his own! Dreamer pins for the win!
Raven immediately runs in and DDTs Dreamer as Jack DDTs the ref! Dreamer cuts in one last time and promises that Raven will FEEL HIS PAIN at November to Remember.
Well, that took a while. I loved a lot of the Cactus stuff, like the side headlocks, the resolute desire to not engage in brawling, the WCW CHEER, and wanting the match made a no-contest due to a (relatively) minor injury. The Terry Funk stuff was also great. The whole thing just went way too long, though. Dreamer’s cut-in promos were goofy and not really good, but better than some of the other stuff I’ve heard from him.
We now cut to The Dudleys, who are apparently in Dudleyville. Dances With Dudley speaks in Spanish while Buh Buh Ray juggles limes and Big Dick grunts.
Buh Buh Ray chokes on one of the limes, but thankfully clears it out and cuts a promo for November to Remember in SPANISH. The camera cuts to Dudley Dudley laughing like an idiot.
Pick yourself up some hamburgers (the cornerstone of any nutritional breakfast) because it's time for PULP FICTION! Konnan talks about holding the all-time gate in Mexico and puts himself, AAA, and ECW over! Cactus Jack talks about punching Tommy Dreamer repeatedly! Bill Alfonso talks about getting his ass kicked by old wrestlers and threatens to do the same to Tod Gordon! The Eliminators aren’t afraid of The Pitbulls!
Sign Guy Dudley holds up a sign that says “Silent But Dudley”! Buh Buh Ray Dudley sneezes! Big Dick Dudley grunts! Beulah’s Box is always open! Bill Alfonso hates ECW! The Public Enemy are STILL confused by the stips for their tag match at November to Remember! Taz kicks the cameraman out of the dressing room after Tommy Dreamer got his ass beaten! Dances With Dudley sets Native American representation back by about 50 years! Steve Austin welcomes us again to Monday NyQuil! We get shots of Francine and Woman, both of whom say nothing! Raven talks about feeling Dreamer’s pain!
We close out this episode’s coverage with a music video set to Guns N’ Roses’ now-classic “November Rain”. This consists of highlights from past November to Remember shows and sets the table for upcoming matches. ECW clips are interspersed with the actual music video for the song. Well, without all that wedding stuff.
“November Rain” was a bit of a tradition for ECW. They did these videos each year from 1994 up until they closed their doors for good in 2001. This one is actually pretty awesome and got me hyped up to revisit N2R this week.
NOVEMBER 18th
WCW Pro Wrestling
Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Barry Houston - OK, I didn’t expect to see Jushin Liger vs. a jobber on WCW’s Saturday morning show to come up here, but I’m not complaining.
Alright, so the storyline here is that Bobby Heenan somehow sold 50% of WCW Pro, a show he a) doesn’t own the rights to, and b) was never on, to New Japan Pro-Wrestling representative Sonny Onoo (who we previously saw as Kensuke Ishikawa on WCW’s Board of Directors). This match is taking place in NJPW’s half of the show.
Before the match, Chris Cruise and Sonny Onoo talk about Sting losing the US title to Kensuke Sasaki. Cruise brings up Chris Benoit beating Sasaki on Nitro, but Onoo says it’s PART OF HIS PLAN. The fuck?
Liger comes out to WCW’s stock Japanese music that I believe would later be used by Ultimo Dragon and other Japanese talent. Barry is a career enhancement talent, though he had a pretty decent gaijin run teaming with Gangrel in IWA Japan in the mid-90s.
They do a bit of fun chain-wrestling to start as Sonny on commentary portrays a Japanese stereotype with all the nuance and dignity of a 1940’s Looney Tunes short. Liger nails Houston with an enzuigiri, then follows with a somersault off the apron. Houston dodges a somersault senton and soon gets an overhead bridging knucklelock! OK, that was cool.
Houston then follows with a rebound crossbody on the outside, then a Northern Lights suplex on the platform the ring is on! Whoa! Even the plants in Disney-MGM Studios are loving this stuff. Liger comes back with a superplex and soon hits a fisherman’s buster for three.
**3/4 - This was very short as expected, but it was a pretty fun little TV match. Liger was still working off the ring rust after nearly a year of inaction, but he did well hitting his offense and workshopping his revised style. Houston had a few nifty moves to liven up what could have been a routine Saturday morning squash.
