Written by: Arnold Furious
The show starts out with footage from last night where Tazz arrives at the arena and walks in to survey the ring and the empty building while holding his TV title. “I’m ready”. Tazz will be defending against Bam Bam Bigelow. In a cool dissolve we flash forward 24 hours to the live PPV crowd. ECW was so cool. We’re at Asbury Park, New Jersey for ECW’s 4th PPV.
Jerry Lynn/Chris Chetti v Little Guido/Tracey Smothers of the FBI
Tracey Smothers sucks. Sorry, had to get that out of the way. Chetti starts out with Guido and gets a quick two count from a spinning heel kick. Both teams make quick tags. Lynn and Smothers chop away at each other in the corner. Lynn hits a kip up into a sunset flip and gets a two count. Lynn hits the ropes again and hits a crossbody for a two count. Guido comes in a misses an elbow. While he’s stunned Lynn borrows Guido for the Pisan double elbow. All 4 men are in and the faces hit stereo drop kicks. Lynn heads upstairs and the FBI bail only to be wiped out by a plancha to the floor. Tommy Rich gets a cheap shot in on Chetti and the FBI take over. Pisan elbow on Chetti. Smothers with a nice vertical suplex on Chetti. Smothers then suplexes Guido onto Chetti for a 2. Chetti is whipped into the turnbuckles and he hits a leaping sidekick off the buckles. Lynn gets the hot tag with a couple of dropkicks and then a tilt-a-whirl into a flying headscissors on Smothers. They botch a flapjack/DDT type move. Tommy Rich comes in the Italian flag and misses Lynn and hits Smothers. Lynn rolls Smothers up for the 3 count at 8.18. **1/2.
Wing Kanemura was due to wrestle against Masato Tanaka tonight but Kanemura pulled out for some reason and Doug Furnas replaces him in the match (Doug was in the WWF at the time and is under contract to WWF “agent” Lance Wright).
Masato Tanaka v Doug Furnas w/Lance Wright
Tanaka starts out getting powerslammed by Furnas and Doug keeps the heat on with a standing dropkick. Furnas gets caught going for a kick however and Tanaka dragon screws him. Tanaka goes to a figure 4 but Furnas reverses it and Tanaka reverses it back to put the pressure back on. Furnas uses the ropes to break the hold. Tanaka gets up a head of speed and nearly decapitates Furnas. He gets a two count. Tornado DDT from Tanaka and he gets another two count. Running Spicolli Driver from Tanaka and he gets a two count. Furnas hits an evil looking version of a piledriver. Furnas with a release German suplex on Tanaka and Lance Wright demands a further beating for Tanaka. Furnas hits a rana and Lance Wright asks for another. Tanaka hits a roaring elbow and wins at 5.47. **1/2.
Rob Van Dam w/Bill Alphonso v Too Cold Scorpio
RVD is still a heel at this point in time. They start out technical with waist locks and hammer locks and wrist locks. Nice stuff. Scorpio hits a snap mare and RVD lands on his feet. They do a little double hand lock monkey flip action that would put lucha libre wrestlers to shame. RVD with a moonsault press off the entranceway and follows up with a leaping sidekick off the guard rail. RVD will jump off anything. RVD waffles Scorpio with a chair throw (Sabu style). RVD goes back into the ring with a slingshot legdrop for a two count. RVD with a spinning heel kick and he follows it up with a top rope spinning heel kick for a two count. Rolling splash from RVD for another 2 count. RVD counters a kick from Scorpio and hits a corkscrew leg drop for another 2 count. Scorpio with a big powerbomb (release) but Scorpio takes ages to follow up but does with a nice slingshot splash. Scorpio plants RVD with a side suplex but doesn’t go for the pin although RVD is perfect for it. Scorpio with a twisting splash and gets a two count. Scorpio hits a perfect moonsault and RVD kicks out. Scorpio goes for a superplex and RVD pushes him off and hits a 5 Star frog splash before it was his finisher but Scorpio gets a knee up anyway. Scorpio with a sommersault leg drop from the second rope. Scorpio misses a splash in the corner and RVD hits a leaping side kick. RVD with a split legged moonsault but he only gets a two count. RVD with a rana and a spinning kick dumps Scorpio to the floor. Van Daminator on the entrance ramp. Scorpio comes back with two piledrivers on the ramp. RVD isn’t moving and Scorpio drags him back in but again doesn’t go for the pin so RVD hits a low blow. RVD and the ref get pushed away and Scorpio hits a splash on the referee by mistake. RVD misses a huge 450 splash. Scorpio with a brutal powerbomb. Scorpio connects with his own 450 splash but the ref is down. Sabu does a run in and hits the Arabian facebuster on Scorpio and RVD gets another 2 count. Sandman does a run in and runs off Sabu. RVD hits an amazing bodyscissors roll up on 22.06 for the pin and the win. ***1/2. Shame Scorpio has no idea what psychology is.
