ECW on TNN
Date: May 19, 2000
Location: University Sports Pavillion, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

Hardcore Heaven has come and gone and almost nothing has changed. Jerry Lynn has finally pinned Rob Van Dam despite Van Dam’s friend Scotty Anton (Scotty Riggs) turning him on him to cause the loss. Other than that, Credible is still World Champion after beating Lance Storm in a pretty boring match. Let’s get to it.

Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck open things up by talking about what happened at the PPV. For some reason it’s hilarious that Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff haven’t been fired yet. Somehow this is linked to Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.

Kid Kash vs. Johnny Swinger

Joined in progress. Kash flies around for a few seconds and hits the Moneymaker for the pin in maybe 25 seconds.

Big Sal and Little Guido run in to attack Kash but Mikey Whipwreck runs in with a fireball to Sal. Time for another match.

Mikey Whipwreck vs. Little Guido

We start fast again with Mikey nailing a quick DDT for two but gets caught in something like an Alabama Slam for two more. A slingshot legdrop gets the same for Guido but Mikey pops right back up with the Whippersnapper for the pin. Too short to rate but it was energetic enough to work.

Joel and Joey do their intro to the show at the announcers’ area. The limerick is about drinking pearly foam and we see clips from the PPV.

RVD is annoyed that he lost to Lynn on Sunday and really hopes Lynn and Anton aren’t in cahoots.

Roadkill/Danny Doring vs. Chris Chetti/Nova vs. Da Baldies

Roadkill and Doring attack Da Baldies in the aisle so Chetti dives out to take everyone down. Nova throws DeVito in and nails a splash for two as the attention goes to Steve Corino, talking about his war with Tajiri on Sunday. We even get a clip from the match to make sure that we know this match means nothing. Chetti nails DeVito with a kick to the face but Grimes comes in to blast Nova. He goes up for an elbow, giving Angel a quick pin. That’s fine with Nova and Chetti who pop up and hit the Tidal Wave to put Grimes through a table. Doring comes back with a double arm DDT on DeVito for the final pin.

Rating: D+. This match was a backdrop for the Corino promo about Tajiri. If you want to have a tag match then have a tag match but if you want to talk about Tajiri vs. Corino then talk about Tajiri vs. Corino. Why can’t ECW just calm down and pick something instead of bouncing all over the place?

Da Baldies go after Roadkill and Doring post match until New Jack makes the save with the usual.

Lynn says he’s better than RVD because this match was faster than Van Dam’s win last year.

ECW World Title: Raven vs. Justin Credible

Justin is defending and we get some Big Match Intros for a change. Before the match, Justin talks about beating Raven all over the country and stealing his woman. We cut to the announcers again where Corino is on the same rant from earlier. Joel: “Look. Tajiri!” Corino runs away. The entire shot lasted about six seconds. Anyway Justin misses a cane shot to start and Raven hammers away before sending the champion out to the floor.

We take a break with the fight in the crowd and Justin going through a table. They head back to ringside for some mic shots from Raven before going back inside for even more. A table is set up in the corner but Justin hits him low for a breather. Raven goes through the table and we stop for Francine to look at Justin’s neck. Justin drives a knee into the ribs to stop a comeback attempt and we hit the sleeper. Raven sends him out to the floor and through a table (because ECW!) but Justin grabs a chair.

Back in and Credible uses the drop toehold onto a chair before having a seat and swearing a lot. Some knee lifts have the champion in trouble but Francine nails Raven with the kendo stick. A superkick and That’s Incredible get two each for Justin but he knocks Francine off the apron. The Evenflow is countered and we get a ref bump. Now the DDT connects for no count so Raven tries a sunset flip, allowing Justin to drop down for the pin while holding the ropes.

Rating: D+. This actually wasn’t terrible once they calmed down and stopped overthinking everything. The ref bump was a bit worthless but it’s nice to see them do something besides endless interfering. Also you would think these guys would have gotten some promo time to set this up instead of just having a one off match. Finally, at least the match had more than three minutes to get going.

House show ads.

Rhino and Cyrus are in the back with Cyrus saying he’s behind the negotiations with the WWF. We close it out with Rhino issuing a challenge to anyone who wants the TV Title.

Overall Rating: D. This was a mostly weak show due to the usual breakneck ECW pace but at least the main event was good. It helps that they gave a match some time instead of just having three or four minute matches over and over again. The Corino promos got annoying in a hurry though as it felt like those moments, which didn’t lead to anything but a quick comedy bit, overshadowed the matches.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

ECW on TNN
Date: May 12, 2000
Location: University Sports Pavillion, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

It’s the go home show for Hardcore Heaven and there really isn’t all that much set up for the card. We’re getting RVD vs. Lynn and Credible vs. Storm for the title (in theory) but I’m not sure what else we should expect. Knowing ECW I’m sure there will be some impromptu matches because Heyman expects his guys to be insane and get into arguments without a card being necessary. Let’s get to it.

We open with the Sinister Minster and Mikey Whipwreck in the back talking about their usual evil when the cameraman hears something. It turns out that Mikey has lit him on fire because Whipwreck is a weird dude.

Joel does his limerick about debuting in Minneapolis until Dreamer comes out. He can’t say anything though because Simon Diamond comes out to complain about not being taken seriously. Clearly Dreamer has lost his touch and isn’t as hungry as he used to be. You know those are fighting words.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Simon Diamond

They’re almost immediately on the floor and brawling in the crowd as is Dreamer’s custom. Tommy hammers away in the crowd and knocks Simon around like the comedy guy that he is. The Prodigy finally validates his employment by clotheslining Dreamer, only to have Tommy come right back with a suplex. He ties Simon in the Tree of Woe and stands on his crotch in the corner before hitting the running dropkick into a chair onto Diamond’s face. More goons try to interfere so Simon can DDT him down, only to have the referee take a chair away from Diamond. Back up and Dreamer’s DDT is enough for the pin.

Rating: D. So wait, ECW can have traditional rules thrown out the window but when Dreamer is in trouble the referee actually does his job? The match was just there to give Dreamer a win when he’s going into a big match on Sunday. Other than that there’s just nothing here and it’s your traditional ECW TV match.

Jerry Lynn vs. Lance Storm

There must be a winner. Jerry dropkicks him off the apron to start and nails a nice flip dive off the apron for good measure. They head inside for the first time with Lance coming back with a quick superkick and two before throwing on what would become the Canadian Maple Leaf. That goes nowhere as Jerry kicks away and tries a rollup for two, firing off a nice pinfall reversal sequence for some two counts.

Time for a chair because Heaven forbid we get to have something like the good wrestlers wrestling. Lynn kicks it into Storm’s face and nails a tornado DDT onto the chair for two as Dawn Marie offers a distraction. Justin Credible comes in with a crutch and nails Lynn by mistake, giving Storm the fluke pin.

