Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to a Hardcore History. We are moving right along here and we are nearing some good action in the ECW. Last week we saw Paul E. Dangerously cut an awesome promo. We also got to see the ECW Tag Team Titles change hands when Tony Stetson and Larry Winters finally dethroned the Super Destroyers. Hot Stuff International won a squash match and we finally got a mixed tag team match between the Sandman/Peaches vs. The Rockin’ Rebel/Tigra. Lets see what this show has in store for us.
Show Opening:
The show opens like all the rest, we are ringside with Jay Sulli and Stevie Wonderful. Just want to re-state that these guys are still trash and I can’t wait until they are gone. They say we are going to show what happened between the Super Destroyers vs. Larry Winters/Tony Stetson from last week. We will also get the Dangerous Alliance/Hot Stuff international. The Sandman will be going against the Rockin’ Rebel but the ladies are barred from the ring. Sulli says that the Suicide Blondes will be facing off against the new tag team champions.
Dangerously comes out and says if you want to talk about people who are killing themselves then why is Tod Gordon killing his own company. Dangerously then calls out Tod Gordon. Dangerously says that the problem with Gordon is that he doesn’t listen and he doesn’t know who he is dealing with. Gordon says he’s not sure what kind of promotion that he is working with and that he won’t be throwing him around in the ECW. Dangerously asks if he is supposed to leave now. Out come Muraco and he bumps into Gordon. Dangerously says that Gordon isn’t going to do anything because he is Pennsylvania. Dangerously then says that the wrestling business needs a man like Gordon like a drowning man needs a Ted Kennedy. Dangerously just bringing the fire each week and it’s so refreshing.
Gordon walks off saying that Dangerously got the best of him this time but it won’t happen next time. Dangerously then starts interviewing Muraco and says it looks like he offended the commissioner. Muraco says he sure does hope so. Dangerously says that he thinks Gordon has a problem. Muraco says as he travels around the world and goes through all these federations and its the same stupid thing every time. Muraco says he recognizes how great Dangerously is. Muraco also says that there is no manager that could even shine the shoes of Dangerously because of how great he is. Muraco says he has gone shore to shore and has beat everyone in his sight. Muraco then challenges the Sandman and says that there is only room for one surfer boy in this company and it’s him. Muraco says he has beaten every bum he has been in the ring with and Sandman would be no different.
Muraco tells the Sandman to look around find some guts to put up the ECW Heavyweight Championship against the Muraco. Dangerously then gives the mic back to Sulli and tells him to earn his money by sending us to commercial.
They show the ECW Tag Team Title match from last weeks show.
Match 1: Eddie Gilbert/Jimmy Snuka vs. JT Smith/Max Thrasher
The match starts off with Max Thrasher and Eddie Gilbert in the ring. They start with a tie up and Thrasher drives Gilbert into the corner and gives him a clean break. We get another tie up and Thrasher gets Gilbert in an arm bar and he tags in JT Smith. Smith comes off the middle rope with a double ax handle to the arm. JT then gets Eddie in another arm bar as he tags in Thrasher. He comes in and drops and elbow on the arm then he winds it up and starts to work it over some more. ECW doing what they do and show the guy on the outside while stuff goes on in the ring.
Eddie tries to pull Thrasher over to the corner so he can make the tag but Thrasher stops it and makes another tag to JT Smith. Smith comes off the middle rope and hits a knee to the arm of Eddie Gilbert. JT works the arm some more then starts kicking Eddie in the gut a few times. Eddie rakes the eyes to get control and he lays in 3 chops to JT Smith. Eddie hits JT with a suplex and goes for the cover. Thrasher comes in and tries to make the save but he drops the elbow on JT Smith instead of Gilbert, who rolls out of the way. Eddie picks up JT and hits him with a bodyslam. Eddie then goes to the middle rope and tries for a fist drop but JT rolls out of the way and Eddie comes crashing to the mat.
JT drags Gilbert over to Max Thrasher and he holds him in a from behind. JT comes off the ropes and goes for Gilbert with a high knee but Gilbert moves out of the way and he nails Max Thrasher and knocks him off the apron. Eddie then hits a knee to the back of JT Smith then Thrasher grabs the feet of JT Smith and trips him. Gilbert hits JT with the back breaker and tags in Snuka. Snuka then goes off the top rope and nails the Super Fly Splash for the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall….Eddie Gilbert and Jimmy Snuka!
Recap:
This match wasn’t very good but it wasn’t bad either. Gilbert let the jobbers get some offense in and it also helped start a feud. Not to shabby for a squash match. I’m not sure if anyone is interested in a match between JT Smith and Max Thrasher but it’s better than just throwing them into a match together with no back story at all. Good on ECW for doing a little angle just to get a match or two of the two guys. Not worth watching but it served its purpose so good on them.
