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/wrestling /ECW on TNN /3 March 2000 |
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/wrestling /ECW on TNN /3 March 2000 |
ECW on TNN by E.C. Ostermeyer |
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MainBLAH |
This is the ECW on TNN recap for Friday, 3 March 2000, and I'm your recapper, E.C. Ostermeyer. As I mentioned at the start of last week's recap, I am testing three different formats in order to bring you, my gentle readers, the best recap of this show. I started two weeks ago, with a full transcription of the matches, interviews and commercials, and added recapper commentary by yours truly. Last week's recap concentrated on the in-ring action, and less on the interviews and other aspects of the show, including less recapper commentary. This week, it's "ECW on TNN" -Lite. You'll get a summary of in-ring action, brief outlines of interviews, no commercials, and barest minimum recapper commentary. Once again, I am doing this to give you wrestling fans, and especially you ECW fans, the choice of how you want your favorite sport recapped. If you haven't already read the previous two recaps of mine, please do so first, then read this one. After you've had a chance to compare, please email me your preference for one of the three. The format that gets the most votes is the one I'll use from now on. Majority rules. And now, without further ado.... Our show opens with the Big Ol' Face of Mike Awesome filling my 27" Mitsubishi TV screen. The Big Ol' Face appears to be mightily p.o.-ed at somebody. Oh no! It speaks! "Hey, Spike, you put my manager in the hospital, and now you're gonna try and take my belt away from me? Well, I'm gonna kick your ass, Spike, and I'm gonna kick it real good! This isn't just business anymore, this is personal! I'm gonna give you a beating that's...AWESOME!" Mike tries hard not to break himself up laughing as we go to... Opening credits - spot the ECW wrestlers that AREN'T on the DL. We are still live (on tape) from the "Rave" Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Your hosts are Turner and Hooch. How's this for starting things off with a bang? Match # 1: Mike Awesome (with manager Judge Jeff Jones) d. Little Spike Dudley to defend the ECW World Heavyweight Championship title. Little Spike Dudley charged the ring, steel chair in hand, and proceeded to whack Mike Awesome across the back with it several times. A top turnbuckle, flying chair shot to the head puts Awesome on the canvas. Awersome's manager, Judge Jeff Jones attempts interference, but is chased off the ring apron by Little Spike Dudley. Spike then proceeds to wave to the fans at ringside, who wave back. Spike's distraction is all that Mike Awesome needs to gain the momentum in this match, as he hits Little Spike Dudley across the forehead with two shots with the chair edge, busting him open. A wicked short-arm clothesline sends Spike to the canvas. Set-up for the Awesome Bomb is broken up by Spike gouging the eye of Mike Awesome, who follows with the "Ten-Count Punch Down", with the crowd counting the blows. A wickedly fast snap hurancanrana takes Awesome down. Awesome staggers to his feet and slumps in the corner. Spike's attempted run-in gets an Awesome Elbow to the face, followed by Mike Awesome tossing Little Spike Dudley over the top rope and through a table on the outside of the ring. This seems a fine time for some Commercials We return just in time to see Little Spike Dudley bulldog Mike Awesome off the entrance and onto the remains of the table. Both men back in the ring, where Spike attempted another bulldog from the top rope, but Awesome caught him in mid-air and power-slammed Spike. Amazingly, Spike recovered, and hit his Acid Drop finisher on Mike Awesome! Spike goes for a cover, but gets only a two count, as Judge Jeff Jones pulls the referee out of the ring, stopping the count. Little Spike Dudley chased Jeff Jones away again, only to have Awesome hit a German suplex that tosses Spike across the ring! Powerbomb from Mike Awesome. And another! Awesome is dragging the unconscious Little Spike Dudley around the ring by the back of his overalls. There's ANOTHER powerbomb on Spike by Mike Awesome! Cover by Awesome, 1...2... Spike got a shoulder up! Mike Awesome can't believe it, and is getting frustrated. Joey Styles says enough already, either pin him or have the referee stop the match! Judge Jeff Jones puts a table in the ring. Awesome leans the table in the corner. Awesome Bomb sends Little Spike Dudley through the table. Awesome with the cover, and this time, he gets the win. (6:21) Good match, with both wrestlers doing