.jpg)
In the same spirit as WWE's One Night Stand PPVs, in 2010, TNA put together its first Hardcore Justice show, aimed directly at ECW's eternally loyal fanbase and featuring a whole bunch of ECW alumni. Of course, because many of the trademarks and copyrights were owned by the WWE, they couldn't advertise or promote it as an ECW reunion, but it was obvious to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the show what "Philadelphia-based promotion" this show was meant to celebrate.
The event kicked off with a welcome from Tazz, who had been working as a commentator for TNA for quite some time. Unfortunately, Joey Styles was not on commentary for this and, instead, Mike Tenay filled his usual role.
The opening contest saw The Full-Bloodied Italians - Tony Luke (they couldn't say "Mamaluke"), Little Guido, and Tracy Smothers, with Big Sal Graziano in tow - against the make-shift team of Kid Kash, Simon Diamond, and Johnny Swinger. Kash was a babyface for most of his run in ECW and, if I'm not mistaken, TNA too, so I'm not sure why he was paired with the heels but I would also say, in TNA's defense, ECW was never very strict about who was getting paired with who or whether a match had a traditional heel/face dynamic. Diamond is in the worst shape of anybody aside from Big Sal. I'm a Smothers fan so just seeing him on the show earns a point with me. This was a fun opener for what it was and I liked seeing Kash hit one of his signature splashes. The "Extreme Dance-Off" was a nice throwback to the kind of nonsense the FBI did back in the day. All in all, not a bad way to start the show but not up to the level of the FBI's better matches and moments in the original ECW. (2/5)
Throughout the evening, the in-ring action is broken up by two recurring video segments - a "Where Are They Now?" thing and a "Fans Remember" thing. In the first "Where Are They Now?" segment, we see original ECW owner Todd Gordon, The Blue Meanie, and Pitbull #2. Then we hear from AJ Styles and Angelina Love, who talk about their memories of ECW. Not super interesting, but I like that it makes this show feel different.
Backstage, Al Snow is talking to Head about how dangerous it is for them to be going out in front of the fans knowing that the fans are going to get them into trouble if they chant "those 3 letters." Stevie Richards talks him down. Hollywood Nova (Simon Dean) shows up with an imposter Blue Meanie. According to a Facebook (Twitter?) post from Blue Meanie after the show, he was unable to make it due to a prior engagement/planned vacation.
Back to the ring we go for CW Anderson vs. 2 Cold Scorpio. This was a much, much better match than I think anyone in the audience or watching at home expected. Scorpio's offense looked incredible, while CW Anderson did his usual good work. Anderson was a highlight of ECW towards the end and deserved to have a better career post-ECW as he could almost always be counted on to provide a good midcard match. His offense wasn't flashy, his look wasn't super imposing, but he was solid and a great foil for more flashy, high-energy wrestlers (as he shows here against Scorpio). A CW Anderson/Rey Mysterio Jr. match, for example, would've probably been awesome in the mid-2000s. Scorpio's finishing move is absolutely ridiculous here. Good match. (3/5)
Madison Rayne, Matt Morgan, and Ken Anderson talk about watching "the Philadelphia-based promotion" during another video segment.
Backstage, RVD is with Fonzie. RVD talks about how excited he is to face Jerry Lynn and how he has been training specifically for Lynn...and then says that its no surprise Lynn over-trained and injured himself. Its kinda bizarre that RVD spent the first few minutes of this hyping up a match that wouldn't be happening, especially after the commentators had already revealed Lynn's injury and his replacement. RVD announces that he was given a choice of who he wanted to face and that he chose Sabu. Fonzie says he's going to manage both of them and call it "right down the middle."
PJ Polaco is already in the ring for the next contest - a match against Stevie Richards, who is flanked by Hollywood Nova and The Blue Tilly (fake Meanie). When Polaco is announced, the crowd chants "Justin Credible" just in case anybody doesn't realize who he is. I was a little disappointed that Richards wore his "Stevie Richards Rx" tights and not the jean shorts that were his trademark in ECW. Richards and PJ put on a decent match, but its also a reminder of why neither guy ever made it to the "upper echelon" of talent despite sound fundamentals. Watching Richards, one wonders how a guy that had a star-making run in ECW and then a solid run in WWE with the Right to Censor and then another run in TNA as Dr. Stevie could do so much without developing a bunch of real signature moves. If the first match worked because it was designed to be a fun throwback to FBI and Diamond's ECW work and the second match worked because 2 Cold Scorpio could still bust out great offense, this match failed because neither Polaco or Richards did enough to give this the "nostalgia factor" that this whole show was built around. This felt like a match they could've had anywhere at anytime when they were both on the indie scene and I wouldn't be surprised if they did. (1.5/5)
After the match, The Sandman shows up to cane Polaco. They can't call him The Sandman, but he really needs no introduction. We then get a video featuring "The Queen of Extreme," Francine.
