Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 6/21/1996
From: Plymouth Meeting, PA
Opening Contest: Bad Crew (Dog & Rose) vs. Damien Kane & Devon Storm: They start off brawling before the bell sounds. Storm is sent hard into the corner and flips over the corner to the floor. Dog suicide dives onto Storm outside the ring and Kane is suplexed into the ring from the apron. Bad Crew hit a Hart Attack clothesline on Storm for a two count. Rose nails Storm with a somersault dive off the top for a near fall. Rose holds Storm over his knee as Dog hit a middle rope leg drop for a near fall. Rose shoulder rams Storm in the corner several times. Storm kicks a chair into Rose’s face in the corner leading to a two count. Storm clotheslines Rose out of a chair and tags in Kane to deliver an elbow drop to the lower midsection. Kane stomps Rose on the knee to keep the advantage. Kane and Storm hit a double slingshot suplex on Rose for a two count. Kane slams Rose and Storm hits a springboard moonsault. Storm locks in an Indian death lock on Rose, but doesn’t get a submission. Kane elbow drops Rose several times as the referee was distracted and locks in a sloppy half Boston Crab. Storm comes off the ropes to elbow drop Rose over the back followed by a suplex. Kane puts Rose on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex. Storm leaps off the top barely hitting a moonsault and delivers a quick leg drop. Storm delivers a chair shot on the floor to Rose. Storm hits a somersault dive over the top to the floor. Storm plants Dog with a DDT and rolls Dog to the floor to deliver another somersault dive. Kane covers Rose in the corner and picks up the win. (**. The match started off a lot better than I ever expected it to start, and then it kind of spiraled into a level of sloppy that was more expected. It was an example of a match going a little too long and they exposed themselves as being sloppy workers. Despite that, I’d say it was a good opener overall. Storm doing dives to makeup for a couple of misses was a good coverup.)
Before the next match, Hack Myers tosses the ring announcer into the guard railing and delivers a chair shot to the back.
Second Contest: FBI (Little Guido & JT Smith) vs. Axl Rotten & Hack Myers: Rotten and Myers scare the FBI from the ring with chairs. Rotten and Smith kickoff the match with Rotten decking Smith. Myers and Guido enter with Guido being backdropped by Rotten and rolls to the floor to regroup. Rotten and Smith are the legal men and Smith bites Rotten’s butt. Smith gets a waist lock on Myers, but Myers gets to the ropes quickly. Guido tags into the match and Myers gains wrist control. Rotten tags into the bout and strikes Guido over the arm a few times. Rotten sends Guido into the corner and continues with overhand strikes. Rotten snap suplexs Guido for a two count. Smith declines a tag attempt by Guido and is knocked off the apron. Myers and Smith lockup and trade a few holds on the mat leading to a standoff. Smith shoulder blocks Rotten and is met with an arm drag and hip toss. Myers axe handles Smith from the middle rope and goes back to wrist control. Smith stops Rotten with a low blow and Rotten is double teamed briefly as Myers tries to get involved, but is stopped by the referee. Smith wraps Rotten’s leg around the ring post. Guido scoop slams Rotten and keeps control on the injured knee. Smith tags back in and controls Rotten on the mat with a leg lock. Guido returns and is driven down by Rotten with a Dominator. Rotten tags in Myers and Myers cleans house with strikes. Myers nails Guido with a clothesline and tosses Guido to the floor. Myers slingshots Smith into the ring and grabs a chain. Myers decks Smith twice with the chain and gets the win. The match gets restarted and while the referee is distracted, Guido decks Myers with the weapon and Smith gets the pin. (*. There wasn’t much to this one. I was a bit surprised by how over Myers still is with the crowd. The finish is a bit lousy, but I can see why they did it to get the FBI some more heat, which seemed to fail.)
Third Contest: Mikey Whipwreck vs. ECW Tag Team Champion John Kronus: Kronus shoves Whipwreck to the match and taunts Whipwreck. Kronus shoves Whipwreck to the mat and Whipwreck rolls to the floor where Kronus baseball slides Whipwreck. Kronus backs Whipwreck into the corner, but Whipwreck arm drags Kronus before hitting a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Whipwreck rolls Kronus into the ring and heads to the top rope. Whiwpreck nails Kronus with a flying clothesline for a two count. Kronus heel kicks Whipwreck. Kronus drops Whipwreck with a right hand and tosses Whipwreck across the ring. Kronus slams Whipwreck, but misses a moonsault off the middle rope. Whipwreck strikes Kronus and staggers Kronus with a clothesline before hitting a leaping clothesline for a two count. Whipwreck leg drops Kronus for another near fall. Kronus comes off the ropes and kicks Whipwreck in the head. Kronus suplexs Whipwreck off the middle rope. Kronus comes off the ropes to headbutt Whipwreck and they go to the floor. Kronus whacks Whipwreck over the back with a non-folding chair before sending Whipwreck into the railing back first. Whipwreck fights back by hitting a top rope somersault dive over the ring post to the floor onto Kronus! Whipwreck whacks Kronus over the head with a chair shot. Whipwreck sunset flips Kronus for a two count from the apron. Whipwreck backslides Kronus for a near fall. Whipwreck tries for another rollup, but Kronus is in the ropes. Kronus kicks Whipwreck in the midsection. Kronus tilt a whirl slams. Kronus slams Whipwreck and hits a somersault leg drop for the win. (*1/2. Aside from a couple of decent spots, this was a bit of a letdown. The crowd didn’t seem to be overly interested in the bout either.)
