Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to CrazyMax’s own history book of sorts as we review ECW from the very first episode on. Last week we witnessed the crowning of the first ever ECW Television Champion in Jimmy Superfly Snuka. We also saw the feud between Terry Funk and Eddie Gilbert escalate to violence as each men took the opportunity to beat up the other with a steel chair. We also saw the Rockin’ Rebel crack a surfboard over the head of the Sandman to further intensify their feud. I can’t wait to see what we have in store for us this week so lets quit wasting time and get right to the action.
Show Opening:
The show opens up like they normally do with Jay Sulli and Stevie Wonderful standing ring side. Jay Sulli says we have two big time title matches tonight. We have the Sandman defending his ECW Heavyweight title belt against the Rockin’ Rebel. We will also have a ECW tag team title match between the Super Destroyers vs. Larry Winters/Tony Stetson. Salvatore Bellemo is also going to be in action tonight. The Suicide Blondes will also be making their debut tonight here on ECW TV.
Eddie Gilbert interrupts the opening and says he is the guest host this week. He also says he has a big surprise for us. Gilbert says he ran Funk out of town and we will never see him again. Gilbert says he had an I Quit match with Terry Funk and Terry Funk quit in that match. They show footage of Eddie Gilbert making Terry Funk quit. The footage opens with Gilbert throwing Funk head first into the tape. There is an ECW Special Announcement saying that TV will not allow them to air the rest of the footage because of its graphic nature. Tod Gordon states that Eddie Gilbert didn’t run Terry Funk out of the ECW and that we will all hear from Terry Funk on next week’s show.
Backstage Promo: Hunter Q. Robbins & the Super Destroyers
Robbins opens up the promo by calling Winters and Stetson Bart and Homer Simpson. Theres that stupid ass joke again. This guy was brutal. Robbins says that theres no way that Winters and Stetson can beat the Super Destroyers. Therefore, Robbins wants to sweeten the pot by adding in a $500 bonus if Stetson and Winters can win the belts. Hunter asks Winters what that can buy him and he said that could be plastic surgery. Hunter also says it could be a couple of dinners at McDonalds. He said its more money than they have ever seen in their life.
Hunter says that if they want the $500 bucks all they have to do is show up. He also states that they better have their insurance paid up because they are going to need. What a shit promo this was. This guy is horrible and the sooner he leaves the company the better off we will all be.
Match 1: ECW Tag Team Title Match: Super Destroyers (C) vs. Tony Stetson/Larry Winters
Before the match starts the ring announcer announces that Hunter Q. Robbins the third put up $500 on the match because he’s so confident his team won’t lose. The match starts with Destroyer 1 and Larry Winters doing a crisis cross. The Destroyer tries two back body drops but on the second one Winters slams him face first to the mat. Winters then drops a leg drop and goes for the cover but gets a 2 count. Destroyer makes the tag and he comes in charging at Winters but Winters moves out of the way and he goes crashing into the corner. Winters gets him in a roll up and gets a 2 count.
Winters tags in Stetson and they hit the Destroyer with a double hip toss off the ropes. They then drop an ugly ass double elbow drop that looked like trash. The Rockers they are not. Stetson starts to work the arm but the Destroyer rakes the eyes of Stetson. Destroyer #1 gets in and Stetson hits him with 2 quick hip tosses as well. Destroyer gets Stetson in a headlock and they drive into the turnbuckle. Stetson hits two shoulder blocks while in the corner. Stetson then hits a hip toss but the Destroyer gets right up and nails Stetson with a super kick to the face. Destroyer #2 gets back in and he hits Stetson in the midsection.
Destroyer whips Stetson into the ropes and hits him with a big clothesline then drops him with an elbow. We get a lazy pin for a 2 count. Destroyer clubs Tony in the back and then he rams him into the boot of the other Destroyer. They make the tag and the Destroyer comes off the top rope with a double ax handle. Destroyer #1 then goes for a low blow and drops the head butt on Stetson. Super D #2 gets back in and he body slams Stetson to the mat. Super D #2 then picks up Stetson and drives him into the turnbuckle as he starts to choke him out. The other Destroyer comes down and starts choking him out as well. Super D #2 makes the tag and they come in and hits Stetson with a double elbow. Super D #1 goes for the cover and gets a 2 count.
