Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to a Hardcore History. We are getting closer and closer for this show getting good. Last week we saw Hot Stuff International in a tag team match. We also saw the new ECW Tag Team Champions defend the titles against the Suicide Blondes. We got another promo by Terry Funk hyping up the Super Summer Sizzler and his match against Eddie Gilbert. We got another installment of the feud between ECW Heavyweight Champion The Sandman and the Rockin’ Rebel. All in all we had a decent show last time so let’s see what we got in store this week.
Show Opening:
The show opens up with highlights from last weeks show where Tod Gordon confronted Paul E. Dangerously. We then go through the opening video and end up ring side with Stevie Wonderful and Jay Sulli. This week we get the return of Super Destroyer #3. We also have two big time title matches. Jimmy Snuka is defending his TV Title against Glen Osbourne. We will also have a tag team title match between Stetson/Winters vs. The Suicide Blondes. Sulli sends us to commercial.
Match 1: Super Destroyer #3 (Sal Bellomo) vs. H.D. Rider
The match starts with Bellomo clubbing Rider in the back then hitting a European uppercut. He then hip tosses Rider to the mat and drops a knee. Bellomo then lifts up the mask and tells the fans to shhh. Bellomo goes after Rider in the corner but Rider kicks him in the gut and clubs in the back a couple of times. Rider then snap mares Bellomo over. They get back on their feet and Bellomo snap mares Rider again to the mat. Rider gets up and Super Destroyer #3 head butts him.
Super Destroyer #3 works over Rider in the corner then he snaps him over again. This time he gets a chin lock on Rider. Super D #3 then rakes the eyes. They get up on their feet and Bellomo then snaps him over again and drops a knee right to the head. Bellomo keeps lifting up his mask and then he nails Ride with a standing drop kick. He follows that up with a poke to the eye. Bellomo clubs Rider in the back and he falls down then Bellomo starts working the leg. Bellomo picks up Rider and hits him with a head butt.
Rider punches Bellomo in the gut a few times as he gets up. Rider then whips Bellomo into the corner and he comes charging in with a splash but Super D #3 gets out of the way. Bellomo kicks a couple of kicks then picks up Rider punches him in the head. Bellomo then picks up Rider and body slams him. Bellomo drops the splash and gets the 3 count. Your Winner by pinfall…..Super Destroyer #3 aka Salvatore Bellomo!
After the match is over the Super Destroyers come out and beat up on Bellomo. They steal his mask and choke him out with it. Hunter Q says that he is letting everyone know that there are only two Super Destroyers and any imposters will be dealt with. The Super Destroyers and Hunter beat up on Bellomo in the ring. Hunter slaps and punches Bellomo a few times.
Recap:
Really not much to say about this match. It was lazy work by both guys. The only purpose of this match was to push the feud between Hunter Q and the real Super Destroyers vs. Bellomo. The match itself sucked and is worth skipping and the post match kind of sucked as well because it appeared the Super Destroyers really had no idea what to do when they were taking them out.
Match 2: ECW Tag Team Title Match: Larry Winters/Tony Stetson (C) vs. Suicide Blondes
They come back from commercial and the tag match is already going on. All four men are in the ring going after each other with Stetson and Winters getting the upper hand early on. Winters hits Candido with a suplex while Stetson works over Hotbody. Stetson and Winters whip Candido and Hotbody into each other. Candido rolls outside and calls for a timeout. Meanwhile, inside the ring Stetson and Winters hit Hotbody with a double hip toss. Candido gets back in the ring, as the match gets into a 1 on 1 encounter, and starts with Winters. Candido gets a side headlock but Winters pushes him off into the ropes and Candido levels him with a shoulder block.
Candido hits the ropes and Winters does a leap frog then Winters flips Candido with his feet. We get another head lock and this time Candido tries to do the same thing but Winters stops and kicks Candido in the head. Winters gets Candido in a headlock on the mat and Candido reverses it and nearly gets a pin on Winters before Winters flips back over and kicks out. Winters gets up and tags on Stetson who comes in and shoulder blocks Candido in the gut. Stetson then hits a double thrust to throat of Candido that sends him down to the mat. Stetson then drops a knee to the throat and knocks Hotbody off the apron. Stetson then whips Candido in the rope and Stetson hits him with a flying clothesline.
Stetson heads for the pin but Hotbody gets in the ring to try and break it up but Winters gets in the ring as well. Stetson throws Hotbody out of the ring as Winters works over Candido in the ring. Winters hits Candido in the chest with a side kick. Winters then picks up the legs of Candido and Winters drops a head butt low. Winters then hits Candido with an atomic drop right into Stetson as he and Winters trade right hands on Candido. Candido finally gets control of the match as he rakes the eyes and throws in a right hand to Winters. Candido tags in Hotbody comes in and works over winters.
