From The Network – ECW November to Remember 1995

ECW November to Remember 1995
11-18-95
Philadelphia, PA

Your host is Joey Styles.

Broad Street Bully vs. Don E. Allen
Buh Buh Ray Dudley is the guest ring announcer and he brings the rest of the Dudley Boyz with him. He thanks his family for helping him with his little problem but he still continued to stutter during his intro. Buh Buh says “F This” and he lays out Don E. Allen with a powerbomb. Bully attacks but Buh Buh lays him out with a powerbomb too. Buh Buh covers Bully for 3. I guess it turned into a handicap match.
Winner- Buh Buh Ray Dudley NR ( Weird segment to open the show but it got the crowd warmed up so I guess it served a purpose. )

Paul E. Dangerously is out and he asks for the lights to be dimed. SABU IS HERE!!!!!!! He and Paul E embrace as Sabu has returned to ECW!!!

Jason Knight vs. Konnan
Taz comes out and says he doesn’t have clearance to wrestle. Jason Knight interrupts him and mocks Taz. Taz nails Knight and he is the guest ref for the match. Splash Mountain by Konnan gets 3.
Winner- Konnan SQUASH ( Man this show off to a weird start. A goofy segment followed by a squash is a little out there as a way to get the crowd hot for the rest of the show. )

El Puerto Ricano vs. Stevie Richards
A fan in the front row gives Richards a present so Richards brings him to ringside for a hug. The fans shirt says “The Blue Meanie”. Ricano hits a corkscrew plancha to the floor and back in; he hits a springboard moonsault for 2. Ricano goes up and hits a missile dropkick. Ricano hits a suicide dive to the Meanie!!! Ricano goes up but Richards goes low to bring him down. Powerbomb by Richards and he gordbusters Ricano in the ropes. A second powerbomb by Richards and he brings the Blue Meanie in. Meanie goes up but then hesitates due to the height. Richards forces Meanie on top and he misses a moonsault off the top!!!! Ricano rolls Richards up for 2. Stevie Kick by Richards gets 3.
Winner- Stevie Richards *1/2 ( A very short match but it was fun and I kind of wish they got more time to develop something decent. Still, a memorable match for the launch of the B.W.O. )

The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus) w/Jason vs. The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and #2) w/Francine
#1 and Saturn start. Saturn slams #1 but #1 comes back with one of his own. Saturn rakes the eyes and he hammers #1 in the corner. #1 fires back and he slams Saturn a few times. Side kick by #1 and #2 tags in. Drop toe hold/top rope elbow drop combo by the Pitbulls gets 2. Tag to Kronus and #2 hits a running powerslam. Release Dragon suplex by Kronus and Saturn tags in. Spin kick by Saturn knocks #2 to the apron. Springboard clothesline sends both men crashing to the floor!!! ASSISTED MOONSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR BY THE ELIMINATORS!!!! Tag to Kronus and he slams #2. Summersault leg drop by Kronus and he hits a back suplex for 2. Kronus chokes #2 in the ropes and Jason gets a cheap shot in. #2 fires back but he misses the avalanche and goes crashing to the floor. Back in, Saturn tags in. Flying elbow drop by Saturn gets 2. Saturn puts #2 on top and hits a Frankensteiner off the top for 2. Tag to Kronus and the Eliminators press #2 to the mat. They put #2 on top and follow up. Saturn goes for the Frankensteienr but #2 blocks with a superbomb for 2 as Kronus breaks it up. #1 goes after Kronus and Jason hits a leg drop on #2 as the ref was distracted. Tag to #1 and he cleans house. Double clothesline by #1 and Kronus accidently nails Jason when going after #1. Tiger Bomb by Saturn to #2 gets 2 as #1 saves. Doomsday clothesline knocks Kronus to the floor. Guillotine by the Pitbulls gets 2 as Jason saves!!! #2 press slams Jason and he charges in the corner but misses. Handspring back elbow in the corner by Kronus and #2 comes back with a spinning heel kick in the corner he completely overshoots. Clothesline by #1 and the Pitbulls hit the Superbomb on Kronus for 3. Jason forces Francine to make out with him after the match so #1 nails him with a chair. Saturn attacks the Pitbulls and they hit Total Elimination on both.
Winners- The Pitbulls *** ( At times this match wasn’t the prettiest to watch but it was a very physical, intense contest with both teams motivated and the Eliminators in particular being hungry and wanting to make an impact. This was a good time and the first really solid segment of the show. )