quite a job of selling each other's moves. A special nod to Mike Awesome for marked improvement in this area. Commercials From the "ECW Hardcore TV" syndicated show, (Cincinnati, OH): Masato Tanaka does another interview in Japanese, (again, translated by yours truly!) Ummmm, oh dear, apparently, his locker's been broken into again, only this time the pranksters responsible put Ben-Gay in his jock strap... Wha...? Dawn Marie is suddenly in Mr. Tanaka's face, hollering how she can't concentrate with all this noise out here! Tanaka is nonplussed by this lovely lady screeching at him, and he requests clarification. Dawn Marie says he should learn some English, this is America, why don't you learn American? Tanaka apparently mistakes this last as a bona-fide offer of romance, and tries to kiss Dawn Marie on the mouth! Her shriek brings the Impact Players to her rescue, where Justin Credible and Lance Storm administer the beat-down to the presumptuous Masato Tanaka. LS: "This is one less foreigner we have to deal with in this company!" (Uh, Lance, you're from Calgary, Alberta CANADA, right?) JC: "Piece of trash!" DM" }Yeah, FOREIGNER, that got him, all right." (hugs on Lance Storm as the Impact Players exit.) Commercials We come back, once again, to the "Rave" Arena in Milwaukee, and find Steve Corino and Jack Victory facing Eric Watts and Lou E. Dangerously. Corino, still in western togs, says he hand-picked Watts as his opponent, praising him for being old-school like himself, eschewing table shots, chair shots, bleeding, etc. Corino then went on to praise Eric's father, the great "Cowboy" Bill Watts, and how he carried Dusty Rhodes in every match, in every sold out arena between Charlotte and Milwaukee. Corino then said that he and Eric would give the fans an old-school "Texas Bull-rope Match", (a Dusty Rhodes specialty) and that a bloodied Watts would then call Steve Corino "The REAL American Dream" ! Corino then made several disparaging remarks about Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Brewers, and Milwaukee's own wrestling champ the "Crusher" , who Corino tags as a closet homosexual. Then local boy referee H.C. Lopez grabbed the stick, and told Corino to shut the hell up and get to wrestling, since he wouldn't last an hour on the streets of Milwaukee. This defiance only gets referee Lopez a pounding from all assembled, including Lou E. Dangerously. Corino then says that, although he put Dusty Rhodes out of the business, he's begging him to come back for an old-school "Texas Bull-rope match" where Rhodes will declare Steve Corino the REAL "American Dream." Corino then tags Rhodes with every crime from bankrupting Jim Crockett Promotions to cutting the brake lines on Magnum TA's car. Gertner: "Steve Corino is Living Dangerously!" So, you think that the Corino-Rhodes match is a dead certainty for the upcoming PPV or not? Commercials. We're back and, oh JOY!, it's Match #2: Super Crazy d. Yoshihiro Tajiri d. Little Guido (w/ Big Sal E. Graziano) in a "Three Way Eliminator" match. Hey, lose Corino, I got your PPV-quality match-up right here! This was a whirlwind of a match, with all three of the principals hitting numerous stiff moves and doing some spectacular aerial work. Tajiri had initial control with several stiff kicks and punches to both Little Guido and Super Crazy. This led to Guido and Super Crazy teaming up to kick the stuffing out of Tajiri. Tajiri was made of sterner stuff, however, and retaliated with a powerbomb on Super Crazy, and an "in-seam adjustment" via the top rope to Little Guido. Tajiri then took Guido to the outside, but both men ate a towering top-rope Asahi moonsault from Super Crazy. Big Sal got into the act walloping on Super Crazy, who promptly responded by flooring the bug guy with a cross-body slam from the top of the guardrail. Super Crazy then returned to the ring, where Tajiri staggered him with a couple of kicks, and then "Tarantula"-ed him. Little Guido contributing a double boot to the face of the "Tarantula"-ed Super Crazy, which broke the hold. Little Guido then dropped tajiri with a side Russian leg-sweep, and caught a tornado DDT from Super Crazy. Tajiri stiff-kicked Guido in the head again, then hit a brainbuster finisher that was good enough to pin Little Guido (5:21). With the match now Tajiri against Super Crazy, with the Insane Luchador tossing Tajiri through the ropes to the outside of the ring. A moonsault by Super Crazy missed, and Tajiri countered with some VERY stiff kicks. Back in the ring, where Tajiri continued to kick and punch on Super Crazy, the stiffest being a vicious kick to the back of the head. A flying elbow dropped Super Crazy