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Rewatching ECW - discussion of various bits and bobs


IANdrewDiceClay

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47 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Last thing on Tajiri vs Psicosis though, I stumbled across this picture;

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When is this from? I assumed they might’ve met in the WWE during Psicosis’ brief run there in 2005ish but that was when he was in the Mexicools. I’ve got zero memory of him wrestling in the mask in WWE. Looks ace though. Anyone know when this photo is from or was it a dark match or something? 

It was a dark tryout match for Psicosis. 

It's from a January 31st, 2005 Raw taping. So a good five or six months before he showed up on TV. 

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Nice one, thanks for that. 

So they saw him looking like that and instead had him take the mask off and come out on a lawn mower when he debuted on TV? He should’ve at least wore that getup for the ECW One Night Stand match with Rey. It’s closer to what he wore in ECW in 95 but updated a bit and it looks a damn sight better than that skirt thing he rocked up in. 

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ECW is one of the few things I watch on the Network.
I remember seeing pictures in Powerslam and reading some of the crazy stuff that was going down in this greasy, sweaty warehouse in Philly.
Seeing photos from the Taipei Death match when you're used to seeing Henry Godwinn, Aldo Montoya and The Dungeon of Doom was SO mind blowing to me.

95 and 96 will always be the companies glory years for me but I do love me a bit of any era (original) ECW to be honest - just for it taking me back to being a teenager again if nothing else.

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7 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Like a melted waxwork of Tito Santana. Bless him. He should’ve never taken the mask off. Ever. 

That WCW obsession with unmasking the cruiserweights. Juvi was the right call. He looked great. But Psicosis was ugly and Rey looked about 12. What on earth were they thinking?

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For some reason at the time I was convinced Chris Chetti was going to be the next big breakthrough star in wrestling. No idea why. He was absolutely fucking useless. I was really surprised he didn't seem to go anywhere after turning heel on Nova at the end of 2000.

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22 hours ago, IANdrewDiceClay said:

I signed up to Bix's patreon after he posted the first episode of his deep dive into the ECW TNN years for free on the Between the Sheets feed. Some of the stuff you find out about the last 2 years of ECW is amazing. Heyman is such a con artist. The fact he made Chris Candido the booking agent, got him to run up a $150,000 debt on his credit card to book the travel for the wrestlers and then would only release him to go to WCW if he signed something that said he'd not come after him for that money is rotten.

Thanks for sharing this Ian, I went and downloaded that episode earlier, having never heard of the podcast, and there's some fascinating stuff there. I'm about half way through so far and looking forward to listening to the rest of it when I get a chance. 

Bixenspan's co-host sounds oddly like Jim Ross though. That Heyman has received such positive press over the years, with how shitty he behaved as a person, a promoter and with waning quality of booking, shows the value he found in being a mole for the Observer and The Torch. 

When they mentioned ECW never even had a profitable month it took me by surprise. Obviously we all know it was a money pit, and they were never financially savvy or strong enough to have a good year, or even quarter. To not even have a good month in eight and a bit years? That's horrendous management. 

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9 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

Bixenspan's co-host sounds oddly like Jim Ross though. That Heyman has received such positive press over the years, with how shitty he behaved as a person, a promoter and with waning quality of booking, shows the value he found in being a mole for the Observer and The Torch. 

Kris Zellner is excellent on every podcast I've ever heard him on.  I don't know whether he still does it, but the Exile on Badstreet podcast is/was fantastic, plus he's done shows with Dylan Hales (they were going to do a month by month history of JCP starting in 1989 but not sure how far they got into it) and does one with Rob Naylor too, looking at old wrestling magazines.  I have no idea how he is able to keep putting stuff out at the regularity he does.  Just a shame he does this one with Bixenspan.  And after what one of Bix's previous co-hosts on a different podcast had to say about him, I hope Zellner keeps an eye on the financials!

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Super Crazy vs Tajiri - Mexican Death Match 🇲🇽 

ECW on TNN

January 15th 2000

I’m going off the dates on the Network here but they’re different to the ones on Magnum’s list.

