Before the show, Masato Tanaka gets interviewed on his way into the arena. He is interrupted by Judge Jeff Jones so Tanaka throws him into a parked car.
In the arena, Joey Styles and Cyrus welcome the Chicago crowd to the show before we get our opening contest - Jerry Lynn vs. Lance Storm. The crowd goes crazy for Storm's valet, Dawn Marie, loudly chanting for her to bare her breasts. Lynn comes out with taped ribs because...he always did. Lynn and Storm were two guys that were known for being excellent technical wrestlers but not exactly interesting characters and this match suffers a bit from that lack of the "extra something" that even some of ECW's lesser wrestlers had. There is at least one breathtaking sequence in this and I absolutely loved Lynn's pop-up mule kick to Storm's testicles, but this went a tad too long and they lose the crowd at one point and don't really get them back (this would be around the second time they chant for Dawn Marie to lower her top). The finish comes a bit out of nowhere, but at least its clean. (3/5)
Simon Diamond came out and was hyped a bit by Styles and Cyrus as a guy that had a bright future. Well, they don't get them all right. Diamond's "Simon Says" promo was decent, but he was nothing special in the ring based on what we saw here. He says that no man is willing to tag up with him - which is a weird thing to gloat about - so out comes Jazz, who initially gets destroyed not by Diamond but by Diamond's buddy, ex-wrestler Tom Marquez. This "match" goes less than a minute before we get the real bout - Diamond and Tony Devito taking on Nova and Chris Chetti. Chris Chetti gets injured in the early going, which makes a sloppy mess of a match/segment even more sloppy. I guess the show was called Anarchy Rulz so this should've been expected. Tony Devito botches a urinage and the crowd erupts into a "You Fucked Up" chant. Roadkill and Danny Doring show up to end whatever this was supposed to be and then Da Baldies show up for good measure too. This all leads to the arrival of New Jack, who wipes everyone out with a bunch of weapons. This was near-impossible to follow and even harder to enjoy. When ECW did chaos well, it could be riveting to watch, but this was boring and not fun to watch. (0/5)
Things go much, much better in the next match - Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy in a triple threat match. This isn't an all-time classic, but for its time, it grabbed many fans' attention and these three would consistently be booked together for years to come because they could be relied upon to deliver the goods in the midcard. There are some really fun and clever exchanges throughout this match that push it a step above being just a "spotfest." Super Crazy is the only face in the match, but Tajiri and Little Guido have such good offense that they earn some pops for their work too. While one could argue that Tajiri and Super Crazy's first few matches in ECW together felt like "exhibition" bouts, by this point, they are established enough in their roles that this does feel much more competitive and heated. The crowd loved everything they did and, 20+ years later, there are still some things in this match that will pop even the most jaded fan. This is a "squeaker" must-watch match, especially for younger or newer fans who might be curious as to why ECW is still talked about today as a place where great wrestling happened, not just hardcore brawling. (4/5)
I'm no fan of Justin Credible and Sabu, as much as I love the character and respect the man, is undeniably hit-or-miss (as his gimmick may have also dictated). Here, though, Sabu and Justin Credible just so happen to click and end up delivering a surprisingly strong match that plays to both of their strengths. Credible takes a hell of a beating and while Sabu is his usual sloppy self, in this context it kinda works because he was not coming to "win" the match, but rather to inflict as much punishment onto Credible as he could. The match is bloody and violent and there are loads of tables broken, but there's also just enough actual wrestling (and most of it is decently enough executed) for this to be more than just a wild brawl. Plus, they kept a decent pace and didn't bother with too much lying around (which is something that Sabu is not always great at). (3/5)
