Written by: Bob Colling
Extreme Championship Wrestling House Show
Date: 12/4/1997
From: Revere, MA
Opening Contest: ECW Television Champion Taz vs. ECW Tag Team Champion Little Guido: They trade hammerlocks until Taz takes Guido down to the mat and gets arm control. Guido scrambles and reaches the ropes to break the hold. Taz takes Guido down to the mat with a headlock but just lets go. Taz gets a microphone and calls a fan a shit head for wearing a shirt with a woman on it. That was a bit random. Guido arm drags Taz and Taz wants some more. Taz judo throws Guido followed by a few stomps on the mat. Tracy Smothers heel kicks Taz from behind as Tommy Rich distracted the referee allowing Guido to get a near fall. Rich hits Taz on the apron while the referee is distracted by Guido. Guido scoop slams Taz and hits a slingshot splash with help from Smothers. Taz takes Guido down and pummels Guido with strikes on the mat. I just noticed that Danny Doring is the referee for the match. Guido tries for a pin, but Taz doesn’t stay down long. Smothers enters and elbows Taz leading to a double elbow drop. Guido has a head scissors on Taz, but isn’t getting a submission. Guido scoop slams Taz and follows with a knee drop. Taz takes Guido over with an under hook suplex. Taz catches Guido with a double leg slam out of the corner and an exploder suplex on Smothers. Rich gets decked and Guido is tossed across the ring. Taz locks in the Taz Mission to win the match. (*1/2. That was what you’d expect for a Taz squash win, really. Taz is such a great badass face.)
Second Contest: Chris Chetti vs. Spike Dudley: Chetti cleanly breaks away from Dudley in the corner early on. Dudley gets arm control on Chetti on the mat. The fans are quick to chant boring for this one as Dudley controls Chetti with a headlock. Dudley shoulder blocks Chetti before a drop toe hold stops him. Chetti showcases mat wrestling to keep Spike on the mat. Chetti knee lifts Spike off the apron to the floor. Chetti rolls Spike back into the ring quickly and hits a springboard clothesline for a two count. Chetti connects with a standing dropkick, but Spike fires back with right hands. They mistimed a spot in the corner and Spike drops Chetti with a forearm. Chetti hits a springboard heel kick out of the corner for a near fall. Chetti nearly lost his footing on the attempted move. Chetti tries for a suplex, but Dudley nearly hits a bulldog and does hit a bulldog. Dudley dropkicks a seated Chetti for a two count. Spike forearms Chetti a few times. Chetti plants Spike with a powerbomb and they are both down. Chetti goes for the cover, but Spike kicks out at two. Dudley hits a bulldog out of the corner for the quick win. (*1/2. I’m not sure why the crowd was quick to crap on the match. For a four minute match, it’s not that bad. They mistimed one spot and Chetti wasn’t crisp as much as he sometimes can be. However, it was fine for what it was.)
Third Contest: Paul Diamond vs. Jerry Lynn: Lynn arm drags Diamond to the mat early on and Diamond complains of a hair pull. Lynn hip tosses Diamond and Diamond complains pulling of the tights. Lynn shoves Diamond to the mat and Diamond goes to his female manager, Chasity for protection and comfort. Diamond shoulder blocks Lynn and complains of a hair pull, which isn’t happening. Diamond again shoulder blocks Lynn and taunts the crowd. Diamond takes Lynn over with a headlock to maintain control of the contest. Diamond nails Lynn with a clothesline to keep control of the contest. Diamond staggers Lynn with an uppercut. Diamond drives Lynn down with a backbreaker. Lynn head scissors Diamond followed by a dropkick and a clothesline to send Diamond over the top to the floor. Lynn hits a somersault dive off the apron to the floor. Chasity gets in the ring to distract Lynn, but Lynn decks Diamond. Chasity low blows Lynn and the referee yells at Chasity. Diamond crotches Lynn over the guard railing.
Chasity kicks Lynn several times on the floor to help her man out. Diamond kicks Lynn in the lower midsection area for a one count as Lynn got to the ropes. Diamond lifts Lynn into the air and drops Lynn gut first to the mat. Diamond keeps Lynn on the mat with a sleeper. Diamond hits a crossbody, but Lynn rolls through and nearly wins the match. Lynn gets a rollup out of the corner for a near fall. Diamond gets a chin lock on Lynn to maintain control of the match. Lynn runs into a boot in the corner and Diamond hits a twisting bulldog off the middle rope for a two count. Diamond punches Lynn on the middle rope and does a strut. Lynn fights back with a tornado DDT off the middle rope. Lynn hammers away on Diamond followed by a backdrop. Lynn hits a side slam and goes to the top to hit a missile dropkick for a two count. Lynn heads to the top again and Diamond hits a powerslam in midair for a two count. Diamond places Lynn on the top turnbuckle, but Lynn hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count as Chasity breaks the pin. Chasity slaps Lynn and Lynn hits a vertical suplex. Diamond tries for a float over DDT, but Lynn counters with a rollup to win the match. (**1/4. I enjoyed what they did here, though the interference may have been a bit much. I have this weird vision where I could see Diamond replacing Raven as the loner kind of gimmick with Chasity. Diamond just has that kind of look going for him at this point. Diamond also seemed to work a Memphis style of match and I’m not sure the fans really wanted that kind of stalling.)