Sonny Onoo on commentary, though? Kill it with fire.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Les Thatcher is with Butch Cassidy ahead of his match with Jim Cornette at Thanksgiving Thunder.
He has a PRESENT for Jimbo, claiming that he wants to smooth things over. Cornette comes out and snatches the box. He opens it to reveal a lonely plastic shopping bag…which Cassidy uses to try to smother him! Dude, you gotta wrap it around his whole head! Have you not seen Terry Funk do that to Ric Flair in 1989?
We cut to a small girl laughing at the attempted asphyxiation, then The Punisher comes out to rescue his manager. Well, that was bad. It’s so weird seeing one of the more dastardly tactics from the heel playbook be employed by a comedic babyface for laughs.
We now get Les Thatcher in the ring with Robert Gibson for a chat. He runs down The Thugs and calls out Tracy Smothers in particular. Smothers runs down and gives Gibson whatfor.
At Thanksgiving Thunder, Gibson’s ASS IS GRASS, and The Thugs are gonna mow it! Gibson takes a swing at Smothers, but Smothers dodges and beats down Gibson until Jimmy Del Ray and Jim Cornette run in and attack Smothers. Dirty White Boy chases the heels off to close the segment.
WCW Saturday Night
On The Mothership this week, we start with “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff as he’s awaiting a call from Gary Spivey.
Orndorff’s had a string of bad luck ever since Johnny B. Badd recently caused him to break his mirror. Gary finally calls in and reassures Orndorff that he is INDEED “Mr. Wonderful”. Spivey appearing in a floating bubble next to Orndorff (and not even holding a telephone) is amazing.
The call ends, and Orndorff is handed a package from “edEx”. “EdEx: GET THE ‘F’ OUT!”
It’s a BRAND NEW MIRROR! MR. WONDERFUL IS BACK!
As stupid and utterly insane as this is, it’s actually entertaining because of how willing Orndorff is to be completely goofy.
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit - Again, WCW gives me whiplash, going from the uber-silly Gary Spivey stuff right to cutting-edge technical wrestling. We get a bit of a shoving match before the bell as the crowd chants for Guerrero.
We get the usual crisp, intense matwork to start, with both guys trading control of the arm. The pace quickens with a HARD shoulderblock from Benoit before the newly-minted Horseman wears down Eddy with some holds. We get a sweet bridging knucklelock sequence that transitions into a SLICK pinfall reversal sequence.
Wildbomb is countered with an armdrag, then Eddy follows with a sweet plancha! Eddy follows with a slingshot hilo for some two-counts, then Eddy hits a vicious clothesline. Gory Special is applied, followed by a camel clutch.
Eddy hits a beautiful floatover fisherman’s suplex, but Benoit soon comes back with some stiff clotheslines. Hard back suplex leads to a diving headbutt…that misses!
Eddy gets two off La Majistral, then gets another from a rolling cradle. Benoit gets some pin attempts of his own via counters. Eddy hits Splash Mountain for two, then hits a brainbuster for another close count. Benoit absolutely FOLDS Guerrero with a super backdrop! Both guys are counted down by referee Randy Anderson. WE HAVE A NO-CONTEST!
***1/2 - Another stellar TV match from these two. This veered more into the mat-wrestling, but it was well-executed and felt purposeful. Strong technical stuff, especially the flash pins. The high-impact maneuvers really stood out here as both guys were not afraid to cut loose on each other. The double-KO finish was a bit unusual, but at least the move that led to it was appropriately nasty.
It's now time for The Man of 1,000 Holds!
Dean Malenko demonstrates the Texas Cloverleaf on a hapless jobber and explains its intricacies.
Deano Machino reminds us that he is The Man of 1,000 Holds, and that was just one.
ECW November to Remember ‘95
We pick it up with Paul E. Dangerously in the ring. He asks production to dim the lights. When the lights turn back on, SABU is in the ring!
After getting fired earlier in the year for missing a show for a New Japan booking, Sabu embraces Paul E. in the ring. All is forgiven in Philly as the ECW fans, despite chanting “FUCK SABU” months earlier, are absolutely ecstatic for his return.
