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ECW FLASHBACK
Originally broadcast 10/24/95
Beulah opens the show by thanking all the fans for the outpouring of letters to Beulah's Box, her mail answering segment of the show. I don't have the explain the "box" pun, do I? No? Good.
We then see the video for Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" spliced with footage of the Dreamer-Raven-Beulah angle. The only reason they used that song (that I can think of) is that it has the word "box" in the title and there's a raven in the video who sings along. Still, lots of lingering shots of a scantily clad Beulah make it A-OK by me.
Opening credits. No new footage this week.
Joey Styles introduces the show and hypes tonight's 2/3 falls rematch between Rey Mysterio Jr. and Psicosis. Then we get Extreme Encyclopedia entries for both guys. Uh, the Extreme Encyclopedia was a weird segment where they played the "Masterpiece Theater" music and gave definitions for wrestlers. In this case, the definitions are in Spanish, and here's a rough translation: Rey has no equal and Psicosis is dangerous.
Gangstas Paradise ad count: 1.
They give the address for Beulah's Box. I wonder if they still get mail there?
We cut to Bubba Ray Dudleys first appearance. I covered this before in my review of the best of the Dudley Boyz tape, so I'll just do some recycling: "We open with Buh Buh Ray's first appearance in a promo for the Dudley family. The Dudleys lineage has been covered before, but I'll do it again: There was Dudley Dudley (the inbred one), Big Dick Dudley (the huge, angry, silent one), Dances With Dudley (the Indian one), and Sign Guy
Dudley (the one who, well, held up signs). Oh yeah, there was Little Snot Dudley, too, but he disappeared pretty quickly. Anyway, Buh Buh Ray stutters until Big Dick smacks him. Dudley Dudley makes a reference to the film 'Deliverance' that goes over my head. Buh Buh Ray: 'Th...th...th...(smack) That was a fine theatrical release!' I never figured out why Vince brought back the stuttering when the Duds jumped to the WWF. I mean, how does a speech impediment get you over as a heel?"
Lance Wright (ugh) hypes the 10/27/95 and 10/28/95 house shows, the latter of which includes a ladder World Title match between the Sandman and Mikey Whipwreck, as well as the first meeting between Cactus Jack and Tommy Dreamer. Lance also hawks the "EC F'N W" shirt.
Gangstas Paradise ad count: 2.
REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. PSICOSIS (2/3 falls): Psicosis has two belts with him, which I guess are Mexican light heavyweight belts. Rey's got a Batman thing going with his tights. Joel Gertner does the intros in Spanish. Man, he's a twig here compared to today.
Rey starts the match by charging at Psicosis, who ducks down to avoid him=2E Rey responds by simply leaping to the top and backflipping off with ease. Psicosis bounces off the ropes, but Rey sidesteps him and throws him under the bottom rope to the floor. Rey fakes a dive so he ends up on the apron, then planchas Psicosis into the crowd! Rey gets back in the ring and nails another plancha that sends both men into the stands again. They both climb back in the ring, as Psicosis charges at Rey, who sidesteps him and then nails a picture perfect standing 'rana for a three count and first fall at 1:19.
Fall two starts with Rey dodging a Psicosis charge in the corner. Both competitors bounce off the ropes, as Rey looks like he's going for a flying head scissors, then appears to be trying a mid-air arm drag, but instead lands on his feet and hits a spinning heel kick. Joey takes a shot at Bobby Heenan. Rey charges, but Psicosis backdrops him to the apron. Rey grabs Psicosis' hair and drops him, then climbs to the top and hits a swinging 'rana that send Psicosis to the floor. Rey then heads to the apron and hits another swinging 'rana sending Psicosis crashing to the concrete. Wild. Psicosis takes a time-out while Rey soaks up a "Mysterio" chant. Psicosis gets back in the ring and offers to shake Mysterio's hand=2E And like a dope, Mysterio goes to shake his hand, and Psicosis applies a wristlock and follows with an enzuigiri. Psicosis grabs another wristlock and flips Rey into the corner. Psicosis grabs Ray in a Canadian Backbreaker and then rams him gut-first into the corner, then follows that up with a charging shoulder. Rey slumps in the corner as Psicosis hits a bronco buster (well, he didn't do repeated pelvic thrusts like X-Pac, but still...)! Psicosis then plants Rey with a powerbomb, but it only gets two. Rey drops Mysterio again, and then applies a Scorpion Deathlock, but Rey won't give up. Psicosis relinquishes the hold as Rey rolls outside for a breather. But Psicosis follows and rams Rey into the steel guardrail, then slamming a chair into Rey's right leg. Psicosis slams Rey on the timekeeper's table, but it doesn't break. Rey rolls back in the ring as Psicosis follows up with a slingshot legdrop. He Irish Whips Rey into the corner, but misses the charging shoulder. Rey then cartwheels and leaps onto Psicosis' shoulders in a Victory Roll position, then spins around and hits another 'rana. Rey then goes for a quebrada, but Psicosis catches him and hits a tombstone for the three count and the second fall at 5:13.
Gangstas Paradise Ad Count: 3.
