ECW Hardcore Heaven
Saturday, May 27th, 2001
Attendance: 8,722 – The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
PPV Buy Rate: 0.47 (+ 0.04 TV Rating on International MTV)
CHRIS HAMRICK & EZ MONEY & JULIO DINERO [HOT COMMODITY] (w/ELEKTRA) DEF. CHRISTIAN YORK & JOEY MATTHEWS & CROWBAR (w/JOEL GERTNER) – DINERO > MATTHEWS – PIN – 7:09
RATING: 43
FULL-SHOW RECAP»» SANDMAN & DREAMER: INTERRUPTING THE HISTORIC NIGHT OPENING»» The first ECW pay-per-view after its reboot started in a very non-ECW way: Shane McMahon was the one in the ring with the sold-out Palestra booing him. Nearing him were his stooges: the Diamond Bodies, along with Sunny Dawn. McMahon talked about the night being an historic one and hyped Mike Awesome and Rhyno’s tournament chances, predicting one of them will be crowned the new WWF Extreme Champion.
»» Enter Sandman! And Tommy Dreamer too! The two interrupted the gang in the ring, insulting McMahon’s alliance and threatening to spoil Shane’s vision of ECW if tonight ends in a bad note. Then, as two teams were in the ring, Dreamer challenged the Diamond Bodies for a match.
»» They tried talking themselves out of the plan as they weren’t even in wrestling gear, but Shane convinced them to fight, and so, the first PPV match of the new ECW is Candido and Diamond vs. Dreamer and Sandman!
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MATCH #1
CHRIS CANDIDO & SIMON DIAMOND [DIAMOND BODIES] (w/DAWN MARIE & TAMMY LYNN SYTCH) vs. THE SANDMAN & TOMMY DREAMER[/font]
Shane wasn’t at ringside, but Sunny Dawn were. The match was more of a brawl than anything and in the first few seconds, Candido and Diamond’s shirts were ripped out of their bodies too. Dawn and Tammy felt desperate to see their boys getting beat up all over the ring and at ringside too, with stop signs and trashcans doing them no good.
The match eventually had a more normal phase, and there Candido and Diamond’s technical ability stood out, but that was until Sandman got his cane. Nearing the end, he was using it until Tammy got to the apron and actually took it out of his hand. Terrible decision. Sandman put his hands on Chris’ high-school sweetheart, but he was aware and jumped him, attacking him with his own cane. At the same time, Dawn got in the ring low blowing Tommy and allowing Simon to hit the Simonizer for the upset win, before a crowd of boos.
RESULT: DIAMOND DEF. DREAMER – PIN – 7:47
RATING: 52»» RHYNO RAMPAGE + MATCH STARTS EARLIER»» Before the Diamond Bodies and their babes could get the hell out of scene, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman were already getting some revenge and a big brawl broke out. Tammy and Dawn managed to escape as Simon was busted open.
»» Of course, someone had to stop the brawl and that was… Rhyno! The ‘Man Beast’ stormed and hit a huge Gore on Tommy Dreamer, before being attacked himself, by Rob Van Dam! The two were brawling as Sandman dealt with the Diamond Bodies and Paul Heyman came to stop the chaos. To do so… he started Rhyno and RVD’s semi-final title match!
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MATCH #2 – ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL
RHYNO © vs. ROB VAN DAMA slightly more methodical match: the first PPV title match of the new ECW. The Philly crowd was fully behind RVD against WWF’s Rhyno and his agility could prove to be the deciding factor in the match. But Rhyno’s explosive power was rarely controlled and was hard to contain. The weapon usage was limited to the later stages of the bout, but the ringside was also battlefield and RVD treated the fans to his signature Corkscrew Leg Drop on the barricade.
Back in the ring, RVD stopped Rhyno’s momentum by avoiding the Gore twice, first by “sabu-ing” a chair against him, then by jumping over him and having him go against the corner. A Split-Legged Moonsault gave him a two count. Moments later a table came to play and RVD avoided a Shoulder Powerslam and hit a Van Daminator to put Rhyno on top of said table.
McMahon realized Rhyno was in danger and his plans too, so he tried to intervene, but RVD was aware and hit a Slingshot Crossbody on Shane before climbing the top turnbuckle: Five! Star! Frog! Splash! Through the table! 1…2…3!!! RVD slays the ‘Man Beast’, for ECW’s good!
