ECW Hardcore TV (September 13, 1994)

 

Original Airdate: September 13, 1994

Your Host is Joey Styles

We start with a look at Public Enemy’s journey through ECW thus far

ECW Tag Team Title Match: Public Enemy v Mikey Whipwreck and Cactus Jack: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on August 27, during the final NWA show. Cactus has to literally drag Mikey to the ring for this. Rocco Rock starts with Mikey, and it’s an odd situation where both guys stall. Mikey begs Jack to tag in, and Cactus finally obliges. Rock keeps trying to go after Mikey anyway, and he manages to scare him into running up the aisle. Jack chases, which allows both tag champs to attack him in the aisle. Inside, the champs continue to double up on Cactus, until Mikey comes running back in with a wooden board to save. The challengers clean house, and the crowd loses their mind for Mikey showing some balls. The dust settles on Rock and Jack, and Rock manages to pound him into the corner. Rock with a cross corner whip, but the charge in gets blocked, and Mikey tags. Jack whips Mikey into Rock for a shoulderblock, then scoops Mikey up to use him as a spear, knocking Rock out of the ring. That draws Johnny Grunge in, but Mikey hits him with a dropkick, then a backdrop. Jack takes Grunge to the outside for a swinging neckbreaker on the floor, and Jack grabs a chair to tee off on the recovering Rocco. Grunge eats a chair as well, so he kicks Mikey in the balls, and DDTs him on a chair to end that run. Grunge hits Mikey with a short-clothesline, and the champs take control, working him over, as Jack fumes. Grunge with a pancake piledriver for two, and a tandem clothesline follows on an exchange. The Enemy hit Mikey with another combo for two, so Jack just pushes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! It quickly spills to the outside for a brawl, and the Enemy isolate Cactus. Rock puts him through a table with a flying moonsault, but instead of covering, they dump him out of the ring. Grunge hits Mikey with an inverted DDT to set up a dive from Rock, but Jack crotches him on the top to prevent it. That allows Mikey a schoolboy at 14:06! This told a good story. **

Jack and Mikey celebrate their new title, though Mikey is worried, because he promised his mother that he’d never win another belt

Sandman and Woman try to figure out how they’re going to beat Tommy Dreamer in an I Quit match, since he threw everything he had at Tommy last week, and couldn’t get him to back down

Tommy Dreamer wears the scars from Sandman’s cane shots last week as proof that he’ll never, ever say ‘I quit’

Chad Austin v Chris Benoit: From Philly on August 28. Someone in the crowd has a sign noting that ‘SummerSlam: Another Vince Rip Off.’ Before the show even happened. A criss cross ends in Benoit dropkicking him, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Austin throws a dropkick of his own. Irish whip, but Benoit reverses, and backdrops him. A dropkick knocks Chad to the outside, where Rockin’ Rebel is waiting to help him regroup. Benoit pounds him on the way back in, and delivers a snap suplex, so Rebel trips him up as Chris runs the ropes. That allows Austin to recover, but a sneak attack misses, and Chris drops him with a tombstone to set up a flying headbutt drop at 3:29. Benoit is a welcome addition to the ECW crew. Afterwards, Austin chews Rebel out, but Jason cools them down. Rebel isn’t having it, however, so Jason whacks him with the TV title belt, and delivers a beatdown with Chad. ¾*

ECW Television Title Match: Jason v JT Smith: From Philly on August 28. Dean Malenko attacks Smith before the bell, taking out his leg. Jason immediately jumps on that, but Smith powers through, and uses a corkscrew legwhip to take the champ down. Jason is in the ropes right away, and Smith’s leg is too damaged to keep coming. That allows Jason a kneebreaker, and he takes Smith into the corner to pound on. Smith throws fists, and a corner whip rebounds Jason into a slam - only for Smith’s knee to give out, and Jason to topple him at 1:38. ¼*

A look at the shenanigans at the NWA World Title Tournament 

BUExperience: This show immediately became significantly better after the split from the NWA. It’s been night and day thus far.