Written by: Bob Colling
Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 12/27/1997
From: Blackwood, NJ
Opening Contest: Tiger Mask IV vs. The Great Sasuke: They trade a few standing kicks, but neither man gets a clear advantage. Mask backs Sasuke against the ropes and the crowd is quickly shitting on the approach. Sasuke takes Mask down to the mat to gain control of the contest. Sasuke keeps a chin lock on Mask until that gets countered and Mask does the same move. Mask delivers a knee drop to the back followed by a kick to the midsection. Mask nails Sasuke with a spin kick right on the jaw. Mask comes off the ropes to deliver a forearm strike to the chest and keeps Sasuke on the mat with a sleeper hold. Mask keeps Sasuke on the mat with a head scissors and the crowd continues to crap on the action. Mask puts a leg lock on Sasuke, but doesn’t get a submission. Sasuke slaps Mask and gets a leg lock of his own, but Mask breaks free with a headbutt. Mask knee drops Sasuke on the leg and puts a half Boston Crab on Sasuke for a moment. Mask puts the Boston Crab on Sasuke a second time until Sasuke reaches the ropes. Sasuke drops Mask with a kick to the jaw. Sasuke misses a knee strike in the corner and Mask delivers a kick to the chest.
Mask dropkicks Sasuke to the floor and connects with a suicide dive to the floor! Mask scoop slams Sasuke and hits a top rope diving headbutt for a two count. Mask plants Sasuke with a German suplex for a two count. Mask takes Sasuke down to the mat with another leg lock, but Sasuke refuses to give up. Sasuke connects with a handspring back elbow to send Mask to the floor. Sasuke takes Mask out with a somersault dive to the floor and they crash into the guard railing. Justin Credible and Jason Knight come down to ringside to distract Sasuke. Sasuke takes Knight out with a crossbody as Credible ran out of the way. Sasuke hits a springboard moonsault for a two count. Sasuke tries for a powerbomb, but settles with a kick to the head. Sasuke plants Mask with a powerbomb to win the match. (*1/2. They lost the crowd quickly because they had no interest in seeing mat wrestling and a slow pace match. It was amazing how quickly they crapped on the match. It wasn’t that bad and shouldn’t have been treated in such a way. Probably not an ideal way to start the show, though.) After the match, they shake hands to show respect for each other.
Second Contest: Adam Flash vs. Paul Diamond: Diamond controls the action early on by shoulder blocking Flash a few times. Flash trips Diamond as he ran the ropes and tried for a hip toss, but Diamond counters by hitting a clothesline. Diamond continues with a backbreaker and taunts the crowd. Flash head scissors Diamond and connects with a dropkick. Flash clotheslines himself and Diamond over the top to the floor. Flash dives over the top to take Diamond out with a crossbody on the floor. Flash dropkicks Diamond into the guard railing. Flash sends Diamond into Chastity on the floor and tosses Diamond into the guard railing back first. Diamond nails Flash with a right hand and crotches Flash over the railing. Diamond clotheslines Flash off the railing. Chasity gets a few cheap shots in on Flash. Diamond rams Flash groin first into the ring post. Diamond gets a two count following a double stomp. Diamond elbows Flash and hits a middle rope bulldog for a two count. Diamond slams Flash and goes to the top rope. Flash crotches Diamond on the top rope and they lose their footing on the top rope. Flash manages to finally hit a superplex. Flash ducks a clothesline to hit a side slam for a near fall. Flash hits a missile dropkick for another near fall. Flash rolls through a crossbody for a two count. Flash slams Diamond and goes to the top rope hitting a leg drop, but Chasity enters the ring to jump on Flash’s back. Flash plants Chasity with a back suplex. Diamond nails Flash with a float over DDT to win the match. (*1/2. There wasn’t any real reason for this match to go on nearly as long as it did. Flash got a few moments to shine, but nobody bought into Flash winning this match at any point. Diamond needs to win these matches in quicker fashion to get any level of creditability with the fans in ECW.)
