Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 9/12/1998
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Lance Storm and Dawn Marie come out to kickoff the show and Storm says he’s got some bad news. Storm says that Chris Candido and Tammy Sytch are not there due to an issue with the airport. Storm has no idea how there’d be any issue with the airline. Storm thinks they are yellow cowards. Storm says he’s been told he has an opponent tonight and knows the fans paid to see him compete tonight. Storm says anyone who is capable of competing already has a match on the card. However, ECW World Champion Shane Douglas and Francine make their way out to join the segment. Douglas has his right arm in a big brace. Douglas does his usual catchphrase about his music. Douglas mentions Storm speaking badly about Candido’s girlfriend and he’s not going to have Storm out there running down Candido, Triple Threat or Pittsburgh. Douglas puts over Francine as being the hottest woman and calls Dawn Marie a skank. Storm tries to attack Douglas on the floor, but is held back by security and they are escorted backstage.
Opening Contest: Super Nova & Blue Meanie vs. Danny Doring & Ulf Herman: Nova and Doring kickoff the tag match with Nova having a top wrist lock, but Doring yanks Nova to the mat and taunts the fans. The fans chant a homophobic word towards Doring as Nova gets control again, but Doring yanks Nova to the mat by his hair, again. Nova gets a headlock on Doring and runs the ropes to deliver a facebuster on Doring. Nova tags in Meanie to keep control of the match. Doring is slammed to the mat by both men. Herman is met with a drop toe hold and snapmare. Nova delivers a neckbreaker and Meanie hits an elbow drop causing Herman to bail to the floor. Nova takes both men out with a suicide dive to the floor. Nova shoulder rams Doring and rolls into the ring, but Doring low blows Nova and Herman delivers a clothesline to gain the advantage. Herman kicks Nova and Doring drives Nova to the mat face first. Herman comes off the ropes with a leg drop for a two count. Doring comes off the top to deliver an axe handle over Nova’s back. Doring dropkicks Nova coming off the ropes and tags in Herman. Herman clotheslines Nova in the corner followed by a snapmare. Doring leg drops Nova for a two count. Doring elbows Nova and drops Nova over his knee before tagging in Herman. Herman sends Nova into the corner and is met with a boot. Herman crotches Nova on the top rope hitting a suplex. Doring splashes Nova for a two count. Doring elbow drops Nova several times and clubs Nova over the back before delivering more strikes. Nova stops Doring with a powerbomb/elbow drop combo. Meanie gets tagged in and cleans house with strikes. Meanie pummels Doring in the corner while Nova focuses on Herman. Meanie splashes Herman in the corner and Nova drops Herman with a flatliner. Meanie puts Doring in a wheelbarrow and Nova hits a DDT to pickup the win. (**. A decent opener to the show and the crowd responded very well to Meanie and Nova. There wasn’t much of a lull outside of the opening sequence of the match, so I appreciate the pacing.)
Second Contest: Balls Mahoney & Chris Chetti vs. FBI (Guido & Smothers): Chetti backs Smothers into a corner, but the referee gets between them for a break. Chetti arm drags Smothers a couple of times and scares Smothers into the corner before Smothers bails to the floor. Chetti is tripped by Tommy Rich on the floor, but Smothers doesn’t take advantage of the interference. FBI taunts the fans for a period of time with Rich getting on the microphone. Balls Mahoney joins the match similar to how it played out on the previous show. Guido and Chetti kickoff the match with Guido hip tossing Chetti to the mat. Guido fireman carries Chetti, but Chetti responds with a dropkick and a backdrop for a two count. Chetti keeps wrist control on Guido, but Guido strikes Chetti against the ropes and misses a clothesline. Chetti arm drags Guido and keeps arm control. Mahoney tags into the match and leg drops Guido on the back of the head. Guido crawls to the corner and regroups with Smothers as the fans taunt the FBI. Mahoney and Chetti also pose for the fans with Mahoney’s steel chair. Smothers tries to get the fans behind him, but that doesn’t work. Smothers knee lifts Mahoney in the midsection and continues with strikes in the corner. Mahoney nails Smothers with a short arm clothesline and several jabs. Mahoney chops Smothers in the corner before catching Smothers and looking for a slam. Smothers breaks free and heel kicks Mahoney. Mahoney fights back with jabs and a superkick for a two count.
