ECW House Show 4/26/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 4/26/1996
From: Jim Thorpe, PA

Opening Contest: Little Guido vs. Tommy Dreamer: Dreamer comes to the ring with Kimona and Beulah, which instantly makes his one of the better ECW house shows I’ve ever covered. Dreamer shoves Guido into the corner early into the contest. Guido bails to the floor to stall some time. Guido works over Dreamer in the corner with a shoulder ram. Dreamer blocks a big boot and kicks Guido in the groin. Dreamer sends Guido into the guard railing. Dreamer whacks Guido over the head with a cooking sheet and the same goes for JT Smith. Dreamer face plants Guido and connects with a shot to the groin. Guido attempts a cross body but Dreamer catches him and hits a power slam for a two count. Dreamer hip tosses Guido out of the corner followed by a knee drop to Guido’s groin. Dreamer attempts a piledriver but Smith prevents that from happening on the apron. Guido backdrops Dreamer over the top to the floor and Smith sends Dreamer into the guard railing. Guido works over Dreamer with several strikes on the floor. Guido controls Dreamer on the canvas with a leg lock but isn’t going to get a submission even with Smith providing extra leverage. Guido slams Dreamer followed by a knee drop. Guido misses a clothesline and Dreamer nearly wins with a cross body. Guido regains control stomping on Dreamer. Dreamer hammers away on Smith but Guido rolls Dreamer back into the ring. Dreamer almost wins with a rollup. Guido leg drops Dreamer and taunts the fans. Guido comes off the middle rope missing a headbutt. Dreamer puts Guido in the tree of woe. Beulah and Kimona pull on Guido’s groin followed by Dreamer delivering a right hand. Dreamer spikes Guido with a piledriver to counter a backdrop attempt getting a two count. JT Smith cheap shots Dreamer and Guido grabs a chair on the floor. Guido misses Dreamer nearly hitting Smith. Dreamer knocks Smith off and then plants Guido with a DDT onto the chair. (*1/4. It didn’t feel like Guido was any kind of threat to Dreamer here. Dreamer seems like such a bigger deal with two hot women with him and Guido being significantly smaller than him just made this feel like an extended squash match to me.)

Second Contest: Super Nova vs. El Puerto Ricano: Ricano and Nova trade some wrist locks to start the contest. Ricano hits a springboard hurricanrana and dropkicks Nova over the top to the floor. Ricano takes Nova out with a suicide dive on the floor. Nova comes back with a hip toss followed by a quick elbow drop for a two count. Nova scoop slams Ricano followed by a few leg drops. Nova puts a pendulum swing on Ricano before dropping him to the canvas. Nova gets a two count. Ricano nearly wins with a head scissors and stomps away on Nova. Nova atomic drops Ricano and hits a bicycle kick for a two count. Nova avoids Ricano in the corner before hitting a sit down power bomb out of the corner for a near fall. Nova slams Ricano and leaps off the top to hit a diving headbutt. Nova has the cover on Ricano for a near fall. Ricano nearly wins with an inside cradle. Ricano attempted a springboard moonsault but he completed botches that missing the middle rope. Ricano ends up getting the win with a frontward rollout. After the match, Ricano is attacked by a guy in the Bad Crew for some reason. (*1/2. This had some promise but the bad botch and Ricano using the same moves hurt it a great deal. Fans didn’t care about the action, at all.)

Third Contest: The Bad Crew vs. Axl Rotten & Hack Myers: This match is apparently on the show, but it looks like the camera noticeably neglected to cover the match, for whatever reason.

Fourth Contest: Taz vs. Mikey Whipwreck: Taz takes Whipwreck down to the canvas early on but Whipwreck reaches the ropes quickly. Bill Alfonso trips Whipwreck running the ropes and Todd Gordon comes out to attack Alfonso at ringside. Gordon handcuffs Alfonso to himself and they sit down at ringside. Whipwreck ducks a clothesline but is sent into the referee. Taz comes over and unlocks the handcuffs to free Alfonso. Taz grabs Gordon and Whipwreck accidentally hits a cross body on the floor! Taz takes Whipwreck over with an overhead belle to belly suplex. Taz locks in the Taz Mission and Whipwreck is passed out. That was quick. After the match, Taz destroys another wrestler who isn’t booked on the show and I’ve never seen before. Taz knocks him out with a chin lock as the fans chant for Sabu. That is interesting since they didn’t wrestle until April 1997. Talk about a slow build to a match, right?

New Jack & Mustafa and The Eliminators are in the ring and all four men are in the ring brawling to start the match with the Gangstas getting the better of the exchange. For some reason, the entire locker room empties and they are trying to break up the fight. This may not have been a scheduled match or something. Mustafa is sent backstage but there is still some brawling on the floor. The Pitbulls come out and they brawl with the Eliminators.

