TV 1996-09-24 (Matches taped When Worlds Collide II at The ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
World: Raven
TV: Shane Douglas
Tag Team: Gangstas
Joel Gertner is in the ring and there is an angry manager in the ring with Devon Storm and Bad Crew. Gertner lets us know he is Julia Caesar Valentino Alfonso cousin of Bill Alfonso.
Opening Video.
Sandman vs. “Dangerous” Devon Storm (w/ Bad Crew & Julio Caesar Valentino Alfonso) ref Paul Richards
Storm cuts off Sandman’s introduction with a somersault dive to the floor and then he attacks him with his own cane. Bad Crew beat on Sandman and he is busted open. Baseball slide by Storm. Storm dives off the apron with a clothesline and then hits Sandman with a chair. Storm goes up top but Sandman is near his cane and he picks it up and nails Storm in the stomach coming off the top. Bad Crew come in and get canned as well as the ref. Storm and Bad Crew get Sandman down Storm hits a moonsault and Alfonso tries to make the count but Sandman canes him from the ground. Sandman up and he canes Storm hits a DDT and get the win in 3.07. Sandman canes and pins both members of Bad Crew then nails Alfonso a few times.
We see what happened last week with Shane Douglas and Lance Wright. We go to Joey Styles and he runs down the feud between Shane and Pitbull 2 as we see highlights.
Tag Team Champions Gangstas vs. Little Guido & JT Smith (w/ Sal Bellomo), ref Jim Molineaux
Smith sings before the match and says that a fellow Sicilian 2 Pac passed away recently. Smith sings California Love while Guido tries to dance. The Gangstas hit the ring and attack. Guido power slammed by Mustafa and then New Jack with a side slam. Jack throws Guido to the floor and they go after Bellomo. Running powerslam 187 combo to Bellomo for the pin in 2.11
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat, ref Jim Molineaux
Van Dam and Furnas start off and they lock up. Furnas pushes Rob back into a corner and we get a clean break. Furnas pushes Van Dam and they get nose to nose. Furnas clotheslines Van Dam. Van Dam ducks a second one but gets drop kicked. Furnas sends Van Dam over the top rope with a charging shoulder block. Fans chant for Sabu. Sabu comes in slaps Sabu in the chest to tag him in. Kroffat now tags in. Sabu counters a back drop by landing on his feet and then hitting a drop kick that sends Kroffat to the floor. Baseball slide by Sabu. Van Dam throws him a chair and he triple jumps onto Kroffat in the crowd. Kroffat ducks a clothesline in the ring and hits a snap german suplex and tags Furnas. Furnas with a slam and boston crab but Sabu quickly gets to the ropes. Furnas misses a charge in the corner and Sabu nails a clothesline. Sabu reaches out to tag and Van Dam lets him tag his boot. Van Dam hits a spin kick to the jaw of Furnas and Van Dam for the first time does the point to himself and say his name. Sabu yells at him to cover and when he does it only gets 1. Furnas tags out and Kroffat hits a karate kick to take down Van Dam. Van Dam slaps Sabu in the chest again to tag him and they argue. Kroffat gets a leg lock on Sabu he breaks it on his own and tags Furnas back in. Sabu fights back and gets a chair from Van Dam and Sabu hits a triple jump leg drop followed by the Arabian face buster for 2. Furnas hits a clothesline and tags. Sabu goes to tag Van Dam but he doesn’t reach out his hand. Sabu gets slammed a few times but crawls over and again Van Dam lets him tag his foot. Monkey flip by Kroffat and Furnas comes in. Sabu saves Van Dam and drop kicks his opponents to the floor. Sabu wants to shake hands and slaps Van Dam across the face a few times. Van Dam reaches his hand out and Sabu irish whips him. Van Dam leaps over the top rope onto Furnas and Kroffat and throws Sabu a chair. Sabu triple jumps onto them but also lands stomach first on the guardrail as we go to commercial break.
During break with get a special update for the next ECW Arena show Ultimate Jeopardy. Tommy Dreamer and Sandman face “Primetime” Brian Lee and World Champion Raven. If Sandman loses he gets 10 canes, Dreamer then Beulah is gone, Lee would get Richards head shaved and of course Raven would drop the title if he lost.
Back from break and Kroffat hits a snap suplex on Sabu for 2. Another only gets 1 and a third gets 2.5. Kroffat locks in cattle mutilation and then tags Furnas with it doesn’t work. Powerslam and leg drop get 2. Furnas goes for a butterfly suplex but gets back dropped. Furnas up quickly with a belly to belly suplex. There is a table set up at ringside across the rail and apron must have happened during the break. Kroffat gets caught going up top and Sabu hits a super rana for 2. Kroffat locks on a Japanese sleeper into a suplex for 2 and we go to another commercial.
