Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 5/29/1999
From: Fall River, MA
NOTE: This show is not filmed at ringside, but rather filmed from an elevated level.
MATCH #1: SKULL VON CRUSH VS. STEVE CORINO
FINISH: Skull thought he won the match after a lifting DDT, but Corino had his foot on the ropes. Moments later, Corino superkicks Skull in the corner and wins with a rollup and his feet on the ropes.
Bob’s Take: Looks like the tape starts just as the match is beginning and Skull was slamming Corino in the ring a few times, so not much is missed here, I’m assuming. The crowd is responding rather well to Skull’s offense on Corino as the crowd must hate Corino a lot. I feel like most times Skull isn’t getting a positive response in ECW, so this is quite interesting to see the dynamic of him being a babyface and embracing it fairly well. Corino withstands the onslaught by Skull and delivered a DDT to begin his momentum. Corino teases using a chair, but he’s anti-hardcore and proceeds to sit down on the chair getting some good heat for doing that. Naturally, Corino gets his face slammed onto the chair. Skull hit a good top rope elbow drop for a near fall. Skull gets good air on a middle rope splash for another two count. Skull had some great overall energy throughout the match, and I’m a bit bummed that he wasn’t on the winning side of the bout. I thought this was a good opening bout.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #2: TOM MARQUEZ VS. MOSCO DE LA MERCED
FINISH: Merced hits a corkscrew splash off the top to win the match.
Bob’s Take: I feel like Marquez is not the best opponent for Merced. For the most part, Merced has been wrestling Super Crazy and Little Guido. Merced hits a beautiful springboard moonsault to the floor early into the bout. Marquez hit a top rope moonsault, but it didn’t look as good as Merced, but at least he’s trying. Marquez backdrops Merced into the crowd. Marquez also hits a top rope hurricanrana. Marquez missed a top rope moonsault and was slammed leading to the finish. Marquez showcased some interesting offense that I don’t recall having ever seen from him, so this was a lot better than I expected. Merced is a lot of fun to watch.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #3: JERRY LYNN VS. TONY DEVITO
FINISH: Lynn finishes off DeVito with the cradle piledriver.
Bob’s Take: For some reason, the thought of seeing a match between Lynn and Merced entered my brain and I would have loved to have seen that on this card. Lynn had the early advantage with arm drags and a middle rope crossbody to frustrate DeVito. Lynn dives to the floor onto DeVito and his friend. DeVito gained control dropping Lynn over the railing chest first. DeVito drop toe holds Lynn onto a steel chair to keep the advantage. Lynn fought back with a tornado DDT. Lynn finishing off with the cradle piledriver got a good pop from the crowd. I feel like they made good use of their time and this didn’t drag along.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #4: YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI VS. LITTLE GUIDO
FINISH: Tajiri finishes Guido off with a kick to the head.
Bob’s Take: Early on, they trade holds in the opening moment where Guido almost wins with an ankle lock. Big Sal splashes Tajiri against the railing to help Guido maintain control of the bout. Tajiri quickly recovered from the attack and delivered his trademark tree of woe sliding dropkick. The crowd absolutely love the spot. Guido delivered a middle rope leg drop to the back of Tajiri’s head. Tajiri impresses with a handspring back elbow strike, as well. Guido tried to win with an arm bar, but failed. Tajiri hit a running dropkick on the floor sending Guido into the apron followed by a running chair shot. Tajiri fought off both men leading to the finish. This wasn’t as competitive as you might have hoped and felt almost like a showcase for Tajiri. The crowd liked Tajiri quite a bit.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #5: LANCE STORM VS. LANCE DIAMOND
FINISH: Storm wins following a top rope spinning heel kick.
Bob’s Take: This is only Diamond’s third ECW match and hasn’t been on TV at all, so the audience has no idea who he is, I’m sure. Storm’s offense is a bit slower pace, but that’s to be expected. Diamond tried to fight back, but is stopped by a Samoan Drop. Diamond baseball slides Storm into the railing to gain the upper hand briefly. Diamond delivered a series of suplexs, but Storm powered free on the cover. Storm winning is logical, but the action here was a bit dull for the most part and Diamond has zero connection with the audience.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #6: CHRIS CHETTI & NOVA VS. AXL ROTTEN & BALLS MAHONEY VS. DANNY DORING & ROADKILL
FINISH: Mahoney whacks Doring over the head with a chair shot and Rotten pins Doring for the win.