Mahoney plants Smothers with a sit down powerbomb and clotheslines Smothers to the floor. Chetti leaps off the top to take the FBI out with a crossbody on the floor. Rich drops Chetti over the railing to help his team. Guido rolls Chetti into the ring and Smothers manages a two count. Smothers springboard clotheslines Chetti before legally tagging into the match. Smothers elbows Chetti to the mat. Smothers works over Chetti as Guido enters and the FBI hit a double awkward looking slam and an elbow drop. Rich chokes Chetti over the middle rope and Smothers gets a two count. Chetti strikes Smothers to fight back. Smothers stops Chetti with a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Smothers rams Chetti into the corner and chokes Chetti for a moment. Rich continues to get a cheap shot in as the referee is distracted by Mahoney. Chetti kicks Guido off the apron and heel kicks Smothers. Guido elbow drops Chetti from the top rope over the back to prevent a tag. Smothers returns to the match, but Chetti hits a double dropkick. Mahoney tags in and cleans house with strikes. Mahoney slams Smothers and Guido. Mahoney decks Rich off the apron. FBI are sent into each other and Mahoney hits the Nutcracker Suite on Smothers while Chetti hit a springboard moonsault on Guido for the win. (**. Once they got past the stalling it turned into an average tag match.)
Third Contest: Mikey Whipwreck vs. Jerry Lynn: Lynn arm drags Whipwreck out of the corner to start the match. Whipwreck controls Lynn with a waist lock, but Lynn breaks free. They counter each other a few times and have a standoff. Lynn takes Whipwreck down to the mat with a side headlock. Whipwreck shoves Lynn into the ropes and is met with a shoulder block. Lynn avoids a headbutt and dropkicks Whipwreck. Lynn keeps Whipwreck on the mat with a head scissors. Whipwreck breaks free from the hold and keeps a sleeper on Lynn. Lynn counters with a hammerlock on the mat. Lynn stomps Whipwreck on the mat and continues with strikes. Whipwreck decks Lynn with a clothesline. Whipwreck delivers a side Russian leg sweep for a one count. Lynn ducks a clothesline and head scissors Whipwreck followed by an arm drag. Lynn keeps Whipwreck on the mat with arm control. The fans are not thrilled by the action. Whipwreck slams Lynn, but Lynn keeps arm control. Lynn forearms Whipwreck in the corner and follows up with a clothesline. Whipwreck powerbombs Lynn for a two count. Whipwreck drives Lynn down with a backbreaker. Whipwreck chops Lynn in the corner several times. Lynn counters with several chops of his own. Lynn dumps Whipwreck to the apron and knocks Whipwreck to the floor. Lynn kicks Whipwreck into the railing before heading to the top and diving onto Whipwreck. Lynn stomps Whipwreck on the mat and hits a middle rope leg drop for a near fall. Lynn punches Whipwreck into the corner and drops Whipwreck to his knees. Whipwreck avoids Lynn in the corner to hit a northern lights suplex for a two count. Lynn counters a suplex with a reverse DDT for a two count. Whipwreck atomic drops Lynn followed by a DDT. Whipwreck heads to the top rope, but Lynn stops Whipwreck. Lynn sits Whipwreck on the top turnbuckle to hit a hurricanrana. Lynn covers for a near fall. Whipwreck elbows Lynn and manages to hit the Whippersnapper to pin Lynn. (*1/2. The crowd didn’t appear all that impressed by the action and the flow of the match seemed a bit off this time around. They lost the crowd early and never regained their interest from the boring chants.)