Sabu was cut loose from WCW after the Sheik fireball incident from Halloween Havoc and generally not ingratiating himself to management. He was also on the outs with New Japan because of his booking and the fact that he didn’t want to continue on as a junior heavyweight.
Mexican Death Match: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis - This is pretty much the same thing as a Texas Death Match where there's a 10-count after each pinfall that the downed competitor has to answer in order to stay in the match.
Psicosis comes out to “Battery”, which is up there for my favorite Metallica songs. Yep, it's time for a MUSIC BREAK!
The crowd chants “RUDO” in support of Psicosis. Rey comes out with a sweet ECW/AAA poncho.
They stare each other down in the corner, which is pretty badass.
Psicosis charges in before the bell, but Rey evades! Rey hits a dragonrana for the first pin! Psicosis gets up, but Rey soon ‘ranas Psicosis to the floor. Rey tries a move off the guardrail, but he doesn't get it and ends up hurting his ankle in the process. Psicosis tosses a chair into his face, then follows with a missile dropkick in the ring. Big moonsault gets three!
Rey barely makes it back up, but Psi flies in with a dropkick, then focuses on Rey’s ribs. Rey tries a hurricanrana, but Psicosis powerbombs him for another pin. Misterio again gets up, so Psicosis teases use of a chair but opts not to, drawing heel heat from the Philly fans. Psicosis hits Rey with a couple over-the-shoulder charges into the buckles, then lands a twisting senton onto Rey's FACE for another three-count.
Rey makes it up at 9, so Psicosis rewards him with a couple of brutal dropkicks and a DDT on a chair. Chair-assisted moonsault gets another pinfall for Psicosis. Again, Rey answers the count, so Psicosis tries another moonsault…but Rey puts the chair over his knees! Rey tosses the chair at Psicosis’ head and follows with a crossbody over the guardrail, then a BIG springboard moonsault!
They brawl around the arena a bit as Rey punishes Psicosis with a chair. They head to the Crow's Nest where Rey whacks Psicosis with a chair, then hits a hurricanrana off the balcony onto Psicosis below! That gets the three, and Psicosis is down for the ten count. Rey wins!
***1/4 - Another very fun match in this rivalry, but this doesn't hold up quite as well as other matches these two have had. There's some awesome spots here, especially the finish, but there was a bit of sloppiness here that you don't expect from them, and the stop-and-start nature of Texas Death Matches doesn't really play to their strengths. Rey hurting his ankle at the start didn't help matters, either. Still, you never get a truly bad match when these guys square off.
Post-match, Jason condescendingly tries to recruit Rey, but he refuses. Jason picks a fight, so Rey kicks his ass. The Eliminators run in and attack Misterio, so 911 comes to the rescue! Rey hurricanranas Saturn, and 911 chokeslams both guys! Rey celebrates atop the big guy's shoulders. That's a pretty fun dynamic.
Tod Gordon vs. Bill Alfonso - This one wasn’t actually part of the Goodhelmet compilation, but I wanted to review it here because of the historical ramifications. Beulah McGillicutty is serving as the guest referee here, which may not serve Fonzie well given what happened on Beulah’s Box last week.
Alfonso attacks Gordon while he's making his entrance, then clotheslines BEULAH! What an asshole! Gordon comes back in and slugs away at Fonzie to the unmitigated glee of the ECW fans!
They grab at each other's shirts and take turns smacking at each other until Gordon comes out on top! Gordon pummels away at Fonzie while the crowd chants “SHAH” with each blow ala Hack Myers. The beatings continue until Alfonso gets a low blow. Fonzie grabs the mic and talks some shit…but Gordon comes back with a MASSIVE shot with a cookie sheet! Fonzie is busted open as Gordon continues beating him down like he was Stewie Griffin punishing Brian for being late in repaying a loan.
The Commish grabs a frying pan, but Alfonso snatches it. He takes his time taunting Gordon with it…so Gordon uppercuts him in the junk! Tod grabs the pan and smashes Fonzie with it and goes for the cover, but there’s no ref! Taz comes out and counts to two…then SLUGS Gordon! He puts Alfonso on top and counts the pin! Holy SHIT! The crowd IMMEDIATELY chants for Sabu, but Taz says he ain’t coming out.
