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Dark Pegasus Video Review: Bloodsport – ECW’s Most Violent Matches
April 5, 2006 | Posted by
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Loading...Bloodsport: ECW’s Most Violent Matches (2-DVD Set)
This was supposed to be Terry Funk & Jack vs. the PE, but Heyman screwed up the travel arrangements, pissing Funk off, so Terry no-showed. Dreamer then volunteered, but PE took him out earlier. At this point, Mikey was nothing more than a member of the ringcrew that Cactus pulled out of the back to help him out. He only had a few matches under his belt at this point. Mikey tries to bail, but Jack catches him and throws him back in. That’s pretty much the story of the match. Mikey runs and begs not to have to wrestle, and Cactus keeps making him come back. Jack gets dragged in the ring by PE, and they doubleteam him. HERE COMES MIKEY! He smashes them with a sad little piece of board, but it works. Jack javelins Mikey into Rocco and takes Rocco out of the match with a Cactus Clothesline. Back in, Grunge kicks Mikey in the balls and DDTs him on a chair. The PE isolates Mikey, destroying the poor little guy with powerslams and piledrivers, but Mikey keeps kicking out. A variation of the Demolition Decapitation gets two. Cactus gets sick of watching the carnage and takes Rocco into the crowd for some good, old-fashioned Truth or Consequences violence. Johnny Grunge catches up with them, though, and the PE doubleteams Jack, taking back the advantage. Back inside, PE sets Cactus on a table, and Rock moonsaults him through the table. They toss Cactus out and go for the Drive By, but Cactus breaks it up. Rocco is so caught off-guard that Mikey is able to schoolboy him for the win and the ECW tag titles at 14:04. More remembered as being a great moment rather than a great match. **1/4
Jack was actually a babyface coming into the match while Shane was a heel, but they trained together years earlier, so they’re still tight. Douglas and Jack hit the ring with a vengeance, and Shane goes nuts on Funk and Sandman with a Singapore Cane. Jack gets in the way, and *he* catches a cane shot. Cactus and Shane get into it, enabling Funk and Sandman to make the comeback. Jack starts hitting Cactus Clotheslines on everyone. CACTUS ELBOW ON FUNK! Back in, Jack atomic drops Shane into a legdrop on Funk, but Sandman makes the save. Jack avoids a Funk chairshot on the outside, so Terry dismantles the crowd railing. This can’t lead to anything healthy. Indeed, Funk and Sandman drag the railing into the ring and whip Douglas into it! This is just non-stop chaos as Funk takes Cactus outside and DDTs him on the concrete. Meanwhile, Sandman is abusing Shane over by the entrance. Funk tries to use a toolbox, but the tools all fall out on his head, knocking him out! Back in, Sandman drops a leg onto a chair on Cactus’ head. Now Funk brings in a FLAMING BRANDING IRON! Funk nails Cactus in the head with it and BRANDS HIM IN THE CHEST! A piledriver on the flaming branding iron is enough to finish Jack at 12:53. Chaotic, certainly not boring, and sick. Typical ECW fare from the era. **1/2
These guys are crazy British brothers who used to form a team called the “Bad Breed.” Both guys have their fists taped and covered in broken glass as per the “Tai Pei Death Match” rules. Ian takes a single jab over the eye, so evil heel referee Bill Alphonso stops the match for a tiny, tiny trickle of blood. The crowd is rabid for Alphonso’s blood. Suddenly, the Gangstas and Public Enemy burst into the aisle, continuing a brawl that started earlier in the show. Fonzie leaves to help escort New Jack and company out of the building, so ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon sneaks in and restarts the match. OH YES, THERE WILL BE BLOOD! Both guys just start pummeling each other and grinding the glass into each other’s faces. You can just read that sentence over about twenty times and get an idea of how this goes. Thumbtacks get involved as Ian goes for a piledriver on them, but Axl backdrops him over on the tacks and finishes with a splash at 9:12. Total blood feast. *
