ECW Misc. Tape Reviews

Barely Legal - The Great Sasuke, El Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji vs. Dick Togo, TAKA Michinoku, Men's Teioh
Often regarded as one of ECW's best matches, despite the fact it contained zero native talent. These men had been ripping it up in Michinoku Pro for some time and bring it to the States in the showstealer of ECW's first PPV. Masato Yakushiji got to sub for Gran Naniwa and unfortunately never capitalized on this US exposure like many youngsters have. This may have only been a fraction of what these men can offer, but that's still a lot.
The bWo has apparently recruited 3/5's of Kaientai Deluxe...oh no. Styles draws comparisons between ECW and MPW, which are kind of strange, but oh well. Start with Hamada and TAKA with the veteran getting the edge and quickly tagging in Yakushiji (who thankfully replaced Gran Naniwa). A body slam and legdrop get a two and then Sasuke is tagged in. TAKA is kicked around some, but manages to tag MEN's Teioh AKA Terry Boy. Sasuke is triple teamed in classic KDX fashion. Styles mentions that Sasuke had wrestled Lyger the night before in the Tokyo Dome for the J-Crown...talk about penthouse to poorhouse.
Togo beats on Sasuke and then Yakushiji. The youngest of the six is beat on by the three rudos and Terry Boy hits a sweet vertical suplex, not to be outdone Togo hits a high guillotine drop. A second backfires and Yaku takes him down with a head scissors, then a lucha-style armdrag. After he does a backflip taunt (and almost falls down), TAKA pounces him, but is sent out and in check MEN's Teioh and Gran Hamada. Hamada shows why he's ageless with a backflip out of the corner and a beautifully timed Fujiwara Armbar. Then he rolls out of a Michinoku backdrop and Fujiwaras TAKA down.
Sasuke is tagged in and even gets a chant! Sasuke and Teioh do a very fast, very hot sequence ending in a Handspring Body Press for a Sasuke two count. Terry Boy and Yakushiji do a throw out-jumps back in sequence and Yaku hits his signature baseball slide into a head scissors on the floor. Togo and Hamada have a nice exchange as well with the veteran hitting a sweet guillotine rana for a nearfall.
TAKA finds himself getting a technico beatdown again. Sasuke locks on a high half crab, which TAKA rolls out of and nails an enzugiri. Michinoku wears down Sasuke and then in come the guys that made Kaientai a super rudo group - Teioh and Togo. The MPW president is triple teamed beautifully with a lucha-like double armbar taunt deal to add insult to injury. Terry Boy hooks on the Spinning Toehold for a big pop.
Yakushiji checks back in, but TAKA brainbusters him immediately. Then more awesome KDX triple teaming for a huge reaction out of the mutants. Hamada is assaulted next by the rudos with a spike piledriver, then Yaku tries to make the save, but is triple powerbombed. Sasuke comes in for a save and they go for the same thing, but it is botched (dammit!) They go for it again, but Sasuke knocks off TAKA and Togo and ranas Teioh for a 2 1/2. A double quebrada takes out Teioh and TAKA, then a Handspring Elbow takes out Togo. Sasuke follows the big man out with an Asai Moonsault.
Hamada grabs Terry Boy and goes for a top rope rana, but it is countered into MEN's Teioh's super inverted atomic drop! TAKA pounces the old man with his Springboard Plancha as Yaku nails Terry Boy with a missle dropkick for a 2 1/2. A second turnbuckle moonsault gets the same. Teioh comes back and hits Miracle Ecstasy (chokeslam powerbomb), but Hamada gets back in. Togo and Hamada battle with the veteran hitting a sweet Flying Swinging DDT for a 2 1/2. Togo hits a powerbomb for a nearfall of his own and then goes up for his Flying Senton.
Sasuke clips his leg and Hamada executes a beautiful Top Rope Rana. He goes out and joins the brawl on the floor. Yakushiji, not to be outdone, hits an awesome Flying Head Scissors that sends Togo out, Yaku follows with a bullet-like suicide dive. This leaves the two stars: Sasuke and TAKA in the ring now.
