EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING TV
September 27, 1997 (As Good As It Gets, show 1)
1. Bam Bam Bigelow vs Spike Dudley
Bigelow press slammed Spike early. Spike tried to fight back but Bigelow gave him a headbutt. Bigelow whipped Spike hard into the corner. Spike landed some blows but they had little effect. Bigelow gave Spike a corner splash. He threw Spike up (in the air :)) but Spike dropkicked him. Bigelow countered an acid drop attempt but Spike DDTd him and dropkicked him. Spike hit a top rope clothesline for a near fall. Spike dropkicked Bigelow over the top rope to the floor and through a table. He hit Bigelow with a chair and came off the top rope with another chairshot. Spike missed a second top rope chairshot. Bigelow suplexed Spike onto the chair and then threw Spike over the top rope clear into the crowd. The fans caught Spike and, like in a mosh pit, carried him throughout the crowd for the debut of crowd surfing in ECW. Back in the ring Bigelow hit a top rope splash for the pin after about 5:30. After the match Bigelow threw Spike back into the crowd and Spike did some more crowd surfing. An entertaining match for what it was with the crowd surfing being one of those “only in ECW” type moments. Fun opener. **1/4
An altercation between Taz and Lance Wright aired, with Taz beating up the heel manager, who showed up in Taz’s colors (orange & black).
2. F.B.I. (Little Guido & Tracy Smothers) w/Tommy Rich vs Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten
Balls overpowered Guido early. Guido landed some blows but Mahoney caught him and gave him a fallaway slam. Mahoney gave Guido an armdrag into an armbar. Axl elbowed Guido for a near fall. Axl was double teamed but he managed to fight his way out of the FBI’s corner. Axl gave both FBI wrestlers and Rich bionic elbows. Axl whipped Smothers into a Mahoney lariat. Mahoney then whipped Guido into an Axl lariat. Guido tripped Axl and Smothers elbowsmashed him. Rich dropped Axl neck first on the barricade. Axl was given a double team chop and a double elbowsmash by Smothers and Guido for a near fall. Smothers dropped Guido onto Axl for a near fall. Smothers slammed Axl and catapulted Guido into the ring and Guido splashed Axl for a near fall. Smothers applied a chinlock on Axl. Axl tried to fight back but Smothers gave him a back fist and a dropkick. Guido went for a rocket launcher splash but Axl moved and tagged Mahoney. Mahoney clotheslined both opponents and gained a near fall on Guido. Axl clotheslined Smothers over the top rope to the floor and Mahoney gave Guido the nutcracker suite for an apparent pin at 8:18. Guido’s foot was on the rope, so referee Jeff Jones ordered the match to be re-started. Guido then rolled up Mahoney for a quick pin. Balls and Axl threatened to hit Jones with a chair but refs John Finnegan and Jim Mollineaux (sp?) intervened. Jones got on the mic, insulted some of the fans, and taunted Mahoney. Jones was confronted by one of the refs and hit him but the ref hit back. Mahoney then flattened Jones with a chairshot and the ref raised Balls’s and Axl’s arms. The fans ate it up and it was entertaining, but by no means was the match itself any good. *
Joey Styles previewed the next two TV episodes featuring matches from “As Good As It Gets”.
A music video aired to highlights of the Great Sasuke in ECW. As you might expect, a red hot video with all the spectacular clips.
3. ECW Tag Team Title: Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von) (c) w/Joel Gertner, Big Dick & Sign Guy Dudley vs New Jack & Kronus
Gertner did his usual hilarious mic work before the match. Jack and Kronus charged the ring and attacked the Dudleys at the bell. Jack broke a crutch over D-Von’s back and tossed him by the neck with a chain. Jack also hit D-Von with a sheet of some kind of metal. Buh Buh Ray got the better of Kronus and D-Von fought back by using the crutch against Jack. Kronus was busted open but fought back with a spinning mule kick on Buh Buh Ray. D-Von took his fight with Jack out of the ring and Kronus hit Buh Buh Ray with a no parking sign but Buh Buh Ray returned the favor. All four took the fight to ringside where Dick got involved. Jack was going to set up a table in the crowd but instead gave it to the crowd and they carried it. Buh Buh Ray and Big Dick dominated Kronus until Kronus backdropped Big Dick over the barricade into the crowd. Jack placed D-Von on a table in the crowd as Kronus whipped Buh Buh Ray into the barricade. Jack then dove off the balcony above the entrance of the ECW Arena and splashed D-Von through the table. Buh Buh Ray attacked Kronus with a long piece of steel in the ring and gave him a bulldog onto the steel for a near fall. Jack hit Buh Buh Ray with the steel and Kronus gained a near fall. Jack broke another crutch over D-Von’s back and Kronus superkicked Buh Buh Ray out of the ring. Big Dick got on the apron but Jack hit him in the head with a guitar. Kronus then gave D-Von a 450 splash and pinned him at 6:16 to win the title. Fans popped huge for the finish and for much of the match in general. Not exceptional from a technical standpoint, but most of the match was chaotic with something always happening. It also marked a resurgence for Jack, whose career had stagnated after the Gangstas breakup, and Kronus, after Saturn left for WCW. **1/4
BACK TO MY TV REVIEWS MENU
HOME