ECW House Show 2/14/1997

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 2/14/1997
From: Webster, MA

Opening Contest: Scott Taylor vs. Taz: As per usual with Taz on the house show market during his timeframe, he controls Taylor with some mat wrestling. Yes, Taylor is Scotty 2 Hotty of WWF/E fame. Taylor does manage to knock Taz down with a standing spin kick and dropkick, which is the most offense a jobber has gotten on Taz in quite sometime. Taylor even takes Taz out with a springboard cross body to the floor! Taylor keeps stomping on Taz but that offense doesn’t last as Taz hits a suplex. Taz decks Taylor with a clothesline after a rollup attempt. Taylor avoids Taz in the corner and crotches Taz into the ring post. Taylor hits a springboard clothesline but only manages a two count. Taz takes Taylor over with an exploder suplex. Taz locks in the Taz Mission and that causes a tap out. (***. Alright, call me nuts, but that was a hell of a fun match to kick off the match. Yeah, there was never a doubt that Taz was going to win, but damn if Taylor didn’t provide some fun offense and kept it far more competitive than I was expecting. I would have taken more of Taylor in ECW with this style, for sure.)

Second Contest: Little Guido vs. Chris Chetti: Early on, Chetti controls the arm of Guido before hitting a dropkick sending Guido to the floor. Guido gets a two count on a sunset flip pin attempt but plants Chetti with a sit down power bomb to keep control of the bout. Guido nails Chetti with a clothesline for another two count. Guido slams Chetti and delivers a leg drop for a two count. Guido drives Chetti face first into the canvas but isn’t able to keep Chetti down. Chetti fights back with some strikes but an eye rake stops his offense. Chetti nearly wins with an inside cradle. Guido avoids a dropkick by hanging onto the ropes. Guido puts a Boston Crab on but Chetti reaches the ropes to break the hold. Guido sends Chetti into the corner but runs into a big boot. Chetti blocks a crucifix attempt with a Samoan Drop. Chetti gets another near fall after a kick to the head. Chetti delivers a swinging neck breaker but Guido kicks out at two. Chetti power slams Guido and heads to the top rope. Chetti misses a top rope swanton bomb. Guido goes to the top but he misses a leg drop. Guido gets a rollup on Chetti and wins the match. (**. Not too bad of a match, but nothing overly great here as it felt pretty basic. They didn’t seem to mesh very well and the fans didn’t seem to care all that much about the action. They’ve done a lot better in different matches.)

Third Contest: Spike Dudley vs. Axl Rotten: Axl acts like a bully tossing Spike around to start the match. The fans are really against Rotten, but Axl slams Dudley only to be met with an arm drag and dropkick sending him to the floor. Spike takes Rotten out with a somersault dive off the apron to the floor. Spike continues to work over Rotten but is backdropped over the top to the floor. Axl leaps off the apron to hit an elbow drop onto Spike on the floor. Axl sends Spike head first into the ring steps and guard railing. Rotten drives Spike down with a back suplex and taunts the fans as their little hero is on the mat hurting. Spike avoids a sit down splash attempt and pummels Rotten with a few strikes. Spike heads to the top and hits a missile dropkick. Spike hits a bulldog out of the corner. Here comes Bubba to attack Spike while the referee is distracted hitting an ace crusher allowing Rotten to get the win. (*1/2. Nothing going on here for the most part. It was odd to see Spike actually competing in a longer match since he normally squashes bigger guys. The loss makes sense considering it isn’t clean, and Spike isn’t going to be hurt at all by it.) After the match, Bubba gets in the ring and embraces with Rotten before grabbing Spike and allowing Rotten to deliver another clothesline.

Fourth Contest: Lenny Lane vs. Beef Wellington: Hey! It’s Lenny Lane of WCW fame in an ECW ring, that’s pretty cool. Fairly certain that Lane was competing in WCW at this point, too. Wellington takes Lane to the mat but Lane rolls to the floor quickly to regroup and the fans hate that tactic. Wellington takes Lane down to the canvas again controlling the ankle, but Lenny quickly goes to the ropes to break the hold. Lane drives Wellington into the corner and delivers a chops to get control but that’s short-lived. Wellington decks Lane with a few strikes until Lane delivers a shot to the midsection. Lane drives Beef down to the mat with a side slam. Wellington counters a catapult but tossing Lane across the ring. Lane hits a head scissors takedown and clotheslines Beef over the top to the floor. Lane fakes a dive to the floor and the fans don’t like that, so Lane hits a somersault dive over the top to the floor to take Wellington out. “You ain’t shit” chant towards Lane following that dive. Wellington hits a German suplex but only manages a two count on the cover. Wellington chops Lane in the corner a few times. Lane runs into a big boot and is met with a clothesline. Wellington heads to the top rope to deliver a leaping clothesline but Lane pops his shoulder up at two. Lane counters a power bomb with a rollup for a two count. Lane hits a side slam and heads to the top rope. Lane misses a twisting dive crashing to the canvas. Wellington power bombs Lane but only gets a near fall. Wellington hits a superplex and locks in a weird looking ankle lock for the victory. (**. Lane had some fine high spots, but Wellington didn’t do much for me here, so of course he goes over since he was part of the Japanese crew for the show. This probably went a little longer than it should have, but oh well.)