Mexican Death Match- Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Psicosis misses a corner dropkick and Mysterio hits a hurricanrana. Psicosis misses another dropkick and Mysterio goes up. Summersault hurricanrana by Mysterio gets 3!!! Psiscosis gets up at 5. Mysterio sweeps the legs of Psicosis and he hits a hurricanrana to the floor. Mysterio botches a springboard off the railings and Psicosis tosses a chair at Mysterio. Back in, Psicosis hits a missile dropkick. Slam by Psicosis and he goes up. Moonsault off the top by Psicosis gets 3. Mysterio is up at 9. Corner dropkick by Psicosis and he presses Mysterio onto the top turnbuckle. Avalanche in the corner by Psicosis and he presses Rey to the mat. Powerbomb by Psicosis gets 3. Rey is up at 9 again. Avalanche again by Psicossis and he drives Mysterio sternum first into the corner. He does it a second time and he powerslams Rey. Psicosis goes up and he hits a corkscrew leg drop off the top for 3. Mysterio is up at 9. Corner dropkick by Psicosis and he hits a DDT on a chair on Rey. Psicosis nails Rey in the back with the chair and he goes up. Moonsault off the top by Psicosos onto the chair on the back of Mysterio gets 3. Mysterio is up at 9. Dropkick to the leg by Psicosis and he goes up. Moonsault off the top but Rey uses the chair to block. Rey tosses the chair at Psicosis and he hits a springboard clothesline knocking Psicosis off the apron. Crossbody off the apron by Mysterio knocks Psicosis into the front row. Mysterio HITS A SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT INTO THE CROWD ONTO PSICOSIS!!!! They brawl in the crowd and Rey nails Psicosis with the chair again. Rey tosses Psicosis into the crowd again and they brawl some more. REY HITS A HURRICANRANA OFF THE BALCONY ONTO THE BIRD’S NEST FOR 3!!!! Psicosis can’t beat the count!!!
Winner- Rey Mysterio Jr. ***1/2 ( This match doesn’t hold up like it did in 1995 with a lot of botches but man for the time period this was insane. Tons of breath taking spots combined with the intensity of the rivalry and watching this you could see something special in Mysterio and that he had a connection with the American audience. )

After the match, Jason comes out and offers his services to Mysterio. Jason calls Rey a little bitch so Mysterio hits a spinning heel kick. Hurricanrana by Rey and the Eliminators attack Rey. Saturn presses Rey into a slingshot powerbomb by Kronus. They hit leg drops on Rey and 911 comes out!!! Rey hits a hurricanrana off the top onto Saturn and 911 hits a double chokeslam!!!!

ECW Tag Team Championships/ECW TV Championship- Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio (TV) © w/Woman vs. Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge)
So both titles are on the line and since Sandman lost the ECW Championship before this match occurred, the winner of the fall gets a title shot against Mikey Whipwreck later in the show. We have a dance off to kick off the match. The champs attack to end the dance off and they stomp away on Grunge in the corner. Double clothesline off the top by Rock and they clothesline the champs out of the ring. Back in, Sandman and Grunge officially start. Grunge overpowers Sandman and hip tosses him to the floor. Slingshot pescado by Rock to Sandman and in the ring, Scorpio hits a crossbody off the top to Grunge. We have a chair war which eventually turns into a basic brawl. Scorpio and Grunge brawl in the entrance way and Scorpio steals a fan’s fake hand!!!! He attacks Grunge with the hand which busts Grunge open but Grunge goes low to end that. Vader Bomb by Grunge gets 2. Rock brawls with Sandman on the floor and he nails him with anything the fans hand to him. Slingshot dropkick by Sandman to Grunge and he attacks Rock as he comes in. Tilt-a-whirl head scissors by Rock and Sandman comes back with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker. Slingshot leg drop by Sandman and he slams Rock. Tag to Scorpio and he hits a slingshot splash. Sidewalk slam by Scorpio and he overpowers Rock. Scorpio misses the dropkick and Rock misses the springboard moonsault. Super kick by Scorpio and he hits the Tiger Bomb for 2 as Grunge saves. Slam by Scorpio and he goes for the standing moonsault but eats knees. Tag to Sandman and he hits some elbow drops. Grunge goes after Sandman as Scorpio drops Rock into the ropes. Woman canes Rock from the floor and Sandman brawls with Grunge on the floor. Sandman charges but Grunge backdrops him onto a table. Rock suplexes Scorpio to the floor and Grunge tries to suplex Sandman through a table. Sandman blocks and gordbusters Grunge through the table!!! Rock puts Sandman on a piece of the broken table and hits a slingshot summersault plancha onto Sandman!!! Back in, Rock hits a hurricanrana on Sandman for 2 as Scorpio breaks. Avalanche in the corner by Scorpio and he goes up. Moonsault off the top by Scorpio gets 2 as Grunge saves. Spinning heel kick by Scorpio and Grunge and Sandman tag in. Grunge fires away and he rams the champs’ heads together. Rock goes for a summersault cannonball off the top but misses and lays out Grunge. Sandman falls on top of Grunge and gets 3!!! Sandman gets a title shot later tonight.
Winners and Still ECW Tag Team Champions and TV Champion- Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio *** ( This was a classic ECW garbage brawl. Psychology and the basics of tag team wrestling were thrown out of the window and these two teams just had a giant brawl that was all over the place. The match was a mess but I’d be lying if I said this match didn’t entertain the crap out of me. )