The Dudley Boyz v Balls Mahoney/Axl Rotten v New Jack/Spike Dudley
Dudleys and Balls/Axl don’t wait for the third team and brawl a while. Balls nails Buh Buh with a superkick but misses the New Jersey Jam from the top. Buh Buh waffles Balls with a chair shot. Big Dick Dudley steps in and choke slams Axl. New Jack and Spike come out as the Dudleys were completely in control. New Jack comes out with a trash can full of crap and nails D-Von with a crutch and a computer keyboard. Spike stands on Buh Buh’s chest and then hits a rana. Frying pan to the head of Balls who is busted wide open. Balls and Axl chair the Dudleys some. New Jack nails D-Von in the groin with a crutch. Spike hits a pescado on Buh Buh. The fight spills out into the crowd where the Dudleys are set up on tables. Spike and New Jack do an insane stereo balcony dive on the Dudleys. Ouch. It’s a very high balcony (at least 15 feet – real terms not wrestling terms). Back in the ring Balls has set up a table and he spikes Spike with a brutal suplex next to it. Spike recovers though and hits a swinging DDT through the table on Balls. Buh Buh throws Spike onto Axl on the floor. Balls Mahoney gets the 3-D and Balls and Axl are gone at 12.33. Spike and New Jack nail the celebrating Dudleys with stereo guitar shots. New Jack hits the diving chair on D-Von and gets the pin at 13.25. Match rating – messy. ***.
Jenna Jameson comes out to interview Justin Credible for ECW but Justin isn’t interested. Jenna tries to get a word with Tommy Dreamer and Dreamer gives her some tongue action. Kissing is extreme? Apparently so.
Tommy Dreamer v Justin Credible w/Jason/Nicole Bass
Tommy wipes out Justin and Jason with a pescado. Justin gets whipped into the steel guard rail a couple of times. Tommy sets up a chair on the entrance ramp and Tommy whips him into it. Justin comes back and crotches Tommy on the guard rail. Tommy catches Justin off the crossbody and dumps him with a fall away slam. Tree of woe on Justin with a chair over the face and Tommy takes a huge run up and BAM dropkicks the chair. Tommy follows up with a splash which he misses. Justin takes the chair and drop toe holds Tommy onto it. Tommy comes back with a russian leg sweep. Justin had set up a chair in the corner and he throws Tommy face first into it. Justin with an inverted DDT on the chair. Tommy misses his version of the diving chair and Tommy crotches Justin and then shakes the ropes. Tommy with a Spicolli Driver on Justin to chants of “Louie”. Justin comes back with That’s Incredible and out comes Beulah McGillicutty. Beulah hits a low blow on Justin. Beulah with a DDT on Jason. Nicole Bass with a big bearhug on Beulah and out comes Mikey. Whippersnapper on Nicole but Justin wipes out Mikey’s bad knee. Tommy with a DDT on Justin and he pins him at 9.01. **1/2. Interuptionmungus.