Back in the ring, it's time for an old-school ECW Three-Way Dance - a match was popularized by ECW if not invented by them - featuring Brother Runt (Spike Dudley), Al Snow, and Rhyno. A decent enough match with a few nice moments - specifically Rhyno practically goring Runt out of his shoes, Spike hitting his double stomp, Rhino and Al Snow dumping Runt onto the barricade when he attempted a double Acid Drop - but it was also a bit loose and I didn't like the Guerrero-inspired phantom chair shot spot. I don't have the best memory for who or where certain spots were done - so maybe Snow was doing a callback to a classic ECW match or moment - but Eddie made it a signature in the WWE, making it seem out of place here. Not bad at all, but just kinda there. (2.5/5)
After a testimonial from Chris Sabin, who drops kayfabe for a minute when he talks about his childhood and calling himself "Josh Van Dam" (why would a guy named Chris call himself Josh?), its time for the next match - Axl Rotten and Kahoneys (Ballz Mahoney) coming out to issue an open challenge. Predictably, their opponents end up being Team 3D (back with Joel Gertner for one night only). When "Kahoneys" arrives, the crowd chants "Ballz," but without the ECW music, the entrance is noticeably lackluster. When Team 3D comes out, Gertner does a "classic" introduction, which is fun and disgusting (as expected) and involves a lewd comment about Lady Gaga. Brother Ray grabs the mic and says that nobody wants to see them wrestle so, instead, they should have a Philadelphia Street Fight. That sounded good to me, but they then proceed to have a very boring, typical ECW punch-and-kick brawl all around the arena. At one point, Bubba and Kahoneys have a Star Wars-inspired lightsaber fight because, well, Bubba is a Star Wars mark. Its all heatless and feels like they're just checking things off a list. There was a level of "danger" to the original ECW's wild brawls, even if they were just as one-dimensional. When Ballz swung a chair, it looked like it could wreck your brain. Same for Rotten. Same for the Dudleys. But these guys aren't swinging for the fences anymore and while that is 100% reasonable and better for everyone's long-term health, it does make for an underwhelming match compared to the more violent matches they had in the past, even when you add a flaming table. After the match ends, New Jack and Mustafa Saed show up! The Gangstas are in the house! Of course, without their signature theme song ("Natural Born Killas" by Dre and Cube) or even the generic theme that I - and many others - are familiar with from the WWE-redubbed ECW shows that were/are on the Network/Peacock, there's something missing. After some more weak brawling (I'm guessing The Gangstas weren't given the green light to actually wrestle a "real" match because of how limited they were as actual workers), everyone hugs it out. I'll add an extra half-point to the rating of this whole thing because its always fun to see New Jack and I like that this was booked and presented in a way that was true to the original ECW...but that doesn't make up for a generally bad, underwhelming match. (2/5)
A match billed as the final battle between the longtime rivals followed - Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer. Beulah McGillicutty (Tommy's real-life wife) was shown at ringside beside Dixie Carter. Dreamer and Raven knew they'd have to bust out as many hardcore spots and weapons as possible to make this feel like the epic they were promoting it to be and, to their credit, they did so. Mick Foley was the special guest referee but was clearly going through the motions and, at one point, busted out Mr. Socko and the Mandible Claw, which was not at all part of his ECW persona and felt out of place and cheap here. Dreamer bled a gusher after getting leg-sweeped into a chair, but the bladejob was incredibly obvious. Raven also got some "color" when Dreamer did the same move to him. Dreamer used a Dead End sign to beat down his nemesis in another callback to their original feud. Two members of the bWo - Nova and the fat Blue replacement guy - came out to break up a barbwire crossface that Dreamer had applied. Not exactly sure why Stevie didn't come down too. This allowed Raven to take advantage. Once Raven handcuffed Dreamer, Beulah came out to try to make the save but had to witness Raven bash him with a chair. She hit him with a low blow, though, which allowed her man to deliver a DDT (with his hands cuffed behind his back). I thought this would be the finish, but in a final nod to their history, Raven ended up hitting a DDT of his own onto a chair that won him the match (as was almost always the case whenever these two fought). This was certainly dramatic and bloody and I guess, in a sense, it did feel like an old school ECW match...but both guys looked their age and Foley's involvement might have actually detracted from the match at times. (2.5/5)
Before the next match, we get a video package of various ECW alumni talking about Paul Heyman. Simon Diamond refers to him as "the Internet Messiah," which is not the best phrasing but his point is clear: Heyman was the first booker of a major promotion to cater to a hardcore wrestling fan (not "hardcore" as in bloody, violent weapons-filled matches, but hardcore in the sense that the fans were "smart" and knowledgeable about the business and had tastes that went beyond just what the WWE and WCW were producing in the mid-90s).
Main event time - Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu. RVD came into this match as the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, but the title was not on the line. As noted earlier, Jerry Lynn was supposed to be Van Dam's opponent but sustained an injury before the show. This makes me wonder who Sabu's opponent would've been as one has to believe he would've been on the show somewhere. Anyway...this was the exact spotfest one would expect and while the "downtime" between those big spots slowed things down considerably, most of the big moves were spectacular. Sabu's tornado DDT onto a chair was brilliant, for example. While Van Dam's Van Assassin was less so, he did hit an awesome jumping kick near the front apron at one point and his other signature moves all looked impactful and sharp. It was neither guy's "career match," but it had the same chaotic feel as their work in ECW (which was almost always lacking in psychology and more about who could perform a crazier stunt). (3/5)
Maybe die-hard ECW fans seeking a trip down memory lane would enjoy this show - that is clearly who it is designed for - but I am not that and, to be honest, found myself bored during multiple matches. "Bored" was not an adjective one could usually use to describe an ECW show, but it would be accurate here. There was also some notable absences that could've and probably would've made this a much, much better show. Keep in mind, by the final years of ECW, Steve Corino, Tajiri, Super Crazy, the team of Doring and Amish Roadkill, and Lance Storm were all often putting on the best matches out of anyone. Though he wasn't an "ECW Original," it would've been fun to have Sid show up. Where was the Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck, let alone Shane Douglas and Terry Funk? ECW was also known for being the place where future stars got their break and it would've been kinda cool to maybe see a team like the Young Bucks get a spotlight here, as out-of-place as they may have seemed. With a Kwang Rating of 2.29-out-of-5, enjoyment of this show relies 100% on one's interest in watching a whole bunch of guys who were considerably past-their-prime try to relive their glory years a good 10+ years after the fact. If that doesn't sound like a good way to spend 3 hours, steer way clear.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
No comments:
Post a Comment