wrestling / Video Reviews
Colling It In The Ring: USA Pro Blood, Sweat & Tears II
USA Pro presents Blood, Sweat & Tears II
Date: 4/4/2003
From: Queens, NY
As per usual with these USA Pro shows, I can’t possibly sit here and do an in-depth recap of every match considering a lot of these guys made zero name for themselves. Any of the bigger names on here that have matches will get the proper attention. This should be interesting.
Opening Contest: All Money Is Legal (Pusha & Murda) vs. Team Corona vs. The Boogie Knights vs. The Solution (Havok & Papadon): I’m only familiar with AMIL and the Solution as the other two teams appear to be local guys getting some time to compete on the show. Matt Striker is at ringside with Boogie Knights and notes that they messed up a monkey flip within five-seconds of the match starting. Pusha hit a double arm DDT and scissors kick to start with some good offense. Solution hits a press slam turned into a fallaway slam. Striker claims the referee stole his weed as the Knights hit a sit out spinebuster/swanton combo. Papadon dives to the floor to take some people out with a suicide dive. That leads to mostly brawling until AMIL is pinned following a top rope splash and they have been eliminated. I don’t believe it was mentioned as being an elimination match prior to the match starting.
Papadon is driven down with a tornado DDT and a springboard neckbreaker by Team Corona. Papadon fights back with a brain buster. Havok delivers a spine buster upon his entry. Solution hits a middle rope Hart Attack and they eliminate Team Corona.
Solution takes out the Knights with clotheslines and hammer away on them to keep control of the match. Havok nearly wins following a spine buster and there appears to be a violent chair shot on the floor, but the camera doesn’t see it. Striker holds Havok down on a suplex attempt from the apron and allows the Knights to earn the cheap victory. (*1/2. There were brief moments of entertainment, but it mostly seemed like they were ll lost and the flow wasn’t there.) After the match, the Boogie Knights decide to hit a spike piledriver on someone on the floor. That felt like it wasn’t needed.
Prior to the next match, Quiet Storm talks about wanting a tag match against the champions but didn’t know who he should choose to be his partner. He reveals his partner to be… Mikey Whipwreck. The champions freak out…
Second Contest: USA Pro Tag Team Champions EC Negro & KC Blade vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Quiet Storm: Whipwreck gets a great pop and helps out Storm fight off the champions. Mikey sends Blade over the top to the floor while Storm brawls with Negro on the floor. Negro is tossed back first into the guard railing and Whipwreck drops Blade chest first over the railing. Blade is met with a gut buster and a double dropkick by Storm and Whipwreck in the ring. Negro tries to attack but is met with a double rolling slam out of the corner. Whipwreck delivers a chair shot on the floor to Deranged and Storm forearms Negro in the corner followed by a dropkick to the back. Whipwreck rings the bell on Blade’s groin. Negro has gotten control on Storm in the ring hitting a scoop slam and a knee drop. Negro spits on Whipwreck on the apron and chokes Storm while the referee is distracted. Storm continues to be worked over in the corner. Blade drives Storm to the mat with a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Blade hits a spinebuster on Storm and Negro gets a two count. Whipwreck distracts the referee and headbutts Storm in the groin. Negro hits a lifting headlock slam for a two count as Mikey broke up the count. Negro comes off the middle rope to hit a senton splash but Storm powers out at two.
Storm gets driven down with a double team over the shoulder stunner/slam combo. Blade comes off the ropes to deliver an elbow drop for a two count. Blade goes to the top rope but is stopped by Storm. Storm plants Blade with a middle rope ace cutter! Whipwreck gets the tag and cleans house with right hands. The champs stop Mikey with an eye rake but Whipwreck sends them into each other and nails Negro with a superkick for a two count as Blade breaks up the pin. Blade backdrops Whipwreck to the apron, but Mikey is pulled to the floor by Deranged. Storm goes to the top and gets crotched by Deranged. Negro and Blade hit a Death Valley Driver/tornado DDT combo on Storm for the win. (**1/4. Well, Whipwreck didn’t do a whole lot in there and that kind of made it a disappointing surprise. Blade and Negro are solid talents and a good heel duo. I’d like to see them against higher profile tag teams.) After the match, Whipwreck hit the Whippersnapper on Deranged. Blade and Negro don’t care as they continue to taunt the fans since they are the champions.
