ECW at Rochester Riverside Convention Center (May 8, 1998)

 

Original Airdate: May 8, 1998

From Rochester, New York

Opening Match: Tracy Smothers and Little Guido v Super Nova and Blue Meanie: They actually have mats outside of the ring, which feels like a departure for ECW. Smothers and Nova start, and they just stall and stall. Finally Nova hits an armdrag, but Smothers goes right back into stalling, complaining of a hair pull. Nova pinballs him around once they engage, and Meanie tags in to do some jokey shit with the referee. That gets him dropkicked by Smothers, and Guido comes in so they can harass the referee, but he ends up clotheslining and hiptossing them. Well, that’s something different. Nova hits both heels with a plancha, but gets nailed by Jack Victory out there, and that’s enough to turn the tide. The FBI work Nova over, until finally things break down, and Roseanne Barr the door. Nova ends up pinning Guido with a somersault cradle at 12:27. A little long for a comedy match. ¼*

Spike Dudley v Doug Furnas: Furnas powers him around to start, with Spike doing a good job of pinballing. Doug with a crucifix powerbomb, and a powerslam follows. Furnas with a cross corner whip, but the charge in hits a boot, and Spike manages a neckbreaker for two. Spike adds a bulldog, but Furnas catches him on a flying bodypress attempt, and plants him with a tombstone - pulling him up at two. Furnas tries a side suplex, but Spike counters to the Acid Drop at 4:21. Not a major work by any means, but Spike did a great job of selling the power moves, and it told a story. * ¼ 

Lance Storm v Axl Rotten: Rotten has a ‘Dr. Evil’ t-shirt on here, just in case this wasn’t dated enough for you. Feeling out process to start, dominated by Lance. To the outside, Rotten gets some traction by sending Storm into the guardrail, and Axl whacks him with a chair out there. Storm manages a dropkick to allow him a springboard flying bodypress on the floor, and Lance uses a bodypress for two on the way back in. Lance with a handspring avalanche, but Rotten blocks a cross corner whip, and hits a curtain call at 7:37. I’m surprised Rotten went over here. ¾*

The Dudley Boyz v Jerry Lynn and Chris Chetti: D-Von Dudley starts with Lynn, and they posture, with Lynn dominating. Jerry with a cross corner whip and a corner dropkick, followed by a bodyslam and a kneedrop for two. Tag to Chetti for a combo for two, and he grounds D-Von in a cross-armbreaker, but Dudley gets out of the ring to buy time. He passes to Bubba Ray Dudley on the way back in, and the Boyz manage to get Chetti in their corner for some abuse. The Boyz work his arm, but Chris manages to slip away, and they do a comedy spot with D-Von wrenching Bubba’s arm while thinking it’s Chetti’s. That was pretty funny. The dust settles back on Bubba and Chetti, and Chetti dodges a test-of-strength call by kicking Bubba’s knee out. We get more comedy spots as the babyfaces frustrate the Boyz, and Chetti hits a double plancha on the outside, setting up a flying bodypress from Lynn on Bubba. Inside, Bubba manages to fight Chetti off, and D-Von tags in with a jumping backelbow. Tag to Lynn, and he dominates D-Von, so Big Dick Dudley comes in to chokeslam him. That allows the Boyz to cut the ring in half on Jerry, until he manages to fight a pop-up from D-Von off with a dropkick, and tag. Chetti comes in hot, and Roseanne Barr the door! Chetti with a dive on Bubba for two, and he bodyslams D-Von to set up a flying moonsault for two. Lynn takes D-Von to the outside, leaving Chetti to try cross corner whipping Bubba, but he gets reversed, and rebounds into a cutter for two. Bubba with a side suplex for two, but a second one sees Lynn clip the leg, and Chetti topples for two. Lynn then hits D-Von with a flying clothesline for two, but a rana on Bubba is countered with a powerbomb for two, and the Boyz finish Chetti with a Dudley Death Drop at 20:01. Wow, the last few minutes of this were great, with all the nearfalls and stuff. I never realized how comedy focused a lot of ECW stuff was, I guess. Maybe it was just a way to save their bodies on the house shows, or something. Either way, it was surprising, especially in a match like this that wasn’t specifically a comedy match. * ¾ 

