ECW: Double Tables
February 4, 1995
Philadelphia, PA
ECW Arena

The current ECW Champs were as follows:
ECW World Champion: Shane Douglas (3/26/1994)
ECW World Tag Team Champions: The Public Enemy (11/5/1994)
ECW World TV Champion: Dean Malenko (11/4/1994)

Your host is Joey Styles.

Joey brings out Jason. The man is over the top. He congratulates himself on managing the next ECW tag team champs in the Pitbulls. Out they come. Jason’s outfit is ridiculous, yet his catchphrase is “How do you like my new suit?” Jason feels its only ‘suiting’ that a manager as great as he is could bring in guy this talented from the W*ING promotion in Japan: Jason the Terrible. He wears the hockey mask like the movie character with some ripped up coveralls. Thankfully, he doesn’t carry a machete with him.

• The Pitbulls & Jason the Terrible (w/Jason) vs. The Young Dragons & Hack Meyers
  

When 911 gave the Pitbulls a CHOKESLAM, that single moment lit a fire under the Pitbulls and ever since they have been on an absolute role in ECW. They even split up the Rotten brothers in a match where the losers must disband as a team. Supposedly, just being in the ring with the bloodthirsty Pitbulls caused Ian Rotten to brutally attack his own brother to spark the Rotten brothers feud. Onto the match, the Pitbulls beat the mask off one of the Young Dragons. Come to find out, he’s a white dude! He’s not even Japanese! Meyers comes in and SHAAH punches the Pitbulls, but then he takes a double suplex. More brawling ensues as the Young Dragons do absolutely nothing to help Meyers. Jason the Terrible tags in and headbutts Meyers a bunch to the point he’s busted open. Makes sense considering the hockey mask. The Pitbulls launch Jason the Terrible onto Meyers for the 1-2-3. (8:04) Afterwards, Hack Meyers beats up the Young Dragons. While Jason and the Pitbulls run their mouth at ringside, Meyers chases off the Pitbulls and gets a piece of Jason. Now Angel comes out in a wedding dress and combat boots. She starts slapping Meyers around and then gets a spanking for it. Aww, she likes it. She starts kissing Meyers, but Hack doesn’t really want any mouth herpes. PILEDRIVER to Angel! Only in ECW. ¾*

• Tommy Dreamer vs. Stevie Richards (w/Raven)
  

Something happened between Raven and Dreamer before they came to ECW, but we just don’t know what it is yet. He’s only been in ECW for about a month after leaving the WWF and the very different Johnny Polo character behind. Richards is doing Raven’s dirty work. Not sure why he’s sending a boy to do a man’s job. Enough wrestling, they go to the floor where Richards whips Dreamer into the guardrail and hits him with a chair. Richards steals Dreamer’s “To The Extreme” t-shirt, but Tommy quickly gets it back with a hard clothesline to Richards. Swinging neckbreaker with the shirt! To the floor, Dreamer makes Richards pay with a chair shot of his own. He uses some weapons fans brought with them to the show. Dreamer brings a small pan with him into the ring and hits Richards in the balls. Joey – “Tommy just scrambled a couple eggs with that frying pan!” Nice. Richards fights back with a backdrop, but man his balls are hurting. Dreamer counters a hiptoss with a DDT ala DDP! Superfly Splash by Dreamer, but then Raven hops up on the apron. That brings Dreamer off the cover. Dreamer wants a moonsault, but gets crotched. He elbows Stevie back to the mat and delivers a flying bodypress for 1-2-NO! Reverse neckbreaker gets two. Here comes Raven into the ring. He holds Dreamer for a STEVIE KICK! Now that Richards is in control, Raven heads back to the floor. Stevie goes for another STEVIE KICK, but Dreamer hits the mat and pops Richards in the balls again for the 1-2-3. (7:40) Not a great wrestling man, but entertaining as can be. Richards and the ref hold back Raven until they decide to fight another day. The crowd lets Raven and Richards know they are both “pussies”. Dreamer gets on the mic and tells Raven to go back to the WWF to let them know that they can kiss ECW’s butt. Then Dreamer celebrates with the crowd ala DDP. **

• Mikey Whipwreck vs. Paul Lauria (w/Jason)
  