Super D #1 then gets Stetson in a leg lock and he starts working the leg. Winters comes in and breaks up the hold. Super D #2 gets the tag and he comes in and tries to stop Stetson from getting the tag but he couldn’t. Winters then hits Super D #2 with a back drop then a huge knee lift. Winters gets Super D #2 in a figure four leg lock. The other Super Destroyer comes in and hits Winters with the cain. All four men are now in the ring and the Destroyers go for a irish whip but Stetson and Winters reverses it and they go running into each other. Winters and Stetson then hit a drop kick on each Super Destroyer. Winters gets the Super Destroyer in a figure four again but the ref breaks it up. The referee calls the match due to the use of the cain. Your winners by disqualification….Larry Winters and Tony Stetson!
Recap:
This was a decent match but it didn’t go very long. I’m assuming if it went to much longer the Super Destroyers would have been exposed as the garbage wrestlers that they are. There was a lot of sloppiness to this match and it wasn’t very good at all. The ending felt flat as well because the bell never really rang to let the fans know that the match was over. The way they were brawling afterwards made it feel like the match was continuing but it wasn’t. All in all I am pretty sure they have a better match in a couple weeks so I am looking forward to that. As far as this one is concerned, there is nothing to see here.
Match 2: Salvatore Bellomo vs. Glen Osbourne
Before the match even starts Eddie Gilbert comes out and cuts a promo stating that he has a big announcement to make. Gilbert says that history is about to be made tonight. Osbourne interrupts Gilberts promo and he pushes him out of the way. Osbourne pushes him back and Gilbert tells him to leave him alone. He then does the just bring it hand gesture and out walks Jimmy Snuka with the Magnificent Don Muraco.
Muraco says that Snuka is the biggest name in wrestling history. Throw in Muraco and the guidance of Eddie Gilbert…nobody will be able to stop them. Snuka says theres nothing else more to say except TCB….Taking Care of Business. Snuka says what the fans are about to see are things that have never been seen before. Gilbert tells Sulli to tell Funk where he can be found so they can take care of that.
Backstage Promo: The Suicide Blondes
Candido says that everyone out there is looking at him Chris Candido. Candido said that they are at the top of the ECW so they are going to take their proper names and thats Christopher Candido and Jonathan Hotbody. Candido says they will take on anyone in the ECW, whether it be the Super Destroyers or Winters/Stetson it doesn’t matter. Hotbody says that all they have to do is put their name on the bottom line and the Suicide Blondes will take care of them.
Match 3: Suicide Blondes vs. Tommy Cairo/JT Smith
The match starts out with Hotbody and Cairo in the ring. Cairo pushes Hotbody off the ropes and Cairo decks him with a shoulder block. Cairo then hits Hotbody and Candido with some hip tosses. Cairo then decks em both with a right hand. Cairo gets Hotbody in a head lock and he wrenches it in. Candido distracts the ref then JT gets in and distracts the ref again. Candido then comes in and decks Cairo to break the head lock. Candido and Hotbody level Cairo with a double right hand then Candido puts Cairo in a reverse chin lock.
Cairo gets up and pushes Candido into the ropes and Cairo hits him with a shoulder block. Candido gets up and charges at Cairo and he hits him with a hip toss. Hotbody comes in and he gets hit with a hip toss as well. Candido decks Cairo and forces him into the turnbuckle. He then snap mares him out of the buckle and he gets Cairo in a head lock. Candido lets him up and he irish whips Cairo into the ropes and Candido goes for a drop kick but Cairo holds on and Candido misses. Cairo makes the tag to JT Smith.
Smith pushes Hotbody into the corner then Hotbody kicks him in the nuts to get advantage. Hotbody throws JT into the turnbuckle but Cairo lays across the top of the corner and blocks the move for JT. JT hits a couple of rights then a bodyslam on Hotbody. JT is about to irish whip Hotbody into the buckle and Candido was going to try and save him but Cairo pushes Candido into the ring. Candido is sitting on the mat in the corner and JT Smith whips Johnny Hotbody into him. JT and Cairo then double hip toss Hotbody across the ring. They then pick up Candido and they irish whip him right into Johnny Hotbody. Candido and Hotbody regroup on the outside as Candido gets back in the ring with JT Smith.