Third Contest: USA Pro X-Treme Champion & USA Pro United States Champion Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels: Early on, Daniels decides to bail to the floor and stall for a few moments and is able to generate some decent heel reaction for doing so. Daniels keeps Homicide on the mat for a moment and they trade some mat wrestling holds. Homicide gets control of the left wrist, but isn’t going to get a submission. Daniels gets out of a head scissors on the mat and controls Homicide with a headlock for a few moments. Homicide delivers a few knee drops while having a hammerlock on. They trade a couple of arm drags and they both go for one at the same time. Homicide dropkicks Daniels to the floor and takes him out with a somersault suicide dive. Daniels atomic drops Homicide but Homicide comes back with an overhead suplex for a two count. Homicide lands on his feet on an attempted monkey flip and gets a two count after twisting crossbody off the middle rope. Homicide works over Daniels in the corner delivering a running boot. Daniels elbows Homicide to avoid a boot scrape. Homicide backdrops Daniels to the floor but is sent back first into the guard railing after attempting a baseball slide to the floor.
Daniels drives Homicide face first onto a steel chair and rolls him into the ring to deliver a knee drop for a two count. Daniels chokes Homicide over the middle rope a few times. Homicide comes off the ropes to deliver a forearm, but Daniels drives him down to the mat by grabbing his head and pulling him backwards. Daniels taunts the fans after sending Homicide hard into the corner back first. Daniels connects with a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Homicide misses a boot attempt and a lariat. Daniels hits a German suplex to drive Homicide down to the mat for a near fall. Daniels hits an STO and locks in the Koji Clutch, but Homicide isn’t giving up and reaches the bottom rope with his boot. Daniels delivers a step-up kick for a two count. Daniels is getting frustrated and works over Homicide with strikes in the corner. Homicide boots Daniels in the corner a few times and connects with a tornado DDT. Homicide delivers several chops and sits Daniels on the top turnbuckle to hit a hurricanrana. Daniels rolls through and kicks Homicide away, but Homicide gets an STF on Daniels. However, Daniels reaches the ropes to break the hold. Daniels delivers a jaw breaker and an leg sweep for a two count. Daniels slams Homicide to the mat and manages to hit the Best Moonsault Ever, but Homicide kicks out at two!
Daniels tries for the Last Rites, but is met with a knee from Homicide and a bridging back suplex for a two count. Homicide runs into an elbow in the corner but stops Daniels on the top rope anyway. Homicide gets shoved off the middle rope and forearms Daniels. Homicide hits a middle rope ace cutter but Daniels gets his boot on the bottom rope. Homicide signals for the end, but Daniels breaks free and tries for the Angels Wings. Homicide breaks free looking for the Cop Killa but settles for a running lariat and wins the match. (**1/4. It never felt like it got out of first gear to me and it lacked any drama. The action was okay, but it felt like it was going on for far too long and they easily could have cut several minutes from this match. Needless to say, I found this to be disappointing.)
Frank Goodman comes out and puts over how great that match was, which five people seem to agree with. Goodman says he doesn’t have any vendetta against Homicide. He promotes the next two shows and says that Homicide won’t be able to defend the title. Homicide has agreed to vacate both championships. Thus, there will be a three way match for the USA-Pro United States Championship and the Xtreme Championship there will be a four way match. In order to win the four way, you must pin each opponents. He goes over who will be in the matches, or you can just continue on with the review. Homicide gets on the microphone and says when he comes back from Japan he wants his belts back and he’ll fight anyone. Goodman agrees and says that Homicide will have two matches the night he returns, but since he’s Jewish than Homicide only gets paid once.
Fourth Contest: Christopher Street Connection (Buff-E & Mace) vs. Simon Diamond & Striker in an Indecent Proposal Match: As you’d might expect, there are several homosexual jokes. Mace says that Diamond has a huge penis and is met with a few strikes. Mace gets ran over by Diamond with a clothesline after touching his butt. Striker gets tagged in and continues to work over Mace with a clothesline for a two count. Striker tells the referee that he’s not going to wear a dress. Mace drop toe holds Striker and locks in a camel clutch. Buff enters and gives Striker a kiss. Diamond attacks from behind and is taken down with a drop toe hold. Buff kisses Diamond on the forehead, too. All four men trade strikes and Striker comes off the ropes accidentally touching Buff’s butt and Diamond can’t believe it. Buff is met with a double flapjack and Striker hits a backstabber on Buff. Diamond gets tagged into the match and works over Buff with strikes. Diamond decks Buff with a right hand and chokes him over the middle rope. Diamond gets a rollup on Buff for a two count. Buff continues to be worked over in the opponents corner as Striker powerslams Buff, which looked a little awkward. Strike hits a rolling neck snap as the crowd is chanting that Striker “swallows”. Diamond beats on Buff with right hands some more.