Before the next match, Stevie Richards is impersonating Baron Von Raschke. There’s an extended segment where Richards talks to D-Von, but the microphone quality isn’t very good.
Fourth Contest: ECW World Champion Raven & Stevie Richards vs. Dudley Boys: Richards and Raven work over Bubba to kickoff the match. Bubba is met with a double elbow as D-Von stands in the corner watching his brother get beaten up. Richards low blows Bubba and puts the claw on Bubba. Bubba avoids a running claw and gets his hand stuck on the top turnbuckle. Bubba pulls down Richards pants exposing Richards in his boxers. Bubba splashes Richards, but is decked by Raven. Raven plants Bubba with a piledriver. Richards and Raven continue to double team Bubba hitting a suplex. D-Von grabs a chair from the floor and Raven does his arm taunt. D-Von sits on the chair in the corner as Bubba continues to be double teamed. Bubba drops both men with a double clothesline and cleans house with forearms. Richards waits for Bubba to turnaround and delivers a superkick. D-Von forearms Bubba and Raven almost wins with a rollup. Richards superkicks Bubba and Raven spikes Bubba with a DDT for the win. (*1/2. I was a bit interested in this knowing the history of the Dudley’s and what they’d become. However, we’ve clearly not reached the point where D-Von is fully onboard with Bubba as a partner. The extended beatdown on Bubba wasn’t all boring, so that was a positive.) After the match, D-Von gets on the microphone and claims that he was thinking about what was said and how they should maybe makeup. D-Von whacks Bubba over the head with a chair shot and the rest of the Dudley family are met with chair shots to be left laying.
Fifth Contest: Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam: RVD backs Jericho against the ropes to start the match, but Jericho gets in RVD’s face. Jericho backs RVD into a corner and backs off after slapping RVD across the face. RVD strikes Jericho a few times followed by a kick to the face. RVD nails Jericho with a superkick. Jericho backdrops RVD over the top to the floor. Jericho dropkicks RVD off the apron to the floor. Jericho springboard dropkicks RVD off the apron to the floor. Jericho heads to the top rope and missile dropkicks RVD. RVD rolls back into the ring and Jericho delivers a delayed vertical suplex. Jericho casually kicks RVD in the face a few times and pulls back on RVD”s arm with his knee pressed into RVD”s shoulders. Jericho hits a double under hook powerbomb for a near fall. RVD elbows Jericho followed by right hands. RVD runs into a spinning heel kick and rolls to the floor. RVD pulls Jericho to the floor and delivers strikes on the floor before sending Jericho over the railing into the crowd. RVD somersaults Jericho in the crowd from off the railing. RVD smashes Jericho with a few chair shots. RVD leg drops Jericho over the back in the crowd before tossing Jericho back to the ringside area. RVD forearms Jericho against the railing several times. RVD superkicks Jericho against the railing and they return to the ring. RVD hits a slingshot leg drop into the ring. RVD tries for a cover, but Jericho kicks out at two. Jericho ducks a clothesline and hits a bridging suplex for a near fall.
RVD cuts Jericho off with a clothesline to regain control of the bout. RVD strikes Jericho into the corner and chokes Jericho in the corner for a moment. RVD tries for a monkey flip, but Jericho sits RVD on the top rope and hits a hurricanrana! Jericho tries for a cover, but RVD kicks out at two. Jericho scoop slams RVD and heads to the top rope again. Jericho splashes onto RVD and covers for a two count. Jericho chops RVD against the ropes a few times. RVD ducks a clothesline, but Jericho hits a fisherman suplex. Jericho tries for a springboard moonsault, but RVD kicks Jericho in midair and tosses a chair into the ring. RVD smashes Jericho in the face with the chair. RVD monkey flips Jericho out of the corner onto the chair. RVD tries for a powerbomb, but Jericho counters with a hurricanrana onto the chair. Jericho backdrops RVD onto the chair. Jericho grabs the chair and smashes RVD over the head a couple of times. RVD recovers to kick the chair into Jericho’s face. RVD chokes Jericho on the apron and puts a chair onto Jericho’s chest and delivers a leg drop over the apron. RVD leaps off the top to kick Jericho in the face and pins Jericho to win the match. (***1/2. I’d say this is one of the better ECW house shows I’ve ever seen. Plenty of action and they filled the time with worthwhile action. The crowd responded to the action fairly well, as well.) After the match, RVD attacks Jericho until Sabu comes out and runs RVD off. Sabu is held back by several wrestlers.