Video package for Alfonso/Gordon airs.

Bill Alfonso vs. Tod Gordon
Beulah McGuillicutty is the guest ref. Alfonso attacks Gordon on the floor as he was posing for the crowd and Alfonso LAYS OUT BEULAH WITH A CLOTHESLINE!!!! Gordon attacks Alfonso and they slug it out. Gordon knocks Alfonso down and he hits a clothesline. Gordon chokes Alfonso with his boot and he hits a springboard stomp. Alfonso fights back and knocks Gordon to the floor. Gordon nails Alfonso with a cookie sheet and he slams Alfonso’s face off a chair a few times. Alfonso is busted open and he pokes the eye of Gordon. Gordon continues to fire away and back in, Gordon goes low to block a frying pan shot. He nails Alfonso with the frying pan and he covers but there is no ref. Taz comes out and he counts 2 as Taz nails Gordon!!!! He puts Alfonso on top of Gordon and counts 3!!!
Winner- Bill Alfonso * ( This was a match between two non-wrestlers so the match quality didn’t matter here. I’ll give them props that they worked this match like they truly hated each other and wanted to just pummel the other. The angle at the end was huge and basically set the course of ECW all the way until their first PPV a year and a half later. )

After the match, Taz says he never got a letter or phone call after he got hurt but everyone is concerned if Dreamer, Funk, or Sabu is injured. He says Paul Heyman said not to worry but he didn’t have a fat jew for a father to pay for everything. He says Bill Alfonso will put food on his table and money in his pocket. Taz says the people don’t care about him so he doesn’t care about them.

ECW Championship- Mikey Whipwreck © vs. Sandman w/Woman
Before the match, Steve Austin comes out and attacks Sandman in the entrance way. Stun Gun on the railings by Austin and he heads to the ring. Austin calls out Whipwreck so he is taking Sandman’s title shot.

ECW Championship- Mikey Whipwreck © vs. Steve Austin
Austin says he is going to pretend Whipwreck is Eric Bischoff to give himself some motivation. Austin attacks to start and he works over Mikey on the floor. He drops Mikey onto the railings and back in, he stomps away on Mikey. Austin chokes Mikey in the ropes and he sends Mikey into the railings. Back in, Austin snap mares Mikey and hits a big boot. Leg drop by Austin gets 2. Austin dumps Mikey to the floor again and he drops Mikey onto the railings again. Mikey reverses Austin into the railings and he hits some lefts. Back in, Mikey stomps away on Austin but Austin catches him with the Stun Gun for 2!!! Austin hammers away on Mikey in the corner and Mikey catches Austin with a sunset flip using the tights for 3!!!! Austin lays Mikey out with a lariat after the match.
Winner and Still ECW Champion- Mikey Whipwreck ** ( Steve Austin looked like a megastar in there and the way he worked the pissed off ex-WCW employee was outstanding. Props to him for putting Mikey over too and his short stint in ECW was nothing short of incredible. )

