Extreme Championship Wrestling by Stojy

[Stojy]

ECW Hardcore TV
June 2nd, 2001
Villa Park, Illinois​

The show opens up in a manner somewhat expected from a wrestling program for a change, as the cameras simply pan around the building, showing all of the fans going ape shit with excitement. Bellows of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” can be heard from the excited fans as they continue to cheer loudly, whilst it seems tonight’s commentators, Joey Styles and Joel Gertner are already up in The Bird’s Next. Whilst we continue to get further shots of the ring and its surroundings, the two commentators begin shilling some of the features of tonight’s show.

Joey Styles: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to yet another fantastic edition of ECW Hardcore TV! I’m ‘The Voice of ECW’ Joey Styles and I take care if play by play announcing, whilst my partner Joel Gertner brings some color to the party.

Joel Gertner: I couldn’t have said it better myself, Joey. As always, thanks for the kind introduction and I’m STIFF with excitement to be here tonight considering the main event we have in store.

Joey Styles: The never ending war between The Network and Extreme Championship Wrestling continues to be waged, and that will continue again tonight. In the main event of the evening, two kings from The Network, Steve Corino and Jerry Lawler will team up to face two of the greatest, most loyal men to ever wrestle in ECW, Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam!

Joel Gertner: As you mentioned before, the war just keeps on going on, and one must wonder whether a win for either team could change the direction things are heading as we speak.

Joey Styles: We hate to admit it but The Network, mainly due to the power they have with Cyrus at the helm, are well and truly winning the war, but ECW isn’t dead yet. A win tonight, leading to Lawler losing and leaving could be exactly what we need to get back into the fight and even the ledger. Tonight isn’t just ECW versus The Network, tonight is about a potential turning point in this never ending story.

Joel Gertner: And one can’t forget the hatred between Jerry Lawler and Tommy Dreamer. They met a few weeks back, four years in the making and thanks to CW Anderson, Lawler picked up the win and evened their score at one a piece.

Joey Styles: One must wonder whether tonight’s tag match could be the final fall between these two men. How sweet it would be for Tommy Dreamer to beat Lawler tonight and exile him from ECW forever… We’ll get to the main event later on tonight, but we’re changing things up tonight, as we’re going to kick of the show with some PULP FICTION~!

Pretty much as expected now for PULP FICTION~!, “Miserlou” by Dick Dale comes over the arena speakers, which of course gets some heat from the diehard ECW fans who hate the song. Despite the heat for the song, if anything the volume only gets louder (thanks Cyrus), as the first wrestler we see is a sweaty, tired, frustrated looking Lance Storm. It’s clear that this segment was taped at the end of last week’s show, as Lance is wearing the same wrestling tights he did last week, as he shakes his head in annoyance.

Lance Storm: I’ve made it clear since I’ve come back that I’m not aligning with anybody, but people still had some questions considering I was teaming with Justin Credible tonight. I will set everything straight one last time; I’m not with The Network.

I’m pretty sure everybody will believe him after he just took Credible’s head off during their tag team title shot. Still, despite that surely satisfying moment, Storm looks less than impressed.

Lance Storm: I’m a lone ranger; I’m here on a question to win as much gold as I can. That means that I’m not with Justin Credible!

He actually shows a slight snarl at the mention of Credible, clearly having had more than enough of his former tag partner.

Lance Storm: I’ve seen dysfunctional champions who don’t actually like each other in the past become good teams, and I thought maybe The Impact Players could become those types of champions, but we can’t. No promise of tag team titles can change the fact that I hate The Network and Justin Credible.

The Canadian almost looks a little annoyed at himself for almost having a lapse of judgement.

Lance Storm: I refuse to be swayed though and I will stay on my own journey, and I’ll stay true to the goals I set before I came back. I didn’t come back to ECW to rekindle the past.

Storm shakes his head with his words, further emphasizing his point.

Lance Storm: Like I’ve said numerous times now, I came back for gold.

After wiping a bead of sweat from his eyebrows, Lance motions for a title to be positioned around his waist.

Lance Storm: At other places, I’ve proven that I’m the best of the best because that’s what you need to be to win championship gold. I now want to prove that I’m the best in ECW, I… Want… Rhino!!!

Holy shit! A big time call out from Lance Storm who then continues to head towards the showers, still sweating buckets after his match…

…

The next segment and the rest for this episode of Pulp Fiction are all taking place in present time. Firstly, we see the leader of The Network Cyrus sitting behind his desk, stacking some paper work, before he looks into the camera, pretending that he only just noticed it was there.

Cyrus: Once upon a time, way back when, Kid Kash somehow defeated my Rhino to become the ECW Television Champion! Forgetting the fact that Rhino won the title straight back, on a whole, Kid Kash got lucky. Kid Kash got lucky once…

Cyrus holds up one finger, shaking his head with a wry smile on his face.

Cyrus: But as far as I’m concerned, one fluke win over a distracted champion doesn’t earn you a title shot. He’s not getting any title shot unless he can get past Justin Credible in a one on one match next week!!!

Credible/Kash have never really had a proper end to their rivalry, so Cyrus has just made a BLOCKBUSTER match for next week’s show. The leader of The Network has said all he wanted to, now going back to stacking papers…

…

Next up, we’re in a dark room with one eerie spotlight shining on a hooded man, until the man looks up to the skies, removing his hood to reveal Christopher Daniels. ‘The Fallen Angel’ looks to be in somewhat of a trance as he continues to look at the heavens whilst speaking.

Christopher Daniels: I’ve been sent on a mission from the powers that be, and I am well and truly on my way to achieving that mission. All in my path shall perish.

With a real menacing look on his face, Daniels finally shoots his gaze in the direction of the camera.

Christopher Daniels: This isn’t a threat, this isn’t a promise, as a matter of fact, this isn’t even a guarantee!

Daniels puts his hood back over his head now.

Christopher Daniels: THIS… MY FRIENDS… IS GOSPEL!!!

Suddenly, the one light shining in the room goes off, and we are left in pure darkness…

…

Before we cut to a random alley way, in a warm night in Illinois, where Angel and Tony DeVito, Da Baldies are standing. As usual, their arms are crossed and they wear dirty looks on their faces, doing their best to look as mean as possible.

Angel: Later on tonight we leave our streets for a few moments to take on Christian York and Joey Matthews. We’re taking out those pretty boys tonight.

Both men remain in their “thug” stance, as DeVito now takes over.

Tony DeVito: We’re going to make what we did last week to Hot Commodity look like a walk in the park. We’re going to take York and Matthews out worse than we did those queers last week.

DeVito seems pretty happy with his speech, allowing Angel to finish off.

Angel: We’ve been disrespected and underutilized for far too long. It’s about time people remembered DA KINGS OF DA STREET!!!

The two continue to lean against the brick wall, mean mugging the camera, upholding their image, until we cut away…

…

Much like his behavior for the past few weeks, next we see the ECW Television Champion Jerry Lynn sitting down in the floor of a room, in complete solitude. He’s cradling his TV Title close to his chest, rocking back and forth ever so slightly, with a wide eyed, unhinged look on his face.

Jerry Lynn: One in a million, on every other night I would have beaten Kid Kash. Last week was a fluke… Last week was a fluke… … Last week was a fluke!

Lynn uses both hands to wipe his eyes, looking as if he hasn’t slept all week.

Jerry Lynn: I can hear the whispers and I can feel something building, I’m not stupid. I know that everybody’s out to get me…

The TV Champ pauses and his eyes dart from side to side, paranoia running wild, as it almost looks like he’s expecting somebody to jump out of him. Suddenly, he gets a malicious look on his face.

Jerry Lynn: To prevent being taken down from within, I’m going to get everybody first!

With that, the champion puts his head back down and continues to rock back and forth, squeezing the title so tightly to his chest that he’s leaving the plate mark over his chest…

…

In a random hallway in a backstage area, we initially see a steel chair with the name “CHRISTOPHER DANIELS” spray painted on it, dragging across a wall, making an incredible amount of noise. The camera then pans out to see a pissed off Balls Mahoney staring into the camera.

Balls Mahoney: When Christopher Daniels deliberately targeted the neck of Spike Dudley, this punk put my friend on the shelf!

Sending a message of sorts, Balls now cocks his chair like a baseball player.

Balls Mahoney: Karma is a bitch, Daniels! And what goes around comes around!

In a show of aggression and fury, MAHONEY SLAMS HIS STEEL CHAIR AGAINST THE WALL, CREATING A VERY LOUD DISTURBANCE!!!

Balls Mahoney: Tonight, it’s payback time. I’m going after that stack of dimes Chrissy Daniels calls a neck tonight!

Balls then turns from the camera and continues to walk down the hallway with his chair, clearly pumped up for his match tonight against Christopher Daniels…

…

The final segment of PULP FICTION~! tonight sees arguably the most hated man in ECW, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler standing out the front of the arena. Lawler has a scowl on his face, as he adjusts his crown before beginning.

Jerry Lawler: As much as I would rather be in any other wrestling company in the world, I’ve come back to this shithole to help out my disciple.

Lawler smashes his fist into his palm a couple of times, signaling that there will be violence tonight.

Jerry Lawler: I’m here tonight to help out Steve Corino, the young king in waiting!

He smirks at the mention of ‘The King Of Old School’, clearly a fan of the guy.

Jerry Lawler: I’m here to help him tonight because I’m a firm believer in his cause. I’m happy to help as he tries to eliminate the scum from ECW.

‘The King’ screws up his face now, shuddering at the thought of the scum.

Jerry Lawler: And I can respect that, because I’ve been there. He’s trying to make things better, just like any good ruler would do with their kingdom.

He pauses for a moment, adjusting his crown before continuing.

Jerry Lawler: Let me make it clear as to what the next steps of the purge of ECW are. Firstly, I’m going to burn Tommy Dreamer’s face again!

The look of pure excitement at the thought of such violence is quite a scary one from Lawler.

Jerry Lawler: Once Tommy Dreamer is out of the picture, next up is Van Dam!

He actually looks a little disappointed when mentioning RVD, shaking his head ever so slightly.

Jerry Lawler: I remember Rob from our association four years ago, and I remember thinking he had it all. I thought RVD knew better…

Jerry pauses yet again, shaking his head a little more this time.

Jerry Lawler: There is only one logical explanation as to what has happened to RVD since I knew him. Someone got into his head in the last four years and made him stupid.

No evil cackle or anything from him tonight, as he remains deadly serious.

Jerry Lawler: Now in a sad, sad waste of talent, he’s one of these degenerates too…

For the second time tonight, Jerry begins smashing his balled up fist into the palm of his other hand.

Jerry Lawler: So just like the other degenerates, he’s got to go!

Before he can say anything else, he looks to the side with a smile as Steve Corino, Dawn Marie and Jack Victory all trot into the screenshot, seemingly in happy moods. Corino and Lawler share a cheesy high five, clearly thinking they are cool.

Steve Corino: We’re all ready to go, and just like you’ve said in the past, it’s good to be the king!

Corino smirks as Victory THROWS UP THE V, meanwhile Lawler is ogling Dawn Marie’s breasts in her extremely low cut top.

Jack Victory: HIGH SPOT!!!

Lawler doesn’t move his eyes from Dawn’s voluptuous bust.

Jerry Lawler: I’ll tell you what; you can say that again…

Victory shrugs.

Jack Victory: HIGH SPOT!!!

With that, the quartet all turn and walk inside of the arena, all on the same page and ready for action in tonight’s main event…

…

Once the fun promo based segment is completed, it’s almost as if the show resets itself. For the first time in over a month, “Elevation” by U2 rocks through the speakers, as the official ECW Hardcore TV opening video plays. This allows more time for the cameras to scan the building, showing all of the excited ECW fans, who of course, sensing the moment, break out into another passionate “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant.

After a few more moments of letting the show sink in, it’s time for our first match of the evening. “Electric Molecular” by Chemlab hits and gets a pretty nice ovation as the always ready to fight tandem of Christian York and Joey Matthews head towards the ring. Walking to the ring with a purpose, both men acknowledge the fan support with sincerity, as the commentators put over how hard these two continue to work to climb the ladder here in ECW. Once they are inside of the ring, “False Salvation” by All Out War gets some heat but nothing crazy as Da Baldies strut out from the back. Angel and Tony DeVito both mean mug like they did during Pulp Fiction, whilst pointing at their opponents and threatening them before they even get into the ring. As Da Baldies get inside of the ring, the referee gets in between both teams, ensuring the action won’t start until the bell is rung.

Match One
Christian York and Joey Matthews vs. Da Baldies

I don’t have a lot to say for this one really, because as much as Da Baldies have some received some screen time over the past few weeks, they still suck. More than anything, this match is a showcase match for the duo of York and Matthews, as they show what they can do with some impressive team work. More importantly than that, they also show that they can actually win a match. They dominate most of the match before isolating Angel, AND CHRISTIAN YORK TAKES ANGEL FROM THE TOP ROPE WITH A HUGE FRANKENSTEINER!!!

Whilst the fans chant “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” for the incredible show of athleticism, Joey Matthews begins scaling the top rope himself. With Angel not even looking like moving, JOEY LEAPS OFF THE TOP ROPE AND CRUSHES THE CHEST OF ANGEL WITH A FLYING ELBOW DROP!!!

JOEY MAKES THE COVER…1…2…3!!!

Winners – Christian York and Joey Matthews @ 4:18

After the rather academic victory, York and Matthews get their hands raised by the referee, before they head to different corners of the ring, posting to the appreciative fans.

Despite being happy with their victory, they realize they have bigger fish to fry, and keep their celebration pretty short.

Once York and Matthews have made it to the back, we focus on inside of the ring, where Da Baldies have both recovered, frustration and embarrassment written over both their faces.

They don’t get to lick their wounds for long though as HOT COMMODITY SPRINT DOWN FROM THE BACK AND SLIDE INTO THE RING!!!

CHRIS HAMRICK… EZ MONEY… AND JULIO DINERO ALL START SWINGING AT DA BALDIES… AND THE BRAWL IS ON!!!

Even with the numbers disadvantage, the street fighter Baldies hold their own, as neither team is willing to back down.

Punches and kicks are thrown and due to both acts being the drizzling shits, there is virtually no reaction from the crowd. This may be the worst brawl in the history of professional wrestling.

Still, the teams continue to go at it… UNTIL A TONNE OF SECURITY COME OUT AND THEY PULL THE TWO TEAMS APART!!!

Again, there is not much reaction from the fans, as the two teams continue to try and get at each other but are unable to do so. We are ready to cut to commercial break in absolute chaos, with the feud between these two groups surely not over…

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

Yeah, commercials are over so let’s get another video package up and running…

***

ECW Heatwave
July 15th On PPV
From Dayton, Ohio

***​

No messing about here tonight so as soon as the PPV hype video has finished, it’s time for our next match. “Big Balls” by Boner is the first theme song to be heard, and it gets a VERY ROWDY reception, with plenty of cheers for Balls Mahoney. As per usual, Mahoney is accompanied by his trusty steel chair, which has the name “CHRISSY DANIELS” spray painted on it. Whilst inside of the ring, Mahoney nods his head along with the fans chants of “BALLS”, “BALLS”, “BALLS”, as he awaits his opponent. “Wings Of A Fallen Angel” by Dale Oliver interrupts the chants and are greeted with MASSIVE heat, as the stoic, hooded Christopher Daniels power walks towards the ring. There is no wasted motion from ‘The Fallen Angel’ tonight, as he gets straight into the ring, before throwing off his hood and preparing for battle.

Match Two
Balls Mahoney vs. Christopher Daniels

One thing to mention right off the bat is that for this contest, the man in charge is The Network’s head referee, Danny Daniels. Anyway, the match begins and in the early stages, Daniels looks truly overmatched by the fired up Mahoney. Obviously not in a technical sense but Daniels never gets the chance to use any of his ability. Instead, hunting for retribution for his friend Spike Dudley, Mahoney goes on a rampage, beating Daniels from pillar to post without ever putting him away. A few times Daniels looked likely to comeback, when the referee of the same name stopped Mahoney from landing a closed fist punches as a distraction. Despite this though, Balls continued to dominate until he hopped outside of the ring and grabbed his trusty steel chair. With the fans chanting “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, Mahoney stands over Daniels, and as Chris gets up… BALLS RAISES THE CHAIRE ABOVE HIS HEAD… BUT THE REFEREE GRABS THE CHAIR… AND THE MOMENTARY DISTRACTION ALLOWS CHRISTOPHER DANIELS TO KICK MAHONEY RIGHT IN THE DICK!!!

Simply put, that moment in the contest was a game changer. As Mahoney remained down, clutching at his groin area, Daniels was able to recover and begin to use his wrestling ability to beat the living hell out of Balls. ‘The Fallen Angel’ sadistically focused on the neck of Mahoney, similar to what he did to Spike Dudley just over a month ago. Much like with Spike, Daniels’ neck work seems to have a long lasting effect, as even when Balls manages to get a moment of space, he chooses to grab at his neck. Showing the tremendous heart that has won over the fans though, Mahoney, bad neck and all, manages to make one last come back. BALLS GETS DANIELS IN POSITION FOR THE NUTCRACKER SUITE… BUT DANIELS SLIDES OUT AND LANDS BEHIND MAHONEY!!!

Before Balls can react, Daniels uses his quickness to RAKE BOTH OF MAHONEY’S EYES AT THE SAME TIME!!! Daniels lets go and Mahoney is in agony as he staggers around the ring… SO DANIELS GETS A QUICK SCHOOL BOY COVER… HOLDING ONTO THE MIDDLE ROPE FOR EXTRA LEVERAGE…1…2…3!!!

Winner – Christopher Daniels @ 9:39

The fans immediately ark up, unhappy with the result of the match, especially considering the biased referee Danny Daniels got involved quite a few times. Both Daniels’ get out of dodge pretty quickly, and half way up the ramp, they stop so ‘The Fallen Angel’ can have his hand raised in victory.

Balls is furious inside of the ring, shaking his head at being screwed out of the match up. He still clutches at his neck a little to, which makes Christopher Daniels smile before heading through the curtain, victorious in singles action yet again.

Meanwhile, inside of the ring, Mahoney is still storming around, clearly frustrated with how he lost as we cut away…

…

We head to what looks like a VIP locker room, filled with champagne and two long, black leather couches, and sitting on one of them, feet up and eating a strawberry is none other than Justin Credible. Despite the classy environment he is in, Credible still rocks a sleeveless top and his jean shorts, and even more so, he still looks as arrogant as ever.