This is a rematch from last month’s ECW arena show where Lauria beat Whipwreck. They start on the floor where Whipwreck keeps throwing Lauria into the audience and the audience keeps throwing him back to ringside. Lauria tries a baseball slide, but he winds up crotching himself. Ugly headscissors by Lauria. He hits Whipwreck with a tilt-a-whirl into one ends up being a gutwrench suplex. Not sure if that was intended or not. Whipwreck mounts a comeback and pulls Lauria’s tights down during a sunset flip. The dude is an exhibitionist as I’ve only seen two Paul Lauria and both times he moons the crowd. Jason gets up on the apron and he’s knocked down by Lauria thanks to an atomic drop from Whipwreck. Lauria backdrops Whipwreck to the apron. He shoots back in with a slingshot headscissors, but boy do they screw that up. Not that I could probably do better, but I don’t call myself a wrestler either. Lauria runs away from a pescado causing Whipwreck to SPLAT on the concrete. Jason attacks and gives Whipwreck a front suplex onto a ringside table. It doesn’t break the table, only flattens it. Lauria gives him a slam on the table and then jabs a chair into his mouth. OUCH. Whipwreck understandably starts bleeding from the mouth. Back in, Whipwreck grabs an inverted double chicken wing and delivers a butterfly suplex out of it. Cover gets two. Lauria goes low and heads up top only to be crotched himself. IRONY~! Ugly Super Bulldog by Whipwreck gets 1-2-NO! Jason pulls Whipwreck out. MIKEY GETS MAD! He decks Jason and comes back in to give Lauria a piledriver, but Lauria backdrops Whipwreck for the bridge into the backslide for the 1-2-3. (9:18) Lots of botches, no doubt. ¾*

• Axl Rotten vs. Ian Rotten
  

Obviously, Axl has some issues to settle with his brother. They brawl around ringside and into the crowd where Ian becomes a BLOODY mess within two minutes of the match. Axl jabs Ian in the arm with the timekeeper’s hammer to make him bleed from his arm. Ian makes a short comeback with a running dropkick in the corner. He dumps out Axl and dives from the apron, but all he finds is guardrail. He beats Ian back into the ring with a chair and into the corner where Ian draws Axl into the cheap Ric Flair corner pin for the 1-2-3. (6:45) What a mess. As if this wasn’t violent enough, a barbed wire bat match is set for the next show. ½*

• Chris Benoit vs. Al Snow
  

Benoit is just a few months past breaking Sabu’s neck at November 2 Remember and earning the Crippler nickname. Strip away all the gimmicks that made him somewhat famous, this is just Al Snow the wrestler with standard red tights. Snow gets fancy escaping wristlocks to start. They trade advantages on a knucklelock with both men bridging down on the mat. That triggers a rollup sequence which leads to a dragon screw leg whip from Benoit. He’s smarter than you, Al. Snow cartwheels away from a monkey flip and superkicks Benoit down. Benoit elbows out of a hammerlock exchange and chops Snow in the corner. He whips Snow across where he flips out of the corner onto the apron, but Benoit runs him down. Benoit catches Snow with a baseball slide. Once Benoit steps away to pose for the crowd, Snow shoots back in with a springboard dropkick to the back of the head! Snow follows up with kicks and then a big spinning heel kick takes Benoit out of the ring. Back inside, Benoit hangs Snow out to dry. He tries a turnbuckle smash on the apron, but Snow counters and tries a missile dropkick. Benoit swats that away. Nasty bridging German suplex gets 1-2-NO! Benoit continues to slam Snow around. Back suplex gets two, but Snow lands on top of Benoit on the second back suplex for only a one-count. Benoit questions if this is the best the United States have to offer. Swandive Headbutt gets 1-2-NO! Snap Powerbomb gets 1-2-NO! AL SNOW WILL NOT DIE! Benoit delivers a snap suplex and shows off his biceps. Another German suplex gets two and Benoit cannot believe it. Snow fights off the DRAGON SUPLEX and delivers the Wheelbarrow Suplex. Snow flips out of a suplex and drills Benoit with a release German suplex of his own. Snow stomps a mudhole in Benoit down in the corner. Superkick gets two. Half Nelson Overhead Suplex gets 1-2-NO! Enough of this, Benoit finds the DRAGON SUPLEX for the 1-2-3. (14:37) Loved the story here with Al Snow’s valiant come back against Benoit’s vicious onslaught. Just a great match. Afterwards, Benoit leaves his mark with another Snap Powerbomb to cause Al Snow to be stretchered out. That’s the last ECW sees of Al Snow until the summer of 1997. ****

• ECW World Champion Shane Douglas vs. Tully Blanchard
  

Douglas and Blanchard went to a time-limit draw at January’s ECW Arena show and this is the rematch. Tully beats on Douglas to start and hits the SLINGSHOT SUPLEX in the first minute of the match for a nearfall. Piledriver near the ropes where there’s less give gets 1-2-3! The ref doesn’t see Douglas has his leg on the bottom rope until after the three-count. Match continues, but Tully is pissed. Douglas fights back and they head to the floor where Douglas gives Tully a suplex onto the ringside table that now has been set back up obviously. Blanchard gives Douglas a front suplex on the table. Once again, it gives way and doesn’t break. What CHEAP tables. Back inside, they beat up on each other and tumble to the floor. In the ring, Blanchard gets punch drunk and Douglas kicks off the corner to fall on top of Blanchard during a back suplex for 1-2-NO! Back to the floor, Blanchard tosses Douglas to the floor and snaps his neck on the guardrail. An atomic drop sends Douglas face-first into the ringpost. Tully tries to suplex Douglas back in, but he falls on top for the 1-2-3. (9:26) Just a brawl with Tully controlling the whole thing and Douglas getting the win at the last moment. Ric Flair much? *