Rating: D+. This was going to be better just based on who was in the match. That being said, there’s only so much you can do with a little under seven minutes and interference included. It wasn’t terrible and at least it helps to set up something for Sunday. You know, for the pay per view that is barely mentioned.

Dreamer comes out to fight go after Justin, only to have Storm dive on both and start a three way brawl.

Back from a break with Lynn down in the ring and Cyrus coming out for a chat. We get straight to the cheap heat with Cyrus making fun of Minnesota, which gets on Jerry’s nerves. Cyrus offers him a spot in the Network but Tajiri comes out to break it up. Lynn nails Tajiri with a clothesline but says he did it for himself and not the Network.

Jerry leaves and here are Corino and Victory to go after Tajiri. He comes back with kicks but here’s Rhino to start a match.

TV Title: Rhino vs. Tajiri

Tajiri hammers away to start and nails the handspring elbow. They head outside for a moonsault off the apron before throwing a table inside. Tajiri blows the mist in Rhino’s eyes but has to kick Corino down. Steve is laid on the table for a top rope double stomp, only to get Gored in half by the champ. Instead of covering though he loads up the piledriver from the apron through a table on the floor to retain the title.

Rating: D+. Not bad here but they needed more time. Tajiri is a guy that can fire off kicks like there’s no tomorrow but he needs something more to fight off a monster like Rhino. This Network stuff is getting old though as Rhino is the kind of monster that doesn’t need help to get anywhere yet for some reason that’s all we see.

Sandman comes out for the save and gets nailed as well, drawing out Van Dam for the real save. A kick to the face drops Rhino and the Five Star ends the show.

Overall Rating: D. Please let this show die already. The stuff we’re sitting through here is already old as it’s just running in circles. With the World Title out of the Network story, it makes the belt seem even more worthless. This goes back to the old idea of the TV Title meaning more than the World Title which is one of those things that ECW always did and never quite held up. Just make Rob the top guy already and be done with it.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

ECW on TNN
Date: May 5, 2000
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

We’re getting closer to Hardcore Heaven 2000 at this point with some major matches announced but no World Title. In theory it would be Dreamer getting his rematch for the title, but given how fast everything changes around here it’s hard to say. Hopefully things are a bit better structured this week after last week’s mess. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick recap of last week’s show with all the title title changes.

Off to Joey and Joel in the ring for the long limerick (about getting someone tipsy in Poughkeepsie) and a line from Joey about TNN producing their shows using rabbit ears. This brings out Justin Credible and Francine with the chick saying she just goes wherever the gold is and lists off all the wrestlers she’s led to titles over the years. I never realized how many she had actually done. By done I of course mean led to gold.

This sounds like Sunny with the Tag Team Titles back in 1996. I’ve heard worse (though Francine is no Sunny), but why do I have a feeling we’re not going to get an explanation for why she turned on Dreamer in the first place? Granted it’s a common problem but on a one hour show, you really shouldn’t have this many open questions.

Justin is about to say something when Lance Storm and Dawn Marie come out. Lance gets right in Credible’s face and actually shows some of the best emotion he’s ever had. Storm rips into Justin about disrespecting the titles and costing Lance a belt that he earned. Therefore, Credible owes Storm a title and that World Heavyweight Title looks pretty good. Credible can either hand it over to Storm or have it beaten out of him.

Storm slaps him in the face and the brawl is on, but of course we have to focus on the same Dawn Marie vs. Francine fight that we’ve seen roughly eight million times now. Raven runs out to go after Justin but Storm takes him down for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. Jazz comes out to go after Dawn and gets a superkick of her own. The opening match is next.

Kid Kash vs. Lance Storm

This is joined in progress but we have to look at Tommy Dreamer and Credible fighting in the crowd. Where did Dreamer come from? Uh….EXTREME! Kash starts off with a big flip dive to the floor because that’s his signature thing. They head inside for Storm to block a charge with an elbow to the jaw followed by a nice powerslam. Kash pops back up and tries a hurricanrana, only to be countered into a sitout powerbomb. Kash is on his feet WAY too fast and nails a hurricanrana for two but Dawn Marie breaks up the Money Maker. Jazz came out to go after Dawn, allowing Storm to nail a superkick and piledriver for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was barely long enough to rate due to constantly cutting away to other things. This is one of Heyman’s problems: he couldn’t sit still long enough to let things go the way they should. It’s like watching a really hyperactive squirrel running around a park and trying to make sense of it. There’s only so much the wrestlers can do when we can barely see them.

The New Dangerous Alliance goes to see the Sinister Minister. Elektra sits on the Minister’s lap and he pulls out some beads. Their next comments are censored and Elektra takes her top off and dances. Minister laughs. As usual, I have no idea what the point of this was.

Jerry Lynn vs. Scotty Anton

Joined in progress as well with Lynn nailing a plancha over the top to take Anton down. Anton sends him into the barricade and sets up a table in the ring because this is ECW. Lynn comes back with a tornado DDT but here’s Rhino to try and Gore Jerry. He leapfrogs out of the way though and Anton takes the Gore through the table, setting up the cradle piledriver to give Jerry the pin.

Cyrus comes out to shake Lynn’s hand and says he’s a friend of the Network. Lynn looks at him but dives over the top to take Lynn out instead. Rhino beats up Anton but RVD comes out for the save, only to get beaten up by Corino and Victory. Tajiri comes out for another save but RVD is taken out by security. The Network tells Tajiri to apologize because he’s on his own. Tajiri pulls out a beer and you can see the tag match coming from here.

Sandman/Tajiri vs. Rhino/Steve Corino

Wait not yet, as we have to watch Sandman drink and listen to Metallica for five minutes. I’ve always loved that about Sandman’s entrances. He can sit there and drink forever while the guy he’s supposed to be helping could be getting his brains beaten in. Why did more bad guys not take some sort of advantage of this? They have Tajiri 3-1 and they all just stand around and watch him do walk around and drink a lot. I know wrestling villains aren’t supposed to be smart but come on now.

It’s not just ECW either. This happens in WWE all the time as well with stuff like the opening sequences where the people that hate each other just stand in different parts of the arena with three ropes and air between them but they never actually do anything physical. I know security is supposed to intervene but come on already.

Oh yeah we have a match to talk about. Tajiri vs. Rhino to start with the power guy hammering away and actually working on the arm early on. Tajiri comes back with the handspring elbow and tags in Sandman as Rhino tags out as well. Corino gets nailed in the face over and over before they head outside for some whips into the barricade.