Fifth Contest: Dick Togo, Mens Teioh & Taka Michinoku vs. Gran Hamada, The Great Sasuke & Gran Naniwa: If I had to guess, this might be difficult to properly cover. Taka and Sasuke kick off the match with Sasuke attempting a few kicks but missing Taka early on. Sasuke eventually does deliver a kick to Taka’s head to drop him and tags in Hamada to keep control as Hamada delivered a scoop slam. Naniwa tags in and gets some basic offense in on Taka. Taka scoop slams Naniwa and his partners enter to deliver elbow drops. Togo tags in and hits a standing senton splash after a double stomp. Teioh enters and keeps control with stomps and an elbow drop. Taka gets taken down and Sasuke tags back in to hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Taka gets out of an arm submission and decks Sasuke with a right hand a few times. Taka backs Sasuke against the ropes but is sent to the floor. Togo and Hamada enter the match with both men trading strikes. Togo kicks Hamada on the side of the head. Togo is arm dragged to the floor where Hamada hit a cross body to the floor Naniwa hip tosses Taka to the corner and plays to the crowd. Naniwa heads to the middle rope and hits a big splash for a near fall on Taka. Sasuke enters and stomps on Taka a few times until Teioh gets tagged in and works over the arm of Sasuke. Sasuke comes back with a dropkick and backs Teioh into his corner to allow Hamada to enter and has an arm breaker locked in briefly.

Taka comes back in but accidentally knocks Teioh to the floor. Hamada with a tilt a whirl side slam on Taka and a clothesline. Naniwa clotheslines Taka for a two count. Togo works over Naniwa with strikes in the corner. Togo hits a springboard cross body but doesn’t go for a cover. Naniwa hits a tilt a whirl back breaker but Teioh gets involved before a cover. Sasuke goes after Teioh until Taka attacks from behind. Sasuke is dropkicked by both Togo and Teioh on the apron. Taka gets a Boston Crab on Sasuke but Sasuke is held by Hamada to allow a dropkick by Togo. Sasuke is triple teamed as Togo taunts the fans while on Sasuke’s back. Taka and Togo hit a spike piledriver on Hamada for a two count. Togo works over Naniwa in the corner for a few moments. Taka gets involved for a two count. Teioh hits a suplex but only manages a near fall again. Naniwa is tossed down by Togo with a German suplex and Teioh gets a near fall with another suplex. Sasuke stops a Taka pin attempt with a kick but Taka no sells it and hits a German on Naniwa. Hamada drives Taka down with a vertical suplex for a two count. Taka is met with a double chop by Sasuke and Hamada. Sasuke has a half Boston Crab locked in but doesn’t get a submission. Sasuke kicks Teioh away but Teioh plants Sasuke with a DDT. Sasuke gets driven down by a triple team power bomb but the cover is broken up. Sasuke ducks a clothesline to hit a moonsault on Togo and Teioh. Sasuke kicks Taka on the floor and hits another dangerous moonsault hitting the stage knee first. Hamada with a tornado DDT on Togo and a top rope hurricanrana for a two count as Teioh breaks up the cover. Teioh nearly pins Naniwa and decks him with a roaring forearm shot. Naniwa hits a spinning power bomb on Teioh for a two count. Sasuke with a springboard moonsualt nearly pins Taka. Sasuke runs into an overhead belly to belly suplex by Taka and followed by the Michinoku Driver! Taka goes for a springboard but is met with a dropkick in midair. Hamada puts Teioh on the top ripe but is stopped by a middle rope atomic drop! Taka is kicked by Naniwa on the middle rope but dives off the top rope to take Sasuke out on the floor. Doomsday Device on Naniwa but that’s still not good enough for a three count. Togo with a power bomb on Naniwa and hits a top rope senton splash to finally win the match. (****. So, that’s the best ECW house show match i’ve ever seen, and it’s not even close. While it was a slow start, once they got going they delivered a hell of a match and the fans were into all the craziness. Well done by these guys and that will be impossible to follow.)

