Extreme Championship Wrestling presents Hardcore TV
Date: 9/3/2000
From: New York, NY
Matches:
1.) EZ Money & Julio Dinero defeated Christian York & Joey Matthews in a tag title tournament match
2.) Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger defeated Nova & Chris Chetti in a tag title tournament match
3.) Mikey Whipwreck & Tajiri defeated Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke in a tag title tournament match
4.) Jerry Lynn & Tommy Dreamer defeated Rob Van Dam & Kid Kash in a tag title tournament match
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Joey Styles starts the show in the ring as the ECW fans are going nuts for the first show in the Hammerstein ballroom. Cyrus makes his way out to cutoff Styles. Styles says that TNN is the worst network that he’s ever seen. They are censoring TNN on the show. Cyrus calls the fans morons and says that Canada is better than NYC. Cyrus is sick of the fans and sick of Styles. Cyrus shoves Styles to the mat, which makes Styles take off his jacket. Cyrus bails to the floor and is chased backstage by Styles to end the segment.
2.) Money and Dinero attack York and Matthews before the bell with right hands. Matthews kicks Dinero and they hit the Future Shock before clotheslining Money over the top to the floor. York head scissors Dinero on the floor. Matthews hits a top rope crossbody onto both men on the floor. Matthews ducks a clothesline and takes Money out with a suicide dive. Money yanks Matthews off the apron hitting the apron face first. Money sends Matthews into the guard railing and Matthews is rolled back into the ring. Money nails Matthews with the Money Clip followed by a standing moonsault for a two count. Matthews is met with a double hip toss and a double wheelbarrow suplex for a near fall. Matthews hammers away on Dinero, but is met with an elbow strike. Dinero misses a top rope moonsault. York gets the hot tag and cleans house with strikes. Money decks York from behind, but York sends Money into Dinero on the top rope. York plants Money face first to the mat. Matthews messes up a hurricanrana off the top. York elbow drops Dinero off the top. However, Hamrick gets involved hitting a top rope leg drop allowing Money to pin York for the win. (**1/4. There was some really good crowd energy and the action was solid throughout. It was a bummer that the finish was kind of messed up by Matthews. I think the right team went over as Money and Dinero seem to be better prepared for this kind of spot at the moment.)
3.) Swinger and Diamond attack before the bell. Nova pulls Swinger by his hair from the apron. Nova low blows Swinger and Diamond is double kicked to the mat. Chetti nails Swinger with a leaping side kick. Chetti and Nova hit stereo crossbody blocks on opposite sides of the ring. Swinger sends Chetti into the guard railing while Nova and Diamond are in the ring. Swinger drops Nova over the top rope throat first allowing a clothesline by Diamond. Diamond sends Nova into the corner, but runs into a boot. Nova goes for a tornado DDT, but Diamond counters with a northern lights suplex. Swinger enters to hit a reverse DDT/side slam combo on Nova for a two count. Swinger pummels Nova with right hands. Swinger stomps on Nova several times. Swinger tosses Nova with a suplex and they trade right hands. Nova hits a powerbomb/elbow drop to Swinger. Diamond and Chetti are tagged in with Chetti cleaning house. Chetti powerslams Diamond. Chetti springboard heel kicks Swinger, but Diamond makes the save on the cover. Diamond collides with Swinger on accident, but Chetti is sent into the ropes and met with a chair shot. Diamond almost wins the match. Nova plants Diamond with the Spin Doctor for a near fall. All four men are in the ring brawling. Chetti accidentally spin kicks Nova allowing for the Problem Solver and Swinger pins Chetti for the win. (**1/4. There were elements to the match that felt similar to the previous match. It was a fine match and held my interest. I’m a little surprised by the outcome, but Swinger and Diamond getting a little push in this tournament is a fine direction to go in.)
4.) Da Baldies are trying to get in the club, but Matty gives them a bit of an issue before being allowed into the club. They want to fight everyone in the club. However, Redd Dogg (Rodney Mack) is acting as security and tells them to leave. Baldies back off and leave the club. Dogg invites them to bring it on if they want some of him.
5.) Electra is at the club celebrating her teams win by dancing with other women.