to the mat, where Tajiri double drop-kicked him in the face. Tajiri with a flying head-scissors, but Super Crazy crotched him, then hit a spring-board moonsault finisher for the win. (8:42) Superb match, absolutely "Main Event" quality on ANY PPV! ECW arena schedule for the next two months: South Philly, PA, Danbury, CT (PPV), Worcester, MA, Salem, NH, Richmond, VA, Norfolk, VA, Cleveland, OH, Warren, OH, and at the Burt Flickinger Center in Buffalo, NY! Commercials Cyrus and Rhino are raging around the locker room area. Cyrus: "'Three Way Dance', what does that..." He spots Super Crazy. (to Rhino) "GET HIM! GET HIM!" Rhino spears Super Crazy so hard he takes out both him and the locker bay he was standing in front of. Cyrus: (holding up the Access Badge) " NOBODY... stands up to The Network!" Rhino's seen glowering in the background. Commercials We return (again) to Cincinnati, OH (via the "ECW Hardcore TV" syndicated show). Francine and Tommy Dreamer are in the ring in front of a VERY LOUD bunch of fans in attendance. Francine accused Tommy of intentionally DDT-ing her in the tag match against the Impact Players in Milwaukee. (See previous recap) Francine says that the fans are "really there to see her tits rather than Tommy's ass." Francine disparagingly compared Dreamer's career to Cincinnati's own Pete Rose, claiming that she was the one that "got Tommy over" with the fans and ECW. Finally, "though Tommy needs her, Raven WANTS her!" Dreamer 's had enough of this, and tells Francine that if Raven wants her, for her to take her fake tits and get the Whack! Francine slaps Tommy Dreamer Dreamer, enraged, attempts to piledrive Francine, but Raven's there to break that up, and administer the "Even-flo" to Tommy Dreamer. Francine waves "bye-bye" to the unconscious Tommy Dreamer as she leaves on Raven's arm. Suddenly, Francine and Raven are face-to-face with the Impact Players. Dawn Marie has some choice words for Francine ("Skank!" being the mildest.) Raven and Justin Credible get in a stare-down, but the Impact Players have other matters at hand, and head for the ring, leaving Francine and Raven unscathed for the moment. Once in the ring, the beat-down and bad-mouth festival commences. Justin Credible's on the stick, calling Dreamer a "loser who couldn't even hang onto a slut like Francine", while Lance Storm continues putting the boot to Tommy. A double-team set-up for a repeat of the stuff-piledriver on Tommy Dreamer gets broken up by the arrival of an incensed Masato Tanaka, who's looking to beat some heads in! This sets up Match #3: Tommy Dreamer & Masato Tanaka d. The Impact Players Lance Storm and Justin Credible (w/ Dawn Marie Bytch) for the ECW World Tag Team Titles. Tanaka opened with a mean-looking double DDT on the Impact Players. Tanaka then threw Justin Credible out of the ring, and fought him through the crowd. Dreamer, living up to his moniker as "The Innovator of Violence", does a REAL number on Lance Storm by tying him to the "Tree of Woe", then "climbing" the "Tree"... ...and then pausing to rest in a convenient "crotch". Yep, Tommy Dreamer was STANDING on the apex of Lance Storm's crotch a good ten seconds! Every male in the Arena... Hell, EVERY male on the planet (me included!) was getting a BAD reflexive wince! I hope Lance wore a cup! And a catcher's mask might not be a bad idea either, as Tommy Dreamer dished up a baseball slide (with steel chair garnish) on Lance Storm's face! Justin Credible hit Dreamer with the Singapore Cane, and Lance Storm, adding a stinging side-kick, tried to pin Tommy, but only got a two count. Justin Credible tossed a table into the ring. Lance Storm set Dreamer up for the powerbomb through the table, but Tommy reversed it, and nailed Storm with a Spicolli Driver though the same table. Justin Credible dealt head-shots with the cane for both opponents, and was setting up his "That's Incredible!" finisher on Masato Tanaka, when Tanaka reversed it into an inverted neck-breaker. Tanaka then nailed his "Diamond Dust" finisher on Justin Credible, hooked the far leg, and got the pin! Ladies and gentlemen, we have new ECW World Tag Team Champions, Masato Tanaka and Tommy Dreamer. (4:48) Afterwards, a dazed Tommy Dreamer can't believe that he's got a tag team belt in his hands, and Tanaka's grinning from ear to ear. Both champs embrace as we see the Closing credits. Well, that 's all for this week. Please remember to vote for your favorite recap format and email me. And remember, if you don't vote, you've got nothing to complain about. See you next week! E.C. Ostermeyer [slash] wrestling Mail the Author |
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