ECW House Show 8/14/1998

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 8/14/1998
From: Auburn, NY

Opening Contest: Tracy Smothers & Little Guido vs. Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney: Tommy Rich is at ringside for the match and before the start he wanted fight the referee which leads to a comedy moment where the referee prepares for battle but that doesn’t happen. Guido and Rotten kick off the match with Rotten backing Guido into the corner by threatening to use a chair. Guido tries for a takedown but Rotten gets out of it. Rotten is accusing Guido of humping him and Guido is denying it. Oh boy, then Axl accuses Guido of trying to perform oral on him, which Guido again denies. Axl spanks Guido over his knee and humps Rich. So, this is going a complete comedy match.

Mahoney enters and leg drops Guido after a drop toe hold from Rotten. Guido crawls to his corner in front of Smothers groin, which causes another chant about Guido wanting to do oral sex on another man. Smothers tags in and they are just stalling for time to get the crowd to react to them. Smothers backs Mahoney into a corner and delivers a few strikes. Mahoney clotheslines Tracy followed by a few punches. Mahoney catches Smothers in the corner but Smothers comes back with a jumping heel kick. Smothers ducks a clothesline but Mahoney connects with a super kick. Mahoney plants Smothers with a sit out power bomb followed by a slam. Mahoney heads to the top rope but misses a leg drop. Smothers dumps Mahoney to the floor and Tommy Rich hits him with a flag several times. Guido rams Mahoney onto the apron face first. Rich rams Mahoney face first onto the timekeepers table before allowing Guido to stomp on him in the ring. Smothers tags in to hit a dropkick as Guido continues with a side Russian leg sweep. Mahoney gets double teamed with stomps. Mahoney gets yanked down to the canvas and the FBI connects with a double elbow drop. Mahoney plants Guido with a side suplex and tags in Rotten. Rotten cleans house with strikes to stagger the FBI. Rotten continues with a clothesline and knocks Rich off the apron. Rotten and Smothers hit their finishing moves and double pin them. Rotten hit a lifting reverse DDT while Mahoney hit the Nutcracker Suite. (*1/2. The comedy stuff was dirty, but kind of funny. Once the match actually started it actually wasn’t too bad. I just prefer faster pace matches. I think if I were to go to an ECW show the first match wouldn’t be comedy but rather something hardcore, but that’s just me.) After the match, Rich and Smothers tease that they are going to fight but Guido stops them and they makeup.

Second Contest: Mike Awesome vs. Dr. Luther: Well, this Dr. Luther guy sure looks like a creep. Luther starts the match with a few kicks but gets pie faced by Awesome. Awesome stops him with a big boot and clothesline. Awesome misses a splash in the corner and Luther delivers a few kicks. Awesome comes off the middle rope with an elbow strike. Luther backdrops Awesome to the apron, but Awesome slips and falls to the floor. Luther brings the action back into the ring hammering away on Awesome. Luther clotheslines Awesome in the corner but is met with a boot and clothesline from Awesome moments later. Luther avoids a clothesline but not a second attempt. One fan can be heard asking “what the hell was that?” which is never a good sign. Awesome takes Luther out with a dive over the top to the floor. Awesome sends Luther into the guard railing back first. Awesome hits Luther a chair before bringing the match back to the ring. Luther low blows Awesome before hitting a spinning heel kick. Luther goes to the top and hits a somersault dive to take Awesome out on the floor. Luther sends Awesome into the guard railing back first. Luther jabs the chair into Awesome’s face before rolling back into the ring. Luther hits a top rope spinning heel kick for a near fall. Luther comes off the ropes to kick Awesome down to the canvas. Luther continues with a neck breaker for a near fall. Luther scoop slams Awesome and connects with a knee drop. Luther gets tossed off the top rope and Awesome drops Luther throat first over the top rope. Awesome works over Luther a steel chair hitting a splash in the corner with the chair. Awesome scoop slams Luther and heads to the top rope. Awesome leaps off hitting a big splash but Luther kicks out. Awesome goes for the Awesome Bomb but Luther gets out of it and boots Awesome. Luther goes to the top rope attempting a somersault but Awesome just slams him. Awesome finishes Luther off with a running Awesome Bomb. (*. There was pretty much no reason for this match to go this long whatsoever. Awesome does really well in a match where he just destroys people and moves on. Considering Luther is a virtual nobody, this should have been easy work for Awesome and not so competitive.)