The Russian legsweep into the barricade has Steve in even more trouble. They head back inside for the Heinekenrana and White Russian legsweep for two. Cue Sandman’s wife for the first time in weeks to nail Rhino with a kendo stick. That goes about as far as you would expect and Tajiri mists Corino. Rhino Gores a table in the corner, allowing Tajiri to double stomp Corino through a table for the pin.

Rating: D+. Why can’t we just let Corino fight Tajiri for fifteen minutes instead? They’re talented guys and Rhino would be good when he figured out his style. Sandman isn’t a wrestler and I’m not sure why he’s consistently on wrestling shows. Lori Fullington really didn’t need to be here and I don’t remember seeing her outside of pay per views. Not much to see here but it could have been worse.

Gertner rants about TNN to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. We’re getting really close to Hardcore Heaven at this point and as usual, I have almost no idea what to expect for the show save for one or two matches. This show focused on two ideas (except for that weird Elektra and Minister thing) and that’s a bit more ok in an hour long show. The show still isn’t good, but you can never say it’s boring. Sometimes that’s better, but I don’t think it is here.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPPH0WI

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

ECW on TNN
Date: April 28, 2000
Location: ECW Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,600
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

Good night I have to stop taking so much time off between these shows. When we last left these guys a ridiculous nine months ago, the Network is starting to take over the world but Tajiri has won the TV Title and been ordered to hand over the title tonight. We’ll also get the fallout from the World Title situation. Let’s get to it.

As you may remember, Taz has returned and won the World Title when Mike Awesome bailed on the company. Taz would defend the title at Cyberslam 1999 against Tommy Dreamer which will be shown later tonight.

Joel and Joey welcome us to the show and rip on TNN a bit because they haven’t been treating ECW all that well lately. Since this is Cyberslam, Joel’s limerick is full of computer sex puns.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Network to make Tajiri hand the title over to Rhino. Cyrus tells Tajiri that the time has come for him to hold up his end of the deal and give the title to his rightful owner. Tajiri doesn’t want to do it so Cyrus gets racial on him before implying that he gave Tajiri some, shall we say, sexual favors after winning the title. Tajiri says screw you and we’ve got a title match.

TV Title: Rhino vs. Tajiri

The champ kicks away to start and ties Rhino in the Tree of Woe before standing on his crotch. A baseball slide kick to the face stuns Rhino but he grabs a spinebuster. Tajiri backdrops him out to the floor and uses the handspring to kick a chain into Rhino’s face. We take a break and come back with the handspring elbow dropping Rhino again. Tajiri throws in a table but has to escape a powerbomb. There’s the Octopus Hold but Tajiri has to Mist Corino. The Gore and a piledriver get two on Tajiri but a second piledriver gives Rhino the title.

Rating: C-. Well so much for Tajiri turning face because we need to give Rhino the super push. This was another nothing match because it didn’t have the time to get anywhere, but at least we can have a two minute opening video and a long limerick from Gertner. To be fair though it’s not like it matters for ECW at this point.

Cyrus calls out anyone that wants to face Rhino right now so here’s Van Dam for the showdown. Scotty Anton comes out with him to help fight the minions and Rob kicks Rhino down to the floor. Rob dives onto the Network after they stand there for ten seconds waiting on him. Cyrus offers Rhino a spot on the team and makes Rhino vs. Sandman for the TV Title at Hardcore Heaven. Rob won’t be left out though as he gets another match with Jerry Lynn, because we haven’t seen that enough.

Jerry comes out for a showdown of his own but says he isn’t Network. He talks about his ankle injury and wants to know why all the talk has been about Rob. Could it be because Jerry didn’t win any of the matches? Rob offers a handshake but gets flipped off. Anton gets forearmed in the face because no one cares about him.

Sinister Minister talks about WCW calling him and Whipwreck, but even his soul wouldn’t sink that low. He gets in a casket because he wouldn’t be caught dead in that promotion.

During the break, Rhino Gored Sandman’s wife through a table.

Sinister Minister is using an Ouija Board and says ECW is hot. The table lights on fire and Whipwreck dives through it. Maniacal laughter ensues.

We get a recap of Cyberslam, including Corino busting Dusty Rhodes open and dropping a Bionic Elbow wrapped in a bullrope for the pin.

We also see a longer version of Sandman’s wife going through the table.

Next up is Nova falling on Lance Storm and injuring the Canadian in the process. Partner Justin Credible, who kicked Nova and caused him to fall on Storm, doesn’t seem to care.

House show ads.

Hardcore Heaven ad.

Call the hotline!

Joel and Joey tell us about Dreamer beating Taz for the title and we see the post match segment with Taz making his final exit from ECW and Dreamer getting to make a very emotional speech about how all the effort and work over the years was worth it. Even Raven comes out to shake Dreamer’s hand to officially end the feud. Justin Credible runs in and attacks both guys before demanding a title shot RIGHT NOW. He even throws down the Tag Team Titles to get the shot. Dreamer says ring the bell.

ECW World Title: Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer

Tommy starts fast with a Cactus Clothesline to put both guys down on the floor. They quickly head into the crowd for more brawling (meaning walking around) before coming back to ringside for a bell to Justin’s crotch. Back in and Dreamer gets reversed DDTed onto a chair, allowing Justin to stomp away in the corner. Dreamer’s bloody eye goes into the chair for two and the running not-DDT gets the same. The champion comes back with a Tommyhawk (reverse Razor’s Edge into a cutter, though it was a Stunner here because Credible is horrible) but heads outside to set up a table.

What was supposed to be a Death Valley Driver through the table winds up being more of a TKO. Back in and a Jason distraction lets Justin hit That’s Incredible for two. Jason shouts PLAN B so Justin goes after Francine but Tommy breaks it up with a DDT for two. He loads up another Death Valley Driver but Francine turns on Dreamer (for the second time this year I believe), setting up another That’s Incredible to give Justin the belt.

Rating: D. The fact that Justin screwed up the two big moves he was supposed to take during this match should tell you everything you need to know about him. I really don’t see the appeal in the guy as his entire style comes down to flipping off the audience, kicks and a tombstone. Dreamer could have been a long term champion but this is ECW where it’s all about shock instead of substance.

Overall Rating: D. I was actually shocked that we didn’t see the Dreamer vs. Taz match. As in the five and a half minute Dreamer vs. Taz match. Yeah we didn’t have time for that, but we could fit in two Sinister Minister videos, recaps of stuff that doesn’t matter, and a long intro that was basically there for the live audience. This show and promotion seems to have given up, though I can’t say I blame them. At least we actually got some stuff set up for the PPV though.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LWSOTGK

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

ECW on TNN
Date: April 21, 2000
Location: Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri
Attendance: 2,800
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

We’re at an interesting point for the company as a lot of things have been changing. RVD is the new hero to stand up against the Network but the more interesting story is the world title picture. Around this time, world champion Taz is under contract to the WWF and appearing on Monday Night Raw and Smackdown with the ECW World Title. That’s not something you see every day, making it all the more interesting. Let’s get to it.

