Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997

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Deleted

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Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 Apr 22, 2014 14:03:01 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2014 14:03:01 GMT -5

I decided to take look at arguably one of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s hottest years in company existence, 1997. ECW rapidly changed from a pretty small regional promotion, to having a presence on a global pay-per-view scale and would transcend the company into the big leagues of professional wrestling, even making the WWF and WCW promotions stand up and take notice. How would my ECW stack up against the giants of yesteryear? Only one way to find out…

Now, I should probably introduce you to the rosters (as of January 1997):

Championship Holders:

ECW Heavyweight Champion – Raven

ECW Tag Team Champions – The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus)

ECW Television Champion – “The Franchise” Shane Douglas

Main Roster:

“Dr. Death” Steve Williams, “Hollywood” Bob Starr, “Hollywood” Nova, “Prime Time” Brian Lee, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney, Buelah McGillicuty, Buh-Buh Ray Dudley, Chris Candido, Chris Van De Lay, Davey Morton Jericho, D-Von Dudley, Francine, John Kronus, Lance Storm, Little Guido, Louie Spicolli, Mike Awesome, Mikey Whipwreck, Mustafa Saed, New Jack, Perry Saturn, Pitbull #1, Pitbull #2, Raven, Roadkill, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Spike Dudley, Stevie Richards, Taz, Terry Funk, The Blue Meanie, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer

Tag Teams/Factions:

The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus), Rob Van Dam & Sabu, The Pitbulls (#1 & #2), The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed), The Dudleys (Buh-Buh Ray & D-Von), Little Guido & Louie Spicolli, The bWo (“Hollywood” Nova, Stevie Richards & The Blue Meanie), Balls Mahoney & Axl Rotten, The Triple Threat (Chris Candido, Lance Storm & “The Franchise” Shane Douglas)

Now that you’ve been familiarized, let’s get into the first ECW: Hardcore TV episode of 1997!

ECW HARDCORE TV 01/01/97 (Philadelphia, PA)

1. The Pitbulls defeated The Gangstas in what was a knock down, drag out brawl. The referee was barely able to keep any established tag order and Pitbulls and Gangstas were nearly coming and going as they pleased. Most of the action did however take place in the ring with only a chair and the steel barriers being utilized. The Pitbulls put away the Gangstas right around the six minute mark after superbombing New Jack and Pitbull #2 snatched the pin. (6:38)

2. Commercial break + Hype Central reminds the viewers at home of the upcoming ECW Supershow, ‘House Party 1997‘ which is only ten days away.

3. Shane Douglas Promo: After recently being accused of holding Chris Candido back by playing politics in the back by the man himself, Shane Douglas is out here, presumably, to address these accusations. Which he does, with the accompaniment of Francine. He claims that if Candido truly believed that, then he should have stood up a long time ago. He also mentions that he believes it is very interesting that all of a sudden Candido came out with all his suspicions once Douglas held gold again. In closing, he claims that he always knew the jealousy would consume Candido, and that that was the only true factor holding Candido back. Douglas then dropped the mic and immediately left ringside with Francine.

4. Chris Candido defeated “Prime Time” Brian Lee in a back and forth battle between these two Television Title contenders. The match was pretty evenly fought, but Candido found himself fighting back from a beating more than once. After a hard fought battle, with hard bumps taken by both men in and out of the ring, Chris Candido picked up the victory over Lee. (11:19)

5. Commercial break + recap of Douglas’ promo by Joey Styles.

6. Terry Funk defeated Sabu in a decent match. Definitely not their most memorable match, as their greatest hits were thrown in without anything really extra on top. The high spot in the match happened when Sabu leaped from the top turnbuckle to a standing Terry Funk who had been three rows deep in the crowd as both men landed with a crash. Making it back to the ring, Funk put Sabu away by catching him off guard. Sabu was going for a triple jump moonsault and as he leaped to the top rope, Funk got to his feet and pulled the chair Sabu had used out farther. Sabu then performed the moonsault and landed in the chair, hitting his sternum hard on the back of the chair and falling backwards off of it. (12:23)

7. Raven Outside Promo: The ECW Heavyweight Champion Raven is seen outside sitting against a dumpster staring up to the sky. He is directly addressing Terry Funk saying that he could care less if he beats Sabu or not, or if he even makes it home safe or not. He says that he could care less if Funk is able to sleep, and already knows he tosses and turns in his restless nights. Raven states that Funk has yet to formulate a way to beat him and that it is weighing heavily on Funk’s mind (or what is left of it). He also claims that the next time Funk will see him is in his nightmares tonight, and every other night before the two meet. He ends the promo by saying, “The stars are talking Terry, can you hear them?”