”Mexican Death Match? What does that mean, the loser’s gotta drink the water?” - Joel Gertner

This is so much fun to watch. I always liked their little run of matches on PPV in 99, in singles and when they’d throw a Lynn or Guido into the mix. But I’d never seen their TV matches. The ‘death match’ thing is just a little meaningless quirk as Magnum said. There’s nothing to differentiate this from the ‘Japanese Death Match’ later, or any match in ECW really. Weren’t they all essentially ‘no disqualification’ matches. Although it was a nice change of pace with these guys as they didn’t really go the hardcore route in their matches usually.

Right away here I notice what @Gay as FOOK was saying about the TV shows being a bit all over the place and jarring to watch. This picks up with them already in the ring. I’m assuming because they were using actual licensed songs for entrances which they obviously didn’t legally have the rights to? So that wasn’t going to fly on TNN. Then almost as soon as the match starts, Joey Styles is going “WE’VE GOTTA GO TO A COMMERCIAL BREAK!” Whatever, that aside the action resumes and it’s barmy.

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Tajiri is a right sadistic, evil little sod here. Gives Crazy a proper hiding for the first few minutes, to the point it’s starting to look like a bit of an extended (and very bloody) squash match. He’s spitting on Crazy, spitting at the ref, wiping Crazy’s blood on his chest with a sinister grin on his face. With how well he did the lighthearted stuff with Regal in the WWF later, it’s easy to forget how good he could be in the nasty little bastard role. He even stops the beating to take the piss at one point...

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Prick 😂

Crazy makes a big comeback and they start brawling through the crowd. That’s something that was really done to death back then, wasn’t it? And ECW weren’t the only culprits. Seemed like almost every WWF main event in the late 90s went through the crowd. Crazy makes it worthwhile here though;

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They eventually wind up back in the ring going at it, trading near falls and all that. Tajiri’s busting out his trademark stuff like the handspring elbow and the Tarantula (yes!) but Crazy keeps coming. Comes very close to a 3 count on a seamless kick to the bollocks into bridging German suplex combo as well. He even starts fishhooking Crazy’s gob with a wrench at one point. Vicious little get. Crazy fires back and tries to powerbomb him through a table but Tajiri hits him with the green mist. He goes for a hurricanrana but Crazy catches him and powerbombs him through a table in the other corner and that’s it. Super Crazy wins.

Absolutely love this. I’m not usually a big lover of hardcore style matches but I enjoyed this a lot. I think because it was a change from their usual routine they did and I dig Tajiri’s evil side. For me this is probably the best match I’ve seen these two have against each other. Maybe the Japanese Death Match will top it though.

 

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Super Crazy (c) vs Tajiri - ECW Television Title - Japanese Death Match 🇯🇵 

ECW on TNN

March 24th 2000

Crazy had won the TV title just before this, beating Rhino in the tournament finals at Living Dangerously. 

They’re both in the ring but before the match can start there’s an in-ring promo/confrontation between Cyrus and Joel Gertner and Joey Styles that seems to drag on forever. The action finally picks up, again joined in progress after a break, and Tajiri is all over him. It’s not as sadistic as the Mexican version and this is more back and forth early on. Still good stuff but it’s a lot like their standard non hardcore matches for me. The weapons come out and Tajiri waffles him with a chair shot that Crazy doesn’t even bother putting his hands up for. Yeah, it’s amazing how our attitudes have changed over the years. Back then I was loving those unprotected chair shots. These days, I wince every time.

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That was cool though. From there it’s basically table match. Crazy hits a powerslam through one, then tries moonsault through another but it doesn’t break and they just bounce off it. So he picks Tajiri up and powerbombs him through what’s left of that table for the win. So Super Crazy is still the TV champ and he goes 2-0 in death matches over the ‘Japanese Buzzsaw’.

I liked both matches but the Mexican version pisses all over the Japanese one for me. It feels much more heated and the finish kind of got messed up in the second match. Loving revisiting these Tajiri matches though. 