We open with Sinister Minister talking about the last circle of torment being saved for betrayers. That’s where you have to go to find the former ECW World Champion. Mikey Whipwreck: “You mean me?” Minister: “Go start a fire Mikey.” The Minister explains the whole Mike Awesome situation and calls it very extreme. However, it’s going to be nothing compared to Cyberslam. The Minister says he loves us all, especially our souls. Cue maniacal laugh.

Opening sequence.

Heyman promises us live coverage of Wrestlepalooza 2000. Do we have to?

We open with the announcers in the ring and Mikey lighting a table on fire at ringside. Joel talks about exposing himself to an 18 year old named Tina before the Impact Players have something to say. Joey says Dawn Marie is the only reason they still have the titles and Jazz is tired of it. Dawn says there isn’t a woman in wrestling that she’s afraid of, so here’s Francine. Justin holds up the kendo stick to hold her off until Raven comes out and we get a match.

Tag Titles: Impact Players vs. Raven/Mikey Whipwreck

This starts as a handicap match but Mikey hops up on the apron to be Raven’s partner. We get an opening bell and a referee but Mikey hiptosses him down and we go to a break. Back with Justin stomping Mikey down in the corner and powerbombing him onto a chair for two. Joey says this is Wrestlepalooza 2000, even though it looks like any other TV taping. Storm gets two off a great looking dropkick and it’s back to Credible.

Mikey finally comes back with a clothesline and it’s hot tag to Raven who cleans house. A knee lift and bulldog get two on Justin as everything breaks down. The Players send the challengers into each other but Mikey sends Storm to the floor with a Cactus Clothesline. Raven’s drop toehold sends Justin face first into the chair but Dawn makes the save. Francine comes in for the catfight and Mikey gets two on Justin off the Whippersnapper (Stunner). Storm gets one as well but Justin tombstones Mikey to keep the belts.

Rating: D+. The match was energetic but the majority of it was spent on this huge brawl instead of a match. Also I can’t stand having a team thrown together due to being in the same place and giving them a tag title shot. I know it’s a common move in wrestling but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. At least it wasn’t Raven vs. Dreamer again though.

Cyrus is in the ring but Joey says they won’t put the camera on him….until the camera goes on him. Cyrus yells at C.W. Anderson and his chick Elektra, saying everyone is here to see the Network. Elektra immediately takes off her robe, leaving her only in a VERY tight dress to fire up the crowd. Cyrus implies Elektra is a rather loose woman and orders Lou E. Dangerously to get her out of the ring.

Left alone in the ring, Cyrus talks about going through the roster and finding someone who doesn’t have a contract. That person would be RVD’s friend Scotty Anton (Scotty Riggs), and he isn’t allowed on TV again without a contract. Cyrus talks about RVD ruining his friends’ careers and here’s Anton in the flesh. A fight is about to break out and the fans start a Scotty chant. Cyrus says Scotty is going to bend over for the Network like he does for Rob and you know it’s on. Before Anton can kill Cyrus though, here’s Rhyno for a match.

Rhyno vs. Scotty Anton

Scotty hits a quick dropkick but gets powerbombed down for two. Rhyno puts him in the Tree of Woe for a Gore as Steve Corino and Jack Victory bring in a table. Anton comes back with a row of chairs but fights off the heels with his fists. A high cross body gets two on Rhyno but Corino hits Anton in the back of the head with a cowbell. There’s the Gore and another one to put both Anton and the referee through the table in the corner for a DQ. No rating but to call this a match is a huge stretch.

Post match here’s RVD for the slugout with Rhyno but security breaks it up before it can go too far. Rob dives over the pile to get at Rhyno again.

Steve Corino vs. Tommy Dreamer

This is a bullrope match for no apparent reason. Corino jumps Dreamer with a cowbell to the eye to open Tommy up. Dreamer comes back by grabbing Corino’s crotch and pounding away at his head. They head to the floor with Corino busted open as well, causing Dreamer to pound away at the cut. Back in and Dreamer hits Corino low before hanging him upside down in the corner. Jack Victory comes in to take out Dreamer and here’s Sandman for the save. Joey: “He can’t be the cavalry because he’s too drunk to ride a horse.”

Sandman has a ladder and kendo stick with him for no apparent reason. As is his custom he takes his sweet time to get to the ring and even climbs the ladder to drink in the aisle. Sandman FINALLY gets in the ring and takes out the Network goons with the kendo stick. I have no idea if the match is still going on or not. Victory and Corino are sent into the ladder and Dreamer is back up. Tommy superplexes Corino down and the good guys lay him on the ladder for a HORRIBLE looking double splash with Sandman stopping halfway through.

Now Tajiri comes out and mists Dreamer in the eyes before kicking Sandman in the head. Corino suplexes Sandman onto the ladder so here’s New Jack with his trashcan full of weapons. The good guys fight up and New Jack uses the staple gun to open Victory’s head up. Sandman ties Corino up in the ladder and beats him with a broom as everyone else is fighting in the crowd. Joey declares this a huge victory for ECW as we cut between Dreamer beating up Tajiri and New Jack working on Victory.

Sandman suplexes Corino onto a piece of guardrail as Dreamer rings the bell over Tajiri’s crotch. Dreamer puts Tajiri in the Tarantula (you read that right) but Victory makes the save. Sandman brings in a table but Tajiri lays Dreamer across it for a top rope double stomp. Tajiri gets hit in the throat, causing him to choke on his mist. Victory gives him the Heimlich Maneuver which gets the mist out, sending it right into Corino’s eyes. New Jack hits a chair shot off the top for the pin on Corino.

Rating: W. For whatever this was, because it wasn’t wrestling. I knew this streak of decent wrestling and good angles couldn’t last.

Rhyno comes in to destroy all the ECW guys until Dusty Rhodes makes the real save. Two Bionic Elbows don’t drop Rhyno so it’s Sandman with a kendo stick shot to drop him.

PPV, Hotline and house show ads eat up most of the rest of the show.

The ECW guys celebrating takes us out.

Overall Rating: D-. This show is the Rain Man of professional wrestling. It shows promise at times, but as soon as things starts going well, something happens and they spin out of control. The last segment doesn’t change anything and doesn’t even make sense. Dusty Rhodes, a former NWA World Champion, is now representing the wild and insane world of extreme wrestling? Once you can wrap your head around that, we’ll get into a 54 year old man who has been retired for over ten years holding his own against a monster like Rhyno. This show wasted everything they had been building up for the last few weeks.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

ECW on TNN
Date: April 14, 2000
Location: Burt Flickinger Center, Buffalo, New York
Attendance: 3,700
Commentators: Joey Styles, Joel Gertner

The main event tonight is an elimination match between Super Crazy, Tajiri and Little Guido for the TV Title, but there’s a much bigger story at the moment. Mike Awesome, the ECW World Champion, has jumped to WCW while still champion. This led to a lawsuit where ECW made a nice amount of money, but the more important story is we need a new ECW World Champion. We’ll cover that tonight so let’s get to it.