8. This episode ends and the viewers are reminded to tune in next week!

Last Edit: Apr 22, 2014 14:06:36 GMT -5 by Deleted

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Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 Apr 22, 2014 14:14:30 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2014 14:14:30 GMT -5

Hardcore TV is back this week with some major developments! Will Chris Candido fire back at the ECW Television Champion, “The Franchise”, his former friend? What will Raven have to say again this week, if anything at all? What is the latest news on Sabu and the finish to last week’s match with Terry Funk… All questions and more will be answered this week! Now, what are you waiting for?!

ECW HARDCORE TV 01/10/97 (Allentown, PA)

1. Last week is very briefly recapped in a video that is voiced over by Joey Styles.

2. Stevie Richards (w/The Blue Meanie) defeated Little Guido w/Louie Spicolli after a major interference on the part of The Blue Meanie. After Stevie inadvertently took care of Louie Spicolli when he hit Little Guido off the apron causing him to roughly spill out to the concrete on top of Spicolli, Meanie capitalized on the situation by throwing Guido back into the ring. He then advised Richards to hold him down, and then performed a Meaniesault onto Richards’ defenseless opponent. Richards then pinned Guido and he and Meanie only celebrated briefly as Spicolli jumped into the ring with a chair, causing them to flee. (5:45)

3. Commercial Break + Hype for House Party 1997, ECW’s first Supershow of the year, tomorrow night.

4. Mikey Whipwreck defeated Chris Van De Lay in what was a great match-up. Whipwreck is noted to have trained Van De Lay in the art of professional wrestling and the two showed the crowd just how well they knew each other coming to many stalemates. Not to be outdone by his former student, Whipwreck resulted in taking a dinner plate from a fan and smashing it over Van De Lay’s head. Van De Lay would fire back with using a fan’s frying pan on Mikey repeatedly at ringside. The two made it back into the ring and wrestled cleanly the rest of the match. Mikey was able to squeeze out the victory after a twisting Whipper-Snapper. The two showed great sportsmanship and no hard feelings after the match as they shook hands. (7:37)

5. Shane Douglas/Chris Candido confrontation: “The Franchise” Shane Douglas was awaiting his opponent, Spike Dudley, when Candido ran up behind Spike stopping him in the entrance way. As the music was cut, Candido broke in with his mic. He told Spike that though he was sure he would have wiped the floor with Douglas tonight, that Spike would have to wait to do so another night. He then whispered something into Spike’s ear and Spike then gladly returned back stage. Candido then addressed Douglas who was standing confused in the ring. He said to Douglas that he knows he likes to play politics in the back because he was afraid that Candido would take his spot all these years, he decided to play a little politics of his own. He said he was able to find Douglas a more suitable opponent to challenge him for the Television Championship tonight… Candido then stood aside as “Dr. Death” Steve Williams’ music played and Douglas went wild with anger in the ring and Francine yelled at Candido from the ring.

6. Commercial break

7. Shane Douglas defeated Steve Williams in what was perhaps his toughest title defense thus far. Williams maintained a head of steam throughout the entire match. Douglas fought back valiantly much to the chagrin of the live audience as then chanted derogatory remarks to Francine and Douglas. After hitting “The Franchise” with everything he had, Williams’ frustration got the better of him which allowed Douglas to get the upper hand. Francine grabbed the ankles of Williams from outside of the ring, allowing Douglas to catch an off-guard “Dr. Death” in a fisherman buster. After the match, “The Franchise” (who was obviously winded by the beating he had received) played off his victory as no problem as his brushed his hands off together, almost as to tell Candido that his little mind game had not even phased the TV Champ. (10:10)

8. Commercial break + Joey Styles announcing Sabu suffered a bruised sternum at the hands of Terry Funk and a chair last week. Sabu’s next appearance is determined as unclear at this point.

9. Terry Funk in-ring promo: Funk appears in the ring with a microphone looking rather distraught. He begins by saying that Raven has not gotten into his, mind ‘one damn bit’. He also reminds Raven that where ever he may be, he better always remember who he is dealing with. The man that created hardcore wrestling. The fans stand and clap for Funk before he continues… He starts up again by saying that if Raven really thinks he could crack him with words after all that he has done and seen over the years, then it is Raven who should have his head examined. Then, behind Funks back, Raven jumped the guardrail and got into the ring with a chair in hand. Before Funk could respond, Raven grabbed him and Evenflow DDT’ed him onto the chair. Raven then went to hit Funk with another one before Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam rushed down to the ring to Terry’s aid. Raven fled to the outside and stood on the corner of barricade and taunted all three men before he left through the crowd. With Raven gone, Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer looked after Terry Funk who was just beginning to get up…

10. This episode ends with Terry talking with Dreamer and Van Dam as he held his head and they made their way to the back.