Diamond scoop slams Buff and delivers a leg drop for a two count. Buff misses a dropkick but Mace clotheslines Diamond from the apron to help his partner. Mace gets tagged in and he clotheslines Diamond and Mace. Mace backdrops Diamond and drives Striker into Diamond’s groin! Striker realizes what happened and he’s sorry. Mace holds Striker and Buff is crotched by Diamond on the top rope. Diamond superkicks Mace for a two count. Striker and Mace brawl on the floor while Diamond hooks Buff for a superplex and proceeds to hit two more suplexs. Buff is able to kick out at two on Diamond’s cover attempt. Buff and Mace pull down Diamond and Striker’s tights with Striker falling behind Diamond with his hands on his exposed butt, which pops the crowd. Buff hits a top rope Whoopee Cushion as Mace held Diamond, but they can’t get a three count. Striker goes after Mace with strikes on the floor. Buff has Diamond hooked but Diamond shoves him off and Striker hits Buff with a chair leading to a near fall for Diamond. Diamond grabs a woman that came out to ringside and brawls with Mace. Striker decks Buff with a chain on his fist, but the referee is pulled out by the woman. Striker argues with the referee and Mace gets an inside cradle for the win. Thus, Striker and Diamond will have to wear dresses. (**1/2. The crowd was totally into the match and I thought the comedy here worked really well. Diamond and Striker did well in the ring and the Christopher Street Connection are more than capable wrestlers in the ring. I think often times that gets forgotten since they are over the top characters.)
Fifth Contest: Danny Yamz & Psycho vs. Louie Ramos in a handicap Elm Street Death Match: If I had to guess, this will probably be really violent and feature a lot of blood. I mean, Ramos comes out with a wooden board covered in light tubes. Ramos gets worked over with several quick leg drops and elbow drops. They setup a board that seems to have mouse traps on it and barbed wire. Ramos puts Yamz through it with a spinning Death Valley Driver. Psycho delivers a trash can lid shot and continues to beat on Ramos. Ramos blocks a suplex and put Psycho through the barbed wire board. Ramos sets up his board with light tubes on the outside but is met with a low blow. Ramos is double teamed with a blockbuster/side Russian leg sweep combo. Ramos is put between two chairs and gets the chairs kicked into his head. They cut Ramos with a knife on his forehead and he’s busted wide open. Ramos fights back with forearms and a stunner/DDT combo. Well, Ramos has a dildo covered in barbed wire. He uses it on both men busting them up on their foreheads. Ramos puts thumbtacks on a board and the crowd is excited to see what happens there. Yamz and Psycho are able to put Ramos through the board gut first. They put the barbed wire dildo in Ramos mouth. Ramos gets on the apron and is dropkicked through the light tube board on the floor. Jesus, they got another board with tubes on them. Ramos is laid out in the ring with tacks on his chest. Yamz and Psycho hit a swanton and big splash onto Ramos from opposite corners. They staple letters to Louie’s face, though they fall off quickly.
Ramos is a bloody mess as they get the other board covered in tubes and Ramos has suddenly gotten a second wind. Psycho gets crotched on the top and Ramos gets both men on his shoulders before putting them both through the board with a Death Valley Driver for the win. (*1/2. Well, that went on far longer than it ever needed to go. Obviously something like this is fun to watch just because it’s insane to see, but it didn’t need take this long. Ramos should have just done his stuff and then walked out.)