Justin Credible: I decided to stay away from the arena tonight because I decided that I needed a break after being in such high demand. Everybody wants a piece of the hottest man in professional wrestling right now.

Credible pauses to take a sip of his champagne, washing down the strawberry. He makes sure to have his pinkie raised when he sips on his drink also.

Justin Credible: I mean as much as I make it look glamorous, it’s tough being me. Firstly, The Network wants me to do this and that…

He playfully rolls his eyes, not really minding The Network orientated obligations.

Justin Credible: Okay, okay, as you can see by looking around me, being the star member of The Network has its perks, but I still do have a lot of stressful things to deal with. Rhino wants me in a title match so he can finally say he faced off against the greatest ECW Champion of all time.

JC pauses, letting those words sink in.

Justin Credible: My former friend or better yet, my former lackey Lance Storm tried to use me to get his name back on the map in a real wrestling company.

Even though he’s mainly putting himself over, Credible clearly enjoyed his WCW dig as he smile is especially big as he says it.

Justin Credible: And there’s two other leeches as well, Kid Kash and Jerry Lynn KEEP trying to use me to make themselves relevant.

He pretends to take a deep breath and wipe sweat off his forehead, demonstrating how hard his life really is.

Justin Credible: I’ve already beaten Jerry Lynn and put him in his place countless times, so now I’m going to put this Kid Kash shit to rest once and for all next week.

For the first time tonight, Justin looks a little serious and annoyed.

Justin Credible: Kash, you must have some serious lucky charms stashed away somewhere, because you’ve got lucky a few times…

He still doesn’t look happy discussing Kid Kash.

Justin Credible: But that’s all it was, luck, that’s it!

Getting a bit too angry, Credible takes a few breaths and regains his composure, once again smirking.

Justin Credible: But luck runs out, and order will be restored. I’m on my way back up where I belong…

He puts his thumbs up to signal where he is going, before putting his thumb down.

Justin Credible: And I’ll say goodbye to Kid Kash, who is on his way down, where he belongs.

Credible pauses one last time, before continuing.

Justin Credible: If you don’t believe me, tune in, because I’ll make it REAL clear next week.

Suddenly, Credible gets off of the couch, only to walk over and pour another glass of champagne. He takes another sip and makes an over exaggerated noise representing his satisfaction of the drink, living the lavish life.

Justin Credible: That’s not just the coolest, that’s not just the best, that’s just incredible!!!

Credible continues to enjoy his surroundings, taking further sips of his champagne as we cut to our final commercial break of the evening.

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

We’re back at ringside as it’s time for our main event of the evening. “Great Gates Of Kiev” plays to an ENORMOUSLY BAD reaction, as the ECW fans FUCKING ERUPT with heat as Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler steps out from the back. With his crown on his head, Lawler pretends to carry himself with class, only to then begin insulting fans and threatening to hit them. The only thing is, this isn’t the WWF and some of the ECW fans threaten to hit back. Lawler gets pelted with garbage once he steps inside of the ring as well, which he is none too pleased with, but further confirms that he is public enemy number one. “The Old School Style” by Boner signals the arrival of Lawler’s partner and the other ‘king’ in ECW, Steve Corino. ‘The King Of Old School’ still gets a lot of heat but not quite as much as Lawler, and as always is accompanied by the scantily clad Dawn Marie and the loyal Jack Victory. The trio join Lawler in the ring and are all smiles ahead of their big match tonight. “Walk” by Kilgore finally gets the crowd up and about, as BY FAR THE LOUDEST ovation of the night goes to the man on a hunt for retribution, Rob Van Dam. The time for jerking around and having fun is over, as the ever serious RVD gets to the ring rather quickly, slapping hands with a few fans, but refusing to do the thumb taunts at the same time as the ring announcer says his name. Showing no fear, Van Dam gets straight into the ring, severely outnumbered and there are chants of “RVD”,”RVD”, “RVD” from the fans. “Man In The Box” by Alice In Chains gets another fairly big pop as RVD’s partner is another ECW favorite, Tommy Dreamer. Much like Van Dam, Tommy looks extremely determined to succeed tonight and get some revenge on The Network after a tough few weeks. Dreamer gets into the ring and shares a fist bump with Van Dam, before they completely zone in on their opponents.

Match Three
Jerry Lawler and Steve Corino w/Dawn Marie and Jack Victory vs. Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer

I think it’s safe to say that nobody ever considered that this match was going to be a technical classic. At times, RVD and Steve Corino have some quality exchanges, revisiting their feud from a few months ago, but for the most part, this match was absolutely out of control. With Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lawler on opposing teams, it was never going to be any other way. Right from the get go there were no tags and no fancy double team moves, it was straight Dreamer and Lawler beating the hell out of each other, inside the ring, outside the ring and even through the crowd.

Eventually all four men involved in the match ended up back in the ring, when Dawn Marie got onto the apron to distract the referee, and this allowed JACK VICTORY TO SNEAK IN AND BATTER DREAMER ACROSS THE BACK WITH A STEEL CHAIR!!! As always, thanks to the awesome chair shot, we get a massive “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant as the fans show their appreciation. This was the turning point in the match though as from here the team of kings, Lawler and Corino, have their way with Dreamer, isolating him and dominating the match. Unfortunately for The Network backed team, they are unable to put Dreamer away, and eventually he is able to make the hot tag to RVD. Once ‘The Whole Fucking Show’ gets into the ring and begins dominating with his educated feet, all hell breaks loose again as the heels try and gang up on him and refuse to remain on the apron.

Once Dreamer recovers and the numbers are even, Van Dam dominates Lawler, whilst Tommy and Corino begin to brawl on the outside of the ring. Back inside of the ring, RVD manages to drop Lawler with a Step Over Spinning Heel Kick, before heading up to the top rope. With the fans chanting “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD”, VAN DAM LEAPS OFF OF THE TOP ROPE AND CONNECTS WITH THE FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH ON LAWLER!!!

Van Dam rolls around on the canvas, clutching at his mid-section… BEFORE MAKING THE COVER…

THE REFEREE LOOKS TO SPRINT INTO POSITION TO MAKE THE ACADEMIC COUNT…

ONLY TO BE DROPPED WITH AN OLD SCHOOL KICK FROM STEVE CORINO!!!

With the referee unconscious and the fans chanting “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA, Corino smirks realizing that he just prevented the end of Lawler’s reign in ECW. Meanwhile, with the referee out of commission for good, it’s safe to say this match will be ruled a…

No Contest @ 16:45

RVD gets up, immediately realizing what is happening, and he is frustrated, AND RVD AND CORINO START TO THROW HANDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING!!!

Neither man takes a backwards step initially, until Van Dam lands a few forearms in a row, gaining an advantage… UNTIL HE GETS CLOBBERED FROM BEHIND BY JACK VICTORY!!!

From here, it’s a two on one mugging as Corino and Victory go to work on RVD. They don’t land anything major, but they stomp the hell out of RVD, keeping him from being able to get back to his feet.

Suddenly, BILL ALFONSO MAKES HIS RETURN, running through the curtain and sliding into the ring. “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants erupt as Corino and Victory haven’t realized… SO ALFONSO HITS VICTORY FROM BEHIND WITH A LOW BLOW!!!

As Victory bends down, holding onto his groin… ALFONSO DROPS HIM WITH A SLOPPY LOOKING DDT!!!

Alfonso pumps his fist in the air, happy to get some retribution on The Network, who are the reason he hasn’t been around recently. Corino finally notices that Victory is down, and looks to turn his attention towards Fonzie, but RVD begins to fight back. RVD fights back as Fonzie yells “GET HIM, GET HIM”, until RVD GETS ATTACKED FROM BEHIND AGAIN…

THIS TIME BY CW ANDERSON!!!

Again, with RVD outnumbered, Anderson begins going to work, mounting him and HAMMERING AWAY WITH BRUTAL LEFT HANDS, UNTIL TOMMY DREAMER SMASHES A STEEL CHAIR ACROSS THE BACK OF CW ANDERSON!!!

Seeing Dreamer with the chair, Corino goes into self-preservation mode and slides out of the ring, as the fans mark out for the violence. “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” echoes throughout the building as with Anderson down now, Tommy sets CW’s arm up in the steel chair…

Tommy heads to the top rope… READY TO LEAP OFF AND BREAK THE ARM OF CW ANDERSON… WHEN JERRY LAWLER GETS ONTO THE APRON AND PUSHES TOMMY OFF OF THE TOP ROPE!!!

AND DREAMER GOES CRASHING THROUGH THE TIME KEEPER’S TABLE!!!

The “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants get louder as Tommy isn’t moving, he may be dead. Lawler steps back into the ring with a smug look on his face, enjoying the heat he is now getting from the fans. However Lawler turns around… INTO A STEEL CHAIR FLYING AT HIM… LAWLER CATCHES IT… RVD NAILS LAWLER WITH THE VAN DAMINATOR!!!

CW Anderson and Corino are with Victory and Dawn Marie, all four trying to regain their wits on the outside, and RVD sees them and shrugs… BEFORE SPRINTING ACROSS THE RING AND LEAPING OVER THE TOP ROPE… TAKING OUT ALL FOUR OF THEM WITH A PLANCHA!!!

With everybody seemingly down and out now, an “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD” chant breaks out, as he slowly uses the crowd barricade to get to his feet. It seems like it will be a triumphant night for RVD, as he FINALLY performs his thumb taunt…

BUT HE GETS ATTACKED FROM BEHIND FOR THE THIRD TIME TONIGHT…

THIS TIME… BY RHINO!!!

The audience almost gasp in shock knowing that being attacked by Rhino is no joke, and RVD could be in some serious trouble. With RVD down on his stomach, RHINO GRABS HIS ECW TITLE AND USES IT AS A WHIP… SMASHING IT ACROSS THE BACK OF VAN DAM FIVE TIMES!!!

Van Dam is left with brutal red marks on his back, as another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant can be heard. Meanwhile, Rhino, salivating at the mouth, as intense as ever, heads underneath the apron AND PULLS OUT A TABLE!!!

He sets up the table on the floor, before dragging RVD up by the hair, and he takes Van Dam onto the apron. RHINO GETS RVD IN POSITION FOR THE APRON PILEDRIVER…

When “RHINO… OVER HERE… IT’S PAYBACK TIME FOR WHAT YOU DID TO LORI, BITCH”!!!

THE SANDMAN HAS MADE HIS WAY THROUGH THE CROWD AND IS IN THE RING!!!

The fans begin buzzing for yet another brawl to begin, and Rhino relinquishes the chance to take out RVD, and heads into the ring to fight The Sandman. Rhino charges at Sandman, but Sandman moves out of the way of a potential Gore… AND IMMEDIATELY NAILS RHINO ACROSS THE HEAD WITH THE SINGAPORE CANE!!!

The champion staggers but doesn’t go down… SO SANDMAN KEEPS SWINGING WILDLY WITH THE SINGAPORE CANE… LANDING TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN SHOTS UNTIL HIS SINGAPORE CANE IS SEVERELY BENT OUT OF SHAPE!!!

Those “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants are showing no signs of slowing down, and INCREDIBLY, Rhino is still on his feet…

BUT HE STAGGERS STRAIGHT INTO A SUPERKICK…

BY LANCE STORM!!!

The fans further mark out for the appearance of the Canadian, who has made it clear that he wants a shot at the ECW Championship at some point in time. Sensing Rhino is in trouble, CW ANDERSON LEAPS ONTO THE APRON... ONLY TO BE DROPPED BY A SINGAPORE CANE SHOT FROM THE SANDMAN!!!

STEVE CORINO JUMPS ONTO THE APRON ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RING… STORM DROPS HIM WITH A SUPERKICK!!!

WHILST THE SANDMAN GOES WILD AGAIN WITH SINGAPORE CANE SHOTS ON THE PRONE BOYD OF RHINO, LANDING ANOTHER SIX SHOTS, ONE FOR EACH WORD AS HE YELLS

“THIS IS FOR LORI MOTHER FUCKER”!!!

Due to his arms burning from lactic acid, The Sandman finally stops, barely able to lift his arms, as Rhino looks to be in strife. Meanwhile, CW and Corino have reconvened on the outside, thinking of what’s next… SO STORM SPRINTS ACROSS THE RING AND TAKES THEM OUT LIKE RVD DID EARLIER… WITH A PLANCHA!!!

Speaking of RVD, he’s back in the ring now, steel chair in hand, as he shares some words with Sandman, whilst Rhino remains down. Suddenly, The Sandman drags Rhino to the corner in a seated position, before grabbing the steel chair from Van Dam.

The Sandman wedges the steel chair in the ropes in front of Rhino’s face, as Van Dam begins scaling the top rope on the opposite side of the ring.

The arena is at a fever pitch, as Van Dam points his thumbs to his shoulders… “ROB…VAN…DAM”, BEFORE LEAPING ACROSS THE RING… AND RVD SENDS THE STEEL CHAIR CRASHING INTO THE FACE OF RHINO WITH THE VAN TERMINATOR!!!

On this night, the numbers advantage has failed The Network, with Credible nowhere to be seen and Jerry Lynn not involved. “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD” chants ring out now, as Rhino looks well and truly conquered thanks to the handiwork of three men, The Sandman, RVD and Lance Storm.

Storm remains on the outside whilst The Sandman and RVD stare down the out of it Rhino as the show fades to black…

END OF SHOW

***

Current Card for ECW Heatwave
July 15th, 2001
Dayton, Ohio

ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Rhino (c) defends against Justin Credible​

 

[Stojy]

ECW Hardcore TV
June 9th, 2001
Mobile, Alabama​

As usual with ECW, we never open up in a normal fashion, as this week we are straight into the backstage area, where standing in front of the standard ECW ‘interview set’ is Joey Styles and Joel Gertner. Both men are suited up, smiles on their faces, microphones in their hands, as “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants can be heard from inside the arena. Once they finally begin to die down, it’s time to receive an official welcome to the show.

Joey Styles: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Extreme Championship Wrestling’s Hardcore TV! I’m ‘The Voice Of ECW’, Joey Styles and standing next to me as always is Joel Gertner.

Joel Gertner: Thanks Joey. Happy to be here as always and after the chaotic ending to last week’s show, I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen tonight.

Joey Styles: Last week we had a huge tag team match be our main event as Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler and Steve Corino from The Network teamed up to face two of ECW’s all time favorites, Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer. Lawler has openly said that he would leave ECW if he lost, and he looked ready to lose after RVD nailed the Five Star Frog Splash, only for Corino to take out the referee. This ended the match in a no contest and I for one can’t help but be a little upset by the fact that we got so close to getting rid of Lawler, but ultimately failed.

Joel Gertner: The only man I could think of who might be shockingly happy that Lawler is still around is Tommy Dreamer, as I have to believe he wants to be the man to rid ECW of Lawler, just like he did four years ago. After the No Contest was ruled last week, that’s when things really heated up. The Network sent down CW Anderson and Rhino to do some damage, but for once the numbers weren’t on The Network’s side, as The Sandman, Lance Storm and a recovered RVD beat up everybody and left Rhino for dead in the center of the ring!

Joey Styles: I can’t remember a time when our ECW Champion was decimated like that. He received Singapore Cane Shots, a Superkick and a Van Terminator! One has to think that Rhino will be out for some sort of revenge tonight!

Joel Gertner: Speaking of revenge, we all know that our next pay per view Heatwave is going to be headlined by an all Network match, as Rhino defends the ECW Championship against that turncoat Justin Credible. We also know that RVD wants in that ECW Title match at Heatwave.

Joey Styles: He does want in, he’s made it very clear he wants in; however thanks to Cyrus and The Network, he’s being shut out!

Joel Gertner: And conveniently, and perhaps as a distraction for Van Dam, we can now announce the second match that has been signed for Heatwave.

Joey Styles: It will bring the never ending war between The Network and the diehard ECW wrestlers to the spotlight again as Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman will team up to take on The Network’s Jerry Lawler, Steve Corino and CW Anderson in a six man tag team match!!!

Joel Gertner: I’m sure that’s not the match RVD necessarily wants, but I know he’ll still give it his all, and maybe Heatwave will be the night we finally get rid of Lawler. With that match in mind, two of the competitors will do battle in tonight’s main event as ‘The King Of Old School’ Steve Corino will go one on one with Tommy Dreamer!!!

Joey Styles: Tommy took a pretty brutal fall through a table last week, let’s hope he’s at one hundred percent, he’ll need to be against Corino. Tonight we’ve got another big time match as Kid Kash and Justin Credible will finally put an end to their hostilities. The match was booked last week with the stipulation that if Kid Kash wins…

Finally, there’s a slight pause as Joey is building the anticipation.

Joey Styles: He will get an ECW Television Championship match against Jerry Lynn at Heatwave. If there is ever a time to want to face Lynn, it’s now when he’s paranoid, all out of confidence and seemingly all out of luck. That’s enough about Heatwave because we’re going to head to ringside where we are about to see some extreme tag team action!

After that LONG opening from the two commentators, Joey and Joel sign off, because it’s time for the in ring portion of the show to start…

…

We’re at ringside for the first time tonight where “Electric Molecular” by Chemlab hits and as usual, the duo of Christian York and Joey Matthews get a nice, positive ovation from the ECW fans. Coming off a win last week, the two seem to be supremely confident and full of smiles, as they slap hands with the fans on their way down to the ring. As they get into the ring, the smiles disappear though, and they prepare for their opponents. “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys hits over the pa system and there is a fair amount of heat for the loud mouthed trio known as The Full Blooded Italians. Their leader, Little Guido, Sal E. Graziano and Tony Mamaluke whipped the fans into a frenzy on the way down the ramp, hurling insults and hand gestures at all of them (of course the ECW fans more than return serve). Once they get close to the ring, the Italians begin telling York and Matthews that they are going to pay for getting involved in their business last week, but the youngsters refuse to be intimidated, motioning for them to bring it on.

Match One
Christian York and Joey Matthews vs. Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke w/Sal E. Graziano

Despite the fact that they haven’t been in a really high level program for a while, it’s worth noting that The FBI can still go, and they prove that here. Sensing that this is potentially a chance for them to move back up in terms of title contention, The FBI use their experience and numbers advantage to quite frankly, dominate York and Matthews in the early stages of the contest. Unfortunately for The FBI, York and Matthews are no longer the innocent, inexperienced kids they were a year ago, and they refuse to stay down, before making a fiery comeback and taking control of the match.