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Agree with you re. preferring the Mexican Death Match over the Japanese one.  My write ups:

Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri (Mexican Death Match) (ECW TNN 1/21/00)

Quote

The rules of a Mexican Death match are that it is ‘no DQ’, as opposed to something like a Texas Death match. The match start with Joey Styles and Joel Gertner making jokes like how the loser of the match has to watch 12 hours of Mil Mascaras movies. Almost as soon as it’s started though we cut to a break. We return to see Tajiri dropkick Crazy whilst he’s tied in the ‘Tree of Woe’. He goes outside and brings three chairs into the ring, sets them up in front of Crazy’s head and dropkicks the lot into this face busting him open. He bites the cut and wipes Crazy’s blood down his chest before ramming his head into a table. He then fires chairs across the table at his head, which Crazy has to duck out the way of, and the chairs go flying into the audience. The crowd lose their shit at how dangerous this is and Tajiri’s response? He bows at them! Tajiri lies Crazy on the table and comes off the top with a double foot stomp. The table doesn’t break so he heads up for another go, this time making sure to put Crazy through it. At this point he starts mocking the beaten Crazy who is down on his knees which is all kinds of awesome. Irish whip reversal and Crazy with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker followed by a springboard moonsault. He throws Tajiri to the outside, nails him with a chair and they fight to the back. Moonsault off the bleachers through a table. Back in the ring and Crazy is laying in those kicks. Punches in the corner with the crowd counting along in Spanish, then Tajiri staggers to the opposite one and receives ten more with him now busted open like his opponent. Crazy whips him into the ropes, handspring elbow, but Crazy is back to his feet and levels him with a clothesline. He crotches Tajiri on the top rope and a springboard back heel kick to the head for a two. A great spot where Crazy has Tajiri backed up against the ropes slapping his chest, he catches a kick, but Tajiri then reverses it into the tarantula. Kick to the groin and a lovely German suplex for a near fall. A baseball slide dropkick sends Crazy over the guard rail and into the front row, and Tajiri with an Asai moonsault out onto him. He brings a table in the ring and sets it up in the corner, but he’s taken took long and is met by a glorious missile dropkick from Crazy. As Tajiri rolls to the floor for a breather, Crazy collects a table of his own and sets it up in the opposing corner. Tajiri is back on the apron and he’s got the ring wrench in his hand. Back kick to Crazy and he starts driving the wrench into his mouth. Crazy ducks a kick, boot to the mid-section and he goes to powerbomb Tajiri through a table. Tajiri blocks it and blows the mist in Crazy’s eyes. He leaps off the table, but Tajiri catches him, runs to the opposite corner and powerbombs him through that table for the win. That finishing sequence just there was outstanding.

Excellent match. Tajiri is just so good here. He’s methodical, calculated, everything he does has a meaning and a purpose. There is a legitimate air of ‘I don’t give a shit’ about him when he’s firing those chairs at Crazy’s head and they go flying into the crowd. His mannerisms and charisma are off the chart on this one. Even when something goes ‘wrong’ like the double footstomp through the table, if you didn’t know better you would have thought that was meant to happen. The guy is a consummate pro, covers it perfectly and just does it again. Compare this with how Ric Blade behaved when he botched the leg drop against Low Ki (CZW 1/8). Crazy’s comeback seemed a bit out of place considering the beating he had just taken, maybe fire back with some punches first before going into the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and springboard moonsault! The finishing stretch is tremendous and the best I’ve seen in the year so far. By the way I wish Hat Guy and his pal would sit the fuck down! Boy would I hate to be at the Arena and be sat behind that pair!

Super Crazy vs Yoshihiro Tajiri (Japanese Death Match) (ECW TNN 3/24/00)

Quote

The footage starts just as Tajiri launches Super Crazy over the guardrail and into the audience, and Tajiri with a kick to the head on him as he returns to the ring. Handspring elbow, but Crazy is back to his feet and dropkicks Tajiri who tumbles through the ropes to the floor. It’s Crazy’s turn to launch his opponent into the front row and a lovely Asai moonsault follows. Double jump moonsault for two, and Crazy unloads with punches in the corner before repeating in the opposite one. Nice series of pin attempts with both men getting their fair share of two counts. Tajiri with a dropkick to the head and he steps outside to pick up a chair. He’s about to clock Crazy, but he gets in first and dropkicks it into his face. As he grabs his leg, out of nowhere, Tajiri levels him in the head with the chair. He slams Crazy’s face into it and then kicks the back of it so the steel collides with his head. We return from an ad break as Tajiri is bringing a couple of tables into the ring while Crazy has been busted open from that kick to the back of the chair. Double foot stomp off the top puts Crazy through one of the tables, but he’s still able to kick out of the pin. Tajiri props the second table up in the corner, Crazy ducks the kick and a tilt-a-whirl into a powerslam through that one. Crazy brings a third table into the match and goes to moonsault Tajiri through it, however it doesn’t break and he ends up powerbombing him through it for the win.

