ECW Hardcore TV 12/6/1997

Written by: Bob Colling

Extreme Championship Wrestling presents Hardcore TV
Date: 12/6/1997
From: Philadelphia, PA & Queens, NY

Matches:
1.) Mikey Whipwreck defeated Spike Dudley
2.) Rob Van Dam defeated Al Snow

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) At November To Remember, Shane Douglas regained the ECW World Championship from Bam-Bam Bigelow. Douglas is having surgery on his right elbow and it’s rumored to be the end of his career.

2.) Whipwreck and Spike shake hands to show respect for each other. Spike backs Whipwreck into the corner, but cleanly breaks away. Spike head scissors Whipwreck out of the corner. Spike head scissors Whipwreck over the top to the floor and hits a somersault dive off the apron to take Mikey out on the floor. Mikey counters a rollup and nearly wins. Spike trips Whipwreck and gets a two count with a rollup. Mikey drops Spike throat first over the top rope to counter a head scissors. Mikey counters a bulldog out of the corner and tosses Spike over the top to send Spike crashing through a table on the floor! Mikey gets a two count upon returning to the ring. Mikey takes Spike down with a vertical suplex and heads to the top rope. Whipwreck tries for a hurricanrana, but Spike counters with a powerbomb. Spike nearly wins the match on a pin attempt. Whipwreck ducks a clothesline to savant kick Spike to the floor. Mikey hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor to take out Spike. Spike gets out of a back suplex and connects with the Acid Drop for a two count. Spike tries for a sunset flip, but Whipwreck sits down for a near fall. Spike takes Whipwreck down with a side Russian leg sweep. Spike gets stopped on the top turnbuckle by Mikey. Mikey hits a middle rope Whippersnapper for the win. (**1/2. A change of pace and style of match compared to what we’ve seen the last several weeks. The finisher by Whipwreck was cool. I’m glad Mikey won the match as he needs some momentum.)

3.) Joey Styles highlights the feud between Mikey Whipwreck and Justin Credible. Credible has been on a winning streak, but at November To Remember, Whipwreck managed to win the match with the Whippersnapper. Styles notes that Whipwreck has had success at November To Remember and we see footage from the 1995 November To Remember where Whipwreck defeated Steve Austin.

4.) Sandman is limping backstage and simply says “God, I love ECW.”

5.) RVD dropkicks Snow on the knee as Snow had Alfonso by the collar. RVD delivers a leg drop to keep Snow on the mat. RVD dropkicks a kneeling Snow and delivers a forearm. Snow dropkicks RVD as he does a split. Snow dropkicks RVD through the ropes to the floor. Snow takes RVD out with a springboard somersault dive to the floor. Snow grabs a chair from the crowd and whacks RVD over the head and the midsection. Snow rolls RVD into the ring and taunts RVD for a few moments. Snow stomps on RVD followed by a clothesline. Snow gets a two count following a leg drop. Snow delivers a few strikes to RVD’s lower back before hitting a back suplex. Snow is covering his ears and is talking to himself. Snow grabs RVD and delivers a powerbomb. RVD takes Snow down to the mat, but Snow delivers a savant kick. Snow follows RVD to the floor and sends RVD back first into the railing. RVD boots Snow and tries for a springboard on the railing, but slips and crotches himself. Snow tries to do the same and also gets crotched by Alfonso. RVD kicks a chair into Snow’s face, which was held by Alfonso.

RVD knocks Snow down with a savant kick on the floor. RVD pummels Snow with right hands on the floor and hits a slingshot leg drop to the outside! RVD forearms Snow a few times on the floor and they return to the ring. RVD drops Snow with a standing spin kick to drop Snow. RVD hits a twisting frog splash off the middle rope for a two count. Snow clotheslines RVD to regain control and goes back to covering his ears. Alfonso is blowing his whistle and drops down. Snow chases after Alfonso, but RVD cuts Snow off with a baseball slide to send Snow over the railing into the crowd. RVD tries for a slingshot into the crowd, but Snow blocks with a chair. They trade a few strikes in the crowd until Snow clotheslines RVD over the railing back to the ringside area. RVD comes off the ropes with a spinning heel kick after ducking a clothesline. RVD slams Snow and goes to the top rope hitting a frog splash for a two count. RVD forearms Snow into the corner. RVD boots Snow in the corner, but Snow counters with a tilt a whirl shoulder breaker. Snow spikes RVD with a Snow Plow, but doesn’t go for the cover. Alfonso runs around ringside and goes backstage as Snow chases him.

Snow gets hit by Sabut by the curtain and he was hit with a chair. Sabu and RVDm miss stereo splashes and crash through a table in the middle of the ring! Snow tries for the cover, but RVD kicks out at two. Snow drops Sabu with a throat thrust and a steel chair shot. RVD kicks a chair into Snow’s face and gets the three count. (**1/2. There were a few sloppy moments, but the match was enjoyable and the crowd seemed to liked it. Snow’s transformation into a lunatic seems to be slowly taking place. That’s a good thing for Snow since he’s just been wrestling in his New Rockers gear and doesn’t really have a direction for the character, at all.)

6.) Stevie Richards is sitting in a locker room and feels like he has a need to address his audience and fans. Richards notes that he was in WCW for the past five months. While he was there, he was able to think about a lot of things. Richards was thinking about June 7th, which was the day he was suppose to wrestle Terry Funk for the ECW World Championship, but couldn’t do so due to injury. Richards couldn’t believe the chants that he was getting when he came out to the ring. Richards remembers the insults that the fans were giving him and it caught him off guard. Richards went to WCW and was called a sellout. Richards says those chants really got to him. Richards came to a conclusion that he’s better than the fans. Richards realized that he’s the superstar of professional wrestling. Richards says you shouldn’t let petty anger get to you. Richards believes the only opinion that matters is his own. Richards forgives the fans and says its water under the bridge. Richards issues a blessing to the fans. Richards trips on a chair and says “what? A superstar can’t trip?”

Final Thoughts:
A solid show this week with the focus on two feature matches and the apparent return of Stevie Richards. I’m not really sure if the Richards character is going for is going to be successful in ECW. He was on the rise in the summer, and is now seemingly lost after a brief WCW run with Raven. I’m not really sure where Richards would fit in at this point.

Thanks for reading.