Written by: Heels Inc.
TV 1996-07-02 (matches taped Hardcore Heaven 1996-06-22 at The ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA)
Champions
World: Raven
TV: Chris Jericho
Tag Team: Eliminators
Another short recap today as we are 90% Hardcore Heaven footage here.
You can read my FULL Hardcore Heaven ’96 Review Here!
The show opens with Raven on a park bench talking about the sacrifices that a father and mother make. He starts walking around the playground talking about how parents will do anything to make sure their kids grow up properly but that they still turn to him to follow. Since Raven controls the children he controls the future. Tyler appears and says “quote the Raven never more”
Opening video
Joey Styles welcomes us to the show. He recaps what happened last week with Raven and Sandman and his family. We see some highlights of everything as Joey runs down the happenings. Joey explains a match that has been signed for Heat Wave where Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Terry Gordy will face Raven, Brian Lee and Stevie Richards. Raven and Sandman will start in a cage with Richards and Gordy above the arena and Dreamer and Lee outside the cage. I think you have to fight into the cage and beat Raven. It was very confusing.
Tommy Dreamer joins Styles to talk about a tag match taking place on July 12. It’s going to be Dreamer and Terry Gordy taking on Raven and Brian Lee. Dreamer guarantees that bloodshed and taking it to the extreme.
Back from commercial and we get the entire match between “Lionheart” Chris Jericho and TV Champion Pitbull 2. Jericho was able to pull the win out of nowhere and win his first title in the United States.
Back from commercial and we are with Joey who recaps the title change. Joey predicts Jericho will go on to bigger and better things and win plenty of world titles in the future but his first will always have been in ECW.
After commercial we’re back to Joey and he brings us to the Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Big Dick Dudley against the F.B.I. match. We get brief highlights of that match with Styles doing a voice over. Joey wants to know who’s in charge of the Dudley family.
After a Hype Central for the Hardcore Heaven video tape we get the Weapons match between Tommy Dreamer and “Primetime” Brian Lee. Dreamer finally gets a major win in this feud with a DDT. After the match however Lee chokeslamed Dreamer off a balcony through three tables!
My thoughts on the show
Well you get Chris Jericho winning the TV title and the Weapons match on this weeks show. Both worth seeing but obviously if you have seen Hardcore Heaven nothing to watch this week.