ECW House Show 5/31/1997

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 5/31/1997
From: Trenton, NJ

Tod Gordon and Bill Alfonso open the show with an in-ring confrontation. Gordon ends up low blowing Alfonso and delivers a clothesline followed by right hands. Security and enhancement talents empty from backstage to break up the fight.

Opening Contest: Axl Rotten vs. Chris Chetti: Rotten wants to shake hands but fakes Chetti out instead. Rotten shoves Chetti away when they lockup and taunts the fans. Rotten comes off the ropes to shoulder block Chetti and taunts the young wrestler. Rotten eye rakes Chetti and works over Chetti with strikes. Chetti ducks a strike and arm drags Rotten who quickly wants a timeout and complains that his shorts were used to perform the move. The fans are chanting that Rotten is a “fat fuck” which bothers Rotten to the point that he goes to the floor to tell everyone to shut up as he goes to the aisle way teasing as if he’s going to leave the match. Of course, Rotten doesn’t leave. Axl returns to the ring and acts like he’s a karate fighter now. Chetti goes for a punch and Rotten cowardly goes to the corner. Chetti scoop slams Rotten but the match has a slow pace to it with Rotten focusing on playing to the crowd to get heat. Rotten has ripped his pants and thus he can’t continue, at least he tells the announcer that. Axl works over Chetti in the corner mad about his pants. Chetti gets a sunset flip but Rotten kicks out at two. Rotten is really milking his torn pants to get heat that it’s getting annoying at this point. They shake hands for whatever reason and Rotten jabs Chetti to get the cheap advantage. Axl low blows Chetti and does a few jumping jacks. Rotten pokes Chetti in the eyes and keeps control with an elbow strike. Chetti comes off the ropes with a cross body for a two count. Chetti doesn’t followup with the offense and Rotten stalls bringing focus back to his ripped shorts. Chetti hip tosses Rotten and once again doesn’t continue his offense. Chetti sends Rotten into the corner and is met with a boot. Rotten has the cover with his feet on the ropes managing a near fall. Chetti wins the match with an inside cradle. (DUD. I stopped watching this match three times. Axl’s obsession with getting his ripped shorts over was annoying as all hell. This match didn’t do anything to get Chetti over, which is a shame because Chetti has some ability and his high flying style would have gotten over with the crowd. I really disliked this match.)

Second Contest: Spike Dudley vs. Bud Luscious: Hopefully this is just a thirty-second match for Spike to go over. Spike starts the match with a running forearm shot and an inside cradle for a two count. The match has gone longer already than I was expecting it to. Spike comes off the ropes to hit a bulldog for a near fall. Bud avoids a backdrop and sends Spike to the floor. Bud sends Spike into the guard railing before getting back into the ring. Bud springboards off he middle rope to bulldog Spike, at least that’s what it looked like. Bud drives Spike down with a suplex for a two count. Spike gets a sunset flip on Bud for a near fall. Bud keeps control with a clothesline. Bud attempts a cross body off the middle rope and is met with a dropkick. Spike dropkicks Bud again and they begin to trade strikes. Spike bulldogs Bud out of the corner for the win. (DUD. Well, it was just an extended squash match this time around. Spike continues to be over with the crowd.)