Hype Central with Joel Gertner now and he has a very cocky attitude. We get the Dreamer promo from last week with the hot wax. We learn a few more matches for Ultimate Jeopardy. Shane Douglas takes on Pitbull 2. Taz against Johnny Smith. Buh Buh and D-Von go at it and more.
Back and Van Dam tags in and hits Furnas with a spin kick. Kroffat comes in and the same happens to him. Van Dam comes off the top with a kick to the face and hits a standing moonsault for 2. Van Dam does the slingshot guillotine legdrop out of the ring to the apron and puts Furnas on the table. Sabu goes for a triple jump but Van Dam shakes the ropes and Sabu gets crotched on the rope. Van Dam with a somersault senton through the table. Kroffat pushes Sabu to the floor. Van Dam back in the ring with Furnas and he hits a split legged moonsault for 2. Van Dam posing some more and he hits the front butterfly suplex. Sabu telling Van Dam to cover. Van Dam turns his back on Furnas to point to himself some more and Furnas hits the release power german. Kroffat hits Van Dam with a chair and then hits a tiger driver onto that chair. Sabu breaks up the pin then hits a triple jump moonsault on Kroffat. Furnas breaks up the pin and gets a frankensteiner on Sabu. Van Dam makes the save but gets crushed with a chair in the back from Kroffat. Kroffat hits a super reverse suplex for 2. Joey calls it a tazplex and thinks that Taz went to Kroffat and Furnas and maybe Van Dam is involved also. Furnas and Kroffat hit a doomsday device but Van Dam breaks up the pin. Sabu and Kroffat outside fighting. Van Dam hits a kick on Furnas and now they go outside. In the ring Sabu throws a chair at Kroffat and it hits him hard in the face. Furnas and Sabu fight on the floor. Kroffat has a leg lock on Van Dam in the ring and Sabu hits an Arabian face buster for 2. Kroffat with a leg lariat for 2. Van Dam and Kroffat clothesline each other. Furnas goes face first into a chair. Sabu lands a triple jump elbow drop for 2. Lots of action here. Another tiger driver this time on Sabu for 2. Van Dam hits Furnas and then almost hits Sabu with a chair. Van Dam with a split legged moonsault on Furnas but can’t cover. Sabu does and gets a 2. Sabu again flings a chair at Kroffat but he gets to the ropes at 2. Van Dam with a frog splash for 2. Kroffat trying to take out Sabu with a sleeper. Furnas dumps Van Dam on his head with a german. Another super reverse suplex and just as the ref is about to count three the bell rings. We get a 30 minute draw with 25.47 of the match being shown. Sabu slams down a chair in front of Van Dam as the crowd and everyone wants 5 more minutes. Everyone agrees but Kroffat slaps Sabu across the face and him and Furnas leave. Sabu and Van Dam sort of shake hands.
Joey starts to close the show but Taz interrupts and talks about ECW being the best promo in the world. Taz says he’s not going to let anyone spread the word but him. He says ECW is the home of the one man Sabu fears and that’s Taz.
My thoughts on the show…
This episode was great, a must see. The tag team match will be on my list of top ECW matches of the year. It told a nice story with the team of Sabu and Van Dam seeming to come together a little bit by the end. With neither team able to show dominance I’m hoping for a few return matches.
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1996-09-27 at Agricultural Hall in Allentown, PA
Champions
World: Raven
TV: Shane Douglas
Tag Team: Gangstas
Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs. Jimmy Cicero, ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Crowd riled up to start the show tonight. Loud “Fuck you Taz” and “Sabu” chants. Taz brings down Cicero and locks on a fujiwara arm bar, Cicero gets to the ropes. Cicero goes for a back drop but Taz suplexes him and then stomps away. Clothesline from Taz and then he taunts the crowd. They really hate him. Back drop and more jawing with the crowd. Taz ducks a clothesline and hits a tbone. Nasty looking belly to back and the tazmission puts Cicero to sleep in 3.55. Taz brings a sign into the ring that says Sabu fears Taz. He gets on the mic and taunts the crowd as they again chant for Sabu. The crowd is chanting so loudly it’s impossible to hear anything Taz says. After they calm down a bit Taz calls out Sabu and tells him he’ll kick his Sabu. Taz lies down and tells Sabu to come get some.