Candido hits a knee to the midsection of JT Smith and he follows that up with a suplex on JT. Candido works on the left arm of JT but JT reverses it and gets Candido in an arm bar of his own. Cairo then gets the tag and he picks up where JT left off. Hotbody comes in but the ref stops him so JT comes back in without a tag to work on the arm of Candido. Cairo comes in does one arm wrench then tags right back in. Hotbody gets tired of it and charges at Cairo and Cairo hits him with a back body drop. Cairo then slams Candido to the mat and follows that up with a drop toe hold to Hotbody who lands right on top of Candido.
Candido gets up and gets leveled with a right hand and so does Hotbody. Candido and Hotbody goes outside of the ring. Candido gets back in and hits Cairo with a knee to the midsection then some right hands. Candido then takes Cairo and throws him over the top rope to the floor. Hotbody then follows that up right away with an elbow from the apron to the outside. Candido then gets Cairo back in the ring and Candido hits him with a gut wrench suplex. Candido picks up Cairo and whips him into the ropes but Cairo gets out of the way and hits Candido with a forearm to the face and he follows that up quickly with a great side suplex. Candido goes for a right hand and Cairo blocks him and gets the tag to JT Smith.
JT gets in the ring and throws Candido to the outside. He then hits Hotbody with a drop kick. Candido comes in and body slams JT Smith. Candido goes up to the top rope and goes for a splash but JT gets out of the way. JT then bodyslams Candido and JT goes up to the top rope and nails a beautiful looking moonsault. Cairo is distracting the ref as Hotbody comes off the top rope and hits an elbow drop to the back of the head of JT Smith. Candido then rolls up JT Smith and they get the 3 count. The winners of the match, in their ECW debut, the Suicide Blondes!
Recap:
This was a pretty good match. There was some sloppiness to it but nothing that can’t be over looked. This was your typical back and forth tag team match that you’ve seen 100x over but it was fun to watch. JT’s moonsault was in slow motion but it looked really good. Candido and Hotbody worked well together. Cairo was the power house and some how it all worked here. Definitely one of the matches you can watch and enjoy from this era of ECW.
Backstage Promo: Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka
Muraco starts off the promo by saying surprise surprise they said it couldn’t be done. Muraco said this is just the beginning of new faces and people joining Hotstuff International. Muraco teases that he is going to tell us who else going to be coming then he says he’s not going to. Snuka says its TCB…taking care of business. And of course he gets in his TV land quote. Snuka says soon you will find out what it is all about. Muraco says that we have seen Snuka come off the top and that we have seen Muraco drop them deep into the ground and now it is time to see them together.
Match 4: Don Muraco/Jimmy Snuka vs. Hellriders
Muraco and Snuka attack the Hellriders before the bell even rings. Muraco throws one of the Hellriders out of the ring as he drops the other one face first in the ring. Muraco then levels one of the Hellriders with a big time clothesline. Muraco goes over and rakes the eyes out of Hellrider standing on the apron. Muraco gets one of the Hellriders in an arm bar as he goes over and tags in Snuka. Comes in and climbs to the middle rope and comes down with a double ax handle to the Hellrider.
Snuka picks up EZ Ryder and throws him into the rope and he nails him with a knife-edge chop. Snuka tags in Muraco and he comes in and hits a discuss clothesline on EZ Ryder in the turnbuckle. EZ tags in HD Ryder and he comes in and gets suplexed by Muraco. Muraco tags in Snuka and he comes in and hits HD Ryder with a boot to the midsection and he follows that up with a knife edge chop. Snuka holds up the arm of HD Ryder and Muraco hits him with a boot to the midsection. Snuka levels him with another chop to the chest. Muraco then gets HD Ryder in the tombstone pile driver. Snuka gets the tag and he runs off the rope and Muraco picks him up and drops Snuka head first to the head of HD Ryder. Snuka then goes for the pin and gets the 3 count. Your winners are Don Muraco and Jimmy Superfly Snuka!
Recap:
This was a squash match through and through. Snuka and Muraco dominated the match from bell to bell. They didn’t do much offense but they did destroy their opponents. The piledriver from Muraco was pretty sweet and the move they used as their finisher was cool to see. If you are a fan of Muraco and Snuka then you can enjoy this match if only to see the two legends tagging together. Other than that theres not much here.
Jay Sulli is shown backstage telling the fans that we are going to show footage of what happened between the Rockin’ Rebel and the Sandman from last weeks show.