Sixth Contest: Taz & Bill Alfonso vs. The Sandman & Tod Gordon: Gordon hits Alfonso with a kendo stick and Sandman does the same to Taz before sending Taz to the floor. Sandman grabs Alfonso on the apron and holds Alfonso over the top rope to allow Gordon to kick Alfonso several times. Sandman press slams Gordon into Alfonso. Taz catches Gordon and slams him. Sandman punches Taz a few times, but Taz blocks and decks Sandman to the mat. Sandman strikes Taz several more times. Taz tries for a suplex, but Gordon holds onto Sandman’s leg to block it. Alfonso sends Gordon to the floor. Taz locks in the Taz Mission on Sandman, but Sandman is in the ropes. Gordon returns to the ring with a broom and hits Alfonso a few times before whacking Taz, but Taz no sells the shots. Taz puts the Taz Mission on Gordon. Gordon goes lifeless quickly. Taz puts the Taz Mission on Sandman and Sandman passes out. The referee checks both men and calls for the bell. (*. A harmless match, but Taz is an excellent ass kicking character.) After the match, Alfonso grabs Missy Hyatt and chokes her out.
Seventh Contest: ECW Television Champion Pitbull #2 vs. ECW Tag Team Champion Perry Saturn in an extreme death match: Pitbull back suplexs Saturn to get out of a headlock. Saturn kicks Pitbull and comes off the ropes to deliver a kick over the head. Saturn delivers a savant kick for a two count. Saturn continues with a side Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Pitbull press slams Saturn to the mat. Pitbull nails Saturn with a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Pitbull plants Saturn with a running powerslam for a near fall. Pitbull kicks Saturn in the corner several times. Saturn elbows Pitbull in the corner and hits a middle rope bulldog for a near fall. Pitbull drops Saturn with a clothesline. Pitbull powerbombs Saturn and goes for a cover managing a two count. Pitbull keeps a sleeper on Saturn, but doesn’t get a submission. Pitbull backs Saturn into a corner and delivers a few strikes. Saturn boots Pitbull in the corner and arm drags Pitbull for a near fall. Saturn drops Pitbull on his head with a German suplex after a springboard moonsault attempt. Pitbull avoids a clothesline and tries for a powerbomb, but Saturn counters and head scissors Pitbull over the top to the floor causing both men to crash to the outside. Saturn sends Pitbull into the ring post and hits Pitbull with his chain. Saturn sends Pitbull into the railing ribs first. Saturn strikes Pitbull several times on the floor and drops Pitbull gut first over the railing. Saturn heads to the top and dives over the railing to take Pitbull out with a dive. Saturn tries for a cover in the crowd, but Pitbull kicks out at two. Pitbull has been busted open at this point.
Saturn continues to pummel Pitbull with strikes in the crowd. Saturn sends Pitbull into a female fan against the railing, but makes sure she’s okay. Saturn sends Pitbull into the wall and there’s a blood streak left on the white wall. Saturn bulldogs Pitbull on the stage for another two count. Saturn kicks Pitbull over the back of the head causing Pitbull to fall off the stage. Saturn tries for a crossbody, but is caught and Pitbull spikes Saturn with a tombstone in the crowd! Pitbull tries for a cover, but Saturn kicks out at two. Saturn strikes Pitbull a few times to maintain the advantage. Saturn nails Pitbull with a chair shot and a knee lift. Saturn sends Pitbull into the ring post. Saturn climbs to the top rope, but is caught and slammed in midair for a two count. Pitbull lifts Saturn into the air and down to the mat gut first. Pitbull climbs to the top rope, but is met with a kick to the chest. Saturn dropkicks Pitbull into the corner and sits Pitbull on the top rope. Saturn hits a top rope hurricanrana for a two count. Pitbull slams Saturn for a near fall. Saturn responds with a slam of his own and climbs to the top rope. Saturn hits a diving headbutt. Saturn is stopped on the top rope by Pitbull and they trade a few strikes. Pitbull tosses Saturn with a middle rope fallaway slam and pins Saturn to retain the title. (***. A good match that didn’t have the level of violence of weapons usage that you’d probably think there would be considering some TV promos. Luckily, they still put together an enjoyable brawl. I’m convinced Saturn would have been an ECW World Champion had he stuck around in the company.)