Sasuke hits a stiff high kick, but Michinoku rebounds with a speedy belly-to-belly and a Otani-style Springboard Dropkick. He drops his greatest rival with his Michinoku Driver II, but Yaku breaks up the certain pinfall. TAKA sends out the young charge and comes back at Sasuke off the top, only to be dropkicked and then Quebrada'd for a 2 3/4. Sasuke catches him though with a hard powerbomb and hits a Tiger Suplex for the win at 16:55.
Crazy non-stop action as only Michinoku Pro can deliver. Everyone looked good here, especially the young Masato Yakushiji, who surely was better then the hit-and-miss Gran Naniwa because of his dynamic offense and ability to play the hapless youngster. I miss him when I watch this vintage MPW stuff, but then again none of those guys have matches like this anymore. This was certainly the showstealer and was the only thing that kept this first PPV from being a real stinker.
Rating: ***3/4

Barely Legal - Raven vs. Terry Funk (Heavyweight Championship)
Terry Funk, the man who helped ECW selflessly in the early 90s, gets rewarded by winning a three-way dance and thus a title shot against Raven. What this match lacks, it makes up for as a tribute to Terry Funk.
After a long and battle with Stevie Richards and the Sandman, Raven rushed the ring. The champion just beats Funk down. First using his belt, then drop toehold into the chair causing a vicious bladejob. Raven puts the boots to the wound and it bleeds and bleeds. Terry pushes away the doctor and the fans chant "Tommy, Tommy" as Dreamer's looking on from the commentator's stage. Raven sets up a table and drags Funk out.
The first one has a broken leg, so he throws it on the 50-year-old challenger, then pulls out another. He sets the Funker on it and then puts him through it violently. Raven nails the doctor and a group of people come out including Reggie Bennett (one of the better female wrestlers from the US). She hits a hideous Lyger Bomb, then Raven vows he'll end Funk's career.
Dreamer gets up, but is ambushed by Big Dick Dudley! The monster tries a chokeslam off the stage through a bunch of tables, but Dreamer counters and sends Dick through them. He runs to the ring and DDTs Raven and Funk scrambles on top for a hot 2 3/4. Raven beats the Funker to his feet and attacks, but is small packaged for the 1..2..3 at 7:20. Styles flips out, "do you believe in miracles?" and Terry celebrates with the fans of the promotions he helped to build.
Not much in the way of a good match. Funk was basically destroyed, but came back and won. He proved to be a decent champion, though he was no Raven (who exited soon after). The bleeding at the beginning was especially cool as it really built some drama. Again this was vintage ECW playing to their Philly fans and making a face finish to their first pay-per-view.
Rating: *1/4

Wrestlepalooza `98 - Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu (TV Championship)
After Van Dam captured the TV title from Bam Bam Bigelow (whom he was supposed to soften up), Sabu seemed determined to win it from his tag partner. I just watched what is IMHO Sabu's best match against Chris Jericho and haven't seen much RVD lately aside from WWF television (yikes!), so who knows how I'll rate this one.
The referee is the ever-crooked Jeff Jones, which isn't really put over very well (probably to avoid any predictable junk). Fonzie comes out with Sabu, but as he stated in a promo prior, he's going to ride the fence. After a few minutes of overly fake matwork, RVD says he isn't going to fight his partner and raises both their hands. Jones won't let that fly and RVD sets him up for Air Sabu. Then Sabu swerves him by punting his head for what could've been a good 20-30 yards.
Sabu beats on him and barely hits a Springinng Leg Lariat for a 2, then hits a Slingshot Somersault Legdrop for another 2 count. Van Dam escapes to the floor, but is hit with a Slingshot Somersault Plancha. Back inside, Sabu hooks on his Camel Clutch poorly and starts working on RVD's back.
They exchange taunts and knee dropkicks, but RVD hits a corkscrew legdrop for a 2 count. A botched Rito Romero Special is attempted by Rob, who has to stick to highspots, namely his slingshot legdrop with Sabu on the apron. They exchange weak strikes in a dull brawl, where Sabu never stand upright. Rob starts working on Sabu's knee and then hits a stiff side kick.