Match 5: ECW Heavyweight Title Match: The Sandman vs. Rockin’ Rebel
The match is joined in progress with Rebel having the Sandman in a head lock. The Sandman pushes Rebel into the ropes and the Rebel shoulder blocks the Sandman. Rebel then hits the ropes again and the Sandman appears to go for a back body drop but the Rebel picks him up and whips him into the ropes again. Sandman leap frogs the Rebel and body slams him. Sandman follows that up with an arm drag then gets him into an arm bar. Sandman flips Rebel to the ground then drops a leg on the arm of Rebel.
Sandman continues to work the arm. Rebel tries to push Sandman off the rope but Sandman continues to hold on to the arm. Sandman finally whips Rebel into the ropes and he goes for a hip toss but the Rebel blocks it and nails the Sandman with a clothesline. Rebel then hits the rope and nails him with another clothesline. Rebel then chokes out the Sandman over the middle rope. He backs off and distracts the ref as Tigra chokes out the Sandman from the outside. Rebel hits Sandman with a side slam. Rebel has a head lock on the Sandman but Sandman gets out and pushes Rebel into the ropes. Rebel comes in and levels the Sandman with a vicious clothesline and he follows that up with a big leg drop. He goes for the cover and gets a 2 count.
Tigra slaps the Sandman then chokes him across the bottom rope. Tigra then rakes the eyes of Sandman. Peaches has the referee distracted as Tigra does all of the damage. The Rebel picks up the Sandman and hits him with a body slam. Rebel picks Sandman up again and goes for a slam but the Sandman gets him in an inside cradle and gets a 1 count. Both men get up and Rebel hits the Sandman with another clothesline. Rebel gets Sandman up and hits him with a jaw breaker. Rebel throws the Sandman into the turnbuckle and the Rebel charges in but the Sandman gets his knees up twice to block.
Sandman charges at the Rebel and slams him face first to the mat. Sandman then climbs to the top rope and hits the Rebel with a drop kick. Sandman goes for the pin but Tigra gets in the ring immediately and rakes the eyes of the Sandman. Peaches comes in goes after Tigra as we have a cat fight. Rebel throws Peaches off of Tigra as the Sandman comes in and swings wildly, with his title belt, at the Rockin Rebel. Tigra and the Rebel get out of the ring and head to the back. Your winner by disqualification and still the ECW Heavyweight Champion….The Sandman!
Recap:
This was a pretty good match here. The Rebel had some pretty good offense and his clotheslines were stiff as hell. The dynamic between Tigra and Peaches was well done and on the whole this was a fun match to watch. Not a lot of wasted movement and the crowd seemed to be into it. Even though the match ended in a disqualification it did a good job of progressing the feud between the Rebel and the Sandman. I am interested to see how this one ends up.
They do a video recap of the ECW TV Title Tournament
Ringside interview: Hunter Q. Robbins the Third
Jay Sulli says that next week we will get a return match between the Super Destroyers vs. Larry Winters/Tony Stetson. Hunter says that he has a new name for Winters and Stetson and that is the Cry Babies. Hunter says that every time we beat them they cry to Tod Gordon until they get another match. Hunter says that this is it and they will not get any other matches after this one. Hunter then forgets his lines and stutters as he just storms off.
Jay Sulli says that we will get a return match between the Super Destroyers vs. Stetson and Winters. We will also have another ECW Heavyweight Title Match featuring the Sandman.
Show Recap:
This was a pretty good show. We had a good match between the Blondes vs. Cairo/Smith. We had an entertaining squash match featuring two legends in Muraco and Snuka. We had a short tag title match between the Super Destroyers vs. Stetson/Winters but it was used to continue their feud into their match on next weeks show. Lastly, we had a pretty fun title match between the Sandman and the Rockin’ Rebel. All in all this was the best show we have watched so far and I am actually looking forward to checking out the action on next weeks show. We are starting to care about the characters and the feuds that they are in. It’s not peak ECW by any means but its not as brutal as the first few episodes were.
I hope you enjoyed the action on this episode of Hardcore History. Stay tuned for the next installment of CrazyMax’s own Hardcore History as we go through the annals of time and relive ECW 1 episode at a time. Thanks for reading and I will catch you all next time right here on a Hardcore History.