JT Smith (w/ Sal Bellomo, “Dangerous” Devon Storm & Bad Crew) Mikey Whipwreck, ref Jim Molineaux
Oh man Smith, Bellomo and Bad Crew are four of my least favorite people in the world. Also really confused why they are all together. Smith and Bellomo threaten to leave if the crowd doesn’t let Smith sing. Storm stops him though, asshole. Finally Mikey’s music hits. Bellomo distracts the ref and the other 4 attack Mikey. The ref calls for the bell and gets control of things. Mikey makes a comeback with arm drags and drop kicks. Smith whip Mikey to the ropes and Storm trips him. Mikey gets up and dives on Storm. Smith goes for a baseball slide but Mikey moves and it hits Storm. Storm and Smith argue and Mikey baseball slides them into each other. Front facelock by Mikey and into an armbar. Smith rakes the eyes. Smith takes over with a snap mare and a few leg drops. Smith hits his stupid looking handspring splash thing for 2. Bodyslam and Smith goes to the floor to argue with fans. Smith picks up a chair and Mikey has recovered and hits a baseball slide. Mikey with a slingshot to the floor and lands a rana on the way down. Mikey with a neck snap back in the ring and then he runs off Smith and dives onto Bad Crew. Storm comes and hits Mikey a few times then rolls him back into the ring. Mikey gets up a boot on a corner charge and hits a tornado DDT. Mikey goes for the cover but Storm grabs the ref. Bad Crew come in the ring and beat on Mikey. Smith goes up top and the Crew whip Mikey in. Mikey ducks a clothesline hits the opposite ropes causing Smith to crotch himself. Mikey crossbody blocks both members of Bad Crew. Storm comes in the ring and tells Smith to go back up. Mikey superkicks Storm and he falls into the ropes knocking Smith down again. Mikey hits a super rana and gets the pin in 6.38. Smith got caught on the ropes on the way down and landed directly on the top of his head.
The Erotic Experience vs. Buh Buh Ray Dudley & Spike Dudley (w/ Sign Guy Dudley), ref John Finnegan
So as a follow up from last weeks house show his name is 100% “Precious” Pat Day. We get the bell but the Experience are not ready yet. Spike wants to attack but Buh Buh holds him back and tells him to stay. Buh Buh gets on the mic and makes fun of the Experience. G.Q. Gorgeous Quartermaine massages Day. After a few minutes Day is finally ready to wrestle. They lock up and Buh Buh pushes Day to the ground. Day hides in the corner so Buh Buh can’t get to him. They lock up again and we get the same thing. Day tags out. GQ charges and gets tackled twice. GQ crawls into the corner and asks for time out. The crowd chants for Spike. Spike tags in hits a hip toss and drop kick on both man and they bail to the floor. Back in the ring Spike with a snap mare and he rakes the eyes with his boots. Buh Buh tags in and comes off the top with an axe handle to the arm. Buh Buh now stays on the arm. Spike comes back in the ring with an axe handle to the arm. Spike goes for 3 different types of roll ups getting 2 each time. GQ reverses a corner whip and Spike hits chest first. Day chokes Spike from the apron behind the refs back. Day tags in and hits a dropkick off an irish whip. Day goes for a back drop but Spike gets a sunset flip for 2. Day up quickly and he nails Spike with a clothesline. GQ tags back in and they hit a double flying shoulder block. GQ with a chin lock slowing down the pace of the match even more. We’re now at 11 minutes. Spike goes for a leapfrog but gets caught mid air and powerslammed for 2. Double clothesline attempt by the Experience but Spike ducks and hits them both with a drop kick. Buh Buh tags in and cleans house on his opponents. Buh Buh with an avalanche in the corner onto GQ. Then he press slams Spike and throws him into Day for a 2 count. GQ breaks up the pin but then gets nailed with a bossman slam. Day now breaks it up. Buh Buh ducks a double clothesline then drops to the ground so Spike so run off him and clothesline the other two. Buh Buh hits a double clothesline of his own. They bail to the floor so Buh Buh throws Spike onto them. Buh Buh hits a power bomb onto GQ. Buh Buh sits on the top rope and Spike climbs to his shoulders and splashes off them for the win in 14.39. D-Von Dudley meets the rest of his brothers in the aisle and goes after them with a chair. Axl Rotten shows up to help D-Von so “The Shah” Hack Meyers comes down to help. Meyeres and Dudley fight them off. Buh Buh hits a dive over the top onto all four of his enemies and they all bail to the back. If this recap seemed familiar it’s because the last match they did was EXACTLY the same.