Sadly, they dub in Rey Mysterio’s WWE music. It’s not that I mind the music, but it feels so cheesy. The usual Death Match rules apply — you have a ten count to get up after a pinfall. Rey’s mask was so much cooler then. A quick start sees Psicosis miss a charge and take a Dragonsteiner at 0:25. Psicosis is up immediately, but Rey ranas him to the floor. Rey miscalculates a springboard move and bangs his knee against the ring railing. Back in, Psicosis finishes with a moonsault at 2:34. Rey barely answers the bell, so Psicosis press slams him into the turnbuckle and splashes him. A press powerbomb gets yet another pin for Psicosis at 3:51. Rey picks himself up again. Psicosis slams Rey gutfirst into the turnbuckle and grabs a chair. He doesn’t use it, though. Instead, he slams Rey into the turnbuckle again and gets another pin off a corkscrew senton at 5:29. Rey gets to his feet, so Psicosis dropkicks him in the chest and brings the chair in. DDT ON THE CHAIR! Psicosis sets the chair on Rey and gets yet another pin after a moonsault at 6:50. Rey staggers up again, so Psicosis dropkicks his knee out from under him and slams the chair on him. He tries another moonsault, but Rey counters with the chair. A springboard clothesline sends Psicosis to the floor, and Rey tackles him into the crowd. ASAI MOONSAULT INTO THE CROWD! They brawl to the Eagle’s Nest (where the commentary crew sits), and Rey ranas Psicosis on the wooden platform from the Eagle’s Nest. Ouch. That’s enough for Rey to pick up the win at 11:04. Too one-sided to be really great, but this was a refreshing switch from the usual ECW fare. ***
Douglas immediately cracks Pitbull with a chairshot to the face. Meanwhile, in the ring, Jericho and Scorpio go at it. Scorpio gets a leg lariat and a somersault legdrop for two. Jericho slings around to a Tigerbomb for two and locks Scorpio in a Mr. Salty (hammerlock, neck vise). Scorpio peppers Jericho with kicks and tags in Shane. Shane takes a cheapshot at Pitbull, and Jericho is able to reverse a suplex. Shane and Chris trade chops, and Jericho finishes it with a spinning wheel kick and Lionsault. Jericho tags Pitbull #2, so Shane scurries to the corner and tags Scorpio. Scorpio counters a press slam to a sunset flip. They brawl against the ropes, and Scorpo slings Pitbull to the floor with a double underhook. Back in, Pitbull is out of it, so Shane tags in and stomps him down. Shane is such a great bastard. He stops and does the pelvic thrust toward Francine, which would become important later. After that, Shane is content to let the others do his dirty work. Jericho tries to finish Pitbull but falls victim to a powerbomb. Scorpio goes for the Tumbleweed on Jericho, but Jericho hits the Jericho Spike (Top Rope Standing Huracanrana). Both guys are out of it, so Shane blind tags Jericho and goes for the pin on Scorpio but only gets two. Scorpio pays him back by tagging Pitbull. Shane darts over and tags Jericho. Chris misses a sling over Pitbull and lands on his face. That looked bad. Pitbull tosses Scorpio away with a Super Fallaway Slam. Thing spill into the crowd and, thus, can’t be seen. Back in, Shane bulldogs Pitbull on a chair and tries to tag out, but neither Jericho nor Scorpio will tag in. That leaves Shane to get pummeled. Jericho tags in and figure-fours Shane for a bit. Shane tags out to Scorpio, though, and Scorpio baits Jericho into going for the Lionsault then dropkicking him in the face. Scorpio stalls too long and takes a sloppy Tiger Suplex from Jericho. Jericho wants to tag Douglas, but Douglas hits him in the face and tags back out. Scorpio plants Jericho with a Tombstone Piledriver and finishes with the Tumbleweed (flipping legdrop off the top) at 27:00.
Douglas offers to make a deal with Scorpio, but Scorpio has none of it. He jabs the hell out of Douglas and hits a dropkick. Douglas goes up, but Scorpio catches him on the top with a sunset flip for two. Scorpio slams Shane onto Pitbull and tries to moonsault them both, but there’s no water in the pool. Shane drops Scorpio with a DDT and allows Pitbull to finish him off with the Superbomb at 31:35.