Third Contest: Chris Chetti & Jerry Lynn vs. Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon: LaFon and Furnas go on the attack, but are met with hip tosses and dropkicks to send them to the floor. Lynn gets caught on a crossbody attempt, but Chetti hits a crossbody to take everyone out on the floor. LaFon chops Chetti, but Chetti connects with a clothesline from behind. LaFon slams Lynn upon entering the ring. Furnas gets met with a drop toe hold and leg drop combo. Lynn comes off the ropes with a crossbody and a dropkick. Lynn takes Furnas down with a rollup for a two count. Lynn runs the ropes, but LaFon stops Lynn with a knee strike and Furnas hits an overhead belly to belly suplex. Lynn is met with a double backdrop. LaFon works over Lynn in the corner with chops and a snap suplex for a two count. LaFon forearms Lynn, but Lynn gets an inside cradle for a two count. Furnas takes Lynn over with a snap powerslam for a near fall. Lynn takes Furnas down with a back suplex. Chetti enters and hammers away on Furnas follows by a spinning heel kick to both men. Chetti clotheslines Furnas and LaFon. Chetti dropkicks Furnas for a two count. All four men are in the ring as Lynn dropkicks LaFon and Furnas nearly pins Chetti. Chetti hits a double springboard moonsault on Furnas for a two count. Lynn is sent to the floor as Furnas tosses Chetti with an overhead suplex for the three count. (**. It was a decent little match that seemingly didn’t have a lot of tag formula attached to it at all. Furnas and LaFon came across like a solid heel tag team and could fit in very well with the ECW style. Chetti and Lynn aren’t doing much of anything so this being used to establish LaFon and Furnas doesn’t hurt them very much.)
Nicole Bass powerbombs Bilvis Wesley and nearly breaks his damn neck in doing so. That takes place before the next match. Bass powerbombs Nova, as well.
Fourth Contest: Nova vs. Justin Credible: Credible grabs Nova to hit That’s Incredible and and wins the match in short order. Well, that was a major disappointment. I was hoping for an actual match and instead it’s just a heat driven segment.
Fifth Contest: Al Snow vs. ECW Tag Team Champion Lance Storm: Snow controls Storm on the mat with a wrist lock. They counter each other with a hammerlock and Snow tries for a leg lock, but Storm kicks Snow away. They trade some holds on the mat and Snow argues with Head in the corner. Storm shoulder blocks Snow and goes back to a headlock. Storm runs into a clothesline. Snow plants Storm with a back suplex and stomps on the mat. Candido yells at Storm on the floor. Snow chops Storm in the corner and delivers several strikes and stomps. Snow boots Storm in the corner, but is met with two superkicks. Storm takes Snow over with a vertical suplex for a near fall. Storm delivers a few knee strikes to Snow’s upper back while keeping a headlock on. Storm drives Snow face first into the mat. Candido sends Snow over the railing into the crowd to help out Storm. Snow nearly pins Storm with a rollup and they collide on stereo clothesline attempts. Storm hits a handspring clothesline in the corner. Snow clotheslines Storm from the apron and heads to the top rope. Snow hits a sunset flip for a two count. Snow heel kicks Storm and plays to the crowd.
Snow puts Storm on the top rope and hits a superplex. Storm ducks a clothesline to heel kick Snow for a near fall. Snow plants Storm with a sit out spinebuster. They trade rollup attempts with neither man getting a three count. Snow hits a German suplex. Storm leaps off the top rope to hit a back elbow. Candido has gotten on the apron to talk to Storm. Snow sends Storm into Candido and gets tripped by Candido, but hits Storm with a headbutt. Snow grabs Head as the referee is distracted and his Storm. Snow spikes Storm with the Snow Plow to win the match. (**. A mostly standard match that wasn’t all that entertaining or noteworthy. Storm showcased some great agility and good offense. Clearly the build here is a match between Candido and Storm, which takes away from a match that probably should have been much more enjoyable.)
Sixth Contest: Tracy Smothers, Little Guido & Tommy Rich vs. Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten: Guido starts off working over Dreamer with strikes and kicks. Dreamer catches Guido with a fallaway slam for a two count. Smothers tries to help, but instead elbow drops Guido on accident. Rotten enters the match and shoulder blocks Guido. They run the ropes until Rotten hits a backdrop for a two count. Mahoney enters and leg drops Guido after coming off the ropes. Smothers goes after Mahoney with right hands in the corner. Mahoney stops Smothers with a short arm clothesline. Mahoney misses a clothesline and Smothers hits a heel kick for a near fall. Mahoney plants Smothers with a powerbomb for a two count. Dreamer gets dropped over the top rope by Guido and all six men are brawling. Guido brawls with Dreamer on the floor and is sent into the railing. Pitbull #1 comes out of nowhere and attacks Dreamer, Mahoney and Rotten to help the FBI. Pitbull #2 is there too and they are helping the FBI. Rich whacks Dreamer over the back with a chair. Rotten is double teamed by Guido and Smothers, but they don’t get a three count on Axl.
