ECW Hardcore History: Episode 2 – April 13th, 1993
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to episode 2 of a Hardcore History. Last week we saw the first acquisition of Hot Stuff International when Eddie Gilbert introduced Jimmy Snuka as the first member. Tod Gordon announced the ECW TV Title Tournament and we got a few those matches in. We also saw the ECW Tag Team champions, the Super Destroyers, in action. There wasn’t a lot of good from the first show, so lets see what we have in store for us here on episode 2.
Show Opening:
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The show starts off again with Jay Sulli and Stevie Wonderful ringside. Stevie Wonderful introduces the third man in the booth and again Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert comes out. Wonderful says that Gilbert is the official king of the Texas death match. Sulli says that Funk is the real king of the Texas death match. Terry Funk then comes out and takes his coat off as Eddie Gilbert starts cutting a promo on. Gilbert tells Funk he needs to get out of here. Funk gets right in Gilberts face and says that if he wants to talk he will talk. Gilbert asks Funk what he is going to do about it and he says that he plans on staying here for good. Funk says he is not going to put up with it anymore and that Gilbert means nothing to him.
Funk then takes Gilberts water and pours it down his shirt. Gilbert runs off as Funk says he doesn’t need Gilbert out here insulting himself or the fans. Funk then sends us to break. They then show us the TV Title Tournament bracket as they fade to commercial.
ECW TV Title Tournament Quarter Finals: Johnny Hotbody vs. Glen Osbourne
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They say Johnny Hotbody weighs 300 pounds counting his ego. Thats pretty damn hilarious. Anyways, the match stars with a lot of stalling by Hotbody before they finally tie up in the middle of the ring. Osbourne tries to get the crowd into it but they aren’t having any of it. Osbourne gets Hotbody in a headlock but Hotbody shoots him off and Osbourne hits him with a shoulder block. Osbourne eventually ends up clotheslining Hotbody and he ends up on the outside of the ring.
Osbourne grabs the top rope and flips Hotbody back into the ring. Osbourne gets Johnny in a headlock but Hotbody reverses it into a head scissors. They do this same spot 2-3 times. The last time they both get up and Osbourne levels Hotbody with a right hand. Hotbody then grabs the trunks of Osbourne and sends him packing in the middle turnbuckle. Hotbody then gets Osbourne in a standing vertical suplex that led to a 2 count. Hotbody whips Osbourne into the ropes and hits him with one of the worst clotheslines I’ve ever seen. Its like he was trying to grab him as he went down and Osbourne just went down instead of allowing him to hold him. This was garbage.
Hotbody gets Osbourne in a headlock because he’s probably worn out already after hitting a clothesline. Hotbody whips Osbourne face first into the turnbuckle then levels him with a nice German suplex. Hotbody goes for the cover and gets a 2 count. Hotbody throws Osbourne out of the ring as he taunts the fans in the ring. Hotbody goes out after Osbourne and he suplexes him on the outside. Hotbody gets up on the apron and nails Osbourne with a dive to the head as Osbourne is kneeling down on the ground. Hotbody throws Osbourne back into the ring and whips him into the ropes to get him into a sleeper hold. Osbourne gets back up to his feet and whips Hotbody into the ropes. Hotbody comes running out and Osbourne ducks and Hotbody ends up decking the ref with a clothesline.
Hotbody hits Osbourne with a low blow and then he dumps him with a pile driver but the referee is still out of it. Hotbody picks him up again and he puts Osbourne up to the top rope. Hotbody goes for the superplex but Tommy Cairo comes out and holds on to the leg of Osbourne as Hotbody falls to the mat. Osbourne then goes off the top rope and hits a splash on Hotbody for the 1-2-3. Your winner and moving on to the second round of the ECW TV Title Tournament….Glen Osbourne.
After the match Terry Funk gets an interview with Glen Osbourne. Funk says that Osbourne might be the next ECW TV Champion and what he thinks of that. Osbourne says the ECW TV Title will be around his waist and that Johnny Hotbody went down and now the rest of them will fall as well.
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Recap:
This match wasn’t that bad actually. There was some sloppy moves and to many repetitive spots but there was also some good action. The German suplex that Hotbody hit was pretty awesome as well as the piledriver. It got Osbourne to the second round and it looks like it started the feud between Hotbody and Cairo. The match did it’s job and was a nice opener. This was by far the best match we have seen so far but that really isn’t saying much.
Match 2: Larry Winters/Tony Stetson vs. Chris Michaels/Samoan Warrior
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The match starts off with Winters and Michaels going at it. They have a feeling out period where they take turns throwing each other to the mat. Michaels hits Winters with a knee to the stomach then a few punches to the back. Winters hits Michaels with a hip toss but Michaels kicks out of it then gets to this feet. Winters eventually returns the favor and hits Michaels with a few arm drags. Winters makes the tags to Stetson then he hits Michaels in the midsection so he slouches over then Stetson hits him with a spinning neck breaker.
