ECW Arena - Philadelphia, PA
Attendance: Approx. 300
Commentary team: Jay Sulli and Paul E. Dangerously
Back in the control center with Jay and Eddie Gilbert to start this show. These control center segments are awful as Eddie is usually in cocaine mode and trying his hardest to be as obnoxious as possible. Jay runs down the card for the show while Eddie repeatedly interrupts with some unfunny side comments. These segments are just all over the place and feel improvised which is not a good thing in this case. Jay gives Eddie a Burger King crown because that shit is always not hilarious.
Match #1: Stan Hansen vs. Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal - Handicap Match.
Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal are jobbers Don E. Allen and Herve Renesto and they are the jobbiest looking jobbers that ever jobbed. Hansen mows through them with no problem and then Renesto gets dumped to the floor. That leaves Allen to take the lariat for the pin. ½* for Hansen making it short.
Back in the control center so Jay can throw it to some highlights of a recent six-man tag pitting Sal Bellomo and The Super Destroyers against The Headhunters and, I shit you not, Freddy Krueger. This was actually Doug Gilbert in a Freddy Kruger costume and you know you're either as high as fuck or just a sorry-ass booker when you green light this stupidity. Anyway, in this match one Super Destroyer turns on the other. I don't get this because just the week before, we had a Destroyer turning on his partner in a tag team tournament match. So how many times did they shoot the break-up angle?
Next is an in-ring interview with Sal Bellomo, who proceeds to cut a stereotypical immigrant promo complete with broken English. Sensational Sherri comes out to flirt with Sal but that is interrupted by Hunter Q. Robbins III with yet another horribly executed promo. He insults Sal and gets slapped down as a result, which brings out Tony Stetson, Sir Richard Michaels and the Super Destroyer That Turned (since you can't tell one from the other) for the beatdown. Sherri gets shoved down and Michaels whips Sal with his belt until the Sandman makes the save. Bad promos aside, this segment was redeemed by the beatdown of Bellomo, who was actually a beloved babyface at this time.
Match #2: Masayoshi Motegi (c) vs. J.T. Smith - W*ING Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Motegi is credited as the innovator of the rolling Germans, apparently. So we actually get a decent wrestling match on one of these early episodes. It's a bit sloppy at times, but the effort was appreciated by the crowd. Motegi sticks to the mat with some submission stuff, including the STF (which gets a good pop). Smith tries to keep up with an armbar submission and some basic mat stuff like a leg scissors around the head. Motegi hits a German suplex with a bridge for a near-fall just as the bell rings to signal the 10-minute time limit expired. The match is a draw. *** Definitely a breath of fresh air to see this. Too bad it didn't get more time. Post-match, Dark Patriot and Shane Douglas run in for the beatdown on Smith but Motegi, showing respect after their match, makes the save.
Match #4: Sal Bellomo and The Sandman vs. Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot - ECW Tag Team Championship Tournament Final Round.
Some stalling to start this one and when it finally gets going it isn't that good. Bellomo takes the beating from the heels for the bulk of the match which is interrupted so that they can provide us with some career highlights of Abdullah the Butcher. Who edits these shows and why was it a good idea to interrupt the flow of a match, no matter how shitty it is? When the match returns, Paul E. is on the floor with the heels and with the referee distracted, throws his phone to Eddie. Sandman falls victim to the phoen shot then lays on the mat forever as Eddie.................slowly..................covers......for the pin. * New ECW Tag Team Champions: Eddie Gilbert and The Dark Patriot. By the way, Eddie accidentally fireballs Patriot the week before and there is no fallout from that?
THE FINAL WORD: Better show this week, with less time spent in the control center and more time focusing on the ring action. Motegi-Smith saves this show, but it's obvious that Eddie Gilbert's booking was just sucking the life out of this promotion. It won't be long before Paul E. takes over and business picks up.
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