ECW report
The Princess’ ECW Report.
“Live” from Reading, PA
If this report sounds a little flat, please understand that my area is under a tropical storm and flood watch. Of course I pretty much live on sea level so a car wash is enough to cause a flood.
– We open the show with “Mr. Heyman” and he talks about his concept and his life and this and that…I loved Heyman promos much more in the 80s-90s as Paul E. Dangerously. It’s hard to generate a real hatred for the guy because he’s been put out there so much in the past 10 years. Oh yeah he promises to pin Sabu. I’m psyched.
Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly. Not a horrible choice for an opener. Slugfest to start but RVD hits a savate kick and clotheslines ol’ Sparky Plugg over the top. They take it to the floor and RVD hits his legdrop off the ring apron onto Holly. RVD continues hammering away but Holly tries to counter with the Alabama Slam. RVD goes on defense to block it but Holly just dumps him over the top. That was effective. Holly adds a standing legdrop and works the chin. Yay a resthold, now that’s hardcore. Resthold doesn’t last long however, as Holly gets a BEAUTIFUL drop kick for two. Holly lays on some DOWN HOME SOUTHERN VIOLENCE~! in the corner but RVD counters the blind charge. Two clotheslines and another savate kick gets two. RVD hits the windmill kick and rolling thunder but Hardcore escapes the five-star. Holly grabs a chair but misses and RVD hits another spin kick. Something tells me that was supposed to be a Van Daminator but Holly blew the spot. RVD, rightfully pissed, grabs the chair and waffles Holly with it to draw the DQ. Good lord, why does ECW have DQs? It’s stupid. (Holly d. RVD — disqualification, **1/2). Solid opener but probably needed another three minutes. Of course the ICW is going to bitch about Holly, but he looked good and I think he’ll work in the brand and these two will mesh to have some decent matches.
– Rene Dupree continues trying to channel the awesomeness that was Rick “The Model” Martel and failing miserably.
Oh no, the Big Show is going to speak. Nothing good can come out of this. Yadda yadda yadda, “I am the most dominating in ECW…I destroyed DX….Hell in the Cell…mmmm Beefy…” Show challenges DX to a handicap match next week there in ECW. Well at least he kept it fairly short.
– “The Reject” Shannon Moore is ready to fight the power. Dude, Public Enemy did that 18 years ago. Talk about recycling catchphrases.
C.M. Punk vs. Stevie Richards. Crowd gets a C.M Punk chant going already. Wrestling sequence starts things off and both guys no sell chops. Punk disposes of Stevie and follows it with a suicide dive. Richards turns the tide with a couple of knees and a suplex that gets a fast two. Richards gets creative with a lower abdominal bearhug but Punk hits a dropkick on a counter and a few more kicks to take control again. Punk executes a double-armed powerbomb into a backbreaker for two. That looked impressive. Richards makes another feeble comeback attempt but a urinage and the anaconda vice ends things. ( C.M. Punk d. Richards, anaconda vice — submission, **1/4) Another decent Punk outing although the crowd really didn’t respond like they have been thus far.
– Another trailer from “The Marine” with EXCLUSIVE~! commentary from John Cena. Time for some Crystal Light.
– Matt Striker tries to get some cheap heat. I will admit the little tie is a cute touch but Shane Douglas pulled off this gimmick a million times better despite bitching about it the whole time. Striker rips on The Sandman until he answers the call but Striker hits him with the blackboard and works him over with a stapler. Not exactly Brian Pillman with the fork, but I can appreciate the attempt. Striker quickly escapes before Sandman can rally.
– Balls Mahoney gets ready to go into his usual spiel when Kelly Kelly interrupts him. Yeah, she’s an exhibitionist and that is an exhibition in poor acting.
– Styles and Tazz talk about Kurt Angle and give him some kind, parting words. The WWE has treated this with some class and it’s a sad state of affairs that I am a little surprised that. But Vince has made me skeptical.
– Sabu cuts a promo and sounds like he’s from Bombay….Bombay, Michigan…Why not just call him Terry “The Arabian” Brunk?