Stetson then picks up Michaels and hits him with a gut wrench suplex. What a dumbass spot here. Stetson just irish whips Michaels into the ropes and he thinks it would be a good idea to go over the top just so he can skin the cat. He struggles to complete the spot but once he finishes he starts pointing at his head as if he is some kind of genius. Stetson then charges at Michaels and he clotheslines him and himself over the top rope to the outside. Stetson gets back into the ring and tags in Larry Winters. They then double suplex Michaels back into the ring. Winter works the arm then tags Stetson back into the ring. Stetson comes in and drops the leg on the arm of Michaels.
Stetson gets Michaels in an arm-bar then hits him with a side kick. Stetson tags Winters back in and they hit Michaels with a double back drop. Winters does a snap mare while Michaels was sitting on the mat, ala Mr. Perfect. Winters tags Stetson back in then Stetson tags Winters right back in and they hit Michaels with a double shoulder block. Stetson hits the ropes but the Samoan Warrior hits him with a knee to the back. The Warrior finally gets a tag into the ring. He whips Stetson into the ropes but Stetson ducks and ends up slamming the Samoan to the mat.
The Samoan whips Stetson into the turnbuckle and her follows him in with a clothesline. The warrior goes for a splash in the other corner but Stetson moves out of the way and makes the tag to Winters. Winters comes in and backdrops the Samoan Warrior then he clothesline him out of the ring. Winters drags Michaels back into the ring. Winters tags Stetson in and they end up hitting their finishing move which is very similar to the side-winder that the Smoking Gunns would do. Basically, Winters held up Michaels as Stetson came off the top rope with a leg drop. Winters goes for the cover and they get the 1-2-3. Your winners are Larry Winters and Tony Stetson!
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After the match Terry Funk interviews Stetson and Winters. Funk congratulated and they worked hard. Funk tells them that they are moving on up in the ECW. He butchered the line because he has no idea what the hell is talking about. Hunter Q. Robbins comes out and interrupts the interview. Hunter asks Funk why he is wasting his time with these two nobodies. He then calls Winters Bart Simpson and Stetson Homer Simpson. For some odd reason this pisses off Winters and Stetson as they start roughing up Hunter Q. Robbins. The Super Destroyers come out and attack Winters and Stetson so they can protect their manager. All four men brawl to the back.
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Recap:
This was basically a squash match. It was a way to get Winters and Stetson over so they can start their feud with the tag team champions. They had some nice offense and made a lot of hot tags so the action continued throughout the match. These look like normal people off the streets but they worked pretty well in the ring. Nothing to write home about here but again not a terrible match here.
Match 3: ECW Heavyweight Title Match: Sandman vs. Kodiak bear
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Before the match they show a portion of the music video from last week before the Sandman comes out and gets interviewed by Terry Funk. Sandman says it is his pleasure to be interviewed by a legend like Terry Funk. Sandman also says its his privilege to be here with the fans because without them he wouldn’t be champion. Funk thanked the Sandman for his work he has down in the area with kids and whatnot. Again Terry Funk is all over the place and he has no idea what the hell he is even talking about or what he is even trying to say.
Before the match gets started Peaches, the ring attendant, lays a kiss on the Sandman. They start off with a collar and elbow tie up and the Sandman drives him into the corner. The Sandman gives the clean break as the Kodiak bear claims that Sandman hooked the tights. They repeat the same spot but this time the Sandman hip tosses the Bear across the ring. Sandman tries to catch the Bear off guard with a quick pin but the Bear gets out at 2. The Bear keeps crying of his tights being pulled. The Bear gets an arm bar and he starts working the arm over. The Sandman gets up and reverses the arm bar then he dunks under and goes for another pin but the Bear gets to the ropes. The Bear gets the Sandman in a headlock then he nails him with a right hand.
The Bear then chokes the Sandman over the middle rope. The Bear then rakes the Sandman’s eyes with his boot laces. The Bear then chops Sandman in the corner. He irish whips Sandman into the corner and goes for a splash but Sandman gets out of the way. Sandman hits the Bear with a clothesline to the back. Sandman then goes to the top rope and nails the Bear with a 1 legged drop kick. Sandman then does a spring board splash into the ring. Sandman then picks up the Bear and gets him in a sleeper hold type move and puts the Kodiak bear to sleep. The winner and still ECW Heavyweight Champion….The Sandman!