Sixth Contest: Xavier vs. Crowbar: Early on, Crowbar shows he still has some speed by taking Xavier down with an arm drag. Xavier delivers an arm drag, too. Xavier drop toe holds Crowbar to keep him on the mat for a moment. Xavier keeps a hammerlock on Crowbar and is able to maintain control of the match. Crowbar connects with a spinning back elbow and goes back to locking in a headlock. Crowbar shoulder blocks Xavier but is met with a dropkick. Xavier signals for a dive to the floor but is tripped by Crowbar from the floor. Crowbar and Xavier trade strikes on the apron. Crowbar hooks Xavier for a suplex to the floor, but Xavier knee strike himself free and takes Crowbar out with a twisting crossbody to the outside. Xavier chops Crowbar before sending him into the guard railing. They get back into the ring where Xavier continues to beat on Crowbar. Crowbar tosses Xavier with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Crowbar leg drops Xavier in the groin area and chokes him over the middle rope. Xavier misses a dropkick and Crowbar hits a slingshot splash from the apron followed by a springboard moonsault for a two count. Crowbar snapmares Xavier and hits a middle rope rolling neck snap for a near fall. Crowbar knee lifts Xavier coming off the ropes and drops Xavier over the top rope gut first sending Xavier crashing to the floor.
Crowbar goes to the floor and beats on Xavier with a few strikes to the lower back area. Xavier gets driven chest first across the guard railing. Xavier continues to get beaten on while standing on the apron. Crowbar places Xavier on the top turnbuckle and delivers a kick to his midsection. Crowbar focuses his attack on Xavier’s ribs before going to the floor and brings two chairs into the ring. Xavier manages to suplex Crowbar onto the two chairs back first. Xavier and Crowbar trade forearms in the ring. Xavier nails Crowbar with a forearm strike for a two count followed by a backdrop. Xavier comes out of the corner with a few clotheslines. Xavier almost gets the win with a rollup coming off the ropes. Xavier hits a pump handle suplex and almost wins, but the referee gets pulled out of the ring. I’m not sure who the woman is, but Allison Danger is also at ringside. Crowbar prevents Xavier from hitting her but gets dropped over the top rope throat first. Crowbar hits a northern lights suplex on Xavier for a two count. Crowbar hooks Xavier but gets slammed off to the mat gut first. Xavier hits the 450 splash and wins the match. (**. The finish was nice since Xavier can execute the move very well. Besides that, this was mostly just an average match that got a lot of time and they didn’t do enough exciting things to keep me interested throughout.)
There are four drunk girls standing on the stage and it comes across like a force attempt at making the company look cool amongst women or something.
Seventh Contest: Mike Kruel vs. Billy Reil vs. Tim Arson for the vacant USA Pro United States Championship: Reil and Kruel are in the ring starting off and Arson is on the apron acting as if he needs a tag to get involved. Reil has three guys at ringside supporting him. This is literally a three way match where someone has to be tagged in as Arson tagged into the match to take on Kruel. Kruel works over Arson with an STF as Reil is getting a massage on the floor. Kruel works over Arson on the mat with arm control. Reil enters the match and Kruel keeps control with a headlock before hitting a shoulder block. Arson gets tagged in and comes off the top to elbow strike Kruel. Arson forearms Kruel on the back before hitting a back suplex for a two count. Arson continues with a rolling neck snap. Arson spins Kruel around with a giant swing and Reil delivers a dropkick followed by a running senton. Kruel gets beaten up by Reil’s posse on the floor and they claim that Kruel tripped. Reil scoop slams Kruel and goes to the top rope hitting a top rope elbow drop for a two count. Arson enters the match and scoop slams Kruel. Arson sends Kruel shoulder first into the ring post. Arson comes out of the corner with a knee drop and Kruel continues to get worked over. Arson takes Kruel over with a snap suplex and tags in Reil. Arson gets crotched by one of Billy’s corner men on accident. Kruel dropkicks Kruel into the corner and stops Arson on the top rope hitting a hurricanrana. Reil kicks Kruel and gets a stool for a cool down. Arson knocks Reil out of the stool, which he was smoking on. Arson tosses the corner guy with a suplex and a press slam to the floor. Reil superkicks Arson and pins Arson to eliminate him.
Arson gives his cigarette to his crew before going to work on Kruel and chokes him over the middle rope. Reil drives Kruel down with a brain buster and misses a middle rope elbow drop attempt. They trade several rollup attempts and they both get near falls. Kruel takes Reil down to the mat with an arm bar submission and manages to get the submission to win the match and title. (**. That was decent enough for what it was. Kruel seems to be a good choice to be champion. I was thinking that Reil would walkout as the champion because he did get quite a bit of focus, but Kruel should manage to have quality matches on future shows for the championship.)