Last Edit: Apr 22, 2014 14:15:46 GMT -5 by Deleted

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Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 Apr 26, 2014 22:32:34 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2014 22:32:34 GMT -5

Tonight, the Tag Team Champions are in the building for the fist Supercard of the new year to wreak havoc! Who will their victims be, as they look to reestablish exactly why they are the ECW Tag Team Champs? Also, speaking of havoc, Raven is scheduled to square off against Axl Rotten! Will Terry Funk crash Raven’s party and try to return last night’s favor, catching Raven off guard? All that and more… It is a party and you’re invited!

Extreme Championship Wrestling presents:

ECW House Party 1997 - 1/11/97 (Philadelphia, PA)

Three-Way Dance

Rob Van Dam Vs. Davey Morton Jericho Vs. Lance Storm

Singles Match

Chris Candido Vs. “Prime Time” Brian Lee

Tag Team Handicap Match

The bWo (“Hollywood” Nova, The Blue Meanie, & Stevie Richards) Vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Chris Van De Lay

Singles Match for the ECW Television Championship

Spike Dudley w/”Dr. Death” Steve Williams Vs. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas w/Francine

Singles Match

Taz w/Bill Alfonso Vs. Tommy Dreamer

Tornado Tag Team (Elimination Style) Match

The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) Vs. The Dudleys (D-Von & Buh-Buh Ray)

Singles Match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship

Raven Vs. Axl Rotten

The results were as follows:

1. Rob Van Dam was the last man standing in the three way dance against Lance Storm and Davey Morton Jericho. Eliminated first was Jericho after Van Dam hit a frog splash with a chair in hand. Lance Storm and RVD then put on an absolute classic, with some creative high spots and good mat wrestling. The fans accepted this opener warmly. (9:19)

2. Chris Candido defeated Brian Lee in a decent match with both men putting in an average effort in. No game changer here but still a solid effort on the part of both men with Candido going over. After the match, Lance Storm came out, congratulated his friend Chris Candido, and then walked with him to the back. (11:45)

3. Commercial break + Reminder to continue to tune into ECW’s Hardcore TV in the weeks to come.

4. Mikey Whipwreck and Chris Van De Lay defeated The bWo, in an upset victory. Whipwreck and Van De Lay worked together very well and performed some pretty good tag moves. The end came when both Stevie and Nova were subdued outside of the ring by Mikey who had both men in a headlock as Van De Lay wrapped up things in the ring with The Blue Meanie. (8:47)

5. Recap video of last night’s Hardcore TV events between Douglas, Spike, Candido, and Steve Williams.

6. Spike Dudley and Shane Douglas fought to a no-contest as both men were unable to continue after brawling all over the ECW arena. “Dr. Death” got involved here and there by taking weapons out of Douglas’ hands and blocked Francine from putting douglas’ foot on the ropes during a few pins. The ref was very lenient as usually with both party’s valets. Spike put up a good fight against Douglas, but for most of the time, Douglas was delivering the beating as expected. (16:04)

7. Taz defeated Tommy Dreamer in what many considered the best match of the night. Both men pulled out all the stops to make this match a memorable one. There was great and well-paced technical action throughout the match with both men trying to one up each other. No weapons were used by either men, but Alfonso did try and slide Taz a chair which he declined to use. Nothing but a clean wrestling match, earning both men a standing ovation. (19:25)

8. Commercial break + Hype of collected thoughts from several wrestlers will be aired on the coming Hardcore TV episode.

9. The Eliminators defeated The Dudleys in a pretty well balanced tag team match. The tag champs performed some pretty devastating combos isolating Buh-Buh Ray. D-Von was unable to tag in for some time. When he did, he was able to clean house and gave Buh-Buh Ray an opportunity to grab a table and set it up on the outside of the ring. D-Von then lifted Perry Saturn in a powerbomb and headed towards the ropes to bomb Saturn out through the table. Before D-Von was able to release Saturn, John Kronus flipped the table over and out of the way, and Saturn was then able to hurricanrana D-Von over the ropes and down to the floor. Then, all hell broke loose when the Pitbulls and The Ganstas stormed the ring. The Gangsta immediately began tearing at the Dudleys and The Pitbulls wen tafter the tag champs. After a brawl, Saturn returned to the ring and turned around to an angry Buh-Buh Ray Dudley who was running towards him. Saturn leapfrogged over Dudley and sent him off the ropes again. Kronus then hit the ring and The Eliminators were able to hit ‘Total Elimination’ on Buh-Buh. Perry Saturn got the pin while John Kronus prevented D-Von from getting back in the ring and breaking up the pin. The tag champs then rushed to the back with The Pitbulls hot on their trail and the remaining two teams continuing the fight in the ring. (15:32)