Pitbull Superbombs Douglas through a pair of chairs stacked up in the middle of the ring. Pitbull sets up a table, but Douglas hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Francine gets involved, and Shane kisses her. The ref gets bumped in the mêlée. As Pitbull is going for a press slam, Francine suddenly turns on him and throws powder in his eyes. She reveals “Franchise” underwear (and a fantastic hiney). Pitbull #1 runs down and encourages Pitbull #2 to recover. They toss Shane and put Francine through a table. See, you would think that they would delay that and have the Pitbulls seek revenge for months before doing that spot. Of course, I’m not a booking genius. Shane sneaks in and DDTs Pitbull #1. He gets two off a belt shot and then two more off a brass knuckle spot. He even busts out a chain shot, but that only gets two. Pitbull #2 misses a spinkick, and Shane finishes fairly cleanly with a belly-to-belly at 39:36. Silly booking and finish aside, this was a great mesh of styles. Pitbull #2 seemed out of his element, but his presence helped Shane Douglas carry the psychology of the match. ****
You might remember Lee as the “Fake Undertaker” at Summerslam ’94. Lee stands ready for Dreamer to make his entrance, but Dreamer comes from the other side and attacks from behind. They brawl all the way out into the street where Lee tosses Dreamer’s face into a truck. Lee takes him all the way across the street and rams him in to a garage door. I should mention that they now have a gaggle of idiots following them around mugging for the camera and chanting “ECW.” Thankfully, they head back to the ring where Tommy hits Lee with a fiddle. The guitar shot misses, though, and Lee hits a chokeslam. Lee sets a cinderblock on Tommy’s chest and prepares to smash it with a bat, but Beulah jump shim from behind. He’s about to chokeslam her, but Kimona jumps in and flashes her breasts. That distracts Lee long enough for Beulah to hit him with a frying pan. Dreamer gives him a stop sign shot and picks up the win at 9:02. After the match, The Bruise Brothers (Ron & Don Harris) run down and attack Dreamer from behind. Lee takes Dreamer to the Eagle’s Nest and chokeslams him down through a table! Very innovative for its time, but it just seems silly and overbooked by today’s standards. Split the difference and call it **1/2.
Loser is the one who is taken out of the arena on a stretcher. Sabu defeated Van Dam at “Hostile City Showdown.” They fought a rematch, which Van Dam won with interference. Then, Sabu won their third match at “Hardcore Heaven” but had to be stretchered out. Hence, this match. Anyway, lots of the usual brawling in between highspots opens this one up. The first stretcher spot comes about seven minutes in when Van Dam crotches Sabu on the top rope and legdrops a chair into his face. Back in, Sabu blocks a suplex and legdrops Van Dam’s throat as he is hanging backward over the ropes. Not at all contrived. Van Dam spectacularly messes up a springboard move. Think the crowd gets on him for that one? Sabu hits an Arabian Facebuster off the top, and we get another stretcher attempt. Van Dam gets about halfway down the ramp before rolling off the stretcher and returning to the ring. Sabu hits him with the Triple Jump Moonsault. He tries another move off the chair, but Van Dam comes off the top and collides with him. To the outside, Sabu stops Van Dam from going out on a stretcher and quebradas onto him, banging his own leg against the railing and costing himself the match. See, that’s why your people don’t have a decent irrigation system! They both get stretchered down the aisle, but Sabu drags him back to ringside. Back in, Sabu hits a sloppy rana off the top. He tries a Triple Jump Plancha, but Van Dam catches him on the top rope and delivers a FISHERMAN’S BUSTER through the table! Back in, Van Dam mockingly throws a chair in Sabu’s face. They both try springboard moves, but Van Dam catches Sabu with a side kick. They put Sabu on the stretcher, but that’s not good enough for Van Dam. He tries a somersault senton off the top, but Sabu moves, and Van Dam’s tailbone hits the stretcher. The EMTs quickly take Van Dam away, and Sabu picks up the win at 22:23. This match was like hitting on every single chick at a nightclub. Sometimes you get really lucky, but you increase your odds of striking out. These guys struck out early and often but got lucky on enough spots to make the match entertaining. **3/4
