ECW Hardcore Heaven (July 1995)

The summer of 1995 was an interesting time for wrestling fans – with the WWF and WCW at some of their weakest points creatively. There seemed to be an unsaid desire for not only something different in the ‘big two’ – but something different period. Not coincidentally, around this time, ECW (which had been a fairly quiet regional promotion since starting a few years earlier) started getting more and more attention – from the wrestling magazines, to TV.

Before a pay per view deal, and before even an Internet pay per view set up, ECW used to hold sporadic supercards at their home base (the ECW Arena in Philadelphia) to advance and blowoff angles they developed either on their local TV programming, or at arena shows – taped to later sell on home video. Hardcore Heaven 1995 – right in the middle of the summer – came just as Vince McMahon started to take notice of the up and coming regional promotion, after holding King of the Ring in Philadelphia the month before, and having the crowd filled with ECW’s vocal fan base. Both he and Eric Bischoff would soon start raiding their talent roster extensively, but with the fan base growing, and more eyes on the promotion than ever, ECW didn’t have any plans on slowing or toning down – instead, promising another night of blood filled mayhem.

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Your Host is Joey Styles.


Opening Match: The Pitbulls v Snot Dudley and Dudley Dudley: Though Buh Buh and D-Von became the more famed version of the team, this was before either had debuted - though ECW already had the idea in motion. This was also somewhat early in the Pitbulls' ECW run, still part of Raven's Nest. Pitbull #1 starts with Snot, and absolutely destroys him. Pitbull #2 tags in to have his fun. The Pitbulls take Snot apart, and 'mercifully' throw him into his home corner to tag - if only so they can have fun killing Dudley Dudley, too. He puts up a fight, though - but a tag back to Snot lets the Pitbull's resume squashing him. Meanwhile, on the floor, Stevie Richards (also part of the Nest) discovers Francine sitting in the front row (still unnamed, and doing an angle as Richards' number one fan) so they start making out - which draws Beulah over to catfight with her. And so begins a long and great ECW tradition. Raven drags both Richards and Beulah to the back by their hair for acting a fool, while the Pitbulls Superbomb Snot. They get distracted by their leader leaving, however, and a cheap shot gives the Dudley's the victory at 6:25. Total squash with a twist, but the debut of Francine is obviously pretty notable. DUD

Chad Austin and Broad Street Bully v Don E. Allen and Dino Sendoff: They do a basic 'old school' tag match for a bit (Austin and Bully getting to cutting the ring in half within the first minute), but it's all just an excuse for 911 (the 'enforcer of hardcore') to come out and chokeslam everybody for a no-contest at 2:10. DUD - but fun.

Big Malley v Hack Meyers: These two look like they're auditioning to be on the cover of Strange Days. Lots of stalling (possibly to give Malley time to catch his breath after climbing the ring steps), until they finally start slugging it out. Malley uses his size to overpower Meyers, and hits a series of avalanches, before Meyers figures out hitting the deck will slow him down. The crowd offers Malley a roll of toilet paper (nice...), but he's content to just keep throwing avalanches, but an elbowdrop misses, and Malley's like a turtle on his back, allowing Meyers to get the pin at 7:37. Brutally bad, and fuckin' Malley is hard to look at for extended periods - which didn't help. -***

Taz v 2 Cold Scorpio: Scorpio gets the early advantage with a pair of forearms, and he takes Taz to the mat with a chinlock - but gets countered into a side-headlock. Scorpio tries to side suplex his way out, but Taz holds firm and hits a belly-to-belly suplex to put Scorpio on the floor. Back in for a test-of-strength - allowing both men to bust out bridges - and ending with Scorpio superkicking him. Powerbomb, and a double-underhook suplex for two. Standing moonsault hits, but a flying splash hits knees, so Scorpio goes to the eyes to retain the momentum. Uranage, but a second try gets him caught with a head-and-arm suplex, so he tombstones Taz to shut his ass up. Flying corkscrew somersault legdrop, but Taz no-sells, and suplexes Scorpio for the pin at 8:00 - despite Scorpio's foot on the bottom rope. That draws out rule-enforcing referee Bill Alfonso to protest, and the distraction allows Scorpio to blast Taz with a chair, and hit a flying legdrop for the Alfonso counted pin at 9:09. Dull stuff, but not technically horrible. ½*