Promo by Terry Funk at the Double Cross Match
Funk says he has had fun with Eddie Gilbert but he is getting into a very dangerous match. Funk explains how you win the match but he says its unusual because they will be connected by an 8 foot chain. You have to walk around and touch all four corners to win. Funk says that he had a match with Race back in the 80s where he did 15% damage to Race’s eye. Funk says the match is brutal and violent and he wants to settle the score with Eddie Gilbert and become the king of Philly.
Promo by Suicide Blondes:
Suicide Blondes say they are back after a tour of England. They say they sold out Wembley stadium 3 nights in a row. They said the queen was on hand and they both got knighted as Sir Christopher Candido and Sir Jonathan Hotbody.
Match 2: Tony Stetson/Larry Winters vs. Suicide Blondes
It’s so awesome that the Blondes were announced at weighing a combined weight of 600 pounds including their ego. They were also billed from anywhere but Philadelphia. Such an easy way to get heat without even doing anything. The match starts with Candido and Stetson in the ring. Candido gets Stetson in a head lock and they go off the ropes. Candido hits Stetson with a shoulder block. Candido gets up and runs off the ropes and Stetson ends up hitting Candido with a hip toss. Candido complains to the ref that Stetson hooked the tights.
They get back in the middle and Candido gets in a head lock again and we get another shoulder block. Stetson goes for the hip toss again but Candido blocks it so Stetson spins him around and gets him in an atomic drop right into Hotbody. Stetson winds up the arm and tags in Winters who hits Candido in the arm with a elbow drop off the middle rope. Winters grabs the arm and starts working it over and ends up flipping Candido around and holds on to the arm. Winters then drops the leg on Candido. He does this a couple of times and he’s trying to get the crowd into it but they aren’t buying it.
Winters hits Candido in the gut with a kick then Stetson hits him with a spinning neck breaker. Stetson works the arm again and tags in Winters who comes off the middle rope again with an elbow drop. Winters then winds up the arm but Candido ends up punching Winters in the face to get control of the match. Candido picks up Winters and slams him and he ends up tagging in Hotbody. Meanwhile, outside the ring Salvatore Bellomo is seen walking around. Hotbody gets in the ring and gets hip tossed by Winters twice and he follows that up with a terrible looking drop kick. Winters tries to suplex Hotbody into the ring but Candido trips the leg and Hotbody comes down on Winters for a 2 count.
Hotbody and Candido hit a double elbow on Winters but Hotbody hits him first and Candido totally whiffs. Candido then hits Winters with a nice vertical suplex and gets a 2 count before Winters gets his foot on the rope. Candido tags in Hotbody and he comes off the top with a double ax handle. Candido and Hotbody then nail Winters with a double drop kick. Hotbody then chokes Winters with his boot then follows that up with a suplex. Hotbody tags in Candido and he comes in and lays in some right hands before quickly tagging back out to Hotbody.
Hotbody comes in and whips Winters into the ropes and Hotbody hits an ugly ass kick and goes for the cover. Hotbody tags in Candido and afterwards he hits Winters with a body slam. Candido climbs to the top and they do a Rocket Launcher type move by Winters gets the knees up and Candido goes crashing into them. Winters quickly makes the tag to Stetson and he comes in a house of fire. He hits some rights and lefts on both Candido and Hotbody. Stetson then hits a couple of body slams on Candido and Hotbody both. Candido pokes the eye and they get control of the match. Candido and Hotbody whip Stetson and Winters into the ropes and they both go for backdrops but Stetson and Winters hit them with sunset flips and get the double pin. Your winners the ECW Tag Team champions…..Larry Winters and Tony Stetson!
After the match Candido and Hotbody attack Winters and Stetson with a steel chair and they run them into the stage area where the wrestlers come out.
Recap:
This was a solid match but nothing special. There was a lot of feeling out at the beginning and the offense was sloppy. That seems to be a trend with early ECW. It’s not for a lack of effort but the matches just aren’t that good and the talent isn’t that great either. Candido sticks out like a sore thumb here because of how big he is and his look. You could clearly tell who was going to be a star at some point out of the 4. It’s always entertaining to watch Candido wrestle so that would really be the only reason to watch this match.
Match 3: Don Muraco vs. Glen Osbourne
Dangerously comes out to introduce Don Muraco and before he lets them know he says unlike the Flyers, the Eagles, and the 76ers finally a true champion in the city of Philadelphia….the next ECW Heavyweight Champion Don Muraco. Such a great introduction. We start with a collar and elbow tie up then they immediately cut to Snuka on the outside and you have no idea what happened in the ring. They get back in a tie up and Osbourne gets Muraco in the head lock. Muraco pushes him off and Osbourne goes for a shoulder block but Muraco stiffens up and nothing happens.
Osbourne then gets Muraco in a hip toss then an arm bar on Muraco. We get in another tie up and Osbourne gets Muraco in another arm drag then he gets him in an arm bar. Osbourne drops and elbow and a head butt into the arm of Muraco. Muraco gets up to his feet and he does his own arm drag but Osbourne hangs on and gets Muraco in an arm bar of his own. They release the hold and Muraco gets up to his feet. The camera man cuts to Snuka and Dangerously game planning while on the other side of the ring Muraco and Eddie Gilbert are game planning.
