East Coast Wrestling Association presents 1999 Super 8 Tournament
Date: 2/27/1999
From: Wilmington, DE
There’s a good video package highlighting the previous two years history of the tournament and then also lists the wrestlers involved in this years tournament. Reckless Youth is included on the list, but he’s not actually involved this year.
Interestingly, the Hardy Boys had already been on WWF TV on a regular basis. So, to see them on this tournament is a bit shocking.
Each competitor is introduced and they are in the ring for a photograph. 1998 Super 8 winner Lance Diamond is introduced, as well. Diamond is not in the tournament. Diamond cuts a promo asking if the fans are done booing him, but they aren’t. Diamond isn’t going to let people ruin his plaque ceremony and then the segment cuts to an end quickly.
There are a few matches not included on the release. Mr. Ooh La La winning the ECWA Mid-Atlantic Championship from Inferno Kid, and a six man tag match that saw Brute Force defeat Glen Osbourne, JR Ryder, and JJ The Ring Crew Guy.
MATCH #1: ACE DARLING VS. STEVE BRADLEY — FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Bradley pins Darling with a rollup to advance in the tournament.
Bob’s Take: They go with a mat wrestling approach trading headlocks in the opening moment of the match. Bradley gains momentum with a slam causing Darling to bail to the floor. Darling misses a baseball slide after sending Bradley to the floor. Bradley dropkicks Darling over the top to the floor. Bradley takes Darling out with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Darling avoids another moonsault by getting his knees up and gained control with a clothesline. Darling kept control with a swinging neckbreaker and a vertical suplex. Bradley battled back with a handspring back elbow. Darling kicks Bradley on the side of the head and they collide on stereo clotheslines. Bradley nailed Darling with a middle rope missile dropkick. Bradley almost wins with a German suplex. Darling slams Bradley off the middle rope and hits a crossbody, but Bradley rolled through for a near fall. Bradley manages to get a rollup moments later to prevail. Not too bad of a start to the tournament. Bradley stood out far more than Darling did here with the impressive dive to the floor early on.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #2: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS VS. JEFF PETERSON — FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Daniels pins Peterson following the Last Rites.
Bob’s Take: Early on they got with a much faster pace than the previous match delivering arm drags and doing a kip up for a standoff. Peterson backdrops Daniels over the top to the floor. Peterson takes Daniels out with a baseball slide head scissors on the floor. Peterson followed up with a springboard somersault dive to the floor to takeout Daniels. Peterson kept control in the ring with arm control. Peterson hits a standing hurricanrana for a near fall. Daniels stopped Peterson with a tilt a whirl side slam. Daniels continues with a overhead suplex for a near fall. Daniels tosses Peterson with a gut wrench suplex, but Peterson isn’t staying down. Peterson delivers a wheelbarrow bulldog to stop Daniels. Peterson kicks Daniels a few times for a near fall. Peterson heads to the top hitting a missile dropkick. Peterson frog splashes Daniels, but can’t get a three count. Daniels delivers the Angel Wings and the Last Rites to finish off Peterson. A good match with Peterson looking like he’s a ton of fun with his early dives to the floor to combat Daniels being a superior wrestler. Even in 1999, Daniels looks like a seasoned pro and I’m not sure how he’s not on TV for a major promotion at this point.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #3: MATT HARDY VS. CHRISTIAN YORK — FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Hardy pins York following a springboard top rope moonsault.
Bob’s Take: Hardy has the early advantage on York focusing on his arm, but nothing too damaging. York hit a hurricanrana and they trade a series of pins before doing a standoff. York gets control with strikes in the corner, but his offense is short as Hardy delivered a neckbreaker and slam. Hardy connected with a few standing fist drops. Hardy tries for a pin after a middle rope leg drop, but York has too much left. Hardy knocks York off the apron to the York floor and hit a dive. York blocks a springboard moonsault by getting his knees up. York slams Hardy and hit a double springboard leg drop. York clotheslines Hardy followed by a fallaway slam for a near fall. York nails Hardy with a somersault dive to the floor, but he had messed up a springboard moments earlier. Hardy powerbombs York in midair. York almost won following a sit out reverse DDT. Moments later, Hardy wins with a springboard moonsault. This was not a good match, at all. It felt clunky and a bit messy throughout. York didn’t seem to be on his A-game and the live crowd came across as if they were checked out.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #4: DEVON STORM VS. JEFF HARDY — FIRST ROUND
FINISH: Storm pins Hardy following a modified Snow Plow.