Terry “Bam Bamm” Gordy vs. Kronus ref John “Pee Wee” Moore
Kronus kicks and punches at Gordy and gets him in a corner. Gordy fights out but gets powerslammed for 2. Gordy goes to the floor and Kronus follows. Gordy sent into the guardrail. Gordy blasts Kronus in the head with a chair and slams his face into the ring post. Kronus comes back and hits a spin kick in the ring for 2. Kronus with a slam and then he does a cartwheel into a moonsault. Gordy fights back and hits 2 corner clotheslines followed by a power bomb. Gordy sets up a big clothesline and follows it up with the asiatic spike. Kronus gives up at 4.07.
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah) vs. “Primetime” Brian Lee, ref John Finnegan
Tommy hits the ring and we are off. They go to the floor and right into the crowd. Shockingly the genius cameraman with RF Video turns on the camera light. Dreamer gets chokeslammed off a merch table through another one. They fight to the outside. Dreamer goes for a suplex in the packing lot but it’s reversed. Lee hits Dreamer in the back with a chair. Lee slams Dreamers head into the ring truck. They begin to make there way back to the ringside area. Lee hits a superplex into the ring. Chokeslam is set up but Dreamer goes low lands the DDT and gets the win in 7.26. Raven comes down and hits a DDT of his own. Sandman comes out to make the save as Raven and Lee bail. Sandman and Raven face off in a cage later tonight!
Tag Team Champion New Jack vs. Stevie Richards & Blue Meanie, ref Jim Molineaux
New Jack gets on the mic and dedicates tonight to Tupac Shakur who recently passed away. Interesting because as I type this it was 18 years ago today that he was killed. Stevie and Meanie come out to “Here Comes The Hotstepper” and dressed as the Public Enemy. They do a great impression of PE on the mic. New Jack attacks them from behind. He just KILLS Meanie with a VCR and cane. Richards hits a steviekick. Steve opens up a chair and slams Jack’s face into it. Meanie hits the reverse DDT but Stevie misses the somersault senton. New Jack goes for the pin, Meanie tries to break it up with splash but Jack moves and it lands on Stevie. Jack goes up top and comes off with a 187 to Meanie who is still on top of Richards. Jack pins them both in 2.45. Meanie and Richards attack after the match. Meanie gets a DDT and Richards hits Jack with a cookie tray cutting him open. Richards with a power bomb and Meanie comes off the second rope with a leg drop.
TV Champion “The Franchise” Shane Douglas (w/ Francine) vs. Pitbull 2 (w/ Pitbull 1), ref John Finnegan
Douglas gets nose to nose with a fan at ringside. Douglas grabs a mic and goes right back to trash talking the fan. People are throwing money into the ring to get Francine to take off some clothes. Free money, good for her. Shane tries to hit Pitbull with the belt but he blocks it. Francine jumps on his back but he throws her off. Press slam by Pitbull. Corner whip and he follows in with a spin kick. Pitbull goes for a back drop but Shane wants a DDT. Pitbull reverses that into a northern lights and then hits a swinging neck breaker. Irish whip and Pitbull grabs Shane in a hangmans choke. Corner whip Shane comes out Pitbull goes for a back drop but Shane hits a swinging neckbreaker to turn this match around. Piledriver gets 2. Camel clutch locked in. Pitbull picks him up on his shoulders and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Running powerslam gets 2. Pitbull has on a full nelson as we see Francine get a chair. She goes over to Pitbull 1 and starts poking him with it. He grabs it from her and throws it to the side. Shane gets it and tries to sneak up behind Pitbull 1. Pitbull 2 dives out of the ring to stop him and then whips him into the guard rail. Pitbull flings Shane back into the ring by his neck and then hits a piledriver. Francine jumps in the ring to stop the pin. Pitbull goes after her but Shane attacks from behind. He locks in the belly to belly but Pitbull reverses and hits one of his own. Francine stops that count again. Pitbull 1 trips her. Shane comes up from behind and hits Pitbull 2 with the belt but only gets a 2 count. Pitbull fires back hits a press slam and sends Shane into the corner. Shane comes out and Pitbull goes for another press but Shane slips out of it. Shane with a victory roll from behind and he grabs the tights to steal a victory in 8.25. Pitbull grabs Joel Gertner after the match and hits a super fall away slam.
