ECW Eastern Championship Wrestling (July 20, 1993)

Original Airdate: July 20, 1993 (taped May 15)

 

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Jay Sulli and Paul E. Dangerously. Tod Gordon joins us to start, threatening to bring the hammer down with various fines tonight

 

Terry Funk joins us, trying to get the TV rating up with promises of violence against Jimmy Snuka. That likely increased the viewing audience by a full 25%, with a full four people now watching

 

Backstage, Tod Gordon notes that Salvatore Bellomo will be handcuffed to Hunter Q. Robbins III during the tag title match, and the Super Destroyers promise to squash 'the midgets.' They're headed to NXT?

 

Backstage, an injured Sir Christopher Candido wishes the Suicide Blonds luck in their tag title challenge. Why is he holding one of the tag title belts? This is the most legitimately confusing promotion I've ever tried to follow, with allegiances and storylines randomly changing multiple times even on the same show. Vince Russo ain't got nothing on 1993 ECW

 

ECW Tag Team Title v Career Match: The Super Destroyers v The Suicide Blonds: As noted, Sal Bellomo and Hunter Q. Robbins are handcuffed together at ringside for this one. Sir Richard Michaels starts for the challengers, and I love how this guy is constantly moving around and working like he's in a much bigger venue than he actually is. There's 300 people there, and he's always doing these big broad motions like he's working a stadium show. The Blonds double team to get control, and cut the ring in half with more hammers and locks than Home Depot. Finally, the Destroyers get control, so Candido shows up to interfere, and Sir Jonathan Hotbody scores the pin at 7:59. This was really dull. ¼*

 

Eddie Gilbert is out walking the streets of Philly, making friends with the bar crowd, and generally not being afraid to make an ass of himself to get over. He gets a funny exchange with Paul E here, where they note that they share everything, and wondering if they should 'ask Missy' about the limits of that

 

Backstage, Rockin' Rebel is now blind, but Tony Stetson is here to offer him Miss Peaches as his seeing eye bitch. Couldn't they have Ivan Koloff bring Sammy Davis Jr Jr over with him?

 

Rockin' Rebel v Larry Winters: Winters wins a nice criss cross to start, allowing him to put Rebel in an armbar. Rebel fights to a vertical base and forces another criss cross, but Larry wins again with a bodyslam, and he armdrags Rebel down to keep working the arm. Rebel fights him off in the corner and manages a sidewalk slam for two, turning the tide. Dropkick connects, and he bootchokes Larry on the ropes, before using a snapmare to set up a somersault necksnap. Legdrop gets two, but he loses an exchange in the corner, and Winters hiptosses him. Larry stays on him with a ten-punch, but a charge ends badly when Rebel dumps him to the outside. That allows Tony Stetson to 'attack' with a Singapore cane, though it's more of a gently poke, really. And then Winters just ignores it, and keeps control of the match after going back in. He gets a series of near falls, but the referee gets bumped. That allows Tony to come in with the cane, but Winters knocks it away from him, and he nails Rebel for the pin at 5:03. This was actually decent. * ¼

 

Backstage, ECW World Champion Don Muraco and the Dark Patriot are hanging out, and luckily everyone who has a belt here is actually a champion at this point in the storyline. Crazy, I know

 

ECW Television Title Match: Jimmy Snuka v Terry Funk: Lots of posturing to start, until Snuka hits a bodyslam, and Funk regroups on the outside. Okay, so we're working like it's 1973, I see. Considering the production values here, one could see how they might be confused, though. Snuka works him over, but Terry reverses a vertical suplex on him, and starts making a comeback. Spinning toe-hold looks to finish, but Snuka rakes the eyes to block, and he cradles for two. Funk reverses the cradle for two, and they slug it out, but the referee gets caught in the crossfire, and we end up with a no-contest at 8:27. God help us when Larry Winters is having the best match on the show. Afterwards, we get yet another bench clearing brawl with everyone in the promotion, since apparently that's the only ending they know how to write. And Koloff is out there and everything, making the lack of Sammy Davis Jr Jr all the more infuriating. This all ends with Gordon coming out and dropping the fine hammer he promised during the opener, but Bellomo kills him (in a brutal bump), and that's it for this week. DUD

 

BUExperience: I’m having trouble understanding the ethos of this promotion.

 

On the one hand they’re booking like they’re a TV oriented company, with lots of angles from the same taping giving them plenty of ‘tune in next weeks,’ but thus depriving them of the chance to sell additional tickets to see the pay off. The tag title angle is a good example, as it was weeks of TV culminating in a title versus career match, but all this happened at one single taping.

 

But on the other hand, they’re also booking like the live events are the focus, with lots of stuff happening off camera, or other angles that have already aired getting completely ignored since the live audience there hasn’t had exposure to it yet. Stuff like heel referee Kevin Christian/Freddie Gilbert, or where Stevie Wonderful fits in with the Super Destroyers being good examples.

 

It makes for very frustrating viewing, and it’s taking all my patience to keep from skipping ahead to when the promotion becomes the ECW people remember, but I’m also so happy that they actually bothered putting all this up on the Network/Peacock, and I want to actually watch it.

 

So maybe I don’t even understand my own ethos anymore. Thanks, show.