Winner gets a title shot at Raven directly after this. They start with a series of chops, and Stevie playing the role Christopher Daniels usually employees. Stevie asks Sandman to atomic drop him into a legdrop on Funk, but Sandman just drops him with a backdrop suplex. Funk gets a trio of neckbreakers before Sandman returns with a ladder and hits him with it. The ladder gets set up, and Funk pummels Sandman on it. He “hits” a moonsault onto Stevie. Sandman tosses the ladder onto Stevie and blasts Funk with a series of punches. Stevie Steviekicks the ladder into Sandman for two. Sandman and Stevie brawl on the ladder, and Funk dumps them both off. Funk puts the ladder on his neck and starts swinging. Stevie starts to tune up the band. SUPERKICK ON SANDMAN! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Funk is up. SUPERKICK ON FUNK! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! They head to the outside where Sandman planchas into the ladder, see-sawing it into Stevie’s face. Sandman leaves and brings a trashcan in. He tosses it over the top rope and hits Funk in the head with it. Funk and Sandman team up to suplex him through the trash can. Then, they team up for a spiked piledriver. Sandman slingshot legdrops the ladder into Stevie’s face. They try another slingshot spot, but either Sandman or Funk is too drunk, and the ladder completely misses Stevie and flies off into the crowd. Back in, Funk and Sandman team up to put Stevie away with a double powerbomb at 15:43.
That leaves Funk and Sandman. Sandman brings some barbed wire into the ring, but Funk pulls his shirt up over his face and punches him. Crowd doesn’t seem to care much until Funk whips Sandman’s naked back with the barbed wire. Sandman hits him with a trash can and drops a leg on Funk’s face. Stevie staggers to the apron and distracts Sandman long enough for Funk to put a trash can on Sandman’s head. Stevie Steviekicks Sandman, and Funk finishes him with the moonsault at 19:10. **1/4
Funk is still out of it, so Raven attacks and drop toeholds him into a chair. Funk is bleeding all over the place, so Raven stalks him and stomps him in the head. The crowd chants for Dreamer (on commentary) to get involved as the doctor checks Funk’s cut. Raven puts Funk on a table and puts him through with a plancha. The doctor is about to call for the match to be stopped, but Raven punks him out. Reggie Bennett (one of Raven’s Nest) hits Funk with a chair and powerbombs him. Big Dick Dudley attacks Dreamer from behind and tries to chokeslam him through some tables that the Nest set up below the Eagle’s Nest. Dreamer kicks him in the balls and returns the favor, chokeslamming Dick through them. Dreamer storms the ring and DDTs Raven. Funk covers. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! The bell rings, but it’s a false alarm. Funk rolls up Raven in a small package seconds later for the win at 15:19. Not much of a match, but a great story to kick off ECW on PPV. *3/4
Disc Two:
The ropes have been taken down and the ring is restrung with barbed-wire. Sabu dropkicks Funk’s knee out from under him. He tries to whip Terry into the wire, but Funk drops underneath and heads to the floor. Back in, they take turns trying to ram each other into the wire. Funk kicks out of a huracanrana and shoves Sabu into the wire. He rakes Sabu’s face across the wire, busting him open (obviously). Funk actually KICKS IT UP A NOTCH by crotching him on the barbed-wire. Sabu goes into the wire again. The crowd gets behind Sabu, pissing Funk off. Sabu reverses a whip and sends Funk into the wire. Fonzie tosses in a chair, which Sabu uses to beat the champion. Those are pretty weak shots for a hardcore icon. Finally, he sets up the chair and uses it to springboard onto Funk with a legdrop. Sabu misses a second charge and goes into the wire. Sabu stops the match to tape up his arm, and you can actually see him turn to Funk