ECW Hardcore TV 8/29/1995

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling presents Hardcore TV
Date: 8/29/1995
From: Philadelphia, PA

Matches:
1.) Dean Malenko fought Eddie Guerrero to a draw in a best two out of three falls match

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) A video highlighting Dean Malenko is aired as it goes over his ECW career and what he has accomplished. It also highlights the career of Eddie Guerrero in ECW since this episode will feature the final showdown between Eddie and Dean before they head to WCW.

2.) We hear from Eddie Guerrero who thinks he is the better man but he isn’t sure and has to prove it to himself in the best two out of three falls match. By the way, Eddie isn’t the ECW Television Champion since he lost the belt the day before to 2 Cold Scorpio.

3.) Speaking of which, Joey Styles is in the ring and introduces the new ECW Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio for an interview. Joey reminds Scorpio that Taz is looking for him. Scorpio talks about being a three time champion and says the TV Championship is now his. He doesn’t care about Taz and if he wants some then he needs to come get some. He doesn’t care about the two out of three falls match because he is the champ.

4.) Both Guerrero and Malenko are given standing ovations and shown much appreciation and respect during their ring introductions. Most times, ECW fans would chant that someone sold out, but not in this case.

5.) The fans are begging for them to not leave as they trade holds on the canvas with neither man able to get an advantage. They continue to counter each other until Guerrero delivers a very sloppy looking springboard bulldog, which may have been an attempted arm drag. Eddie springs off the ropes to arm drag Malenko across the ring but doesn’t continue with the advantage. Guerrero slams Dean to the mat and hits a fisherman suplex for a two count. Malenko has an interesting submission hold which is a variation of the bow and arrow. Eddie gets out of the hold and uppercuts Malenko before sending Dean to the floor. Guerrero takes Malenko over with a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Guerrero continues with a kick to the head and crotches Dean on the top turnbuckle hitting a superplex for a near fall. Guerrero connects with a tilt a whirl back breaker and they trade a series of pin attempts with Eddie getting the first fall with a rollup. Guerrero: 1, Malenko: 0

Malenko dropkicks the knee of Guerrero, but it’s not sold by Eddie who comes back with a German suplex for a two count. Malenko gets Eddie down with a dropkick to the knee on a second attempt. Dean plants Eddie with a double leg slam and goes for the Texas Cloverleaf which he has locked in. Guerrero isn’t able to reach the ropes and is forced to submit. Guerrero: 1, Malenko: 1

Dean clotheslines Guerrero in the corner and spikes Eddie with a brain buster for a two count. Malenko continues with a heel kick to knock Guerrero to the floor where Malenko follows and sends Guerrero into the guard railing. Back in the ring, Eddie plants Malenko with a tornado DDT. Guerrero continues with a brain buster and heads to the top rope. Guerrero heads to the top rope and hits the frog splash for a two count. Eddie hits a nice hurricanrana but Dean continues to pop out at two. Guerrero goes to the top but is stopped by Malenko but Eddie is able to nearly win following a sunset flip power bomb. Malenko tosses Guerrero away to avoid a tornado DDT. Malenko connects with a gut buster, which the fans always seem to love. Guerrero counters a hip toss with a rollup for a two count. Malenko has a rollup on Guerrero but both men have their shoulders down and the referee counts a three. The referee calls the match a draw and the fans applaud both men instead of booing the finish. (***1/4. Okay, some people consider this a phenomenal match and whatnot, but I think that is more because of the circumstance and the crowd reaction for the men. At times, it is sloppy and the sequences just don’t flow very well. It is still a good match, but not an all-time classic, in my opinion. Memorable for these two leaving ECW and the fans ignoring any mess-ups and just appreciating two of the greatest talents to ever step foot in the ECW Arena.)

6.) Eddie Guerrero gets on the microphone and says stuff I can’t hear all that well. Malenko gets the microphone and actually speaks in ECW. Fans are making a ruckus but Malenko talks about coming to ECW not knowing what to expect when he arrived. Dean says that the fans have given him the respect and admiration for his abilities and he won’t ever forget hat. It has been a pleasure to compete in the ECW Arena each other time. He is a fan of ECW Wrestling and a fan of each every fan in the building. He will never forget ECW no matter where he goes. Guerrero and Malenko embrace as the Pitbulls, Public Enemy, Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman come down to embrace the wrestlers before putting them on their shoulders as the fans continue to show their love for them.

Final Thoughts:
The show is dedicated completely to Malenko and Guerrero, which is totally fine. We get a solid match and it allows them to hold off on continuing the other feuds going on for a week. Guerrero and Malenko leaving ECW sucks, but they deserve and should be on a national stage.

Thanks for reading.