York and Matthews can’t quite put The FBI either away, and this time, at the behest of Guido, the Italians try to divide and conquer. Guido threw York outside of the ring and as Guido and Mamaluke still focused on Matthews, and keeping the referee’s attention, Big Sal went to work on York. Big Sal ends up putting York against the ring post, and taking a few steps back, whilst Matthews managed to drop Guido, but Mamaluke is heading up to the top rope. Outside of the ring, BIG SAL SPRINTS AT YORK… AND LOOKS FOR THE BODY SPLASH INTO THE RING POST… BUT YORK MOVES… AND SAL COLLIDES WITH THE RING POST!!!

AND THE IMPACT CAUSES THE RING TO SHAKE… SO MAMALUKE LOSES BALANCE AND FALLS DICK FIRST ONTO THE TOP ROPE!!!

A big time pop comes out for the game changing moment, as the fans let out an “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant. York is still down on the outside but he has a relived smirk on his face, because Big Sal is in agony, and doesn’t look like being a factor in the match again. Meanwhile, Matthews manages to fight his way back up to his feet, just as Guido as, and Matthews charges with a Clothesline, sending Guido flying over the top rope and to the outside of the ring.

After the big fall, Mamaluke remained stranded on the top rope, before he eventually falls back to the canvas, but he’s still out of commission. Seeing this, Matthews senses his chance and walks over… BEFORE QUICKLY PERFORMING AN OKLAHOMA ROLL…1…2…3!!!

Winners – Christian York and Joey Matthews @ 6:00

The fans cheer the conclusion of the match, happy to see York and Matthews rebuild some serious moment, as the referee raises Matthews’ hand in the air. York then rolls back into the ring and he joins the victory ceremony, and the two partners share a high five, happy with their performance for the evening.

The celebration doesn’t last long though… AS YORK AND MATTHEWS BOTH GET KNOCKED DOWN FROM BEHIND…

BY LITTLE GUIDO AND BIG SAL!!!

Heat emanates from the fans for the cowardly sneak attack, but The FBI doesn’t care. With Mamaluke still down, GUIDO AND SAL STOMP ALL OVER YORK AND MATTHEWS, SENDING A MESSAGE THAT THEY ARE NOT TO BE MESSED WITH!!!

THEY CONTINUE THE ATTACK…

WHEN DANNY DORING AND ROADKILL SPRINT DOWN THE RAMP AND SLIDE INTO THE RING!!!

Admittedly, Doring gets to the ring a little quicker and Roadkill, but they both do get there… AND DORING MEETS GUIDO WITH RIGHT HANDS!!!

Guido is in shock, as Doring continues to hammer away, before he grabs Guido by the hair, AND THROWS HIM OVER THE TOP ROPE AND TO THE OUTSIDE!!!

Meanwhile, ROADKILL SIMPLY RUNS AT BIG SAL, LANDING A BODY SPLASH WHICH SENDS HIM TUMBLING TO THE CANVAS AND UNDERNEATH THE BOTTOM ROPE!!!

Seeing what has happened to his teammates, Mamaluke smartly rolls underneath the bottom rope, deciding not to get involved in the after match festivities.

The fans are chanting “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” for the somewhat exciting aftermath to the contest, whilst The FBI back up the ramp, with Guido shouting “THIS IS NOT OVER”!

Back inside of the ring, York and Matthews are now back to their feet, and much like when they saved Doring and Roadkill from The FBI, the two teams share a nod, respect shown, but neither team completely at ease with the other.

The two teams, both with the same championship goal, continue to stare down each other and The FBI as we cut to commercials…

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

Once the commercial break is over, we follow a camera in the backstage area, in a rundown office with an old computer, with Cyrus sitting behind the desk. The seemingly relaxed leader of The Network takes a chilled out breath, before placing his feet on the desk, watching ECW Hardcore TV on the television positioned on the other side of the room. Suddenly, there’s a commotion, as the office door FLIES open and SLAMS into the wall, causing Cyrus to jump to his feet, looking concerned. Cyrus’ facial expression changes from concerned to irritated as in walks the ECW Television Champion Jerry Lynn, with the same paranoid look on his face he’s had for the past month. Lynn clutches the TV Title as close to his chest as possible, rubbing his sleepless eyes, whilst Cyrus seems to be surprised by Lynn’s appearance, especially his full grown, unshaved beard. After a few more moments, the intense Lynn walks up to the desk, puts both hands on it and begins to speak.

Jerry Lynn: I’ve given you a few weeks out of good grace, but that time is over now. I don’t know why but you’re keeping me out of the loop. I demand to know what the deal is.

Cyrus seems taken aback by the directness of Lynn, looking shocked, but Lynn doesn’t budge.

Jerry Lynn: I still can’t believe you’re associating with Justin Credible but I’ve heard rumors of all sorts of plots and plans that don’t involve me. I’M THE TV CHAMPION!!!

Weeks of pent up frustration is coming out of Lynn now, as he drives his fist into the desk in anger.

Jerry Lynn: I REPRESENT THE NETWORK!

The leader of The Network still doesn’t say anything, just staring down Jerry, whose eyes begin to dart from side to side, paranoia in full swing.

Jerry Lynn: Look, I’m sorry okay, I don’t know how to approach this situation, but I’ve heard things and I haven’t heard from you in weeks. Tell me I’m safe and tell me who my next challenger is.

Now Jerry just shoots a penetrating gaze at Cyrus, who has a slight smirk on his face, whilst he nods knowingly.

Cyrus: Look honestly; there is a reason why I’ve kept you out of the loop. It’s because there is no plan!

Lynn doesn’t buy it for a second.

Jerry Lynn: I’m not in the right state of mind for this, don’t screw with me.

Cyrus walks around the desk and places a friendly hand on Lynn’s shoulder. Jerry shoots a quick look at the hand but lets it stay there as ‘The Virus’ speaks.

Cyrus: I can understand you feeling this way but at the same time, I can’t. I brought you back from a dark place and I’ve never steered you wrong.

Lynn kind of shrugs, realizing Cyrus is speaking the truth.

Cyrus: But what you’ve got to understand is that sometimes I need to do what’s best for The Network. Bringing in Credible was what is best for The Network, but there is no elaborate plan. That was just a lie to get Credible into the fold.

Cyrus nods along with his words, almost trying to convince Lynn, who seems a bit uneasy still. Realizing this, Cyrus shoots Lynn a grin.

Cyrus: Come on, man, think about all the good things I’ve ever said about you, way before this began. You’re my number one guy and we’re building this company around you.

Cyrus now takes a step back and puts out his hand to Lynn… AND LYNN ACCEPTS THE HANDSHAKE!!!

Jerry Lynn: Thank you, that’s good.

Jerry looks ready to leave, a smile now on his face, but Cyrus holds up his hand, motioning he has something else to say.

Cyrus: And just to make sure there no problems between you and I, as a show of good faith…

He pauses and Lynn looks intrigued.

Cyrus: I’ve decided to clear up your schedule and you give a little more r and r. You can have next week off from defending your title and you can just kick back with me tonight, and watch Justin Credible shut down Kid Kash!
Despite being a little more confident with the situation, that last mention of Credible clearly irks Lynn all over again. Still, Cyrus sits back down and signals for Lynn to pull up a chair, which he does, and it seems the two will watch the rest of the show together. All is well in the world of The Network…

…

We’re back at ringside as it’s time for our second match of the evening, but before that, we get a video package…

***

ECW Heatwave
July 15th On PPV
From Dayton, Ohio

***​

This time it really is time for the next match as “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck” by Grinspoon plays to a GIGANTIC amount of heat as usual, whilst the ever confident Justin Credible saunters down the ramp. The heat doesn’t die down either, rather rabid from the fans, but Credible doesn’t care, just twirling his Singapore Cane with his fingers, before sliding into the ring. Despite being ready for battle against an arch nemesis, JC seems to be in an OVERLY confident mood, clearly not sweating his opponent. “Fuck That” by Kid Rock is his opponent’s music, and once it hits, Kid Kash immediately bursts through the curtain, eager to reach the ring. The fans cheer loudly as Kash slaps a few hands, before sliding straight into the ring and going nose to nose with Credible.

Match Two
Justin Credible vs. Kid Kash

Before the match begins, The Network official Danny Daniels sprints to the ring and has a heard with the existing referee, telling him that he is no longer required. The referee initially looks as if he’s ready to complain but realizes that there is no point, so he instead tucks his tail between his legs and leaves the ring. This makes Credible even happier, but ‘The Notorious K.I.D.’ pays it no attention, ready to get this one underway. The early stages saw the match go up and down, neither man able to get an advantage, showing that these two really are an even match up each time they step into the ring. KK decides to change his strategy slightly though, blocking out his hatred, being less aggressive and instead using his quickness to his advantage. The change in tact actually allows Kash to begin to gain a sustainable advantage… UNTIL CREDIBLE BLATANTLY KICKS HIM IN THE DICK!!!

Heat reverberates around the arena as Kash drops to the canvas, coughing and spluttering, and potentially not being able to have kids. This break in action and slowdown of the pace allows Credible to shake out the cob webs as he leans against the ropes. The fans are almost in riot mode, whining about the low blow; however, Danny Daniels simply shakes his head, rubbing his leg whilst yelling “IT WAS A KICK TO THE THIGH”. Credible giggles regarding Daniels’ ruling, whilst the fans continue to hate on him, as the obvious low blow has Kash still clutching his groin area on the canvas.

From here on out though, it’s a completely different match to the beginning. Slow and steady wins the race for Credible, as he beats down on Kash, hoping to make him regret constantly picking a fight with Credible. Despite the beat down from Credible and several near falls, with a few fast counts sprinkled in, he just can’t quite put Kash away. The frustration continues to build for Credible, so he perhaps too early in the contest, GETS KASH IN POSITION FOR THE THAT’S INCREDIBLE… BUT KASH POWERS OUT OF IT WITH A BACK BODY DROP!!!

KK made a comeback from here, using his quickness and his hatred for Credible, to really leave the number one contender for the ECW Championship reeling. The fight moved to the outside of the ring where ‘The Notorious K.I.D.’ continued to ride his wave of momentum, until we went underneath the ring and pulled out a WOODEN TABLE!!! Kash set the table up on the outside of the ring and throughout the course of the next few minutes; both men teased using the table, but for one reason or another were unable to do so. Eventually, they fight back inside of the ring and Kash ends up grabbing Credible and placing him onto the top turnbuckle in a seated position. Kash follows him up, as the fans begin to cheer… AS KASH GETS READY TO GO FOR A FRANKENSTEINER… TO THE OUTSIDE AND THROUGH THE TABLE… BUT CREDIBLE REVERSES AND LANDS A SIT OUT POWERBOMB FROM THE TOP ROPE TO THE INSIDE OF THE RING!!!

The fans immediately break out into another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant… AS CREDIBLE REMAINS IN A SEATED POSITION FOR THE COVER…1…2…3!!!

…

NO!!! KASH JUST ROLLS A SHOULDER OFF THE MAT AT THE LAST SECOND!!!

Credible is so shocked at the resilience of Kash, so much so that he even begins to argue with referee Daniels, who simply shrugs, also at a loss. Whilst Kash is still in the contest, he isn’t really, as for the next few minutes Credible has his way with the annoying KK. JC lands several big time moves, except for the That’s Incredible, which Kash keeps evading. Credible gains several near falls in the next few minutes but is unable to put Kash away.

Getting a little frustrated, Credible looks down on the canvas at a barely moving KK, before casting his eyes upon the table that is set up on the outside of the ring. The fans begin to buzz in anticipation as Credible drags Kash by the hair and drags him through the ropes and to the apron. To make sure Kash remains down, Justin lands a few quick stomps before looking right into the camera and yelling “WATCH THIS, RHINO”! With a message to be sent, CREDIBLE GETS KASH IN POSITION FOR A PILEDRIVER… LOOKING FOR THE PILEDRIVER OFF OF THE APRON… BUT KASH FIGHTS OUT OF IT!!!

Kash manages to break Credible’s grip and free himself, before using his last ounce of energy to HAMMER away with several right hands. With Credible dazed, Kash lands a kick to the gut… BEFORE LEAPING OFF OF THE APRON… AND SENDING CREDIBLE THROUGH THE TABLE WITH AN INSANE TORNADO DDT!!!

HOLY SHIT!!! After that huge spot, the fans once again erupt into chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”. Both men remain down in the rubble, Credible showing no signs of life, whilst Kash is beginning to stir and crawl towards the crowd barricade. Sensing that this match is slipping away from Credible and The Network, Danny Daniels thinks on his toes and begins counting…1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…

Daniels is counting both men out which is getting ENORMOUS heat from the fans. Credible is yet to move a muscle, whilst Kash is using the crowd barricade to get to his feet, so Daniels speeds up his count…9…10!!!

Double Count Out @ 12:56

Danny Daniels immediately calls for the bell, and the fans can’t believe it, chanting “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”. Kid Kash has finally battled his way back to his feet, and he slides into the ring, before using the ropes to once again drag himself to his feet.

Realizing that he has saved the match for The Network, and perhaps prevented KK from getting a shot at the TV Title, Daniels immediately hurries from the ring. Being a little out of it, Kash isn’t sure what’s going on as Daniels is leaving, until the ring announcer makes an announcement…

“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN… THE REFEREE HAS RULED THIS CONTEST A DOUBLE COUNT OUT”!!!

More heat from the fans can be heard as the announcement echoes throughout the arena, whilst an exhausted and beaten up Kash drops to his knees. He’s clearly confused yet extremely frustrated with the fact that he was once again within an inch of beating Credible, but more importantly, he was THAT close to a TV Title shot.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the ring there is some concern as Justin Credible, outside of a couple of twitches, is yet to really move. The fans don’t care but ‘Damage Control’ do as they make their way down the ramp, and they end up having to stretcher Credible out of the arena.

Inside of the ring, Kash gets back to his feet and “Fuck That” by Kid Rock plays, whilst the fans give Kid Kash a STANDING OVATION. Despite his disappointment with the result, Kash nods appreciatively with the fans, and turns to leave the ring…

ONLY TO BE CLOBBERED IN THE FACE WITH THE TV TITLE…

BY JERRY LYNN!!!

Kash may damn well be unconscious now, past the point of recovery, as Lynn just stands over him, snarling. With the TV Title in his grasp, Lynn rolls out of the ring, clearly happy with his handiwork, as the fans continue to boo the hell out of him.

Outside of the ring, Lynn grabs a microphone, a sadistic smile on his face. He’s forced to wait a few moments before speaking due to the volume of the heat coming from the fans.

Jerry Lynn: You put in a good effort Kash, but I’m out here to put a full stop on the fact that it wasn’t good enough. You had to BEAT Justin Credible to get a title shot but you didn’t, which proved that you’re not as good as the New F’n Show.

Volcanic heat continues in the direction of Lynn, but the champion ignores it, seemingly back to a good mindset after his earlier chat with Cyrus.

Jerry Lynn: I beat Justin Credible with ease at Hardcore Heaven. You’re not as good as me, so you couldn’t beat that stupid bald headed prick!

There is still a slight smirk on the face of Lynn as he gets to insult Credible, whilst even a few fans let out a little pop. He still gets tons of heat as well though.

Jerry Lynn: Taking a good look at my competition, I can confirm that NOBODY IS AS GOOD AS ME, AND I’M GOING TO HOLD THIS TITLE FOR TWENTY FOUR MONTHS!!!

BOOOOO, as the intense Lynn makes reference to beating RVD’s historic TV Title reign.

Jerry Lynn: FUCK YOU, VAN DAM!!!

Always obsessive, Lynn makes one more reference to his old enemy RVD, before looking inside of the ring and scoffing at Kid Kash. Lynn then SPIKES the microphone to the floor, causing it to make an awful noise, before he raises the TV Title above his head.

Jerry closes his eyes in ecstasy, not minding the heat from the fans, having a much better night than the last few. It’s now time for our final commercial break of the evening…

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

In his usual locker room with battered locker doors, all alone and pacing is a furious looking ECW Champion Rhino. The champion is all sweaty, matted hair, obviously quite worked, as he starts speaking whilst continuing to pace.

Rhino: I’m a man to be feared, I’m not afraid of anybody!

He lets out a roar as he continues to pace, jaw trembling, ready to explode with fury.

Rhino: ANYBODY!!!

The champion screams his loudest, showing just how angry he is right now.

Rhino: NOT SOME GUY WITH A FUCKING STICK!!!

If it’s even possible, he seems to get even angrier at the reference to The Sandman.

Rhino: I CAN BREAK A STICK!!!

Rhino signals breaking something with his hands.

Rhino: I CAN BREAK A NECK!!!

He grits his teeth, continuing to breathe heavily.

Rhino: I CAN END A LIFE… I WILL END A LIFE IF JUSTIN CREDIBLE GETS IN THE RING WITH ME…

Bronx cheers come from the fans at the insult towards Credible, as Rhino is now frothing from the mouth.

Rhino: LANCE STORM? I’M NOT AFRAID OF LANCE STORM… FUCK LANCE STORM!!!

No more cheers from the fans now as they love Storm, but the champ couldn’t care less.

Rhino: FUCK CANADA… DETROIT TAKES A SHIT ON CANADA…

I love being able to say the most outrageous stuff with this man. Oh yeah, and he’s still angry of course.

Rhino: I’LL TAKE A SHIT ON LANCE STORM!!!

Rhino drives his boot into one of the lockers, needing to let out some violence.

Rhino: I’LL MAKE HIM EAT IT…

The outrage continues to pour out as he holds up his ECW Title.

Rhino: LANCE STORM HELD THREE TITLES BUT HE NEVER HELD THIS… HE NEVER HELD THIS BECAUSE HE’S A FUCKING PUSSY!!!

He throws the title to the floor now, and begins ripping at his hair, face reddening by the millisecond.

Rhino: I’LL FIGHT LANCE STORM ANYTIME HE FUCKING WANTS AND IF STORM HAS ANY COURAGE… HE’LL FIGHT ME NEXT WEEK FOR THE TITLE…

Whoa, big challenge made by Rhino. I wonder if Cyrus would be happy with that being made…

Rhino: I’LL FIGHT ANYONE!!!

Rhino pauses before heading to one of the lockers… AND HE HEADBUTTS IT, LEAVING A MASSIVE BUMP IN IT!!!

Rhino: I DON’T GIVE A FUCK…

The champion continues to pace like an absolute mad man.

Rhino: EVERYBODY KNOWS MY NAME… BECAUSE I’M THE ECW CHAMPION!!!

He drags the title off of the floor and puts it over his shoulder, further emphasizing that he’s a champion.