Rich clotheslines Rotten and Smothers heel klicks Rotten while Guido hit a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Mahoney enters and cleans house with strikes. Dreamer hits the Pitbulls with a double DDT. FBI try for three rollups and fail to get a three count. Mahoney plants Guido with the Nutcracker Suite, but Jeff Jones stops the count. Beulah low blows Jones and the original referee hits a DDT. Beulah counts the fall for Mahoney and the referee to win the match. (1/2*. I hate these matches as I’m never entertained by Axl Rotten. The finish was just a comedy thing and it really feels like they have nothing for Dreamer at the moment.)
Seventh Contest: ECW Television Champion Taz vs. Sabu: Taz decks Sabu to the floor and sends Sabu into the railing chest first. They go into the crowd where Taz continues to pummel Sabu. Sabu sends Taz into the wall face first but they continue to trade strikes. Sabu keeps a half Boston Crab on Taz for a moment and drops Taz knee first onto a steel chair. Sabu tosses a chair into Taz’s leg a few times and hits a springboard splash into the corner. Sabu controls Taz on the mat with an STF attempt, but Taz rolls away to get a few strikes in. Sabu stomps on Taz’s leg to regain control of the contest. Sabu misses a splash in the corner and Taz tries for a suplex. Taz settles for a clothesline and Sabu says that Taz broke his jaw. Taz continues to beat on Sabu with strikes in the ring. Sabu ducks a clothesline, but Taz takes Sabu down to the mat to maintain arm control anyway. Taz continues to keep Sabu on the mat with an STF. Sabu continues to beat on Taz and hits a springboard clothesline for a two count. Sabu keeps Taz on the mat with a leg lock. Taz counters a springboard and puts an arm bar on Sabu. Sabu leg drops Taz to break free and hits a slingshot somersault leg drop from the apron.
Sabu goes to the floor and lays a table over the apron and railing. Taz decks Sabu from behind and rolls Sabu back into the ring. Sabu dropkicks Taz and keeps control with strikes in the corner. Sabu hits a hurricanrana off the middle rope. Sabu lays Taz onto the table and hits a springboard leg drop through the table! Sabu keeps a chin lock on Taz and sets a table up. Taz drops Sabu face first onto the table. Taz sets the table up in the corner and hits an exploder suplex through the table! Taz signals for the end, but Sabu delivers a chair shot to break free. Sabu baseball slides Taz over the railing into the crowd. Sabu springboards off the top to take Taz out with a dive to the floor. They brawl in the crowd again with Sabu sending Taz into a door. Taz clotheslines Sabu over the railing back to the ringside area. Sabu hits another slingshot somersault leg drop. Taz tosses Sabu with an overhead suplex for a two count. Sabu hits a moonsault for a two count. Sabu keeps a chin lock on Taz, but Taz breaks free and tosses Sabu with a suplex. Sabu springboards off the ropes to deliver a leg drop for a two count. Taz tosses Sabu with another suplex for a two count. Taz reaches the ropes to break a leg lock.
Taz stops Sabu with a kick on the floor. Sabu springboard heel kicks Taz on the mat. Taz hits an overhead suplex on Sabu. Taz nearly wins with a bridging suplex. Taz puts the Taz Mission on, but Sabu delivers a low blow and a clothesline. Taz connects with another overhead suplex. Sabu continues to communicate to Alfonso about some injuries. Taz decks Sabu with a clothesline and they both remain on the mat. Sabu drives Taz leg over the apron a few times and goes back to a single leg Boston Crab. Taz and Sabu collide on stereo clothesline attempts. Taz stops Sabu with a low blow and they trade strikes from their knees. Sabu drops Taz with a low blow. They trade rollups, but neither man wins the match. Sabu clotheslines Taz in the corner, but Taz takes Sabu down to the mat. Sabu hits a split legged moonsault. Taz tosses Sabu with an overhead suplex for a two count. They collide on clotheslines and the bell rings meaning the match ends in a draw. (**1/2. I’m not really sure anyone wanted to see these guys go for thirty minutes. They did repetitive moves because it was apparent they didn’t know what to do in order to fill the time. Sabu did a few cool things in the first ten minutes, but from there it was mindless and uninteresting action. I was hopeful for a classic match and that just didn’t happen.)