Bob’s Take: They start off a bit slow with mat wrestling and Storm casually slamming Hardy before they show respect for each other. Storm keeps control working over the back of Hardy, but didn’t get a submission. Hardy dropkicks a seated Storm to gain the advantage. Storm responds with a twisting crossbody off the top. Storm continued with a middle rope head scissors and a clothesline. Hardy battled back with a dropkick, but is sent into the corner chest first. Storm drop toe holds Hardy over the ropes, but can’t put Hardy away. Hardy hits a slingshot split legged moonsault for a near fall. Hardy continued with a senton and moonsault, but Storm kicks out. Storm tosses Hardy with a release German suplex to regain control and hit a slingshot somersault leg drop. Storm continued with a somersault dive to the floor. Hardy tried for a northern lights suplex, but Storm kicked out and delivered a powerbomb. Hardy head scissors Storm and kept control delivering an odd baseball slide attack on the floor. Hardy dives onto Storm to pop the crowd. Hardy misses a Phoenix Splash attempt and Storm wins following a modified Snow Plow. I had higher expectations, but it felt like they just put together moves for the sake of moves and it didn’t seem to flow very well. Storm winning feels like a big upset since Hardy is on WWF TV at this point, but the crowd reaction wouldn’t have portrayed that.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #5: DEVON STORM VS. STEVE BRADLEY — SEMIFINALS
FINISH: Bradley pins Storm following a sit out Razors Edge.
Bob’s Take: Bradley nails Storm with a dropkick to send Storm to the floor in the early stages of the bout. Storm gained control with kicks to the chest and a head scissors on the mat before keeping a mat based approach. Storm tried for a submission with a bow and arrow, but Bradley avoided it. Bradley gained the advantage wit an arm bar. Bradley hits a springboard moonsault for a near fall. Storm tosses Bradley with a release German suplex. Storm prevents himself from being thrown over, but Bradley clotheslined Storm to the floor anyway. Storm whacks Bradley with a chair on the floor. Storm hits a Falcon Arrow for a near fall. Storm leg drops Bradley on the lower midsection a few times before catapulting Bradley to the floor. Bradley avoids a suicide dive by hitting Storm with a chair. Bradley almost wins after a slingshot leg drop. Bradley misses a springboard moonsault off the top and Storm powerbombs Bradley, but misses a moonsault of his own. Bradley misses a corkscrew dive. Bradley stops Storm on the top to hit a Razors Edge sit down powerbomb for the win. This is another match that felt like the moves were just kind of there, but at least it was a little more entertaining and I was a bit more invested in it. At one point, Storm had to yell at a security guy to keep the chair in place kind of signaling the spot moments later. Regardless, a decent match of the tournament.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #6: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS VS. MATT HARDY — SEMIFINALS
FINISH: Daniels pins Hardy after a side Russian leg sweep and a rollup.
Bob’s Take: They start off with a slow approach focusing on a test of strength and basic offense. Hardy gets the first bit of momentum with a press slam and a backbreaker. Hardy decks Daniels to the floor and keeps control with strikes. ECW Hat Guy is in the crowd and has been bickering at Daniels. Daniels backdrops Hardy on the floor into the ropes, but Hardy uses the momentum to bounce off and hit a DDT, and the crowd liked that spot. Hardy delivers a middle rope elbow drop to keep control. Daniels boots Hardy in the corner and kept control with a clothesline. Daniels tossed Hardy with a arm trapped overhead suplex. Daniels springboards off the ropes to dive onto Hardy on the floor. Hardy fights back with a moonsault off the middle rope. Daniels stops Hardy with the Angel Wings. Hardy drops Daniels with a headlock slam. Hardy hits an overhead Side Effect suplex for a near fall. Hardy spikes Daniels with a piledriver. They trade a few pin attempts, but neither man can get a three. They collide on stereo clothesline attempts. Hardy clubs Daniels over the back, but is met with a side Russian leg sweep and Daniels rolled over to pin Hardy. There’s something about these matches that lack energy and excitement. It translates as guys doing moves with no story or purpose. This is a better match than most in the tournament, but the action feels like they made a list of moves in the back they wanted to get in and they perform them without much thought.
Match Rating: **1/2
MAIN EVENT: CHRISTOPHER DANIELS VS. STEVE BRADLEY — FINALS
FINISH: Bradley rolls through a top rope crossbody and pins Daniels to win the 1999 Super 8 Tournament.
Bob’s Take: Bradley rams Daniels into the corner to kickoff the match after delivering strikes. There is far more urgency to this match than previously. Bradley catapults Daniels to the floor and rammed Daniels into the railing and apron. Bradley whacks Daniels with a chair shot. Daniels missed a spear in the corner and Bradley works over the shoulder by ramming Daniels into the corner. Daniels counters an attempt to gain momentum. Daniels gets a near fall after a belly to belly suplex. Daniels suplexs Bradley, but can’t put Bradley away. Bradley fights back looking for a backslide, but Daniels powers out. Daniels nails Bradley with a beautiful top rope moonsault, but can’t prevail. Daniels counters a powerbomb with a rollup for a near fall. Bradley manages to hit the sit out Razors Edge, but Daniels kicks out! Daniels leaps off the top to hit a crossbody, but Bradley rolls through to pin Daniels and wins the tournament. A pretty good match to end the tournament. It’s a good back and forth battle with both men hitting some high risk moves and it flowed better than most of the other matches. I kind of wish Bradley won with his finish, but considering they wrestled three times having him win with a counter also makes sense from an exhaustion standpoint.
Match Rating: ***
Final Thoughts:
Daniels is involved in the two best matches on the show and I’m not entirely shocked by that. I wouldn’t recommend this show unless you’re a big time Daniels fan and wanted to see every match of his career.
Thanks for reading.