and ask him to buy him time. Funk finally gets sick of Sabu’s stalling, so Fonzie has to buy time by getting on the apron. Funk yanks Fonzie onto the wire and rakes his back with a piece of wire. Funk cuts off a piece of wire and whips Sabu with it. He stops to beat up Fonzie some more while Sabu cuts the wire. God, this is awful. Finally, Rob Van Dam runs down to attack Funk. They wrap Funk up in wire, and Sabu puts him through a table. Tommy Dreamer makes the save and DDTs Van Dam on a trash can on the outside. The sides are even, but Sabu is still up and about, so he decides to give Funk an Arabian Facebuster through another table with wire under his legs. Both men are now wrapped in barbed-wire and can’t get away from one another. The ref seems to improvise and count Funk’s shoulders down (even though they weren’t) in one of the most anti-climactic pins you’ll ever see. Sabu becomes your new champion at 20:40. A bunch of people come down with wire cutters to free them. Sure, it was a series of sickening spots, but there was almost no drama to the match. See, if you go into the barbed-wire twenty times and still win the match, you diminish the importance of the barbed-wire, which is the whole draw to the match. The psychology of the match should be to look so fearful of going into the wire that when it finally does happen, the crowd is afraid for your life. In this case, one where the fans actually should have feared for the wrestlers’ health and safety, they were too busy chanting “ECW.” I’m sure there are some people who’d say, “I’d like to see you wrapped in barbed-wire.” Well, I grew up in rural Colorado. I’ve fallen in barbed-wire several times. No, it’s not fun. But I didn’t video tape it and charge people to watch. Given the success of Jackass, though, I wish I had. Anyway, this sucked and that’s likely the reason Paul didn’t book one again. 1/4*
This is a result of several run-ins referee Bill Alphonso had with the ECW babyfaces, including disqualifying Tommy Dreamer for the use of a closed fist. In fact, this was supposed to be Tommy Dreamer teaming with Beulah to take on Fonzie and Rob Van Dam. Fonzie tries to suckerpunch her, but Beulah has a cookie sheet stuffed up her shirt. So Bret Hart wasn’t that innovative. She wallops Fonzie, busting him open and then whips him into the crowd. Back in, someone hands her a frying pan, but Fonzie goes low. Somehow, that works. Beulah blocks a suplex and counters to a DDT, giving fans a good look at her thong. That gets two. Fonzie chops her and goes up for a moonsault! Beulah crotches him, though, and dropkicks a chair into his face. Fonzie tries to give her a powerbomb, but Beulah counters to a huracanrana for the win at 4:58. Probably the best man vs. woman match you’ll see in the big three. **1/2
Taz had recently turned face, a situation that took off a lot of his edge. Bigelow powerbombs him off the bat, and Taz no-sells him. They take it to the crowd for the usual ECW-ish brawl. Taz tries an armbar out by some of the chairs. They brawl a little more, and Taz grabs the katihajime. Bigelow counters to a jawbreaker and takes it back to the ring. Another powerbomb puts Taz down, and Bigelow brings a table into the ring. Taz goes headfirst through it. Taz returns the favor by T-Boning Bigelow through the table. They brawl to the outside again where Bigelow tries to T-Bone Taz, but Taz counters to a DDT that puts them both through the entrance ramp (which looks like it’s made of paper). Bigelow emerges from the wreckage and staggers toward the ring, but Taz jumps out and tackles him with the katihajime for the tapout at 13:20. They played off the ending from their 3.1.98 match, and the ending of this was actually the best part. It’s the first 12 minutes that needed work. *1/4