We open with the announcers in the ring where Joey runs down TNN. That was always a questionable move as TNN may have been treating ECW badly, but it was still airing them. Joel’s limerick of the night isn’t completely explicit but it would send Vince into a conniption today.

The opening sequence starts but Heyman cuts us off to announce that Tazz showed up in Indianapolis to win the title back despite working for the WWF at the time. Video is coming later.

We cut back to the arena with Rhyno Goring and piledriving Kid Kash for a pin. Was that a match?

T-shirt ads.

Hardcore Heaven ad.

Jazz wants to beat up Dawn Marie but finds Mikey Whipwreck and Sinister Minister instead. She says something long and censored and apparently wants the Minister to find Marie for her. Minister’s price: beer and sex. Jazz tells him to go to church. Mikey laughs and lights some paper on fire.

The Tazz video is still coming.

Tag Titles: Impact Players vs. Nova/Chris Chetti

The challengers beat the Players in singles matches recently to set this up. Credible sends Chetti into the corner to start but That’s Incredible is countered into a rollup for two. Off to Storm vs. Nova for some wristlocks before Nova takes over with a Japanese armdrag. They trade legsweeps for one counts each and it’s a standoff. Nova tosses Storm into the air for a low blow before bringing in Chetti for a double hiptoss and elbow drop for two.

The Players are sent to the floor but Nova takes them out with a nice dive as Dawn Marie looks terrified. Gorgeous but terrified. Back in and Nova loads up a reverse DDT on Credible but Storm makes the save with a leg lariat. The Players take over on Nova but he comes back with chops to Storm in the corner. Lance rolls through an Irish whip into the Canadian Mapleleaf which isn’t a big move yet. Back to Credible for a chinlock for a bit before a swinging DDT gets no cover.

That’s enough of the wrestling and tag team formula though so here’s a table. The table is set up in the corner but Nova grabs a quick Novacane (downward spiral) to put Storm down. The hot tag brings in Chetti with a fireman’s carry into a Michinoku Driver for two on Justin as everything breaks down. Justin gets pulled to the floor but Storm superkicks Chetti down for a close two.

Nova comes back in and walks up the table for a tornado DDT on Storm but Lance gets up at two. Justin BLASTS Nova in the head with the Singapore cane to give Storm a two count but Credible gets thrown through the table. Dawn Marie comes in but here’s Jazz to take her out. Storm hits a good piledriver on Jazz and Justin blasts Chetti in the head with a belt for the pin to retain.

Time for the Tazz footage. Mike Awesome issued an open challenge at a house show last night after jumping to WCW and appearing on Nitro Monday. This was a total surprise and made no sense from WWF’s perspective but they did it anyway.

ECW World Title: Mike Awesome vs. Taz

Taz sends him to the floor to start and the brawl is on with Taz getting the better of it. They head back inside with Awesome getting stomped down in the corner. The referee gets bumped and here’s Dreamer to DDT Awesome down. The Tazmission gives us a new champion in about 90 seconds. Why they didn’t just put the title on Dreamer still eludes me.

House show ads.

TV Title: Little Guido vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy

Elimination rules. Crazy is defending but the Network has promised the title to both challengers. It’s a brawl to start with Crazy being knocked to the floor. Guido kicks Tajiri down for two but gets sent to the floor a second later. Crazy comes back in but gets tossed as well by Tajiri. Guido gets kicked in the face by Tajiri but Big Sal crushes Tajiri on the floor. They’re flying around too fast to keep up with right now.

Sal misses a splash against the barricade and Tajiri bails into the crowd. Crazy uses Sal’s back as a launching pad to dive at Tajiri before pounding away on Sal in the ring. Tajiri comes back in to kick a chair into Crazy’s ribs but Guido is back in again to kick Tajiri down as well. A suplex gets two on the champion before he and Guido head to the floor. Crazy is dropped face first onto the concrete but Tajiri sends Guido over the barricade for a superkick to the jaw.

Crazy is busted BAD as Tajiri blasts Guido in the head with a chair, busting him open as well. Tajiri brings in a table but kicks Guido to the floor instead of putting him through it. Sal interferes again to give Guido control again. Crazy continues to stagger around at ringside as the challengers are back inside. Tajiri kicks Sal through a table at ringside before putting Guido in an inverted Gory Special. Even Tajiri is busted open now but he kicks both guys in the head to keep control.

Another table is brought in and placed over Guido who is already under a chair. Crazy is laid on the table but avoids Tajiri’s top rope double stomp, sending it through the table and onto Guido for the elimination. So it’s Crazy vs. Tajiri for the title now with Tajiri blasting him in the face with a chair. A German suplex puts Crazy down for two and here’s the Network. Crazy powerbombs Tajiri down for two and slides in another table.

Tajiri comes back with a crowbar of all things and blasts Crazy in the ribs. The champion kicks him down and gets the crowbar but has to duck the green mist. Another powerbomb puts Tajiri through the table but there’s no one to count. Cue Rhyno for a Gore on Crazy and a piledriver from the apron through the table at ringside. Tajiri covers the corpse that used to be Super Crazy for the pin and the title.

Rating: C. This had to happen at some point as Crazy always felt like a placeholder until we got to the important stuff. That being said, it was nice for the 485^th edition of this match to actually be worth something. The carnage here was more than they needed, especially when you had three talented guys in there. At least it was exciting though.

Post match Cyrus comes out to celebrate and says that Tajiri will give the Network the title at Cyberslam. Also, Cyrus is God because he’s Network. Cue Sandman’s 3 minute entrance and after hotline and home video ads, we see Sandman blasting Rhyno with the cane. The fifth show keeps Rhyno down and Sandman keeps swinging until Cyrus tries to interfere.

Corino makes the save and Tajiri blinds Sandman with the mist. Rhyno picks up the referee and gores him through Sandman through the table. Joey asks if there’s anyone else to stand up to the Network so here’s RVD for a return. Cyrus threatens to fire Van Dam if he gets in the ring but Rhyno cuts him off, demanding that Rob get in. Rob cleans house by himself and stands off with Rhyno to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t horrible and the last half of the show was dedicated to the biggest story, which is a good thing at the moment. The Network is a well done story at the moment and it makes sense to keep the focus on it. RVD returning is a good thing as well as it gives the fans someone they can believe in, which has been sorely lacking in ECW lately. Nice episode but the same problems still plague them.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

ECW on TNN
Date: April 7, 2000
Location: Siegel Center, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

We’re getting closer and closer to Hardcore Heaven and while we don’t have anything announced yet, the main ideas are clearly there. The Network is a good idea and Cyrus is a great mouthpiece for the group. We’re just waiting on Heyman to show up to stand up for ECW which will blow the roof off the place. Let’s get to it.