Rhino: I’M UNDEFEATED WITH THIS BELT ON THE LINE… EVER… I’VE NEVER LOST…

Suddenly, Rhino stops pacing but he continues to breathe loudly, almost frantically.

Rhino: SAY MY NAME… SAY MY FUCKING NAME… I’LL MAKE LANCE STORM SAY MY FUCKING NAME ALL NIGHT!!!

One last pause for the psychopath to catch his breath.

Rhino: RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO!!!

The champion lets out a roar again, before staring into the camera, looking unhinged and we cut away…

…

It’s main event time now so “King Of Old School” by Boner hits to a fantastic NEGATIVE reaction as Steve Corino slowly swaggers towards the ring. Not too far behind is his entourage, consisting of Dawn Marie and Jack Victory, and they all seem to be in good spirits despite the insults coming from the fans. Once they get inside of the ring, Corino flips a few of the fans off before getting his mind on the task at hand. “Man In The Box” by Alice In Chains rocks through the speakers now and the ever resilience Tommy Dreamer makes his way straight towards the ring. Tommy slaps hands with a few of the fans on his way to the ramp, before climbing onto the apron and performing the ‘Raven pose’. The fans chant along with Dreamer as Tommy gets into the ring and is ready to get things going.

Match Three
Steve Corino w/Dawn Marie and Jack Victory vs. Tommy Dreamer

To be completely honest, this is pretty much the same as every other match that involves Tommy Dreamer; it’s a god damn brawl. As usual with the ECW style, they brawl inside and outside of the ring, and even make their way through the crowd at different parts of the contest. No longer the joke he was twelve months ago, Corino hangs tough and actually does okay with Dreamer, however being the more natural brawler, Dreamer does eventually take over. Dreamer gets close to finishing things off a couple of times throughout the contest, when Corino is saved thanks to interference from Dawn Marie and Jack Victory!!!

After another near fall thanks to Dawn Marie getting onto the apron and distracting the referee, Tommy gets fed up. Victory doesn’t want to get involved initially as Tommy walks over to the apron and Dawn asks, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GONNA’ DO”? Tommy responds by GRABBING DAWN BY THE HAIR AND DRAGGING HER THROUGH THE ROPES AND INTO THE RING!!! Marie’s tune has changed now as she begs for mercy, as does the referee, whilst the fans blow the roof off of the arena, wanting Marie to get decked. After milking the moment for a little longer… TOMMY PUTS DAWN IN POSITION FOR THE DDT… BUT VICTORY HAS HANDED SOMETHING TO CORINO… AND CORINO THROWS POWDER RIGHT INTO THE EYES OF TOMMY!!!

Dreamer immediately lets go of Dawn, who hurries out of the ring, as Tommy keeps trying to get the powder out of his eyes. He is clearly blind as a devilish smirk appears on Corino’s face, and TOMMY WALKS STRAIGHT INTO AN OLD SCHOOL BOMB FROM CORINO!!! The fans begin an “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant… SO CORINO HOOKS THE LEG, GOING FOR THE COVER…1…2…NO!!! TOMMY GETS HIS SHOULDER UP AT THE LAST SECOND!!!

Dawn is white as a ghost on the outside of the ring, and the commentators mention that she probably won’t be a factor in the rest of the match now. Meanwhile, Corino now has his time in the sunshine, able to beat the living hell out of Dreamer, but unable to score a three count. The ‘King Of Old School’ is as resourceful as ever though, constantly using Victory to help him maintain an advantage. Eventually, showing why he is the heart and soul of ECW, Dreamer begins making a comeback, only for Victory to try and get involved again. As a dazed Corino rests on the other side of the ring… DREAMER GRABS VICTORY… AND DROPS HIM WITH THE DDT!!!

The fans mark out for Victory finally getting what he deserves, whilst Corino tries to rush up behind Dreamer, but Tommy avoids it. Tommy then kicks Corino in the gut… AND GETS HIM IN POSITION FOR A DDT… BUT HE QUICKLY TOSSES CORINO TO THE SIDE…

BECAUSE HE SPOTS CW ANDERSON HEADING TOWARDS THE RING!!!

CW slides into the ring, but Tommy immediately meets him with a barrage of wild left and right strikes, just completely overwhelming Anderson. Anderson is forced to just cover up, and Tommy’s a man on the mission, delivering a close to career performance… AS HE GETS ANDERSON INTO POSITION FOR THE DDT NOW… WHEN STEVE CORINO THROWS A FUCKING FIREBALL INTO THE FACE OF TOMMY DREAMER!!!

There is a momentary stunned silence, which is interrupted by chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”. The fans can’t believe it as Tommy releases Anderson and staggers around the ring for the second time tonight, clutching at his face. This time is a lot worse than the first as Tommy’s hands cover his face, leaving him with no vision… SO CORINO POUNCES WITH A QUICK INSIDE CRADLE…1…2…3!!!

Winner – Steve Corino @ 15:14

The fans BOO the result as the referee raises Corino’s hand before quickly rushing from the ring. It’s with good reason to as Dreamer has bounces straight back to his feet, and he’s SWINGINGWILDLY, trying to attack anything that moves.

He doesn’t have much luck though, still having vision issues after the fireball incident. On commentary, Joey Styles and Joel Gertner mention that the fireball must have been a glancing blow, because Tommy doesn’t seem to be as hurt as The Sandman and Corino were when they received it.

Either way, it doesn’t matter because just as Dreamer starts to corner Corino, CW ANDERSON BELTS HIM WITH A LEFT FOREARM TO THE NECK FROM BEHIND!!! The heat from the fans picks up as from here we have a two on one assault, with Anderson and Corino beating the hell out of Dreamer with punches and kicks.

The beating continues when “Enter Sandman” by Metallica blares throughout the arena, and gets an EPIC POP as The Sandman appears in the bleachers. CW and Corino pay him no attention, continuing to not allow Tommy to breathe, as Sandman foregoes his beer and cigarette and rather hurriedly makes his way through the fans, before sliding into the ring.

As always, The Sandman is accompanied by his trusty Singapore Cane, so when CW sprints at him… THE SANDMAN TAKES ANDERSON’S HEAD OFF WITH A SINGAPORE CANE RIGHT TO THE FACE!!!

“ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants ring out again for the weapon use, as Corino is mounting Dreamer… ONLY TO COP A SHOT TO THE HEAD WITH THE SINGAPORE CANE AS WELL!!!

Just like that, The Sandman has evened the odds, getting cheered loudly, and he raises the Singapore Cane above his head… UNTIL DAWN MARIE SNEAKS FROM BEHIND AND NAILS A LOW BLOW ON THE SANDMAN!!!

Dawn is quick to get back out of the ring, when The Sandman drops to his knees, and now all four men are down inside of the ring. The fans are urging Dreamer and Sandman to get up, and The Sandman is the first to get up, still favoring his groin… AND HE STUMBLES STRAIGHT INTO AN ANDERSON SPINEBUSTER FROM CW!!!

Meanwhile, Corino is back up as well now, and Dawn Marie grabs a steel chair and slides it into the ring. The ‘King Of Old School’ picks up the steel chair, before standing over the tired Dreamer, who is trying his best to get up. CORINO SMASHES THE STEEL CHAIR ACROSS THE BACK OF TOMMY… And Dreamer falls back flat, but immediately tries to get up again… SO CORINO LANDS A SECOND AND A THIRD SHOT WITH THE STEEL CHAIR ACROSS THE BACK!!!

Even though the violence is coming from the heels, another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant starts up. Corino smugly stands over Dreamer now, yelling “I DARE YOU TO FIGHT BACK”, whilst CW stands over Sandman and yells, “NOBODY STANDS UP TO AN ANDERSON”!

Almost as if on cue, “Walk” by Kilgore BLOWS THE ROOF OFF OF THE ARENA as the familiar theme song signals the arrival of Rob Van Dam. Sensing that his teammates for Heatwave are in trouble, Van Dam jogs down the ramp, paying the fans no attention, but as he goes to get into the ring… CW AND CORINO BEGIN KICKING THE ROPES, NOT ALLOWING RVD TO GET INTO THE RING!!!

He tries a few more times but they continue to block his entrance to the ring, much to the dismay of the fans. Eventually RVD rolls his eyes and turns around in frustration, hands on hips… BUT HE TURNS STRAIGHT INTO A DEADLY GORE OUTSIDE OF THE RING BY…

THE ECW CHAMPION RHINO!!!

Nobody expected that so another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant rings out from the crowd. Rhino pounded his chest with pride, before not even acknowledging his Network comrades and just turning around and stomping off to the back.

Van Dam is broken in half on the floor, not even looking like recovering, as inside of the ring, Corino and Anderson continue to beat the hell out of Dreamer and Sandman. Wanting to finish off with a bang, Corino yells to Victory, “GIVE ME YOUR BELT”, and Victory immediately undoes his belt and passes it to Corino.

Corino stands over Dreamer again… BEFORE GOING TO TOWN… WHIPPING HIM REPETITIVELY WITH THE BELT, CAUSING WELTS TO POP UP ALL OVER HIS BODY!!!

The noise of the shots can be heard throughout the entire arena, as Corino now tosses the belt to Anderson. Following Corino’s lead… CW NOW WHIPS THE SHIT OUT OF THE SANDMAN WITH THE SAME BELT!!!

Brutality is the name of the game, and The Network seems to have won tonight. Having finally had enough, the fans begin chanting “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”, not enjoying the fact that Dreamer and Sandman have been left lying, with welts all over their bodies.

Meanwhile, Dawn Marie gets back into the ring now, standing next to Victory, Corino and Anderson, and the four raise their hands in the air, in celebration mode.

The quartet continue to celebrate over the fallen bodies of Dreamer and Sandman, as the crowd begins hurling garbage into the ring, and we fade to black…

END OF SHOW

***

Current Card for ECW Heatwave
July 15th, 2001
Dayton, Ohio

ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Rhino (c) defends against Justin Credible

Grudge Match:
CW Anderson, Jerry Lawler and Steve Corino vs. Rob Van Dam, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer​

 

[Stojy]

ECW News And Notes

It has been reported and confirmed by insiders within Extreme Championship Wrestling that on the most recent episode of Hardcore TV, Justin Credible has sustained a shoulder injury. The injury is said to have occurred during his match with Kid Kash, when both men went crashing through a table on the outside of the ring thanks to a Tornado DDT. Credible was kayfabe stretchered out of the arena, perhaps meaning ECW were planning to play on the spot anyway; however, this left shoulder injury is said to not be kayfabe. At this stage, exactly what the injury entails is unconfirmed, yet it is said to be very unlikely that Justin Credible will be able to compete at ECW Heatwave on July fifteenth.

This causes concern for the company as the current main event scheduled for Heatwave sees Rhino defend the ECW Championship against Justin Credible. There is still a slight chance that Credible’s injury isn’t as bad as currently feared, and he could be fit to compete at Heatwave, but Heyman, and his investor, refuse to take that chance. If Credible is deemed fit to compete, he may be placed into some sort of last minute program, but the ECW Championship match currently scheduled has officially been cancelled. Cyrus has released a statement via The Network confirming that he will be making an announcement regarding a replacement for Justin Credible at Heatwave this week on the June sixteenth edition of Hardcore TV.

On another note, there have been rumors swirling for a few months now that the WWE were very close to signing a big ECW name. Whilst no information regarding who the wrestler is has been revealed, the deal itself is now being described by people in the know as a “done deal”, and could see the wrestler’s last appearance with ECW to be as soon as Heatwave. We’ll hopefully be able to deliver more on this story as it continues to develop.​

 

[Stojy]

ECW Hardcore TV Preview
16-06-2001
Mobile, Alabama​

The road to Heatwave continues to get hotter and hotter by the week, and the building heatwave will burn through Mobile, Alabama for Hardcore TV this week. The biggest piece of news coming out of last week’s show is that it has now officially been confirmed that Justin Credible will not be competing for the ECW Championship against Rhino at the Heatwave pay per view. The planned number one contender suffered a left shoulder injury that will keep him out of action for the better part of the month, after being on the receiving end of a Tornado DDT through a table from Kid Kash. The leader of The Network, Cyrus, must be frustrated by the fact that his all Network main event has now been ruined. Kid Kash is not scheduled to appear this week but one must wonder if when he returns, there will be some sort of punishment for the ruining of Heatwave’s main event. Whilst that will have to wait, Cyrus has confirmed that by the end of the night, Rhino’s new challenger for Heatwave will be announced. The question remains, will Cyrus’ planned main event remain an all Network affair or will somebody unexpectedly be able to push their name into the equation?

So much surrounding the ECW Championship scene at Heatwave is up in the air, but one thing that’s not up in the air, is this week’s main event. All of the talk is surrounding who Rhino will defend the ECW Championship against at Heatwave, but he needs to make it to Heatwave as the champion first. This week on Hardcore TV, Rhino will defend his ECW Championship against one of the best wrestlers to ever step foot in an ECW ring, Lance Storm. Two weeks ago, Storm signaled his intent on wanting to face Rhino for the ECW title and got involved in a beat down on the champion, nailing him with a Superkick. Last week, Rhino, in his patented, intense manner, said that he would take on Storm at any time. It’s rumored that Cyrus wasn’t happy on booking this match for his chosen Network approved champion, however Rhino managed to talk him into it. By the end of tonight the Heatwave ECW Championship match will be booked in its entirety, as the number one contender will be announced, but we will also know who will carry the title into the pay per view event in July.

The running theme over the past few weeks has been that the one goal The Network hasn’t been able to achieve is claiming the ECW Tag Team Championships. In the past, Cyrus made it very clear that he feels for The Network to truly hold all the power, they need to hold all of the gold. As it currently stands, phase one of this plan seems to be pitting all of the non-Network teams against each other, in the hopes that they will beat each other down. We really have no idea what phase two will be at this point, as two teams in particular, be it the champions The Unholy Alliance and Danny Doring and Roadkill both look impossible to beat. Keeping with the trend of faze one though, Cyrus has decided to focus on Doring and Roadkill, as to continue their path towards a rematch for their ECW Tag Team Titles, they will need to defeat the team of Balls Mahoney and Pierre Carl Oulette. The team fondly titles Eye Balls have slowly been working their way through the ranks and despite a few setbacks, they can’t be too far behind the pecking order in terms of earning a shot at the tag titles. Either way, the two teams will go at it this week and we have to assume the winner’s will be one step closer to a shot at the gold.

After a rough run over the past month, not really knowing where he stood with The Network, the ECW Television Champion Jerry Lynn finally had a good night last week. Despite his hated nemesis, Justin Credible joining The Network and being named the number one contender for the ECW Title, Lynn is finally happy again. He had a conversation with Cyrus where Cyrus assured Lynn that he plans on building this company around him. Unknown to Jerry, it seems as if Cyrus has had this conversation with numerous members of The Network. Either way, after coming out on top and beating down Kid Kash after his match with Justin Credible last week, The Network and Lynn have decided it’s time for him to have a match tonight. Whilst we have no idea who Jerry’s opponent will be, it has been confirmed that Lynn will open the show and issue an open challenge to anybody on the roster to come and get a shot at his ECW Television Championship. Will Jerry Lynn be able to retain his title against a surprise opponent, and just who will jump at the chance to win the gold?

Please tune in to see all of this and much, much more!!!

Confirmed Matches:

ECW Championship Match:
Rhino (c) defends against Lance Storm

Danny Doring and Roadkill vs. Eye Balls

ECW Television Championship Open Challenge:
Jerry Lynn (c) defends against ???​

 

[Stojy]

ECW Hardcore TV
June 16th, 2001
Mobile, Alabama​

It seems as if the days of the in ring introduction that ECW fans have grown accustomed to really have become a rare commodity, as tonight’s show opens up backstage. As a matter of fact, the show opens with the ECW commentary team of Joey Styles and Joel Gertner standing in front of the ECW interview set, which is a ripped, mesh fence with a crooked “ECW” sign hanging crookedly in the background. Before the two excited commentators can speak, they are forced to just stand around in their suits, smiling, as echoing chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” come from inside of the arena. After a few more moments, the chants die down so the duo can begin speaking.

Joey Styles: Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of ECW Hardcore TV! I’m ‘The Voice Of ECW’, Joey Styles and standing next to me is the ‘Quintessential Stud Muffin’ himself, Joel Gertner. Now Joel, we’ve got a jam packed show tonight, with plenty of extreme action, but it would be remiss of me to not skip straight to the main event. The ECW Champion Rhino will defend his ECW Championship against one of the more decorated contenders he has had to deal with, in Lance Storm.

Joel Gertner: Rhino is a monster, who has destroyed everybody in his path. It doesn’t matter if they’re quick, if they’re strong, Rhino finds a way to take out all of his competition, but tonight, against Storm, this could be something else.

Joey Styles: That has to be the biggest question coming into this one. Rhino has defeated everybody in his path, rather convincingly too, but he’s never had to face somebody as technically sound as Lance Storm. Lance has been successful outside of the walls of ECW as well, he is truly one of the greatest in the entire business, but with that being said, so is Rhino.

Joel Gertner: I couldn’t have said it better myself, Joey. This is a mouthwatering ECW Championship match!

Joey Styles: Lance Storm hasn’t been back long but he’s made it clear that he is pro ECW and anti Network, which in turn makes him anti Rhino. Storm issued the challenge a few weeks back and the volatile champion accepted, so here we are! Outside of this championship match though, there are more implications for the ECW Championship tonight!

Joel Gertner: You’re right there, Joey. For those of you who missed last week’s show or any of the announcements throughout the week, the number one contender for the ECW Championship has been injured. Please take a look at the move that took Justin Credible out of action last week.

Almost as if this was a planned production or something, a video package begins to play…

***

We see a few different camera angles of last week’s match, where KID KASH nailed JUSTIN CREDIBLE with a Tornado DDT off of the ring apron and through the time keeper’s table.

After the match was ruled a dubious Double Count Out, we see Justin Credible get stretchered out of the building.

***​

We now cut back to Styles and Gertner.

Joey Styles: We’re still unsure of exactly what the issue is; doctors have apparently been at a loss to explain the injury after multiple scans and x rays. The one thing that can be confirmed is that Justin Credible has suffered a shoulder injury.

Styles stops and straightens his tie subconsciously as Gertner takes over.

Joel Gertner: Based off of the indecision regarding those tests, there have been rumors circulating all week that Justin Credible will not be cleared to wrestle in time for Heatwave.

Gertner is forced to pause due to a pop that comes from the arena.

Joel Gertner: I normally wouldn’t wish an injury on anybody, but when it comes to The Network, I would. It has now been confirmed that Justin Credible will not be able to compete at Heatwave, which is a SHAME!!!