10. Recap video is presented of the Funk/Raven saga from Hardcore TV episodes thus far.

11. Axl Rotten entered for what was supposed to be a match for the ECW Heavyweight Championship and awaited Raven’s arrival. Raven’s theme played but he did not enter. Instead, Terry Funk came out and seemingly took Raven’s place instead. The fans were a little net out of shape, though they were glad to see Funk. The match got underway and it wasn’t long at all before weapons were introduced. Among the weapons taken from the crowd, there was a VCR as well as its remote which blew apart after coming in rough contact with Axl’s forehead courtesy of Terry Funk. After a good beating with using almost anything that wasn’t nailed down, these two seemed pretty spent. Funk slapped on a well-positioned toe hold and had Axl in some serious pain. Before Axl was able to tape, Raven once again jumped the rail and grabbed Funk in an Evenflow DDT position. He was unable to hit it though as Tommy Dreamer also jumped the rail and nailed Raven with a speed limit sign from the apron behind him. With Raven temporarily out of the way, Tommy got into the ring and hit the Dreamer Driver on Axl Rotten. He then draped Terry Funk’s arm over Rotten for Funk to get the victory. After the match was over, Funk and Dreamer exited before Raven could get a hold of either of them. (23:20)

12. A recap highlight video of the nights events are showed.

Last Edit: Apr 26, 2014 22:36:31 GMT -5 by Deleted

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Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 May 8, 2014 17:32:43 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2014 17:32:43 GMT -5

Tonight on Hardcore TV, a monumental rematch pits Tommy Dreamer against Taz one more time! Also, Lance Storm of The Triple Threat finally breaks his silence. Who will he side with, Douglas or Candido? Plus, a few peeks inside the minds of the ‘who’s who’ of Extreme Championship Wrestling. All that and more on this week’s exciting episode of ECW’s Hardcore TV!

ECW HARDCORE TV 01/16/97 (Elmira, NY)

1. The Dudleys defeated the Gangstas in a tag team match. The two teams picked up right where they left off at House Party on the 11th. A tag format was not established (though it was supposed to be) during the entire match. The were tables, chairs and a cheese grater implemented by both teams and the fans were really into it as action happened everywhere. (9:14)

2. The Eliminators Interview: Styles asks about the number one contenders for the ECW belts, The Pitbulls. Kronus does most of the talking and states that The Eliminators have come up against guys a lot meaner and more formidable than The Pitbulls. He then claims that he and Saturn have held the belts for this long and have no intentions of letting them slip away to a bunch of muts. Perry also chimed in that the champs are not hard to find, so anytime The Pitbulls are itching for a beating, The Eliminators would be happy to oblige them.

3. Commercial break.

4. Lance Storm Interview: Lance Storm was finally able to get a few things off his chest when answering the one question everybody wanted to know: “Douglas or Candido?” After deep thought, Storm said that he understands where Chris Candido was coming from and don’t blame him for taking arms up against “The Franchise”. Storm says he made his decision strictly on the basis of friendship length, saying that he was friends with Candido far before Shane Douglas. So, with that said, he now fully backs Candido and will stand by him against Shane. He ends the interview by saying, “Nothing personal, Shane.”

5. Mikey Whipwreck defeated Chris Candido w/Lance Storm after Mikey caught Candido off guard while he was distracted with pro-Candido chants. Mikey hit a vicious reverse DDT onto a chair. Storm tried to warn Candido but was unsuccessful. This was considered an upset as Whipwreck scored the roll up victory and fled. (8:08)

6. Commercial break + Recap of Dreamer/Taz from House Party.

7. Tommy Dreamer Promo: Dreamer is seen in the ring with a mic. He starts by saying that last night he was taken damn close to his limit as a professional wrestler. He says that Taz brought the best out in him and that he’d like to try to have lighting strike twice with this rematch. Tommy then added that if Taz thought he’d beat him again, he had another thing coming. He states that the 11th was just a warm up and that this time around, he was ready.

8. Taz defeated Tommy Dreamer for the second time. Though, this time around, Tommy kept up with Taz even more so than he had at ECW House Party. Taz was tested and Dreamer fought to his last breath. Several times towards the end of the match, much to Taz’s disbelief, Tommy would stand up after receiving impactful move after impactful move… This match was just as good, if not better than their one on the 11th. After the match, Taz showed Tommy respect before leaving the ring. (17:37)

Last Edit: May 8, 2014 17:34:14 GMT -5 by Deleted