Hello and welcome to another edition
of Seanomaniac Wrestling Reviews, the only wrestling review series on the
internet that has more of a chance of winning the WWE Universal Championship at
The Royal Rumble than Kane! Back to the land of extreme as it is time of ECW’s
Heatwave 1998. Judging by the card, this show is absolutely stacked with
imports for what many would consider Japan’s counterpart to ECW aka FMW with
the likes of Mike Awesome, Hayabusa and Tanaka while also featuring Michinoku
Pro’s Jinsei Shinzaki who would have wrestled in the WWF as Hakushi and even
made to NJPW. By 1998, a lot of the FMW roster had gotten greater exposure
through working with AJPW, Shinzaki and Hayabusa had competed in the World’s
Strongest Determination League in 1997. Anyways, you get the picture I think
the world of these wrestlers and their styles should fit perfectly with ECW.
Our main event pits The Dudley Boyz against Tommy Dreamer, Sandman and Spike,
Dreamer is out for blood as The Dudleys broke Beulah’s neck. Engaging
storylines so let’s sink our teeth into ECW.
Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible W/ Jason/Chastity/Nicole Bass
Credible continues to be pushed as an upper mid-card heel
with Jerry Lynn starting to make a name for himself in ECW after debuting
alongside Tommy Rogers. The Franchise is on commentary due to injury, his arm
is so heavily taped up it is ridiculous. Credible talks trash to Lynn, they
lock-up. Armdrag from Lynn, another lock-up. Arm-wringer from Credible, Lynn
escapes for an arm-drag. Credible is not happy, knee by Credible. Chops by both
men, sunset flip out of the corner for two. Crossbody out of the corner for
two, Lyn continues stomping away. Credible is caught with a victory roll for
two, headscissors by Lynn who finishes up with a clothesline to the floor. Lynn
ascends to the top turnbuckle and scores big with a high crossbody to the
floor.
Two for Lynn, front suplex by Lynn for two. Side headlock
takedown by Lynn, Credible escapes but eats a shoulder block before countering
a tilt-a-whirl slam for a reverse DDT. Credible smacks Lynn in the corner,
Credible jaw-jacks with the fans. Stomps in the corner, Jason holds a chair in
Lynn’s face. Running knee in the corner by Credible, Credible pulls Lynn out of
the corner for a powerbomb. Two for Credible, Jason and Bass put the boots to
Lynn as Chastity distracts the referee. Chops by Credible, Lynn fights back on
the floor. Jason helps Credible take control, Lynn meets the guard rail.
Credible smacks Lynn with a beer, Credible jaw-jacks some more with the fans.
Lynn makes Credible do the Flair flip, clothesline from the
apron by Credible. Credible misses a double axe handle as Lynn nails a
flapjack. Scrapbuster slam by Credible to cut off Lynn for two, reverse
chinlock by Credible. Lynn fires up, sunset flip for to. They trade pins before
a powerbomb by Lynn, two for Lynn. Top rope hurricanrana by Lynn for two,
sidewalk slam by Lynn. Lynn is on the top rope, Lynn tries a hurricanrana but
Credible nails a powerbomb. Credible has a chair, Lynn DDTs Credible on the
chair for two. Lynn elevates Credible to the apron, hotshot from Lynn.
Lynn has Credible on the top rope, hurricanrana through a
table by ringside by Lynn. Chastity distracts the referee, in comes Jason. Lynn
sit-out powerbombs Jason, Bass is in the ring. Lynn low blows Bass, Lynn
smashes Bass with the chair. Chastity is in the ring, Chastity kicks Credible
in the balls by mistake. Tombstone by Lynn, Lynn has Credible on the top rope.
Lynn wants one more hurricanrana, Credible counters for a That’s Incredible
from the middle rope, Credible wins the match.
If you take out all the nonsense of beating up women at the
end of the match, this was a lot of fun. Lynn wrestles like he wants to steal
the show, Lynn is so good in that ring that he made Credible look good which
was not accomplished by Mikey Whipwreck or Tommy Dreamer. Although, the booking
in those circumstances did not help Credible. The two best opening matches on
the pay per views that I have watched so far have both featured Jerry Lynn,
that is a damn good sign of things to come.