Sabu vs. Saturn, ref Jim Molineaux
Sabu dives at the legs and takes down Saturn. He tries again but Saturn drops down and grabs an arm. Hip toss and arm drag by Sabu. Same by Saturn. Both men get up and each go for a drop kick. Sabu with a leg lock but Saturn rakes his eyes. Sabu again gets the leg but Saturn immediately gets to the ropes. Saturn with a karate kick to the face and a leg sweep. Sabu ducks another kick and hits two spin kicks. Saturn goes to the floor and Sabu flies out of the ring onto him. He throws Saturn into the crowd grabs a chair and goes back into the ring. Triple jump attack into the crowd gets the fans on their feet. Sabu sets up a table and puts Saturn on it. Saturn stands up on the table and it breaks. Sabu runs up the chair Saturn springboards back into the ring and meets Sabu with a clothesline. Suplex by Saturn and then he crotches Sabu on the top. Saturn jumps to the second turnbuckle then over the ropes and clotheslines Sabu to the floor. Back in the ring Saturn comes off the top with a diving back elbow for 2. Saturn with a tilt a whirl back breaker for 2. Clothesline but Sabu still able to kick out. Saturn again crotches Sabu up top but then he slips trying to go up and crotches himself. Sabu jumps off the second rope to Saturn and hits a rana followed by a somersault leg drop from the apron back into the ring for 2. Saturn comes back with a clothesline and then slows things down with a chinlock. Sabu fights out and hits the ropes back catches a superkick on the way back. Sabu reverses a corner whip but Saturn goes up and over a charging Sabu. Saturn hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Sabu goes for a super rana but Saturn hangs on and Sabu hits the mat. Saturn misses an elbow drop. Sabu with a springboard leg lariat and the Arabian moonsault for 2. Sabu sets up another table. Saturn puts Sabu on the top turnbuckle and goes up with him. Sabu blocks a superplex and drops Saturn down with a front suplex off the top. Sabu comes off with a DDT for 2. Sabu goes back up but Saturn superkicks his feet then goes up with him and lands a super butterfly suplex. Saturn goes for a springboard drop kick from the apron but Sabu knocks him off the ropes and then they fight on the arpon by the table. Sabu hits a tornado DDT off the apron through the table on the floor and it is AWESOME looking. Saturn some how manages to kick out. Saturn sends Sabu into the corner and then drop kicks him. Falcons arrow gets 2 for Saturn. Top rope elbow for another 2. Saturn puts a chair on top of Sabu and leaps off the top but Sabu throws the chair at him. An Arabian facebuster gets the win for Sabu at 16.38.
Steel Cage Match: World Champion Raven (w/ Lori and Tyler Fullington, Super Nova, Blue Meanie & Stevie Richards) vs. Sandman, ref John Finnegan & John “Pee Wee” Moore
Sandman throws a bunch of chairs over the cage. Raven attacks as Sandman comes in the cage. Raven with cane shots to Sandman. Sandman gets sent into the cage a cane to the face only gets a 1 count for Raven. Sandman hits the cage again and it appears to be breaking. Sandman is bleeding after having his face raked against the cage. Piledriver by Raven for barely a 2. Sandman goes low and now he sends Raven into the cage. Raven escapes out of the cage and Sandman follows. Raven is bloody. They fight into the crowd. Raven whips Sandman into a wall of the building. Raven now sent into the wall and his face is just a mess. We clip back to the ring and Sandman hits a DDT but Stevie throws a chair into the ring and it hits Sandman as he is making a cover. Meanie comes in and misses a meaniesault. Stevie hits something but the camera is not focused on him. Raven gets a 2 count from it. Raven holds Sandman up and Stevie cause for a superkick but it hits Raven. Sandman gets 2. Meanie sends Sandman into the cage and Stevie hits the superkick. Raven gets 2. Meanie now holds Sandman but Stevie again misses a superkick. Raven hits a DDT and gets 2. Nova comes in the ring and gives Raven handcuffs as the crowd begins to chant for Dreamer. Sandman DDTs everyone. Lori comes in and breaks up the pin attempt. Sandman gets the cuffs and locks Lori to the cage. Raven swings the cane at Sandman but Sandman ducks and gets a 2 count from a school boy. Sandman rips off Lori’s shirt. Seems inappropriate since the kids mom is right there. Raven brings Tyler in the ring. Tyler slaps Sandman Stevie hits Sandman from behind with a chair Raven hits a DDT and gets the pin in 12.12. Raven gets Tyler to cane Sandman after the match. As Sandman walks back down the aisle a fan reaches out and rubs blood off of his forehead. Ummmm ew.
My thoughts on the show…
There is honestly no standout reason to watch this show. I’m not going to go thumbs down on the show because nothing was actually awful besides maybe the Dudley match, but nothing at all stood out as being above average. So, thumbs in the middle?