Sabu vs. Paul Heyman. Right away Heyman sends his security force after him but Sabu fights them off. The Big Show joins in and it quickly becomes a 3-on-1…well if you include Heyman it’s more like a 3.5-on-1. Sabu is busted open with a chair shot from Show and Heyman even gets some slaps in before laying on the badmouth. Pretty decent badmouth too. Big Show orders the goons to bring in a table as Heyman lays in some weak looking punches. This really isn’t the way to suck in viewers. Sabu tries to rally but a clothesline puts a quick end to that. Sabu tries a second rally and a headbutt ends it this time. RVD comes it to save the day and a Van Daminator puts Show on the canvas. RVD hits a somerset plancha on the security guards. Sabu finally gets a hold of Heyman and gives him an Arabian facebuster. RVD places Heyman on the table for Sabu to do damage but Show saves him at the last second. Hardcore Holly runs in and puts RVD through the table. Show does the sleeper/backbreaker combo and the showstopper legdrop on Sabu before dragging Heyman’s lifeless body and placing it on Sabu for the three count. (Heyman d. Sabu, Big Show/Hardcore Holly/Security Force/National Guard of Minnesota interference — pin, DUD). Show chokeslams Sabu through a table for good measure. Didn’t do much for me overall but the chaos to end the show isn’t a bad idea. Hello they could have tossed Knox and Dreamer into the run-in fest and went crazy with it. There’s nothing wrong with a wild brawl in ECW, that’s partially how the federation reached its height of success.
The Bottom Line: Ok, there’s a good and a bad. The bad is that the Sabu-Big Show feud really isn’t going anywhere and Paul Heyman is just hard to buy as the evil dictator boss guy. The good is that people are getting matched up as the brand builds towards its PPV. I’ve seen worse than Holly-RVD and I’m even willing to give Striker-Sandman a chance. Unfortunately the brand will continue (for now) without Angle, who was supposed to be one of the building blocks to help get the brand through this infancy. It’s really a sad ending to what turned out to be a very successful career and I hope Angle gets the help he needs because depression and pain pills isn’t the type of shit you play with. In the end this wasn’t a terrible hour of entertainment. I would’ve liked to see Sabu brutalize Heyman than Show runs in and saves him, instead Sabu got murdered for 10 minutes, got one move on Heyman before getting murdered some more and pinned. That’s called a squash in my book.
Definitely missing the LJ cut.
Your wish is my command.
I wish for a large, round, orange head.
You win “post of the new blog” for the time being.
I’ll accept, since you’ve been Best Poster on this blog for quite sometime.
Now that we’ve blown each other, a little humor: So a man walks into a talent agent’s office and says…
God I hate this show (yet I can’t stop watching it for some reason). Does Vince really think that
wrestlingsports entertainment can’t survive without the “evil establishment” angle? I swear there was a time before the NWO when wrestling made money. I don’t remember Jack Tunney ever getting in the ring with Hogan, but I’m pretty sure people still bought pay per views.WWE’s ECW doesn’t have to resemble the original, but I don’t understand the point if it isn’t going to be different at all. I could see Heyman getting over some of the current WWE job squad in the old ECW (remember Al Snow), but how are Matt Striker, Bob Holly, Rene Dupree, etc supposed to get over in their same gimmicks, in the same WWE style of match/wrestling, and in front of the same crowds (these are still Smackdown tapings afterall)?
Thank you, sir.
Sounds like a good hour, but the only thing I feel like I missed was the RVD-Holly match.
I had no idea Angle was gone until I read this. I’ve been away from the blog and all of wrestling for too long.
How long before they let Punk branch out and let him be at his asshole best? Squash matches can only go so far.
I was reasonably entertained by the main event, but they definitely missed the boat by not having the whole roster brawl, with everyone dumping out and taking sides. If you’re going to go crazy, go fucking nuts, I say.
As I asked on the Raw thread, does anyone know how to burn a match downloaded from the ecw site? Not that there was anything worthwhile this week. Though there are occasional moments I like on this show, it’s even making me not want to watch tapes of the old ECW. Nice work, WWE!
Macho Mag/Confidential- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110027097015&ssPageName=ADME:L:DSS:US:11
Google something called Super (c), it’s freeware that lets you convert one kind of video to another.
you would think that with Angle gone, they would push someone else to make up for it…. like Punk
but then again, he still needs 22 more squash matches before we begin to see him as main event calibur…. =/
Judging by his facial expression when he says “I’m Renee Dupree”, I *THINK* he’s playing the Ben Stiller character from Dodgeball. He’ll draw some heat.
