Written by: Bob Colling
Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 7/3/1999
From: Queens, NY
There are cameras in attendance likely filming for Hardcore TV. However, I looked up the TV results and locations and they ended using footage from Florida instead of this show. This has to be a rarity for a Queens ECW show to not get shown on TV.
Opening Contest: Little Guido vs. Super Crazy vs. Tajiri in an elimination match: Guido takes Crazy down to the mat but gets met with a kick by Tajiri to the head. Tajiri and Guido trade a few chops until Crazy dropkicks Guido to the floor. Crazy is sent to the floor with a head scissors. Guido trips Tajiri allowing Crazy to hit a springboard dropkick. Guido gets a two count on Crazy after coming off the top rope. Tajiri takes Crazy out with a somersault dive on the outside. Guido misses a slingshot crossbody hitting the floor. Crazy tosses Guido into the crowd and does the same to Tajiri. Crazy goes to the apron and takes both men out with a springboard moonsault. Big Sal enters the ring and plants Crazy with a leg drop while Guido and Tajiri trade shots in the crowd. Guido powerbombs Tajiri but is nearly pinned by Crazy with a sunset flip. Guido connects with a swinging neckbreaker on Crazy for a two count. Crazy almost pins Guido after a springboard moonsault. Tajiri low blows Crazy and Guido comes off the middle rope to hit a leg drop for a near fall. Tajiri places Guido in a tree of woe and Crazy dropkicks Sal off the apron followed by a moonsault off the apron. But, Sal catches Crazy and powerslams Crazy through a table at ringside. Tajiri misses a baseball slide in the corner and Guido hit a leg drop off the middle rope. Guido gets a Boston Crab on Crazy and that forces Crazy to tap out for an elimination.
Tajiri takes Guido over with a German suplex for a two count. Tajiri connects with a handspring back elbow. Guido counters a head scissors and drives Tajiri down to the mat face first. Guido grabs a steel chair but isn’t able to hit Tajiri. Tajiri plants Guido face first onto the chair. Guido plants Tajiri with a DDT onto the chair. Guido slams Tajiri but gets crotched on the top rope and Tajiri low blows Guido putting him in a tree of woe. Tajiri connects with a baseball slide to drop Guido to the mat. Tajiri low blows Guido a couple of time and spikes Guido with a brainbuster for the win. (***1/2. Holy crap, that was a really fun triple threat match. I was not expecting Crazy to be eliminated first let alone by submission. The action was constant and all three men looked great. It might have helped that there were cameras for television and the Queens crowd that led to a great match to start the show. One of the better house show matches I’ve seen. It is matches like these that motivate me to watch ECW house shows.)
ECW World Champion Taz makes his way down to the ring and is greeted with a bunch of cheers. Tajiri remains in the ring. They will be wrestling at Heatwave on July 18th. Taz puts over the match that they just had and says he respects Tajiri’s ability. Taz says it would be his pleasure to give Tajiri a shot at the title. Taz gets cut off by Steve Corino. Corino has Jack Victory and Rhino with him. Corino thinks that Taz is afraid of him and knows that Corino would choke him out. Taz says that Corino is choking Victory’s limp dick. Taz is tired of Corino and says he’s going to kill Corino. Taz isn’t in the mood to play and Corino wonders if he’s supposed to be afraid of Taz. Corino considers Taz to be nothing and thinks he can out shoot and out wrestle Taz everyday. Corino is confident that he’ll be the next ECW World Champion. Taz suggests that he teams with Tajiri to take on Corino, Rhino and Victory. Victory sits up from his wheelchair and Tajiri hits Taz with several kicks! Tajiri dropkicks a kneeling Taz and Corino is happy to see all of this. Victory hands over some money to Tajiri and Corino is laughing at Taz. Corino hands Tajiri a mask and Tajiri stands over a laid out Taz. Corino asks “who is the stupid son of a bitch now?”
Second Contest: El Mosco vs. Tony DeVito: Mosco starts the match with a springboard arm drag and plays to the crowd. Mosco gets a rollup for a two count, but DeVito gets control with strikes. Mosco comes off the ropes to hit a springboard crossbody. Mosco hits a springboard dropkick from the apron to send DeVito to the floor. Mosco hits a slingshot senton splash from the ring over the top to the floor. Mosco gets hit by DeVito’s manager and drops to the mat allowing DeVito to get control of the match. DeVito leaps off the middle rope to hit a leg drop for a two count. Mosco gets slammed by DeVito’s partner for a two count. DeVito hits a sit out powerbomb for a near fall. Mosco counters another powerbomb with a face buster. Mosco comes off the top with a twisting senton. Mosco drops DeVito’s partner with a spinning heel kick. DeVito tried for a Death Valley Driver, but Mosco got free and slammed DeVito. Mosco comes off the top with a twisting senton for the win. (*1/2. Mosco had a few fun spots, but the match was rather limited due to the opponent being DeVito. There was no way the crowd was going to have the same level of interest compared to the prior match.)