The sarcasm is dripping off of Gertner as he and Joey share a look, smirking at each other. Suddenly, they snap out of it and get back into serious mode, probably not wanting to raise the ire of Cyrus.

Joey Styles: Cyrus has promised to make an announcement which will clear up exactly what will happen at Heatwave, but the only thing that is certain right now, is uncertainty. We don’t know who the champion or the challenger will be for the ECW Championship at Heatwave, but we will by the end of the night!!!

With the shill job having been completed, Styles and Gertner sign off and send us to ringside, allowing them to begin to scurry to the commentary position…

…

“Scapegoat” by Fear Factory hits to a MASSIVE negative reaction, which only gets louder as The Network’s chosen ECW Television Champion Jerry Lynn makes his way out from the back. With the ECW TV Title around his waist, Lynn is in a pair of blue wrestling tights, as he smirks at the audience, whilst flicking his hair which is tied into a tight ponytail. Simply put, being back in The Network’s good books has worked wonders for Lynn, as he looks like a champion should look. He still gets plenty of heat though, but he laughs through it, before grabbing a microphone once inside of the ring.

Jerry Lynn: For those of you, who have been living under a rock for the past few months, WCW is well and truly dead, which means I’m the only Television Champion left.

Even though Lynn is a heel, his initial statement gets a pop from the fans, which makes him smirk, clearly playing the fans.

Jerry Lynn: Being the mathematician that I am, one plus one equals two, which means I AM THE CHAMPION OF ALL TELEVISION!!!

The champion takes the title from around his waist and raises it in the air, eyes closed, basking in the heat from the audience.

Jerry Lynn: Boo me as much as you want, I’m the most successful I’ve ever been in my career because I’ve realized that you people don’t matter… Now moving onto something that does matter, I’ve heard that Justin Credible is hurt.

No cheers for anything this time around, as the cocky Lynn gets heat. As relaxed as ever, completely stable, Jerry just laughs it all off.

Jerry Lynn: I know The Network and Cyrus put their support behind Justin Credible, but I believe The Network made a mistake. I am the cornerstone of The Network and everything is ruined because Credible went and got himself injured. Might I add that he got himself injured to a guy that I beat down with a click of my fingers? But this is what happens when you put your support behind a loser like Justin Credible and not ‘The New F’n Show.

He looks slightly irritated for the first time tonight, knowing that Cyrus chose Credible over him for the ECW Title shot.

Jerry Lynn: With Credible out for the foreseeable future, we need a new challenger for the ECW Championship at Heatwave. Being the champion of all of television, I nominate myself to face Rhino at Heatwave!

A HUMUNGOUS amount of heat is heard for this, as nobody wants to see Lynn versus Rhino at Heatwave. Lynn shows an annoyance at the reaction from the crowd this time around, but quickly decides to keep speaking.

Jerry Lynn: Being a member of The Network and therefore the most likely choice to replace Credible isn’t enough for me though. Tonight I will prove my metal because I’m going to offer an open challenge for my ECW Television Championship RIGHT NOW!!!

Jerry points to the curtain, waiting for somebody to answer his challenge, but after waiting for a few moments, nobody makes an appearance. The excited buzz from the fans quickly disappears, as Lynn scoffs to himself, clearly believing nobody would have the guts to accept his invitation. The arrogant champion puts the microphone to his mouth, ready to speak again, when “Born In China” by The Immortals begins to play throughout the arena. Lynn drops the microphone, looking shocked but he quickly tries to cover it up with a smirk, as Low Ki stalks through the curtain. Ki is relatively quick to make his way down the ramp, as the commentators put over that Ki is always happy to compete, having now answered a second open challenge in the past month. The champion stands his ground as Low Ki shows no hesitation, enjoying the cheers from the fans as he steps into the ring, and goes nose to nose with Lynn. The tension is building between the two, as the fans continue to get more and more excited, until Lynn breaks eye contact, takes a few steps back, and begins to speak once again.

Jerry Lynn: Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but being that I’m a champion, I can’t remember every average Joe. Who are you?

JL feigns confusion as the fans boo his arrogance, but ‘The Warrior’ doesn’t even blink. Instead, he SNTACHES Lynn’s arms and drags it to his mouth, catching the champ off guard.

Low Ki: Don’t play games; you know who I am…

Despite a gulp showing that he’s a little intimidated, Lynn attempts to keep face.

Jerry Lynn: Oh you’re right, I’m sorry; I know exactly who you are. You’re the midget who watches too many karate movies!!!

To cap off his lame joke, a giggling Jerry Lynn puts both hands in the air and one foot in the air, completing a mocking Kung Fu pose. The fans boo the hell out of Lynn who sticks his tongue out at the non-responsive Low Ki…

UNTIL LOW KI DROPS JERRY LYNN WITH A ROUNDHOUSE KICK TO THE FACE OUT OF NOWHERE!!!

The fans mark out and an “LOW KI”, “LOW KI”, “LOW KI” chant kicks off, as the champion grabs his title off of the canvas and rolls underneath the bottom rope. The calm Low Ki invites Lynn to get back into the ring, whilst Jerry is clearly embarrassed, jumping up and down in frustration. The ECW fans continue to give Lynn a hard time, as he grabs a microphone from the ringside crew, no longer having access to the one inside of the ring.

Jerry Lynn: Whoa, whoa, when I made my open challenge I feel like something must have gotten lost in translation. When I made the challenge to anybody, I meant QUALIFIED challengers.

‘The Warrior’ shakes his head, showing emotion for the first time, as Lynn feels at his jaw, still angry about the attack. Meanwhile, the audience continues to heckle the hell out of Lynn.

Jerry Lynn: You, whoever you are, are certainly not qualified for a shot at the ECW Television Championship. I’m not putting the title up against you…

MAJOR heat for that announcement, as Ki once again invites the champion into the ring. Lynn simply shakes his head.

Jerry Lynn: But I’ll tell you what I will do, I’ll teach you some damn respect!

SUDDENLY, LYNN DROPS HIS TITLE AND SLIDES BACK INTO THE RING!!!

Lynn charges at Ki and attempts a Clothesline… BUT LOW KI DUCKS AND DROPS LYNN WITH A SUPERKICK!!!

A big time pop goes up as Low Ki gets the better of Lynn again. Jerry uses the ropes to pull himself back to his feet, still hot headed, before thinking twice and trying to step through the ropes and to the outside… ONLY FOR LOW KI TO SEND HIM FLYING TO THE FLOOR WITH THE ROLLING LIGER KICK!!!

Lynn falls to the floor in a heap, bettered YET AGAIN by Low Ki, as an “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant starts up. Being the disciplined warrior that he is, Ki once again manages to keep his cool, standing in the middle of the ring.

On the outside, Lynn hastily pulls himself up via the crowd barricade, ignoring the insults coming from the fans closest by. Jerry is clearly embarrassed now as he pulls the title off of the floor, and drapes it over his shoulder, tapping it once or twice to make sure it stays there.

As he begins making his way around the ring and backs up the ramp, Lynn manages to find another microphone…

Jerry Lynn: I am a champion and I am The Network, this crap shouldn’t happen to me. I’ve had it with the disrespect AND NOBODY GETS TO MAKE THEIR NAME OFF OF JERRY LYNN TONIGHT!!!

The furious champion continues to back further up the ramp, as Ki looks confused inside of the ring. The heat from the fans is just getting louder and louder.

Jerry Lynn: SCREW YOU, LOW KI AND SCREW ALABAMA AS WELL!!!

Low Ki continues to beckon for Lynn to come back, and the fans aren’t happy with what’s happening, but Jerry Lynn pays neither of them any attention.

Lynn simple shakes his head, swatting away any idea of returning with his hand, before turning his back and walking through the curtain.

The heat from the fans is enormous as Low Ki shakes his head, hands on hips, and in that rather anticlimactic fashion, we cut to our first commercial break of the evening.

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

When we return from the commercial break, we are in the backstage area, and the cameras follow a furious Jerry Lynn, who storms down a hallway, ECW TV Title still in his hand. Lynn doesn’t stop for a moment, barging through numerous random people in the hallway, and kicking open a door, which leads to the parking lot.

The champion speed walks to an SUV, and he happens to have his car keys in his hand (must have picked them up during the commercial break). Lynn presses a button which pops the trunk, and he throws the TV Title into the trunk.

With a frustrated look still on his face, Lynn slams the trunk shut, before climbing into the driver’s seat, and Lynn takes off, leaving the arena. The embarrassment from Low Ki has caused Jerry Lynn to leave the show and abandon his open challenge…

…

Back at ringside, “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors begins pumping through the speakers, and the fans pop pretty loudly, as a man who hasn’t been seen recently, Super Crazy steps onto the stage. The Mexican fan favorite takes a moment or two at the top of the ramp, surveying the arena, before he sprints down the ramp and leaps through the middle rope and into the ring. Once inside of the ring, Crazy poses on the top rope, getting more cheers from the adoring fans. As Crazy continues to bounce off of the ropes, “Sad But True” by Metallica plays throughout the arena, and gets basically no reaction as Tom Marquez begins making his way towards the ring. Barely any reaction from the fans continues as the former ‘Prodigy’ gets into the ring and gets ready for battle.

Match One
Super Crazy vs. Tom Marquez

In the early stages, as the two lock up and Super Crazy immediately begins to show his superiority, the fans remain switched off and even the commentators ignore the action. Joey Styles damn near almost apologizes for the match, stating that it was a rushed, put together replacement match, as this segment was supposed to be filled by Jerry Lynn’s ECW Television Championship Open Challenge. The match continues as you would expect, with ‘The Extreme Luchadore’ dominating and never really looking like he is in trouble.

After a couple of minutes of playing with his food, Crazy decides to end things, by passing the smaller Moonsaults, and heading straight to the top… BEFORE LEAPING OFF OF THE TOP ROPE AND CONNECTING WITH A MOONSAULT ON THE PRONE BODY OF MARQUEZ!!!

The fans chant “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” for the epic high risk move, as SC takes a moment or two, selling the impact of the move. CRAZY THEN HOOKS THE LEG AND THE REFEREE MAKES THE ACADEMIC COUNT…1…2…3!!!

Winner - Super Crazy @ 2:34

The bell signals the end of the match, and the fans pop, probably showing their support for the victorious Super Crazy, but also celebrating that the match is over. Speaking of celebrating, Crazy has his hand raised by the ref, before ascending to the top rope to continue his celebration.

As mentioned previously, the ovation is pretty good for Super Crazy, who seems to be pleased to be back in action. Crazy continues to enjoy the spoils of victory, as Tom Marquez hasn’t looked like moving a muscle.

The final image we get is Super Crazy with a smile on his face, enjoying the spoils of victory, before we cut away…

…

And we cut to another video package playing…

***

The video package opens and its night time, before we scan across various busy roads, flashing lights of cars and buildings coming across our screens. Suddenly, we pan out to a bird’s eye view of the whole city, revealing none other than New York City.

The camera seems to pick up steam, showing numerous images and shots of different streets that make up the heart of New York City, as all important text comes over the screen.

“THE KING OF THE STREETS IS COMING FOR HIS TURF”

We get one last view of New York City, before the video package fades to black.

***​

Once the video package has been completed, the ring is once again empty, but before we get on to another match, it’s time for another commercial break.

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

With our second commercial break of the night having finished, we’re at ringside once again, where “Super Bon Bon” by Soul Coughing rocks throughout the arena, and two men in a better mood than Jerry Lynn, Danny Doring and Roadkill appear from the backstage area. Doring and Roadkill both seem in good spirits, slapping hands with the fans, who as always are giving them a PRETTY LOUD ovation. As they get into the ring, Doring and Roady share some final words of strategy, knowing tonight could be another crucial match on their quest for a title shot. “Big Balls” by Boner gets a JUST AS NICE reception from the fans as Balls Mahoney and Pierre Carl Oulette, collectively known as Eye Balls, make their way down towards the ring. As usual, Mahoney and Oulette carry a chair each, and on this particular night, one reads “DORING”, whilst the other reads “ROADKILL”. Doring actually smirks at his name being on a chair, showing no signs of fear, as finally, all four men are inside of the ring. The four men share a respectful nod before talking amongst their own teams, deciding who is going to start the match.

Match Two
Danny Doring and Roadkill vs. Eye Balls

Despite the show of respect before the bell rung, once the match started, it was a case of white line fever for both these teams. There was no hesitation from either team as they went hell for leather, doing all they could to up the other team. In the early stages, there isn’t really a period of domination from either team, as momentum changes are quite frequent, showing just how evenly matched these two teams are. Considering how good of a face against face match this is, the fans struggle to decide who to cheer for throughout, popping for all of Doring and Roadkill’s offence, but spontaneously breaking out into chants of “EYE BALLS”, “EYE BALLS”, “EYE BALLS”.

As the match progressed, it was a little easier to see some trends begin to develop. Eye Balls identified that Danny Doring was the weak link of the opposition and tried to isolate him whenever they could. The strategy seemed to work as well, because every time Doring got in a one on one situation against either Mahoney or PCO, he seemed to get overwhelmed by their strength. The former tag team champions are exactly that though, a tag team, and they were able to use some of their awesome double team moves to stay in the match. On the other side of the coin though, every time Roadkill got into the ring, Eye Balls’ strength based game plan no longer worked, as Roady was able to out hoss Balls and Pierre in a one on one situation.

As with most, if not all tag team matches, as we come to the end of the contest, all hell has broken loose, and all four men are involved, one way or another. Danny Doring and Roadkill manage to extract PCO from the ring and double team Mahoney. After softening him up, Doring heads to the top rope… AS ROADY LIFTS MAHONEY UP IN A WHEEL BARROW POSITION… PERHAPS SETTING UP FOR THE BUGGY BANG… BUT PCO INTERRUPTS… BY KNOCKING ROADKILL DOWN WITH A STIFF LARIAT!!!

Doring looks shocked and prepares to climb off of the ropes, but before he can, Oulette bounces off the ropes. This causes Danny to lose balance and crotch himself on the top rope. Ever the rugged veteran, PCO adjusts his eye patch, before helping Balls back to his feet. Eye Balls nod at each other, realizing Roadkill is out of it, so Balls head to the top rope… AND GRABS DORING… GETTING HIM IN POSITION… AND DROPPING HIM WITH THE NUTCRACKER SUITE!!!

The fans mark out for the big time move, as Doring is out of it, and PCO is already waiting on the top rope of the opposite corner. He waits for Mahoney to roll out of the way… BEFORE LEAPING OFF OF THE TOP ROPE… PCO LANDS ON DORING WITH LE’ CANNONBALL!!!

As Pierre clutches at his back, MAHONEY LEAPS ON TOP FOR THE COVER…1…2…3!!!

Winners – Eye Balls @ 13:48

An enormous pop rings out once the final count is made, as Eye Balls have probably shocked a lot of people by defeating a team with all the momentum in the world. Mahoney and PCO share a hug, before having their hands raised in victory by the referee.

Danny Doring and Roadkill have managed to roll to the outside, where they lick their wounds on the outside. They are clearly in agony, but they also know that they will be back on another day. As for right now though, it’s all about Eye Balls, as they pretend to lead the choir, as the fans chant along with chants of “BALLS”, “BALLS”, “BALLS”, and “EYE”, “EYE”, “EYE”.

The victors continue to have fun with the fans, but the ovation begins to sour, with some heat kicking in…

AS BOTH MEMBERS OF EYE BALLS GET DROPPED FROM BEHIND…

BY THE FULL BLOODED ITALIANS!!!

LITTLE GUIDO… TONY MAMALUKE… AND SAL E. GRAZIANO!!!

The Italians have clobbered Mahoney and Oulette from behind, and after being exhausted from their match, they don’t have the energy to fight back.

Doring and Roadkill are still down on the outside as well, so it’s simply open season for The FBI as they continue to stomp all over Eye Balls.

The fans BOO the hell out of what’s happening, but that doesn’t worry The FBI at all. They continue to beat down both men, until they are convinces that there are incapacitated.

Guido then grabs the arms of Mahoney, whilst Mamaluke grabs his legs, and they completely stretch the body of Mahoney over the canvas. With Mahoney stretched out… BIG SAL LEAPS AND SQUASHES WITH A BIG TIME SPLASH!!!

Groans echo throughout the arena as all the air is driven from the body of Balls. Mamaluke and Guido now do the same thing to PCO, stretching him out… AND BIG SAL LEAPS AGAIN… THIS TIME SQUASHING PCO WITH A BIG TIME SPLASH!!!

Everybody inside the arena is pissed, unhappy, but The FBI has certainly made an impression. All three get up and Guido dusts his hands together, signaling that the job is done.

We get one last view of Eye Balls down inside of the ring, and Doring and Roadkill down on the outside, before we see The FBI, standing strong in the middle of the ring…

…

Before we cut to the final commercial break of the evening, we get our final video package of the evening…

***

The video package begins with text reading “LAST WEEK”.

The fans BOO the result as the referee raises Corino’s hand before quickly rushing from the ring. It’s with good reason to as Dreamer has bounces straight back to his feet, and he’s SWINGINGWILDLY, trying to attack anything that moves.

He doesn’t have much luck though, still having vision issues after the fireball incident. On commentary, Joey Styles and Joel Gertner mention that the fireball must have been a glancing blow, because Tommy doesn’t seem to be as hurt as The Sandman and Corino were when they received it.

Either way, it doesn’t matter because just as Dreamer starts to corner Corino, CW ANDERSON BELTS HIM WITH A LEFT FOREARM TO THE NECK FROM BEHIND!!! The heat from the fans picks up as from here we have a two on one assault, with Anderson and Corino beating the hell out of Dreamer with punches and kicks.

The beating continues when “Enter Sandman” by Metallica blares throughout the arena and gets an EPIC POP as The Sandman appears in the bleachers. CW and Corino pay him no attention, continuing to not allow Tommy to breathe, as Sandman foregoes his beer and cigarette and rather hurriedly makes his way through the fans, before sliding into the ring.

As always, The Sandman is accompanied by his trusty Singapore Cane, so when CW sprints at him… THE SANDMAN TAKES ANDERSON’S HEAD OFF WITH A SINGAPORE CANE RIGHT TO THE FACE!!!

“ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants ring out again for the weapon use, as Corino is mounting Dreamer… ONLY TO COP A SHOT TO THE HEAD WITH THE SINGAPORE CANE AS WELL!!!

Just like that, The Sandman has evened the odds, getting cheered loudly, and he raises the Singapore Cane above his head… UNTIL DAWN MARIE SNEAKS FROM BEHIND AND NAILS A LOW BLOW ON THE SANDMAN!!!