Hotbody hits Winters with a suplex and goes for the pin and gets a 2. Hotbody then picks up Winters and hits him with a side slam. Hotbody tags Candido in and he kicks Winters in the gut two times then snaps him over. Candido hits him with a leg drop and goes for the cover and gets a 2. Candido rams the head of Winters into the boot of Hotbody. Hotbody then whips Winters into the ropes and Hotbody bends over to go for a back body drop but Winters stops and drops Hotbody with a nice looking DDT. Hotbody charges at Winters and Winters hits him with a clothesline. Winters whips Hotbody into the ropes and he hits him with a back body drop. Winters then whips Hotbody into the corner. Winters starts to charge at Hotbody but Hotbody grabs the ref and puts him in front of Hotbody and knocks out the ref.
Candido comes in the ring to work over Winters but Stetson comes in to attack Candido. Candido stops him and ends up throwing him out of the ring. Hotbody then tries a roll up on Winters but there is no ref there to make to the count. Winters finally kicks out and Hotbody holds up Winters. Candido wraps up a chain but Winters breaks free and lays in the right hands of Candido. Hotbody picks up the chain and levels Winters with it. Hotbody goes for the cover and they get the 1-2-3. Your winners of the match and NEW ECW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS….THE SUICIDE BLONDES!
Recap:
This was a decent match. Theres nothing special here, I sound like a broken record here, but it wasn’t terrible either. Candido looks better than everyone in the ring and actually looks like a legit superstar in the making. We gotta give some credit to Stetson and Winters who look like some scrub found on the street but they have some pretty good moves in their arsenal and are kind of fun to watch. It’s also pretty cool to see another title change on TV, which is something we didn’t get a lot of back then. All in all not a horrible match but not a great one either. It’s worth watching if only for Candido.
Ringside Interview: Tod Gordon
They come back from the commercial break with Tod Gordon standing ringside with Jay Sulli. Sulli says we need to talk about the Chain Match between Terry Funk and Eddie Gilbert. Tod Gordon says he has signed the match between Funk and Gilbert. Gordon says Funk has a lot to say about the match and that we are going to roll the tape and show it. Out comes Paul E. Dangerously with Muraco and he tells Tod Gordon that we will not be seeing the tape of Funk.
Dangerously says Gordon is a long time Philadelphia businessman trying to make a name for himself in the wrestling business. Dangerously says that Gordon can come out here and talk about Terry Funk all he wants but his wrestling company is represented by a man who doesn’t have the balls to wrestle Don Muraco. Dangerously says that Sandman would never fight Muraco. Dangerously asks Gordon if he thinks its an honor for us to be here. Dangerously says its an embarrassment to be out here in front of 35 scum bags in a small time gig in Pennsylvania. Dangerously states that Muraco has worked in front of millions on PPV. Dangerously says he has worked for multi-billionaires in Atlanta and you want to come out here and tell your champion that he is a gutless piece of crap since he won’t fight Muraco.
Gordon interrupts Dangerously and tells him that he has had enough of his crap. Gordon says that the ECW is going to grow and when its all said and done Dangerously is going to be begging to be working for ECW. Gordon says that the Sandman is not afraid of Dangerously, Muraco, or anyone. Gordon says that our champion will put the belt on the line. Gordon then leaves ringside and goes to the back to see if the Sandman will put up his title. Muraco then hops on the mic and says that he is going to get the match signed and that Dangerously just won his bet. Muraco says that Gordon is as stupid as he looks. Muraco says that Gordon just signed the death warrant of the Sandman. What a great promo and confrontation between Dangerously and Gordon. This was top notch TV right here. Muraco wraps up the interview by saying he will be taking the belt off the cumbersome waist of the Sandman.
Match 3: Don Muraco vs. Ernesto Benefico
This poor bum is going to get his ass kicked by Muraco. This guy really does look like some jabroni that they picked up off the street. Only weighs 180 pounds? Yeah right. Anyways, lets get to the action. Muraco goes in for a tie up by Benefico dunks out of the way. Benefico tries to stay away from Muraco. Muraco gets Benefico in a head lock but he pushes him off. Muraco casually hits the ropes and Benefico ends up hitting him with a shoulder block but Muraco doesn’t even budge. You can clearly tell that Muraco has mailed it in and gives two shits about this match or pretty much anything he is doing. It’s kind of awesome to see to be honest.