Hack Meyers vs. Sabu w/Paul E. Dangerously
Sabu goes for the leg of Meyers to start and he snap mares Meyers into the springboard leg lariat for 2. Chinlock by Sabu and he hits a DDT. Springboard leg lariat using the chair by Sabu gets 2. Sabu works the arm of Meyers and he hits another springboard leg lariat for 2. Sabu goes back to the chin lock and he catches Meyers with a corner clothesline. Meyers comes back with a powerslam for 2. Meyers goes up and uses his knees to drive Sabu’s head into the mat for 2 as Sabu gets his foot on the ropes. Sabu goes up and catches Meyers with a guillotine leg drop. They slug it out and Sabu catches Meyers with another DDT for 2. Spinning heel kick by Sabu and he hits a slingshot hurricanrana to Meyers on the floor. Sabu sends Meyers to the railings and he hits Air Sabu against the railings. Back in, Sabu goes up and leaps but Meyers catches Sabu with a powerbomb on the way down for 2!!! Release suplex by Meyers and he goes up. Sabu stops him and follows up. Victory Roll Driver off the top by Sabu gets 2. Sabu goes up but Meyers crotches him and nails Sabu with a chair. Guillotine leg drop in the ropes by Meyers and he goes up. Sabu pulls him off the top head first onto a chair and he hits a hurricanrana sending Meyers crashing to the floor. Sabu puts Meyers on a table and hits a SUMMERSAULT PLANCHA OFF A CHAIR THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Back in, Sabu covers for 2. Slam by Sabu and he goes up. Atomic Arabian Facebuster by Sabu gets 3.
Winner- Sabu **1/4 ( I’m shocked at the way they screwed up Sabu’s return. He had this big welcome back earlier in the show and then put him in a long, dull brawl with one of ECW’s lesser workers. It shouldn’t have taken Sabu eleven minutes to put away Myers and I don’t know why they dragged this out for so long. This should have been a quick destruction of Myers with Sabu showcasing his famous spots. This was a failure and one of the few booking screw-ups on this show. )

Cactus Jack and Raven vs. Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer from November 2 Remember 1995
Raven and Cactus prevent Dreamer and Funk from entering the ring to start. Funk and Dreamer finally enter the ring and clear it of Cactus and Raven. They brawl on the floor and Funk nails Cactus in the head and back with a chair. He tosses it into the ring nailing Raven in the head!!! Back in, Funk goes wild with a street sign and they go after Stevie Richards on the floor that came out with a shopping cart full of weapons. Dreamer and Funk put him in the cart and ram him groin first into the ring post!!!! Dreamer nails Raven in the head with a VCR and then hits him in the groin with a remote!!!! Funk beats the hell out of Cactus with a shovel and then a dust pan. Funk nails the ref with the dust pan because why the hell not? Funk nails Raven in the groin with a GOLF CLUB!!!!! Dreamer rakes the face of Raven with a cheese grater but Cactus breaks it up. Cactus nails Dreamer in the back with a chair while Raven chokes Funk with a toilet seat. Cactus and Raven clothesline Dreamer with a chain and Raven is busted wide open. Cactus stabs Funk in the arm a few times with a fork while Raven hits a DDT on Dreamer. They go back to the floor and Raven sends Dreamer into the railings. Back in, Raven hits another DDT to Dreamer as Cactus now stabs Funk in the head with the fork. Raven and Cactus go to clothesline Dreamer with the chain but Dreamer jumps on the chain, pulling Cactus and Raven into each other!!! DDT to Raven but Cactus nails him in the head with a trey. Cactus and Dreamer slug it out and Dreamer pulls Cactus’ Eric Bischoff shirt over his face, creating the illusion he’s punching Bischoff in the face!!! Dreamer nails Cactus in the head with a chair while Funk drops a shopping cart onto Raven. Dreamer nails Cactus in the head with a trash can but Cactus goes low to come back. Cactus hits the Double Arm DDT on a chair onto Funk and he covers but there is no ref. Raven hits a Cannonball Dive to the floor onto Dreamer and he covers Funk with Cactus making the count for 3. Bill Alfonzo and Taz comes out and Cactus covers Funk for 2!!! Alfonzo and Taz beat on Funk but Dreamer stops him, allowing Raven to attack from behind. Taz and Alfonzo leave now as Dreamer catches Raven with a leaping DDT. A second DDT by Dreamer and he hits a piledriver on a chair. Funk covers Raven for 3!!! All four men continue to brawl after the match.
Winners- Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer ***1/2 ( A really fun brawl. These four beat the crap out of each other and was a good addition to the Dreamer/Raven war. This match is a reflection of the good type of ECW brawls. )

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This show is widely regarded as one of the best shows in the history of the promotion. From a wrestling standpoint, this show does not hold up to that level almost twenty years later. It was a collection of fun ECW brawls but nothing was blow away. However, this show has huge historical significance in the landscape of ECW. We had the return of Sabu from WCW, the heel turn of Taz that gave him the human submission machine gimmick, the early stages of the B.W.O, and the early emergence of future megastars in the sport such as Steve Austin and Rey Mysterio. This is one of ECW's must watch events regardless of the quality, which is solid but nothing spectacular. I say this show is worth a look and is a good example of how hot the company was at the time and how influence they ended up in the landscape of pro wrestling.