Joel and Joey are in the ring for the opening and the limerick is almost entirely censored. Joey brings out Raven and Francine for the opening chat. He asks Raven why the bounty was put on Dreamer’s head but Raven says Joey is putting too much stock in the internet and dirt sheets because he’s innocent. Joey asks about Da Baldies saying Raven put the bounty on Dreamer’s head. Francine says she’s a baldie herself but she can’t show Joey where on TV. She also knows Raven didn’t put the bounty on Dreamer so Joey accuses her of doing it, earning a slap in the face.

Cue Da Baldies themselves to say that Raven did issue the bounty and accuse Raven of smelling of fear. Raven: “What you smell is your mom and that’s because I only had $10 on me.” You know that earns a beating for Bird Boy, presumably setting up a tag match of some sort later tonight.

The Sinister Minister recaps what we just saw, including telling us that Raven tells the truth even when he lies. The camera zooms out to show him controlling a marionette Mikey Whipwreck.

Opening sequence.

We go to the announcers so they can say we’re going to a break.

Steve Corino vs. Kid Kash

Corino, now in regular trunks instead of his singlet, grabs a hammerlock to start. Kash comes back with some armdrags and a dropkick before clotheslining Corino out to the floor. A HUGE corkscrew plancha takes Corino and Victory out as Joel regales us with stories of his days as a luchador. Back in and Kash chops away but charges into an elbow in the corner. Corino counters a backflip into a powerbomb for two and Jack Victory gets in a cheap shot to Kash’s jaw.

They head outside with the Kid being whipped into the barricade so Corino can gloat a lot. Back in and a great looking clothesline puts Kash down and a Dusty Rhodes elbow gets two. Kash takes Victory out with a baseball slide and snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to take Corino down. Victory comes in but gets dropkicked into the referee. Kash hits the Moneymaker (lifting Pedigree) but Rhyno comes in to Gore Kash, giving Steve the pin.

Rating: C+. Best ECW match in MONTHS. This is proof that ECW has the kind of guys that can put on an entertaining match without the hardcore nonsense, which makes that kind of stuff all the more annoying. This was a nice, back and forth match with two different styles working well off each other. See why that’s a good idea?

Big Sal says Guido will win the TV Title next week. Cyrus comes in and tells Guido the TV Title match will be a three way dance with Tajiri thrown in. The implication is Tajiri will lay down after Crazy is eliminated. Cyrus loves the idea of a young Italian champion. “It’ll be like Bruno in ’63.”

Cyrus pitches the idea of the three way dance to Tajiri, saying that Tajiri will win the title. “Imagine the young Japanese girl demographic!”

TV Title: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Super Crazy

Mikey grabs a headlock to start as Joel talks about Crazy only having two channels on his TV when he was younger. Crazy escapes the Whippersnapper (Stunner) and a headscissors sends Mikey to the outside. A top rope Asai moonsault misses and a superkick puts Crazy down. Mikey legsweeps Crazy into the barricade and drops him face first onto the same barricade for good measure. Back in and Mikey puts on an Indian deathlock of all things but lets Crazy go, allowing him to hit a middle rope moonsault for two.

Ten punches in the corner have Whipwreck in trouble but he forearms the champion down and drops a middle rope legdrop for two of his own. Joel: “How can that be a guillotine legdrop? Guillotines are French and Crazy is Mexican. YOU DON’T SEE HIM EATING A CROISSANT!” Mikey loads up a moonsault but gets powerbombed down, followed by a top rope Lionsault to retain the title.

Rating: C. This was your usual spotfest but again: WE DON’T NEED HARDCORE STUFF! This has been such a refreshing episode of the show with now two solid matches lacking the violent nonsense. Wins like these make Crazy look more credible as he came from behind and pinned a former world champion clean. Nothing wrong with that.

Post match Guido runs in to jump Crazy to set up their match next week. Tajiri comes in to knock out both guys.

Tommy Dreamer thinks the bounty is a joke and offers to double the bounty if anyone can actually get it done. He knows Raven did this and says if Raven can finally get off the pills, he’ll realize that it’s not Dreamer or his dad that did all this but Raven himself. There is no Raven without Tommy Dreamer.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Angel

Joel and Joey spend the entrances accusing each other of putting the bounty on Dreamer. Joey says he’s known Dreamer too long and Joel’s defense is he’s too cheap. Tommy says he needs some help so here’s Sandman to make it 3-1. Joel: “But is he sober enough to get to the ring?”

Sandman/Tommy Dreamer vs. Da Baldies

Dreamer busts out the barbed wire before we go to a break. Back with the brawl already underway and a replay of various violence from the break.

Grimes is slammed off the top, crotch first onto the barbed wire. Dreamer brings in a ladder and wraps the barbed wire around his arm for an elbow onto Grimes onto the ladder but only the ladder gets hit. Sandman is whipped into the ladder and Grimes pounds away with the kendo stick. DeVito talks trash on the mic and here’s Raven to make it 3-3. House is cleaned and there’s the Even Flow to DeVito for the pin. Not enough to rate but more Dreamer/Raven shenanigans makes my head hurt.

Dreamer and Raven stare each other down but here’s Mike Awesome to interrupt. He understands that these two have a problem with each other but it’s not for why they should. Awesome knows Raven didn’t put the hit out on Dreamer. Judge Jeff Jones grabs the mic and says he did it himself, cuing Awesome to take out Raven and Dreamer. There’s one epic heel alliance out of the way. Both guys are put through a table by Awesome.

Post hotline ad, Judge Jones talks about watching territory tapes and saw a lot of bounties. In short, he put one on Tommy because he thought it would be fun. Seriously, that’s it. Awesome grabs Jones and demands his payoff for taking out Dreamer, plus a bonus for taking out Raven.

Cyrus sucks up to the Impact Players and says they have the hottest manager in the business. Dawn Marie and Jason argue over who he meant.

Jazz rants about Dawn Marie for no apparent reason.

RVD is back next week and Rhyno promises to Gore him before slamming his own head into a wall several times.