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Recap:
It’s awkward and weird seeing the Sandman as this character instead of the one that he is known for. This just didn’t work and I am surprised it took so long for them to realize it. The action in the ring was eh and the Kodiak bear was the drizzling shits. He was a fat slob who had no business in the ring to be honest. Sandman looked sloppy but I believe that was a product of his opponent. This match was the worst of the bunch on this card so far. But we still have time to top and I wouldn’t be surprised if they figured out a way to do so.
ECW TV Title Tournament Quarter Finals: Eddie Gilbert vs. J.T. Smith
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The bell rings and Eddie Gilbert goes right after J.T. Smith and nails him with some right hands. They trade rights and lefts before Gilbert throws JT outside the ring. Gilbert then picks up a chair and nails him in the back with it. Gilbert then decks Smith with a clothesline and throws him face first into the table. Eddie knew how to get the crowd going. Gilbert and JT brawl to the back of the arena. Gilbert comes back to the ringside area and picks up the ring bell. Funk hops off commentary to prevent Eddie from using the ring bell.
JT finally gets back to the ringside but Gilbert smashes him into the table again. Gilbert picks up JT and JT nails him with two left hands to get Gilbert off his back. They get back in the ring and JT is looking punch drunk at this point. JT goes into the corner and hits him with some right hands. JT then hits Gilbert with a clothesline. JT then picks up Gilbert and hits him with a fall away slam. JT Goes up to the top rope and goes for a moonsault but Gilbert gets out of the way. Gilbert then nails JT with a big time clothesline and he damn near ends up on the announce table. Gilbert lays in a couple of boots.
Gilbert then gets JT in a side head lock and hits him with something to the throat. Gilbert goes for an elbow drop and JT gets out of the way. Both men get back up and JT hits him with a left hand then whips him into the rope. JT goes for a back drop but Eddie stops and goes for a kick but JT moves out of the way and Gilbert falls to the mat. Eddie goes out to the apron and pulls something out of his tights. Gilbert goes for a right hand but JT ducks and goes for a side suplex to get him back in the ring. Gilbert then decks JT with the foreign object and gets the cover 1-2-3. Your winner and moving on to to the second round of the ECW TV Title Tournament….Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert!
Jay Sulli leaves the broadcast area and tries to tell the ref that he had something in his tights but the ref doesn’t really care and they go to commercial break.
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Recap:
This match was pretty fun. The crowd was dead then Eddie comes out and gets them right back into the action. This was a sneak peak into what ECW will be come just a few weeks down the road. Eddie won the match but made JT look good in the process which is always a plus. This was a fun match thats not to bad to watch.
Match 4: Tommy Cairo vs. Super Ninja (Joined in Progress)
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We come back from commercial with this match already in progress. The Super Ninja has Cairo in the corner and he is working him over. He rakes him in the eyes and hits him with a kick to the mid-section. Ninja then hits him with a shot to the throat and some elbows to the back. Ninja nails Cairo with a 3 chops in the corner. He goes for some right hands but Cairo blocks it and nails him with some right hands. Cairo then hits the Super Ninja with a hip toss out of the corner. Cairo goes for a spinning wheel kick and he pretty much misses everything while the commentary puts it over as this awesome move.
Cairo goes to pick up the Ninja but the Ninja rakes him to the eyes. The Ninja works over the midsection in the corner. The Ninja goes for a back splash in the corner but Cairo catches him and just dumps him with a suplex. Cairo goes for the cover and Johnny Hotbody comes out and interrupts the pin. Your winner here is Tommy Cairo.
After the match Johnny Hotbody tries to attack Tommy Cairo but he doesn’t really succeed. Hotbody drops and elbow then throws him outside of the ring. Both men brawl to the back of the building and to backstage.
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Recap:
There was nothing to this match and it was just used to fill some time before the end of the show. Cairo looked pretty good but it was a short match and really did nothing for either guy. We can go ahead and skip this one.
Show Closing:
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Terry Funk and Tod Gordon go over next weeks show. They mention will we have the rest of the semi finals and finals on next weeks show. Gordon asks Funk who he thinks is going to win the tournament and Funk says he doesn’t know but he doesn’t want Gilbert to win it. Gordon says you don’t want to miss next weeks show then they roll the credits and we are out.
Show Recap:
This show was actually a lot better than the first show. The action in the ring was decent and not a chore to watch. We also got the advancement of the storylines as well as some new ones to watch out for going forward. Eddie Gilbert and JT Smith had the best match on the show and that’s because Gilbert got the crowd hot as well as making JT look good in the process. The only really terrible match was the Sandman vs. Kodiak bear match so you can skip that one if you do happen to watch this show. The rest of the card was pretty fun to watch and worth checking.
That will do it for this weeks trip down memory lane as we review the history of ECW. Stay tune next time to see who comes out on top in the ECW Television Title Tournament as well as what happens between Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert and Terry Funk.