Dawn is quick to get back out of the ring, when The Sandman drops to his knees, and now all four men are down inside of the ring. The fans are urging Dreamer and Sandman to get up, and The Sandman is the first to get up, still favoring his groin… AND HE STUMBLES STRAIGHT INTO AN ANDERSON SPINEBUSTER FROM CW!!!

Meanwhile, Corino is back up as well now, and Dawn Marie grabs a steel chair and slides it into the ring. The ‘King Of Old School’ picks up the steel chair, before standing over the tired Dreamer, who is trying his best to get up. CORINO SMASHES THE STEEL CHAIR ACROSS THE BACK OF TOMMY… And Dreamer falls back flat, but immediately tries to get up again… SO CORINO LANDS A SECOND AND A THIRD SHOT WITH THE STEEL CHAIR ACROSS THE BACK!!!

Even though the violence is coming from the heels, another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant starts up. Corino smugly stands over Dreamer now, yelling “I DARE YOU TO FIGHT BACK”, whilst CW stands over Sandman and yells, “NOBODY STANDS UP TO AN ANDERSON”!

Almost as if on cue, “Walk” by Kilgore BLOWS THE ROOF OFF OF THE ARENA as the familiar theme song signals the arrival of Rob Van Dam. Sensing that his teammates for Heatwave are in trouble, Van Dam jogs down the ramp, paying the fans no attention, but as he goes to get into the ring… CW AND CORINO BEGIN KICKING THE ROPES, NOT ALLOWING RVD TO GET INTO THE RING!!!

He tries a few more times but they continue to block his entrance to the ring, much to the dismay of the fans. Eventually RVD rolls his eyes and turns around in frustration, hands on hips… BUT HE TURNS STRAIGHT INTO A DEADLY GORE OUTSIDE OF THE RING BY…

THE ECW CHAMPION RHINO!!!

Nobody expected that so another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant rings out from the crowd. Rhino pounded his chest with pride, before not even acknowledging his Network comrades and just turning around and stomping off to the back.

Van Dam is broken in half on the floor, not even looking like recovering, as inside of the ring, Corino and Anderson continue to beat the hell out of Dreamer and Sandman. Wanting to finish off with a bang, Corino yells to Victory, “GIVE ME YOUR BELT”, and Victory immediately undoes his belt and passes it to Corino.

Corino stands over Dreamer again… BEFORE GOING TO TOWN… WHIPPING HIM REPETITIVELY WITH THE BELT, CAUSING WELTS TO POP UP ALL OVER HIS BODY!!!

The noise of the shots can be heard throughout the entire arena, as Corino now tosses the belt to Anderson. Following Corino’s lead… CW NOW WHIPS THE SHIT OUT OF THE SANDMAN WITH THE SAME BELT!!!

Brutality is the name of the game, and The Network seems to have won tonight. Having finally had enough, the fans begin chanting “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”, “FUCK THE NETWORK”, not enjoying the fact that Dreamer and Sandman have been left lying, with welts all over their bodies.

Meanwhile, Dawn Marie gets back into the ring now, standing next to Victory, Corino and Anderson, and the four raise their hands in the air, in celebration mode.

The quartet continue to celebrate over the fallen bodies of Dreamer and Sandman, as the crowd begins hurling garbage into the ring, and we fade to black…

***​

Once the video package is done, we head straight back to the ‘ECW set’, where a suited and booted Joey Styles and Joel Gertner are standing by. Much like earlier in the evening, they seem to be in good spirits, ready to make some sort of announcement.

Joey Styles: Ladies and gentlemen, we are just moments away from the ECW Championship being on the line when Rhino defends against Lance Storm. Before we get to that though, we have a quick announcement to make based off of the events which occurred last week. As you just saw, the ending to last week’s show saw involvement from the competitors in the six man tag team match that has been announced for Heatwave. After being helpless and being forced to watch his teammates be attacked last week, Rob Van Dam has wanted revenge and he is being given the opportunity next week. I can’t help but think Cyrus and The Network have something up their sleeve, as next week’s ECW Hardcore TV will hold a main event featuring CW Anderson going one on one with Rob Van Dam!!!

Joel Gertner: CW Anderson and The Network got one up on our pro ECW guys, but Rob Van Dam has been in a foul mood ever since Heatwave. I wouldn’t want to be CW Anderson next week!

Joey Styles: However before we get to next week, we’ve still got one hell of a main event tonight. Rhino defending the ECW Title against Lance Storm right after this commercial break!!!

The two sign off one last time as we cut to our final commercial break of the evening.

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

We return to an electric atmosphere inside the arena, as everybody is pumped for tonight’s main event. Not wasting any more time, “El Phantasmo And The Chicken Run Blast O Rama” by White Zombie is up first, and the positive ovation is GIGANTIC, as everybody’s favorite extreme Canadian, Lance Storm slaps hands with the audience. He makes his way to the ring rather quickly, a serious look on his face, before climbing the ropes and signaling that the title is coming around his waist, which gets another big ovation from the fans. Almost before “Debonaire” by Dope hits our intense ECW Champion Rhino is already storming down the ramp. Storm looks confident inside the ring, as the champion snarls and spits his way down the ramp, inside of the ring and right into the face of Storm. Suddenly, Rhino drops the title onto the canvas and yells at the referee to “RING THE FUCKING BELL”!

Match Three
ECW Championship Match
Rhino (c) defends against Lance Storm

The most highly anticipated match on Hardcore TV in quite some time certainly delivered, as these two men went at it. As per usual, Rhino looks to use his explosive strength and straight viciousness to run through yet another opponent, but at this point in his career, Storm is a wily veteran who has dealt with everything before. The Canadian manages to avoid Rhino’s explosiveness in the early stages, using his supreme foot work to constantly avoid some of the champion’s hot headed attacks. After demonstrating that he can’t be caught, Storm then begins to contain Rhino’s explosiveness, using a mix of speed and beautiful technical wrestling to keep the champion grounded. Whilst not in any harm of losing in the early stages, Rhino gets frustrated as the commentators put over the fact that Storm is dealing with Rhino better than just about anybody, except maybe Rob Van Dam.

No matter how good you are though, there is only a certain amount of time; you can stay on top of Rhino before he regains the ascendency. After being outwrestled for the first few minutes of the contest, ‘The Big Fuckin’ Deal’ strikes with a savage Clothesline out of nowhere, sending Storm tumbling across the ring. With that one move the entire match changes. From here, this becomes a typical Rhino contest as he uses his sadistic, no mercy nature to beat the living hell out of Lance Storm. Rhino dominates for a fair portion of the contest, even scoring several near falls, but Storm proves his toughness, refusing to stay down.

Resiliency is something every champion needs to have, and Storm proves that he has it in spades, taking all of Rhino’s offense, but then managing to still fight back with some of his own. The Canadian seems to catch the overly aggressive champion off guard once or twice, and this allows him back into the contest. As Storm manages to maintain a vertical base and the speed of the match picks back up, the challenger regains complete control. Storm lands several big moves, looking really impressive, but Rhino keeps kicking out of some close pinfall attempts. After another failed attempt at ending the match, Lance gets to his feet, but Rhino was crazily already up, and he kicked Storm in the gut before dropping him with a Vertical Suplex. Rhino then went outside of the ring and pulled a WOODEN TABLE from underneath the ring and slid it into the ring. Rhino leans the table up against a corner of the ring, before dragging Storm up and hoisting him up onto his shoulder, in position for a Powerslam… RHINO THEN CHARGES ACROSS THE RING… POWER SLAMMING STORM THROUGH THE DAMN TABLE!!!

Rhino lets out a satisfied roar whilst the fans mark out with chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”. Not wasting anytime, Rhino quickly drags the lifeless body of Storm out of the rubble… AND MAKES THE COVER…1…2…3…NO!!! LANCE MANAGES TO KICK OUT AT THE LAST SECOND!!!

The champion shakes his head in anger, annoyed at the match not being over, before getting back to his feet and standing over the carcass of his opponent. Rhino decides to drag Storm back to the center of the ring… BEFORE GETTING HIM IN POSITION FOR A PILEDRIVER… BUT STORM POWERS OUT WITH A BACK BODY DROP…

AND THEN STORM ROLLS BACKWARDS, INCREDIBLY LOCKING IN THE MAPLE LEAF!!!!

Storm screams as he applies as much pressure as possible, whilst Rhino screams in agony. The referee is in perfect position, ready to see if Rhino gives up, but there is no sign of him quitting in the champion. Instead, he grits his teeth, digs his nails into the canvas and begins trying to claw himself towards the ropes. Rhino makes a little bit of progress but is nowhere near making the ropes… WHEN STORM LETS GO OF THE HOLD???

BECAUSE STEVE CORINO IS STANDING ON THE APRON!!!

Our Canadian challenger immediately charges across the ring, dropping Corino with a right hand, which sends him crashing to the concrete floor on the outside. Lance leans over the ropes and sends a message to Corino, yelling “STAY OUT OF MY WAY”! Unfortunately for Storm, the incredible resilient and persistent champion is already back to his feet… BUT STORM SENSES IT… AND BOUNCES OFF THE ROPES WITH A SPRINGBOARD SPINNING HEEL KICK!!!

Both men collapse to the mat… SO STORM MAKES THE COVER…

BUT THERE IS NO COUNT… BECAUSE THE REFEREE HAS BEEN DRAGGED OUT OF THE RING…

BY CYRUS!!!

Storm doesn’t realize at first, but Rhino shoots a shoulder off of the canvas, despite there being no count. It’s hard to know for sure whether he would have beaten the three count, but either way, this match will continue. The heat is volcanic for Cyrus as he argues with the referee on the outside of the ring. Suddenly, Lance notices why there was no count, and he sees Cyrus, realizing that he is about to be part of a Network screw job. Eyes bulging with anger, Storm gets out of the ring… AND BEGINS CHASING CYRUS… WHO RUNS AROUND THE RING AS IF HIS LIFE DEPENDED ON IT!!!

Storm chases Cyrus and gets closer as they have done a lap of the ring, but Cyrus just manages to stay out of arms reach. They begin to do a second lap and Cyrus turns a corner, but as Storm does… HE GETS MOWED DOWN WITH A FUCKING GORE BY RHINO OUT OF NOWHERE!!!

The challenger for the gold is no longer moving after the Gore on the concrete floor, as Cyrus jumps up with joy. Despite being irritated by the circumstances, the fans can’t help but break out into another “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant. Rhino looks angrier than we have maybe ever seen him, as he jumps up to his feet, adrenaline having kicked in, and he lifts the dead weight of Storm up, and rolls him back into the ring. Instead of capitalizing on it though, Rhino turns his attention to Cyrus and the now recovered Corino, saying “I DON’T NEED YOUR FUCKING HELP… LEAVE”! Cyrus and Corino look a little confused as Rhino gets back into the ring, once again turning his back on Storm and motions for his fellow Network buddies to leave. Finally, Rhino turns his attention back to Storm, AND LOOKS FOR A PILEDRIVER… BUT HE’S TAKEN TO LONG AND STORM IS PLAYING POSSUM… SO LANCE SHRUGS RHINO OFF AND HITS HIM WITH A LOW BLOW!!!

Before Rhino can hit the deck, holding his groin… LANCE NAILS HIM WITH A SUPERKICK!!!

The fans are losing their shit, chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” echoing throughout the arena. Cyrus and Corino are jumping up and down on the outside, clearly concerned, as for the second time tonight; LANCE STORM LOCKS THE MAPLE LEAF ONTO RHINO!!!

He wrenches the hold, as Rhino looks incredibly vulnerable, putting his head in his hands, screaming in despair. Storm continues to apply pressure, WHEN CRYUS JUMPS UP ONTO THE APRON… DISTRACTING THE REFEREE….

SO CORINO CAN SNEAK INTO THE RING AND LEVEL STORM WITH AN OLD SCHOOL KICK!!!

Boos can be heard from the cans as Corino leaves the ring, and Cyrus jumps back off of the apron, telling the referee to do his job. A limping Rhino uses the ropes to pull himself back up… AND HE FINALLY CONNECTS WITH THE PILEDRIVER ON STORM!!!

RHINO CRAWLS ON TOP OF STORM, MAKING THE COVER…1…2…3!!!

Winner –Rhino @ 16:20

The bell rings and the audience are a little unsure on how to react, a mixed reaction emanating from the fans. Meanwhile Rhino gets back to his feet, looking truly exhausted, but he still manages to scare away the referee who attempts to raise his hand.

Cyrus and Steve Corino quickly step into the ring, both with huge smiles on their faces. Storm rolls to the outside, clearly still out of it, as Cyrus gives Rhino the ECW Title, before twirling a microphone around in his hands.

Now that it’s not just Rhino and it’s The Network celebrating, it’s pure heat from the fans. Corino puts a hand on Rhino’s shoulder, looking to continue celebrating, BUT RHINO CLUTCHES ONTO HIS ECW TITLE… AND SHOVES CORINO AWAY FROM HIM!!!

Cheers pick up a little for that as Corino and Cyrus seems concerned. The uncontrollable champion begins pacing around the ring, yelling “RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO” at the top of his lungs.

‘The King of Old School’ and the leader of The Network both attempts to calm Rhino down, but he unleashes, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING INTERFERE… I DIDN’T NEED YOUR HELP… FUCK YOU GUYS… I’M THE CHAMP”!!!

The fans are marking out now, as Rhino seems to be rebelling against The Network. At the behest of Cyrus, Corino takes a step back from Rhino as Cyrus calmly speaks over the microphone.

Cyrus: You know what, we’re sorry. We messed up, you are the champion, we apologize. It’s okay…

Corino nods along, understanding that Cyrus is trying to calm the champ down. At this stage, Rhino just continues to pace back and forth, seething with anger.

Cyrus: Our interference didn’t do anything to make you look bad anyway. Everybody knows Lance Storm isn’t good enough to challenge you.

Finally, Rhino begins to settle as he stands in line with Cyrus and Corino now, yelling “NOBODY IS GOOD ENOUGH”!!!

Cyrus: Speaking of who is good enough, I do have an announcement to make here tonight regarding the ECW Championship. Justin Credible is too injured and can’t get clearance to fight Rhino at the pay per view.

A pop can be heard for the announcement of Credible dropping out, which annoys Cyrus somewhat. Rhino and Corino don’t seem too bothered though.

Cyrus: As unfortunate as Justin’s injury is, the show must go on, so we’re going to have to call a substitution.

Everybody’s ears prick up now, waiting for the announcement.

Cyrus: After some serious deliberation with The Network, I think I’ve come up with the perfect replacement. It will be… The…

Cyrus is interrupted as “Walk” by Kilgore hits AND THE FANS LOSE THEIR MINDS, jumping up and down like crazy as Rob Van Dam steps through the curtain. Cyrus and Corino look really irritated at the interruption, but they are forced to attempt to hold Rhino back, as he looks ready to head outside of the ring and attack RVD.

Seeing Rhino’s reaction seems to make Van Dam smirk as he walks down the ramp, enjoying the “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD” chants that he is being serenaded with. Once at ringside, RVD stands still, deciding not to step into the ring with the numbers disadvantage.

Van Dam puts the microphone to his mouth, but before he can speak, Cyrus takes over.

Cyrus: Before I was ever so rudely interrupted, I was going to name the New F’ing show as the replacement for Heatwave.

Massive heat from the fans as RVD shakes his head in disgust.

Cyrus: Considering you’re the old show, I can see how you must have got confused.

More heat from the fans as Cyrus and Steve Corino laugh at his lame joke. Rhino and RVD just continue to shoot daggers at each other though.

Rob Van Dam: No, you see that’s where you’ve got it wrong. I’m not confused, dude.

Cyrus looks irritated at being called dude, but RVD ignores it.

Rob Van Dam: After all the interference and the shit that went down at Hardcore Heaven, I want one more shot!

As you can imagine, the pop is GIGANTIC as the fans are all for seeing Rhino and RVD go at it again. Van Dam nods along with the fans, as Rhino invites RVD to get into the ring now. Cyrus quickly shakes his head in a negative fashion, hosing down the idea.

Cyrus: As far as I’m concerned, second chances are for losers. You had your shot…

Suddenly, RHINO SNATCHES THE MICROPHONE OUT OF CYRUS’ HAND!!! Cyrus and Corino can’t believe it, mouths wide in shock, as the fans cheer the move.

Rhino: YOU’VE FUCKING GOT IT!!!

The fans mark out for that announcement as Rhino begins pacing back and forth, motioning for Van Dam to get into the ring.

Rhino: LET’S DO IT RIGHT NOW!!!

Cyrus haphazardly but politely asks for the microphone back and Rhino gives it. Off of the microphone, its clear Cyrus is doing his best to calm Rhino down.

Cyrus: You know what? Fine. I’m a giving man. If my monster wants it…

Rhino raises his eyebrows at almost being called Cyrus’ property, but nobody else seems to notice.

Cyrus: I’ll do the right thing and I’ll let it happen!!!

An EPIC pop reverberates throughout the arena as Rhino vs. RVD for Heatwave has been made official. Even Van Dam claps his hands together, happy with Cyrus’ decision.

Cyrus: I’ll do the right thing and let it happen under one condition. I want one stipulation added…

A worrying sight for sure, a shit eating grin appears on Cyrus’ face.

Cyrus: Rob Van Dam, I’ll give you a shot…

He pauses, building the anticipation.

Cyrus: BUT IF YOU LOSE, YOU’RE GONE FROM ECW!!!

A hushed silence comes over the arena, as everybody seems shocked at the stipulation that will be on the line. After a few more moments, RVD NODS, CONFIRMING THAT HE ACCEPTS THE MATCH!!!

Corino and Cyrus both look pretty content, when suddenly, RHINO PUSHES CYRUS AND CORINO OUT OF THE WAY AND LEAPS OUT OF THE RING!!!

RHINO AND ROB VAN DAM BEGIN TRADING RIGHT HANDS!!!

“ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants start up again, as Rhino and RVD continue to do battle, neither man willing to take a backwards step.

The punches continue to be thrown… UNTIL ABOUT HALF THE ROSTER AND A SHIT LOAD OF SECURITY HURRY DOWN THE RAMP AND BEGIN SEPERATING THE TWO!!!

RVD and Rhino are both trying to break free from their capture, whilst Cyrus shares a worried look with Corino inside of the ring.