Third Contest: Mike Lozansky vs. Mikey Whipwreck: Lozansky tries for a rollup within the first second of the match but only gets a two count. Lozansky knee lifts Whipwreck followed by dropkick to send Mikey to the floor. Lozansky continues with a slingshot cross body to the floor. Mikey sends Lozansky back first into the guard railing. Whipwreck brings the action back into the ring with Whipwreck hitting a slingshot neck snap for a two count. Whipwreck tries for the Whippersnapper but Lozansky soon counters with a power bomb. Lozansky takes Whipwreck over with a snap suplex and an elbow drop for a two count. Mikey counters with a rollup for a two count. Lozansky nails Whipwreck with a spin kick for a near fall. Lozansky kicks Whipwreck in the corner but Mikey hits a springboard cross body for a two count. Lozansky stops Mikey with a super kick. Lozansky hits a double under hook suplex for a near fall. Whipwreck drives Lozansky down with a face buster and a swinging neck breaker. Lozansky comes off the ropes with a cross body for a two count. Lozansky scoop slams Whipwreck and heads to the top rope. Lozansky leaps off but Whipwreck hits the Whippersnapper in midair for the win. (**. It was a quick match some good fast action, which was needed on the undercard to keep my hopeful for the rest of the show. The finish was a little sloppy, but it was a good effort.)

Prior to the next match, the Dudley Boys cut a promo to rip on the fans and try their best to cause a riot, but this isn’t Queens or Philadelphia so they should be okay. They actually didn’t even get crazy heel heat for their promo.

Fourth Contest: Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley vs. Chris Chetti & Spike Dudley: Spike and D-Von kick off the tag match. Spike takes D-Von down and delivers a boot scrape for a near fall. Spike takes D-Von down to the canvas but D-Von counters with a head scissors briefly before Spike regained control of the match. They trade a few quick holds causing D-Von to roll to the floor. Bubba wanted to tag in but D-Von thinks he can get the better of Spike. Spike arm drags D-Von and controls the arm again. Chetti tags in and super kicks D-Von for a two count. D-Von wants to tag out and Bubba tags in. Bubba hip tosses Chetti across the ring but doesn’t quickly followup. Bubba clotheslines Chetti followed by a scoop slam. Chetti hip tosses and goes for a slam but Bubba lands on top. Chetti leapfrogs Bubba to kick him on the back. Chetti delivers a spinning heel kick and tags in Spike. Bubba rolls to the floor but Chetti follows but is decked by Sig Guy, which wasn’t a good idea. Chetti grabs Sign Guy and gets decked by D-Von. Spike comes over and is sent into the guard railing by Bubba. D-Von stomps away on Chetti in the ring. Chetti comes off the ropes and is met with a double shoulder block. Bubba chops Chetti in the corner and Chetti botches a hurricanrana in the corner so he just takes D-Von over with a regular one. Spike also hits a hurricanrana to send Bubba to the floor. Chetti takes Bubba out with a cross body on the floor. Chetti gets a few more shots on Bubba sending him chest firs tint the guard railing. Bubba sends Chetti into the guard railing and whacks him over the head with a steel chair. D-Von has a chair whacking Spike on the floor, too. Chetti fights back with strikes on the floor but Bubba hits him with a chair, but Chetti blocked it with his arms, but still gets hit with the chair anyway.

D-Von and Spike are in the ring with D-Von hitting a spinning back elbow. D-Von lifts Spike up and press slams him down to the canvas. Spike hammers away on Bubba and delivers a low blow. Bubba counters a hurricanrana with a sit down power bomb to stop Spike’s momentum. D-Von slams Spike and comes off the middle rope to hit a leg drop for a two count. Bubba tags in boys Spike in the corner when D-Von knocks Chetti off the apron. Bubba takes Spike down with a big backdrop. Spike comes off the ropes looking for a sunset flip and manages to get a near fall. Spike low blows Bubba and connects with a middle rope bulldog. Spike crawls to his corner and tags in Chetti. Chetti enters to little fanfare and clotheslines D-Von several times. Chetti double springboards out of the corner to heel kick D-Von to the floor. Chetti spin kicks Bubba for a near fall as Spike takes D-Von out with a somersault dive off the apron to the floor. Bubba cuts Chetti off with a power bomb. Spike comes off the top but misses a cross body hitting the guard railing chest first. D-Von drops Spike across the guard railing. Bubba gets dropped throat first across the top and Chetti connects with a double springboard moonsault for a two count. Chetti super kicks Sign Guy off the apron and turns around right into the 3D to give the Dudley Boys the victory. (**. A decent tag match that the fans knew the Dudley Boys were never going to lose this. The burst of offense by Chetti and Spike was pretty good despite the lack of fan interest it sounded like. Chetti hit some crisp moves, but nobody cared about him. A solid enough undercard tag match, though.)