Van Dam sets up a table outside allowing Sabu to hit him with a suicide dive and then lays out his partner. Midway through the Suicidal Legdrop(?), Rob leaps off into the crowd, but the quick thinking Sabu springs off the table and pounces Van Dam.
They continue to fight on the outside and Fonzie refuses to help RVD with the chair on the Van Daminator. Rob does a legdrop thing off the guardrail and the crowd seems to be on his side...or are they? Sabu bounces back and crotches RVD outside then hits a nice-looking Asai Moonsault. Back inside Sabu only gets a 2 1/4, so he chucks a chair in frustration.
Rob escapes a Triple Jump Moonsault, where Sabu almost decapitates himself and they crowd starts chanting "JYD," I'm thinking because it was a "big thump" (da, dum, ching). Rob sends Sabu outside and follows him out with his signature Tope Con Hilo. Rob tries for a Suplex out to the floor by way of a table break, but Sabu counters with a Springing Legdrop in the ropes deal.
Sabu tries for his Springboard DDT Suicida, but the table capsizes and they don't really do much damage. Inside again, Sabu throws another chair and sets up a piece of table for his top rope rana, which could'nt have felt good for either. They take a breather, then start with weak brawling again...stop it! Rob botches a Slingshot Suplex, Tully Blanchard is rolling over in his -er- ministry.
Mr. PPV goes for a highspot - a flying legdrop suicida with Sabu on the apron with a chair on top of him...it looks about as good as it sounds (you figure that one out). Outside Sabu does some more chair throwing and rana's Rob. I've never heard a crowd less into highspots and more into the ref's count. Rob connects with a Van Daminator for a 2 1/2 and a Frog Splash gets the same result.
Sabu comes back immediately with a Triple Jump Legdrop for a 2 1/2. More slow and thus bad transitions as Rob hits his Monkey Flip onto a chair. More brawling, no better. Sabu hits an Arabian Facebuster, then drags in a table. It collapses, so Rob goes and gets one of his own. They fight little bit more, then do a table spot teases ending when Van Dam hits a 5-star Frog Splash through it. A facebuster gets a 2 3/4, but Sabu returns fire with a Springing Knee(?) for a 2 count.
A German Suplex gets another 2 for Sabu. Van Dam comes back with a Split-Legged Moonsault for a 2 count. Sabu hits an Arabian Press for a 2, then the bell rings. Jones rules the match a draw and praise the merciful wrestling god they don't get the extra five the crowd wants.
What a clusterf*ck, my god!! This made both men look bad and the fact it was half an hour is just bad booking. The spots weren't that impressive and the transitions were painful to watch. Both these guys are capable of very good matches with opponents that can hide their weaknesses. This is the worst "dream" match since Sabu fought Abdullah in Tokyo Pro. The only positive is that they didn't really botch much stuff, which is saying a lot.
Rating: *1/2

Wrestlepalooza `98 - Shane Douglas vs. Al Snow (Heavyweight Championship)
This mainevent had a great build up with Douglas being driven crazy by Al Snow's "head" games. Snow had a huge following and got the biggest push of his career, I knew these two could do well as they had an exceptional TV match the previous year. Douglas's injuries were seriously mounting and Taz had jumped him earlier in the night, so this one made it a little more complicated than face-heel.
They show a great video package and Snow cuts the best promo of his career, making it seem like this is the biggest match of his career (though not the best, I would agree). Douglas comes in first and the crowd goes wild as "Breathe" hits and the strobe lights start. Man, those foam head were one of the greatest things ever. After the intros, Douglas lays down the belt and dares Snow to cross it.
They lock up and go chop-for-chop, then Snow latches onto the Franchise's injured elbow. Snow has the crowd behind him big-time as he and the champion go at it. Francine crotches Snow on the top rope and he spills to the floor, but Douglas can't rebound quick enough. The challenger dominates the action on the floor, but Shane regains it on the inside.