• The Sandman (w/Woman) vs. Cactus Jack – Texas Death Match
  

What do you do in a Texas Death match when your opponent who is supposed to lose is knocked out on his feet during a match and won’t stay down? Cactus attacks Sandman at the entrance way and beats him in the ring with a chair. Enough chair shots to the skull and a legdrop gets a three-count, but Sandman is almost immediately back up. More chair shots followed by a chair assisted legdrop gets three, but Sandman is up at six. To the floor, Cactus takes a ride into the guardrail and takes that disgusting fall back head first on the guardrail. Sandman takes the fight back into the ring, but Cactus wants it on the floor. Running legdrop misses and Cactus starts limping around. The one time Cactus tries a dropkick and he misses up against the guardrail. Back inside, Sandman slams Jack’s knee on the chair. Woman gives his knee a Singapore Cane shot. Sandman threatens to hit the ref with a chair, but Cactus runs Sandman into the chair. Piledriver on a chair fails as Sandman backdrops Cactus onto the chair instead. Cactus misses an elbow drop, but then DOUBLE ARM DDTs Sandman on the chair. Cover gets two. Sandman delivers a pull up piledriver on the chair for 1-2-NO! WHAT. DDT on the chair does put Cactus down for the three-count. Cactus won’t stay down though and grabs the Singapore Cane away from Woman. He gets in a few good shots with the cane. Chairshot by Cactus and we go back to the floor where Cactus slams the chair down on Sandman from the apron. That doesn’t get the three count. Cactus throws the chair at Sandman and scores the pinfall, but Sandman gets right back up. Sandman is clearly out on his feet, but won’t stay down. Cactus has to hit THREE DDTs to stop Sandman from getting back up to his feet as Cactus picks up the win. (16:10) The only person who could have benefited from Sandman not receiving a concussion in this match is Sandman because the match quality would not have improved. Once you get past the cool Enter Sandman entrance, do you really want to see Sandman work? ½*

• ECW World Tag Team Champions Public Enemy vs. The Tazmaniac & Sabu (w/Paul E. Dangerously & 911) – Double Tables Match
  

Sabu and Grunge brawl on the floor while Taz and Rocco Rock attempt to wrestle in the ring. Grunge gets put in a chair as Sabu suicide dives on top of him. Everybody fights into the crowd where Grunge gets busted open a little bit. Back to the ring, Grunge finds a pan and beats Sabu down. Meanwhile, Taz launches Rocco with an overhead suplex. Air Sabu to Grunge followed by the Arabian Facebuster. Sabu brings a table into the ring, but Grunge tries to set him on it. Taz saves as Sabu finds a chair and sets it up on the top turnbuckle. He comes off for a flying legdrop, but Grunge moves. The table leg gives way, but the table doesn’t break. Taz slams Rocco and takes Sabu over onto Rocco with a TAZZ PLEX. Public Enemy run Sabu and Taz into a table set up in the corner, but it still doesn’t break. Finally, Sabu takes Rocco into the table to BREAK it. Apparently, that doesn’t count. Taz and Grunge both fall through a table to eliminate them both from the match. Now it’s all up to Sabu. Rocco Rock flip dives onto Sabu through a table, but the ref doesn’t see it! Meanwhile, Grunge is choking out Paul E while Sabu slips away from the debris. While that’s going on, Taz places Rocco Rock on a table down on the floor as Sabu legdrops him through the table. Well, the ref *sees* that and calls for the bell as we’ve got NEW ECW world tag team champions. (9:46) The brawl continues after the match is over. Sabu sets a table up in the corner and brings a chair with him while 911 sets Rocco Rock on a table. Benoit runs out and breaks up the party by giving Sabu a SUPER POWERBOMB OFF THE TABLE THROUGH ROCCO ROCK! Insane spot and a GREAT way to end the show as this all leads to another match. As for the match itself, it gets a lot of love from ECW fans, but I don’t think it’s held up all that well. **¼

Final Thoughts: The MVP of this show is clearly Chris Benoit. Together, he and Al Snow put on one of the top matches ever produced in ECW to making a big impact on Sabu and Taz to go for the tag titles and complete the dominance of the Triple Threat. I’ll go ahead and give it my approval as an ECW show, but be ready to fast forward. Mild thumbs up for ECW: Double Tables.