TV 1996-07-02 (matches taped Hardcore Heaven 1996-06-22 at The ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
World: Raven
TV: Chris Jericho
Tag Team: Eliminators
Another short recap today as we are 90% Hardcore Heaven footage here.
You can read my FULL Hardcore Heaven ’96 Review Here!
The show opens with Raven on a park bench talking about the sacrifices that a father and mother make. He starts walking around the playground talking about how parents will do anything to make sure their kids grow up properly but that they still turn to him to follow. Since Raven controls the children he controls the future. Tyler appears and says “quote the Raven never more”
Opening video
Joey Styles welcomes us to the show. He recaps what happened last week with Raven and Sandman and his family. We see some highlights of everything as Joey runs down the happenings. Joey explains a match that has been signed for Heat Wave where Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Terry Gordy will face Raven, Brian Lee and Stevie Richards. Raven and Sandman will start in a cage with Richards and Gordy above the arena and Dreamer and Lee outside the cage. I think you have to fight into the cage and beat Raven. It was very confusing.
Tommy Dreamer joins Styles to talk about a tag match taking place on July 12. It’s going to be Dreamer and Terry Gordy taking on Raven and Brian Lee. Dreamer guarantees that bloodshed and taking it to the extreme.
Back from commercial and we get the entire match between “Lionheart” Chris Jericho and TV Champion Pitbull 2. Jericho was able to pull the win out of nowhere and win his first title in the United States.
Back from commercial and we are with Joey who recaps the title change. Joey predicts Jericho will go on to bigger and better things and win plenty of world titles in the future but his first will always have been in ECW.
After commercial we’re back to Joey and he brings us to the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Big Dick Dudley against the F.B.I. match. We get brief highlights of that match with Styles doing a voice over. Joey wants to know who’s in charge of the Dudley family.
After a Hype Central for the Hardcore Heaven video tape we get the Weapons match between Tommy Dreamer and “Primetime” Brian Lee. Dreamer finally gets a major win in this feud with a DDT. After the match however Lee chokeslamed Dreamer off a balcony through three tables!
My thoughts on the show
Well you get Chris Jericho winning the TV title and the Weapons match on this weeks show. Both worth seeing but obviously if you have seen Hardcore Heaven nothing to watch this week.
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TV 1996-07-09 (matches taped Hardcore Heaven 1996-06-22 at The ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
World: Raven
TV: Chris Jericho
Tag Team: Eliminators
Tonight should end the Hardcore Heaven shows and begin the Heat Wave hype.
You can read my FULL Hardcore Heaven ’96 Review Here!
We open the show with “Primetime” Brian Lee putting Tommy Dreamer through three tables to the floor. It looks cooler every time I see it. Beulah, Kimona Wanalaya and Tod Gordon rush to Dreamer’s side. They show the slam in slow-mo a bunch of times and Dreamer gets put on a stretcher. We see the slam from a few different angles. We see Dreamer being carried out of the arena and into a different building but not an ambulance for some reason.
Opening video
Joey Styles welcomes us to the show and very quickly runs down what we have seen from Hardcore Heaven so far. This Saturday it’s Heatwave 96 at the ECW Arena. The main even is “Rage of the Cage”. World Champion Raven and Sandman start in the cage. Stevie Richards and Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy start on the top stage and the first one to get to the cage enters creating a 2 on 1. Tommy Dreamer and “Primetime” Brian Lee fight outside the cage in a falls count anywhere match. Raven is not defending his title but Stevie is. Meaning if Stevie makes it to the cage and gets pinned Raven drops the title. Tommy Dreamer is with Styles now. Last year at Heatwave Dreamer says he let Raven escape but this Saturday night Dreamer is taking it a new level of extreme.
Back from break and Joey sends us to the tag team title match between Champions The Eliminators and the Gangstas. No match ever takes place as we get a brawl between the Gangstas, Eliminators, Samoan Gangsta Party and Bruise Brothers.
The Samoan Gangsta Party takes on Hack Meyers and Axl Rotten. The commentary on the match has been redubbed from the Hardcore Heaven home video with Joey now calling the Gangsta Party their original names. The match ends with another brawl between the four teams.
At last years Heatwave Tommy Dreamer crucified Raven to a cage and gave him a vicious chair shot to the head. Back to Joey and he talks about the 4-corner elimination TV Title match. Shane Douglas, 2 Cold Scorpio, Pitbull 2 and Champion Chris Jericho will go at it. Added to the Rage of the Cage is Lori Fullington now has her managers license so she will be at ringside. Tyler, Sandman’s six year old son also has a front row ticket to the show.
Hype Central with Lance Wright as we get the announcement of The Gangstas versus Samoan Gangsta Party, the debut of Tarzan Goto, and Sabu will be making an appearance.
Hardcore Heaven 94 and 95 home video commercial.
Back to Joey who hypes Heat Wave some more and lets us know that on August 3rd back at the ECW Arena Sabu and Rob Van Dam will face off in a stretcher match. This leads us to an edited version of the Sabu/Van Dam match from Hardcore Heaven. We get about 7 minutes of the action from that match.
Misirlou promos. Raven and Richards are in the playground. Raven will condemn Richards to eternal damnation if he loses the belt. Bluedust and Patricia say nothing really. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Gordy, Gordy plans on kicking everyones ass in ECW. Back to the playground Richards tells Raven Gordy as died twice Raven says he wishes he could feel that pain. Dreamer is going to make Raven feel so much pain he’s going to wish he was dead. 2 Cold Scorpio is going to bring back respect to the TV Title. Pitbull 2 tells Francine that he wants the TV Title back. Shane Douglas is getting stiches from after the show on the 30th and saying he can bleed but he will still get up and come back after the title. Chris Jericho talks about all the great champions in the past. He will hand the title over to anyone who can beat him like a man. Tod Gordon is in his office to make a big announcement Stevie Richards interrupts and introduces him to Sir Meanie. Gordon kicks them out. The Samoan Gangsta Party says the Gangstas work for them and owe them money. Richards and Meanie are playing in Gordon;s office Gordon comes in and kicks them out again. The Gangstas are going to kill the Gangsta Party. Richards wonders if he’s starting to annoying Gordon and then introduces him to Bluedust. Richards leaves and Meanie lays down on Gordon’s desk. Back in the playground Richards says Raven knows what it’s like to have a real family. Tyler tells Raven he’s happy to have a real dad. And Lori says she has been waiting for two years to get back at the Sandman.
My thoughts on the show
We move away from just Hardcore Heaven stuff this week but not enough new things on the show for me to recommend this weeks TV. Our next stop is Heatwave 1996. With three big matches announced this looks to be another good ECW Arena show.