The two most hated rivals continue to be held at bay, pandemonium only a second away, as we fade to black…

END OF SHOW

***

Current Card for ECW Heatwave
July 15th, 2001
Dayton, Ohio

ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match;
Title vs. ECW Career:
Rhino (c) defends against Rob Van Dam

Grudge Match:
CW Anderson, Jerry Lawler and Steve Corino vs. The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer​

 

[Stojy]

ECW Hardcore TV
June 23rd, 2001
Mobile, Alabama​

Much like last week’s show, the show opens without the in ring introductions, and instead we see Joey Styles and Joel Gertner standing by. Of course they are in front of the same mesh fence, with the crooked “ECW” sign hanging in the background, but both men seem happy to be there, looking slick in their suit and ties. The duo shoot looks to their left and right, listening, happy to allow the fans from inside the arena to continue their chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”. Eventually, the most passionate fans in the business quiet down, allowing the commentators to begin to speak.

Joey Styles: Hi everybody and welcome to another edition of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s Hardcore TV! I’m Joey Styles, with me is Joel Gertner, and we’ve got another crazy night in store for all of you, as things just keep getting hotter and hotter in ECW, with a clear Heatwave on the way.

Joel Gertner: It’s getting hot and sweaty to the point where I might need to start thinking about trading in this suit and tie for my birthday suit… Anyway, I didn’t think we could top last week’s show, but with some of the action we have in store tonight, we just might.

Joey Styles: And it doesn’t get any bigger than tonight’s main event. Rob Van Dam has officially been removed from The Network versus ECW six man tag team match at Heatwave, instead putting his career on the line to get one more shot at Rhino and the ECW Championship. With that being said, Van Dam is clearly pro Network, and after watching The Network do a number on Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman two weeks ago, RVD has his chance for revenge tonight. Tonight’s main event will be Rob Van Dam going one on one with CW Anderson!!!

Both commentators smile at the announcement, with Gertner rubbing his hands together in excitement.

Joel Gertner: What a match it’s going to be. CW Anderson is arguably on the biggest roll of his career after defeating Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Heaven in a Last Man Standing match, whilst there is a reason they call RVD ‘The Whole F’n Show’.

Joey Styles: Our main event isn’t our only course of action tonight, as we have also received word that later on tonight, we will have another big announcement to make. Word has come from the office of Cyrus himself that we will numerous big time matches announced for upcoming TV tapings.

Joel Gertner: Let’s hope Cyrus actually gives us what we want to see, and not what The Network wants to see!!!

Styles nods with a knowing smirk, clearly agreeing with the anti Network Gertner.

Joey Styles: That’s for a little later but one thing I know for certain is that we definitely want to see tonight’s opening match. These two debuted together at Living Dangerously back in March and since then their careers have been linked. On their debut, Christopher Daniels managed to defeat Low Ki but refused to shake his hand after the match in a blatant show of disrespect. Since then, Low Ki has been chasing that win back and almost got it at Hardcore Heaven, however Lance Storm managed to pin Little Guido first. Tonight, as a matter of fact right now, is the chance for Low Ki to get his win back, as coming up next is Christopher Daniels versus Low Ki!!!

A BIG cheer echoes throughout the arena for that announcement, followed by more chants of “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”. As the chants continue, Styles and Gertner send us to ringside, allowing them time to scramble to their usual commentary position…

…

We’re now at ringside where “Wings Of A Fallen Angel” by Dale Oliver interrupts the “ECDUBBYA” chants, and gets a MAMMOTH amount of heat, as Christopher Daniels heads towards the ring. Wearing his usual dark hood, ‘The Fallen Angel’ slowly makes his way down the ramp, casting his eyes to the sky, looking up from where he was sent. Daniels seems almost oblivious to the negative reception from the audience, instead just getting into the ring, before ripping off his hood to reveal his usual strange painted on symbols over his face. “Born In China” by The Immortals then hits and the fans ERUPT with a big time pop and a round of applause, as Low Ki stalks his way down the ramp as only he can. ‘The Warrior’ locks eyes with Daniels half way down the ramp and doesn’t break eye contact, showing exactly where he is. Despite the hatred/competitiveness between the two, once they are in the ring, they are both calm, waiting for the referee to signal for the match to begin.

Match One
Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki

Finally, it’s here. A rematch from Living Dangerously as Daniels and Ki’s tension will hopefully finally be put to rest tonight in this match. The two circle each other in the early stages, really cagey, until Ki stops and shows that he’s a warrior with honour, once again offering his hand to ‘The Fallen Angel’. Daniels pauses, looking a little taken aback, before surveying the audience, who encourage him to take the hand. He thinks about it for a moment or two before flipping Ki off, much to the dismay of the fans, and Daniels immediately locks in a Side Headlock as the two transition straight into some competitive mat work.

As good as Low Ki is, and as calm and calculated as he is, something about Daniels and the allure of Daniels brings out the worst of him in the early stages. Whilst he’s still competitive due to his skill level, he’s a little over eager at times, and Daniels uses his experience to almost sit back and wait for Ki to make a mistake. Unfortunately for Daniels though, he has no respect which also fails to allow him to finish off Low Ki. Daniels has the advantage for a fair portion of the match but instead of going for the kill, he decides to taunt Ki, which allows Low Ki to come back with some rapid fire kicks and other strikes.

‘The Warrior’ really managed to have Daniels rocking and reeling but was only able to gain a couple of near falls, with Christopher showing off his resilience. Just as it seemed as if Daniels was out of it, having been on the defensive for a long period of time, he manages to land a thumb to the eye of Low Ki which completely drains his momentum. From there, it’s the same as most Daniels’ matches so far in ECW, as he begins focusing on the neck of Low Ki. The commentators put over the success that this strategy had on Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney, and it seems as if it will have a similar outcome on Low Ki.

Ki has heart though, so much like Daniels earlier in the contest, he refuses to let his shoulders stay on the mat for the count of three. He shows his grit and determination, slowly fighting back, and we get to the final portion of the match with both men meeting in the centre of the ring. Having gone a long time already, both men are exhausted, but they throw shots at each other, before the finishing sequence shows both men going for their biggest moves, and the other being smart enough to counter. Ki eventually headed up to the top rope and leapt off, looking for a Crossbody but Daniels landed a Dropkick in mid air, which well and truly gave him the advantage.

Sensing the end is near; Daniels drags Ki to his feet… AND GETS HIM IN POSITION FOR THE LAST RITES… BUT KI KICKS DANIELS IN THE HEAD TWICE… BREAKING HIS GRIP… BEFORE SYNCHING IN THE DRAGON CLUTCH!!!

The fans mark out as Daniels begins flailing his arms wildly, trying to get out of the hold, but he’s caught in the centre of the ring. It seems as if Ki is finally going to beat Daniels, as he applies more and more pressure on the hold, and it seems as if Daniels is fading. The referee continues to check on Daniels, who is yet to submit, as the fans start up a rabid “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant. The chant continues, as Daniels fades further, and the referee raises his arm in the air, checking for signs of life…

DANIELS’ ARM DROPS ONCE…

The referee raises his arm in the air again…

DANIELS’ ARM DROPS TWICE…

One more drop and it’s over. Ki readjusts his grip, leaning back, applying as much pressure, as possible, when the referee raises Daniels arm in the air again…

Daniels still hasn’t moved…

WHEN SUDDENLY THE BELL RINGS???

The referee lets go of Daniels’ arm, which drops by the way, before having a conversation with the timekeeper and ring announcer, looking awfully confused. After a moment or two, the result is confirmed and announced much to the chagrin of the fans.

Time Limit Draw @ 15:00

Once the result settles in, Low Ki looks rather fed up inside of the ring, a shake of his head visible for all to see, as the referee explains to him exactly what happened. Meanwhile, in the corner of the ring, with a sly smirk on his face, Daniels gasps for air, realising that he has escaped another match without being pinned or submitted.

The fans are unhappy with the result, and they begin a chant of “FIVE MORE MINUTES”, “FIVE MORE MINUTES”, “FIVE MORE MINUTES”. ‘The Fallen Angel’ pays them no attention as he uses the ropes to pull himself up, however the chants seem to give Low Ki an idea, so he grabs a microphone from ringside.

Ki waits until Daniels is back up and steady on his feet, before looking him in the eye and speaking.

Low Ki: I don’t think this is the type of finish that anybody wanted to see. I came down to Mobile to win a match.

A big cheer for the ever serious Low Ki, as Daniels just rolls his eyes.

Low Ki: I shouldn’t have to deal with the same crap two weeks in a row. Last week, before our match could even start, Jerry Lynn walked out on me.

Boos for the mention of the TV Champion, whilst Daniels looks at Ki as if to say “so what”.

Low Ki: I know me and you don’t see eye to eye, and we never will, but you’re not Jerry Lynn. You have a little more honour than that.

The fans aren’t sure how to react, so Ki continues his speech with CD looking bemused.

Low Ki: Everybody has more honour than a champion who walks away from a fight… But maybe you don’t have that much more honour than Jerry if you can’t give me…

Ki points at himself and then Daniels as he keeps speaking.

Low Ki: If you can’t give yourself…

‘The Warrior’ now points to the fans.

Low Ki: And more importantly then us, if you can’t give these people an honest result. So what do you say, Daniels, to five more minutes?

Another LOUD pop emanates from the fans as they are all for the awesome match continuing. Christopher Daniels politely extends his hand, asking for the microphone and Ki hands it over amicably. The fans encourage Daniels to agree to five more minutes, much like they encouraged him with the handshake earlier in the night, however he seems unsure. Once again, Daniels surveys the audience, gauging their reaction before he finally speaks.

Christopher Daniels: I must admit that was a pretty good speech. You know what I think?

‘The Fallen Angel’ smirks as Low Ki nods his head, stating “yeah”, when DANIELS CHEAP SHOTS LOW KI WITH A MICROPHONE SHOT TO THE HEAD!!!

The heat is enormous as the fallen warrior clutches at his head on the canvas, meanwhile Daniels looks down with absolute disdain in his eyes.

With Low Ki still out of it, Daniels quickly drags him up to his feet… BEFORE DROPPING HIM WITH THE LAST RITES!!!

As expected, the boos continue to ring in as Low Ki now lies motionless, with Daniels standing over him. After a few moments, Low Ki rolls out of the ring and to the floor, grabbing at his neck, whilst Daniels picks the microphone back up, a smarmy look on his face.

He tries to speak but he initially has to wait for the fans to lower their volume, such is their hatred for him right now.

Christopher Daniels: Let me tell you all what I think. I think that Low Ki doesn’t deserve anymore time.

Major heat from the fans continues to get directed at the villainous Daniels.

Christopher Daniels: More importantly then that, you people don’t deserve anymore of ‘The Fallen Angel’!

Daniels seems to enjoy the heat, basking in it, as he closes his eyes and tilts his head up towards the heavens. Suddenly, “Highway To Hell” by ACDC interrupts proceedings and the pop from the fans is MASSIVE…

AS SPIKE DUDLEY STEPS THROUGH THE CURTAIN!!!

Spike is making his return after being put out of action thanks to Daniels. ‘The Fallen Angel’s’ eyes bulge out of his head, not expecting this to occur, as Spike takes a moment to point menacingly…

BEFORE HE BEGINS SPRINTING TOWARDS THE RING!!!

The smallest Dudley immediately hammers away with a barrage of lefts and rights, taking out weeks of frustration onto Daniels. Being exhausted from his long match just a few moments ago, all Daniels can do is cover up… WHILST SPIKE CONTINUES TO LAND LEFT AND RIGHTS, CAUSING CHRISTOPHER TO COLLAPSE ON THE CANVAS… AND ROLL UP IN A FETAL POSITION!!!

Our fans are at a fever pitch now, continuing to cheer on Spike, who lands a few more shots, as Daniels tries to roll out of the ring. Daniels gets to the apron but the determined Spike manages to stop him, and Dudley mounts Daniels and goes on the attack with more fists of fury on the apron.

Finally, Spike relents for a moment, standing up and looking at the audience, letting out a yell which gets the fans behind him even further. Those “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants are echoing throughout the arena for the return of Spike, as he now drags Daniels to his feet.

Spike thinks for a moment, before getting Daniels in position… AND SPIKE LEAPS OFF… CONNECTING WITH AN ACID DROP OFF OF THE APRON AND THROUGH THE FUCKING TIME KEEPER’S TABLE!!!

An epic spot tonight as both men remain down, and the bonkers crowd continue to unleash “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants. After a few more moments, Spike pulls himself out of the rubble and stands on his two feet. Meanwhile, an out of it Daniels begins feeling at his neck, still barely moving.

As Spike gets a standing ovation… A GAGGLE of referees sprint down the ramp and get in between Spike and Daniels. The fans boo the end to the massacre, as Spike leans through the referees, yelling “HOW’S YOUR NECK NOW, DANIELS”?

The referees continue to escort Spike to the back, whilst ‘Damage Control’ run out to check on Daniels. It’s absolutely mayhem here in Mobile, Alabama as we cut to our first commercial break of the evening…

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

Upon returning from the break, we are in the backstage area, more specifically in a dingy looking locker room, where The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer seem to be in the middle of a conversation. Tommy looks pretty serious, whilst The Sandman is in the process of lighting a cigarette, clearly an ailment to wash down the crumpled beer can at his feet. The two continue to be in conversation when they hear the locker room door open and they both turn to face a sheepish looking Rob Van Dam. RVD enters the locker room and still looks a little uncomfortable, which seems to confuse Sandman and Dreamer.

Rob Van Dam: Look dudes, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving you guys in the lurch, now that I’m facing Rhino at Heatwave; I’ve been removed from the six man tag match. Maybe it’s a little selfish of me, but I have unfinished business with Rhino.

Van Dam looks at both men, waiting for a response, but Dreamer puts his hands up to say “don’t even worry about it”.

Tommy Dreamer: You have nothing to apologise for, Rob. Dethroning Rhino is a big part of this war, so you’re still in it with us. Plus, we’d much rather see you get the title then Jerry Lynn or Justin Credible.

All three men share a laugh, able to agree with that sentiment.

Tommy Dreamer: So, well you’re here, it’s the perfect opportunity for me to wish you good luck!

‘The Whole Fuckin’ Show’ is clearly relived as Dreamer smiles at him, and the two share a handshake. RVD now turns towards The Sandman who is half way through another can of beer and puffing on a cigarette. The Sandman simply nods his head mid cigarette puff, as a sign of respect, and Van Dam takes that as all he needs, nodding back, before leaving the locker room.

The Sandman seems not too bothered by the whole situation, but suddenly Dreamer begins to get a worried look on his face.

Tommy Dreamer: Now we’re outnumbered, what are we going to do? Who could we call to come in as our third guy?

Still not looking bothered by the situation, The Sandman takes a LONG drag of his smoke, before chuckling.

The Sandman: What’s wrong with you? I thought you were Hardcore?

Tommy looks a little confused and taken aback by the insult.

The Sandman: We don’t need a third man to beat those Network chumps. We’ll take all three!

As casual as ever, The Sandman seems ready to step into a Handicap situation, and after a moments consideration, Dreamer smirks, apparently happy to so as well. The two then get back into their private conversation as we cut away from the scene…

…

We now cut back to the interview set in the backstage area, where much like at the start of the show, the excited pair of Joey Styles and Joel Gertner is standing by. Both men are still in their suits, although their ties have gotten a little looser as the night has progressed, but they seem pumped up to make some more announcements.

Joey Styles: Ladies and gentleman, we won’t take up to much of your time but we have some announcements we need to make over what’s to come over the next few weeks on ECW Hardcore TV! Firstly, this is our last episode in Mobile, Alabama as we are taking the show to Cleveland all the way up until Heatwave!

The fans interrupt from inside the arena with some light hearted boos, not happy with the fact that Hardcore TV won’t be in Alabama next week.

Joel Gertner: I know I know, but don’t be upset; we’ll be back real soon, Alabama. However, we must stress there are still tickets available for the upcoming shows in Cleveland, so be sure to get onto those as soon as possible. We’ve got some big stuff coming!

Joey Styles: Next week for instance, we could have another ECW Championship match depending on the result in tonight’s match. The word is that Rhino has requested a match up against a man who wants payback, as Rhino not only stole the ECW Title off of him to begin with, but has Gored his wife twice and put her in hospital. The Sandman wants vengeance and he has a chance to get it next week when Rhino goes one on one with The Sandman!!!

Cheers from inside the arena as an “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant starts up.

Joel Gertner: Rhino is an unstoppable monster but The Sandman is pissed off. You never mess with another man’s wife, and Rhino may to have pay for his actions next week.

Joey Styles: The week after on July seventh, we have another huge main event to announce for all of you. It will be The Network versus ECW yet again, and depending on tonight’s results, it could be an ECW Championship match. The extreme Canadian up against ‘The King Of Old School’, Lance Storm will go up against Steve Corino!!!

As expected, more hooting and hollering for the fans, as two blockbuster matches have now been announced.

Joel Gertner: Weapons or no weapons, both these guys can go. We could be a looking at a match of the year candidate with this one.

Joey Styles: Two announcements out of the way and one to go, as on July fourteenth, in three weeks, the night before Heatwave, we will see the end to one of the most hated rivalries in the history of wrestling. Entwined within the battle of The Network versus ECW are two men who couldn’t be more different. It will be the embodiment of sports entertainment and a man who hates ECW and everything it stands for, against the heart and soul of ECW. These two men have battled twice before, and a final encounter will take place, when Jerry Lawler and Tommy Dreamer do battle!!!

More of those famous “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants as Styles and Gertner both smile.

Joel Gertner: I don’t know even know if Cleveland will be able to contain these two. The animosity is at levels that we’ve never seen before.

Joey Styles: You’re right, it’s put up or shut up time and I have a feeling a certain ‘king’ won’t be talking after this match. But that’s a few weeks away, as of right now; we’ll head back to ringside as our ECW Tag Team Champions will be in action!!!

Yep, all signed off. Styles and Gertner begin hurrying back to their commentary position as we cut away…

…

Back at ringside “False Salvation” by All Out War gets a little bit of heat, but it’s the type of reception that shows the fans aren’t all that interested, as Da Baldies walk out from the back. The duo mean mug as per usual, looking as gangster as ever, with Angel jaw jacking to the fans, whilst Tony DeVito decides to remain rather silent. The two get into the ring, showing no fuss, perhaps just ready to show that they are the kings of the streets. “Sinister Music” by Boner plays and gets the fans riled up and interested, as the ECW Tag Team Champions The Unholy Alliance make their way down the ramp. Mikey Whipwreck leads the way, slapping hands with the fans, as Yoshihiro Tajiri stalks behind him, and The Sinister Minister brings up the rear. The champs seem to be ready to, getting inside of the ring and raising their titles above the head, to another nice ovation, before they nod, indicating that they are ready to fight.