Fourth Contest: John Kronus vs. Sal E. Graziano: Sal shoves Kronus away and is met with kicks in the corner. Kronus sends Sal into the corner and delivers a handspring elbow followed by kicks to the leg. Kronus nails Sal with a kick to the back of the head. Kronus tries for a leaping kick, but is caught and slammed to the mat by Sal. Sal sends Kronus into the corner and charges hitting a big splash. Sal plants Kronus with a Samoan Drop for the win. (NR. Poor Kronus.)
Fifth Contest: Spike Dudley vs. Sal E. Graziano: Spike low blows Sal and hits the Acid Drop within seconds to win the match. (NR. Fans love Spike.)
Sixth Contest: Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Victory: Victory has several heels in his corner including Doring, Roadkill, Herman and Jason. Dreamer recruits Nova and Meanie to team with him. The faces put them in three tree of woes and baseball slide three chairs into their faces. Bill Wiles is also helping Dreamer. Dreamer does some dancing, but is decked by Victory from behind and the singles match begins. Dreamer is worked over by Herman as the referee was distracted. Victory works over Dreamer on the floor. Victory sends Dreamer into the railing. Victory sends Dreamer into the railing back first and continues with strikes. Dreamer fights back with right hands and punches Victory around ringside. Dreamer sends Victory over the railing into the crowd. They brawl into the crowd for a bit. Dreamer sends Victory into the wall and hits Victory with a trash can. Victory has been busted open by this point. Victory crotches Dreamer over the railing and delivers a forearm over the back. Victory keeps control in the ring with a forearm strike. Dreamer stops Victory with a neckbreaker and grabs a crutch. Victory begs off in the corner, but Herman trips Dreamer causing a brawl to breakout. Jason tries to get involved, but Dreamer drops Jason with a DDT. Victory drop toe holds Dreamer face first onto a table in the ring breaking a piece of the table and pins Dreamer. (*1/2. Wow. Victory getting a pin on Dreamer is not what I was expecting and certainly not what the Pittsburgh crowd expected. I can’t envision a time where Victory gets a substantial heel push in 1998 ECW.) After the match, New Jack makes his way out and makes the save for Dreamer. Dreamer appeared to be favoring his jaw following the attack. Dreamer does a stretcher job.
Seventh Contest: ECW Tag Team Champions Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Dudley Boys: Bubba and RVD kickoff the tag match, but Bubba doesn’t want RVD and wants Sabu instead. Sabu enters the match and is met with a knee lift by Bubba followed by an overhand strike and headbutt. Bubba keeps control with a headbutt and threatens the referee. Sabu sends Bubba into the corner chest first and delivers a heel kick. Sabu hits a slingshot somersault leg drop. Bubba slams Sabu to the mat and taunts the crowd. RVD and D-Von enter the match. D-Von stands on the middle rope yelling at RVD. RVD and D-Von trade waist locks until RVD gets control on the mat with some mat wrestling. RVD controls D-Von with a front face lock. D-Von strikes RVD to break free in the corner. RVD boots D-Von charging the corner and hits a standing hurricanrana for a two count. RVD stomps D-Von on the mat followed by a forearm strike. D-Von drives RVD off the middle rope with a neckbreaker. D-Von overhand strikes RVD over the back. D-Von tries for a neckbreaker, but RVD hits a northern lights suplex for a two count followed by a heel kick. Bubba clotheslines RVD and knocks Sabu off the apron. Sabu sets a table up over the railing and apron while D-Von backdrops RVD to the floor. Sign Guy hits Sabu over the back with his sign and gets in the ring. Sign Guy holds Sabu, but Bubba whacks Sign Guy with a chair shot. Sabu smashes Bubba with a chair shot. Sabu lays Sign Guy onto a table, but is cutoff by D-Von. Sign Guy got busted by the chair hard way.
