Written by: Bob Colling
Extreme Championship Wrestling presents Hardcore TV
Date: 7/22/1998
From: Philadelphia, PA
Matches:
1.)FTW Champion Taz fought Bam-Bam Bigelow to a no contest
2.)Bubba Dudley defeated Tommy Dreamer
3.)The Sandman defeated D-Von Dudley
4.)Big Dick Dudley defeated Spike Dudley
5.)ECW World Tag Team Champions Rob Van Dam & Sabu defeated Chris Candido & Lance Storm to retain the titles
Angle Developments/Notes
1. Joey Styles is in the ring and the fans are chanting “New York sucks… dick” several times. Styles brings out his co-host, ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas. Shane notes how hot it is in the building. Shane makes a joke about Francine being moist and Styles tries to get a look after dropping the microphone but Francine just kisses him on the cheek and he smiles as the opening segment ends.
2. Taz comes out to cut a promo. Taz says that there was a snow storm and a lot of people couldn’t come to a television taping. Taz notes that only 90 people came to the taping and supported the company when nobody cared for the promotion. Taz holds up a championship and he talks about the new FTW Championship. FTW stands for “Fuck The World.” Taz gets annoyed with a fan saying stuff and lets him speak but the fan doesn’t appear to say anything. Taz says he has been at every single show while ECW has been paying its dues. Taz notes he, Dreamer and Sandman stayed loyal to the company while Shane Douglas didn’t. Taz is bitter that he never got a ECW World Championship match. Taz wants a shot at Douglas. Taz issues an open challenge. Here comes Bam-Bam Bigelow.
3. Taz hammers away on Bigelow in the corner with strikes and stomps. Bigelow rams Taz back first into a corner and hits a vertical suplex. Bigelow clubs away on Taz in the corner but runs into a big boot from Taz. Bigelow stops Taz with a clothesline to regain control of the contest. Taz comes out of the corner with a couple of clotheslines and drops Bigelow with a third clothesline. Bigelow catches Taz coming off the middle rope but Taz plants Bigelow with a DDT. Taz goes for the Taz Mission but Lance Storm and Chris Candido run down to attack Taz and cause the disqualification. They hit the rolling thunder on Taz. That brings out Rob Van Dam and Sabu who send them to the floor. Bill Alfonso wants to shake Taz’s hand. Taz fakes him out and picks up his championship and leaves.
4. Bubba hammers away on Dreamer in the early moments of the contest but Tommy countered a back suplex with a cross body. Dreamer dropkicks Bubba in the corner and hits a series of offense including a bulldog. They go to the floor where Bubba crotches Dreamer on the guard railing. This match is heavily clipped. Bubba whacks Dreamer with a chair and hits a suplex on the concrete floor! Dreamer is busted wide open. Fans help Dreamer get to his feet and he returns to the ring. Tommy drops Bubba throat first across the top and hits a sling shot splash from the apron for a near fall. Dreamer puts Bubba on a table that was set up on the floor. Joel Gertner trips Dreamer to prevent him from using it. Dreamer takes Gertner and a couple of others out with a cross body on the floor. Dreamer plants Jeff Jones and Sign Guy with DDT’s. Jack Victory runs out and is met with a DDT. Bubba smashes the guitar over Tommy’s head and wins the match.
5. Sandman nails D-Von with a kendo stick, though D-Von had one as well. This is heavily clipped as well. Sandman puts D-Von a table and leaps off the apron to hit a leg drop through a table on the floor! D-Von sends Sandman flipping upside into a guard railing. D-Von smashes Sandman over the head with a steel chair. D-Von continues to work over Sandman with a kendo stick as well. Sandman gets the pin after a side Russian leg sweep out of nowhere to tie the series up at one a piece.
6. Spike low blows Dick and nearly wins with a springboard bulldog. Dick backdrops Spike over the top to the floor and tosses Spike onto a table on the floor. Dick misses a splash in the corner and is low blowed again by Spike. Spike comes off the ropes with a face buster. Dick counters a bulldog and has a Torture Rack on Spike but drives him down to the canvas and wins the match. The win means that the Dudley Boys get to pick the stipulation for Heatwave ’98!
7. Earlier tonight, Lance Storm and Chris Candido were backstage. Storm has something to say and Candido doesn’t trust him. Storm falls off from a chair and Candido catches Storm. Storm talks about Chris nearly losing his ear in Boston. Storm says tonight they get a chance to avenge what RVD and Sabu did to his partner. Candido and Storm are on the same page.
8. The main event is joined in progress with RVD and Storm going at it. Storm atomic drops RVD but is met with a spin kick by RVD. This is clipped as well. Candido and Sabu traded a few chops and strikes in the corner. Sabu plants both challengers with a DDT. RVD connects with a spinning heel kick on Storm. RVD kicks Storm but Storm follows up with a spinning heel kick. Candido hooks RVD up and drives the champ down to the mat with a delayed vertical suplex. Storm and Candido hit a double superplex on RVD off the top but can’t get a three count. Storm locks in a single leg Boston Crab but Sabu made the save for his partner. Candido comes off the ropes with a swinging neck breaker. RVD leaps off the middle rope with a side kick and takes Candido out with a somersault dive on the floor! Storm tosses a chair at Sabu back in the ring. Storm knocks RVD off the apron and into the crowd. Storm takes RVD out with a springboard cross body in the crowd. Sabu takes everyone out with a springboard dive of his own! RVD scoop slams Storm and the champs hit the Rolling Thunder/leg drop combo. Candido avoids being sent through a table. Sabu leg drops Storm through the table and Candido nearly pins RVD with a German suplex. Storm smacks Candido in the ear after they collide in the ring. Storm walks out and the champs hit a double top rope splash for the win. (Since it was clipped I can’t give it a rating. However, for what they showed it was a good segment and the reason Storm turned on Candido just seemed to be really weak to me. Hopefully it’s explained more in the next few weeks.)
9. We get an emotional Tommy Dreamer cutting a promo at the end of the show. Dreamer says that everyone close to him is getting hurt. Dreamer starts to cry when he talks about people getting hurt close to him. Dreamer is crying because they were supposed to be together forever. He is talking about Beulah, of course. Tommy is acting like she is dead and of course he rams his head into the lockers several times. Dreamer is busted wide open and freaks out. That was a very good promo, actually.
Final Thoughts:
Not a bad show this week as they focused on the Dudley’s feud and the turn of Storm on Candido should add something to the show. The whole reasoning behind it, in the match at least, was just odd. I’ll give the show a thumbs up overall.
Thanks for reading.