Muraco gets back in the ring and they get in another tie up. Osbourne goes for an arm bar again Can we do anything else in this match besides a shitty arm bar? Muraco gets tired of it and picks Osbourne up and dumps him with a samoan drop. Muraco then lays in the boots to Osbourne. Muraco goes to pick up Osbourne and but Osbourne starts hitting him with some rights and lefts to the midsection. Osbourne then does a jumping head butt to Muraco. Osbourne then backs Muraco into the ropes and irish whips him. Osbourne bounces off the ropes himself and hits Muraco with a flying clotheslines.
Osbourne then snap mares Muraco and drops and elbow on him. Osbourne goes for another head butt and another irish whip. Osbourne charges in and Muraco picks him up and hits him with the Hot Shot. Muraco then picks up Osbourne and dumps him with the tombstone for the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall…Don Muraco!
Recap:
This match was sloppy as hell and just terrible. You could tell Muraco really had no interest in doing anything for Osbourne so it was your basic sell job from him. Once Muraco was done being bored he went ahead and went to the finish of the match. His tombstone move was pretty awesome that was good to see. Other than that this was just a typical squash match where the veteran didn’t feel like doing squat but you never felt like they were in any immediate danger or close to losing the match. Just some filler here.
Match 4: ECW Heavyweight Title Match: The Sandman (C) vs. Rockin’ Rebel
The show comes back from commercial and the Sandman is draped over the top rope trying to get at the Rockin’ Rebel. The Rebel walks around ringside trying to stall as long as he can before the Sandman can get his hands on him. Sandman heads out to the outside and chases the Rebel down but he rolls back in the ring. Rebel keeps stalling until he finally gets in the ring. The Sandman rushes after him and the Rebel quickly goes back outside. Sandman has finally had enough and goes outside and and gets ahold of the Rebel.
Sandman tries to whip the Rebel into the post on the outside but the Rebel reverses it and Sandman goes crashing into the post. Rebel picks up the Sandman and lays in some right hands and then bites him. Rebel picks up the ECW belt and starts rubbing it in the face of the Sandman. Rebel gets back into the ring with the Sandman. Rebel picks him up and whips him into the ropes and nails him with a big time drop kick. Sandman falls back into the corner and the Rebel whips him into the opposite corner but the Sandman reverses it and hits him with a back elbow. Sandman then gets in the mount and lays in some left hands.
Rebel rolls to the outside while the Sandman tries to get the crowd into the match. The Sandman lays on the mat trying to get the Rebel back in the ring. Rebel comes in and stomps the Sandman. However, the Sandman gets back to his feet and the Rebel whips him into the turnbuckle but Sandman reverses it and nails him with another elbow. Sandman whips the Rebel into the ropes and he goes for a back drop but the Rebel grabs him and throws him to the mat. He goes for the pin but gets a 2. Rebel picks up the Sandman and gets him in a jawbreaker using his head. Rebel whips the Sandman into the ropes and nails him with a clothesline then follows that up with a leg drop. Rebel goes for the pin and gets a 2 count.
Rebel gets the Sandman up and puts him in the corner and lays in 3-4 chops. Rebel whips the Sandman into the ropes but the Sandman reverses it and he hits the Sandman with a one footed drop kick. Sandman picks up the Rebel and gets him in a nice standing vertical suplex. They get in the middle of the ring and they start trading left and right hands. Rebel and the Sandman then nail each other with a right hand at the same time and they both get knocked out. Both men get up to their feet and they double clothesline each other. Sandman gets up to his feet first and he’s about to get him in a body slam but Tigra makes her way to the ring. Peaches isn’t to far behind. They start a cat fight in the middle of the ring as the ref calls for the bell and ends the match.
Recap:
This match was pretty solid but nothing special. The Sandman was really sloppy with his moves and the Rebel did a lot of stalling to make this match last longer than it was. The women getting involved prevented us from getting a definitive winner so that kind of ruins the match. There really isn’t anything wrong with this match but theres nothing good about it either.
Show Closing:
Sulli and Wonderful run down the card for next weeks show as Bellomo comes out holding a large pizza. The Suicide Blondes will be going against Larry Winters and Tony Stetson for the ECW Tag Team Titles. Jimmy Snuka is going to be in action as well next week. Bellomo interrupts Wonderful and Sulli and he says that Super Destroyer #3 will be on next weeks show and thats him.
Show Recap:
This show was weak from top to bottom. They showed the whole tag title match from the previous weeks show. We got a sloppy tag match between the new champs and the Blondes. The best part of the whole show was Paul E. Dangerously and thats to no ones surprise. I am really looking forward to getting past this garbage and getting to the good stuff. We are one show closer to getting there. So hang in there with me guys we will get there. Join me next time as we review more classic ECW from 1993.
