Written by: Bob Colling
ECW on TNN
Date: 7/28/2000
From: Peoria, IL
Matches:
1.) ECW Television Champion Rhino defeated Chilly Willy to retain the title
2.) Psicosis defeated Little Guido
3.) Tommy Dreamer & Jerry Lynn defeated Steve Corino & Scotty Anton
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) The show starts with Rhino hitting his head with a chair in a match with Chilly Willy. Willy runs over Rhino with a clothesline for a near fall. Chilly plants Rhino with a power slam but soon gets nailed with a GORE! Rhino spikes Willy with a piledriver and that’s good enough for a three count. (NR. The match was joined in progress and basically just showed the finish of the match. Willy seemed to have had a decent crowd reaction, though.) After the match, Rhino sets up a table to use on Chilly but doesn’t realize that Sandman is in the ring. Sandman whacks Rhino with a kendo stick several times and spears Rhino through the table in the corner!
2.) Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins comes out to perform a song he wrote exclusively for Extreme Championship Wrestling. However, before he can perform, Lou E. Dangerously and the Network come out to prevent that from happening. Dangerously taunts Corgan and doesn’t know why Billy is in the ring. They are in the same building that Corino had confronted Fred Durst at the beginning of ECW run on TNN. Dangerously tells Billy that his music sucks and the band is breaking up because they can’t sell albums. Corgan teases hitting Dangerously with a guitar and does exactly that. The fans went nuts for that one. The Network enters the ring to go after Corgan but Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lynn run in to make the save for the singer. Dreamer challenges Scotty Anton and Steve Corino to an extreme death match later tonight!
3.) Little Guido and Big Sal attack Tajiri on the entrance way. Big Sal splashes Tajiri against the guard railing and Guido delivers a chair shot. Psicosis was originally supposed to wrestle Tajiri, but will now wrestle Guido instead.
4.) Guido starts the match with a sunset flip pin attempt for a near fall. Psicosis sends Guido to the floor with a hurricanrana. Psicosis heads to the top and takes both Sal and Guido out with a cross body on the floor! Guido gets yanked off the apron and falls face first across the apron. Psicosis hits a top rope spinning heel kick for a near fall. Guido comes back by dropping Psicosis face first into the canvas and works over Psicosis with stomps in the corner. Psicosis goes shoulder first into the corner and Guido rams his head into the ring post a few times. Guido hits the Sicilian Slice but Psicosis kicks out! Guido clotheslines Psicosis for another near fall. Guido leaps off the middle rope to deliver a dropkick to a seated Psicosis for another two count. Psicosis gets dumped to the floor where Big Sal hits a splash against the railing. Psicosis counters the Kiss of Death, but Guido hits a jaw breaker before locking in a the Sicilian Crab. Tajiri enters to deliver a kick to the face as Big Sal distracted the referee. Psicosis comes off the top and hits a leg drop for the win. (*1/4. Not a great match as it was a basic worked match for the most part. I do have interest in a Guido/Tajiri match though.)
5.) ECW Television Champion Rhino cuts a promo on Tajiri, Jerry Lynn and Sandman. Rhino says he is in Sandman’s thought every second of his life. Rhino also mentions RVD saying that he was wrongfully stripped of the title. Rhino simply says “shit happens.” Rhino tells any one of them to come and get the belt if they want to try and take it from him!
6.) Backstage, Rob Van Dam and Bill Alfonso cut a promo. Van Dam is ready to move one and mentions that he was the undefeated champion for two years prior to his injury. He puts himself over as being worth the price of admission by himself. He gives the fans what they want, and that’s Rob Van Dam.
7.) All four men brawl outside the ring to start the main event until Corino and Dreamer enter the ring to exchange blows. Dreamer drops Corino with a reverse neck breaker. Anton saves Corino from a Sharpshooter and puts the Clap on Dreamer himself. Lynn drives Anton down with a bulldog. Lynn runs into a boot in the corner but dropkicks Anton off the middle rope to the floor. Lynn leaps off the top to take Corino and Victory out with a cross body on the floor. Dreamer and Anton brawl into the crowd as are Corino and Lynn. Dreamer is knocked off the balcony by Anton while Lynn is hammering on a bloody Corino. Dreamer goes to the backstage area to bring a ladder to the ring. Dreamer brings Anton into the ring from the apron with a suplex. Anton is sent back first hard into the corner. Anton sends Dreamer face first into the ladder to gain control in their brawling exchange. Lynn grabs the ladder and looks to use it on Corino as well. Corino is sent back first into the ladder and Lynn sends the ladder into Steve’s face.
Corino gets some momentum by sending Lynn face first into the ladder as well. Anton and Corino have control of the match now. Dreamer comes off the ropes but is met with a double backdrop and Lynn is driven down to the mat with a double spine buster. Lynn misses a cross body and hits the referee on accident as Anton pulled the referee in the way. Dreamer gets crotched on the ladder thanks to Anton. Dreamer and Lynn hit a piledriver and DDT combo but Jack Victory pulls the referee out. Billy Corgan comes back out and attacks Victory. Dreamer and Lynn hit a cradle piledriver/DDT combo and Corgan makes the count to give Tommy and Jerry the win. (*1/2. It’s getting to the point that once you’ve seen one main event brawl in ECW, you’ve seen them all. This one wasn’t anything different or new from what I’ve been seeing from these guys over the past six months. The crowd didn’t seem to be reacting all that much, either.)
Final Thoughts:
A lackluster edition this week, I thought. The main event was just the same match I’ve been seeing for the past several months. The only real entertaining segment was between Corgan and Dangerously as the crowd went nuts for the guitar shot. Other than that, a skippable show.
Thanks for reading.