Eighth Contest: Shane Douglas vs. Sabu: Sabu strikes Douglas several times to kickoff the match. Sabu sends Douglas into the corner chest first and delivers a clothesline. Sabu hits a split legged moonsault for a two count. Sabu backdrops Douglas out of the corner for another near fall. Douglas drops Sabu with a swinging neckbreaker. Douglas spikes Sabu with a piledriver and delivers a few stomps on the mat. Douglas drives Sabu to the mat with a neckbreaker for a near fall. Douglas snapmares Sabu and puts a head scissors on the mat. Douglas forearm strikes Sabu over the back followed by a stomp and knee drop for a two count. Douglas chokes Sabu over his back until the referee stops the hold. Douglas does the choke again, but Sabu floats over and kicks Douglas to the floor. Sabu baseball slides the chair into Douglas face and Dogulas ends up in the crowd. Sabu smashes Douglas with another chair shot to the face and loses footing on a springboard. Douglas pulls Sabu into the crowd, but Sabu sends Douglas into the railing ribs first. Sabu grabs another chair and springboards onto Douglas in the crowd. Sabu rolls Douglas into the ring and delivers a scoop slam. Sabu springboard leg drops Douglas for a near fall. Sabu plants Douglas with a DDT and hits a springboard moonsault. Douglas drives Sabu down to the mat with a tombstone. Douglas spikes Sabu with another piledriver for a near fall. Douglas tries for a neckbreaker, but Sabu counters to deliver a neckbreaker of his own.
Sabu drops Douglas onto the apron and delivers a kick. Sabu lays Douglas over the middle rope and hits a leg drop from the top! Sabu tries for a cover, but Douglas powers out at two, again. Sabu strikes Douglas on the mat several times. Sabu sits Douglas over the ropes. Sabu stomps Douglas on the mat several times. Sabu rams Douglas groin first into the ring post causing Douglas to drop to the floor. Sabu lays a table over the railing and apron. Sabu knocks the referee down and loses footing on another springboard causing Sabu to somersault and crash through the table that Douglas is standing on. Douglas rolls Sabu into the ring where RVD has arrived. RVD sits Sabu on the top turnbuckle and hits a fisherman buster off the middle rope. Douglas covers, but Sabu kicks out at two. Douglas hooks Sabu and delivers a vertical suplex. Douglas tries for a cover, but stops the referee at two. Douglas crotches Sabu onto the top turnbuckle. Paul Heyman comes out and demands the match be stopped as Sabu is out of it. The locker room empties to pull Douglas off of Sabu. (**1/2. A decent match with a disappointing finish, but I can understand the finish to avoid anyone doing a job on the house show. Douglas tends to have a history of injuring necks, so this makes sense. I enjoyed the bout, but I wish Sabu didn’t purposely slip on dives to hurt the flow of the match. Though, the last slip through the table is what led to the finish anyway.)
Main Event: Tommy Dreamer & The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa) vs. Brian Lee & The Bruise Brothers (Ron & Don Harris) in a falls count anywhere match: The match starts as a massive brawl with a trash can in the ring already. The brawling continues to the floor where Dreamer is sent into a table by Don. Lee suplexs Dreamer through a table on the floor. Jack and Ron brawl into the crowd where Jack sends Ron into several chairs. Lee and Dreamer brawl outside where Dreamer tossed rocks into Lee. Lee sends Dreamer into a car face first. Lee rams Dreamer into the car several times. Dreamer throws Lee into several chairs and smashes Lee with a trash can. The brawling is wild at this point with mayhem all throughout the crowd as the six man beat each other up. Dreamer is put through another table. Mustafa is shoved into a table. They make their way back to the ring and ringside area. Dreamer delivers a double DDT to the Bruise Brothers. Lee chokeslams Dreamer. Lee throws a cinder block into the ring. Three blocks are put on Dreamer’s chest. Lee smashes the blocks with a steel chair and covers Dreamer to win the match. (**. The kind of brawl you’d expect from these guys and the mayhem got over with the crowd well. It’s a short match and didn’t overstay its welcome. The finish was strong for the match and I wasn’t expecting Dreamer to lose to Lee here. A fine way to end the show.)
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a good house show as we got some good action throughout. The lesser quality was kept relatively short and didn’t hurt the show. Jericho/RVD, Douglas/Sabu and Pitbull/Saturn were the good matches. Devon Storm performed well in the opener, too. Mild recommendation to check it out.
Thanks for reading.