We return with recaps of the first two falls. Rey's on the outside of the ring getting a breather, so Psicosis slides out and powerbombs him through a table. Then Psicosis picks Rey up with ease and bodyslams him into the crowd. Psicosis then enters the ring and hits a tope con hilo into the third row! Back in the ring Rey manages to dodge a Psicosis charge in the corner that sends the horned one crashing to the floor. Rey follows that up with a springbopard somersault bodyblock (actually, he landed on Psicosis' shoulders like he would attempt a 'rana). Psicosis tries to crawl back into the ring, but Rey drags him out and throws a chair in his face twice. Then he unfolds the chair, wraps it around Psicosis' head, and rams it into the steel post twice. Psicosis rolls back in the ring, and Rey comes off the top with another 'rana that gets a two count. Rey throws Psicosis into the ropes, but Psicosis reverses it, but Rey counters with another funky headscissors. Psicosis rolls to the outside, but Rey springboards off the corner and hits a somersault bodyblock to the outside. Psicosis apparently gets his second wind, as he attacks Rey and whips him into the steel guardrail twice. Then he places Rey on a table and whacks him with a chair. Psicosis then enters the ring, climbs to the top, and hits a senton through the table on the floor! God damn. Rey is officially dog food at this point, but Psicosis rolls him into the ring and nails another powerbomb. He places a chair on Rey, then goes to the top rope and hits a twisting somersault senton, and that gets the pin at 5:37. ****1/4 Even better than their first match. Interestingly, it only took Psicosis two tries to beat Rey in ECW, it took him years to do so in WCW (finally doing so during the lWo angle).
Gangstas Paradise Ad Count: 4. They advertised the tape of this show a lot, in case you couldn't tell. I mean, it may be the best ECW show ever, but you can only take so much Coolio.
Lance Wright (ugh) curses us with more hype. Then he mentions how the hotline discusses the WWF's firing of Bill Watts. Lance mentions that he was once let go by the WWF. Gee, I wonder why? Then Wright imitates Brother Love for some reason. Folks, you can't plan to be this annoying.
Joey suggests since Bill Watts has all this free time, maybe he'll hang out with Mark Furman and Marge Schott. Whatever. Joey then mentions that next week's outdoor match between the Gangstas and the Public Enemy was canceled by the city of Philadelphia, so the match has been changed to a Three Way Dance between the Public Enemy, the Gangstas, and the winners of our next match...
PITBULLS [C] (w/Francine) VS. RAVEN/STEVIE RICHARDS [Lumberjack match for the tag titles]: There are only two lumberjacks: 911 and Big Dick Dudley. And there are two referees: Bill Alphonso and Todd Gordon. Match is clipped to Pitbull #1 getting stretched out due to an injured left arm. We clip ahead again to Big Dick Dudley choking out Pitbull #2 with a crutch as Sign Guy Dudley, Dudley Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, and Chubby Dudley (oops, forgot about him) try to attack 911, but they all get chokeslammed. We clip ahead again to Raven putting Pitbull #2 through a table. #2's really juicing from the back of his head. Clip ahead to Raven distracting Todd Gordon while Cactus Jack runs in and hits Pitbull #2 with a Double Arm DDT on a chair. Raven covers, Gordon counts three, new tag champs. (2:36 shown) Too clipped to rate. Alphonso beats up Gordon after the match.
Joey closes out the show as we go to the Public Enemy's entrance for the Three Way Dance. They then get jumped by the Gangstas, and it actually says "to be continued next week."
What's that I hear? Dick Dale's "Misirlou?" Then it must be time for the first ever Pulp Fiction interview segment:
a) Sandman and Woman say that the higher Mikey Whipwreck tries to climb the ladder of success, the harder he'll hit when he falls. Wow, allegories in a Sandman interview!
b) Steve Austin says he'll be the superstar he always knew he could be, because there's no one who can stop him.
c) Joey declares that Konnan's made his ECW debut. Konnan in his Mexican get-up may be even goofier than his current look.
d) Taz relates his experience meeting Lou Thesz, who told him to choke out Jason..
e) Bill Alphonso says he hates ECW, and ECW hates him, and he's not finished with the promotion yet.
f) Todd Gordon says Bill Alphonso may have driven him over the edge.
g) Bill Alphonso rants and raves and then knocks down the ECW banner.
h) Joey shows us Rocco Rock and 2 Cold Scorpio (w/bubble ass) falling off the top of a cage through three tables at Gangstas Paradise.
i) Cactus Jack says that he's found a new joy in life: bad matches. And although Todd Gordon and Paul Heyman may complain, they both know that he's the key to expanding the company. After all, he's the most famous wrestler they have, since he's been on national TV and held the WCW World Tag titles. He deserves to be mentioned alongside such teams as Patterson-Stevens, The Funk Brothers, the original Midnight Express, and the American Males. Too funny.
j) Tommy Dreamer closes out the show by promising to drag the hardcore back out of Cactus Jack.
Epilogue: A killer show that made up for the prior week's lack of wrestling. Think about it: we could see this match at any time right now in WCW, although let's face it, wouldn't you rather see a Ralphus-Norman Smiley skit? Huh? Also a bit of history with this episode, with the tag title change and the first Pulp Fiction segment. Great stuff all around, especially when you compare it to what was happening in the big two at the time.
That does it for this ECW Flashback. I'll be back soon with the results of that 3 Way Dance. Send feedback to bwo@telegram.infi.net, and if there's anything you'd like to see in the future, let me know. Thanks for reading.
Joe Gagne
ECW Flashbacker
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