Fifth Contest: The Pitbulls vs. The Eliminators: The Pitbulls work over the Eliminators at the merchandise table before they head towards the ring. Saturn hits a German suplex on #1. #1 catches Saturn on a springboard moonsault and connects with a power slam. #1 backdrops Saturn and clotheslines Saturn over the top to the floor. #1 takes Saturn out with a dive to the floor. By the way, the Pitbulls have had their music playing the entire time. Kronus hit a handspring back elbow on #2 in the corner. Saturn and #1 continue to brawl on the floor. Saturn and #1 brawl in the ring with Saturn using a chair on him. Saturn comes off the top hitting a cross body in the crowd! #2 runs into a boot in the corner and rolls to the floor. #2 whacks Kronus over the head with a weapon that the crowd had. Saturn comes off the middle rope to clothesline #1. #1 nails Saturn with a spinning heel kick after sending Saturn chest first into the corner. Kronus sends #2 into the guard railing back first. Saturn puts #1 on the middle rope to hit a back suplex. All four men are in the ring brawling but it’s getting really sloppy at this point. Saturn and Kronus are sent into each other. Kronus and #1 crash over the top to the floor. Saturn is left in the ring with the Pitbulls and they attempt the Super Bomb, but Saturn counters with a hurricanrana managing to get a near fall. #1 press slams Saturn and hits a spinning heel kick in the corner. #1 quickly gets back up and tries for a chair shot off the top but Saturn dropkicks him in midair. Saturn gets crotched by Francine on the top rope. Kronus and Saturn hit the Total Elimination on #1 for the win. They were trying to do the move on Francine, but #1 took the move to save her. After the match, Francine is hit with Total Elimination anyway. (**. Yeah, it was a sloppy match but they did some good stuff and it held my interest throughout. They riled up the crowd and I think that’s a successful match here.)

Sixth Contest: New Jack & Mustafa vs. ECW Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio & Sabu: Jack gets in a fans face in the front row as the bell sounded and backs away as Mustafa starts the match with Sabu. Mustafa trips Sabu down the canvas a couple of times. They actually trade some mat wrestling holds on the canvas. As per usual, it’s the kind of beginning of a match that you wouldn’t expect from these guys. Sabu takes Mustafa over with a standing hurricanrana. Sabu gets nailed by Jack in the apron to drop Sabu in the corner. Mustafa comes off the ropes to big boot Sabu to the canvas. Scorpio and Jack begin to brawl on the floor so it doesn’t take too long for the match to completely breakdown. Mustafa and Sabu are brawling on the floor as well with Mustafa hitting Sabu with a chair. Sabu sends Mustafa into the guard railing back first. Mustafa rolls Sabu back into the ring with a chair brought in as well. Mustafa power slams Sabu on the steel chair. Scorpio and Jack are brawling in the chair throwing tables and chairs at each other. Sabu hit a springboard heel kick on Mustafa as Jack and Scorpio make their way back towards the ring. Mustafa scoop slams Sabu as Scorpio and Jack are in the ring. Scorpio slams Jack and knee drops Jack. Mustafa heads to the top and Sabu cuts Mustafa off. Sabu springboards off the chair to knock Mustafa to the floor. Sabu continues with a baseball slide. Mustafa catches Sabu on a cross body attempt to the floor and rams Sabu into the guard railing. Back in the ring, Jack had pinned Scorpio but the cameraman missed the spot. (1/2*. Just some brawling but nothing earth shattering here by these guys.) After the match, Scorpio gets on a microphone and he puts down Sabu which leads to the next match.

Seventh Contest: ECW Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu: Scorpio drives Sabu down to the canvas with a power bomb to start the contest. Scorpio follows up with a twisting splash off the top rope but Sabu kicks out at two. Scorpio heads to the top after a knee drop to hit a moonsault for a near fall. Scorpio attempts another power bomb but Sabu gets out of it and hit a springboard moonsault for a two count. Sabu hits a split legged moonsault for a near fall. Sabu hammers away on Scorpio in the corner to drop him. Sabu sends Scorpio into the corner chest first and sets a chair up to hit a springboard splash in the corner. Sabu puts Scorpio on the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Scorpio nails Sabu with a spin kick. Scorpio heads to the top rope but is cut off by Sabu with a right hand. Sabu dropkicks Scorpio off the top to the floor. Sabu takes Scorpio out with a somersault dive to the outside. Sabu sets a table up on the floor laying it across the guard railing and apron. Sabu rams Scorpio face first onto the table and lays him across it. Sabu heads to the top and misses an axe handle as Scorpio rolled off the table. Scorpio lays Sabu on the table and goes to the top rope. Scorpio decides to step down and flips off the crowd. Scorpio splashes Sabu in the corner and puts him on the top rope. Scorpio misses a hurricanrana attempt as Sabu held onto the ropes. Sabu takes Scorpio out with a somersault dive for a near fall. Sabu thrusts Scorpio into the corner and puts him on the top turnbuckle again. Sabu gets a chair from a fan and uses it to springboard to the top, but Scorpio shoves him off and Sabu crashes through the table on the floor. Scorpio gets the microphone and tells Sabu “There’s your fucking title shot.” Scorpio leaves the area to end the match. This didn’t even really feel like a match and was just two guys doing top rope spots with no story being told. The fans didn’t even see overly invested in it, either.