They actually try some wrestling to start, which is refreshing. The crowd is too busy chanting, “Fuck ‘im up, Taz!” to care, though. Taz decides to switch up to the high impact stuff and T-Bones Douglas. To the outside, Douglas whips Taz into the crowd and drops a double ax-handle on the back of his neck. They fight all the way through the crowd to the production area where Taz belly-to-bellies Shane through a table. Shane goes up near the Eagle’s Nest area and crossbodies Taz down below. They take out the table where someone was selling tapes. No wonder RFVideo could never get tape orders right. We take a commercial break, and come back to the ring. Douglas sets up a table in the corner. He counters the katihajime to a backdrop suplex for two. Taz battles back and hits a Tazplex. He locks in the katihajime and suplexes Shane through the table to retain at 12:16. *
Balls asks for a it to be a Chicago Street Fight Falls Count Anywhere match, but I think FCA pretty much covers it. Bubba isolates Spike right away and rubs his face with a cheese grater. Spike goes low and hits Bubba with the grater. Bubba prays to Jesus. WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?! Bubba and Spike brawl through the crowd, and Spike dives off the balcony onto all three other guys. Back in, Balls plants Bubba with a spinebuster while Spike hits the Acid Drop on DVon. It only gets two. Now, Spike gives Bubba an Acid Drop while Balls hits DVon with the Nutcracker Suite (Fire Thunder Driver). The challengers stop to argue with the ref, allowing Sign Guy to hit Spike with a sign. DVon goes low on Balls and hits the Saving Grace. The Dudley Death Drop puts Spike out, but Balls makes the save with a chair. Balls sets up a chair, puts thumbtacks on it, and hoses it down with lighter fluid. This can’t be good. As he’s about to light the table, DVon hits him with a chairshot and sprays more fluid on it. I think Homer Simpson did the same thing with his grill. The Dudleys light the table and powerbomb Balls through it for the win at 11:48. **1/2
Spike was doing the “giant killer” thing at this point, and Awesome at 6’6″ was the closest thing they had. Awesome pressslams Spike through a table at ringside. There are two stacked tables on the other side, so Awesome tosses him over the top through both of them. If you’re wondering, Spike set up the tables around the ring before the match. They weren’t just set up there for no reason. Back to the ring, Awesome levels him with a clothesline. Spike gets some offense in with a somersault off the apron, but he tries another dive and Awesome just catches him. Awesome springboards into a clothesline but slips on the wet floor and nearly cracks his head open. Back to the ring, Awesome sets up for a powerbomb off the apron through a table, but Spike counters to an Acid Drop through the table. Back in, Spike tries another Acid Drop, but Awesome throws him through a table. They battle back and forth until Awesome gets Spike up on the top rope and Awesomebombs him through a table for the win at 14:22. You know how you used to have to buy the full 14-track CD, even though only about 3 tracks were any good? Well, that’s what this match was. Not only that, but if you take into account that this was the main event at a PPV, it makes it look even worse. *1/4
Rhino was still in his first year in the big time here. He, Corino & Victory were working for “the network,” Paul Heyman’s shot at TNN. The network attacks Sandman, softening him up for the Manbeast. A ladder gets involved, and Rhino gets whipped into it. Sandman sets a table up in the other corner, but he decides to hit the Heinekenrana instead. The network senses a Rhino loss, so Tajiri runs in and mists Sandman. Super Crazy makes the save. The match is thrown out at 5:12. 3/4*
I can only assume the reason the WWE allowed this to go on the DVD is to rub it in that these guys have been castrated by the “WWE style.” Tajiri catches Guido springboarding in and kicks him in the head. Crazy misses a wild swing and gets ridden down into the Fujiwara Armbar. Guido and Crazy team up against Tajiri, but he fights them off and kicks Guido to the floor. Crazy quebradas onto both of them. Big Sal attacks Crazy but misses a splash and falls into the crowd. Blink and you’ll miss it moment: That’s future RoH Champion Xavier doing security detail and checking on Sal. Back in, Tajiri locks in the Tarantula on Crazy. Guido counters the Handspring Elbow and hits a Russian Legsweep. Crazy springs in and gives Guido a DDT. Tajiri finishes the Italian contingent off with a Brainbuster at 5:23.
