ECW Home Video Collection: The Best of ECW: Volume 2 (1992)

ECW Home Video Collection: The Best of ECW: Volume 2 (1992)

Home video compilation. There’s no formal host to this, the matches are just introduced by title cards, with no background information. This volume does have a theme, though, promising ‘ECW’s bloodiest matches’

Johnny Hotbody v Tony Stetson: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on October 24 1992. Johnny with an extended stall to start. Thankfully, he got a lot better about that by the 1993 TV episodes we’re covering. He still wasn’t any good, but at least he doesn’t do five minutes of stalling before making contact each time out. Tony looks like a total loser here, not even trying to go after him, despite Johnny parading around the ring with his back turned for minutes on end. Johnny grabs a headlock after over two minutes of stalling, and he wins a criss cross. Tony somehow gets busted open from this crazy offense blitz, and they spill to the outside, where Johnny beats on him with a chair. Johnny celebrates by dancing on the bar (this is being taped inside of a bar), and he delivers a vertical suplex on the floor. Johnny adds a pair of elbowdrops from the apron, as the announcers make Cactus Jack comparisons. Johnny with a suplex back into the ring for two, but he gets ahead of himself with an arrogant cover, and Tony sunset cradles for two. Tony makes a comeback, and a swinging neckbreaker sets up a flying legdrop. No cover, as Tony instead opts to dump him to the outside for some payback with the chair. Tony adds a bodyslam out there, and they brawl over to a second bar - which the announcers make sure to note is one frequented by world renowned recording artists. Tony keeps beating him all the way through the crowd, and goes to the top on the way back in, but Johnny’s manager crotches him up there. Johnny capitalizes with a vertical superplex for two (nearly hitting the ceiling in the process), but a corner charge misses, and they spill back to the outside for a double countout at 15:47. So suddenly we’re enforcing the countout rule? They were brawling through the crowd for minutes at a time earlier! This was pretty dull, and certainly too long, but not completely without merit. ¾*

The Hell Riders v Kodiak Bear and Canadian Wolfman: From Philly on October 24 1992. Big brawl to start, as Hotbody and Stetson brawl around ringside, still unable to break it up after the last match. The announcers ignore the match to focus on that brawl, as some poor grandmother clutches her grandchildren to her bosom in fear. Things settle down, and we focus on the match, though there’s not a lot going on there either. The announcers get a note that Tod Gordon is fining Johnny and Tony a thousand dollars each for the disturbance, which I hope was in kayfabe, because there’s no way any worker associated with this promotion in 1992 has anything close to a grand. “These guys are not built like Lex Luger,” the announcers note. There’s the understatement of the century. Bear hits HD Ryder with something, and scores the pinfall at 5:35. Was there even blood drawn in this one? DUD

Russian Chain Match: Ivan Koloff v Tommy Cairo: From Philly, October 24 1992. This is four corner rules. Ivan beats him down and whips him with the chain to start, then chokes him with it. Cairo comes back with the same, and he drags Ivan for three corners, before Koloff blocks. Cairo responds with a vertical suplex, and he uses a pair of fistdrops with the chain wrapped around his hand. He goes for the corners, so Ivan takes a cheap shot down low, and Cairo spills to the apron. Ivan nails him with the chain to draw blood, but Cairo returns fire with the same result. Ivan tries going to the top rope, but Cairo uses the chain to pull him off. He goes for the corners, so Koloff bites the leg to block, and delivers a short-clothesline. Criss cross allows Cairo a bodypress, and that’s enough for four corners at 9:09. Kind of a yawner. ½*

Lumberjack Match: Tony Stetson v Salvatore Bellomo: From Philly, August 12 1992. We’re joined in progress here, with both guys brawling on the outside. Stetson bleeds, but gets control once back inside, and they continue to slug it out in pretty aimless fashion. Stetson works a mat-based side-headlock, until Sandman decides to run in and attack Tony, and we have a no-contest at 8:56 shown - triggering a brawl between all the lumberjacks to close the tape. This was one of the most boring matches I’ve ever seen. -¼*

BUExperience: Color commentator Stately Wayne Manor was literally the only positive thing about this tape. And when a commentator is the sole highlight, well, you can safely skip it.