Prior to the next match, Stevie Richards calls out the man who will complete the BWO, and that just so happens to be Tommy Dreamer who comes out with Beulah. Richards recognizes Dreamer for being a great wrestler and knows that Dreamer would make the BWO complete. He wants to offer Dreamer a spot in the BWO. Dreamer declines the shirt and Richards tries to convince Dreamer that this isn’t a joke. Beulah takes the shirt and puts it on but Raven attacks Dreamer from behind and Beulah knew that it was trap. Richards says that it wasn’t a trap and confronts Raven. Dreamer nearly pins Raven on a rollup as the next match starts.

Sixth Contest: ECW World Champion Raven & Stevie Richards vs. Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman: Raven confronts Richards and invites a fight to take place. Dreamer tosses powder into Raven’s face. Blue Meanie enters only to get knocked by Raven and the same for Nova. Raven plants Richards with a DDT and the Sandman rolls into the ring drinking a beer. Sandman spits the beer into Raven’s face and hits a sloppy looking DDT. Dreamer is up and grabs a beer from Sandman to celebrate their union for the match. Raven is sent to the floor following a clothesline. Sandman dives over the top to hit Raven with a kendo stick shot across the back. Raven gets a chair kicked into his face by Dreamer on the floor. Sandman nails Raven with another chair shot on the floor. Raven is sent into the steps by the entranceway. Dreamer hits Raven with several beer shots. Raven is in the ring by himself as Richards sits on the top rope enjoying the action. Dreamer holds Raven and Richards attempts a super kick but accidentally hits Dreamer. Raven holds Sandman but Richards kicks Raven on accident. Richards ducks a clothesline and super kicks Sandman knocking all three men out in the match! Raven low blows Sandman and Dreamer but is backdropped. Dreamer plants Raven with a DDT and Sandman gets the win. (*1/2. Well, that was a quick bout, but fairly entertaining. There wasn’t any type of rules to the match. The heels, mostly Raven, got his butt kicked and that’s what the fans wanted here.)

Seventh Contest: Sabu vs. D-Von Dudley: Sabu takes D-Von down to the canvas early on, but there isn’t much substance there. D-Von punches Sabu a few times knocking him to the floor. D-Von has a chair but misses a chair shot attempt. Sabu hits a springboard dropkick and gets a two count. Sabu locks in a camel clutch but isn’t going to get a submission. D-Von clotheslines Sabu and taunts the fans only to be met with a kick to chest. Sabu dropkicks the knee of D-Von and followed up with another kick. Sabu takes D-Von out with a somersault dive to the floor. Sabu tosses a chair at D-Von and rolls him into the ring to continue the advantage with a chair shot. Sabu springboards off the chair to splash D-Von in the corner. D-Von avoids another splash by clotheslining Sabu off of the chair. D-Von drops Sabu with a forearm shot and taunts the crowd. D-Von nails Sabu with a chair shot but only gets a two count on the cover. D-Von leaps off the middle rope to hit a leg drop for a near fall. Sabu hits a springboard heel kick and a springboard moonsault but only gets a near fall on the cover. D-Von plants Sabu with a power slam for a two count. D-Von hits a front suplex but can’t put Sabu away. D-Von goes to the top with a chair but gets the chair kicked into his face in midair. Sabu hits the triple jump moonsault and that’s good enough for the three. (*. My lack of interest in this was quite high. They kept it pretty predictable and it wasn’t all that entertaining.) After the match, Joel Gertner enters the ring and awards the match to D-Von Dudley based on points, Of course, Sabu attacks Gertner. Bubba Ray Dudley is in the ring and power bombs Sabu followed by a splash from D-Von.

Eighth Contest: Balls Mahoney vs. Bobby Duncum Jr.: Duncum attacks Mahoney before the bell and uses his cowbell to keep Mahoney on the canvas. Duncum drops Mahoney with another cowbell shot to the head. Balls is busted wide open as Bobby continues to work over Mahoney with strikes on the floor. Bobby tosses Mahoney through a table on the floor. Mahoney stops Duncum with a short arm clothesline. Mahoney misses a top rope leg drop. Bobby delivers a leg drop, big boot and a lariat for a two count. Duncum nearly wins following a power slam. Duncum hits a bulldog and that gets the win. (DUD. Sloppy and quick, which was ideal for this.) After the match, Duncum hits Mahoney with the cowbell because he can.

Ninth Contest: Tommy Dreamer vs. Tommy Rich: Dreamer avoids Rich at the start and hammers away on Rich knocking him to the floor. Tommy has a chair but Rich puts Beulah in the way and decks Dreamer with a right hand. Rich sends Dreamer into the guard railing back first. In the ring, Rich sends Dreamer hard back first into the corner and keeps control on the mat. Rich jabs a chair into Dreamer’s face on the canvas. Rich misses a fist drop hitting the chair on accident. Dreamer plants Rich with a piledriver. Rich grabs Beulah to avoid another chair shot but Beulah low blows Rich. Dreamer hits a DDT onto the chair and wins the match.

