ECW Hardcore TV (August 30, 1994)

 

Original Airdate: August 30, 1994

Your Host is Joey Styles

NWA World Title Tournament Quarterfinal Match: 911 v Doink the Clown: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on August 27. This Doink is the Matt Borne version, and he’s in full ‘sinister clown’ mode, even more so than he ever was in the WWF. Unfortunately, we don’t get to explore that character much, as 911 chokeslams his ass into oblivion at 1:57. Nothing as a match, but it worked as a segment. DUD

Sandman/Tommy Dreamer feud review video

Singapore Cane Match: Sandman v Tommy Dreamer: From Philly on August 28. The loser gets ten shots with the cane here. Tommy runs in to kickstart the match, and Sandman ends up getting crotched on the post in short order. Tommy grabs a chair to whack him with, and they do a brawl into the crowd for a bit. Inside, Tommy hits a DDT, but the referee gets bumped in the process. That allows Woman to distract him, and Sandman sneaks up. Tommy blocks the shot, but a second try works out better for Sandman, and he DDTs Tommy for the pin at 2:47. Much like the previous match, this was less about the match, and more about the segment, which, in this case, comes after the match. So, the locker room babyfaces run out to protest, and Commissioner Tod Gordon demands that the match be restarted, since Sandman cheated. But, Tommy says fuck that, he signed the contract, and he’ll take the shots. Woman gives him an out, telling him he can bow down and kiss her feet, but Tommy refuses. So, Sandman goes to town, with Dreamer refusing to give him any satisfaction along the way, even as Woman mocks him throughout. Initially, the crowd is pumped to see Sandman unload, but as he takes shot after shot, and Tommy sells the hell out of them, they start to lose enthusiasm. Tommy gets through all ten, and stands back up, getting in Sandman’s face, asking him if that’s ‘all he’s got.’ And then, when Dreamer turns his back, Sandman hits him again with a cheap shot, and now the crowd isn’t cheering at all. This was a great segment, and went a long way in getting both characters over. DUD

Highlights of the NWA World Title Tournament, which saw Shane Douglas advance over Tazmaniac and Dean Malenko, while 2 Cold Scorpio advanced over Chris Benoit and 911

NWA World Title Match: Shane Douglas v 2 Cold Scorpio: This is the tournament final, from Philadelphia Pennsylvania on August 27. They’re both cautious to start, and Scorpio tries for a takedown, but Shane counters to a Muta lock on the mat. Scorpio counters to a cradle for two, so Shane backs off to kill the momentum. They continue to feel each other out, and Scorpio takes control with a snapmare into a kneedrop. He adds a somersault legdrop for two, and an inside cradle gets two - with both guys reversing it several times for two counts to a stalemate. Shane takes him up for a superplex, but Scorpio blocks, and dives with a flying bodypress for two. Scorpio grabs a chinlock, but Shane fights to a vertical base, and uses a side suplex to escape. That allows Douglas to work a reverse chinlock, but Scorpio escapes, and hits a jumping clothesline. That allows him a slingshot splash for two, and a bodyslam leads to a flying dropkick, so Shane rolls to the apron to avoid a cover. Scorpio stays on him with a baseball slide, and he knocks Shane into the crowd, and he follows over the rail to unload. Back to ringside, Scorpio tries a suplex on the floor, but Shane counters by dropping him on the guardrail. Shane with a suplex back into the ring for two, and he takes Scorpio into the corner to hammer on. A 2nd rope bodypress misses, however, and Scorpio capitalizes with a tombstone. That allows him to try a flying moonsault, but Shane rolls out of the way, and grabs him for a belly-to-belly suplex at 12:50. Afterwards, Shane is presented with the NWA World title belt, and Scorpio endorses him. And it seems like a great moment, but then Shane grabs the microphone, and gives one of the most famous speeches of all time, where he lists off all the previous NWA World champions, before noting that they can all kiss his ass, and throwing the belt down. He calls the title a joke, and declares himself the ECW World champion instead. This is a legendary segment for a reason, as it’s incredible. And a shoot, as the NWA wasn’t aware that he was going to do it, and he effectively pissed on the promotion's grave. **

Backstage, NWA Board Member Dennis Corraluzzo, who is furious, and going to talk to his fellow board members about how to deal with ECW, since the promotion is under their jurisdiction. Yeah, about that…

Tod Gordon officially withdraws ECW from the NWA, and rebrands it as ‘Extreme Championship Wrestling’

Public Enemy spray paint the Eastern Championship Wrestling banners to rebrand them as Extreme

BUExperience: Sometimes this show is skippable. This was not one of those times. Huge angles - angles that defined ECW - and entertaining throughout. A must see episode.