Fourth Contest: ECW Tag Team Champion Tracy Smothers vs. Balls Mahoney: Mahoney shoves Smothers to the mat early on and Smothers bails to the floor to regroup. Smothers returns and arm drags Mahoney before taunting the crowd. Smothers shoulder blocks Mahoney and then does a moonwalk. Mahoney shoulder blocks Smothers, which knocks Smothers to the floor. Smothers works over Mahoney with a few strikes, but Mahoney spikes Smothers with a piledriver. Mahoney attempts to kick Rich and misses a middle rope leg drop. Smothers dumps Mahoney to the floor where Rich drops Mahoney chest first over the railing. Mahoney is able to kick out of a pin attempt by Smothers. Smothers continues to beat on Mahoney with stomps and chokes on the mat. Rich gets a few shots in while the referee is distracted. Mahoney has an inside cradle, but the referee was distracted. Smothers clotheslines Mahoney and Rich gets on the microphone to taunt the fans and Mahoney. Mahoney stops Smothers with a middle rope clothesline. Smothers heel kicks Mahoney for a two count. Mahoney plants Smothers with a sit down powerbomb for a near fall. Mahoney grabs a steel chair, but Smothers kicks the chair into Mahoney’s face for a two count. Mahoney catches Smothers with a Nut Cracker Suite out of the corner and wins the match. After the match, Rich whacks Mahoney with a flag and jabs Mahoney on the mat. Smothers has grabbed a chair and whacks Mahoney over the back. Smothers uppercuts the chair into Mahoney from the top rope. Axl Rotten comes in and makes the save. Rich stops Rotten with a flag shot, though. The locker room empties to keep these guys apart. (**. Not too bad, really. Rich was entertaining in the match and I’m glad they had a clean finish. Had it not ended cleanly, I would have really disliked the distractions throughout the match.)
Fifth Contest: Chris Candido vs. Axl Rotten: Candido beats on Rotten to start the match with a microphone in hand. Candido whacks Rotten over the back with a chair and taunts Rotten. Axl fights back with jabs and a backdrop. Rotten drops Candido with a series of jabs. Rotten sends Candido over the top to the floor. Axl sends Candido into the guard railing ribs first. Axl hits Candido with a chair over the head and Candido sell that putting himself through a table at ringside. Candido chops Rotten in the corner a few times and begs off as Rotten does the same. Rotten low blows Candido followed by a clothesline. The crowd is chanting “Axl fucked Sunny”. Rotten powerbombs Candido, but gets tripped by Francine. Candido charges towards Rotten and stomps him. Candido takes Rotten over with a snap suplex. Candido drops Rotten with a kick to the head and taunts the crowd. Candido climbs to the top rope and is met with a strike to the midsection, but Rotten misses a leg drop. Candido hits a middle rope leg drop for a two count. They collide on a clothesline spot in the middle of the ring. Rotten backdrops Candido for a near fall. Rotten shoves Candido off the middle rope and connects with a clothesline for a two count. Rotten plants Candido with a powerbomb. Francine tosses a crutch to Candido, but Candido gets met with a Nutcracker Suite by Mahoney. Candido still nearly pins Rotten after being hit by Francine. Francine nearly decks Candido with the crutch. Rotten kisses Francine in the corner. Candido steals the win with a rollup from behind. (*. The finish makes very little sense to me. Where did Mahoney go for that involvement with Francine? Candido working with Rotten is a complete waste of Candido. I didn’t enjoy this at all.)
Sixth Contest: Al Snow vs. Nova: Snow works over Nova with strikes in the corner for the early advantage. Snow clotheslines Nova and rubs Nova’s face into the mat. Snow rams Nova face first into the guard railing. Snow sends Nova into the support beam for the building. Snow plants Nova with a back suplex. Blue Meanie distracts Snow allowing Nova to send Snow to the floor where Meanie clotheslines Snow into the crowd. Nova dropkicks Snow into the railing. Meanie enters the ring to scoop slam Snow and Nova hits a top rope splash for a near fall. Nova drop toe holds Snow onto Meanie. Snow is triple teamed by a third guy that I don’t know. Snow grabs Head and low blows Nova and the random guy followed by a superkick to Meanie. Snow plants Nova with the Snow Plow to win the match. (DUD. They really went with attempted humor and didn’t want these guys to have a competitive match. I was greatly disappointed by this.)