The ECW World Heavyweight Championship is on the line next Tazz was set to defend the title against Masato Tanaka, who was the reigning FMW World Champion in Japan. The cat was out of the bag regarding Tazz's impending departure to the WWE so the Chicago crowd greets him with jeers and "You Sold Out"/"Fuck You Tazz" chants. Its really a bit half-hearted, though, as most of the "smart" fans recognized how much Tazz had given to ECW and that he had hung on with ECW for as long as anyone could expect a top talent to (by this point, Raven, Sabu, Sandman, Stevie Richards, the Dudleys, and countless others had already left...and some had even come back.) Before the match can begin, Mike Awesome shows up and he is inserted into the match per Tazz's demand. From here, Awesome and Tanaka start brawling before deciding to turn their attention on Tazz. Tazz gets a little bit of offense in, but ultimately falls to both guy's finishers, ending his reign and ECW tenure in under 3 minutes. In terms of match quality, I would've liked to see Tanaka and Tazz go at it 1-on-1, but I fully understand the booking decision (even if this was a great opportunity to establish Tanaka as "The Man"). Tanaka and Awesome proceed to have an abbreviated version of the matches they'd had in ECW (and I guess FMW?) in the months before this. Awesome and Tanaka could deliver huge chair shots, power bombs, and dives that would pop the crowd, but there's nothing "new" or "fresh" here to make it stand out as a different war than the ones they'd waged before. This one doesn't crack the "must see" line for me, but was entertaining and felt like a big ECW moment...even if that ECW "moment" might actually be the moment that ECW ended. An extra half-point for the post-match and Tazz's send-off as the Chicago crowd ends up cheering the guy. (3.5/5)
A video package highlights the years-long rivalry between Tommy Dreamer and Raven. Joel Gertner then welcomes Tommy Dreamer to the ring. Dreamer cuts a promo about...well, the same stuff he always did. This brings out Steve Corino, Rhyno, and Jack Victory. After Dreamer fights Rhyno (and Corino), Raven shows up and we get an impromptu ECW World Tag Team Championship match that doesn't last very long. The babyfaces finish off the heels with dueling DDTs to retain the titles and then, for no real reason, the radio shock jock Mancow shows up. This is more of a "segment" than a match, but whatever it is, I found it kinda lame. Corino and Rhyno gained nothing from this segment and the Dreamer and Raven storyline, which was showcased before the match, wasn't progressed in any sort of interesting way. Just filler. (1.5/5)
Main event time - The scheduled final match was set to be Rob Van Dam defending the ECW Television Championship against Johnny Smith...but before that match can happen, Axl Rotten comes out and cuts a promo challenging Mike Awesome, which leads to the Impact Players (Lance Storm, Justin Credible, Jason, and Dawn Marie) showing up and cutting him off. This then leads to Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney coming down to help Rotten out as they run the heels off. If there was any question as to how much talent ECW had lost in the previous years, this segment really highlights the considerable drop in star power that Heyman and ECW had to deal with in 99' and into 2000. After running the heels off, Rotten announces that RVD's new opponent will be Mahoney, who, as dependable and popular as he was, just wasn't a guy that could or should be main eventing a PPV. Van Dam comes out and is mega over with the crowd, as one would expect in 99'. Mahoney and Van Dam go on to have a good match that pleases the crowd and features one of the most insane spots ever when the Whole F'n Show performs an absolutely insane somersault dive from the top rope into the crowd. I'm not sure what's more impressive: the fact that he was able to get the distance he gets or the fact that he didn't break his neck performing a move that could've went sideways any one of a million ways. The camera angle doesn't really capture how Balls was able to catch him, but RVD owed him his life with that one. Speaking of Balls, his offense looks good for maybe the first 70-80% of the match, but this one clearly pushed him to his limit. I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing either as the Balls character wasn't built for 15+ minute matches that involved this many twists and turns and shifts in momentum. The crowd went home happy as RVD got the W after taking a serious ass-kicking. (3/5)
Considered by some to be one of the best ECW pay-per-views of all time - or at least of the company's original pre-WWE run - I was a bit surprised by how flat some of this show was for me. The ECW World Tag Team title match and the Simon Diamond/Jazz/Nova/Chetti segment and "match" didn't do anything for me, with Raven and Dreamer's work being particularly uninspired. The main event was fine, arguably better than I expected it would be, but didn't feel like a true pay-per-view main event caliber match. This show is probably most remembered for the Tazz/Tanaka/Awesome match and while its essential viewing for any true ECW or 90's wrestling fan, the Tanaka/Awesome portion of the bout (which makes up the bulk of it) is really just the same sort of stuff they had done previously (only with much higher stakes). With a respectable Kwang Score of 2.57-out-of-5, this show definitely captures the unpredictable and uneven spirit of ECW, for better or sometimes worse.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
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