Eighth Contest: Spike Dudley & New Jack vs. Dudley Boyz: As expected, Jack and Spike destroy the Dudley’s with weapons upon entering the ring. D-Von is sent into an ironing board in the corner. Spike clotheslines Bubba in the ring while Jack brawls with D-Von in the crowd. Jack whacks D-Von with a chair over the back. Big Dick hammers away on Jack while Spike hit a missile dropkick. Bubba continues to beat on Spike outside the ring and tosses Spike into the crowd. Spike whacks Bubba over the head with a chair. Jack hits a middle rope diving headbutt on D-Von. Spike hits Bubba over the back with a chair on the apron. Bubba sends Spike into the railing back first. Dudley’s manage to hit the 3D on Jack to win the match. After the match, Big Dick chokeslams Spike off the apron through a table on the floor. John Kronus enters the ring with a cooking sheet and cleans house. Kronus clotheslines Big Dick to the floor followed by a heel kick. Kronus heel kicks Bubba, too. (1/2*. It’s every New Jack match ever. Mindless hardcore wrestling with an abrupt finish.)
Main Event: Rob Van Dam vs. The Sandman: RVD avoids a kendo stick shot and hits Sandman with a leg drop. RVD dropkicks a kneeling Sandman to keep control of the match. RVD kicks Sandman from the apron. RVD leaps off the railing to kick Sandman on the jaw. Sandman fights back with strikes against the railing and scoop slams RVD onto the floor. Sandman slams a table onto RVD, as well. Sandman rolls RVD into the ring and puts RVD across the top rope before hitting a somersault leg drop. Sandman nails RVD with a slingshot leg drop from the apron. Sandman tosses RVD to the floor. Sandman tosses RVD over the railing into the crowd. Sandman introduces a ladder from backstage to ram into RVD’s ribs. Sandman sets a ladder up in the corner and puts RVD onto the ladder with a suplex for a two count. RVD tosses Sandman onto the ladder. RVD comes out of the corner to clothesline Sandman and hits a moonsault off the ladder, which was laying down in the corner. RVD tries for a monkey flip, but Sandman puts RVD on the top turnbuckle. RVD punches Sandman off the middle rope and hits a kick off the middle rope. RVD hits a standing moonsault for a two count. RVD misses a spinning heel kick and crotches himself over the top rope.
Sandman yanks RVD down to the mat by his hair. Sandman leaps off the top to hit a leg drop. Sabu comes out to smash Sandman with a chair shot. Sabu and RVD splash a ladder onto Sandman to maintain control. Alfonso has gotten into the ring as Sabu goes to the top and hits RVD on accident. Sandman sends Sabu to the floor leading to a near fall on RVD. Sandman slams RVD and gets a two count. Sandman plants RVD with a DDT. Sabu delivers a leg drop with a chair, but again hits RVD on accident. RVD spin kicks a chair into Sandman’s face. RVD puts Sandman onto a ladder and heads to the top rope. RVD leaps off and misses a frog splash. Sandman spikes RVD with a piledriver onto a chair for the win. After the match, Sabu tries to attack, but Sandman bailed to the floor. (*1/2. RVD tried to get something out of Sandman here, however the main point here was seemingly between RVD and Sabu. The main feud is between Sandman and Sabu anyway, so this is a secondary feud. They styles didn’t mesh very well and probably should have been more of a wild hardcore brawl.)
Final Thoughts:
I continue to come into these ECW house shows which high expectations and then am slapped in the face with reality. Most times, the effort just isn’t there. This should have been a well rounded show and quality action throughout. Instead, it was largely mediocre wrestling with only a few decent matches. However, that’s nowhere near enough to get a recommendation.
Thanks for reading.