Third Contest: Jerry Lynn vs. Lance Storm: Storm works over Lynn in the corner with a few chops and right hands. Lynn hits a head scissors and an abdominal stretch for a moment. Lynn drops Storm throat first over the top rope on the apron and keeps control with strikes. Lynn nearly wins with a rollup out of the corner. Storm stops Lynn with a low blow and a high knee lift. Lynn counters a press slam with a rollup and they trade a few different rollup attempts. Storm connects with a superkick for a two count. Storm locks in a half Boston Crab looking for a submission, but Lynn refuses to give in. Lynn staggers Storm with a leaping kick to the head. Storm sends Lynn chest first into the corner to regain control of the match. Storm charges out of the corner and they both go down with a double clothesline. Lynn lifts Storm up and delivers a low blow followed by a spinning elbow strike. Lynn spikes Storm with a tornado DDT for a two count. Storm plants Lynn with a reverse DDT for a near fall. The fans are chanting “spit or swallow” towards Dawn Marie.
Storm connects with a powerslam for a two count. Marie tripe Lynn but Storm accidentally forearms the referee. Lynn attempts the cradle piledriver, but Justin Credible enters from behind and whacks Lynn with a kendo stick. Credible whacks Lynn over the back a few times with the kendo stick. Credible whacks Lynn over the head with the kendo stick. Jazz is telling them to stop and gets tossed down by Jason. Jason decks Jazz with a short arm clothesline. Sabu enters the ring and fights off the heels. A table has been placed over the apron and railing with Jason laid onto it. Sabu crotches Credible on the top rope, but gets met with a kendo stick shot. Lynn has been busted open as Sabu is worked over. Rob Van Dam enters the ring and kicks a chair into Lynn’s face on accident. RVD dives onto Sabu on the floor, too. Sabu tries to go after RVD, but Alfonso keeps them apart. Storm spikes Lynn with a cradle piledriver for the three count. (***. The match was solid and the action kept my interest. The crowd was heavily interested in the bout. The interference didn’t hurt the match, but I’m not a fan of the distractions leading into the finish. Often times it just isn’t necessary. In this instance, it didn’t hurt the quality of the match, though.)
Fourth Contest: Danny Doring vs. Nova: Early on, Nova gets control with a clothesline and strikes against the ropes. Nova atomic drops Doring followed by a belly to belly suplex. Nova bulldogs Doring’s left arm to the mat. Doring counters a clothesline with a jawbreaker and taunts the fans. Nova fights back with a reverse DDT. Roadkill makes his way down to ringside and trips Nova allowing Doring to hit an elbow drop. Chris Chetti comes down to ringside, as well. Nova counters a piledriver attempt with a backpack driver for a two count. Lita, who is known as Miss Congeniality, enters the ring. However, Chetti gets in the ring to stop Nova from hitting a move on her. Chetti proceeds to dance to Ricky Martin music with her. Roadkill clotheslines Nova while Chetti is distracted. Roadkill slips off the top rope and does a big splash a second time. Doring covers Nova and wins the match. (1/2*. Well, that was a really lame way to go about things. It was basically just a comedy spot for Chetti to dance with the lady. I was hopeful these guys would have an entertaining undercard match and they were not setup to have that at all.)
Paul Heyman comes down to the ring to cut a promo. Heyman says they have a couple of big announcements to make tonight. Heyman says that the guys in the crowd can cover up the girl in the crowd all he wants, but they are all going to have sex with her after tonight. He’s really cutting a promo on the guy saying he can’t satisfy her like everyone else can. Jesus, he’s really going for it here. He announces on August 13th that there will be a TNN taping, or at least I think that is what he said. The crowd is rabid for this segment. He says that tonight is the last show in Elks Lodge for ECW. However, that is not true. They will be having a show on August 26th and the show will be taped for TNN. Joey Styles is out and he chats a bit on the microphone. He’s doing a TV opening, but again, this wasn’t used for television from what I looked up.
Fifth Contest: Spanish Angel vs. Skull Von Krush: I don’t think I’ve ever seen Von Krush get such a positive reaction from an ECW crowd in my entire life. Skull decks Angel with a right hand and delivers several chops in the corner. Angel avoids a splash in the corner to deliver a running clothesline. Angel slams Skill before going to the top rope but misses a splash. Von Krush powerslams Angel and goes to the top rope hitting an elbow drop. Vito slams Angel and runs the ropes before delivering a stomp. Skull plants Angel with a jumping DDT for the win. (1/2*. It still blows my mind that Skull Von Krush got such a positive reaction. He usually would get negative reactions and nobody would get behind him.) After the match, the Dudley Boys come out and plant Skull with a 3D.
There’s several minutes where the Dudley Boys cut a promo until Spike Dudley comes out and takes them out with a crossbody to the floor. However, Spike gets met with a 3D after a few moments. Balls Mahoney destroys the Dudley’s with a steel chair.