Bob’s Take: One thing that I typically dislike on ECW house shows are the three way tag team matches. Well, originally this was just a tag match until Mahoney and rotten came out before the action started. They only get a pop because of their chair shots, I’m convinced. Chett slips on a springboard attempt and the crowd lets him hear it. There is a bit of chaos that the fans are eating up as there is brawling all over the place along with Mahoney and Chetti going at it in the ring. I like this approach a lot more than how they normally go. There’s just a lot of chaos and the fans are responding very well to it. Usually there is a boring structure to these kinds of matches, but this is a bit different than what I’m normally seeing. Doring eliminated Nova with a simple right hand punch after Nova and Chetti had taken out Mahoney with their splash/leg drop combo, but they didn’t pin Mahoney. Mahoney’s chair shot finish on Doring was good and that’s what the fans wanted to see. It likely also helped that this match didn’t go fifteen-twenty minutes and instead went under ten minutes. This match far exceeded my expectations of entertainment.
Match Rating: **1/2
Prior to the next match, Justin Credible cuts a promo, but the microphone is tough to hear. Sounds like Credible is threatening the sound crew to get things right. Credible brags about Sabu being banned from wrestling. The referee tells the crowd that Credible is right that Sabu is banned in 37-states, but Sabu isn’t banned here because Mass doesn’t have an athletic commission. So, Sabu will wrestle Credible tonight! Spanish Angel comes out to be the referee for the match. Well, Sabu takes him out with strikes and tries for a dive to the floor, but Credible whacked Sabu with a kendo stick shot to prevent that.
MATCH #7: JUSTIN CREDIBLE VS. SABU
FINISH: Sabu finishes off Credible with a springboard leg drop.
Bob’s Take: There’s just something about Sabu in ECW that makes him feel like an even bigger deal than he is, which is still a big deal. Sabu springboard dives off the top onto Credible in the crowd early into the match to pop the crowd. Sabu introduces a table into the match, but Credible delayed the use of it by diving onto Sabu with a crossbody to the floor. Sabu is hitting all his big spots tonight as he delivered a top rope hurricanrana. Credible cutoff Sabu with a stunner, and the crowd that was standing quickly sat back down, which is a funny thing to see because it’s as if they know Credible is going to have lengthy offense. Jason tries to get involved, but he’s taken out quickly, and Sabu puts Jason through the table with a splash. Sabu leg drops Credible through a table in the corner. Credible misses a baseball slide in the corner and hit the ring post. The finish was a little bit tame compared to what else was going on in the match, but Sabu made this fun to watch and the crowd loved seeing Credible get his ass kicked.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #8: ECW TELEVISION CHAMPION ROB VAN DAM VS. SPIKE DUDLEY
FINISH: RVD delivered a kick from the top rope sending a chair into Spike’s face for the win.
Bob’s Take: Early on, RVD seems to be dismissive of Spike and tries to do his taunt, but Spike doesn’t back down and tries for the Acid Drop, but is crotched on the top and kicked to the floor. RVD kept control on the floor by hitting a leg drop over the railing and a kick in the crowd. RVD is having a strong start to the match with his offense as he delivered a slingshot leg drop onto the apron, as well. Alfonso assists with a chair for RVD to drop Spike onto it from a surfboard position. Spike is taking a good beating here as RVD delivered a springboard chair assisted dropkick. Spike started his comeback by dropkicking a chair into RVD’s face. Spike stomps RVD face first onto the chair and hit a hurricanrana over the top to the floor. Spike delivered a strong chair shot to the back on the floor. Spike continued with a middle rope head scissors. RVD avoided the Acid Drop after a low blow and slammed Spike onto a chair. Alfonso holds a chair on the apron for RVD to kick the chair into Spike’s face for the finish. I thought this was a very good house show match and Spike worked very well in the underdog role. If Spike and RVD work this match each time out, I’d consider Spike an underrated opponent for RVD.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Prior to the next match, Buh Buh Ray Dudley cuts a promo insulting the fans for a bit of time.
MAIN EVENT: ECW WORLD CHAMPION TAZ VS. ECW TAG TEAM CHAMPION BUH BUH RAY DUDLEY — FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH
FINISH: Taz chokes out Dudley to force a submission for the win to retain the title.
Bob’s Take: Dudley tried to attack before the bell, but got hit with the championship. Taz kept the early advantage by kicking Dudley to the floor where they brawl for a little while. Taz dominates the action in the crowd by pummeling Dudley and sending Dudley down the bleachers. Dudley slams Taz through a table in the crowd to gain the advantage. Dudley continued with a powerbomb through the merch table, but Taz basically no sold it. Dudley keeps control in the ring with a side slam. Dudley, to his credit, has bumped around well for Taz when he’s been getting beaten up. Taz hits a beautiful overhead belly to belly suplex off the middle rope. Dudley responded with a sit down powerbomb, though. Dudley gets another near fall after a Samoan Drop. I enjoyed this, as well. There wasn’t a dull spot in the match and I thought they made good use with the time given to them. Dudley isn’t a serious threat, but he’s the kind of heel that people enjoy seeing get his ass kicked.
Match Rating: ***
Final Thoughts:
A strong house show this time out for ECW. The crowd was hot for the action, and there is plenty of good action. Easy recommendation.
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