The Franchise drops him ribs-first on the ropes, then ribs-first on the guardrail. Then in an unbelievable move, Douglas hits a plancha into the crowd. He wipes out upon impact though and it hurts him worse. They continue to brawl effectively and Styles puts everything over beautifully.
In the ring again, Douglas works a reverse chinlock and hits his inverted rolling neck snap. Four chairs are set up in the middle and Snow falls back into them much to the mutants' shigrin. Douglas pleases them quickly though with a powerbomb onto two of them for a 2 count. Then the challenger recovers with a big DDT and Styles' questions if this is the end.
The Snowplow is almost hit, but Candido rushes in to break it up. Snow throws out the intruder onto Bigelow, but walks right into a belly-to-belly. The Franchise's finisher only gets him a 2 1/2 though. Snow recovers nicely and Asai Moonsaults the Triple Threat members, then hits Douglas with a Flying Body Press, but Shane rolls through for a 2 1/2. The locker room empties just as the Snowplow is hit for the 1..2..NO!
Francine rushes in and is caught with a protected Snowplow, then the Head is unleashed on Candido. Snow clims to the top as Douglas struggles to his feet and flies off with a Sunset Flip. Douglas sits down, cradles Snow's legs and gets the surprising win at 13:05. The heads fly in(?) and the boys rush in and raise both men on their shoulders.
This match was much better live on pay-per-view, when it seemed Snow was definately going to go over and carry the belt, while Douglas recovered. The ending shocked me and I still can't believe Snow left ECW for a forgetable run in the WWF. Neither guy looked exceptional, though Douglas's injuries make his preformance understandable. The end wasn't as good as it could have been, but the crowd was very hot throughout. After the RVD-Sabu letdown, this one wasn't quite so bad, but definately didn't make this pay-per-view "worth it."
Rating: **

Anarchy Rulz `99 - Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Little Guido (Three-Way Dance)
Nice clash of junior styles here, but it works together all too well. Crazy's highflying vs. Tajiri's kicking vs. Guido's grappling. These are three capable young men, who can put on a good show. 14:38

Anarchy Rulz `99 - Taz vs. Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome (Three-Way World Championship)
After the show's opener, where Tanaka nailed Jeff Jones and promised Tanaka something "awesome," we all knew what was going to happen. Clearly Mike Awesome, who had just successfully toured with All Japan would get involved in this match. After the introductions, Taz gives the ECW World title to the ref and this match is about to get underway. Then he grabs a mic and challenges...Mike Awesome. Taz talks a lot of trash and Paul E. comes out and makes this the ECW famous "Three-Way Dance."
Awesome is barely over the rail, when Tanaka hits him with a pescado. They roll into the ring a duke it out as Taz looks on. They finally and go after the champion, who comes back with two suplexes, but the two overwhelm him. Taz mounts another comeback, but he's clotheslined down. Awesome launches Tanaka with a Running Powerbomb and goes to the top. Taz catches him, but cannot follow up as the Dangan Fighter knocks him stupid with his Roaring Elbow. Awesome shows he hasn't lost his highflying touch with an unreal Flying Splash, 1,2,3, Taz is eliminated!
The locker room empties and the action continues. Awesome hits his Tope Suicida, a Flying Clothesline, a big lariat, and a Lyger Bomb, but cannot put Tanaka away. He goes to the outside to set up a table as his rival struggles to get up. The Dangan Fighter escapes the over-the-top Awesome Bomb and uses elbows and a Springing Clothesline to send Awesome to the floor.
The two men battle on the ramp, where Tanaka hits his running chairshot and a swinging DDT. Back inside, he hits a vicious missile dropkick, his tornado DDT onto a pile of chairs, and his chair-assisted flying elbowdrop, and a powerbomb, but for each move the pinfall just cannot make it to three.