Overall Rating: C. This show had the perfect balance to the hardcore violent stuff, decent wrestling, and storytelling that this show has been desperately lacking in recent weeks. I actually liked this and wouldn’t mind seeing more of it which might be a first. That being said, the bounty explanation was just stupid and felt like they threw it in there because they didn’t have another answer. However, it doesn’t really matter because something very big is about to happen which will change everything in ECW. Good stuff this week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

Is best for business.The current word on the street is that TNA is moving back to a home city, most likely Orlando again, to hold most of their TV tapings.  A few major shows could be taped on the road.  This is without a doubt the right move for TNA for one reason: they can’t afford to stay on the road.

Look at TNA’s business lately.  They’ve cut away their PPVs, they’re cutting house shows, they air specials on TV which get slightly higher ratings/audiences than usual, and they’re spending way more money on TV tapings.  Translation: spend more, bring in less.  For a company like TNA which doesn’t have a ton of sponsors and doesn’t draw huge crowds (see: Glory, Bound For), going on the road this often isn’t a viable plan.  People often compare TNA to WCW, but it’s really more like ECW.  Think about this for a second.

ECW did most of its shows from one area/city

They never came close to being #1 or #2 (TNA is firmly #2 but only because there isn’t a third major company)

Their TV show is the #1 show on its network, but it doesn’t ever draw many people outside of its core audience

Only after several years of being an underground hit did it start regularly holding TV tapings outside of its base

ECW lasted about a year taping on the road before going back to house shows and syndication where it lasted abut six more months.  Now before you ask, no I’m not saying TNA has six months left and no I’m not saying they’re in the same kind of shape as ECW was in 1999/2000.  What I’m saying is right now, TNA flat out cannot maintain their status quo or grow nearly at all while doing TV on the road.

In short, they can stay in Orlando/whatever single city they pick and survive at a stable level or they can have a hotter crowd once in awhile and barely be able to afford anything outside of TV.  This isn’t a complicated problem.

ECW on TNN
Date: March 31, 2000
Location: Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

After last week it isn’t clear who the top heels in the company are anymore. Mike Awesome and Raven seemed to be the featured act but it also looks like the Network is the main story. Odds are it’s the latter given that they got half the TV time last week, but you never can tell in ECW. Let’s get to it.

Joel and Joey get us going with both guys sucking up the Kansas City crowd. Joel talks about carrying this network and that brings out a Mexican speaking (his words, not mine) Cyrus, flanked by Tajiri. The fans want Heyman as Cyrus talks about bringing the fans Rollerjam (I loved that show actually) and says the Network is taking control tonight.

Tonight he’s going to fight Super Crazy for the TV Title because idiots like Tajiri aren’t getting the job done. Tajiri isn’t pleased but Cyrus threatens to revoke his work visa and send him back to Big Japan to do jobs to Abdullah the Butcher in thumbtack matches. Cyrus repeats that he’ll be fighting for the title in case someone didn’t get it the first time.

Opening sequence.

Danny Doring and Roadkill promise to get their hands on the Dangerous Alliance tonight. One of Da Baldies comes in and steals the camera time, triggering a brawl. The other Baldies come in and the good guys are laid out.

Hardcore Heaven is May 14.

Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Little Guido

Feeling out process lasts about 8 seconds before Tajiri starts firing off kicks, only to be caught in a reverse powerbomb out of the corner. They head to the ramp for another HARD kick to take Guido down. It’s already table time but Guido comes back with a slingshot Fameasser to take over. Guido’s buddy Big Sal sends in a chair but Tajiri throws it at Guido, only to hit the table in the corner instead. A few chops put Tajiri down but he comes back with the handspring elbow as we take a break.

Back with Tajiri kicking Sal down and suplexing Guido onto the table for two. A big kick to the head puts Guido down again and Tajiri ties him up in the Tree of Woe for a baseball slide to drive the chair into his face. Off to a dragon sleeper but Guido gets his foot onto the ropes. Another handspring elbow is counntered into a neckbreaker and Tajiri is in some trouble. Not enough trouble to matter though as he counters a tornado DDT into a super brainbuster for the pin on Guido.

Rating: C-. By ECW standards this wasn’t too bad. The hardcore stuff continues to plague the company though, as these two were more than capable of having a good match without the table and chair and interference. ECW fans always brag about having good wrestling and all that jazz, but at this point it was very rare to see wrestling without hardcore on the side.

Mike Awesome says anyone can come try to take the title away from him.

The Sinister Minister is in an elevator for a tarot card reading about ECW. There isn’t much to say here as he just summarizes the current storylines in the company and makes a few unfunny jokes about some lower level people, such as Elektra used to be a B, but with the help of modern medicine she’s a DD. The ending is a surprise though as he starts laughing and Mikey Whipwreck comes in laughing just as hard and destroying the table.

Danny Doring/Roadkill vs. Da Baldies

Doring wants to make this a street fight because that never happens in ECW. There are three Baldies though so Doring brings out Tommy Dreamer to even things up. It’s a brawl to start of course with Grimes headbutting Dreamer low in the corner. Tommy finds a pizza cutter from somewhere and carves up Grimes for fun. Angel comes in for the save and clotheslines the invading Danny down as well. Doring comes back with a Stroke (G-Spot Sweep) to take Angel down, only to be taken down by a sitout Rock Bottom from DeVito.

Roadkill comes in with a great looking springboard clothesline and a Boss Man Slam for two. A Vader Bomb elbow crushes DeVito even more and here’s another table. Dreamer suplexes Grimes on the ramp but Roadkill misses a springboard splash through the table. Doring has a piece of guardrail and Dreamer puts a ladder on the corner. Da Baldies make a comeback and whip the non-Roadkill good guys into the ladder.

Three stereo low blows take the Baldies down but Dreamer gets powerbombed out of the corner to take him out again. Doring and Dreamer come back to snap the ladder into two Baldies’ faces. The rail is sent in but Grimes misses a Swanton bomb, landing on the steel. Dreamer DDTs Grimes onto the rail and a guillotine legdrop/top rope splash from Doring/Roadkill are enough for the pin.

Rating: D+. Usual ECW garbage brawl here but at least there was a story to it with Da Baldies trying to claim the bounty on Dreamer. Not a terrible match here as at least this time they advertised it as a street fight instead of a wrestling match. Again, at least it was short which helps a lot.

House show ads.

TV Title: Cyrus vs. Super Crazy

Before the match Cyrus reveals that it’s a SWERVE and there’s a new opponent.

TV Title: Rhyno vs. Super Crazy

Rhyno runs him over to start and takes Crazy’s head off with a clothesline. There’s a table in the corner less than two minutes into the match but Crazy comes back with a springboard spinwheel kick to the face. Rhyno heads to the floor and gets taken down by a nice plancha, drawing a big ECW chant. Back in and Crazy rains down right hands in the corner but Rhyno tosses Crazy into the air for a nice crazy. The Gore is countered with a drop toehold but Rhyno comes back with a powerbomb for a close two.