Bubba elbows Sabu coming off the ropes and D-Von side slams Sabu for a two count. Bubba hits a tilt a whirl slam on Sabu and D-Von gets a two count. Sabu strikes Bubba several times, but is stopped by an eye rake. Big Dick is sent into the railing by RVD. Bubba snapmares Sabu and keeps control on the mat with a sleeper. Bubba side slams Sabu and the Dudley’s hit a vertical suplex/crossbody combo for a two count. D-Von chokes Sabu on the mat for a bit. D-Von strikes Sabu several times and drops Sabu with a spinning elbow strike. Sabu hits a springboard double clothesline for a two count. RVD is attacked by Big Dick on the floor. Sabu takes D-Von off the top with a hurricanrana. Bubba elbow drops Sabu for a two count. Bubba backdrops Sabu coming off the ropes. RVD strikes Big Dick against the railing. RVD sends Dick into the railing while Sabu clotheslines Bubba a couple times in the ring for a two count. Bubba slams Sabu and fails on a powerbomb attempt. Bubba hits a sit down powerbomb, but Sabu’s legs knock the referee out. RVD leg drops Bubba, but Big Dick chokeslams RVD dangerously. Dick chokeslams Sabu, as well. Sign Guy grabs a table and enters it into the ring. RVD spin kicks D-Vo and stops Bubba on the top rope. Sabu hits a hurricanrana off the top and RVD hits a frog splash! RVD and Sabu hit a rolling thunder/leg drop combo on D-Von. Sabu DDTs Bubba while RVD strikes D-Von several times onto a table. Sabu lays Bubba on the other side. Sabu misses a leg drop and goes through the table. RVD leaps off the top to kick a chair into D-Von’s face for the win. (*1/2. I honestly don’t know why I go into these tag matches thinking we’re going to get some kind of classic encounter and it literally never happens. The crowd seemed to enjoy the bout, but there wasn’t much here for me to enjoy. I think there needed to be a bit more structure.)
Main Event: ECW World Champion Shane Douglas vs. Lance Storm in a street fight: Douglas is dressed for a street fight and not in his usual gear instead wearing basketball shorts. Douglas forearms Storm in the corner several times. Douglas backdrops Storm out of the corner and Storm bails to the floor. Storm grabs a microphone and taunts Douglas from the floor. Douglas removes his brace on his right arm. Douglas shoves Storm into the corner out of a lockup. Douglas kicks Storm and continues with chops in the corner. Storm responds with chops in the corner. Douglas low blows Storm and delivers an atomic drop followed by an elbow strike. Storm kicks Douglas and tries to ram Douglas into the corner, but Douglas counters with strikes and elbow strikes Storm. Storm yanks on Douglas arm a few times. Storm controls Douglas with a test of strength, but Douglas chops free. Storm yanks Douglas to the mat out of a test of strength. Storm knee drops Douglas on the injured elbow several times. Storm walks the ropes, but Douglas slams Storm off followed by a clothesline. Douglas tries for a delayed vertical suplex, but Storm counters with a rollup for a two count. Francine goes towards Dawn Marie on the floor, but Storm protects Dawn. Francine begs off, but Douglas clotheslines Storm on the floor. Douglas sends Storm into the railing. Douglas rams Storm into the railing chest first. Douglas sends Storm into the railing back first, but Storm backdrops Douglas into the crowd. Storm pulls down on the injured arm of Douglas to keep the advantage.
Storm wraps Douglas arm around the ring post before returning to the ring. Douglas strikes Storm and they trade blows. Storm misses a clothesline and runs the ropes to deliver an arm breaker. Storm lifts Douglas up with a modified chicken wing. Dawn and Francine get in the ring to have a catfight where Francine strips Dawn. Francine low blows Storm and Douglas hits a reverse DDT for the win. (*. Douglas not being in his gear made me quickly realize that this was not going to be high effort, and that was exactly the case. I’m sure these guys are capable of a good match, but Douglas being hampered by injuries prevented that from happening.)
Final Thoughts:
I thought maybe being in Pittsburgh with a good size crowd that there would be a better effort, and I was simply wrong. This is a show you avoid. I wish I didn’t have the mindset of having to review double shots, but I do.
Thanks for reading.