ECW TV title – Taz (c) v Bam Bam Bigelow
Because we’re in Asbury Park Bigelow is seriously over. Taz starts out going straight into a Fujiwara arm bar. Bigelow makes the ropes. Taz takes a run up and clotheslines Bigelow over the ropes with ease. Back inside Bigelow hits a powerbomb for a two count. Taz comes back with another massive clothesline. Taz just throws his whole body into it. Taz fails to suplex Bigelow and he switches his weight to land on top for a two count. They spill out onto the ramp and Taz T-bone Tazplexes Bigelow into the first row from the ramp. Awesome. They brawl in the crowd for a minute and then Bigelow clotheslines Taz back over the guard rail. Bigelow plants Taz with a DDT and follows up with his cartwheel moonsault for a two count. Bigelow pulls out a table and sets it up but it’s already half broken. Bigelow goes for a powerbomb but Taz counters and hits a belly to belly Tazplex through the table. This was even more amazing because Bigelow completely mistimed his jump and Taz had to suplex him as deadweight. Taz gets a two count to chants of “choke him out”. Taz punches of chunk of table into Bigelow’s face. Bigelow with a chair shot. They spill into the crowd and Bigelow hits another chair shot but Taz starts no selling punches. Bigelow sets up a greetings from Asbury park but Taz counters into a Tazmission. Bigelow taps but the referee doesn’t see it. Bigelow falls toward the corner of the ring and both men go crashing through the mat. Yes, straight through the mat. Bigelow crawls out and drags Taz out for the 3 count at 13.36. Bigelow is the new TV champ. ****. Very original match and Taz looked great.
Backstage Paul Heyman tells Joey Styles that due to the ring damage Al Snow v Kronus is cancelled and they’re going to show the taped Sandman-Sabu match.
Duelling Canes – Sandman v Sabu
RVD starts out against Sandman disguised as Sabu and Sabu gets to blindside Sandman. Sabu sets up a chair and hits a triple jump springboard plancha. Sandman rolls off the ramp to avoid further offence so Sabu hits another diving plancha from the ramp to the floor. Sabu sets up a table over the guard rail, lays Sandman on it and Sabu splashes him through it from the top rope. Sabu hits an Arabian facebuster but stalls before the cover and Sandman kicks out at 2. Sabu misses a top rope arabian facebuster. On the ramp Sabu blocks a suplex twice and counters into a DDT. Sabu hits a triple jump moonsault onto the ramp. Cool. Sandman sets up a table on the apron and Sabu gets whipped into it. Sandman suplexes a table onto Sabu. Sandman sets up a table on the ramp and puts Sabu on it but RVD does a run in and back inside RVD hits a leaping sidekick. Sabu sets up another table on the outside while RVD hits a frog splash on Sandman with a chair on Sandman’s face. Sandman gets set up on Sabu’s table and Sabu and RVD hit a tandem splash/leg drop from the turnbuckles right through the Sandman. Sabu rolls Sandman back inside and pins him at 9.01. ***. Tabletastic.
Chris Candido/Shane Douglas v Lance Storm/Sunny?
Everyone in the crowd has a mannequin’s head in preparation for Al Snow’s match that was dumped. Candido and Storm are tag team champions but are in a fight against each other here with a “dream partner” for this tag match. Candido has wisely selected ECW world champion Shane Douglas. Francine gets tagged with a head on the way down to the ring. Lance Storm comes out with Sunny because of course Candido is Sunny’s fiance. A quarter of the ring is missing thanks to Taz and Bigelow. Storm still hits a superplex on Candido for a two count. Storm superkicks Douglas off the apron. Storm with a side suplex on Candido and Sunny tags in. Sunny waffles Storm with a cookie tray. Sunny has turned already and Lance Storm informs Chris Candido that he will give him head. Out comes Al Snow and we have a real match. Al Snow had the coolest entrance in ECW. The lights went out and the camera went funky and everyone waved around mannequin heads. Snow with a sit down powerbomb on Douglas. Storm back drops Candido out of the ring and through a table. Storm then wipes him out with a springboard plancha. Snow whips Douglas into the hole in the ring and then drags him out again. Snow Plow and Snow pins at 4.47. 1/2*. Just a bottomless Al Snow crap pit from which there is no escape.
Best matches –
3. Sabu v Sandman. Duelling canes but with no canes? Sandman worked quite well as a punching bag for Sabu’s insanity.
2. Rob Van Dam v 2 Cold Scorpio. If Scorpio had a clue about match psychology like some of RVD’s better opponents this would have been the best match on the card.
1. Taz v Bam Bam Bigelow. Great match made better by a couple of brutal Taz suplexes.
Overall PPV rating – B-
On the whole a solid card with only the main event being a spectacular let down but I guess with half the ring missing they did ok.