Eighth Contest: The Sandman vs. Monsta Mack: Sandman comes out with a piece of guard railing. Homicide is at ringside to be in Mack’s corner. Homicide laughs because Mack is smiling because he’s enjoying the moment being in the ring with Sandman. They start off with some basic wrestling moves, which is always the trend in matches involving hardcore guys. Sandman works over Mack in the corner with knee lifts before sending him to the floor. Mack hits Sandman with a can of beer and drives him head first into the railing. Sandman fights back sending Mack into the timekeepers table. Mack misses a shot with a weapon and hits the ring post. Sandman tosses Mack onto the guard railing before rolling Mack into the ring and slides the railing in as well. Mack sends Sandman flipping onto the railing in the corner. Mack tries for a snap suplex, but Sandman counters and suplexs Mack onto the railing. Trinity comes out and causes a distraction. Raven enters the ring from behind and plants Sandman with a DDT! Mack covers Sandman and wins the match. (DUD. Well, that was nothing of a match.)
Raven says that he told Sandman to leave him alone and not follow him around especially to New York City. He’d rather be with the rednecks in Nashville. He proceeds to go backstage with Trinity, after slapping her ass. Mack gets the microphone and puts Sandman over telling him he needs to show Raven what he’s all about.
Ninth Contest: Brian XL vs. Deranged vs. Ghost Shadow vs. Grim Reefer for the vacant USA Pro X-Treme Championship: Deranged and Shadow start the match trading some holds on the mat and have a standoff. Reefer comes in and takes XL down but they trade some holds before XL gets control with a chop. XL takes Reefer down with a standing hurricanrana. All four men are in the ring as Reefer is double teamed by Shadow and Deranged. Reefer is laid over Shadow’s knees as Deranged hit a swanton bomb for a two count. Deranged almost pins Reefer after a top rope double stomp. Deranged and XL trade shots until Deranged is sent to the floor. XL dives over the top to take Deranged out with a twisting dive. Shadow dropkcisk Reefer a few times and keeps him down with an ankle lock. XL springboards off the ropes to moonsault Shadow and powerbombs Reefer. Deranged dives to the floor but is caught by XL. However, he’s still able to hit a tornado DDT. Reefer hits a swanton on XL and gets a three count. Remember, in order to win you have to pin every person in the match. Shadow almost pins Deranged after a right hand. Shadow drives Deranged down with a front falling Muscle Buster and a sit down powerbomb to pin Deranged. Shadow pins XL, but taps to Reefer. Deranged dropkicks Reefer as Reefer needs only one more win.
Deranged pins Shadow and gets chopped by Reeder. Reefer clotheslines Deranged on the apron and leaps off the stage to splash Deranged on the floor. XL rolls Deranged into the ring to hit a lifting reverse DDT to earn a pin. Reefer dumps XL to the floor and Deranged begs off in the corner. Deranged gets a few covers on Reefer, but isn’t able to get a three count. Deranged low blows Reefer and almost gets the cheap win. Deranged kicks Reefer a few times but Reefer sits down to hit a backdrop driver and wins the match. (**1/2. To be completely honest, I was lost throughout when it came to who had been pinned and who had not been pinned. The stipulation was confusing and I don’t think many people knew what was going on. Despite that, the action was decent enough and had some entertainment attached to it.)
