Colling It In The Ring: ECW House Show 1/27/2000

Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 1/27/2000
From: St. Petersburg, FL

All the ECW wrestlers start the show in the ring for a ten bell salute for Bobby Duncum Jr, who had passed away. Bobby had a brief run with ECW and was part of the West Texas Rednecks in WCW as of the spring of 1999. Duncum was successful over in Japan, as well.

Opening Contest: CW Anderson vs. Mikey Whipwreck: Mikey gets attacked before the bell by CW and Bill Wiles. Anderson misses a clothesline and Whipwreck goes to the floor where CW grabs Whipwreck only to deck Wiles on accident. Mikey sends CW into the railing with a side Russian leg sweep. Wiles knee lifts Whipwreck from the apron and Anderson delivers a super kick for a near fall. CW continues with a sit out hammerlock power slam. Anderson focuses his offense on the left arm and shoulder of Mikey. Whipwreck connects with a reverse DDT but misses a head butt rom the middle rope. CW quickly hits a swinging arm breaker for a two count. Whipwreck counters a hip toss with a side Russian leg sweep and a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Mikey heads to the top rope and hits a shoulder block for a near fall.

Whipwreck hits the Whippersnapper but Bill Wiles gets on the apron only to be knocked off. Lou E. Dangerously breaks a phone over Mikey’s head and CW nearly wins after a spine buster. Dangerously distracts the referee so that Wiles can hold Whipwreck, but Mikey sends Wiles into CW on the top and Mieky hits a middle rope Whippersnapper for the win. (**1/2. A fine opener to the show that saw Whipwreck work very well and his offense was rather entertaining. Anderson hadn’t reached his groove, something he would find later on in the year, but it was still a good start to the show.)

Second Contest: Simon Diamond & The Dupps vs. Kid Kash, Chris Chetti & Nova: Diamond and Kash kick off the match. Diamond takes Kash over with an arm drag but Kash comes back with several of his own and a dropkick to send Simon to the floor. Jack Dupp enters and doesn’t have any better luck with Kash so Nova tags in and double teams Jack for a brief amount of time. Chetti sneaks a tag and super kicks Bo Dupp before going to work on Jack again. The faces hit three slingshot cross body blocks to the floor at the same time. Bo nails Nova with a big boot and has control of the match now. Jack gets a near fall on Nova with a power slam. Diamond enters with a front suplex on Nova for a two count. Nova hits a swinging reverse DDT and tags in Chetti while Jack tags in. Chetti with a side kick and kicks Bo several times. All six men are brawling in the ring and at ringside.

Kash hits a springboard somersault dive onto the Dupp Brothers! Diamond misses a splash in the corner and Kash comes off the top to double axe handle Simon in the groin, which is good enough for the victory. (*1/4. I kind of expected more since there were only two subpar workers in the match, but Diamond has been presented as a comedy act in ECW anyway. The fans didn’t seem to be overly interested in the contest, either.)

Third Contest: Little Guido vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy in an elimination match: Guido gets worked over by Tajiri to start until Crazy comes over to deliver a back breaker to Tajiri. Tajiri with a head scissors to Crazy and a super kick to Guido. Tajiri kicks Guido on the apron and Crazy hits a springboard cross body. Guido hits a top rope clothesline on Tajiri and has an arm bar submission on Crazy but doesn’t get a submission thanks to Tajiri delivering a kick. Tajiri sends Guido to the floor following a handspring back elbow. Tajiri catapults Crazy to the floor and Tajiri takes everyone out with a springboard moonsault on the floor. Tajiri sends Guido into the stage and spits at some fans. Back in the ring, Tajiri gets the Tarantula locked in on Crazy but Guido enters and double teams Crazy. Tajiri and Guido have formed a brief alliance. Guido gets crotched by Tajiri onto the top rope and Tajiri steps on the groin area before missing a moonsault attempt on Crazy. Guido hits a middle rope leg drop followed by a Un-Prettier. Crazy hits a springboard moonsault and Tajiri is eliminated! That’s rare that Guido isn’t eliminated first.