Third Contest: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Little Guido: They trade a few go-behinds until Whipwreck drop toe holds Guido but doesn’t followup since Guido went right to the ropes. Mikey gets a rollup on Guido for a two count and they shove each other with Guido bumping for it. Whipwreck gets tripped by Tracy Smothers from the floor. Whipwreck goes to the floor and punches Smothers. Whipwreck gets into the ring and Smothers collides with Guido knocking him to the floor. Mikey punches Guido to the floor as well and takes both FBI members out with a somersault dive over the top! Mikey goes to the top but Smothers crotches him and Guido hits a rolling neck snap. Guido scoop slams Whipwreck and goes to the apron hitting a slingshot elbow drop for a two count. Smothers decks Whipwreck with a right hand from the floor and Guido continues his offense with a side slam. Guido keeps Whipwrreck on the canvas with a sleeper hold and Smothers taunts the fans on the microphone. Mikey breaks free but a knee strike to the midsection puts him back on the canvas. Guido controls Whipwreck on the canvas with a figure four leg lock. Whipwreck appears to tell the referee something before he goes “out cold” and pops his shoulders up at two. Guido dropkicks Whipwreck and taunts the fans. Mikey almost wins with a rollup but Guido runs him over with a clothesline. Guido runs into a boot in the corner and Mikey leaps off the middle rope but Guido soon hits a sit down power bomb. Guido has the cover but Whipwreck rolls his shoulder up at two. Guido keeps working over Mikey with shots to the back. Guido has a rollup on Mikey for a near fall. Guido keeps Whipwreck on the canvas with a sleeper hold but isn’t going to get a submission as Smothers again gets on the microphone to taunt the fans. Whipwreck breaks free with a jaw breaker and a spinning heel kick. Whipwreck comes off the top missing a big splash. Guido goes for the cover but Whipwreck kicks out at two. Whipwreck avoids a neck breaker by holding onto the ropes and hits a slingshot leg drop from the apron for a two count. Whipwreck backdrops Guido and delivers a few strikes. Mikey dropkicks Guido for a near fall. Mikey elbows Guido in the corner followed by a tornado DDT. Smothers gets in the ring and attacks Whipwreck to help Guido. Smothers holds Whipwreck as Guido goes to the top. Mikey breaks free and sends Smothers into the corner to crotch Guido. Whipwreck hits a top rope hurricanrana for the win. (**. It’s an okay contest as they had a better pacing than the other matches thus far. I didn’t feel overly connected to it and didn’t really care for it, for the most part.) After the match, Smothers attacks Whipwreck and double teams him with Guido. Tommy Dreamer gets into the ring and makes the save. Dreamer will be wrestling Smothers later in the show so this makes sense.

Fourth Contest: ECW Tag Team Champions The Eliminators vs. PG-13 vs. Dudley Boys: JC Ice insults the crowd and the Dudley Boys leading to D-Von chasing after him but Bubba clotheslines Ice and D-Von tries to hit Wolfie with a chair. Wolfie and D-Von start the match with D-Von working over the left arm. D-Von shoulder blocks Wolfie but Wolfie comes back with a hip toss on both D-Von and Bubba. Ice enter and dropkicks Bubba to the floor. Bubba steals a young fans chair to toss it into the ring. D-Von tags in Bubba to double team Wolfie with Bubba hitting a tilt a whirl slam and D-Von hits a splash. Bubba press slams Ice onto Wolfie and they have a standoff. That standoff leads to the ECW Tag Team Champions coming out for the match. This of course leads to all eight men brawling. Bubba slams Kronus and D-Von comes off the top with a diving headbutt. It’s an elimination match and they are breaking up pin attempts again. PG-13 double teams the Dudley Boys until Big Dick Dudley choke slams them both. Dudley Boys hit stereo power bombs on the Eliminators. Oh boy, here comes New Jack with a trash can full of weapons for some reason and he hits everyone with various weapons. D-Von smashes a chair over Wolfie’s head on the floor and gets taken out by Saturn with a slingshot cross body to the floor. Jack tosses D-Von into a table against the guard railing and it doesn’t break. Jack is associating himself with the Eliminators… until they hit Total Elimination on him and appear to pin him to eliminate him. I didn’t even know he was in the match legally.

Wolfie takes Saturn out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor and then sends Saturn into a table on the floor. PG-13 try to pin Bubba but aren’t able to get a three count. Kronus hits a 450 splash on D-Von. Saturn also hits a double springboard moonsault on D-Von but gets ran over by Bubba with a clothesline. Wolfie takes Saturn off the top turnbuckle with a bulldog. Bubba splashes Ice for a near fall. On the floor, Wolfie sends D-Von back first into the guard railing. Ice is choking D-Von with a rope or something until he is met with a low blow. Saturn dropkicks the Dudley Boys and clotheslines booth men until a side walk slam from Bubba puts an end to that offense managing a near fall. Kronus hits a scissors kick on D-Von and Wolfie drops Bubba face first to the mat. Kronus dropkicks Ice off the top turnbuckle. Bubba plants Saturn with an ace crusher for a near fall. Saturn nails Bubba with a bicycle kick for a two count. Total Elimination for Ice but they don’t go of a cover. Kronus sends Bubba into the referee and Kronus kicks Bubba. Big Dick choke slams the tag champs again. D-Von has the cover but there isn’t a referee for the count. D-Von plants Ice with a reverse DDT and tries to pin the Eliminators but can’t keep them down. Bubba throws powder into Big Dick’s face and is choke slammed due to Big Dick being blinded. Big Dick does the same to D-Von. Big Dick ends up hitting he referee with a choke slam, too. Big Dick gets dropkicked to the floor. Kronus spin kicks D-Von which gets a three count. Oh, it wasn’t an elimination match. (**1/2. It wasn’t too bad, really. There were a few good moments where the action was compelling, but it was mostly just brawling and hardcore shots. I’m not even sure why New Jack was in the match. PG-13 are some entertaining heels, though.)