Winner:
Justin Credible over Jerry Lynn via Super That’s Incredible!
Chris Candido W/ Tammy vs Lance Storm
Lance Storm and Candido were tag team champions, both men
were in The Triple Threat. However, Storm was dropped in favour of Bigelow
which meant it was curtains for Storm. The two brawled for a bit at the last
pay per view when we were in the midst of Al Snow Mania. This is the first big
match between the two, clean break from Storm after a lock-up. Candido shoves
Storm to the corner, Storm grabs a side headlock. Shoulder block by Storm,
right hand by Storm. Spinning heel kick by Storm, chops by both men. Corner
clothesline and elbow by Storm, low seated dropkick. Storm paintburhses
Candido, Candido pulls Storm into the turnbuckle. Stomps by Candido, Candido
knocks Storm to the floor. Candido dives onto Storm with a crossbody, surfboard
by Candido.
Storm mulekicks out, Tammy trips Storm who shakes it off and leg
lariats Candido. Clothesline to Candido, Candido nails Storm with a running
Ligerbomb for two. Delayed vertical suplex by Candido, Candido scores with a
middle rope leg drop for two. Swinging neckbreaker and reverse chinlock by
Candido, Storm escapes but eats a massive powerslam for his escape. Candido
drops Storm rib first across the top rope, Storm avoids it the second time and
suplexes Candido to the floor. Baseball slide by Storm, springboard crossbody
by Storm into the crowd.
Tammy is freaking out, Storm and Candido brawl on the floor.
Candido eye pokes Storm, they trade blows in the ring. Both men bang heads,
Candido falls on Storm for two, Candido is on the top rope. Storm superplexes Candido,
Storm is on the top rope. Diving Spinning Heel Kick by Storm, Storm nails a
sit-out powerbomb for two. Storm dives into a powerslam from a springboard for
two, Candido whips Storm to the corner. Storm reverses with a back elbow,
Candido has powder. Storm knocks powder into Candido’s eyes. Referee is down,
Tammy crotches Storm. Comedy ensues as Tammy is ripped out of her top and
Candido school boys the referee. Candido stumbles into The Blonde Bombshell for
the win.
I liked this match a lot until the end of course. Here we
have another case of ECW shooting itself in the foot, you have a very serious
feud between the two that waged on for months and months. The match is physical
as the two wrestle to see who is the better man, Candido is a cheating dickhead
so why do we have to see Tammy’s top come off and the referee rolled up? What
is the point of the powder? Silly and no reason for it in the slightest, it
takes away from what was a very entertaining wrestling match and for what? You
have a few fat fucks cheering as Sunny’s tits are out? Lame!
Winner:
Chris Candido over Lance Storm via Blonde Bombshell!
Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome
Here we have the introduction to American wrestling fans to
one of FMW’s top feuds, Tanaka vs Awesome. Tanaka and Awesome were both
heavyweights in FMW, battling it out in some of the toughest and hardest
hitting matches you might ever see. Tanaka bombed in his ECW debut against
Furnas, Furnas did not do himself any favours though. Hoping this match lights
the crowd on fire, they lock-up as Awesome nails Tanaka with a huge backward
elbow. They trade blows, side headlock by Tanaka. Huge belly to belly suplex by
Awesome, Tanaka elevates Awesome to the apron. Tanaka runs off the ropes,
Awesome counters with a slingshot shoulder block. Splash by Awesome for two,
clothesline to the floor.
Suicide Dive by Awesome, diving clothesline by Awesome for
two. Tanaka dodges a corner clothesline, Awesome nails a German suplex but
Tanaka shows fighting spirit and drills Awesome with a springboard clothesline.
Tanaka runs the length of the ramp and drills Awesome with the chair to the
head. Missile dropkick for two, Awesome has Tanaka on his shoulders and drops
Tanaka to the floor. Chair wars with Tanaka winning, Awesome is cracked across
the back. Awesome lays against the guard rail, Tanaka is backdropped into the
crowd. Springboard splash by Awesome, Awesome poses in the crowd. Awesome Bomb
for two, Alabama Slam by Awesome.
Awesome Splash for two, two brutal chair shots to the head.