Crazy yanks Guido down by the hair but gets grabbed by Big Sal. Guido takes advantage with a middle rope side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Sal sends Crazy into the railing and delivers a big splash! Crazy is sent back into the ring and Guido almost wins the match. Guido counters a hurricanrana with a power bomb for a near fall. Crazy gets power bombed again but still kicks out at two. Crazy plants Guido with a spinning DDT for a near fall. Crazy attempts a middle rope moonsault but Guido gets his knees up and hits the Un-Prettier to get the upset CLEAN victory! (**1/2. Literally every time I’ve watched these three go at it, it was the formula of Guido getting eliminated quickly and either Crazy or Tajiri getting the win. It’s a fine match and a refreshingly different outcome.)

Fourth Contest: Roadkill vs. Rhino: Roadkill doesn’t budge on attempted shoulder blocks and nails Rhino with a clothesline. Roadkill hits a splash in the corner and tosses Rhino over the top to the floor. Rhino sends Roadkill into the guard railing and but Roadkill does the same to Rhino and uses a chair on Rhino as well. Roadkill misses a top rope leg drop and Rhino delivers a minor spear in the corner. Rhino gets a two count following a belly to belly suplex. Rhino takes Roadkill over with a power slam but again only gets a near fall. Roadkill avoids a splash in the corner and hits a side slam. Roadkill comes off the top with a clothesline and delivers a power slam. Roadkill comes off the top and hits a big splash but Steve Corino enters and so does Danny Doring and Jack Victory. The fans are wanting Dusty Rhodes as the heels have control. Roadkill side slams Corino but Rhino is up and spikes Roadkill with a piledriver for the win. (*1/4. The match was rather quick and not so offensive. The involvement of the guys interfering didn’t seem to be necessary, especially since Rhino is on the rise and Roadkill is just a mid card tag team guy. Roadkill showed some promise as a singles guy during the match, too.)

Fifth Contest: Bill Alfonso vs. Bubba The Love Sponge: Yeah, you’re reading that one correctly. Bubba the Love Sponge competed in an ECW ring. Sabu came out to ringside with Bubba and had a spike in hand. Alfonso does a blade job and Sabu places him on a table. Sabu heads to the top and puts Alfonso through the table with a leg drop! Bubba hits a middle rope splash and gets the win. Yeah, that’s all you need to know about that one. After the match, Sabu appears to have accidentally actually hit Alfonso with the spike and apologizes to Bill. Spike Dudley runs out and hits an Acid Drop on Sabu! I should probably note that Spike badly injured his knee at Guilty As Charged and is still wrestling.

Sixth Contest: Da Baldies vs. New Jack & Balls Mahoney in a street fight: As you’d imagine this one features a lot of various weapons throughout and blood is shed early and often by these four guys. They brawled into the crowd for a little while. New Jack came off the top with a keyboard to pin Angel. (NR. It’s hardly a match and just a hardcore brawl to give the fans their fix for blood and violence.)

Seventh Contest: ECW World Tag Team Champion Lance Storm vs. Tommy Dreamer: Storm hammers away on Dreamer and they go to the floor quickly where Lance sends Tommy into the railing a couple of times. Tommy backdrops Storm into the front row and they brawl in the crowd. They go towards the concession area where Dreamer sends Lance into a trash can and uses the can on Lance as well. Storm sends Dreamer into the wall and follows up with a trash can shot. Dreamer sends Lance into another guard railing towards the back of the building. They get back into the ring where Dreamer hits a Death Valley Driver but Dawn Marie enters the the ring and so does Francine. Naturally, that leads to a cat fight.

Dreamer nails Storm with a ladder on the floor. Dreamer puts the ladder in the corner and Storm sends Tommy back first into it followed by a super kick for a two count. Dreamer spins around with the ladder around his neck to drop Storm. Storm with a tag title shot to the head but only gets a near fall. Dreamer sends Storm into the ladder and plants Lance with a DDT after a failed Death Valley Driver attempt. Jason enters the ring and works over Dreamer. Storm accidentally hits Jason with the tag belt and Dreamer manages to hit a DDT onto the tag belt to get the win. (*1/4. The fans seemed to have lost interest in the match rather quickly. There was much of a story told between the two and it failed to provide much entertaining value.)

