Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy was the opening contest and, though this wasn't as good as their first match, it still had some remarkable moments, most of which came out of Tajiri. I loved his somersault dive to the outside in the opening minutes as this sort of maneuver was almost unheard of in 1999. Super Crazy's moonsaults are also a highlight, but really, Tajiri is in control for much of this match. Speaking of Crazy, he botches a move at one point, but I don't mind it too much as this is the sort of thing that makes "high risk offense" actually come across as high risk (Joey Styles trying to explain it away as the result of it being rainy outside makes little sense, though). The finish is a bit sudden and flat, but this was a good enough opener, if not quite as stunning as their match at Guilty As Charged. (3/5)
Steve Corino came out to deliver a promo before his match. I'm not an ECW historian so I'm not 100% sure that Corino was the first guy to come into ECW as an "anti-hardcore" type, but he's arguably the most well-known version of the act. After saying he doesn't need steroids to look as good as he does (he looks scrawny), Balls Mahoney comes out. They have a fairly short match and Corino essentially gets squashed. I think this would've been a more effective introduction for Corino if he'd actually somehow eked out a victory, but I'm not sure if Heyman was aware of how much of a cornerstone Corino would become in the last years of ECW, maybe even presuming that the guy would eventually just work as a lower midcarder in WCW or WWE. Who knows. Nothing special here, but I did like the bit where Corino almost used a chair on Balls but then just decided to sit it in and apply a headlock. (1.5/5)
Another short and relatively meaningless match follows as Little Guido takes on Antifaz del Norte. Guido was a solid worker, but Antifaz is just too bland and the ECW audience seems mostly indifferent to this match, at one point even chanting "We Want Tracy" in reference to Tracy Smothers, who was, if I'm not mistaken, on the outs with the rest of the FBI at this point. This did not feel "PPV worthy." (1.5/5)
Jerry Lynn challenged Rob Van Dam for the ECW Television Championship in the next match. I remember watching this at some point in the early 00s on a rented VHS of an ECW Best Of compilation and being blown away by it. Unfortunately, 20+ years later, what made this match so special is a bit harder to see and understand after seeing so many better versions of this sort of thing. Some of the spots are tremendous, but unlike, say, the stuff that Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio could do, the execution is not as breathtaking and, in terms of character work, RVD still wasn't really all there yet (in fact, its Jerry Lynn who kinda shines most as the resilient underdog). Some of the sequences are intricate - which should be a positive - but the intricacy mixed with the "almost-there" execution prevents things from feeling 100% organic. After 20 minutes, they should've went with a straight-up finish instead of the time limit ending leading to Lynn asking for 5 more minutes (inexplicably as the ref was going to reward him the match and ostensibly the title) and then losing. It was just a convoluted finish that was unnecessary as Lynn had successfully gotten over with the crowd (and, while I understand RVD's gimmick wasn't really about him cheating, having him actually try to cheat to win at some point would've only helped give this match the underdog/cocky heel story structure that it needed). Some people really loathe this match, but there is too much good stuff to shit on it and its undeniable how much this match blew away everything on the WrestleMania show from that same month. In context, this was considered an instant classic. 20 years later, I'd just say its pretty darn good, but maybe no longer essential viewing. (3/5)
A Jasmine St. Clair/Francine segment followed. I'm sure Francine is a nice person and she is obviously very good looking. I have nothing but respect for what she did as Shane Douglas' valet and for creating something of a career in ECW...but there's a noticeable difference in what she did and what, say, Tammy Sytch accomplished or even Sable. Francine is in that class of women like Debra McMichael who didn't really have "it factor" and so a segment like this doesn't really work because neither her nor St. Clair had much charisma, mic skills, or presence individually.
