Dark Pegasus Video Review: ECW Hardcore TV (12.31.95)

ECW Hardcore TV (12.31.95) by J.D. Dunn This is ECW’s “Holiday Hell” show and their first big jaunt outside of their comfort zone into NYC. December 31, 1995 From Queens, N.Y.. Your host is Joey Styles. Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie interrupt Styles opener. The crowd chants, “Stevie takes it up the ass. Doo Dah!” and “You fat fuck!” He starts riffing on the fans in the front row until he spies Missy Hyatt sitting in the audience. She calls him a “clueless putz” which stuck with him long after this. Richards says he’ll get her a date with Raven if she agrees to fuck him too. Hey, don’t knock the finder’s fee. Joey is speechless. ECW TV Title & Tag Title: 2 Gold Scorpio vs. Mikey Whipwreck. The ridiculous stipulation here is that Scorpio is putting both his TV Title and both tag titles on the line in this singles match. The Sandman is Scorpio’s co-title holder, but he’s busy tonight. Hapless Mikey can’t mount much of an offense. Scorpio nails him with a Bicycle Kick. Mikey suddenly comes back with a tilt-o-whirl headscissors and a somersault plancha. He misses a crossbody, though. Scorpio goes low and punts Mikey in the balls. STRATEGY! He hits a release Tiger Bomb but picks Mikey up. That leads to a Tombstone and a moonsault. He still won’t take the pin, though. Mikey makes the miracle comeback with a huracanrana. Scorpio boots him in the face, bumping the ref, and then as Scorpio tries a frogsplash, he nails the ref again! Scorpio hits another splash and a backbreaker. That sets up a powerbomb. Mikey is just getting killed (as usual). Finally, Cactus Jack runs in and DDTs Scorpio. He tosses Mikey on top and revives the ref. ONE, TWO, THREE! Mikey picks up the TV and Tag Titles at 12:54. Hilarious bit as Mikey tries to hand the titles back to Scorpio, but Cactus knocks Scorpio out and claims one-half of the tag titles. The match is remembered more for the angle than any of the action. **1/4 Public Enemy video package. Oddly, they leave in Coolio and Onyx. The Public Enemy vs. The Gangstas. PE is leaving ECW for WCW. This was supposed to be the PE against the Heavenly Bodies, but Dr. Tom Prichard left the promotion for the WWF. Joey jokes that Prichard’s completely “flipped” and tells us to wait a few weeks to get that joke. See, he wound up as Bodydonna Flip. The Gangstas (who are supposed to be suspended) storm the ring. Rocco gets put through a table, and Mustafa slams a chair in the general vicinity of his body. That’s not hardcore at all! New Jack injects a fork to the proceedings. Grunge unloads skillet shots to the nuts. Rocco moonsaults Mustafa on the table, but it doesn’t break. Mustafa manages to put Flyboy through it, though. New Jack nails Grunge with a frying pan, but he shrugs it off. PE hits the Driveby, but the ref is distracted by a brawl on the outside. New Jack nails Grunge with a chairshot, and Mustafa rolls him up for the win at 8:28. This would set up a rematch at “House Party.” * The two teams trade promos to hype the rematch. In the locker room, Cactus Jack dedicates his titles and Mikey to Raven. Inside joke: Cactus says he probably has an “Excedrin headache #9.” Raven is not happy with Jack for bringing him such a loser.

The 411: Again, the wrestling left a lot to be desired, but Mikey's "title win" and the return of the Gangstas to send off PE were big moments. Not nearly as good as some of the other angles on the "Holiday Hell" show, so I won't recommend this show.
Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]