ECW: Hardcore TV
January 17, 1995

Current Champs:
ECW Champ: Shane Douglas (3/26/94)
TV Champ: Dean Malenko (11/4/94)
Tag Champs: Public Enemy (11/5/94)

The show kicks off with a video of Raven walking around in a snowy neighborhood set to Offspring’s “Come Out And Play.” Then he cuts a promo from a basement, telling Tommy Dreamer to “take heed” to his dark, cliche poetry. 

Intro Video!

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

Jealous former friend storyline here. Mikey starts fast and hits a back body drop. To the floor, Mikey’s chairshot hits, but he charges blind and Jason stunguns him onto the railing. Back in, Lauria scores a snap suplex and a gutbuster. Monkey flip, but Mikey comes back with a bulldog. Lauria hits a low blow to stay in control and applies a Mexican surfboard + reverse facelock. Even he gets applause for that move. Heat segment ensues for a bit. Outside, Lauria misses a charge and goes over the rail. Mikey dives off the top into the first row! OH MY GOD! … Ads … Mikey rolls him up a few times for two-counts. Russian leg sweep gets two. Lauria takes an extreme crotch-job on the ringpost. Mikey’s powerbomb fails and Lauria rolls him up for two. The ref gets distracted and Jason nails Mikey, allowing Lauria to finish off Mikey with a flying bulldog. (11:50 shown) This ain’t over. Mikey jumps on Jason, but Lauria chairshots him for the last laugh. Really solid match and the crowd was into it. ***

Extreme Encyclopedia: This week it’s Bad Breed (Chubbius Rottenus) and Pit Bulls (Meanus Badassus).

…Ads…

Joey walks us through the latest exploits of Chris Benoit.

…Ads…

• Al Snow vs. Osamu Nishimura

From what I can tell, Nishimura was a sporadic performer with ECW. His most notable moment was losing to Dean Malenko in the first round of the NWA Title Tournament in 1994. He’s still active in Japan. Lots of grappling to start. The obligatory interesting takedown by Snow gets two. Nishimura runs into a backbreaker, but Snow’s springboard fails and Nishimura grabs a Figure Four. Reversal sequence ends with a German suplex by Nishimura for two. Snow scores a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Nishimura runs into a nasty spinebuster for two. Nishimura hits a pair of missile dropkicks for two. German suplex gets two. Snow drapes him on the top rope and hits a flying guillotine legdrop for the pinfall. (7:35) Very fun little Japanese-style match, and certainly different from the usual offerings anywhere in the U.S. at the time. **3/4

Here’s the so-cheesy-it’s-tough-to-stomach Public Enemy promo. Too absurd.

…Ads…

• Pitbulls vs. Bad Breed (Losing team breaks up forever!)

Melee from the opening bell and we’re in for the usual garbage brawl. Let’s jump to the finish. Axl sets Pitbull 1 up for a super powerbomb from Ian, but Pitbull 1 hurracanranas him to counter. Axl isn’t paying attention, and Pitbull 1 covers for 1-2-3. Pitbulls win. Bad Breed loses. They’re broken up forever! (8:16) After the match, Ian attacks Axl. DUD

Two out of three matches weren’t bad at all, so I’m pleased, even though many big names are absent from this episode. That’s one of those things about these shows. You never know what you’re gonna get. There’s no particular format. It’s not like watching Raw where you know you’ll get to see A, B, C, and D before the show’s over. And, oh yeah, if you’ve been following along, I thought I was promised a Tully Blanchard vs. Shane Douglas on Hardcore TV a couple weeks back. A quick Wikipedia check reveals I must have heard wrong. That match is slated for the Double Tables supercard on February 4, and a quick PDR Wrestling check reveals Matt reviewed that show already and gave that match one star. I suppose I can go on with peace of mind now.