ECW World Tag Team Title Match: Raven and Stevie Richards v Tommy Dreamer and Luna Vachon: Raven and Dreamer's epic feud was still in its infancy at this point. Dreamer and Vachon charge right in, and the champs aren't shy about hitting Luna at all - suplexing her right on the way in. Richards gives her another, as Raven battles Dreamer on the floor - until Tommy DDT's him, and gives Luna a hand at literally trying to tear Stevie's balls off. Dreamer takes Raven on a tour of the arena, as Luna unloads on Richards with suplexes of her own. With Raven dead, Dreamer and Vachon take turns beating on Richards, but Raven makes the save, and they unload on her with a chair. Raven bashes Tommy's hand in the door of a newspaper dispenser (Casino-style!), and DDT's him on to it for good measure - as Richards and Vachon slug it out back in the ring. Raven rejoins to double-team, but she's a feisty little chick, and superplexes Stevie. Beulah breaks it up before she can get the pin, however, and a handful of powder to the eyes allows Stevie to retain for the Nest at 7:34. The usual chaotic brawl - though this kind of stuff has trouble holding up, post-Attitude Era. ½*

Taipei Death Match: Ian Rotten v Axl Rotten: ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon forces pest referee Bill Alfonso to referee this - purely out of spite. Both guys have their fists taped and covered in bits of broken glass and tacks, so not surprisingly their opening slugfest results in blood - with Ian getting busted open. Alfonso sees it, and decides to play Joe Frazier, stopping the match for blood loss at 1:30. Not even Axl is happy with that one, and even worse, the crowd looks to be near riot. Gordon gets it re-started with another referee, and they go back to slugging and gouging each other with the taped fists. And... that's pretty much it, really. First Ian unloads, then Axl. Then Ian. Then Axl. Both guys bleed like your grandmother did before menopause, of course, until Axl backdrops Ian onto a bed of tacks, and splashes him for the pin at 9:13. The Alfonso angle was great fun, the rest was just a disgusting, pointless gore fest. DUD

ECW World Title Match: The Sandman v Cactus Jack: Cactus comes ready to party - his hand wrapped in barbed wire. Sandman responds by charging right in (okay... after five minutes of stalling) with his Singapore cane, and he unloads with it on Jack, then dumps him to the floor. Sandman follows with a cane-assisted plancha, before rolling Jack back in for more cane shots. It's like a shitty version of Royal Rumble '99 here - even with some of the same participants. Cactus gets hold of the cane to return fire, but gets whacked with a chair before he can use the barbed wire. Sandman goes back to the cane (including caning Jack's wire covered arm) for a while before hitting a DDT onto a chair. Bodyslam and a slingshot legdrop get two, and a flying legdrop for two, so that Woman Benoit killed passes him a long strand of barbed wire to wrap himself up in, and avalanche Jack a couple of times. Flying barbed splash,  but a blind charge ends with him getting backdropped to the floor, and Jack drops a chair-assisted Cactus Elbow. Inside, Jack tangles him in the wire, and drops a chair-assisted 2^nd rope legdrop for two. Jack goes nuts with the wire, so Woman tries to get involved again - only to get literally shoved on her ass. The distraction allows Sandman to leap at Jack, though, and we have a double knockout - with the referee bumped. That draws out Shane Douglas (who was on his way out of the promotion, and had done an in-ring promo in a WWF t-shirt earlier in the night, telling off the fan base) to piledriver Sandman, and whack Jack with the cane. Both guys are done, but Sandman manages to get on top first, and the referee counts a dazed pin at 13:10. These two did not mesh well together at all, and it was just tons of weapon shots. Afterwards, Douglas beats the shit out of Commissioner Gordon, and tells the fans to go fuck themselves one last time. ½*

Main Event: The Gangstas v Public Enemy: Shockingly, they start with a four-way brawl, and quickly spill to the floor. I did not expect that at all. I was totally prepared for Mustafa Saed and Rocco Rock to start trading hammerlocks, but somehow they've ended up in the crowd, and Rocco is putting Saed through a table with a somersault senton off of the balcony, as New Jack and Johnny Grunge slug it out back in the ring. Saed suplexes Rock onto a table in the crowd, as Jack stunguns Grunge. More brawling until everyone ends up back in the ring (or, at least, ringside), and Rock nails Saed with a croquet mallet for the pin at 11:33. Being noted geniuses, PE then invite the crowd to join them in the ring to party (the same crowd that had no problem nearly killing them by throwing their chairs into the ring the year before), and, thankfully it doesn't collapse under the weight of half the arena jumping around inside of it... this time. ¼*

BUExperience: Some historically significant stuff – like Francine’s debut, or the Douglas stuff, and some fun stuff like the Alfonso bits – but the wrestling was just brutal this time around, unfortunately too much so to make this worth seeking out. DUD