ECW Hardcore TV 8/17/1993

Written by: Bob Colling

Eastern Championship Wrestling presents Hardcore TV
Date: 8/17/1993
From: Philadelphia, PA

Matches:
1.) Ivan Koloff & Vladimir Koloff fought the Headhunters to a double disqualification in a first round match to determine the ECW Tag Team Champions
2.) ECW Heavyweight Champion Don Muraco defeated The Metal Maniac to retain the title
3.) The Sandman & Salvatore Bellomo defeated Rich Michaels & Tony Stetson in a first round match to determine the ECW Tag Team Champions
4.) Stan Hansen defeated ECW Television Champion Jimmy Snuka by disqualification

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) The 8/10 episode was just a best of ECW episode. So, I’ll continue to original content here. The next few episodes will have a tournament to crown the first ever ECW Tag Team Champions on them.

2.) It’s revealed that Eddie Gilbert will team with Abdullah the Butcher to take on Terry Funk and Stan Hansen at Ultra Clash in a bunkhouse brawl match. That sounds like a bloody mess just waiting to happen.

3.) Eddie Gilbert bets Jay Sulli $1,000 that he can find a new person to host the show and can do a better job than Sulli. Gilbert leaves the studio, which is just someones house. Gilbert walks the street and finds a random guy who doesn’t have any teeth named John Gil. Sulli can’t believe Gilbert found someone. Sulli sees the guy wearing a Gilbert t-shirt and says this is a setup. Gilbert demands that Sulli pay him the $1,000.

4.) Ivan and Vladimir Koloff are ready for the Headhunters and they are going to find out just how tough they are tonight. They are going to win the tag team tournament.

5.) Bob Artese announces that if there is a draw or a double disqualification there will be a coin toss to determine the winner. Naturally, the first match has a double DQ finish and there is a coin toss to give the Koloff’s a victory.

6.) Don Muraco says that he is looking for some competition since he has beaten everyone brought into ECW. Tod Gordon says that Muraco has a challenger for his belt next week. It’s none other than Tito Santana who says he is coming for Muraco and the heavyweight championship. Santana hasn’t forgotten about the time he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Muraco claims there was never any proof of Santana actually beating him at the Boston Gardens.

7.) Stan Hansen comes out and puts his hands on Tod Gordon and gets probably the biggest reaction in ECW history to this point. Hansen says he wants Jimmy Snuka and the ECW Television Championship tonight.

8.) ECW Television Champion Jimmy Snuka thinks that Stan Hansen is scared since he has a big mouth. Snuka says he is going to take care of business tonight.

9.) Snuka attacks Hansen before the bell with right hands against the ropes. Hansen hip tosses Snuka and sends Jimmy over the top to the floor. Hansen goes after Eddie Gilbert but Snuka leaps off the apron to deliver an axe hand and chokes Hansen with a small table at ringside. Snuka chops Hansen and Stan bails to the floor to regroup where he hits Snuka with a chair a couple of times. Hansen sends Snuka into Gilbert on the floor. Hansen controls Snuka in the ring with a sleeper hold. Snuka battles back with a few back handed strikes and a kick to the gut. Hansen stops Snuka with an elbow strike and delivers a DDT for a near fall. Snuka sends Hansen into the ropes, but Hansen nearly falls through the ropes. Hansen hits a lariat on Snuka but Eddie Gilbert breaks up the cover and causes the disqualification. After the match, Freddie Gilbert gets involved but gets taken care of. Hansen spanks Freddie and tosses him over the top to the floor. (*1/4. I really enjoyed Stan Hansen here and the crowd popped big for his appearance. The action wasn’t good, but it went by faster than others because the fans were clearly interested in the action.)

10.) Stan Hansen grabs a microphone and talks about Terry Funk and fighting him everywhere but this time they are going to be partners. They are coming for Abdullah the Butcher and Eddie Gilbert on September 18th.

Final Thoughts:
Gilbert is great at his heel gimmick and is easily the star of ECW along with Funk, for the most part. As I mentioned before, Hansen seems to be a perfect fit for ECW as the fans gave him a great response and he seemed to be interested in working hard. At least some of the pieces of ECW are starting to come together.

Thanks for reading.