They cut to Dangerously outside the ring and he is just dying laughing. Muraco walks over to him and picks up the phone and starts to talk to someone on the phone. Dangerously then gets the phone and he starts talking to someone as well. Muraco gets Ernesto in the ropes and it appears he gives him a titty twister or something but it’s hard to tell. Muraco then picks up Ernesto and gets him in a press slam. Benefico kind of falls over but Muraco holds on to him and ends up just dropping him to the mat. Muraco then slaps Benefico. Benefico hits the ropes and hits a few shoulder blocks and a drop kick but Muraco no sells it. Ernesto then jumps off the top rope with a dive but Muraco catches him and dumps him with the tombstone piledriver. Muraco puts a finger on the chest of Benefico and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by way of pinfall…Don Muraco!
Recap:
This was a squash in it’s truest form. Muraco gave two shits about this match and he just toyed with Benefico. Theres really nothing to watch here except for the confrontation at the start between Gordon and Dangerously. Other than that you can skip this match and move on.
Promo by Terry Funk at the Double Cross Ranch
This is the same promo that aired on Episode 6. Not going to recap it again. It’s the promo where Funk runs over a dummy with his tractor.
Match 4: Tommy Cairo/JT Smith vs. Canadian Wolfman/Max Thrasher
The match starts with Tommy Cairo and Max Thrasher in the ring. They get in a collar and elbow tie up and they push each other off. They do it again and Thrasher pushes off Cairo. A third lock up and this time Cairo just throws Thrasher across the ring. We get in a fourth lock up and this time Thrasher gets Cairo in a side head lock. Thrasher then hits Cairo with a shoulder block. Thrasher steps over Cairo and Cairo hits Thrasher with a hip toss. Cairo then lays in some punches and ends up suplexing Thrasher. Thrasher gets control of the match and tags in the Canadian Wolfman. Wolfman goes for a shoulder block but Cairo blocks it and clubs Wolfman in the back. Cairo then grabs the Wolfman and drops him with a belly to belly suplex. Cairo goes for the pin and gets 2 2/3.
Cairo picks up the Wolfman and gets him in a body slam then drops an elbow on him. Cairo picks up the Wolfman again and clubs him in the chest. Cairo tags in JT Smith and he gets in the ring and hits a spinning kick on Wolfman. Smith then picks up the Wolfman and gets him in a belly to belly suplex as well. Smith picks up the Wolfman and whips him into the ropes and JT hits him with a flying clothesline. Wolfman gets back on his feet and Smith hits him with a standing drop kick. JT picks up the Wolfman and throws him into Thrasher and JT tells him to get in the ring.
Thrasher gets in the ring but he doesn’t do anything and he tags the Wolfman back into the ring. JT then picks up the Wolfman and hits him with a suplex. JT tags Cairo back into the ring. Cairo whips the Wolfman into the ropes and Cairo catches him and drops him with a power slam. Cairo tags in JT smith and he goes right over to the top rope. Cairo launches JT off the top rope with a rocket launcher type finisher. JT goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall….Tommy Cairo & JT Smith!
Recap:
This was nothing more than a squash that was used to setup JT Smith vs. Max Thrasher down the line. They didn’t touch each other so, if you actually cared about this feud, then it makes sense to save that for later on. The Wolfman was a punching bag for Cairo and JT for pretty much the whole match. All in all just a typical squash match. Nothing horrible but nothing worth while either.
Match 5: ECW Television Title Match: Jimmy Snuka (C) vs. Glen Osbourne
The match starts with Snuka and Osbourne tying up. Osbourne pushes Snuka into the ropes and we get a clean break. We get another tie up and Osbourne gets Snuka in a head lock. Osbourne comes off the ropes and hits Snuka with a shoulder block. And again we get this shit where they go to the outside and you miss what is going on in the match. It gets really annoying. Osbourne gets Snuka in another head lock that Snuka pushes out of. Snuka goes for a clothesline but misses and Osbourne hits him with his own clothesline that sends Snuka flying over the top rope.
The Dangerous Alliance huddle outside the ring and they are all calling for a DQ for Snuka getting sent over the top rope. Snuka tries to get back in the ring but Osbourne stops him and clubs him in the chest with a forearm. Snuka gets up on the apron and Osbourne hits him with a suplex back into the ring. Snuka gets right to his feet and Osbourne snap mares him over and goes for the cover where he gets a 2 count. Osbourne then gets Snuka in another head lock. Snuka pushes him into the ropes and hits him with some knees to the gut to get control of the match. Snuka whips Osbourne into the rope and nails him with a chop.
