Written by: Bob Colling
ECW on TNN
Date: 7/21/2000
From: Poughkeepsie, NY
Matches:
1.) Tommy Dreamer & Jerry Lynn defeated Da Baldies
2.) ECW World Champion Justin Credible defeated Tajiri to retain the title
3.) Rob Van Dam defeated Balls Mahoney
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Joey Styles and Joel Gertner open the show to hype up the crowd for the show. Dawn Marie comes out after Joel’s sexual poetry. She is at the center of controversy and all she cares about is the guys talking about how good looking she is. Joel Gertner has no problem doing that for her.
2.) Late Breaking News: Steve Corino has placed a bounty on Jerry Lynn’s head. Da Baldies are looking to collect on the money. This is because of the brutal match they had at Heatwave.
3.) Lynn fights off Da Baldies until Angel delivered a power bomb and Tommy Dreamer comes out to be Jerry’s partner. Jazz is with Dreamer as well. Lynn dropkicks DeVito off the apron onto the guard railing. Lynn takes both Angel and DeVito out with a top rope cross body to the floor. All four men are brawling throughout the crowd and by the concession stands. Back in the ring, Angel avoids a charging Dreamer, who hits the ring post shoulder first. Angel gets trapped in the tree of woe and Dreamer steps on his groin. Dreamer dropkicks a chair into Angel’s face in the corner. Da Baldies get control of the bout and are working over Dreamer and Lynn pretty well. DeVito goes under the ring and brings a table out. Jazz enters and power bombs Angel and puts him across the table at ringside. Dreamer hits a slingshot splash from the ring to put Angel through the table. DeVito low blows Lynn but Jerry is able to come back with the cradle piledriver for the win. (*. A long brawl between these two teams. I’ve never been interested in Da Baldies, so their segments tend to last forever, it seems.) After the match, Scotty Anton and Steve Corino attack Dreamer and Lynn. Jack Victory forces Jazz to do the Clap taunt as Dreamer and Lynn are both trapped in Sharpshooters to end the segment.
4.) Backstage, Simon Diamond says that he had a problem and now he has a solution. CW Anderson is the solution and he says he will show what tag wrestling is all about. Anderson tells Swinger that it’s not about where he is from but rather what he has accomplished.
5.) Tajiri opens up with a kick and rolls Credible down to the mat. Francine enters with a kendo stick but drops it quickly. Tajiri keeps control with a dropkick to a kneeling Credible and delivers several chops in the corner. Credible flips onto the apron before getting kicked off and onto the apron. Tajiri goes after Francine but Credible saves her and kicks Tajiri in the groin. Tajiri knocks the champ down with a kick but Francine grabs his leg to allow Credible to deliver a super kick. Credible has a chair and slams Tajiri face first onto it. Tajiri kicks Credible in the face, which has been taped up. Credible low blows Tajiri but is soon met with a hurricanrana. Francine hits Tajiri with a kendo stick and Justin hits a jumping DDT for a near fall. Tajiri comes back with a spinning heel kick and heads to the top rope. Francine gets involved again and Tajiri goes under the ring to follow Francine. Tajiri brings Francine into the ring and Credible attempts the That’s Incredible and hits it after spitting mist at Francine! Tajiri doesn’t go for the cover and instead hits Francine with the kendo stick! Tajiri hits a handspring back elbow and delivers a kick to the head. Tajiri goes to the floor and slides a table into the ring. Tajiri sets a table up and puts Francine on the table. Credible saves Francine and hammers Tajiri on the top rope. Tajiri shoves Credible off and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tajiri delivers a kendo stick shot across the top of his head. Tajiri heads to the top and double stomps Credible through the table but only manages a near fall! Tajiri attempts a tornado DDT but Credible counters only for Tajiri to get an inside cradle and nearly wins the title! Credible catches Tajiri on a springboard moonsault and hits the That’s Incredible to retain the title. (**1/4. The last few minutes really saved this from being a complete waste of television time. Tajiri had some really good near falls and the fans were sensing a title change. A hot final few minutes to draw the fans in but an otherwise subpar match.)
6.) RVD dropkicks Mahoney, who according to Joey Styles, has lost sixty pounds. Mahoney decks Van Dam with a right hand to the jaw and misses a spinning heel kick causing Balls to fall to the floor. RVD takes Mahoney out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor. Mahoney sends Van Dam into the guard railing. Mahoney catches RVD on a springboard moonsault and rams RVD back first into the railing and dumps him into the crowd. In the crowd, Van Dam kicks a chair into Mahoney’s face. Balls has been busted wide open. Mahoney nearly pins RVD with a rollup but is quickly met with a spinning kick to the face. Mahoney plants RVD with a spinning spine buster for a near fall. Balls heads to the top but misses a leg drop and RVD kicks a chair into Mahoney’s face! Van Dam hits a Five Star Frog Splash but is slow on the cover. Mahoney nearly surprises Van Dam with a pin on a rollup attempt but RVD kicks out. Balls crotches Van Dam on the top rope and hits the Nutcracker Suite off the middle rope! Mahoney has the cover but Van Dam kicks out at two! Balls whacks RVD over the head with a chair but only gets a near fall. Mahoney has the ring bell but is tripped head first into a chair with a ring bell in front of his face for double impact. RVD hits a rolling thunder onto Mahoney with a chair across his body for a near fall. RVD hits the Van Terminator! RVD covers and gets the win. (**1/2. A good match between these two as they seem to have unlikely chemistry. Oddly enough, this match was taped on 7/7 so the Van Terminator move was introduced to fans prior to the debut of the move at Heatwave. Van Dam sold very well and made it believable that Mahoney was going to prevail.)
Final Thoughts:
A good show that focused heavily on wrestling as there was some decent wrestling on the program. I can’t really complain with the show.
Thanks for reading.