ECW on TNN 12/24/1999

Written By: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling presents ECW on TNN
Date: 12/24/1999
From: Nashville, TN

Joey Styles and Joel Gertner are standing in the ring as the fans are going nuts, as usual. Gertner delivers a usual lines until Cyrus from the Network comes down to the ring. Cyrus tells the guys they need a total redo of the opening because the officials didn’t like it. Cyrus notes that the office hates Gertner’s inappropriate lines. Gertner doesn’t believe there is a office. Cyrus says that he doesn’t work for ECW but rather TNN! Cyrus proceeds to announce that Mike Awesome will defend the ECW World Championship against Masato Tanaka tonight. Tanaka is sitting in the front row. Judge Jeff Jones asks what Tanaka is doing in the arena. Jones says that Spike Dudley or Masato Tanaka will have to go through him to get to Mike Awesome. Spike Dudley makes his way down to the ring. Dudley Acid Drops Jones and waves to the fans. Mike Awesome runs down and is able to clothesline Dudley after blocking a Acid Drop. Awesome gorilla press slams Dudley over the top rope right into the front row where Tanaka catches Dudley! Awesome invites Tanaka into the ring and they have a brief exchange of right hands until security runs in to break up the fight. Paul Heyman comes to the ring and Cyrus starts to convince Heyman to have the match tonight. Eventually, Heyman gives in and books Tanaka vs. Awesome tonight! ‘

ECW on TNN opening video

Opening Contest: Masato Tanaka defeated ECW World Champion Mike Awesome to win the title: Tanaka backdrops Awesome to the apron and drops Awesome throat first across the top rope. Tanaka dives over the ropes taking Awesome out with a cross body. Tanaka sends Awesome into the guard railing and nails Awesome with a chair shot to the head. Awesome tosses Tanaka over the guard railing into the crowd and leaps over the railing taking Tanaka out with a dive! Awesome sends Tanaka into the railing back first and rams Tanaka back first into the apron a few times. Awesome heads to the top rope and connects with a top rope clothesline back in the ring for a two count. Awesome nails Tanaka with a clothesline and drops a elbow for a near fall. Awesome goes for a power bomb and connects with a sit down power bomb for a two count! Awesome heads to the floor and sets up a table. Tanaka with a springboard forearm shot as Awesome stands on the apron. Awesome with a few right hands and drives Tanaka through the table on the floor with a running power bomb off the apron! The show goes to commercial. Awesome leaps off the top rope and splashes Tanaka for a near fall. Awesome goes under the ring to grab another table and sets one up in the corner. Awesome goes for a power bomb but Tanaka gets out if and German suplexs Awesome through the table in the corner! Tanaka sets up two chairs and plants Awesome with a tornado DDT onto the chairs for a two count. Tanaka places a chair on Awesome’s face and heads up top. Tanaka leaps off and drops a chair across Awesome’s face! Awesome stops Tanaka with vicious chair shots but Tanaka doesn’t go down! Awesome finally drops Tanaka with a vicious chair shot! Awesome goes for a running power bomb and connects but only gets a two count as the show goes to another commercial. Awesome crotches Tanaka on the top rope and goes for a superplex but Tanaka reverses with a top rope tornado DDT through a table! Tanaka goes for the cover but Awesome kicks out at two! Tanaka blocks a big boot and nails Awesome with the roaring elbow and wins the belt! ****
After the match, Awesome shakes Tanaka’s hand and helps put the belt on Tanaka. Awesome raises Tanaka’s arm but ends up nailing Tanaka with a clothesline. Awesome lifts Tanaka up and power bombs Tanaka over the top rope through a table on the floor!

Backstage, Mike Awesome finds Cyrus and pushes him up against the wall. Cyrus blames Paul Heyman for wanting to get good ratings. Awesome says that next week he is going to kill Masato Tanaka. Awesome leaves to go find Tanaka as Cyrus said he was across the hall.

Joey Styles and Joel Gertner promote the rematch between Tanaka and Awesome next week!

Backstage, Rhino, Steve Corino and Jack Victory leave a locker room with Rhino having blood on his hands and Victory having blood on a chair. Rhino promises that no one will bother Steve Corino. A bloody Balls Mahoney staggers out of the locker room saying he will kill them.