Taz then cuts a bitter promo about nobody giving a shit about him when he got injured, yet Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk had people concerned when THEY got hurt. He gives the fans a big “Fuck you”, then namedrops Paul Heyman, which wasn’t something that happened very often back then as Heyman still presented himself as “Paul E. Dangerously” on television.
He says that unlike Heyman, Taz didn’t have a “fat (bleep) lawyer to pay (his) way through life”! Only Bill Alfonso cared about Taz! Fonzie was the one who wanted to help Taz earn a living. The fans chant for Taz to do something naughty with Alfonso that I won’t put here. Taz taunts some ringside fans before the segment comes to a close.
**1/2 - As far as referee vs. pawnbroker matches go, this is certainly up there. Slightly long, but these guys beat the absolute piss out of each other and gave a hell of an effort, and the heat was tremendous here. That’s all you can ask for from something like this.
However, the big thing here (and probably the most important part of the show) was the Taz turn. This launched a completely new character and demeanor for Taz, set the table for a showdown with Sabu that would heavily feature in the company’s first PPV a year and a half down the road, and moved Alfonso from despised official to despised manager. Plus, the promo was very well-executed as Taz whipped the fans into a hateful frenzy. Fans in the front row were trying to crawl over the guardrail to fight him! That’s HEAT.
ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Mikey Whipwreck vs. “Superstar” Steve Austin - OK, this was originally slated to be The Sandman challenging here after earning the title shot in a match I'll discuss later. However, Austin attacked Sandman as he was making his entrance and took his place in the match. Austin even downs a beer! Yeah, like THAT'LL ever get him over.
Austin declares Mikey to be Eric Bischoff tonight and jumps him before the bell! Austin pummels away at poor Mikey for a while. I'm not used to seeing Steve Austin in long boys.
Austin continues the assault unanswered as the crowd chants “HOGAN”! Didn't think I'd hear THAT chant from the ECW hardcores. Austin responds with a BIG BOOT AND A LEGDROP! Tremendous. That gets two as Austin hurls Whipwreck to the floor and continues playing with his food. Mikey FIGHTS BACK and fells Austin! Austin tries to use his previous triceps injury to convince Mikey to stop, but no dice!
Austin comes back with the Stun Gun, but Mikey kicks out! Mikey soon comes back with a sunset flip (with a handful of tights, giving the viewers a nice shot of Austin’s untanned backside) for three! Mikey pulls it off!
Post-match, Austin attacks Mikey before taking off.
*1/2 - This was quite short and very one-sided, but Austin was GREAT here. He had a lot of intensity in his attack, yet also had some great character stuff. He didn't show much ring rust despite being off for months, though the brevity of the match certainly helped. Mikey again takes a good ass-kicking and stumbles his way past someone leagues above him in skill and pedigree.
Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk vs. Cactus Jack & Raven - Cactus Jack is sporting his LEGENDARY airbrushed “Dungeon of Doom” shirt. Incredible. I unironically want this in my wardrobe.
Raven and Cactus keep the faces at bay for a while, but it's a four-way fray to start. Funk whacks Jack with a chair, then tosses it at Raven in the ring! Funk empties a garbage bin full of weapons into the ring. Hell yes! Jack takes a golf club to the wiener, then the faces place Stevie Richards in a shopping cart and roll him into the ringpost!
Funk smacks Jack with a shovel while Dreamer smashes an honest-to-God VCR on Raven’s head! Yikes. Dreamer follows with the remote! Awesome. Funk assaults the referee with a dustpan, then Dreamer DDTs him! Raven now takes a golf club to the junk. Raven’s busted open, and Dreamer grinds him with a cheese grater!
The heels take over with some plunder, including a double-clothesline with a chain on Dreamer. Jack slices Funk's arm up with a sharp object as Raven hits Dreamer with multiple DDTs. Another chain clothesline is attempted, but Dreamer jumps into it, causing the baddies to collide! DDT from Dreamer, but Jack bonks him with a road sign.
Cactus then unleashes his secret weapon: a shirt with an airbrushed portrait of Eric Bischoff on the front, with “Forgive Me, Uncle Eric!” on the back! He leads the crowd in a WCW cheer! From this angle, it looks like Sloth from The Goonies wearing a wig.
