Today marks 25 years since ECW held its Anarchy Rulz pay-per-view outside of Chicago in front of a record-setting crowd of 6,000 fans. In the quarter century that has passed, the pro wrestling industry continued to evolve with some positives and negatives for the business, depending on perspective, of course. Still, as much as Extreme Championship Wrestling was very much a product of its time and place, and it had to be to make the impact that it did on the sport, it’s usually a fun viewing experience to watch these vintage shows again for these reviews. While there are elements that wouldn’t translate to today, neither in style or presentation, it’s ironic that there are aspects of the 90s product that could still work and probably still be used in the modern era.
The pay-per-view broadcast opened with Masato Tanaka arriving at the building, and he’s interrupted by Jeff Jones, who the Japanese star pushes out of the way to enter the building. Jones concluded the segment with a warning, which was a foreshadowing moment for what this show is ultimately remembered for the most, when Mike Awesome joins the ECW world title match later in the night.
The opening match was Jerry Lynn/Lance Storm, and not only was this one of the best matches that you were going to see on pay-per-view in the United States during this time period, it was probably one of the best matches in the entire history of ECW. The first portion of that statement might seem a little mundane, but it had a level of cache, as the pay-per-view line-ups for professional wrestling were full during that era. There were monthly PPVs from WWF and WCW, with ECW running six pay-per-view cards that year. Sometimes, depending on what time frame and what promotion is being discussed, under card matches were almost viewed as an afterthought since each promotion understandably tried to promote as much sizzle as possible to sway fans on their decision to spend their PPV dollars on any given month. Even now, the audience has a specific “wrestling budget” as far as what they’re going to spend on tickets, merchandise, etc. Obviously, when Peacock offers access to monthly cards for $5, it’s an easier decision for fans to subscribe, but in the late-90s, PPV revenue, regardless of the split with cable providers, was a top priority for each promotion.
Sure, Steve Austin brawling in the crowd and dramatically overcoming the odds against The Corporation was very entertaining television, and Goldberg smashing his way through the NWO was fun, but in terms of bell-to-bell action, the bouts of substance standout in retrospect. This Storm/Lynn match was a tremendous combination of technical skills and ring psychology to deliver a performance that wisely contrasted the typical mayhem you’d expect from ECW. Everything they did was crisp and smooth, their technical sequences are often poetry in motion. There was fast-paced action, but they took the time to properly sell to maximize the effectiveness of the narrative, which is something that is often missing in the current sports entertainment landscape. For the majority of this contest, Lynn had the infamously taped ribs and any time he would get any momentum, Storm would attack the ribs to halt the offense from the baby face. The finish saw Storm land a knee to the ribs as Lynn hit the ropes and secured a cradle pin to get the sudden victory.
Unfortunately, from there we’re reminded of why the often entertaining chaos of ECW had a very fine line of when it could go off the rails. Simon Diamond cut a promo about finding a tag partner only to be interrupted by Jazz, who for whatever reason, Simon orders Tom Marquez, House of Hardcore student, to attack in the ring for something that wasn’t a match, but rather just a series of spots. When Jazz gets the upper hand on Marquez, who would later be named The Prodigy, Tony DeVito joins in to attack Jazz from ringside. This was before Da Baldies were formed so this segment had a rather flat Simon Diamond promo that didn’t really have a point, an attack from an unknown Tom Marquez and then an attack from an almost equally unknown Tony DeVito. Nova and Chris Chetti made the save and then a tag match between Simon/Devito and Nova/Chetti officially started. I’m not sure where Tom Marquez wandered off to. About a minute or so into the tag match, Chetti partially slipped on a t-shirt that was in the ring before he landed a lionsault. Despite watching the spot a second time, I still couldn’t tell exactly what happened, but Chetti was injured to the point that he could barely move, dragging himself to the corner and staying there until he was helped backstage. I’m not sure if it was a knee injury from the slip or a different injury on the landing, but it definitely didn’t look good. I’m not sure if what happened next was an audible or if it was simply moved up, but Danny Doring and Roadkill ran in to attack the three remaining wrestlers in the tag match. After that, more or less every preliminary wrestler in the building got to make a cameo on pay-per-view before New Jack showed up to clear the ring with his signature segment. I’m not exactly sure what the original destination of this was or if this was the plan to shoehorn as many people onto the show as possible, but it was completely disjointed and more or less just a waste of time.
Thankfully, the card picked up from here with the ECW traditional three-way dance between Yoshihiro Tajiri, Super Crazy, and Little Guido. Yes, this was a card that Paul Heyman overplayed way too often in retrospect, but in a vacuum, this represented the extreme brand very well. This match had stiff strikes, technical exchanges, and some insane dives. At one point, Tajiri lands an Asai moonsault quite literally in the front row of seat before Super Crazy nailed an incredible top rope moonsault to the floor. As graceful as the cruiser weights were in WCW, you just weren’t going to see this type of stuff on the Turner network. At one point, Crazy has Tajiri in a camel clutch and then Guido applies a version of the Boston crab at the same time, which was another example of the innovative stuff that the company had at the time. Eventually, Guido was in the tree of woe before a baseball slide from Tajiri and then a moonsault from Super Crazy eliminated him from the bout. It made sense to give the audience another showdown between Crazy and Tajiri on pay-per-view because while this pairing was overused, it was one of the best acts that the company had in 1999, just behind the hype that the Rob Van Dam/Jerry Lynn series had. This portion of the contest had the fast-paced high impact sequences you’d expect from these two, with similar action to the Storm/Lynn spots that were poetry in motion earlier in the night. When Crazy went for another moonsault, Tajiri got the boots up to counter, landed a series of kicks, and then a brain buster to get the win.