Tanaka fights through the pain, Awesome nails one more chair shot but Tanaka
continues to be absolutely ungodly. Running Awesome Bomb, Awesome has a chair
and stands on the top rope, chair to the head. Clothesline by Awesome, Tanaka
wriggles free of an Awesome Bomb. Roaring Elbow and Awesome is powerbombed
through the table. Tanaka has Awesome in the ring, massive elbow and a huge
Roaring Elbow for two. Tanaka has a chair, Awesome is sentenced to death as
Tanaka wins the match with a beautiful tornado DDT on the chairs.
This was a condensed collection of all the best spots of the
wars between Awesome and Tanaka. As a result, the fans and I eat it up all week
long. It was very enjoyable with the mix of Awesome flying around like no other
big man while chucking Tanaka around like he was nothing. Tanaka was no slouch
himself showing hearts and badassery surviving chair shots to the head,
powerbombing Awesome to the floor and
throwing elbows second only to Misawa to finish off Awesome. Like I said, this
was a highlight reel of all their best works, the fans loved it and so did !
Winner:
Masato Tanaka over Mike Awesome via Tornaod DDT!
(ECW Tag Team Championship Match) Rob Van Dam & Sabu © W/
Bill Alfonso vs Jinsei Shinzaki & Hayabusa
So, we went from tag team champions who did not get along to
tag team champions who do not get along. Yeah, this is a little strange
considering Sabu and RVD worked fine before as two wrestlers who had defected
to the WWF. Anyways, RVD’s arrogance has pissed off Sabu but somehow they pull
it together to kick ass. Their opponents tonight are FMW’s top star Hayabusa
teaming with the man who came to save him from the clutches of Mr. Gannosuke
and Fuyuki, that being Jinsei Shinzaki. This is not the first meeting of some
of these wrestlers as Sabu had competed against Hayabusa before in FMW. They
are all wrestlers who use a high-risk, high-flying style inside of that ring so
this could be a tonne of fun for the fans and I.
RVD and Hayabusa start, Hayabusa takes the arm of RVD. Leg
trip by RVD, Hayabusa rolls through but RVD applies a single leg Boston crab.
RVD stomps Hayabusa, side headlock by Hayabusa. Botched armdrag thing from Hayabusa,
RVD talks with Sabu. Japanese armdrag by RVD, kicks by Hayabusa. Spinning kick
from Hayabusa, cheap shot to Sabu who wants to kill Hayabusa. Shinzaki comes
in, uppercuts and a scoop slam. Splash by Shinzaki for two, huge sole butt from
RVD. RVD poses for everyone, kick to the back of the head by Shinzaki. Shinzaki
walks the ropes and nails his chop to the back of the head of RVD, RVD ducks a
clothesline and avoids a knee drop.
Spinning heel kick and a corkscrew leg drop by RVD, tag to
Sabu. Springboard leg drop for two, elbow and kicks by Sabu. Clothesline by
Sabu for two, arm-wringer from Sabu. Hayabusa tags in, low dropkick and
slingshot moonsault for two, side headlock by Sabu. Dropkick by Hayabusa, Sabu
rolls to the floor and throws around chairs. Dropkick to the knee by Sabu, Sabu
grabs onto the ankle. Hayabusa reaches the ropes, Sabu continues to hold
control with a crossface. Snapmare into a camel clutch, low dropkick by RVD. Springboard
dropkick and plancha by Shinzaki. Rolling sole butts by Hayabusa, baseball
slide and Asai moonsault by Hayabusa. All four men are in the crowd before Sabu
grabs a chair and dives into the crowd.
RVD has Hayabusa on the guard rail, corkscrew leg drop to the
back of the head of Hayabusa. Shinzaki and Sabu are in the ring, Shinzaki is
taken down by a dropkick. RVD uses the surfboard for a Romero Special, Sabu
drives a chair onto Shinzaki’s chest. Hayabusa saves Shinzaki, Hayabusa throws
Sabu to the floor. Double bulldog by the challengers on RVD, scoop slam by
Shinzaki. Springboard hilo/knee drop/moonsault by the challengers, leg lariat
in the corner by Sabu on Hayabusa. Hayabusa eats a spinning heel kick from RVD,
Shinzaki saves Hayabusa.