Balls Mahoney v Big Dick Dudley: Yes, Balls v Dick. You can’t get more 1998 than this. I think I can see Vince Russo in the crowd with a large notepad, scribbling furiously. Posturing to start, as Dick and Balls jockey for position. Dick starts slapping Balls around, but Balls gets swollen, and everything spills to the outside. Dick and Balls smack each other around out there, and Balls gets whipped into the rail. A second whip is reversed, and Balls go flying from the apron, but gets squashed against the rail. Inside, Dick pounds him, and a bodyslam allows Dick to hammer. Dick suplexes Balls, and Dick chokes Balls down, but Balls gets salty, and slaps Dick. Dick manages to backdrop Balls, and an elbowdrop to Balls gets two. Dick whips Balls, but misses a charge. Balls tries to slam Dick, but Dick topples Balls for two, and chokes Balls down. Balls throws knuckles, but Dick chokeslams him for two, and the referee gets caught between Dick and Balls and goes down. That allows the Dudley Boyz to Drop Balls, and Dick covers Balls at 9:18. This got ten minutes. Afterwards, Sandman comes out and canes Dick in the dick to end the segment. Fitting. ¼*

Bam Bam Bigelow v John Kronus: Bam Bam dominates early, and a bodyslam gets him two. Another bodyslam for two, but a clothesline misses, and Kronus uses a cross corner whip. A handspring backelbow misses, however, and Bigelow clotheslines him down. Bigelow with an avalanche, but a second one hits a boot, and Kronus tries a spinkick, but misses. Bam Bam charges, but Kronus uses a drop-toehold to avoid him, and a pair of dropkicks puts Bam Bam on the outside. Kronus follows for a whip into the rail, but Bigelow reverses, and dumps him into the crowd as a taunt. Inside, Bigelow uses a snapmare into a chinlock, but Kronus fights, so Bam Bam takes him into the corner to hammer, then casually tosses biels him over the top - Kronus crashing through a table on the landing. A pretty good bump there, especially for a house show. Kronus fights back with a dropkick and a plancha, and he lands a flying matslam for two on the way back inside. Kronus with a springboard moonsault, but Bigelow dodges, and hits the front-powerdriver at 7:30. This was the most complete and professional looking match of the night thus far. Afterwards, New Jack shows up to beat on Bigelow with a variety of weapons. For fun. **

ECW Television Title Match: Rob Van Dam v Chris Candido: They feel each other out a bit at the bell, but it quickly devolves into a slugfest, won by Candido. Candido goes to a standing side-headlock, but Rob reverses, so Chris forces a criss cross. They end up botching a leapfrog spot that they recover by turning into a two count for Candido, and another criss cross ends in a stalemate. Chris takes him into the corner for chops, but a charge ends in Candido getting backdropped over the top. Rob is on him with a scary looking suicide dive that I’m surprised didn’t end in Van Dam cracking his skull open, and he dumps Chris into the crowd for some abuse. Candido climbs back over the rail and reverses a whip into it to send Van Dam into the crowd, but Rob rebounds with a somersault senton off the rail. Candido goes to the eyes on the way back inside, and Chris delivers a swinging neckbreaker for two. Van Dam tries a dropkick, but Candido dodges, and sends RVD over the top with a catapult. Rob beats the count, so Candido welcomes him with a bodyslam for two. Rob tries a split leg in the corner, but Candido kicks him down low to block, and delivers a suplex for two. Serves Rob right for getting fancy where fanciness wasn’t needed. Candido with a cross corner whip, but the charge in misses, and Van Dam capitalizes with a flying sidekick. Rob goes up again, but Francine crotches him before he can dive, and Chris brings him down with a rana off the top for two. They get into a reversal sequence from there, ending in Rob setting him on the top rope for a springboard kick. That draws Francine in, and the distraction allows Candido a schoolboy for two. Bill Alfonso comes in to deal with Francine, but gets beat up by her, and Candido piledrives Van Dam for two. Another reversal sequence ends in Van Dam using a modified butterfly facebuster for two, but an attempt to suplex Candido over the top end in RVD getting crotched on the top turnbuckle. Chris follows with a superplex, but a flying headbutt drop misses, and Rob throws a spinkick. That allows Van Dam the flying frogsplash, but he neglects to cover. Instead, he wants to put Candido away with a camel clutch, but Sabu runs in to break it up. He drills Van Dam with a Arabian facebuster, and Candido grabs the chair to finish the job, but Rob kicks it back in his face for the pin at 14:50. This was a damned good match, far too good for a tiny crowd in a non-televised environment. Good for them. *** ¼ 