Tenth Contest: Louie Spicolli vs. Bubba Ray Dudley: Bubba whacks Louie with a chair shot at the start of the match to get the early advantage. Bubba tosses Spicolli to the floor and sends him into the railing followed by another chair shot over the head. Spike Dudley comes out and attacks Bubba on the floor until D-Von Dudley comes out and the match is thrown out. Bubba knocks Spike out on the floor. D-Von whacks Louie with a steel chair over the head.

ECW TV Champion Shane Douglas comes out on crutches which means he won’t be defending against Pitbull #1 in a highly anticipated match scheduled to take place on the show. Douglas blames a groin muscle injury he suffered while working out with Francine for his inability to defend the title tonight. They pick a name out of a hat and it’s Rob Van Dam. RVD doesn’t understand why he is fighting battles for Douglas as he’d rather battle Douglas. RVD kicks a chair into Pitbull #1’s face to start the match.

Eleventh Contest: Rob Van Dam vs. Pitbull #1: Brian Lee hits Pitbull with a few cheap shots from the outside. RVD tosses a chair into Pitbull’s face and plays to the crowd. Pitbull #2 has come down to ringside as RVD works over #1 with strikes. RVD dropkicks a chair into #1 face in the corner. Pitbull clotheslines RVD and gets a second wind. Pitbull gets a two count following a standing sidekick for a near fall. Pitbull nails RVD with a kick to the back of his head. Pitbull avoids a kick and power bombs RVD for a two count. RVD nails Pitbull with a scissors kick. Pitbull #2 attacks Douglas on the floor while RVD is slammed onto a chair. Pitbull #1 hits a neck breaker and Francine gets on the apron. Douglas whacks Pitbull with his crutch while Pitbull #2 brawled on the floor and RVD gets the pin fall (*. Well, that was pointless.) After the match, Brian Lee hit a choke slam on Pitbull #2, who no sold it, but a second one keeps him down.

Main Event: ECW Tag Team Champions The Eliminators vs. Brian Lee & Chris Candido: Killer Kowalski is at ringside with the tag champs. Candido and Saturn kick off the title match with neither man getting a clear advantage. Saturn shoulder blocks Candido but they have a standoff after a missed kick attempt. Saturn strikes Candido a few times followed by a leg sweep. Candido backs away and tags in Lee to try his luck. Saturn kicks Lee a few times but runs into a clothesline. Kronus gets in the ring and is also met with a clothesline. The champs double team Lee delivering a few kicks. Kronus hits a standing moonsault and Saturn hits a springboard moonsault. Candido is met with a scissors kick from Saturn. Saturn leaps off the top to take out Lee on the floor. Saturn is sent into Lee against the railing by Killer. Lee sends Saturn into the ring post and they brawl on the floor. Kronus hits a vertical suplex on Candido. Lee choke slams Kronus off the apron through a table at ringside. Saturn is met with a double big boot by the challengers. Candido decks Saturn with a right hand and follows up with a vertical suplex. Lee enters and power slams Saturn for a two count. Lee tags in Candido but Candido misses a splash off the top and lands across Saturn’s knees.

Lee whacks Kronus with a chair shot as if he needed to since Kronus is still out due to the table spot. Candido leg drops Saturn but is stopped by Saturn with a kick. Candido puts Saturn on the top turnbuckle and they both fall off to the canvas. Kronus works over Lee with strikes as he busted wide open. Kronus sends Candido into Lee and hits a handspring back elbow in the corner. Eliminators hit double spinning heel kicks on Candido. Lee is kicked by the Eliminators a couple of times. Lee has Saturn for a choke slam but Killer Kowalski gets in the ring as Kronus kicks Lee to make the save. Saturn backdrops Candido and nearly wins with a rollup. Saturn hits a top rope elbow drop on Candido. Lee sets a table up on the floor. Killer Kowalski gets in the match after originally missing his spot. Lee is hip tossed over the top through a table by Saturn. Kowalski puts the claw hold on Candido’s groin before he gets dumped to the floor. Lee is tossed back into the ring by Kowalski. Lee gets to his feet and is met with Total Elimination which is good enough for a three count. (***. A fine main event that had some decent brawling in there and they kept some good pacing. The crowd was into it and the finish was pretty good as Lee took a nice table bump towards the end of the match. A good way to end the show, I thought.)

Final Thoughts:
There are a few good matches on the show, but the six man tag takes the show for in-ring stuff. As a whole, the show doesn’t deliver to recommend it, but check out the six man tag if its ever on YouTube. The main event and opener were good, too, but there just is too much filler that bogs the show down too much.

Thanks for reading.