Fifth Contest: FTW Champion Taz vs. Lance Storm: Taz didn’t like how the bell was rung so he wanted it done again. Storm starts the match with right hands in the corner. Taz tosses Storm across the ring with an overhead suplex. Taz comes off the ropes to boot Storm and continues to stomp on his opponent. Storm battles back with a spinning heel kick. Storm slaps Taz several times and Taz just no sells them and kicks. Taz catches a kick to hit a leg trapped overhead suplex. Storm misses a spin kick and Taz nails him with a stiff clothesline. Taz counters a clothesline with an overhead suplex. Taz goes for the Taz Mission but Storm low blows him and connects with a clothesline. Storm nearly wins with a springboard clothesline out of the corner. Taz counters a springboard back elbow attempt by locking in the Taz Mission for the win. (1/2*. It’s an absolute shame that Taz won this match essentially treating Storm like a jobber. These two could have probably had a great match and instead it was just a match to put Taz over as an unbeatable force as if he needed it.) After match, Taz cuts a promo on fans in the front row who were giving him a hard time. Of course, the fans don’t do anything. Taz decides to get in the fans face and wants the fan to do something. The fan doesn’t do anything but he does stay in the champs face.

Prior to the next match, Danny Doring wants to wrestle Tommy Dreamer instead of Jack Victory since he believes that Dreamer is trying to look like him. Lance Wright allows him to.

Sixth Contest: Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Victory & Danny Doring: Dreamer shoves Doring but gets met with a face buster and Doring stomps away on Dreamer for the early advantage. Dreamer battles back with a neck breaker and puts Doring in the tree of woe. Dreamer has a chair and puts it in front of Doring’s face. Dreamer proceeds to deliver a dropkick to the face of Doring. Victory gets in the ring and manages to clothesline Dreamer. Victory helps Doring get out of the tree of woe and stomps on Dreamer some more. Victory works over Dreamer with elbow strikes. Victory sends Dreamer into the guard railing chest first. Victory whacks Dreamer over the back with a steel chair. Dreamer punches Victory away and delivers right hands. Dreamer sends Victory back first into the guard railing. Dreamer whacks Victory over the back with a chair as they head towards the backstage area. Dreamer sends Victory chest first into the guard railing. Dreamer gets a piece of the guard railing and lays it against apron. They botch the spot as Victory awkwardly sends himself into the railing. Victory avoids a chair shot and crotches Dreamer onto the guard railing in the ring. Victory spikes Dreamer with a piledriver. Doring gets back up and stomps on Dreamer acting like he’s been beating on Tommy the entire time. Here comes Super Nova and Blue Meanie to make the save for Tommy Dreamer. They beat on Victory and Doring with a few weapons. Meanie splashes Doring in the corner and along with Nova hit a wheelbarrow DDT. Dreamer whacks Victory on the groin with a bowling bowl in a bag to win the match. After the match, Dreamer rolls the bowl into Lance Wright’s groin in the corner. (1/2*. Well, this was a comedy match and pretty much a waste of Dreamer on the show. Nobody seemed to care much for the action or the match.)

Seventh Contest: Justin Credible vs. The Sandman: Sandman quickly gets in the ring and plants Credible with a DDT, but Credible bails to the floor. Sandman is easily getting the best reaction on the show to this point. Sandman decks Credible with a left hand and Credible again slides to the floor. Sandman follows and brawls with Credible around ringside. Sandman slams a table onto Credible and drinks a beer with a few fans in the front row. Sandman rolls Credible into the ring and decks him again with a left hand. Sandman drops Credible across the top rope gut first and comes off the top to hit a leg drop for a near fall. Sandman tosses Credible over the top to the floor. Sandman sends Credible back first into the guard railing. Sandman goes after Chastity in the ring to get the kendo stick. He ends up getting nailed by Jason with a spin kick. Credible stomps away on Sandman and drops him with a right hand. Credible continues with a seated dropkick before taunting the fans. Credible jabs Sandman several times but misses a clothesline. Credible ducks a clothesline and botches dropping Sandman across the top rope. Credible drives his knee into a chair in the corner to hit Sandman in the face for a near fall. Sandman sends Credible into the corner causing him to flip. Sandman decks Jason out of the ring and connects with a slingshot senton into the ring. Chastity uses a kendo stick on Sandman. Sandman tries to spank her, but Credible gets up and plants Sandman with the That’s Incredible for the win. (1/2*. Hardly even a match, really. This was a rather uninspiring match and it felt like it deflated the crowd to see Sandman lose here.)