Mikey Whipwreck and Tommy Dreamer v Justin Credible and Jason Knight: Everyone brawls to start, and it quickly spills to the outside, and into the crowd. They do a lengthy tour around the building, and the babyfaces have control when they finally make it back into the ring. Mikey stacks the heels in a double tree of woe for a chair assisted dropkick, so Chastity comes in, and hits him down low. That cues Beulah to chase her around, and all that gaga allows the heels to recover. They briefly hold control, but the babyface whip them into each other, and use stereo death valley drivers. Cover, but Chastity breaks the pin by pulling the referee out. The heels recover, but fail again, so Chastity runs in, and we get a cat fight with Beulah. Credible comes over to save Chastity, but while he’s busy with Beulah, Dreamer hits him with a jawbreaker at 8:30. Amateurish junk. ¼*

Main Event: Sabu v Al Snow: Snow takes him down in a leglock right away, and Al works the part to keep Sabu grounded. Sabu manages to rake the eyes to escape, and he pounds on Snow, but Al goes back to the leglock to shake it off. Sabu decides to play his game by countering to a cross-armbreaker, but Al has the ropes, so Sabu puts the boots to him on the break. Al manages a dropkick to the leg, but a second one misses, and Snow ends up on the outside. Sabu capitalizes with a baseball slide, and he chucks a chair at Al’s head. Sabu tries for a dive, but slips off the ropes, and Snow chucks a chair back at him. There’s something almost endearing about how sloppy Sabu’s work is. Al with a suplex on the way back in, followed by a legdrop for two. A clothesline connects, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Sabu hits a springboard leg lariat. A corner springboard leg lariat follows, and Sabu brings a table into play. Before he can use it, Snow cuts off another springboard, and beats him with a chair. Al puts Sabu on the table and goes upstairs for a dive, but Sabu blocks. Sabu brings Al off the top with a rana through the table for two, but a springboard flying moonsault misses. That allows Snow a bodyslam to set up a flying moonsault of his own for two, and he goes up for another, but he’s battered, and Sabu is able to recover. Sabu tries a rana off the top, but Al dumps him to the floor to block, and Snow follows for a whip into the rail - reversed. Sabu wastes time grabbing another table, allowing Al to recover, and nail him. Snow brings the table into the ring, so Sabu brings one of his own, but Al has the high ground, and powerbombs his dumb ass through it for two. Al with another powerbomb as Rob Van Dam makes his way out, and Snow looks for a third powerbomb, but RVD dives in to knock him through a table before he can deliver it. That allows a groggy Sabu to cover at 10:06. Not great wrestling, and incredibly garbagey, but I had fun with it. **

BUExperience: I had a chance to attend an ECW show around this period, but as a kid who had only seen their TV product (and had bought the hype) I thought it would be too wild and ‘hardcore’ for me. Which makes watching this all the more entertaining (and hilarious), as they were doing Bushwhacker matches more than anything particularly insane. 

I really wouldn’t bother with this one as a whole, but definitely check out the RVD/Candido match. And even if you do watch the whole thing, honestly, it’s kind of fun just chilling with the vibe, as this was a hot period for all three major North American promotions. 

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