Fifth Contest: Tommy Dreamer vs. Tracy Smothers: Smothers bails to the floor at the start to regroup. Smothers arm drags Dreamer upon his return and plays to the crowd. Dreamer arm drags Smothers and does the same taunt. Well, Dreamer also air humps Beulah on the apron, too. Smothers shoulder blocks Dreamer but doesn’t continue his offense. Dreamer shoulder blocks Smothers and sends him to the floor. Smothers decides to stall for time by talking with Guido for a game plan. Smothers works over Dreamer with a few strikes but Dreamer avoids a slam by sending Smothers over the top to the floor after Smothers had pulled himself back up. Smothers eye rakes Dreamer and sends him into the guard railing. Dreamer ducks a clothesline and crotches Smothers over the railing. Dreamer hits Smothers with a drink and spits in his face. Dreamer gets a two count in the ring and gets distracted by Guido allowing Smothers to send Dreamer to the floor. Guido gets a few cheap shots in. Smothers hits a DDT but Dreamer kicks out at two. Guido chokes Dreamer over the middle rope to help out Smothers who coms over to the corner and chokes Dreamer. Smothers hammers away on Dreamer in the corner. Smothers sends Dreamer hard back first into the corner and taunts the fans. Dreamer has a backslide on Smothers but Guido is distracting the referee. Smothers drops Dreamer to the canvas. Smothers low blows Dreamer and nearly wins. Dreamer gets a quick rollup for another near fall. Smothers dropkicks Dreamer to regain control of the match. Smothers drops Dreamer with a strike and controls Tommy with a sleeper hold. Smothers heads to the top rope hitting an axe handle and they begin to trade strikes. Dreamer power slams Smothers coming off the ropes for a two count. Smothers misses an atomic drop but hits a leaping spin kick for a two count. Dreamer back elbows Smothers and hits a bulldog out of the corner for a near fall. Smothers back hand slaps Dreamer and heads to the top rope. Smothers leaps off connecting with his twisting uppercut for a near fall. Dreamer nearly wins with a rollup using the tights for leverage. Dreamer kicks Smothers on the side of the head for a near fall. Dreamer hits a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Dreamer decks Guido off the apron and Smothers hits a back suplex for a near fall. Guido gets in the ring but is met with a low blow from Beulah. Dreamer spikes Smothers with a DDT for the win. (**. A rather average match between these two that had a little bit of interference. Smothers hit his classic moves and Dreamer was rather limited until the finish. It was a fine undercard match.) After the match, Smothers and Guido shove each other but then embrace.

Sixth Contest: ECW Television Champion Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, & Bam-Bam Bigelow vs. The Pitbulls & Balls Mahoney: Pitbulls and Mahoney rush into the ring and taunt that the Triple Threat on all fours in the ring. #2 and Candido start the match with #2 backing Candido into a corner but just backs away. #2 shows off his power pushing Candido away on a top wrist lock attempt. #2 shoulder blocks Candido and blocks a hip toss attempt with a clothesline. #1 tags in and back elbows Candido but an eye rake stops his momentum. Candido hits a suplex on #1, but #1 no sells it. #1 runs into a big boot and Candido comes off the top but is caught with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Mahoney tags in and controls Candido with a headlock. Mahoney low blows Candido and delivers an atomic drop followed by a clothesline. #2 tags back in but Douglas is tagged in and works over #2 with strikes in the corner. Douglas chokes #2 in the corner. Douglas ducks a clothesline and takes #2 to deliver an elbow drop. #2 ducks a clothesline and press slams Douglas followed by Candido. Bigelow gets involved and shoulder blocks #2. #2 clotheslines Bigelow after stomping on his foot. Mahoney tags in and hammers away on Bigelow. Bigelow stops Mahoney with a headbutt to the groin and Douglas enters to atomic drop Mahoney followed by a low blow. Candido enters and trades rights with Mahoney. Mahoney runs into a boot in the corner and Candido hits a snap suplex. Douglas enters but gets splashed in the corner and Mahoney hits a back suplex. #1 enters and drives Douglas down with a side slam. #1 puts a bear hug on Douglas in the middle of the ring but isn’t going to get a submission on the champ. #1 tags in #2 to continue their offense on Douglas. #2 drives Douglas down to the mat with a running power slam for a near fall.