Scott or whoever, rate this two matches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaQtpJDawlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us1GTlbWgIU
Scott or whoever, rate the following matches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us1GTlbWgIU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaQtpJDawlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7YC0QIBZOY
Muta v. Liger is ****+ just for the angle. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of these, so it’s time for a repeat viewing.
Have you seen NJPW Battle Formation 1996? I want to buy it friday, seeing how as NJPW is my new wrestling love.
Not yet, maybe years ago, NJPW is its own little world, and so great.
Thanks, I’ll try this Super C. I know there was a site saying you could do that for YouTube videos, but I couldn’t make those in a burnable format. I’ll try this.
Sega Genesis and 7 ganes- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110027061238&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=001
Not hijacking, just some observations from a night of watching random wrestling shows:
King of the Ring 2002 — You know what I miss? “YOU WILL RESPECT THE UNDERTAKER” Callaway. I loved all of that, as it was fresh to see a champion in so many segments with entertaining but lower card talent. This match with HHH was pretty bad, however. I also miss Brock. Watching him tear through the competition here made me happy. This was the first pay per veiw of the post-Austin era, and I think it was a real turning point for the company (for better or for worse? up for debate). Bad ass heel Benoit and Eddie are in full effect here. Hogan taps! One of Kurt’s greatest moments.
Wrestlemania XX — I put this one in just because I wanted to check out Taker’s entrance after getting on a kick watching the last show. Crowd went batshit for it. GOOD GOD this show had a lot of filler, with endless multiman title matches and long video packages for nearly every match. Rock ‘n Sock vs. Evolution is tremendous fun (and the promo by Orton beforehand is probably the best he has ever done and is HIGHLY underrated by the IWC), Eddie/Kurt is tremendous, and the main is great. However, there’s just so much useless crap here. An overrated WM because of the great ending; this one doesn’t touch XVII or X.
And, I’ve got to say it, the main event is overrated. ****1/4, tops. Seeing Benoit win the big one is a great moment, for sure, but the match is on the slow side and, at times, is just a kick and punch fest. Eddie/Angle from this same show, at ****1/2, is a better match.
Wednesday’s always my night for DVD watching, so I’ll probably catch up on my TNA weekly pay per veiws. Watched the X division 4-way from the 3rd show last night (Daniels, Ki, Skipper, Red). Great match.
I was in there live for KOTR 2002. The “main event” was such an abortion. Angle v. Hogan, though, was great stuff. Was that the PPV that Austin flaked out on after he started his program with Eddie?
Oh no. I watched about 20 TNA weekly PPVs a while back (they all take about 25 minutes to watch) and was absolutely stunned at how cheap and stupid they felt. Screech boxing? Four ref bumps per show?
The last week or so I’ve been watching 1995 Nitros. THAT is some good shit, between all the greats and the pushes for Pillman, Guerrero, Malenko and Benoit. “Now, random midcard filler, Hokuto and Nakano committing legalized murder.”
the 1995 Nitro’s… oh yea, back when Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage started wearing black in preparation for the Dungeon of Doom, right? Yea, I don’t miss 1995 WCW. The Sting getting turned on Flair was great, though.
A friend sent me a bunch of matches from Smackdown in 2002, and that is probably the era I miss the absolute most next to WWF in 2000.
Actually, I’m talking about the period afterwards in very late ‘95, when the upper card was bickering between Sting, Luger, Hogan, and Savage.
I’ve always mentioned how WCW reigned supreme in my wrestling fandom from 1991 until the Cactus/HHH matches of early 2000. Outside of the Austin/Bret stuff from 1997 (which I never missed), I was pretty much Nitro exclusive during the war, changing to Raw during commercials and Ice Train matches.
While I feel that Fall 1996 (wrestling’s greatest year) was the pinnacle of Nitro’s brilliance, 1995 was also tremendous, especially after Hogan turned to the dark side. Really engaging television. Starrcade that year, of course, was tremendous.
I’m pretty sure Vince wishes he would have left WCW out of WWE programming, gotten them a timeslot on TNN, and tried to revert back to this type of content. Instead, we got what we got.
It’s hard to look at this with proper perspective, but there’s really never been any sort of “WCW substitute,” it’s fundamentally different on a very significant level from WCW.
First, I agree, 1996 Nitro was BOSS. That was when they were absolutely burying RAW quality-wise left and right. But yeah, when they hit the scene and went out for blood on RAW, it was just a hell of a thing to watch. I’m up to Horsemen vs. Sting/Hogan at this point.