Super Crazy and ???? (Little Guido) vs. Tajiri and ???? (Jerry Lynn)
How can a company turn such a cold 180 degrees in the span of just one match? We go from a lock-on stinker to a continuation of the series of matches that have basically kept me going in the past few months. Tajiri has steadily been shooting to the top of my list of favorite workers recently, thanks in large part to this feud and his myriad of personas. Meanwhile Super Crazy has also been taking big strides up the ladder, through this feud and his memorable series of offensive moves. Something about these two is just special, demanding attention, and I'm quite glad to see their series continuing into 2000. Despite the slight handicap of a tag match and the gimmicky 'mystery partner' stipulation, this could end up rocking several varying degrees of koala machismo. Their last meeting was something of a let-down, partially because of the tremendous amount of hype the match had received. It's a testament to their talent that this rematch has just as much build as the last one, despite a somewhat disappointing result. This is a tough one to pick, but I'm going with my gut and taking Crazy, since Tajiri took their last match clean on TV.
Winner: Super Crazy and mystery partner
New Jack vs. Angel
Goodness.. never let it be said that ECW's perfect while New Jack is still collecting paychecks. He's everything bad about a junk brawler, and goes just above Brian Knobbs in my book. Watch any of his matches and identify more than a handful of moves. Sure, he's "fearless, maniacal, vicious" and all that.. he's also a talentless bastard that gets more air than any garbage wrestler should ever think about. I could really care less who takes this one home, nor how they do it. I'm sure they'll involve a staple gun, silverware or one of those vicious aluminum trash cans that seem so credible, and will take their sweet-ass time doing so. I'll flip a coin to decide this one... and it looks like it's New Jack's lucky day.
Winner: New Jack
The Sandman vs. Rhino
Admittedly, I've never been the biggest fan of Rhino. He's seemed like the punk kid receiving the push of his life about 2 years too early, before his talents have had a chance to really mature. Since the first time I laid eyes upon him though, he's really taken some large steps. I'm beginning to enjoy his character when it gets a chance to develop (more of Paul's work, I'm sure) and his ringwork is getting better every week. He's still plagued with rookie errors (how many times can he smack his head while delivering a spear through the table before he learns?) and hasn't built much of a fan base, but it's a start. I can finally see the potential Joey's been screaming about for months, but I'm not ready to call him a "rookie sensation" quite yet. Meanwhile, the Sandman's back home and over like a monster. Hak no longer, he's back to his old tricks.. smoking, drinking and caning his way back up the ladder. The fans are back by his side, and though he has some backstage issues to iron out, I wouldn't put anything on watching him job here.
Winner: The Sandman
Raven and Tommy Dreamer vs. The Impact Players (Storm & Credible)
Tag Team Title Match
The definite attention-getter of this PPV, Heyman has been pushing this one like there's no tomorrow of late. Honestly though, the heat has been slowly heading downhill for some time with this Raven/ Dreamer angle. It was revolutionary at first, and really shook things up as the two former hated enemies were forced to co-exist, and given time I can see it getting really ugly again. It's not accident that Francine's been taking Raven's side whenever he gets out of control, and before long these two will be at it over yet another woman. For right now, though, it's just stalling. The impact players are a good stable, as one covers up the other's weakness (Lance Storm is a superior worker who lacks mic talent, Credible can talk but has trouble putting together a great match) and the Raven/Dreamer team up is no dog either. I could see the beginning of the end for the unlikeliest of all alliances here, as one team member loses the straps only to be blamed by the other on TNN. Besides that, it's the only way to get things interesting again.
Winners: The Impact Players
Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu
Television Title Match
It's actually been some time since we've seen either man in action on television, which is surprising considering both have been pegged to be the future man to carry the company into the future. I wouldn't be the first to mention Van Dam's needing help to look good, nor will I be the last.. the question is, can Sabu make this one worthwhile? For my dollar, I'd rather have a more rounded worker in there to cancel out Van Dam's spottiness, a detractor that will become much more painfully obvious once Sabu gets in there with him. The 'homicidal, suicidal' Sabu doesn't quite have it all together, at least not well enough to make this one stupendous. As is, this one should entertain.. which is all we can hope for, really. Bill Alfonso's decision should come out here.. but not without some heavy tension being played throughout. I'd expect to see his interference lead to the finish here and though I'd expect Van Dam to drop the belt soon, it won't be here nor to Sabu.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
Mike Awesome vs. Spike Dudley
Heavyweight Title Match
Picking up where the intro left off... where the hell's Masato Tanaka?! Just as it appeared the imminent feud that's been hanging since November would see it's explosive conclusion here, Spike Dudley takes the shot while the former FMW champ sits at home. Awesome and Tanaka had the ideal heavyweight match on TNN a week back, in the evening that saw Judge Jeff Jones's boy take back his belt. Honestly, if we saw a quarter of the exchanges those two put to use in a single heavyweight match anywhere else in America (or Canada, for that matter).. well, stuff would be much, much more interesting. As is, I don't think we have any HHH Roaring elbows or Rocky top rope awesome bombs in the near future. I see something terribly wrong in short changing the third and final rematch between Awesome and Tanaka, but it's not to be. Let's take a look at what we will be seeing.
Spike Dudley's reprising Mikey Whipwreck's 'giant killer' angle of years past, and actually doing a pretty good job of it. Granted, he hasn't taken down anyone to justify a world title shot (mostly the likes of Uganda and Roadkill), but this may be his breakthrough matchup. His moveset seems well enough, though I haven't been privy to more than a few minutes' worth, followed by an acid drop. Given a good showing here, his stock is definitely in line for a raise but I don't think this is the right time nor place to take the strap from the newly recrowned champion. Awesome takes it home with a seated powerbomb through a table.
Winner: Mike Awesome
IN CLOSING
And that should do it for me. Not too bad of a PPV, and one that's sure to be much longer and more involved than the preliminary card we previewed. Things tend to go down at the drop of a hat during an ECW PPV, and it would be a crime not to see Masato Tanaka, Nova or Steve Corino in active competition sometime in the evening. John's already pointed out that he took our last preview's running tally by 2 matches, and I'll be the first to admit I'm not confident whatsoever in my picks for this one (after all, we are 2 "complete idiots"). I understand that leaving the impression that I know what's up is important though, so John.. listen up.
Once I finish tearing you a new asshole this month, I'm gonna get right to work on our next encounter. I'm counting the ways I can dominate you, and I'm running out of digits on my hands and feet. Give me 3 weeks, and I'll give you a collective margin of victory that can only be rivaled by Matt Spence's alcohol intake. And, uh... I'm the game.
How was that for a shitty promo to end the preview? At any rate...
until next time, i remain
drq
drq
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