Awesome recovers and sends Tanaka sailing over the top and through a table with his Awesome Bomb. He brings the original back inside and hits a huge spinebuster and another Flying Splash, but neither get the three. Then he goes for a chair, which he proceeds to wear Tanaka out with, until Tanaka gets a kick in. The Dangan Fighter hits Diamond Dust and goes for a Roaring Elbow, but is German Suplexed and Speared for the nearfall. Awesome holds nothing back as he blasts Tanaka with a Flying Chairshot to the head, which allows him time to set up a table in the corner.
Awesome slowly makes his way to the top, but Tanaka recovers and tries to hook a superplex. Unfortunately, the late challenger cannot be stopped and muscles Tanaka up and hits a top rope Awesome Bomb for the 1,2,3 at 13:48. A new ECW champion, who wasn't even on the card prior to its inception. Taz comes back, snatches away the belt, hangs it to Awesome, raises his hand, and then shakes it. As if that wasn't enough, Awesome offers his hand to Tanaka (and the camera cuts away!?) This match has to be my favorite ECW World/Heavyweight Title match as it was exciting to watch on PPV and a helluva a match.
Rating: ****

Anarchy Rulz `99 - Rob Van Dam vs. Balls Mahoney (TV Championship)
I've heard Anarchy Rulz regarded as one of ECW best shows (not just PPVs), but this was a questionable main event. The World Championship was outstanding, but for whatever reason it was not the main event. Johnny Smith was slated to get a TV title shot, but sickeningly was replaced by Balls Mahoney, who he'd beaten on TV a number of times.
This was kind of an impromptu match as Axl Rotten calls out Mike Awesome, but instead the Impact Players and Johnny Smith come out and Rotten got beaten down. Balls Mahoney and Spike Dudley follow and clean house. Then Mahoney KO'd Smith with a chairshot. I almost broke into tears because I knew that Mahoney was going to get the shot.
Van Dam comes out with great heat as the crowd sings along with Kilgore's version of "Walk." Everything seems to take forever, but finally the match gets underway. Balls counters RVD's holds and flash with a nice back suplex and a clothesline. He gets his though in the from of a jump back kick and body press for the two and then a body scissors cradle for another nearfall.
A frustrated Mahoney rolls to the floor, where RVD followed and getting caught in a brawl. Van Dam tries to hit a moonsault off the guard rail, but Balls catches him. They continue to brawl, now out into the crowd, where the 300-pounder maintains his advantage. Then they decide to go back in the ring.
Mahoney continues to brawl, now having the fans say his name along with his jabs. He cuts off another Van Dam comeback with a belly-to-belly and then a spin wheel kick over the top rope. Outside yet again, RVD takes an ugly-looking spill over the rail, but manages to hit a Van Daminator. Rob wisely returns to the ring, but decides to go back out with an insane somersault plancha into the crowd and onto Balls Mahoney.
Back inside, Balls mounts a comeback with a powerslam and an attempt at a frog splash. He fended off RVD and hit a legdrop from the inside. Mahoney knows he has to slow things down and get his wind back, so he works a chinlock/chokehold. He does some heel-like tactics and catches Balls with his Ballbreaker (Rydeen Bomb) and follows it up with a Frog Splash, but it is not enough.
Balls goes up again, but is caught with a superplex. Fonzie hands off the chair and RVD uses it with a dropkick and a tumbling somersault senton splash, but neither gets a three count. Van Dam goes up and Balls tries to throw him off, but in a unique counter hits a monkey flip. He goes for his regular monkey flip, but Mahoney counters it with a Lyger Bomb on the chair for a nearfall.
Van Dam is very much in trouble and starts making mistakes. A Northern Lights Suplex attempt is countered by a Mahoney DDT. He then tries to fight Balls, but loses that and even gets piledriven. The big man sets up a superkick and grabs the chair. His first swing misses, but his second does not! Mahoney's taunts and Fonzie's interference save RVD's TV title reign. He catches the challenger off guard with a Van Daminator and a huge Frog Splash for the win at 19:39. This was a poor replacement for Johnny Smith, who (though not an ECW wrestler) is one of the best workers in the world and could have produced RVD's best match. The two guys share a hug, which the crowd enjoys, almost as much as Van Dam's entrance.
Rating: **1/4