#2 keeps Douglas on the mat with a chin lock. #1 takes Douglas down with a snap suplex and jumps onto Shane’s back while over the middle rope. #1 has a bear hug on Douglas. Mahoney tags in and scoop slams Douglas followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Mahoney eye rakes Douglas but Douglas tries for a backdrop only for Mahoney to plant him with a power bomb. #2 enters and puts another bear hug on Douglas. Candido gets in the ring but is backdropped by #2. Bigelow hammers away on Mahoney but Bigelow is double teamed in the corner by #1 and Mahoney. Rick Rude comes out to ringside and makes out with Francine. Rue carries her to the backstage area and Douglas flips out but is slammed back into the ring from the apron by #2. #2 puts a bear hug on Douglas but can’t get a submission. Douglas can’t hit a suplex because of his back and #2 tries for one. Candido attempts a sunset flip off the top but #2 blocks it and tosses him. Bigelow runs over #2 with a body strike and beats him down while the other four brawl on the floor. #2 lays out Douglas in the ring and they struggle to their feet. Douglas hits a back suplex and tags in Bigelow. Bigelow works over #2 in the corner with stomps with the referee right behind him. Candido attacks #2 on the apron with strikes. Candido sends #2 back first into the railing. Candido tags in Douglas to keep control of the match in the ring. Douglas works over #2 in the ornery with strikes to the midsection. Douglas keeps a chin lock on #2 but isn’t getting a submission. Douglas knee lifts #2 to cut off his offense. Douglas hits a rolling neck snap and tags in Bigelow who drives #2 down with a vertical suplex. Candido and #2 trade right hands with #2 getting the better of it but misses a splash in the corner.

Candido scoop slams #2 and tags in Douglas. Douglas stomps on #2’s face and rocket launches Candido off the top, but #2 got his arms up to block it. Douglas scoop slams #2 and Candido tags in to leg drop #2 with help from Douglas. Douglas goes for the cover but only manages a near fall. #2 drives Douglas face first into the canvas to get control of the match. #1 gets the hot tag and hammers away on Bigelow. #1 shoulder blocks Bigelow and clotheslines the other two men. #1 clotheslines Bigelow and #2 power slams Bam-Bam. #2 splashes Bigelow but gets pulled to the floor by Candido and they brawl. Bigelow plants Mahoney with a Death Valley Driver for the win. (*1/4. I thought this went way too long and I didn’t buy into anything that the Pitbulls or Mahoney were doing. I would have thought that the Triple Threat would have had tougher opponents. Normally the Triple Threat holds my interest, but the lack of quality opponents made this feel like it dragged on for far too long.)

Main Event: The Sandman vs. Raven in a dog collar match: Sandman has a blowup doll that was Raven’s misfits and humps it to the shock of the misfit. The misfit is using a toy lightsaber to taunt Sandman but gets beer spat in his face. Sandman nails him with a kendo stick shot and Raven decks Sandman with the dog collar to get the cheap advantage. Raven uses the chain to forearm drop Sandman on the groin. Raven hammers away on Sandman to keep control of the bout on the canvas. Raven uses the chain to clothesline Sandman against the ropes and sends Sandman into the guard railing on the floor. Raven whacks Sandman over the head with a steel chair several times. They get back into the ring where Raven delivers another chair shot to drop Sandman on the mat. Raven drags Sandman to the apron by the chain to deliver an elbow drop. Raven tosses Sandman back first into the guard railing. Raven tosses another chair into the ring and Sandman is able to drop toe hold Raven face first onto the chair. Raven kicks Sandman in the midsection and takes him down to the mat delivering a right hand to the groin. Sandman tosses Raven into a chair in the corner for a near fall. Raven works over Sandman by whipping him over the back with a chain. Raven kicks Sandman to the mat for a near fall. The fans are chanting that Raven “sold out” since he’s heading to WCW. Sandman sends Raven into the guard railing shoulder first. Raven does the same to Sandman as the fans continue to chant towards Raven. They return to the ring where Raven shoves Sandman to the mat. Raven signals for the DDT but Sandman counters and plants Raven with one of his own for the win. (*. Talk about a complete disappointment of a match. Raven controls the entire match and loses after one move from Sandman. This was the main attraction for me to watch this show and it went less than ten minutes. There wasn’t any emotion to it and could have been a lot more violent and meaningful. God, I’m really disappointed with this.)

Final Thoughts:
It’s not a loaded show by any means, and as I stated I was mostly interested in the main event, but that was one of the most disappointing matches I’ve watched. This is an easy thumbs down.

Thanks for reading.