Christopher Daniels comes out and is going to be leading the ceremony between Becky Bayless and Mike Kruel. Christopher Street Connection come out to be part of the ceremony as well. Matt Striker and Simon Diamond come out dressed in drag and get a huge ovation. Striker seems to be playing it up a little bit while Diamond doesn’t look thrilled about it. Mike Kruel comes out and is followed by Becky Bayless in a white wedding dress. Daniels treats this like a real marriage ceremony with his spiel. He asks if anyone has an objection to the marriage. Obviously, several people in the crowd do. There’s some music playing and here comes Billy Reil’s posse. They insult Bayless calling her a slut. They don’t think that Becky should be wearing a white dress. Simply Luscious gets on the apron and wants to reveal why Becky doesn’t want to get married. Bayless reveals that she objects to getting married and says she’s not getting married to Mike Kruel! Becky says that Kruel is the most boring person she’s ever met and calls him an idiot. Becky wonders if Kruel ever thought why she was kidnapped. She wasn’t ever kidnapped and just couldn’t deal with Kruel’s boring life. Becky reveals that Matt Striker is the father to her baby. Striker stopped in his tracks in drag and was decked by Kruel. This leads to a massive brawl around ringside, which you’d expect when it comes to wrestling marriages. Striker makes out with Luscious and Bayless. The women even drop down to make it look like their blowing Striker. That was a bit much. The women brawl with the Christopher Street Connection. Simon Diamond thinks this is ridiculous and embarrassing as he’s dressed in drag still on the floor. Kruel has gotten back into the ring and gets slapped by Bayless. Kruel tosses Bayless with an overhead suplex. I laughed when a fan was holding a Raven picture up during this because of the rumored relationship between Bayless and Raven. Kruel bails at embracing the Christopher Street Connection.
Tenth Contest: Dan Maff vs. Chris Candido: Tammy Sytch is with Candido at ringside. Candido backs Maff into a corner delivering a few shoulder rams and chops. Maff fights back with chops in the corner before they trade right hands in the middle of the ring. Maff suplexs Candido from the apron to the floor, which I wasn’t expecting. Maff sends Canddio into the guard railing and seems to have spit on a fan. Maff gets sent back first into the guard railing. Candido goes to the top rope but Maff stops him with a overhead suplex from the middle rope Maff covers but Canddio kicks out at two. Maff forearms Candido in the corner to keep control while Tammy is seemingly hiding on the floor. Maff takes Candido over with a snap suplex and goes to the top rope, but Candido cuts him off. Candido hammers away on Maff and goes for a superplex, which he hits. Candido goes to the top hitting a diving headbutt for a near fall. Candido goes to the top rope again but misses a diving headbutt. Maff runs the ropes before delivering a knee strike to drop Candido to the mat. Maff continues with a running butt splash in the corner followed by a cannonball splash for a two count as Candido reached the bottom rope to break the hold. Candido takes Maff over with a series of German suplexs. Candido takes Maff over with a northern lights suplex for a two count. Candido dumps Maff to the floor.
Candido hits a suicide dive to the floor and Tammy calls Maff a fat bastard. Candido breaks something over Maff’s head and attempts a piledriver but Maff counters with a backdrop on the floor. Maff drives Candido back first into the railing and rolls him back into the ring. Candido low blows Maff and hits a snap suplex. Candido tries for a suplex and on a second attempt is able to drop Maff to the mat. Candido hits a middle rope leg drop on Maff for a two count. Maff has Candido on his shoulders and connects with a Burning Hammer, but Tammy gets on the apron to cause a distraction. Balls Mahoney enters and drops Maff with the Nutcracker Suite and puts Candido on top for the win. (*1/2. There were a few spots by Candido that I wasn’t expecting him to pull off, most notably the suicide dive. The finish was lame since the same kind of finish had just happened with Sandman’s match earlier in the show. Probably not the best way to present Maff on the show.) After the match, Candido appears to get in a confrontation with a fan in the front row and Tammy gets a few cheap shots in. Tammy is really riled up as she has to be held back from a female fan in the front row, too. Well, Maff grabs the referee and pie faces him in the corner.
Eleventh Contest: USA Pro Heavyweight Champion Balls Mahoney vs. Perry Saturn: They start off doing some simple mat wrestling, similar to the start between Sandman/Mack. Saturn gets a cross arm bar on Mahoney, but the champ is able to reach the ropes quickly. They try to get arm bars on each other with Saturn being in control for a moment until a rope break ends that. Saturn hammers away on Mahoney and dumps him to the floor. Saturn beats on Mahoney outside the ring and rams him face first into the guard railing and timekeepers table. Saturn jabs Mahoney with a steel chair a few times in the face. Saturn slams the chair to the floor while Mahoney’s throat is pressed against it. Saturn sends Mahoney into the post and Balls has been busted wide open as a result. Saturn uses the chair again to beat on Mahoney. Mahoney fights back with right hands and bites Saturn’s forehead before sending him into the railing back first. Mahoney misses a running attack with the chair and hits the railing face first. Saturn rolls Mahoney into the ring and continues to work on the open wound with right hands. Balls tries to fight back with jabs, but Saturn cuts him off with a forearm shot. Mahoney drives Saturn down with a back suplex to get out of a headlock. Saturn runs over Balls with a leaping clothesline. Saturn continues with a standing leg drop for a two count. Mahoney drops Saturn with a spinning sit out spine buster. Mahoney jabs Saturn several times and drops him with strikes. Mahoney power slams Saturn coming off the ropes for another two count. Mahoney catches Saturn coming off the ropes to hit the Nutcracker Suite but Saturn kicks out at two.