6.) Tajiri and Guido trade some mat wrestling before having a standoff. They shove each other and trade a few moves. Guido counters a backslide and they have a standoff again. Tajiri kicks Guido on the thigh and delivers an elbow strike. Guido gets an arm bar on Tajiri, but can’t get a submission. Mamaluke enters the match and hits an overhead suplex for a two count on Tajiri. Tajiri superkicks Mamaluke and plays to the crowd. Tajiri kicks Mamaluke in the head and delivers a backbreaker as Whipwreck hits an elbow drop from the apron. Mamaluke is driven down with a double spinebuster and gut buster. Tajiri and Whipwreck deliver stereo dropkicks to Mamaluke as the crowd is going nuts for the action. Tajiri and Whipwreck drive Guido down to the mat and Tajiri delivers a kick to the face. Tajiri stops Mamaluke on the apron with a kick and knocks Mamaluke to the floor. Minister hits Mamaluke with his cane and Whipwreck gets a two count. Whipwreck misses a back suplex and Guido dropkicks Whipwreck leading to a near fall. Guido rams Whipwreck into the corner followed by strikes. Guido stops Whipwreck on the middle rope and Mamaluke hits a middle rope side Italian leg sweep for a near fall. Mamaluke goes to the top rope and plants Whipwreck with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Guido counters with the Whippersnapper, but Whipwreck hits it on a second attempt. Tajiri kicks Mamaluke and Guido. Tajiri hits a handspring back elbow to Mamaluke and kicks Guido on the apron. Tajiri locks in the tarantula on Guido, but is punted by Mamaluke. Mamaluke is stopped on the top rope by Whipwreck. Whipwreck hits a top rope Whippersnapper. Tajiri connects with a running dropkick and pins Mamaluke for the win. (***1/2. Hell of a match and one of the best TV matches of the year thus far. Crowd was fired up for it. I hope to see these two teams battle it out more often. A series of matches between these two teams would be killer.)
7.) RVD and Lynn kickoff the main event with both men trading holds on the mat. Lynn runs the ropes and kicks RVD in the midsection. Lynn avoids a leg sweep and they trade forearm strikes. RVD kicks Lynn a few times, but Lynn hits a dragon screw leg whip. Lynn misses a leg drop and RVD gets a body scissors rollup for a two count. Kash tags into the match to try his luck against Lynn. Lynn kicks Kash in the midsection and hits a middle rope crossbody. Kash gets up and shoulder rams Lynn in the corner followed by a few chops. Lynn elbows a charging Kash in the corner. Lynn chops Kash in the corner a few times. Kash chops Lynn in the corner to gain the advantage. Lynn gets a rollup out of the corner for a two count. Lynn ducks a clothesline and monkey flips Kash, but Kash lands on his feet. Lynn gets an arm lock on Kash to gain the advantage. Dreamer tags into the match and hits a middle rope elbow/side slam combo for a two count on Kash. Dreamer catches Kash on a crossbody to hit a fallaway slam. Dreamer hits a vertical suplex on Kash and tags in Lynn. Lynn leg drops Kash after a drop toe hold by Dreamer. Lynn keeps a headlock on Kash before delivering a few strikes in the corner. Kash kicks Lynn in the corner and hits a moonsault off the top. RVD nails Lynn with a step over heel kick and a spin kick to Dreamer. RVD press slams Lynn to the mat followed by a standing moonsualt for a two count. Kash slams Dreamer and they hit double standing moonsaults onto Dreamer for a near fall.
Lynn kicks RVD charging the corner and tries for a tornado DDT, but RVD avoids it. Lynn hits a German suplex on RVD and both men are down. Lynn sits RVD on the top turnbuckle. Kash slams Lynn and RVD drops Kash onto Lynn followed by a split legged moonsault for a near fall. RVD kicks Lynn against the ropes. RVD collides with Dreamer on the apron and Kash takes Dreamer out with a dive on the floor. RVD sends Lynn to the apron and Lynn hits a twisting crossbody to the floor to take out Dreamer and Lynn. RVD takes everyone out with a somersault dive to the floor. Dreamer chops Kash in the corner and Kash slips on a springboard attempt. Dreamer drives Kash down with a back suplex. Dreamer plants Kash with a cutter. RVD kicks Dreamer by jumping off the top rope. Lynn misses a chair shot and RVD kicks the chair into Lynn’s face. RVD goes to the top hitting the Five Star Frog Splash. Justin Credible has come down to ringside with a kendo stick and whacks RVD over the back. Rhino GORES RVD. Dreamer spikes RVD with a piledriver and baseball slides Rhino on the floor. Dreamer and Rhino brawl backstage. Lynn grabs RVD and delivers a few knee stirkes. Lynn spikes RVD with a cradle piledriver to pin RVD for the win. (***. A good main event that loses a little bit of enjoyment because of the involvement by Credible and Rhino. Lynn getting a pin on RVD on TV is a huge moment for him. Sure, Lynn has a win on PPV, but a TV pin fall over RVD is a strong move, too. This has to be setting up RVD going after Credible at some point for the title, right?)
Final Thoughts:
A hot crowd and all the matches delivered quality entertainment. An easy thumbs up this week for ECW Hardcore TV.
Thanks for reading.