Dreamer is busted wide open, but he comes back. He pulls the image of Eric over Jack's face (though Cactus had to help him as it wouldn't stay up) and punches the airbrushed monstrosity! Symbolism!
Funk drops a shopping cart onto Raven, but Jack hits him with a double-arm DDT moments later. Everyone is bleeding! Raven hits a running pescado onto Dreamer! Jack counts a pinfall on Funk, but it's not official as there's no ref.
Bill Alfonso and Taz come out! Fonzie counts, but Funk kicks out! Taz and Alfonso attack Funk as Raven blindsides Dreamer. Taz and Fonzie simply leave as Dreamer manages a leaping DDT, then another DDT! Dreamer piledrives Raven on a chair, and Funk gets the pin! Post-match, the brawl continues on until Raven knees Dreamer in the balls.
***1/2 - Even though it slightly overstays its welcome and just kind of limps to the end, this was still a ridiculously entertaining piece of business. The action was little more than weapon shots and DDTs, but everyone bled, the character stuff from Foley was incredible, and the action was generally intense and violent.
Other stuff that happened:
Don E. Allen and The Broad Street Bully were to have a match, but guest ring announcer Buh Buh Ray Dudley kept stuttering during the ring intros. Buh Buh Ray attacked both guys out of frustration and pinned Broad Street after a stuttering powerbomb. The crowd LOVED Buh Buh Ray.
Konnan pinned Jason after a Splash Mountain powerbomb.
Taz, who hasn’t been cleared for competition, was the special guest referee. Jason pissed him off, leading to Taz attacking him and fast-counting the pinfall. This was mainly to set the table for Taz’s appearance during the Fonzie/Gordon match later on.
Stevie Richards pinned El Puerto Riqueño after a Stevie Kick.
This match featured liberal interference from a debuting Blue Meanie, who appeared as a fan in support of Richards.
Meanie gifted Richards an absolutely amazing “Flock of Seagulls” half-shirt.
In something that became a tradition, Meanie missed a moonsault.
The Pitbulls defeated The Eliminators after a Superbomb on John Kronus.
The Sandman & 2 Cold Scorpio (c) retained the ECW World Tag Team Championship (and Scorpio’s ECW World Television Championship) against The Public Enemy.
Rocco Rock attempted a Drive-By, but hit Johnny Grunge in error. Sandman collapsed onto Grunge for the pin.
Scorpio had won the tag belts in a singles match after defeating Rocco Rock on October 28th. He selected Sandman as his partner.
Here are the stips this one had:
The tag titles were on the line.
If one of the Public Enemy pinned Scorpio, TPE win the tag titles and whoever scored the pin would be TV champ.
The winner of the pinfall would get an ECW title shot later in the night. Sandman got the pin and the title shot, but as documented earlier, Steve Austin took the match instead.
It’s kind of insane to think that a member of Public Enemy had the chance to win the entire ECW triple crown in one night.
Axl Rotten pinned JT Smith in a match that didn’t make tape.
Sabu defeated Hack Myers after an Arabian Facebuster.
This went over 12 minutes, which is certainly a choice. It would be like AEW bringing CM Punk back months after his firing and immediately having him work Parker Boudreaux for 15 minutes.
Some consider this to be the best show in ECW history. It’s definitely a fun, easy watch with some charming brawls (and some crap). Plus, this show is full to the brim with history. Sabu’s return, Taz’s heel turn and alliance with Alfonso, Austin’s first ECW match, the Blue Meanie’s first appearance, and so on.
I’d personally lean more towards Heatwave ‘98 because it's MUCH better from an in-ring perspective, but I won’t argue against this topping anyone's list for pure vibes alone. At the very least, it's the best show from a red-hot period for the company.
NEXT TIME: We have WWF Survivor Series! Plus, Shawn collapses, Hulk Hogan squares off with Sting, we have matches from Michinoku Pro, GAEA, UWFi, and more!
Also, keep an eye out for a new series within Ryan’s Reviews, “Ryan’s One-Offs”, where I will be reviewing individual matches. First up: The New York Rumble from 1/17/94! Look for that soon!
Smell you later!