Mahoney goes to the top rope and leaps off hitting a frog splash but doesn’t quickly go for the cover. Mahoney crawls over and Saturn manages to kick out at two. Mahoney has a steel chair and misses a wild shot. Saturn knocks the chair into Mahoney’s face for a near fall. Saturn hits the Death Valley Driver, but Mahoney kicks out at two. Mahoney hits a leg trapped back suplex for a two count. Balls heads to the middle rope and misses a leg drop. Saturn takes Mahoney down and locks in the Rings of Saturn. Chris Candido runs into the match and Saturn tosses him with an overhead suplex. Mahoney superkicks Saturn followed by another quick kick. Balls gets a few chairs from Tammy Sytch. Saturn is able to slam Mahoney onto the pile of chairs, but Sytch gets on the apron. Candido gets in the ring and kicks Saturn leading to the Nutcracker Suite onto the chairs to give Mahoney the win. (*. Yet again they do a similar finish with interference and it’s in three of the bigger matches on the show. Saturn didn’t look like he could move around very well and was likely restricted from doing anything great with Mahoney. They just brawled, exchanged a few finishers and then settled on bullshit interference.)
Main Event: Raven vs. Justin Credible: There was the first ECW chant of the night for this match. I was surprised it took that long before that chant was heard. Credible punches Raven in the corner but doesn’t followup on the advantage. Raven misses a right hand and is met with another strike from Credible in the corner. Credible ducks a clothesline and punches Raven to the floor. Raven gets a microphone and says he doesn’t complain and proceeds to complain about Credible using a closed fist. Raven drop toe holds Credible before taunting him in the corner. Credible takes Raven down and slaps the back of his head. Credible taunts Raven in the corner and the fans are chanting “Johnny Polo”. Raven backs Credible into a corner to deliver shoulder rams and right hands to stagger him. Credible boots a charging Raven and knocks him down with a right hand. Credible controls Raven with a side headlock. Raven knee lifts Credible as he runs the ropes and drives Credible face first into the top turnbuckle. Raven jabs Credible several times. Credible fights back with a superkick to send Raven to the floor. Credible sends Raven into the guard railing, but Raven drop toe holds Credible onto the stage steps, which busts Credible wide open. Raven rolls Credible into the ring and continues to beat on Credible with a rolling neck snap for a two count. Raven continues with jabs in the corner.
Credible catapults Raven chest first into the corner and misses a baseball slide hitting the post groin first. Raven pulls Credible into the post again groin first. Raven chokes Credible over the middle rope and jabs Credible with a steel chair. Raven sends Credible chest first into the corner followed by a clothesline and a knee lift for a two count. Raven keeps a sleeper on Credible, but Credible doesn’t let his arm drop three times. Credible fights out of the hold with right hands. Raven stops Credible with a boot and a knee lift. Credible ducks a clothesline and drop toe holds Raven in the corner followed by a quick dropkick. Credible battles back with right hands and an atomic drop. Credible delivers several right hands and a twisting DDT for a two count. Raven plants Credible with a DDT but can’t get a three count. Raven superkicks Credible but again only manages a two count on the cover attempt. Raven tries for a sleeper, but Credible breaks free with a jawbreaker. Trinity tries for a top rope moonsault, but Credible got his feet up. Raven is sent to the floor and Credible spanks Trinity in the ring. Raven comes in from behind to hit another DDT but Credible again kicks out at two. Credible accidentally superkicks the referee and Raven has a chair. Raven drop toe holds Credible onto the chair but Credible kicks out at two. Raven gets a chair taken from him and Credible hits a superkick to get the three count. (**. I was not expecting Credible to get the win here at all. The match was fine even if I was expecting more of an ECW style brawl. It wasn’t boring, but not a classic main event by any means. The usage of interference is just comical at this point.)