Snuka gets Osbourne in a head lock and punches him right in the face. Snuka then puts the boot to the throat and chokes Osbourne as the ref admonishes him. Snuka picks up Osbourne by the hair and smashes him head first into the turnbuckle. Snuka whips Osbourne into the corner and Snuka charges in on him but Osbourne moves out of the way and Snuka crashes into the corner. Osbourne goes for the cover and he damn near gets the 3 count.
Osbourne works over Snuka in the corner and then whips him into the opposite corner. Osbourne charges in and hits Snuka with a monkey flip. Osbourne goes for the monkey flip again in the other corner but Snuka held on and Osbourne lands right on his head. Snuka picks up Osbourne and gets him in a back breaker. Snuka then climbs to the top rope and nails the Superfly Splash. Snuka goes for the pin and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner and still ECW Television Champion….Superfly Jimmy Snuka!
Recap:
This was a decent match. Snuka is extremely slow at this point, or he just didn’t care, so it hinders the match a little bit. Osbourne did what he could to make the match appear faster than it was but it still wasn’t bad. The Superfly Splash is always awesome to see and is still the best splash ever to be honest. The distance and just the way he looks when he delivers it is awesome, no matter how old he is. This was a pretty solid match and worth checking out.
Show Closing:
Eddie Gilbert is standing ringside with Gordon. Gordon says that the action is going to keep getting better and better as the weeks go on. Thats no lie. Gordon then says that if it isn’t Dangerously interrupting him then it’s the other one, Eddie Gilbert. Gilbert gets hot at the comment and says that “now he is the other one?” Gordon says that he is the other one now. Gilbert says that when he was in Global Wrestling Federation it was called Gilbert Wrestling Federation. Now that he is in ECW it is called Eddie’s Championship Wrestling. Gilbert asked Gordon that he is going to put him in a chain match with Funk without Dangerously signing the contract. Gilbert says Gordon has been doing these things to him all his life.
Gordon responds with “you don’t think I remember what you did to my family dog?” What the hell is going on here. Gilbert says that he would have poisoned, stabbed, or killed that dog. Gordon says that Gilbert is a spoiled little kid like he always has been. Gordon says that Terry Funk has something personal to say to Gilbert so Gordon takes us to a recorded promo by Terry Funk.
Terry Funk says that being from Texas he has dealt with every kind of animal and varmint. Funk says that includes snakes and coyotes and pretty much anything else. Funk says that he has never ran into a low life like Eddie Gilbert before. Funk says that people in Philadelphia know how to spot a good wrestler. They know what ability is and they know who has “it” that makes them the best. Funk says Gilbert doesn’t have that and he just keeps talking big and trying to be something he’s not.
Funk says that Gilbert wants to be the king of Philly but so does he. Funk says that Gilbert is forgetting one thing and thats the type of match he is coming into. Funk says it is a Texas Chain Match Massacre. Funk says that he is meaner than a snake and tougher than shoe leather. He also says that he is middle aged and crazy. Funk says that he intends on being in top in Philly. Funk says that Philadelphia are near and dear to his heart and that they are hardcore fans. Funk says wrestling in Philly is different because they’ve seen it all. They have seen the best and the worst and now they are going to see the violence in the Texas Chain Match Massacre. Funk then says “Hot Stuff…..i don’t think so.”
We come back to Gordon and Sulli ringside. Gordon and Sulli find it funny that Gilbert ran off with his tale between his legs. They then talk about next weeks card and we have the match signed. ECW Heavyweight Title Match The Sandman vs. Don Muraco. Tod Gordon says it is going to be the hottest hour of wrestling they have ever seen next week.
Show Recap:
We are starting to get some decent storylines developing and progressing on the show. Having these storylines advancing makes the show interesting and makes you want to continue watching them to find out what is going to happen next. I’m not saying we are fully there but we are close and that is what I have been waiting for. We had some good action on this show with the Tag Team Title match. We also got to see some new champions which is always good. We also got a new feud starting up between Sal Bellomo and the Super Destroyers. I am interested to see who Bellomo can get as his partner to help fend off the Super Destroyers. Also, the feud between Dangerously and Gordon is awesome and it feels real personal. It has been a nice addition to the last couple of shows so I am looking forward to see where that heads. All in all not a horrible show but not a great one either. I’d check it out just for the Dangerously/Gordon stuff plus the tag match.
Anyways, thats another episode wrapped up and put in the history books. I hope you have enjoyed the episodes so far. Be glad that you are the one reading the review and not actually watching the shows because it can be a little tough. However, we are nearing that spot where most shows are good so I am looking forward to that. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this episode of a Hardcore History.
nice post. thanks all