Second Contest: Super Crazy defeated Hidaka: Hidaka with a wrist lock to control Crazy to start the contest. Crazy rolls through and wrenches on Hidaka’s arm. Hidaka snap mares Crazy to the floor. Crazy simply returns to the ring and is met with a kick to the gut from Hidaka. Hidaka shoulder blocks Crazy and they trade several different flips. Hidaka hip tosses Crazy but misses a dropkick. Several arm drags and they kip up. Hidaka with a kick and works on Crazy in the corner with chops. Crazy backdrops Hidaka to the apron but Hidaka connects with springboard hurricanrana and baseball slides Crazy on the floor sending Crazy into the crowd. Hidaka takes Crazy out with a springboard corkscrew dive in the crowd! Crazy sends Hidaka back first into the guard railing and delivers a few kicks to Hidaka’s chest. Springboard dropkick by Crazy back in the ring and a double springboard moonsault for a two count. Crazy with a inverted surfboard and rolls around the ring a few times adding more pressure. Crazy locks in a dragon sleeper while still having the surfboard locked in! Crazy hammers away on Hidaka in the corner with ten punches. Crazy sends Hidaka to the floor and just waits for Hidaka to return. Hidaka with a shoulder ram on the apron and connects with a springboard dropkick to Crazy’s knee. German suplex by Hidaka and has a quick leg lock on Crazy until Crazy reaches the bottom rope. Hidaka goes to the apron and connects with a nice springboard hurricanrana for a near fall. Crazy rolls through and gets a two count of his own. Hidaka counters a power bomb attempt with a tornado DDT but only gets a two count on the cover! Hidaka heads up top and misses a twisting senton splash. Crazy drives Hidaka down with a sit down power bomb to win the match. ***½

Backstage, Mike Awesome storms into a locker room that is Paul Heyman’s. It ends up being Lou E. Dangerously who is pretending to be Heyman. Jones tells Dangerously that he is responsible for Awesome’s success. Awesome hears this and flips out on his manager.

Joey Styles and Joel Gertner promote the main event coming up next.

Backstage, the Impact Players cut a promo on the tag team champions Raven and Tommy Dreamer. Justin Credible says that the clock is ticking on the title reign of Dreamer and Raven. Credible says they will commit any crime to take the belts from Raven and Dreamer. They deliver their catchphrases to close out the promo.

Main Event: ECW World Tag Team Champions Raven/Tommy Dreamer vs. Da Baldies never officially started: Before the bout, Da Baldies have a fight with a fan. Lance Storm runs into the ring and dropkicks Raven in the corner. Credible nails Raven with handcuffs wrapped around his fist. Vic Grimes clotheslines Dreamer on the floor and leaps off the apron with a elbow drop. The Impact Players proceed to handcuff Raven to the ECW on TNN set! Raven is practically crucified to the set and Credible whacks Raven with a kendo stick across the head! As usual, the Impact Players say their catchphrase and pose. Credible actually licks Raven’s face. Dreamer crawls towards his partner. NR

Tommy Dreamer holds Raven to close out the show.

End of show

My Take: Another good opening segment between Awesome/Dudley and Tanaka. The set up for Awesome vs. Tanaka was done nicely as well. A very good way to start the show and to keep the fans interest immediately.

Awesome/Tanaka was just a fantastic, brutal contest between two guys who I have never seen have a bad match. The spots they pulled off where just fucking nuts sometimes. A fabulous match between two very good workers. The title change wasn’t totally unexpected since Tanaka has had some good luck against Awesome. So, actually going into the match it wasn’t clear who would win, which is always a good thing.

Crazy/Hidaka was a good match but they seemingly just did the same match they had a few weeks prior. Because of that, I gave it a lower grade since they didn’t offer anything new or different. It really seemed like they did the same moves in the same order. Nonetheless, it was a entertaining bout.

The ending to the show was pretty good. Sure we didn’t actually get a main event, but for me it would have been a main event I wouldn’t want to see anyway. The beat down by the Impact Players was okay, with a really creepy ending with Credible licking Raven’s face. That was just really, really odd.

Overall, this may have been the best ECW on TNN episode so far. Two very good matches really makes it impossible for me to sit here and say it was a bad show. Great episode of ECW on TNN!

Thanks for reading.