Sabu is kicked around before a German suplex by Hayabusa,
Sabu nails Shinzaki with a huge top rope hurricanrana. Five Star Frog Splash by
RVD for two, Shinzaki Powerbombs RVD. Hayabusa nails a 450 Splash, Sabu saves
the match. Sabu snapmares Hayabusa, Rolling Thunder and slingshot leg drop by
the champions for two, Sabu has Shinzaki in a Boston crab. Top rope leg drop by
RVD for two, RVD forearms Shinzaki to the floor. Sabu has a table, RVD kicks
Hayabusa into the corner. Shinzaki nails a diving shoulder block for two, dragon
screw leg whip by Shinzaki.
Hayabusa gets caught on the top rope, RVD kicks a chair into
Hayabusa’s face. Dragon screw by Shinzaki on RVD, Hayabusa keeps down Sabu.
Scoop slam by Shinzaki, Sabu is kicked down by Hayabusa. Shinzaki holds down
RVD, frog splash by Hayabusa for two. Sabu brings in another table, Arabian
Facebuster to Hayabusa. Van Damnator for Shinzaki, Hayabusa is placed on a
table. Shinzaki is placed on the same table and the champions nail stereo leg
drops crashing through the tables. Sabu covers Shinzaki and our champions
retain the titles!
While ECW may try to past this off as a classic, I just
cannot call it a classic. There were a lot of sloppy points in the match,
Hayabusa did not have a great night with screw-ups in the early part of the
match and the tables collapsing helped neither team. Yes, there was some cool
spots in the match. RVD and Sabu had the makings of a great team with all their
double team offense, I just wish they could have been a little cleaner and crisp
in their execution of this match. Great finish though, they absolutely nailed
that for sure!
Winners:
RVD & Sabu over Hayabusa & Shinzaki via Leg Drop Through The Table!
(ECW FTW Championship Match) Taz © vs Bam Bam Bigelow
The continuation of the feud between Taz and The Triple
Threat, Taz lost his television championship to Bigelow. Bigelow would go onto
lose the championship to RVD which led to Taz abandoning his pursuit of
Bigelow. However, Bigelow made it extremely clear tat Taz would not be able to get
to Shane Douglas without going through The Beast In The East. Taz rallied and
in the meantime, created his own championship which was the fuck the world
championship.
Bigelow powerbombs Taz, Taz no-sells and judo throws Bigelow.
Two huge lariats, Samoan drop by Taz. Bigelow is out on the ramp, right hands
by Taz. Kicks by Taz and Bigelow falls into the crowd, Taz dives into the crowd
with a crossbody but Bigelow catches Taz and Taz meets the guard rail. They
brawl in the crowd, right hands by Taz. Bigelow whips Taz into a pile of
chairs, Bigelow is exploder suplexed by Taz. Two for Taz, Taz applies a cross
armbreaker but Bigelow is not worn down enough. More brawling in the crowd,
Tazmission in the crowd but Bigelow escapes with a jawbreaker. Chair to the
back by Bigelow, powerbomb by Bigelow. Bigelow brings in a table, Taz is
whipped through the table.
Clothesline from Taz, Taz grabs Bigelow and nails an exploder
Taz plex through the remnants of the table. Bigelow pops up with a clothesline,
Taz is bleeding everywhere now. Bigelow has Taz on the ramp, Bigelow wants a
powerbomb but Taz counters for a massive DDT through the ramp. Bigelow crawls
out of the hole just like living dangerously, Taz is up and Taz jumps on Bigelow
for a Tazmission. Taz chokes out Bigelow, Taz is your winner.
An uninspired rematch from these two, the majority of this
match played out in the crowd through brawling, the laziest way to kill time
for a match. A tonne of brawling in the crowd does not make a good match, it makes
for a very boring match. The finish was a play on their previous encounter
which made for fun at the end with Taz gaining retribution for his loss at
Living Dangerously but this was not a good match folks!
Winner: Taz
over Bam Bam Bigelow via Tazmission!
(Dudleyville Street Fight Match) Spike Dudley/Tommy
Dreamer/The Sandman vs The Dudley Boyz/Big Dick Dudley W/ Sign Guy Dudley/Joel
Gertner
The Dudley Boyz broke Beulah’s neck, writing her out of ECW
until its closure (Beulah wanted time-off to raise a family and have a real
job). Dreamer wanted to kill The Dudleys, Sandman had been put in the hospital
by The 3D while Spike had been in a constant war with his brothers for many
months at this point. The Dudleys cut a heel promo that goes on and on before
we have our babyfaces bringing ladders and beers to brawl.