Moving on...New Jack vs. Mustafa is next. This was "The Battle of the Gangstas" after Mustafa turned on New Jack in his war against The Dudleys. This is the brawl you'd expect, though nothing more. New Jack isn't exactly known for having great matches, but what he could do was crazy stunts and hardcore brawling and, against certain opponents on certain nights, the chaos and charisma was enough to make for a memorable match. I wish this match was one of those events as the storyline leading into it deserved to end an ultra-violent clash of two former best friends, but this is just too messy and formless and there's no real escalation of violence or even an attempt at cohesion of any kind. The biggest spot of the match is a balcony dive, but Jack barely connects with it and looks like he may have busted his ankles more than hurt his opponent. They both make their way to the ring for no apparent reason beyond the need for ending the match and having New Jack to make the cover. Why not either end the match with the balcony dive as a "double count-out" or ref stoppage or, if that doesn't work, make it a Falls Count Anywhere bout? And because this was ECW, they could've just had New Jack make the cover on the floor anyway and just have the ref declare him the winner because ECW's rules were fluid anyway! This was pretty bad. (1/5)
The Dudleys show up and beat down New Jack and then issue an open challenge. Out comes Super Nova and Spike Dudley, but they get handled fairly quickly with Spike getting heaved into the crowd (I love that visual every time). The Dudleys keep talking until we get...Sid! Sid in ECW had some real potential because he had definite star power and seeing him in this environment was surreal. This somehow ends up with Spike Dudley returning to the ring and, after an Acid Drop and Sid hitting a powerbomb on D-Von to essentially take him out of action, scoring a pinfall over Bubba. This is hard to rate as a "match" because it doesn't really have a clear "start" (I mean, was Nova actually Spike's partner or was Sid?), but as a segment, this was the right kind of madness for an ECW show. That being said, the never-ending Dudleys/Spike rivalry is wearing thin for me as a viewer (I would imagine even moreso if one was a weekly viewer of the TV shows at the time) so I was glad to see Sid get thrown in the mix as he feels like a fresh new act in this context. (2/5)
Another tag match - Shane Douglas and Tommy Dreamer vs. Justin Credible and Lance Storm - follows. This was a continuation of a couple different storylines with Dreamer and Credible having been embroiled in a long-term blood feud and Storm and Douglas having some history from when Lance was trying to join the Triple Threat. Douglas, meanwhile, was heading out of ECW and wanted to pass the torch to the next "Franchise" of ECW: Tommy Dreamer. This was fine for what it was, but it ran a bit too long to hold my attention. There were lots of predictable spots, including Douglas teasing a heel turn. Eventually Francine showed up and got into it with Dawn Marie. Cyrus showed up too during the post-match, further muddying up what I imagined was going to be a big send-off for Douglas. (2/5)
After a backstage segment involving John Finnegan and RVD, its time for tonight's main event - the FTW Champion, Sabu challenging Taz for the ECW World Championship. This reminded me of the Austin/Rock matches from around this time as it featured lots of brawling in the crowd, around the ring, and in the entrance way. There are some good hardcore moments in this match, including the cameraman getting taken out right as Taz nearly breaks Sabu's neck with a suplex through a table on the floor. Sabu nearly injures himself a little later when he attempts a sunset flip powerbomb but gets tripped up on the guardrail. There's furniture damage, there's the occasional wrestling hold, there's suplexes galore out of the champ - this match is exactly what you'd expect out of these two, goes close to 20 minutes, but still doesn't quite feel like the "classic" I wish it was. (3/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.13-out-of-5, ECW's Living Dangerously 99' show was a bit of a disappointing watch for me. On paper, Sabu vs. Taz and RVD vs. Jerry Lynn are matches that should've been great, but were just good. Similarly, I wanted the New Jack/Mustafa match to be an ultra-violent spectacle, but it was sloppy and somehow felt heatless despite the history between the two men. Of the Sid appearances I've seen from his ECW run, this might be the least remarkable despite the Dudleys being one of the most over acts in the company. The best match of the night was probably the opener, but Tajiri and Crazy had better matches to come too, further making this show feel a bit inessential. Recommended if you're a fan of ECW as the star power on this show is undeniable, but if you're seeking top-to-bottom excellence, there are more worthwhile ECW shows to check out.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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