Steve Corino immediately attacks Crazy after the match, while the referee seems more concerned with getting the remnants of the table out of there as opposed to trying to stop the attack! Jack Victory is also out and the guy throws a great looking punch. It’s not long before Crazy starts to hold his own against these two, which brings out Rhino who smashes him with an almighty gore. The four of them put the boots to Crazy until Sandman’s music plays and he takes an absolute eternity to make his way through the audience and make the ‘save’ (although you can’t really say he made a save, Corino et al just stopped focussing on Crazy). When he eventually gets into the ring he Singapore canes everyone, but as he goes to hit Tajiri for a second time he blows the mist in his face and Rhino gores him. Piledriver for Sandman and Crazy, and Cyrus says the nobody stands up to the Network, and if there is anyone in the back, in the arena or anywhere who’s got the guts to stand up to the Network, he suggests they come out and meet the Network face to face. Balls Mahoney and his steel chair have got the guts and answer the challenge. As Cyrus starts laying the verbal smack down on Balls, he doesn’t realise that his ‘Network’ have vacated the ring and he’s all alone in there. He tries to apologise and back off but Balls isn’t having any of it. Just as he’s about to cave his skull in with his chair, Corino is back in to grab it and Rhino gores him, while Cyrus again says the nobody stands up to the Network!

Another real good match in the series, although it’s probably my third favourite of the ‘death matches’, primarily due to the fact it was so short (not even seven minutes in duration). The best thing about this was the way the match built, as you would’ve had no idea whatsoever that it was a death match for the first half of it. The opening section is pure wrestling and there is a really nice pinning sequence in this, and Tajiri has a gorgeous one off a fireman’s carry to look out for. It was only the second half where they bought out the tables and chairs and the violence levels escalated. My one gripe is on Crazy’s comebacks (and it’s a common trait with him), that he takes an absolute pounding and then as soon as it’s his turn on the offense, he’s back running and flying around as if there was never anything wrong with him in the first place. The post-match angle was what it was, and lasted about as long as the match itself. Never thought I would see someone make a slower run-in/save than Mick Foley and his bad knees, but the Sandman manages it!

 

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I forgot to mention that bit when Tajiri is just launch-sliding chairs across the table full blast and they’re missing Crazy and flying into the crowd. Fucking reckless and could’ve ended badly but it just added to the overall feeling of danger in that match. 

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On 12/29/2020 at 4:10 PM, Magnum Milano said:

Kris Zellner is excellent on every podcast I've ever heard him on.  I don't know whether he still does it, but the Exile on Badstreet podcast is/was fantastic, plus he's done shows with Dylan Hales (they were going to do a month by month history of JCP starting in 1989 but not sure how far they got into it) and does one with Rob Naylor too, looking at old wrestling magazines.  I have no idea how he is able to keep putting stuff out at the regularity he does.  Just a shame he does this one with Bixenspan.  And after what one of Bix's previous co-hosts on a different podcast had to say about him, I hope Zellner keeps an eye on the financials!

Is there a link to the JCP podcast with Dylan? Sounds right up my street. I enjoy Zellner too, his accent is brilliant, and I remember having a blast with all those epic PWO linked shows a few years ago. And yeah, shame about Bix. I find him fairly unlistenable to be honest. 

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4 minutes ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

Is there a link to the JCP podcast with Dylan? Sounds right up my street. I enjoy Zellner too, his accent is brilliant, and I remember having a blast with all those epic PWO linked shows a few years ago. And yeah, shame about Bix. I find him fairly unlistenable to be honest. 

This, I think, is where Kris streams all his podcasts from now (I don't believe he posts them on PTBN or Sound Cloud anymore).

https://redcircle.com/shows/between-the-sheets

The show with Dylan is called "The Pay Windah", but they've only done two shows so far (which is one more than I thought to be fair).

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