Prior to the main event, Shane Douglas get a microphone and cuts a promo saying that he thinks people want to see history made tonight. Douglas calls out Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels to come out to Jim Thorpe and he’ll take their belts, too. However, he’ll settle for taking Raven’s championship tonight. Stevie Richards grabs a microphone introduces his buddies Super Nova and Blue Meanie. Stevie has Meanie show what kind of shape he is in by doing some exercises. Meanie collapses after two pushups and gets stomped by Douglas. Richards taunts Douglas saying that he couldn’t beat Ahmed Johnson in the WWF what would make him think he could beat Raven.

Main Event: ECW World Champion Raven vs. Shane Douglas: Douglas gets a backslide on Raven for a two count and another one with an inside cradle. Douglas tries for another pin with a sunset flip, but Raven kicks out and rolls to the floor. Raven returns to the ring and puts Douglas in a headlock. Raven comes off the ropes with a shoulder block but Douglas dropkicks the champ to the floor. Douglas takes Raven out with a slingshot cross body to the floor. Douglas sends Raven into the guard railing before returning to the ring. They trade wrist locks with Douglas getting control of Raven on the canvas. Douglas twists the right leg of Raven and delivers a headbutt to the lower midsection. Douglas decides to take Meanie out with a slingshot cross body on the floor. Douglas returns to the ring and keeps Raven on the mat with a leg lock but Raven won’t give up. Douglas jumps down onto the right leg of Raven across the bottom rope. Raven is struggling on his feet as Douglas delivers a chop block to keep the champ on the canvas. Douglas keeps control of the leg and tells Raven to quit, but the champ won’t. Douglas spears Raven in the corner and puts his legs over the middle rope followed by right hands. Douglas has a steel chair and whacks Raven over the back kind of weakly. Douglas whacks Raven over the back with a steel chair and nearly pins Raven. Douglas misses a spear in the corner and hits the ring post shoulder first. Raven has the steel chair whacks Douglas with it a few times. Raven snap mares Douglas and controls his left arm. Raven sends Douglas through the middle rope to the floor where Stevie Richards and Meanie get a cheap shot in. Raven sends Douglas back first into the guard railing followed by a shoulder first ram into the ring post. Raven hits Douglas with the microphone to drop him on the floor. Richards whacks Douglas over the back on the floor with a metal object. Raven sends Douglas into the guard railing back first.

Back in the ring, Raven takes Douglas down with an arm breaker for a two count. Raven sends Douglas into the corner with a hammerlock shoulder first. Raven takes Douglas over with a snap suplex for a two count. Douglas stops Raven with a low blow in the corner. Douglas delivers two more low blows to drop Raven to his knees. Douglas atomic drops Raven a couple of times. Douglas crotches Raven over the top rope and shakes the ropes causing Raven to crash to the canvas. Douglas signals for a figure four and locks it in right in the middle of the ring. Douglas puts a figure four on Raven but the champ reaches the ropes quickly. Meanie tried to hit a top rope moonsault, but Douglas easily moved out of the way. Douglas sends Raven into the corner a couple of times. Douglas misses a running chair strike and accidentally nails the referee with it. Douglas takes off Raven’s right boot and looks for a figure four but gets distracted by Richards. Richards enters to hit Douglas with Raven’s boot and Raven lands on top to win the match. (*1/2. I think the finish was messed up by Richards who didn’t enter the ring on the right cue, it seemed like. They never seemed to get out of first gear and the match just felt like it was dragging along.) After the match, Meanie tries to attack Douglas but Douglas takes him out with a belly to belly suplex to get some heat back. Here comes Super Nova and he gets met with an atomic drop and bulldog landing on Meanie’s groin. Douglas rubs Nova’s head into Meanie’s ass, too. Douglas gives Meanie a wedgie and scares Nova out of the ring when he grabs a steel chair.

Final Thoughts:
There’s just not much here for entertainment purposes. I’ve really finding that on paper these shows look like they could be good, but the motivation just doesn’t seem to be there by a lot of the guys to put on a great effort if they aren’t in the ECW Arena or a big market. Thus, this get a thumbs down from me. Jim Thorpe doesn’t seem to get treated with good wrestling all that often.

Thanks for reading.