Match Two
Da Baldies vs. The Unholy Alliance w/The Sinister Minister

Another team is thrust in front of The Unholy Alliance and it’s the same result, pure domination. The Sinister Minister barks instructions and encouragement on the outside, and Mikey and Tajiri put on a show. Da Baldies get in little to no offense, as this is a showcase match for the champions, just a way to get them on the show. Considering the action is so one sided, Joel Gertner makes an exciting announcement regarding word he just received for a match at Heatwave. There will be a number one contender match for the ECW Tag Team Championships, and it will be a Four Team Elimination Match. The teams involved will be Christian York and Joey Matthews, Danny Doring and Roadkill, Eye Balls and Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke!!! Styles then takes over and says we have seen a few different multi team matches in the tag division recently, but The Unholy Alliance has been so dominant that Cyrus feels he needs to keep pitting the rest against each other to find worthy challengers.

Considering Da Baldies aren’t in the number one contender’s match, I’m assuming you can pretty much guess how this one goes. The champs isolate Tony DeVito, and Mikey ends up taking him to the top rope… AND BRINGING HIM BACK DOWN WITH A SUPER WHIPPERSNAPPER!!!

The high risk move garners some “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants from the fans, as Mikey knocks Angel off of the apron, and makes the tag to Tajiri. Tajiri raises DeVito to his knees and lines him up… BEFORE TAKING HIS HEAD OFF WITH THE BUZZSAW KICK!!!

TAJIRI HOOKS THE LEG…1…2…3!!!

Winners – The Unholy Alliance @ 3:08

After a pretty elementary victory for the champions, The Sinister Minister gets into the ring with the tag titles, and hands them to his charges. The referee gets in between The Unholy Alliance and raises their hands in the air, allowing the fans to cheer them some more.

Tajiri and Mikey celebrate for another minute or so in the ring, but they don’t overdo it, knowing tonight wasn’t a huge deal. Once they have completed their celebration, the champs and The Sinister Minister step out of the ring and make their way to the back, job done for the evening.

Meanwhile, inside of the ring, Angel helps Tony DeVito to his feet, and the two Baldies lick their wounds, feeling the bumps and bruises from their match tonight.

As they finally get steady on their feet… THEY GET ATTACKED FROM BEHIND BY…

HOT COMMODITY!!!

CHRIS HAMRICK, EZ MONEY AND JULIO DINERO ARE BEATING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF DA BALDIES!!!

The fans let out a light smattering of heat, not overly concerned, as Elektra cheers on her charges from outside of the ring. Hot Commodity clobbers them with punches and what not, before landing some stops to ensure they stay down.

With Angel and DeVito both out of it, Elektra gets into the ring. Elektra holds Angel down, whilst Hamrick holds DeVito, as EZ and Dinero both head to the top rope. They look at each other, shoot a wink… AND LEAP OFF OF THE TOP ROPE, CONNECTING WITH STEREO MOONSAULTS!!!

A bit of an “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chant can be heard for the high risk move, as Elektra yells “MOVE THEM CLOSE”. Knowing what that means, EZ and Julio manoeuvre the bodies of Da Baldies to be right next to each other.

At the same time, Hamrick heads to the top rope, smirking… BEFORE LEAPING OFF THE TOP ROPE… SO HE CAN LAND THE CONFEDERATE CRUNCH ON BOTH MEN!!!

Those “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants don’t stop as Da Baldies are completely incapacitated now. Hot Commodity however stands in the middle of the ring, all four with their hands in the air, enjoying their moment of glory considering it’s their first in awhile.

They continue to celebrate, as the novelty wears off and the fans begin to boo them, whilst we cut to a commercial break…

-COMMERCIAL BREAK-​

Once we return, we are backstage, in an office like environment, where the pompous as ever members of The Network stand by. The image of Cyrus, Dawn Marie, Jack Victory and Steve Corino all appearing draws big time heat from inside the arena. All five of them stare into the camera until an arrogant looking Corino begins to speak.

Steve Corino: You’re all in for a treat because I’m about to take you all for a quick trip behind the curtain. You see, its common knowledge amongst anyone who knows anything now that Lance Storm is headed to the WWF.

‘The King Of Old School’ pauses, letting those words sink in as it’s the first time it has been mentioned on television.

Steve Corino: Well kudos to you, Lance. Honestly, we’re all real happy for you!

They all clap and nod, “supporting” Storm. Corino then looks towards Cyrus, who stops smiling and takes over.

Cyrus: As somebody’s boss, you always want to see them move onto better things, so I’m glad I’ve been able to help Lance with this. I couldn’t be prouder. My only problem is that he couldn’t have taken some of these other bums with him.

The leader of The Network shakes his head in disdain, as Corino begins looking really irritated.

Steve Corino: As much as we’d love to get rid of all of the ECW trash, that isn’t even the big problem here. The problem lies in the fact that Lance Storm thinks he can walk out in two weeks WITHOUT HONOURING PRO WRESTLING’S OLDEST RULE!!!

A sombre mood comes over the group as they all seem disappointed in Storm.

Steve Corino: This shocks me more than you can imagine, because as much as he would hate to admit, Lance and I have some similarities. I know for a fact that he’s old school like me…

Corino pauses, mulling over his words.

Steve Corino: And having those old school values means that he knows the right thing to do is leaving on your back.

The Network nods along with Corino, clearly in agreement.

Steve Corino: However Lance has made it clear, that he doesn’t want to help out ECW’s fastest rising star like that.

This clearly irritates Steve Corino, as he shakes his head in disgust.

Steve Corino: BECAUSE HE DOESN’T RESPECT THE KING OF OLD SCHOOL!!!

As Corino loses his mind, his best and most loyal friend, Jack Victory shakes his head, clearly angered by this also. Even Dawn gives a little shake of her head.

Dawn Marie: I’ve dealt with Lance for years and he’s just plain mean.

Dawn pretends to be getting all emotional, even though she has no heart. Victory and Corino ‘console’ her whilst Cyrus begins speaking again.

Cyrus: Whether now or in two weeks, he will respect you, Steve. You will make him leave on his back whether he wants to or not.

‘The King Of Old School’ nods along with Cyrus, who has a devilish grin on his face.

Cyrus: As far as I’m concerned, nobody gets out of ECW unscathed and without paying proper respect to The Network.

Suddenly, the door SMASHES OPEN… LEAVING A CRACK IN THE PLASTER IN THE WALL… As the ECW Champion Rhino storms into the ring. Rhino looks as worked up as ever, steaming in anger whilst he interrupts proceedings.

Rhino: SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

Whoa. Rhino lays down the law and Cyrus can’t believe it. The whole Network look a little confused as to whether Rhino realises he just interrupted Cyrus, either way, the champ continues.

Rhino: Sandman… Sandman… Sandman… Sandman… Sandman… when will you have had enough?

The champion begins pacing back and forth as he always does, whilst the others in the room are clearly intimidated, shrinking into the background.

Rhino: What do I need to do to put you down for good? I’ve Gored you…

The violent Rhino is sweating profusely, so worked up.

Rhino: I’ve done more; I’ve Piledriven you through tables…

A sadistic smirk crosses his face for a fleeting moment.

Rhino: I’ve done more, I’ve Gored your wife…

Rhino’s face is getting redder and redder, he’s ready to explode.

Rhino: I’ve done more; I’ve Piledriven your wife through tables…

Finally, he loses it. Rhino is clearly frustrated with the persistence of The Sandman. Realising Rhino is about to explode, the others in the room step further away.

Rhino: DO I HAVE TO GORE YOUR Blue, BASTARD SON?

Corino laughs at the question and the champ shoots him a death stare. Corino pipes down real quick.

Rhino: YEAH, EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT KIDS PROBABLY NOT EVEN YOURS!!!

Ouch. Burn from the champion, who continues pacing back and forth, quickening his pace.

Rhino: DO I HAVE TO DRAG FUCKING OLD USED UP WOMAN BACK OUT TO ECW AND GORE HER?

He’s salivating at the mouth, like a wild animal as he continues.

Rhino: BECAUSE I’M WONDERING HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES I HAVE TO BEAT THE SANDMAN? HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES, CYRUS? HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES, STEVE?

The champion looks at Cyrus and Corino when he asks them the question, and they both just kind of shrug. Rhino maintains his stare, right into the fearful eyes of Corino.

Rhino: AND BY THE WAY, NEVER GET IN THE RING DURING MY MATCH AGAIN, OR I’LL GORE YOU TOO!!!

The furious champion TOSSES A CHAIR across the room, as Corino looks happy that he’s no longer being lambasted.

Rhino: NOBODY MESSES WITH RHINO!!! NOBODY… NOBODY… NOBODY!!!

His screaming is getting louder and louder, Rhino’s ready to kill somebody tonight.

Rhino: I BROKE LANCE STORM… I BROKE NEW JACK… I BROKE SPIKE DUDLEY… I BROKE THE SANDMAN… I BROKE LORI… I BROKE VAN DAM…

Holy shit. The intensity is unreal as Rhino continues, pounding his own chest.

Rhino: SAY MY NAME… SAY MY FUCKING NAME…

Rhino doesn’t realise but Victory looks to step up and say his name, but Cyrus puts a hand over his mouth, stopping him.

Rhino: RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO… RHINO!!!

Suddenly, Rhino stops, getting up close and personal with the camera, a scary sight in itself.

Rhino: FUCK ROB VAN DAM…

He now points at himself.

Rhino: I AM ECW!!!

With that, Rhino turns to face the rest of The Network, who aren’t really sure how to react. There is an awkward silence in the office, as we fade away…

…

Before cutting to ringside where “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J comes on the pa system and there is an INCREDIBLE amount of heat for The Network’s Enforcer, CW Anderson. CW walks down the ramp with a purpose, refusing to acknowledge the savage heat from the fans, before getting into the ring and cracking his knuckles, loading up his deadly left hand. “Walk” by Kilgore virtually blows the roof off of the arena as everybody’s favourite wrestler, Rob Van Dam steps out from the back, closely followed by the whistle blowing Bill Alfonso. Alfonso jumps around like a lunatic, hyping the audience even further, as a massive “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD” chant goes on throughout the arena. Tonight, RVD takes the time to point his thumbs to his shoulders, in rhythm with the ring announcer saying “ROB…VAN…DAM”, much to the delight of the fans. Once inside the ring though, the fun and games are over, as Van Dam realises he needs to send a message to The Network tonight.

Match Three
CW Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam w/Bill Alfonso

Whilst on paper this is a solid match, in the scheme of things I don’t really have a hell of a lot to say about it. This is pretty much an extended showcase for RVD, as whilst Anderson gets in a fair amount of offense, ‘The Whole F’n Show’ manages to get all of his signature spots into the match, including the ones that take an eternity to set up. As to be expected, it was Van Dam’s feet doing most of the damage, however what was more interesting is that The Network never appeared during the match. On commentary, Joey Styles references the awkward confrontation with Rhino just before the match started, and they must be doing their best to keep the peace backstage right now.

CW gains a few near falls in the home stretch, looking good, but RVD shows off his resilience, before introducing a steel chair into the match back fires on Anderson. He stands over RVD, steel chair in hand, BUT RVD LEAPS UP… AND HITS A VAN DAMINATOR OUT OF NOWHERE!!!

Those iconic “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA”, “ECDUBBYA” chants play throughout the arena, as Anderson drops the chair, but falls to the mat, clearly out of it. This allows RVD to head up to the top rope, and he takes a moment or two, surveying the audience… BEFORE JUMPING OFF THE TOP ROPE… AND CONNECTING WITH THE FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH!!!

As he always does, Van Dam clutches at his mid section, rolling around on the canvas, selling the impact of the blow. After getting some air back, RVD HOOKS THE LEG…1…2…3!!!

Winner – Rob Van Dam @ 14:28

The adoring fans continue to cheer loudly, as the bell rings and the referee signals that RVD is the victor. Van Dam seems relatively unscathed as he gets up, a smirk on his face, whilst Alfonso rolls into the ring and begins jumping up and down in celebration.

Van Dam is content, but he doesn’t allow the fans chants of “RVD”, “RVD”, “RVD” to get him too excited. He gets onto the top rope and performs his thumbs to the shoulder taunt one last time, before signalling that the ECW Championship will be coming around his waist at Heatwave.

With the fans chanting his name, and RVD looking unstoppable tonight, the questions remains, is this our next ECW Champion?

END OF SHOW

***

Current Card for ECW Heatwave
July 15th, 2001
Dayton, Ohio

ECW World Heavyweight Championship Match;
Title vs. ECW Career:
Rhino (c) defends against Rob Van Dam

Grudge Match:
CW Anderson, Jerry Lawler and Steve Corino vs. The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer

Elimination Match:
Christian York and Joey Matthews vs. Danny Doring and Roadkill vs. Eye Balls vs. Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke​

 

[Stojy]

I know, I know, I've spammed it up in here over the last few days, just trying to move this along as it's still mainly a repost of all shows at this time. This will be the last post in quick succession, as the next show was written in recapped form, and I'll be remastering it into a full version, so it's similar to all the other shows posted. So yay, semi new content in ECW.

ECW Hardcore TV Preview
30-06-2001
Cleveland, Ohio​

Another show on the road to Heatwave and despite the fact that the ECW Championship match for the pay per view got a little bit clearer, there is still some uncertainty in the air. It has been confirmed that Rob Van Dam will be the challenger for the ECW Championship, but with this week’s show in mind, the question remains, who will be the champion heading into Heatwave? It has been confirmed that this week Rhino will defend the ECW Championship against The Sandman. The word coming from those in the know is that Cyrus and The Network did not want to book this match, but Rhino forced their hand, threatening them if they didn’t. Whilst Rhino is perhaps the most dominant man in professional wrestling, The Sandman will have revenge on his mind as for the second year in a row at Hardcore Heaven, Rhino delivered a Piledriver through a table to The Sandman’s wife, Lori. It’s worth keeping in mind that Rhino only became champion due to defeating The Sandman after Sandman won the title in a gruelling four man ladder match. Since that moment, The Network has done all they can to prevent The Sandman from getting a rematch for the gold. That ends tonight, and in a match that is sure to be full of fireworks, we are left with the same question we started with, who will be champion at Heatwave?

Two weeks ago, our ECW Television Champion Jerry Lynn, with the approval of Cyrus and The Network, decided to host an open challenge for his ECW TV Title. A man who has been making waves throughout his first three months in ECW, Low Ki accepted the challenge, only for Lynn to take it as a joke, and pretend that he didn’t know who Low Ki was. When the defiant Low Ki refused to back down, Lynn tried to land a cheap shot, but Ki cleared Lynn from the ring. After a second unsuccessful attempt at attacking ‘The Warrior’, the champion stormed off and ended up leaving the arena. Despite the terrible outcome of the first challenge, it has been announced that Jerry Lynn will once again host an open challenge for his ECW Television Championship. Ironically, it has also been confirmed that Low Ki won’t be in the arena this week, so one must wonder who will accept the challenge, and whether Lynn will have better success then last week.

The ongoing battle within the tag division of ECW seems to be the ECW Tag Team Champions The Unholy Alliance just being a step above the rest. The remainder of the tag division seems to be trading wins as they find a way to make themselves the obvious number one contender’s for the tag titles. This week in non title action, The Unholy Alliance will go up against Kid Kash and Super Crazy, who at this point are not a full time team. Crazy and Kash teamed up at Hardcore Heaven in a Three Way for the tag titles and had relative success, but were unable to get the win in the end. One must think that if they get a win in a non title match tonight, that must put them right at the top of the list in terms of who gets the next title shot. Funnily enough, since defeating Jerry Lynn in non title action three weeks ago, Kash hasn’t even been booked on the show. One must wonder whether booking this match is another way for The Network to keep another dangerous challenger in Kid Kash away from Lynn’s TV Title. Either way, we’ll have to see how this pans out, as there could be some tag team gold in Kash and Super Crazy’s future.

Please tune in to see all of this and much, much more.

Confirmed Matches:

ECW Championship Match:
Rhino (c) defends against The Sandman

ECW Television Championship Open Challenge:
Jerry Lynn (c) defends against ???

Kid Kash and Super Crazy vs. The Unholy Alliance​

 

[DTP]

ECW Hardcore TV - June 23, 2001:

I've been so out of the loop with a lot of things, but I am glad to see the consistency is still here with this project. I can't believe it's June already, but then again, I see ECW took a pause for much of January, February and March. Entering such unchartered waters is a somewhat spooky concept, given the lack of a promotion's existence at this time allows you absolute freedom with no guidelines.

Given what we know about a hypothetical ECW resurrection post-bankruptcy, it opens up the talent pool of guys from a time if World Championship Wrestling still came to an end. It also lends into that idea that the Extreme era was not long for this transformation into a hybrid style. And with Gabe Sapolsky involved in the booking process, who knows how Ring of Honor this can possibly get, advancing into 2002.

I really enjoyed the Low Ki and Christopher Daniels stuff on this show. It felt normal for Little Spike Dudley to get involved in the mix, though I was more than surprised to see Spike still here. I figured one way or another, he'd be primed for a WWF run in 2001. The time limit draw was something ECW crowds would have despised, but the post-match more than made up for it.

I'm enjoying that we still see nuances of the ECW everybody knows and loves. After all, The Network are a part of the bigger picture in this continuation of the promotion, at least in storyline. Has Rob Van Dam's official crowning of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship happened yet, or are we waiting on another television deal to magically arise? That one I'm also sceptical on, mostly due to how WWF struggled to obtain a deal for their WCW invasion this summer. That said, this is a world where WWF isn't the only game left in town. I have to believe RVD's time will come, and hopefully before WWF comes knocking (unless he's tethered down to a contract).

It makes sense seeing Yoshihiro Tajiri get the win for the Unholy Alliance over Da Baldies, though from the writing it makes it seem as though Tajiri never held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship just six months ago. Then again, Mikey Whipwreck is also comedically a former World champ. ECW World Tag Team Championship run when? I'm also eager to see some new blood in this division, at a time where The Briscoe Brothers are nearly of age; The Maximo Brothers are setting the indies alight the following years; and The Jung Dragons are surely free agents (or tied down by a WWF developmental deal).

I think it makes absolute sense for Rhino to be the man to be beaten, and I really enjoyed his tirade about being ECW personified. He deserved a long killer run as ECW World Heavyweight Champion.