Seventh Contest: Stevie Richards vs. Mikey Whipwreck: Richards shoves Whipwreck to te mat early on to showcase his strength. Richards tries to do that again, but Whipwreck moves and causes Richards to hit the mat face first. Whipwreck monkey flips Richards followed by arm drags and a kick to the head. Richards rolls to the floor and Whipwreck hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Whipwreck hits a top rope clothesline off the top for a near fall. Richards stops Whipwreck with a stunner and flips off Mikey. Richards drives Whipwreck down with a side slam for a near fall. Richards signals for the Stevie Bomb and plants Whipwreck for a two count. Whipwreck elbows free of a sleeper and nearly wins with a sunset flip. Richards cuts Whipwreck off with a quick clothesline. Whipwreck drops Richards with a back suplex. Mikey hammers away on Richards and hits a stunner of his own. Mikey connects with a tornado DDT out of the corner for a near fall. Mikey delivers a flurry of strikes in the corner until the referee pulls him off. Richards misses a superkick and nails the referee on accident. Mikey sits Richards on the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricanrana, but the referee isn’t there. Two referees come out with Jeff Jones stopping the other referee. Jason and Justin Credible come out with Mikey hitting a tombstone on Credible. Richards hits the superkick to win the match. (*1/4. The fans had a negative attitude towards this since Richards bailed for WCW and then quickly returned to ECW. I wasn’t a fan of the interference and the match felt a little clunky. I was hoping this would be a surprisingly fun match and it was not.)
Eighth Contest: Dudley Boys (Bubba & D-Von) vs. New Jack & Kronus: Jack and Kronus have a trash can full of weapons and that naturally leads to all the weapons being used quickly. They brawl up towards the concessions. Bubba catapults Kronus face first into the wall. Jack and D-Von are fighting in the ring until Bubba hits Jack with a sign. Jack pins Bubba with an inside cradle. I’m not even sure if there was an actual wrestling move. This was just mindless brawling and I was not entertained.
Main Event: Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman: RVD and Sabu aboid getting beer spat in their face and they go to the floor. Sandman and Dreamer hit baseball slides to send them into the guard railing chest first. Sandman slams RVD on the floor and slams a table on top of him. Sabu hits a somersault leg drop onto Dreamer. RVD kicks Sandman from the apron. Sabu hits a side Russian leg sweep onto Dreamer and RVD delivers a leg drop. RVD kicks Dreamer to the floor off the apron. Sabu hits a sloppy twisting hurricanrana on Sandman. Sandman catches Sabu in the corner to hit a back suplex. Sandman sits Sabu on the top turnbuckle to hit a hurricanrana. RVD hits a frog splash onto Sandman. Sabu tries to springboard off a chair, but slips. Sabu still hits a moonsault on Sandman for a two count. Sandman drops Sabu over the guard railing to deliver a leg drop on the floor. Dreamer nails Sabu in the groin. Sabu and RVD are backed against the ropes as Dreamer has a ladder. Alfonso stops Dreamer and Sandman for a moment, but the ladder still goes into Sabu and RVD. Dreamer and Sandman hit splashes on Sabu and then do the same to RVD.
Sandman and Dreamer hit piledrivers and that leads to Beulah entering the ring to low blow Alfonso. Jeff Jones comes out and tells the referee to leave. Jones avoids a strike from Beulah and carries Beulah backstage. Sandman misses a splash in the corner and hits the ladder. Sabu jumps off RVD’s back to splash Dreamer against the ladder. RVD monkey flips Dreamer out of the corner. Sabu hits a leg drop off the top and RVD frog splashes Sandman. Sabu tosses the ladder onto Dreamer’s knee. Alfonso holds a ladder over Sandman’s body as RVD and Sabu hit leg drops off the top rope. Sabu accidentally smashes RVD with a chair and then a ladder, too. Sandman hits a top rope leg drop onto RVD, who had the ladder on his body, to win the match. (*1/2. The brawling wasn’t too bad, really. The finish was fine, too. There was a lot of mindless brawling on the show, so having that in the main event also kinda took me out of the match.)
Final Thoughts:
Some of the ratings may make this come across like an awful show, but in reality there are a few decent matches. There were several matches that were pretty much extended squashes, though. I can’t recommend the show as it had just too many disappointing matches for me.
Thanks for reading.