That leaves Tajiri and Crazy. To the outside, Crazy misses an Asai Moonsault and takes a thrust kick. The seated dropkick only serves to wake Crazy up, though. He hits Tajiri with a clothesline. Tajiri tries a roll into a leapfrog, but Crazy goes low and finishes him with a quebrada at 8:41. **1/2
They brawl to the outside to start. Back on the inside, Dreamer locks in a Dragon Sleeper, but Anderson tosses him into the ringpost. Dreamer refuses to quit and sandwiches Anderson’s arm with a chair. He grabs the ring wrench and jams it into Anderson’s face, but Anderson slams him into the ring barrier. Both guys are busted open. Back in, Anderson gives Dreamer a kneebreaker on a chair and locks in the side Indian Deathlock. They go with the hard chairshots that stagger Dreamer back. Towel Boy gives Dreamer a Christmas present…razor wire! Dreamer doesn’t get to use it right away. Anderson gives Towel Boy a superplex and spinebusters Dreamer into the wire. Anderson sandwiches Dreamer’s neck in a chair and smashes him into the turnbuckle. A table gets set up, but Anderson goes through it with a Death Valley Driver. Dreamer takes the band off the table and yanks back on it in a Crossface for the submission at 14:10. **1/4
Joey Styles goes off on Mike Awesome, calling him a Judas and a piece of crap. He also says he hopes Awesome dies. Tell us how you really feel, Joey. Awesome gets a belly-to-belly and a springboard shoulderblock. He busts out a wicked over-the-top tope. Tanaka comes back with a chairshot. Foley ponders if the mullet was the source of Awesome’s power. Styles runs down TNN as they set up a chair. Awesome delivers a running Awesome bomb through the table. A follow-up Awesome splash gets two. They do a sort of power wrestler Flair/Steamboat sequence that ends with an Awesome powerbomb. They go back and forth with chairs. Awesome gets three chairshots, all of which are no-sold by Tanaka. Tanaka blocks a charge and gets a Diamond Dust. Tanaka Tornado DDTs Awesome’s face into a chair but winds up taking a gore. Awesome goes up and gets a chairshot off the top rope. Styles and Foley make fun of Awesome’s WCW gimmicks as Awesome sets up a table. Tanaka reverses to a Tornado DDT for two. Even a drunken Bradshaw is cheering! They go up again, and Awesome POWERBOMBS HIM OFF THE TOP! That’s the way he won back in 1999. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Awesome powerbombs Tanaka out of the ring, through a table and then planchas on top of him for the pin on the outside at 9:52. Foley puts over Awesome’s performance and says he’s redeemed himself after that horrible WCW run. This match didn’t quite capture lightning in a bottle, but it came pretty close. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Awesome got another run in North America. ****
Extras:
The Public Enemy are on their way to WCW, so this is their big farewell, and they decided to go goofy with it. Rocco rubs a banana cream pie in Nu Jack’s face. An iron gets involved. Rocco uses razor wire and bites Mustafa’s forehead. Grunge goes low on Nu Jack and rams Mustafa’s head into the ringpost. Rocco slingshots himself to the outside, putting Mustafa through a table. Nu Jack takes things out into the crowd as Mustafa and Rocco get back in the ring. Rocco hits a sloppy quebrada on Mustafa. On the outside, Nu Jack piledrives Grunge on the platform and splashes him from the Eagle’s Nest. Rocco uses a frying pan and a punch bowl. Mustafa goes after his knee to counter and locks in the figure-four. What the hell is a wrestling move doing in this match?! He drops the hold and hits Rocco with a loaf of bread. That’s more like it! Back to the ring for Jack and Grunge. Grunge tries another cream pie shot, BUT IT MISSES! Instead, he hits him with some other sort of food. To thick to be a pancake. A waffle perhaps? Or maybe a falafel? Get Bill O’Reilly on this. Mustafa puts Rocco through a table. They battle back and forth, and Grunge hits Nu Jack in the head with a rolling pin. Rocco goes up and puts Mustafa through a table with a moonsault. The Drive By (somersault senton) finishes Mustafa at 13:02. Public Enemy thanks all the fans and says their energy is what makes ECW wrestlers do all the crazy stuff they do. They invite all the other wrestlers down to dance with them, which of course, we don’t see. **
The 411:Â If the intention with this DVD was to remind me why I didn't care when ECW went out of business, then it was very successful. Many of these matches are the culmination of bigger angles, but of course we never get this or any backstory to why its being shown. Consequently, it's just one big mess with brawl after brawl. Maybe with a little Malenko vs. Guerrero thrown in there, it would have broken up the monotony, but as it stands, these matches look just as cookie-cutter as anything on Raw. Thumbs down. |
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| Final Score:  4.0   [ Poor ]  legend |