Dreamer and D-Von start the match, Dreamer pummels D-Von.
Sunset flip does not work for Dreamer, they trade pins in some nice wrestling.
Dreamer places D-Von on the top rope, neckbreaker by Dreamer. Tag to Bubba,
Dreamer tags Spike. Bubba tosses Spike twice, Spike comes back with forearms.
Ten punches in the corner, Spike’s hurricanrana is countered for a powerbomb.
Spike is shoved into the corner and choked by The Dudleys, clothesline by
Bubba. Back body drop by Bubba, slap by Bubba. Scoop slam by Bubba, Bubba
misses a splash. Spike runs into a powerbomb attempt, hurricanrana and
one-handed bulldog by Spike for two.
Tag to Big Dick,
Sandman tags into the match. Lock-up, clean break. Sandman pushes back Big Dick,
clean break. Right hands by Sandman, clothesline to the floor. Big Dick pulls
out Sandman, brawl on the floor. Big Dick meets the guard rail, Bubba and
Sandman are in the ring. Sandman nails Bubba with a top rope hurricanrana,
clothesline by Sandman. Dreamer is crotched on the guard rail, Sandman has a ladder.
Spike climbs to the top and dives onto everyone at ringside. Sandman places a
ladder on D-Von, Rolling Rock from Sandman. Big Dick back drops Sandman onto
the ramp. Bubba places a ladder on Dreamer, senton from the middle rope
crushing Dreamer.
Acid Drop by Spike on Bubba, D-Von saves Bubba. Sidewalk slam
on the ladder, Big Dick is crotched attempting a moonsault. All three Dudleys
are in the tree of woe, Dreamer tries snapping the leg of Sign Guy Dudley, Jeff
Jones eats a piledriver and Gertner eats a chair to the face courtesy of
dropkick by the referee. All Dudleys eat the dropkicks, Emerald Flowsion by
Dreamer for two. Big Dick nails Dreamer with Total Penetration, Spike tries an
Acid Drop but Big Dick shoves Spike through a table. Sandman cracks Big Dick
with his kendo stick, Bubba nails Sandman with a chair. Dreamer avoids a splash
from Bubba and nails a Dreamer DDT for the win. Jack Victory attacks Dreamer,
New Jack comes out as the hero as we go home happy.
Well, it was a brawl with a spot or two mixed in with all the
weapon shots, if you like that sort of thing, this is the match for you. Otherwise,
you will watch this match like I did and think I love the story of Dreamer
getting revenge on The Dudleys for breaking Beulah’s neck but there was no real
story-telling or psychology to the match. It was just a big brawl, there is not
a whole lot I can say about it sorry!
Winners:
Team Dreamer over The Dudley Boyz via Dreamer DDT!
That was ECW’s Heatwave 1998, a card that was stacked on pay
per view but failed to deliver in my eyes for many of its matches. The
ridiculous over the top booking sucked a
lot of joy out of this pay per view for me, Candido and Storm could have been
something but it was really dumb with Sunny’s top coming off and powder plus
referee bumps in an organization that uses weapons. Like has there ever been a DQ
in ECW? I would find it hard to believe if such a thing could happen, the same silliness
ruined Credible and Lynn with Lynn becoming the champion of beating women by
the end of the match only to walk into a That’s Incredible.
Tanaka and Awesome did deliver, they showed off all of their
best spots for the fans, the fans ate it up and I did too because they kept
moving, they were always building to something bigger. I did not enjoy the tag
match, it was sloppy and just awkward at times, it never built to anything. The
finish was well executed but there was not a lot that I loved, Taz and Bigelow
was disappointing even if the feud had a satisfying conclusion. The crowd
brawling was far too long, there was nothing going on for that match. Finally,
the main event had a lot of nothing happening too for stretches of the match. I
cannot pay attention to every detail when most of the time they are walking
around just hitting one another so I would call this disappointing more than
anything else. Thanks for reading and remember: There’s always another night!
No comments:
Post a Comment