Rhyno stomps away in the corner and drops him throat first on the top rope. We hit the chinlock as the match slows down a lot. Jack Victory gets in a cheap shot from the floor to Crazy but the champion comes back with a quick springboard moonsault for two. Now it’s Rhyno in a chinlock but he comes back with something like a running powerbomb through the table. Crazy somehow kicks out at two before grabbing a quick victory roll for two. A third powerbomb gets two for Rhyno and here’s another table. Rhyno loads up a superplex, only to be countered into a sunset bomb through the table to retain Crazy’s title.

Rating: C-. There was a story here which is the main thing ECW matches often lack. I can live with the tables in there if the story makes sense, and Crazy overcoming the odds to beat Rhyno as clean as you can in ECW works well enough. Crazy is another guy that can go without all the extra stuff which makes it more annoying to see it water down his matches.

Post match the Network comes in and destroys Crazy until Sandman makes the quick (by his standards) save, but Rhyno Gores Sandman down. The Network poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. For an ECW show, this actually worked. The Network story is a good idea and fits the anti-establishment idea of ECW. There’s a story going through the episode here other than Raven vs. Dreamer and that’s what ECW needs more than anything. This wasn’t too bad but the hardcore stuff needs to be toned down.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at:

ECW on TNN
Date: March 24, 2000
Location: Ice House, Salem, New Hampshire
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Joel Gertner, Joey Styles

Things have changed a bit after the last PPV but it still isn’t anything worth seeing yet. Hopefully things can pick up a bit now that we have a new main story with Awesome and Raven teaming up as the new big bads. As long as I don’t have to sit through the hardcore nonsense even more, things should be ok. Let’s get to it.

Joey and Joel do the intros with Gertner ripping into Cyrus with nothing special.

Opening sequence.

Joey brings out TV Champion Super Crazy and we get the same video from last week on how he won the title at Living Dangerously. Crazy says something in Spanish and here’s his first opponent: Tajiri. Before the match can start here’s Cyrus to say he’s the boss so this is a Japanese death match, which I think means anything goes. Joel goes after Cyrus but is threatened with being arrested and fired. Cyrus shoves Joey as well so Styles takes off his jacket, only to be met with the same threats. If Joey hits him, the show is off the network and will go back to the stone age. Joey backs down and Cyrus gets to stand tall.

TV Title: Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri

The match starts after a break with Crazy being whipped into the barricade. Back inside and Tajiri hits a hard kick to the head and the handspring elbow but Crazy dropkicks him back to the floor. An Asai Moonsault into the crowd takes Tajiri down again before getting two off a moonsault press back in the ring. Crazy pounds away with right hands in the corner but Tajiri comes back with a quick victory roll for two and a HARD kick to the head puts Crazy down.

That’s too much wrestling though so here’s a chair, only to have Crazy dropkick it back into Tajiri’s face. Tajiri comes back with a chair to the Crazy’s head and an even bigger one puts the champion down again as we take a quick break. Back with Tajiri tossing in a table as Crazy is busted wide open. A top rope double stomp puts Crazy through the table for two so Tajiri brings in another table. Crazy comes back with a powerslam through the table and slides in a third because why have two when you can have three. A moonsault doesn’t put Tajiri through the table so Crazy powerbombs him through it for the pin.

Rating: D+. How exactly was this different from any run of the mill ECW match? The Japanese death part of the match was just a bunch of table spots which you can see anytime around here, which is the problem with having a hardcore company: it takes away from the shock value of it when the match is supposed to be something special.

Post match Corino, Victory and Rhyno come in to destroy Crazy until Sandman makes a three minute entrance for the save. As is always the case, the heels just stand there while Sandman drinks in the crowd. Tajiri hits the mist on Sandman, allowing Rhyno to Gore him down. Sandman and Rhyno both get piledrivers.

Back from a break and the Network is still in the ring with Cyrus saying no one can stop them. If anyone wants to fight them, come out here right now and do it. This brings out Balls Mahoney with his chair and the goons bail on Cyrus for some reason. He realizes he’s on his own but Corino saves him from death. The segment FINALLY ends after taking up literally over half of the show.

Earlier today Da Baldies beat up Tommy Dreamer in front of a Coke machine. Apparently Raven has put a bounty on Dreamer’s head.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Vic Grimes

Dreamer jumps Grimes on the floor and sends him into the post to draw early blood. They head into the aisle where a spotlight staring straight into the camera blinds us for a bit. The brawl goes into the crowd and I don’t think there was ever a bell. They fight into a penalty box as you can barely see a thing in this mess. Back to ringside and Dreamer hits him in the back with a chair but Grimes hits a powerslam on the floor to take over.

Now they head to the back of the arena for more walking around with the occasional punching called brawling. Grimes gets on top of a scaffolding and drops an elbow onto Dreamer on the concrete. Da Baldies carry Dreamer back to ringside and crotch him on the barricade. Back inside and a top rope splash is only good for two because the people in ECW won’t get pinned if they get their heads cut off while wild horses attached to their limbs run off in all four directions.

Back to the floor with Dreamer sat in a chair so all of Da Baldies can pound on him. Grimes tries a running flip dive but lands on the apron before falling on the empty chair. Dreamer pulls out a ladder for no apparent reason before tying Angel (another Baldie) up in the Tree of Woe. Dreamer catapults the ladder into the Baldies’ faces and drops them with a double DDT. Grimes is dragged back into the crowd and placed on a table so Dreamer can drop an elbow of his own. Back in the ring and Grimes blocks a DDT but misses a Swanton onto the ladder, giving Dreamer the pin.

Rating: N/A. This wasn’t wrestling of any sort at all. It was a bunch of messy spots with a few wrestling moves thrown in for fun. This is the kind of nonsense that just keeps going and going while eating up the limited television time they have. The Raven vs. Dreamer stuff was played out three years ago but it’s all the GENIUS Heyman can come up with.

The yet to be named Sinister Minister is in the ring and says that he came up with the idea to pair up Raven and Awesome. Oh yeah that’s a thing. I had forgotten they were a pairing until now. Francine is in the ring with him but he berates her for a bit before handing her the mic. She brags about all the success she’s had in ECW and doesn’t like him taking credit for her success. Francine claims she’s behind Awesome and Raven, so here are the Impact Players to stare down Awesome and Raven as the show ends.

Overall Rating: D. That’s on the ECW sliding scale. This was a tricky episode to grade because they did have stories going on, but the stories either aren’t interesting or are just being teased instead of actually going anywhere. The wrestling was bogged down by more hardcore nonsense, which is going to cost them in the long run. It’s fine to have once in awhile but when that’s all you have, the effect is gone in a hurry.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume I at Amazon for just $4 at:

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for just $4 at: