ECW Living Dangerously 1999 3/21/1999

Written By: David

ECW Living Dangerously
March 21, 1999
Asbury Park, NJ
Asbury Park Convention Center

The current ECW Champions were as follows:
World Heavyweight Champion: Taz (1/10/99)
Television Champion: Rob Van Dam (4/4/98)
Tag Team Champions: Sabu and Rob Van Dam (12/13/98)
Unrecognized FTW Champion: Sabu (12/19/98)

Your host is Joey Styles.

Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri

Styles says this is the blow-off match for their feud, but they’d go on to meet each other plenty more times, mostly in three-way dances. To start, they trade a couple of nifty takedowns and arm holds until Tajiri flips and cartwheels out and delivers a monkey flip, Crazy lands on his feet, and they receive golf claps. A test of strength earns Crazy a two count before Tajiri bridges, Crazy comes down on the bridge, Tajiri doesn’t budge, and some teeter-tottering leads to a Tajiri hurracanrana … but Crazy rolls through, and they exchange modified monkey flips until Tajiri hits an arm drag. Right back up, Crazy springboards off the top rope, lands on his feet, they trade arm drags and then do simultaneous kip-ups! What a sequence. The crowd loves it. Tajiri gets whipped and hits the handspring back elbow. He scores a head scissors, and Crazy scores a loud overhand chop, but then he gets dumped on the elevated rampway. He rolls to the floor, and Tajiri hits an amazing somersault tope. Tajiri rams Crazy into the rampway, gives him a stiff boot the face, then hits an asai moonsault. Crazy hits a sunset flip from the ring onto the ramp, then adds some kicks, then goes for a springboard moonsault. Tajiri catches Crazy gloating with a kick to the gut, then pulls him off the second rope and onto the ramp with a handspring head scissors! Back in, Crazy hits a modified Samoan drop and a trifecta of moonsaults for 1-2-NO! Crazy sets Tajiri up in the corner, then kicks him down into the tree of woe and dropkicks him in the gut. Another springboard moonsault gets two. Tajiri counters a fireman’s carry into a sunset flip for two. Crazy goes for another moonsault, but Tajiri gets the legs up, then adds a stiff karate kick to the gut. Now Crazy’s in the tree of woe, and he receives a baseball slide to the face! Crazy gets a foot on the rope after two. Tajiri delivers a few more brutal kicks. I mean these ones look stiff even for Tajiri. Corner whip, Crazy springboards into a moonsault, Tajiri ducks, and he delivers another low dropkick to the face for 1-2-NO! Another corner whip, but this time Crazy scores a sunset flip for two. Crazy goes to the apron for a springboard and … “You fucked up! You fucked up!” Tajiri hits a German suplex for two. He locks on a full nelson, Crazy gets out with a low blow, then hits a sit-out powerbomb for two. Crazy goes for it again, but Tajiri hangs on and scores what I’ll call a head scissors DDT. They both get up slow. Whip by Crazy, Tajiri hops up for a hurracanrana, but Crazy rolls through and gets the surprise 1-2-3! (9:55) Call me a sucker for psychology-devoid cruiserweight action, but this was just awesome. I think it’s just a hair better than their Guilty as Charged match. I would gladly pay good money for a video of matches with these two (hint, hint, RF). ***1/2

We watch a fun little promo with RVD, Sabu, and Bill Alfonso.

Steve Corino is in the ring and he talks some typical heel nonsense and asks for a challenger, and it’s Balls Mahoney.

Balls Mahoney (w/ Axl Rotten) vs Steve Corino

Balls takes the offensive right away with fists, boots, a back body drop, and clotheslines, but Corino avoids a charge and Balls goes to the floor. Corino keeps him there with a baseball slide. He delays a pescado, so Balls catches him and whips him into an Axl Rotten clothesline. Back in, a body slam by Balls sets up a frog splash. Cocky cover gets two. He goes up top and misses a New Jersey Jam, and Corino hits a back heel kick. He does his own weird version of tuning up the band before connecting with a superkick. He fakes a chair shot, sets the chair down, and sits on it for a chinlock. Gotta love that spot. Balls gets up, whips him to the corner, and nails him with a superkick of his own. Then it’s time for a chair shot so stiff it became part of ECW’s intro package, and that gets the 1-2-3. (3:56) I think Corino may have gotten a few of his dues paid off here. *

We watch a quick history package for the New Jack/Mustafa match coming up later.

Little Guido (w/ Big Sal E. Graziano) vs Antifaz del Norte

Guido starts with a pair of slaps, and they have a sloppy exchange that ends with a shoulderblock for Guido. A stomp and a forearm gets two, then he puts on an arm breaker. The crowd’s already getting on both guys’ cases here. Guido wants a test of strength, Antifaz chops him and stomps on his foot, then delivers a top-rope springboard arm drag. Right back up, Guido runs the ropes, Antifaz leap frogs him, hits him with a side kick, then a springboard missile dropkick, and Guido retreats to the floor. Guido does some good selling, and Antifaz comes crashing on him with a corkscrew plancha. Back in, Antifaz springboards into a sunset flip for two. Antifaz goes for a hurracanrana, and Guido counters with a powerbomb for two. Guido spends some time trying to get crowd heat, but the crowd’s just not even bothering with it. He goes for the good ol’ stomps, chops, and a corner whip, but Antifaz gets the better of a chopfest and delivers a sit-out front suplex for two. He hits a leg drop and an elbow drop, goes up the turnbuckle, and Guido sneaks up for an ITALIAN LEG SWEEP off the second rope. That gets two. Guido turns his attention to the crowd, and Antifaz gets a school boy for two. Antifaz ducks a clothesline and puts Guido in a sleeper, but Guido drops down for a jawbreaker, then a clothesline gets two. A “boring” chant starts up as Antifaz gets corner whipped, bounces up and hits a dropkick, then delivers a fancy springboard into a corkscrew press. That gets two. A back heel kick sends Guido to the floor. Antifaz goes for a pescado, but Big Sal catches him and slams him through a table! It’s just a matter of time now. In the ring, Guido hits a facebuster leg drop, then puts on the SICILIAN CRAP, it’s over. (5:37) After the match, Tracey Smothers and Tommy Rich come out, and Smothers decks Guido. Rich nails Sal in the back with the Italian flag, but Sal no-sells it, so Rich and Smothers back off down the ramp. That’s apparently the end of the Full Blooded Italians. I didn’t really think this match was quite as bad as the live crowd thought it was. Antifaz does a few cool moves, and Guido is always good for an antic or two. *

Television Champion Rob Van Dam (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs Jerry Lynn

This is the first of four pay-per-view matches between these two. Lynn starts with an arm ringer, takedown and collar lock by Van Dam, head scissors by Lynn, and Van Dam rolls on top for one. Van Dam takes some time to mosey around and suck in “RVD” chants. Take a breath and get ready for this next sequence. Headlock by Van Dam, he hits the ropes and scores a shoulder block, they hit the ropes a few times and trade leap frogs, Lynn kicks Van Dam, Van Dam reverses a corner whip, Lynn kips up, Van Dam backflips, Lynn springboards off the second rope into a crossbody, Van Dam leg sweeps him, misses a somersault leg drop, and they both bounce up and stare each other down. Whew. This match has a few more of those up its sleeve. Van Dam plays to the crowd some more and does a few jumping jacks. Headlock by Lynn, he hits the ropes, Van Dam avoids him a couple times, Van Dam hits the ropes, leap frog by Lynn, but Van Dam puts on the brakes and turns it into an inverted atomic drop. He hits the ropes again, and Lynn comes back with a good hard clothesline. Van Dam rolls to the floor and takes a stroll around the ring. Back in, Lynn puts on another headlock, hits the ropes, drop down by Van Dam, then a split-legged drop down, but Lynn leg drops the back of his head! A dropkick and a clothesline send Van Dam to the floor, then Lynn somersaults off the apron, and they go barreling into the guardrail. Van Dam looks woozy, and Lynn hits a baseball slide that sends him into the crowd, and that sets up a second-rope springboard crossbody by Lynn. Lynn spends too much time getting Van Dam back to the ring, and he gets caught with a low dropkick. Van Dam beats Lynn down a bit, then goes for a springboard off the top rope, but Lynn dropkicks him off down onto the guardrail. On the floor, Van Dam reverses a whip and Lynn gets hung on the rail, allowing Van Dam to come down off the steel with a guillotine leg drop. Van Dam takes a short break, then hits a flying crossbody off the rail into the crowd. Lynn sells his knee as he stumbles back to ringside, Van Dam hits some forearms, then sets Lynn up in the ring for another guillotine off the rail. That gets two. They trade a couple blows, Van Dam scores a side backbreaker, and Fonzie tosses him a chair. He sets it down, puts Lynn into a Mexican surfboard, gets a quick two, then tosses him out of the move, and Lynn’s head comes down on the chair! The nonchalant cover gets two. Lynn gets whipped to the corner, Van Dam sets the chair down while tumbling into a monkey flip, Lynn avoids it and hits a sunset flip off the second rope, and Van Dam’s head lands on the chair hard for 1-2-NO! Lynn tries to piledrive Van Dam onto the chair, Van Dam counters to a back body drop, they land together, Lynn’s down for a quick two, they bridge up, and Van Dam counters a DDT into an inverted atomic drop. Then he goes for a Northern Lights suplex, but Lynn floats over and hits an inverted DDT on the chair! Slow cover gets two and a half. Van Dam’s struggling, so Fonzie climbs up on the apron and gets Lynn’s attention. Van Dam tosses Fonzie the chair just as Lynn turns around and kicks Van Dam, Fonzie swings at Lynn, Lynn catches it, kicks Fonzie, ducks the VAN DAMINATOR, sets the chair down, leaps high to avoid a leg sweep, and ends up leg dropping Van Dam’s head into the chair! That gets an explosive pop and an extra convincing 1-2-NO! That’s three times now that Van Dam’s head has been driven into the chair. Lynn takes the chair up top, and Fonzie holds him back by the ankle. Van Dam gets up and clocks Lynn a couple of times, and they’re both on the second rope on either side of the turnbuckle. Lynn knocks Van Dam back with a couple of chair shots, but Van Dam responds with a VAN DAMINATOR, dropping Lynn through the ringside table! Fonzie goes crazy. Van Dam slowly rolls him back in for two. Van Dam plants him with a slam and places the chair on Lynn, goes for a split-legged moonsault, but Lynn gets the chair up. They fight over it, Van Dam gets hit in the gut, he holds onto it as Lynn goes for a sunset flip, and that gets two before Van Dam nails Lynn with it. They’re slow to get up as the crowd gets involved. Lynn sits on a sunset flip for two, and then it’s a long nearfall-after-nearfall spot. They get right back up, Van Dam misses a clothesline, and Lynn delivers a German suplex for 1-2-NO! They suck some more wind, then Lynn wins a slugfest into the corner. Van Dam reverses a cross-corner whip, charges and gets tossed to the apron, Lynn hits a shoulder block, sits on the turnbuckle, he wins another slugfest, and he delivers a tornado DDT onto a table, the table doesn’t even break, and they both go tumbling to the floor! Lynn tosses him in and gets two. Van Dam counters a suplex, Lynn floats over into a waistlock, Van Dam hits a back elbow, Lynn tries a Northern Lights, Van Dam gets out of that with a back heel, and he knocks Lynn down with a clothesline. Very slow cover gets two. A body slam and ROLLING THUNDER get another two. Van Dam hits him with some forearms, corner whip, Lynn sits on the turnbuckle and stops Van Dam with a boot, goes for a tornado DDT, it’s countered by Van Dam into a Northern Lights, wait, no, it’s countered by Lynn into a HUGE DDT. Slow cover gets 1-2-NO! Styles starts to say that Lynn’s been in control of the match the last few minutes, and then we hear the bell. The 20-minute time limit has expired, and what do you know, it actually happens right at the 20-minute mark.

Referee John Finnegan wants to award the match and the title to Lynn, but Lynn wants five more minutes so he can win it cleanly. Fonzie checks RVD’s pulse and says he’s ready to go. They ring the bell, and Lynn hits a running dropkick and a CRADLE PILEDRIVER for two. He adds a stomp and some right hands, cross-corner whip, charges, and Van Dam gets a boot up. Fonzie pops up, tosses the chair to Lynn, they completely mistime Van Dam ducking the chair, and he hits the VAN DAMINATOR. He heads up top, but oops, Lynn landed on his front side, so he rolls over even as he’s supposed to be knocked out, and Van Dam leaps high for the FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH, 1-2-3. (21:17 excluding the between time) After the match, they have a quick handshake. What a weird way to start a feud. Rating this match is quite subjective. Many people go five stars, and others argue that there’s no psychology and the counters are too choreographed and go more like four. I say that’s ridiculous. Looking back through the match, there’s only one or two moments that don’t make perfect sense. There’s a distinct back-and-forth feel to it, which makes the two seem evenly matched, sparking what would become a long and classic feud. So, I agree more with the five-star crowd — this was fast-paced, creative, brutal action with very few flaws, and in my opinion their best match together — but I’ll take off a quarter-star for the mistimed Van Daminator. ****3/4

We watch a nice big package for the Sabu/Taz match later.

We see footage from before the show went on the air. Adult film star Jasmine St. Claire is talking about how she’s the new queen of wrestling, so Francine comes out and lays her out. Mr. Right is standing there, and Francine baits him into a low blow.

New Jack vs Mustafa

Jack dumps a recycling bin full of weapons in the ring and absolutely destroys Mustafa with a crutch. I think you see where this one’s going. Next is a computer keyboard. A snap mare leads to the golf club into a street sign into the groin spot. Jack throws a couple punches, but Mustafa comes back with a head to the groin. He nails Jack with, in order, a colorful toy lawnmower, a tiny trash can, the recycling bin, and a cooking pan. He follows up a pummeling in the corner with a whip and a clothesline, but New Jack decides he’s played enough defense, so they both just sort of collide. Jack quickly picks up the keyboard and cracks it over Mustafa’s head. We now see that Jack’s bleeding. It’s time for the POWDER-FILLED GUITAR, but as Jack swings, the guitar’s body flies off and Jack wields just the neck. Some help from ringside gets it back to New Jack, and BAM! Mustafa still manages to score a low blow, and they go brawling to the floor, then to the crowd. Mustafa wins a slugfest and tosses Jack into a wall. He adds a chair shot, an elbow drop, and bunch of right hands. Jack comes back with an uppercut and chair shot. He sets up an extra long table, clobbers Mustafa, and tapes him to the table. He heads up a staircase, and the crowd starts buzzing already. He’s up on a balcony (maybe 12-15 feet high, and maybe 8 feet out) and delivers the most insane dive I’ve ever seen. Shit was serious. Both guys are badly hurt, so a couple minutes pass while security guards drag both guys to the ring. New Jack covers, 1-2-3 (9:27) I’ll give the balcony spot one star and that’s all this match is getting. *

After the match, the Dudleys come out and put a quick hurtin’ on New Jack. Joel Gertner does his thing, then Buh Buh talks some shit and puts out an open challenge. Here we go…

Spike Dudley and Nova vs Dudley Boyz (w/ Sign Guy and Joel Gertner)

They match up and the Dudleys lay the smackdown with the help of a couple of street signs. Buh Buh picks up Spike for a press slam and heaves him into the crowd. The Dudleys kill Nova with the flying headbutt to the groin and a Buh Buh Bomb from the top, and they add a DUDLEY DEATH DROP just for fun. Nova’s done. Ring announcer Bob Ortiz somehow gets in the mix, and he too receives a DUDLEY DEATH DROP. Apparently, this doesn’t mean that the Dudley’s pin Nova and win the match. Nope, instead, Nova gets taken to the back, and Buh Buh gets on the mic to ask for another challenger. So after a while, Judge Jeff Jones emerges with a stretcher, and he’s followed by Sid! Here we go…

Spike Dudley and Sid (w/ Judge Jeff Jones) vs Dudley Boyz (w/ Sign Guy and Joel Gertner)

Sid faces up with Buh Buh Ray, who gives him an earful, but both Dudleys end up cowering anyways. D-Von tries shaking hands, and Sid boots him and goes for a powerbomb, but Buh Buh clubs him from behind. The Dudleys take turns with punches, and crowd is getting way behind Sid, and I have no idea why. Eventually Sid comes back with a double chokeslam. He gives D-Von a powerbomb and knocks Buh Buh down with a right hand. He takes D-Von to the ramp and chokes him on the stretcher, and all of a sudden Spike is back in the ring (that was one long crowd surfing session), giving Buh Buh some forearms. Buh Buh is draped on the second rope over the ramp, and Spike comes off the top with a leg drop. Spike nails D-Von, he falls hard off the stretcher, and Sid drops it on top of him. In the ring, Buh Buh reverses a whip, Spike ducks a clothesline, goes for the ACID DROP, Buh Buh flips him over, so Spike goes for it again, and this time he hits it for the 1-2-3! (11:00 for the whole thing) After the match, Sid nails Spike with a powerbomb, and then another from the rampway through a table. Poor Little Spike Dudley. DUD

We watch a history package for the next match. At a TV event, Shane Douglas is giving a retirement speech, and he is about to say who will take his place as “The Franchise.” Justin Credible and Lance Storm both come out and claim they are the franchise, and in his booming Shane Douglas way, he says, “You ain’t a franchise, and you ain’t a franchise, the guy I’m talking about that’s gonna carry on this revolution is Tommy Dreamer!” A brawl ensues, then we switch to slow motion, and we watch the Impact Players giving Shane and Tommy several more beatdowns. Good stuff.

Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas (w/ Francine) vs The Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm) (w/ Jazz, Jason, and Dawn Marie)

Tommy and Lance start if off. Tommy gets whipped to the corner, and Lance scores a corner splash with a bit of teamwork, but he ends up hitting Credible with a back heel kick, allowing Tommy to knock him down with a clothesline. Tommy gets whipped again, blocks a hiptoss, and delivers a neckbreaker. Tommy sends Lance for the ride as he tags Douglas, a drop toe hold plants Storm, and Douglas bends him with the INVERTED ROLLING NECK SNAP. Storm tags out, and Douglas beats Credible in a slugfest and goes for his three suplexes in a row, stalling on the last one. They get into a chopfest, Credible gets corner whipped, Flair flips to the apron, ducks a clothesline, then connects on a clothesline. He goes up top, but just like it does for Flair, this won’t turn out good. Douglas catches him coming and hits a hot shot. Tommy tags in, and Credible receives a sidewalk slam/elbow drop combo. That gets two. Credible hits the ropes and puts on the breaks, scoring an uppercut before Tommy hits him with a spinebuster. Credible reverses a whip, Tommy blocks a hiptoss, and this time goes into an abdominal stretch. Storm jumps in, Douglas stops him and press slams him onto Credible while he’s still in the hold! Very cool spot. Douglas hits some running forearms, but Storm gets involved from the apron and Credible scores a superkick. Storm tags in and both put the boots to Shane in the corner. Dreamer tries breaking it up, but the ref stops him while Storm nails Douglas with a low dropkick to the face. Whip and a dropkick by Storm. Credible tags back in and puts Shane in a corner for some chops. Storm gets back in and nails a held-back Douglas, then wins a quick exchange with a rake to the eyes. Shane reverses a whip, Lance slides through the legs, Shane ducks a clothesline and hits a back suplex. Shane wants a tag, but Storm keeps him in with a leg lock and tags Credible, who hits a jawbreaker. Storm tags back in, then Credible tags back in (I’m serious, that’s exactly what happens), and they whip Shane for double elbows for two. Credible beats Shane down in a corner and goes for a baseball slide, but Shane moves and Credible gets crotched on the ring post. Tommy finally tags in and wins an exchange with a Russian leg sweep, then clotheslines Credible to the floor. Tommy follows and gloats a bit, allowing Storm to hit a pescado. Douglas brawls with Storm and crotches him on the ring post. Back in, Tommy whips Storm and a powerslam gets two, while Credible and Douglas brawl outside. DREAMER DRIVER gets two. Credible gets to the apron, Tommy slingshots him into a sunset flip on Storm, Storm misses a clothesline and ends up baseball sliding Douglas, Tommy puts Credible in a fireman’s carry, but Storm breaks it up with a crescent kick. Storm chokes Tommy and gives him a knee lift as we return to tag rules. Storm and Credible punish Tommy with some typical heel tactics in the corner, then Credible tags in and puts on a chinlock. Tommy eventually gets up and hits a jawbreaker. He wants a tag, but Storm tags in first and puts on a front face lock. Storm reverses a whip and scores a back heel kick for two. Stalling suplex with a middle finger at Douglas by Storm. Credible tags in and hits a body slam and a flying forearm. Storm and Credible team up for a suplex on the rampway. Back in, Lance humiliates Dreamer a bit, corner whip, reversed by Tommy, Storm hops on the top rope, and Tommy crotches him. He hits a hangman’s neckbreaker out of the corner, but Credible jumps in and dropkicks him in the face as he gets up. Corner whip and a charge, Tommy puts the boot up, and gets on the second rope for an ugly diamond cutter. Shane tags in and gives the Triple Threat sign to Storm and Credible, they fall for it, and Shane hits a sneak double clothesline, then nails them both with a bunch of right hands, body slams, dropkicks, and a double noggin knocker. He celebrates on the second rope, and Dawn Marie gives him a low blow. That’s the cue for Francine to come in and start a catfight. Tag rules are done for the night. Storm puts Francine on the ramp and nails her with a forearm, then works over Douglas while Credible works over Dreamer. Snap suplex by Storm. Francine comes out of the back with a ladder, and she sets it on the turnbuckle. Tommy puts Credible in the electric chair and drops him on the ladder just as Douglas avoids a superplex and hits a flying cross body on Storm for two. Inverted atomic drop by Douglas, and Tommy sets up the ladder for a teeter-totter on both Storm and Credible. Douglas covers Credible for two, Storm breaks that up and gets a two count of his own. Douglas reverses a whip and drops Storm with a front suplex, and Tommy hits a DDT, landing Credible’s head in Storm’s crotch! Douglas’ belly-to-belly suplex gets two on Credible. Credible gets out of a waistlock with a low blow, grabs a Singapore cane, winds up … and Francine catches the cane on the apron and gives Credible a big roundhouse kick, allowing Shane to hit the PITTSBURGH PLUNGE with a cradle, 1-2-3. (18:58) After the match, Cyrus the Virus comes out and distracts the winners, allowing Storm to come off the top rope with a double clothesline. Back in, Credible nails them both with the cane. Cyrus appears to stop a rampage on Francine, but low blows her with a headbutt. Good, fast-paced tag action with lots of cool double-team maneuvers and otherwise solid wrestling, but unfortunately the crowd wasn’t into it. **3/4

We watch some replays from the RVD/Jerry Lynn match while Styles explains the odd finish. Referee Jim Mollineaux gives his side of the story, then RVD interrupts and gives a quick promo pushing the feud into their rematch at the next pay-per-view.

Title Unification Match, Falls Count Anywhere: ECW Champion Taz vs FTW Champion Sabu (w/ Bill Alfonso)

This is the second pay-per-view match between these two, the first being almost two years prior at Barely Legal. That time, the feud was built on the premise that the two would hardly ever make contact until the big payoff match. It made for a hot build-up, but they sacrificed their in-ring chemistry and the match ended up being a bit of a clusterfuck. This time, they’ve had plenty of matches together, so the chemistry is considerably improved.

They put on a quick mat wrestling clinic to start before Taz gets two with a half nelson. They feel out each other more with a couple standing switches before Sabu gets to the ropes. They trade right hands, and Sabu goes down in a heap because of his fractured jaw. Taz goes for crossface blows, Sabu blocks it and goes to an arm submission, Taz wiggles free, and Sabu gets a quick one count. Taz scores a waistlock takedown, connects with three crossface blows, then adds some stomps and a Brooklyn boot. They trade a couple blows, but Taz’s punches are having far more effect because of Sabu’s jaw. Sabu reverses a corner whip, Taz bumps chest first, and Sabu hits a springboard leg lariat for two. Slingshot somersault leg drop gets another two. Sabu hurls the chair at Taz, and that sets up AIR SABU. Taz rolls outside, and Sabu baseball slides him into the guardrail, then lifts him into the crowd. He goes for a triple jump plancha, but Taz holds up a chair, and they’re both spilled all over the floor. They brawl into the crowd, walking up some stairs, then walking back down, and Sabu nails Taz with a chair as they come back to the guardrail. They move through the crowd toward the elevated rampway, Sabu reverses a whip to the rail, and leaps off the ramp onto Taz. That gets two. They’re on the ramp, and Taz tosses Sabu back into the crowd. Back in the ring, Taz gets the better of a slugfest, but Sabu dropkicks the knee, then bridges the guardrail and the apron with a table. Taz follows and tosses Sabu back inside. Sabu is stomping and punching away, but Taz hits an overhead belly-to-belly Tazplez through the table! There’s a really cool effect caused by a camera cable getting disconnected just as Sabu goes through the table. Taz slams Sabu into the rail, then hits snake eyes. He takes a couple shots at Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan while crossfacing Sabu, and Sabu comes back with a finger in the eye and a chair shot. Sabu’s jaw is hurt and his mouth is bleeding, so Fonzie tries throwing in the towel, but Sabu stops him. Taz nails Sabu on the ramp, then tosses Sabu down between the ramp and the rail. Fonzie throws a chair at Taz’s head, but it has no effect and Fonzie gets chased down the rampway. Back in the ring, Sabu blocks a punch and scores with a low blow. A leg drop facebuster gets two. He puts on a half camel clutch, then sets a table up in the ring, but Taz gets right back up and nails him. Taz puts Sabu on the table and climbs to the second turnbuckle before Sabu stops him. Sabu moves the table and hits a springboard hurracanrana. He goes for a standing hurracanrana, but Taz counters into a sit-out powerbomb. Slow cover gets two. They roll outside, and Sabu reverses a whip to the rail. He adjusts a table diagonally onto the corner of the guardrails, Taz hits him from behind, and they go back in the ring. Taz gets beat onto the apron, and Sabu hits a sunset flip powerbomb, but Taz falls on more of Sabu than the floor. That gets two. Sabu hits some right hands and puts Taz on the diagonal table, and he goes for one hell of a splash from the ring post! Slow cover gets two. They slowly get back to the ring, and Sabu gets another two count. Arabian facebuster gets another two. Sabu’s still hurt, so Taz hits a low blow and a modified pump-handle Tazplex for two. Sabu takes over with a chair shot and hits the TRIPLE JUMP MOONSAULT for two. The crowd is completely dead here. It looks and sounds like they’re just waiting to go home. Back up, Taz hits a side head-and-arm Tazplex, then smashes Sabu into the chair for two. Sabu wins a short slugfest and hits a triple jump leg drop for two. They slowly get up, have another quick slugfest, and Taz hits an overhead head-and-arm Tazplex, then hits another off the second turnbuckle. That gets two. Sabu sets up a table with two legs up, two legs down, into the corner. They have another slugfest, and even though Sabu’s winning it, Taz grabs him and delivers a DRAGON TAZPLEZ THROUGH THE TABLE! 1-2-NO! And for the first time in a long time, the crowd makes a bit of noise. Fonzie throws in the towel right as Taz locks on the TAZMISSION. Sabu tosses the towel away and struggles with Taz, but there’s no way he’s getting out of the hold. The ref checks his arm, he’s done, it’s over. (18:28) Just like at Barely Legal, Taz offers a handshake and all is well. This match was pretty brutal, but it sort of came unglued at some point. I think it’s technically better than the Barely Legal match, but without much crowd support, it seemed a little disappointing. ***

Final Thoughts: OK, so I know there’s some crap on this show, but I’ve always held it in high regard. At the least the crap is short and of good variety. This show was worth finding at a time when it had the only easily accessible RVD/Jerry Lynn match (it’s currently available on the WWE-released Rob Van Dam DVD, and even the Taz/Sabu bout made it to a DVD compilation). While time has lessened its value, Living Dangerously 99 is a good show nonetheless. Thumbs up.