Eighth Contest: Sabu vs. Spike Dudley: Sabu tries to hit Spike with well, a spike in his hand but Dudley avoids the strike in the corner. They start off with a mat wrestling based offense with Spike getting the better of the exchange. Sabu sends Spike to the floor but is sent into the railing. Spike goes to grab a table but Sabu sends Dudley into the railing. Spike hammers away on Sabu before going back into the ring. Spike kicks Sabu and leaps off the middle rope to take Sabu out with a cross body on the floor! Dudley sends Sabu into the railing and they go back into the ring after Spike slides a table into the ring. Well, Sabu actually kicks Spike to the floor and tosses a chair at his head. Sabu lays Spike on the table and gets cut off on the top. Spike slams Sabu to the canvas. Spike attempts the Acid Drop but Sabu slams Spike onto the table, but it doesn’t break. Sabu places the table in the corner and hits a springboard leg drop off a chair through the table! Sabu does it a second time but Spike kicks out at two.

Spike nails Sabu over the head with a chair but can’t get a three. Spike comes off the top with a chair shot but only gets a near fall. Dudley misses a spear in the corner and hits the ring post shoulder first. Sabu leg drops Spike across the middle rope to get the upper hand. Sabu slides a second table into the ring. Spike gets up and whacks Sabu with a chair but Sabu delivers another leg drop. Sabu hits a triple jump moonsault right onto Spike’s injured leg. Spike trips Sabu sending Sabu face first onto a chair. Sabu counters the Acid Drop, but Spike recanters with a neck breaker for a near fall. Sabu lays Spike across a busted table and heads to the top rope. Sabu hits a top rope leg drop and puts Dudley away for the three. (***. I enjoyed this one as Spike held his own and is a great underdog that sometimes you think he will prevail but just comes up short. Sabu worked a good match and didn’t botch moves like he sometimes falls victim to doing. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t wrestle more often in ECW.)

Main Event: ECW World Champion Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka: Awesome catches Tanaka on a leapfrog attempt and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Tanaka quickly comes back with a snap power slam. Tanaka works over Awesome with a few chops but Awesome hits a top rope back elbow and clotheslines Masato to the floor. Aqesome botches dive over the top and lands horribly on the floor. Awesome boots Tanaka on the floor and sends Tanaka into the crowd. Awesome charges and hits a leaping clothesline into the crowd. Tanaka strikes Awesome on the apron but Awesome lunges into the ring with a shoulder block. Awesome drops Tanaka with a clothesline and grabs a steel chair and whacks Tanaka over the head. Tanaka isn’t hurt by the shots. Awesome hits a German suplex and a sit out spine buster for a near fall. Awesome sets up a table on the floor and goes for a power bomb but Tanaka gets out of it and punches Awesome to the apron.

They are both on the apron where Awesome kicks Tanaka but Tanaka gets out of a power bomb and hits a jumping DDT off the apron through the table! Masato delivers a running chair shot on the floor to maintain control of the contest. Tanaka hits a top rope missile dropkick for a near fall. Tanaka slams Awesome and heads to the top with a chair. Tanaka smashes a chair across Awesome’s face from the top but can’t get a three count on the cover. Tanaka plants Awesome with a tornado DDT onto a few chairs but again Awesome kicks out. Awesome elbows Tanaka and hits a double leg slam out of the corner. Awesome connects with a sit down power bomb but Tanaka kicks out at two. Awesome hits a top rope splash for another near fall. Tanaka crotches Awesome on the top but Awesome recovers to hit a top rope power bomb for the win. (**1/4. It’s far off from their classics they had on television and pay per view, which is to be expected since it’s a house show. However, there were a few good spots and the finish is just nuts to do no matter the situation. They kept it down a few notches but it was still a fairly entertaining match. I do think the fans were expecting more as the near falls weren’t getting the hot responses they typically garner.)

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6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

A few decent to good matches on the card (triple threat, Whipwreck/CW, and Sabu/Spike) helped this show be a quick watch. The atmosphere of ECW shows also help as the crowds are usually rowdy and are entertaining in their own right. If you had a couple of hours to kill, it’s not a bad show to watch but it’s not a must-see by any means.