Sabu vs. Justin Credible was next, and speaking of poetry in motion, in a completely reckless type of way, it can’t be understated how graceful and destructive Sabu was in his prime. If you wanted a match that encapsulated a peak example of what Sabu brought to the table, this was a highlight reel segment. He hit the leg lariats off the ropes, put Justin Credible through a table with a leg drop to the floor, and nailed the trademark triple jump moonsault. On the other hand, the way that he crashed from the top rope to the concrete floor on more than one occasion, it can make you cringe with the benefit of hindsight. Credible was bleeding about halfway through the contest, and I couldn’t tell exactly what happened, but it seemed like Sabu might’ve legitimately been sliced with a piece of the table during one of the dives to the floor as he favored his midsection throughout a portion of the match, but it wasn’t used for any sequences. Credible nailed a dive through a table on the ramp way before he did a rather odd flying DDT spot through a table in the corner. The finish saw the two reverse the tombstone before Credible landed it on a chair to get a rare pin against Sabu. I know in the years since ECW folded, the Justin Credible push to the world title in the latter stages of the company was debated, but if nothing else, you have to give Heyman credit, he gave Justin Credible the type of push that could be used for a main event run.
It’s somewhat ironic that this pay-per-view is historically known as the night that Taz dropped the title, more or less confirming his rumored exit from the company because in many respects, this event also marked the conclusion of the peak of ECW as a company. The Dudley Boys left the month prior, Shane Douglas went to WCW a few months before that, and Sabu would be gone from the promotion within six months. Granted, we’ll see Raven later in the card, but his extreme pit stop was only to act as a buffer between WCW and WWF. As often became the case in ECW, someone was leaving to make considerably better money elsewhere so Paul Heyman had to adjust to a shrinking talent pool, specifically in terms of star power. Mike Awesome had worked for ECW the previous year, importing his FMW feud with Tanaka to the United States, which was repetitive, but also very wise, as it was a proven formula that worked. The impromptu three-way dance was set up when Mike Awesome showed up at ringside with Jeff Jones, demanding a title shot. Taz, being the fighting champion that he was, invited Awesome in the ring to join the contest. Just a few minutes into the match, Taz gets hit with a rolling elbow from Tanaka and then a top rope splash from Awesome to get eliminated. Despite the smart mark ECW crowd that knew the dirt on Taz’s impending departure to the WWF, the crowd still seemed surprised that he was actually eliminated, which was one of the benefits that ECW had within the chaos of the company, you really never knew what might happen. The Awesome/Tanaka portion of the match was basically every bout between the pair that you’ve seen, and that’s not meant as a knock on either of them.
The brutal unprotected chair shots are tough to watch from a modern prospective. Tanaka takes an insane bump from an Awesome bomb over the top rope to the floor and eventually an Awesome bomb from the top rope through a table allowdc Mike Awesome to claim the championship. Post-match, Taz presents Awesome with the championship belt to “pass to torch” so to speak before Awesome took the torch to WCW just six months later because ECW fell behind on payments. That’s another aspect that is a lot clearer in hindsight, while Mike Awesome was completely vilified at the time, in the years that followed when it came to light that he wasn’t getting paid, it became much more understandable that he had to go to WCW to make a living for his family. The mortgage company simply wasn’t going to take “Paul E. says the check is in the mail” as an excuse. Keep in mind, Awesome worked a very physical style and had already required knee surgery so he had to maximize his earning while he could, and WCW gave him an opportunity to do that. There was an emotional scene on the ramp way as Taz and Paul Heyman hugged with the roster around them. This was a scenario where the chaos of ECW worked to its benefit, as a guy that wasn’t even scheduled to be there won the world title. It’s something that always kept ECW organic because you didn’t know what could happen in the company.
Earlier in the night, Steve Corino cut a promo, claiming that the Insane Clown Posse were scheduled to challenge Raven and Tommy Dreamer for the tag titles, but decided to cancel. A quick search yielded no information on the circumstances of the cancellation so who knows the story behind it? ICP appeared at Hardcore Heaven in 1997, but were signed to WCW by 1999 so I’m not sure how the appearance would’ve been possible. Either way, Rhino and Corino attacked Dreamer before Raven made the save. The actual match was only about two or three minutes before they landed a pair of DDTs, pinning Corino and Jack Victory.
Prior to the main event, Axl Rotten, who would be gone from the promotion not long after due to drug problems, which is saying something when someone gets the boot from ECW, cut a standard baby face promo. He was interrupted by The Impact Players with Johnny Smith, who was scheduled to challenge Rob Van Dam for the Television championship. Balls Mahoney shows up to aid his tag partner, and blasted Smith with a chair, eliminating him from the card. Van Dam shows up and an impromptu bout against Mahoney is the main event. All things considered, this was probably the best Balls Mahoney match you’re going to find, which isn’t meant as a jab against him, but rather to point out that while this had the hardcore gimmicks, it was more than just the usual brawl and bleed stuff you’d usually see him involved in at most ECW shows. This was a physical bout that had the signature chair spots from Van Dam and the power moves from Mahoney. RVD did a few absolutely incredible dives in the crowd. At one point, Van Dam takes a nasty unprotected chair shot to the head that will make you cringe. Bill Alfonso distracted Mahoney to set up a top rope flying kick to the chair prior to the conclusion. RVD hit the five star frog splash to retain the title.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
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