Tommy Dreamer and Francine come down to the ring and Dreamer is interviewed. Dreamer grabs the microphone and says that they have struggled for six years. But, now they will be on national television. Dreamer talks about the history of ECW and how it started. Dreamer also mentions several guys that played a part in ECW’s success over the years. Steve Corino comes out and reminds Dreamer that he wasn’t mentioned. Corino wants Dreamer to reveal the big news and that it isn’t the TNN contract. Corino says that Dreamer should announce that he’s not going to be on the TV deal because Tommy can’t wrestle anymore. Corino says that Dreamer needs surgery and he’ll never wrestle again in ECW. Dreamer chimes in saying he’s not committed on having surgery yet. Corino blames the fans for Dreamer having an injury. Corino thinks that Dreamer can get an office job and Dreamer shakes his head that it was all worth it. Corino wants Dreamer to lay down and get the easy pin. Dreamer proceeds to do a funny Rock impersonation. Corino attacks Dreamer and wants Dreamer to show some fight.
Sixth Contest: Steve Corino vs. Francine: Well, Dreamer works over Corino with strikes around the ring. Francine hits a bronco buster in the corner and soon plants Corino with a DDT. Dreamer counts the fall and Francine wins. Obviously, that wasn’t really a match but we’ll go with it.
Seventh Contest: ECW Television Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Balls Mahoney: RVD takes Mahoney down to the mat and plays to the crowd after having the advantage. Mahoney keeps a half Boston Crab on RVD, but isn’t going to get a submission. Mahoney tosses RVD over the top to the floor, but RVD lands on his feet and plays to the crowd. Mahoney sends RVD back first into the guard railing. RVD leaps off the railing to moonsault Mahoney and tosses Mahoney into the crowd. RVD leaps off the railing to kick a chair into Mahoney’s face. Mahoney has been busted open as he’s rolled back into the ring. RVD hits a slingshot leg drop for a two count. Mahoney fights back with a powerslam for a near fall. Balls goes to the top rope and hits a leg drop for a two count. Mahoney plants RVD with a reverse neckbreaker for a near fall. Mahoney spin kicks himself and RVD over the top to the floor. RVD sends Mahoney into the guard railing side first. RVD goes to the top rope and takes Mahoney out with a somersault dive. Mahoney works over RVD in the corner with a few strikes to regain control of the match.
Mahoney misses a splash in the corner and RVD comes off the top with a crossbody for a two count. RVD runs off the ropes and Mahoney hits a spinebuster. Mahoney goes to the top rope hitting a frog splash for a near fall. Mahoney continues with jabs to drop RVD. RVD nails Mahoney with a running boot to stop Balls on the middle rope. RVD takes Mahoney off the middle rope with a superplex. RVD dropkicks a chair into Mahoney’s face while Balls was seated on the mat. RVD hits the rolling thunder for a two count. Mahoney powerbombs RVD onto a steel chair. Mahoney avoids a spin kick and whacks RVD over the head with a chair. Bill Alfonso saves RVD on the cover attempt. RVD comes off the top to kick a chair into Mahoney’s face. RVD leaps off the top rope to hit a frog splash for the win. (**. A decent match that was mostly a brawl, but RVD did a few fun spots and they worked into a fine match. Mahoney’s leg drop off the top seemed to be a close call for many fans thinking he might pull it off.)
Main Event: Sabu vs. Justin Credible: Early on, Credible attacks Sabu to get the cheap advantage as Judge Jeff Jones provided a distraction. Sabu boots Credible followed by a spin kick for a two count. Sabu hits a split legged moonsault for a near fall. Credible sends Sabu into the guard railing. Sabu does the same to Credible and leaps off the top to dive to the floor, but Credible appears to counter it with an atomic drop and/or drop Sabu throat first over the railing. Sabu goes after Credible with strikes and hits a DDT. A table has been laid over the apron and railing. Credible stops Sabu with a baseball slide and lays Sabu onto the table. Credible goes to the top, but Sabu stops him with a frontward roll to the mat. Sabu locks in a camel clutch, but Credible doesn’t give in. Credible slams Sabu and comes off the middle rope with a forearm drop for a two count. Jason gets knocked onto a table and Sabu splashes Credible in the corner. Sabu tries to springboard off a chair, but the chair slides and he has to settle for jumping off the ropes to put Jason through the table. Sabu connects with a springboard heel kick for a two count. Sabu tries for a tombstone, but Credible counters by hitting a stunner.
Alfonso slides a table into the ring and Credible sets it up in the corner. Sabu smashes Credible with a steel chair and jumps off the chair to splash Credible. Sabu leg drops Credible through a table setup in the corner. Sabu slips on the table and misses a splash in the corner. Credible misses a baseball slide and hits the post. Sabu hits a slingshot leg drop from the apron for a two count. Sabu comes off the top to hit an Arabian face buster for the win. (**. Well, I was for sure not expecting Credible to take a clean pin loss here, but I was perfectly fine with it happening. Not an overly good match largely due to Sabu being a little sloppy, but enjoyable regardless.)
Final Thoughts:
The opening three way match and the Storm/Lynn matches were stellar matches for an ECW house show and the Queens crowd made for an easy viewing experience. Thus, I’ll give the show a mild positive recommendation.
Thanks for reading.