Main Event: ECW Tag Team Champions Sabu & ECW Television Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Bam-Bam Bigelow & Chris Candido: RVD and Candido kick off the title match with RVD controlling Candido with a top wrist lock. Candido counters with one of his own but RVD switches into a headlock. Candido backs away from the corner for a clean break. Candido complains of what RVD did by tripping him to the canvas instead of a lockup like he was originally going for. Candido backs RVD into the corner and hammers away on RVD. RVD hits a double under hook face buster followed by a leg drop on Candido. Sabu hammers away on Candido in the corner and keeps him on the canvas with a headlock. Candido goes chest first into the corner and Sabu hits a springboard heel kick followed by a moonsault for a two count. Sabu works over Candido with strikes and attempts another heel kick but Candido counters with a wheelbarrow face buster for a near fall. Bigelow tags in and works over Sabu with headbutts. Bigelow splashes Sabu in the corner and Sabu collapses to the canvas. Sabu boots Bigelow in the corner followed by two dropkicks to knock Bigelow down. Bigelow recovers quickly and tags in Candido. Candido lifts Sabu up for a delayed vertical suplex and drives Sabu down to the mat for a near fall. RVD tags in to try his luck against Bigelow. Bigelow works over RVD with strikes in the corner and misses a splash in the corner. Bigelow power bombs RVD out of the corner. Bigelow attempts a power bomb and RVD sits down on him before hitting a top rope cross body for a two count. RVD leaps off the top to kick Bigelow and spin kicks Bigelow to the floor. RVD takes Bigelow out on the floor with a springboard cross body.

Sabu and Candido are brawling in the ring while Bigelow sends RVD into the guard railing. RVD takes Bigelow down with a hurricanrana on the floor. Sabu baseball slides Candido on the floor and takes Candido out with a triple jump cross body. Bigelow slams RVD back in the ring but misses a clothesline. Bigelow and RVD collide with stereo clotheslines. Candido tags in and puts RVD on the top turnbuckle on a second attempt. Candido connects with a superplex and goes to the top rope with Bigelow coming over to launch him off but RVD moves out of the way. RVD connects with the Five Star Frog Splash! Sabu has a camel clutch on Candido and RVD hits a dropkick to the face. Sabu leaps off of RVD’s back to splash Candido in the corner. RVD continues with a spin kick and Bigelow gets double teamed. Sabu hits a slingshot leg drop while RVD hits a rolling thunder splash on Bigelow. Sabu brings a table into the ring. Sabu puts Bigelow on the table and leaps off a chair but gets caught and Bigelow power bombs Sabu. Bigelow dangerously just tosses RVD to the canvas. Bigelow also tosses Sabu but here comes Taz to brawl with Bigelow on the floor. Candido power bombs RVD and Sabu goes to the top but Candido cuts him off. Candido hits a top rope hurricanrana as Taz still beats on Bigelow on the floor. Candido hits a German suplex on RVD for a near fall. Candido gets cut off by RVD in the top rope and Sabu hits a top rope hurricanrana for a near fall. Candido gets put on the table but avoids a leg drop from Sabu and nearly pins him. RVD leaps off the top and kicks a chair into Candido’s face. RVD goes for the cover and gets the win. (**. I thought it was humorous that there was numerous chances to use the table before they did and it was obvious they just neglected to use it. Bigelow could have hit the power bomb through the table instead of the canvas, for instance. The crowd seemed to pay attention to that and that caused a disconnect. The Taz involvement with Bigelow certainly protects them, but it took away from the match, too.)

Final Thoughts:
Auburn, NY wouldn’t get another ECW show and I’m not sure if they would be bummed by that, honestly. These guys did not put forth their best effort at all, that’s for sure. Considering they go to Buffalo the following night, I’m figuring they saved their best effort for the bigger marker audience. Avoid this one.

Thanks for reading.