Rebooking ECW: Hardcore TV (02/20/97)

The final stop before the two-night fan fest known as Cyberslam has finally arrived! Battle lines have been drawn, friends have become foes, and now, only a short few days separates heated enemies. What will be the final thoughts? Will there be any words, or is the time for talk long passed? Has the ultimate boiling points been reached? All these questions will be answered and more on tonight’s exciting episode of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s Hardcore TV!

ECW HARDCORE TV 02/20/97 (Reading, PA)

1. Official review of all announced matches at Cyberslam thus far: A video package backed by joey styles’ voice announced that the three major matches that have been announced for the fan event are “The Franchise” Shane Douglas versus Chris Candido for the ECW Television Championship, The Pitbulls versus The Eliminators in a tornado tables match for the ECW Tag Team Championships, and the main event for the ECW Heavyweight Championship. This will pit the champion Raven, against the legendary Terry Funk against one another in a ‘House of Fun’ match. In this type of match (which was devised by Raven himself), weapons will be chained to the walls of the fifteen-foot high steel cage  for either wrestler to utilize whenever they wish, and only a pinfall or submission will grant a victory. It is now official that Japanese wrestling stars Gran Naniwa and Damián 666 will also be in action in individual matches! 

2. The Eliminators defeated Stevie Richards and “Hollywood” Nova in a beat down. The ECW Tag Team Champions showed exactly why they are able to hold that name as they absolutely tore two-thirds of the bWo apart. After “Hollywood” Nova was hit with Total Elimination, John Kronus pinned him and Saturn was able to fight off The Blue Meanie who attempted to rush down to the ring to break up the pin. This was an impressing outing for the champs and as they headed to the back they were blindsided by The Pitbulls. The brawl continued to the back for several minutes until it was finally broken up by Paul E. and other ECW officials. Through the chaos of the erupted locker room Paul E. was shouting that both teams were to wait for Cyberslam! (17:32 including the backstage assault)

3. Commercial break + Cyberslam ordering information is presented to the TV audience.

4. Chris Candido interview: Candido seemed very confident and ready for his match with “The Franchise” Shane Douglas tomorrow night on the first night of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s Cyberslam 1997 event. He said that no matter what, he had his friend Lance Storm by his side and whatever Douglas had up his sleeve didn’t matter because, in only a few short hours, he’d also have gold around his waste. Before the interview ended, he told Douglas to get shining, as the belt would soon have a new home.

5. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas defeated Axl Rotten in a pretty even match. Douglas used every dirty trick in the book but Axl wasn’t having any of it as he fought the TV Champion with all he had. It came down to Francine nailing Rotten in the head with a purse with a brick in it. With that, Douglas cockily walked out, yelling to the crowd that they hadn’t seen anything yet! (13:35)

6. Commercial break + a special video package highlighting the Raven/Funk feud thus far.

7. Terry Funk interview: Funk proclaimed that the ECW Championship would return to it’s rightful owner, come Cyberslam. Funk goes on to explain that his legacy will continue to be remembered long after he captures the title and that one day, wrestling fans around the world would look back at this date and say that, “that day was a good day for the wrestling business. When Terry Funk beat Raven at his own game.” He closed the interview by saying that the time for talk was over and that soon Raven would realize exactly what he signed up for.

8. Raven defeated Mikey Whipwreck in a surprisingly technical match-up. Instead of relying on his  impromptu and unorthodox style, Mikey showed up to wrestle and when it comes to wrestling Raven was no slouch. The two put on an awesome TV main event and the crowd really appreciated the unexpected wrestling match these two had. Raven was able to put Mikey down after two Evenflow DDTs. (12:42)

As a side note, any feedback readers have would be nothing but appreciated. Negative, positive, criticism, or anything I could be doing better in general would be great to know! Thanks again for reading, and be on the lookout for Cyberslam, which will have both night’s events  in one post!