After the match, the Diamond Bodies came back to escort Shane to the back. Rhyno was pissed and left later after throwing the table remains out of the ring, as the crowd sang «Hey hey hey, goodbye!»
RESULT: ROB VAN DAM DEF. RHYNO – PIN – NEW CHAMPION! – 11:02
RATING: 69
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MATCH #3 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL
MIKE AWESOME vs. TERRY FUNKAfter RVD’s title win, ‘The Funker’ had his spirits up and felt he could take on and defeat Awesome too. The match was more straightforward: strength vs. guts and Funk’s gash from last night’s duel with Corino was reopened.
Funk kicked out of a Big Boot with a stop sign at some point and was even daring enough to try a Funkin’ Moonsault, but Awesome rolled out of the way and hit a crunching Lariat to set up for a definitive Awesome Bomb. No fairytale for Funk tonight. The main event will be RVD vs. Awesome.
RESULT: MIKE AWESOME DEF. TERRY FUNK – PIN – 6:58
RATING: 68»» I.Q.: CALL OUT BEFORE THE MATCH»» After Joey Styles and Kevin Kelly recapped the tournament semi-finals, three unwanted men got to the ring: Chris Kanyon, C.W. Anderson and Sean O’Haire – the Insurance of Quality. They would wrestle next and so, they called out the Full Bloodied Italians for being a mockery of wrestling and a mockery of their own heritage. «The time for comedy non-sense is over!», they said before the F.B.I. got to the ring to confront them.
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MATCH #4
BIG VITO & LITTLE GUIDO & TONY MAMALUKE [F.B.I.] vs. CHRIS KANYON & C.W. ANDERSON & SEAN O’HAIRE [I.Q.]After come crash TV type of start to the PPV, the match toned the pace down a little. The I.Q. acted as buzzkillers, stopping the F.B.I. to play it up to the crowd, avoiding some comedic spots and even preventing them from using chairs. So, essentially, a purer wrestling match is what we got. Guido hyped his stable but O’Haire and Anderson’s power and mean demeanor were crucial in making a difference. Kanyon ended up pinning Mamaluke with a Flatliner to get I.Q. the win in their first trios match.
RESULT: CHRIS KANYON DEF. TONY MAMALUKE – PIN – 8:38
RATING: 45
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MATCH #5
BALLS MAHONEY vs. STEVE CORINOCorino’s “test” was next and he was really focused. Balls was also very determined, as he wanted to be more than just another face in this new ECW. But Corino’s definitely the better wrestler and he put the W in the match while Balls used his custom chair to get some control in certain parts of the bout. Still, Corino, who was busted open in the end, managed to win with an Old School Expulsion.
RESULT: STEVE CORINO DEF. BALLS MAHONEY – PIN – 6:19
RATING: 47»» CORINO: HIS. OWN. MAN.»» Following the match, Steve Corino grabbed a microphone and addressed the Philly crowd, talking about the way he’s been fighting: for himself, not for anyone else, and respecting his opponents, some of the wrestlers who most embody ECW: Balls, Funk… the crowd agreed with him there, even though he didn’t behave well when he lost to Funk the previous day.
»» Balls Mahoney, the loser of the match, also agreed. In fact, Balls, like Funk, tried shaking hands. However, Corino is a bitter man and, feeling that Balls represents all the doubters of the “his own man” Corino, didn’t accept the handshake and left the ring. The crowd started booing again.
»» CREDIBLE: MISTED AFTER MINISTER’S SUMMONING»» The next match would oppose three teams in a World Tag Team Title match… but the champions are the third wheel. Sinister Minister, the manager of the Unholy Alliance, called the Impact Players out in his traditional mystic fashion. Credible, Storm and Francine answered the call-out, with both Francine and then Credible getting cocky and saying they are the better team.
»» Credible took it overboard and blatantly insulted the Alliance members and the trio wasn’t buying it until Tajiri took his to his own hands (not quite), as he misted Credible in the face! Francine promptly helped Credible and Storm tried to fight the Alliance alone for some brief seconds until the brawl was interrupted by… Danny Doring and Roadkill, who held the belts high and called for the match to start.
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MATCH #6 – ECW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – 3-WAY DANCE
DANNY DORING & ROADKILL © vs. JUSTIN CREDIBLE & LANCE STORM [IMPACT PLAYERS] (w/FRANCINE) vs. MIKEY WHIPWRECK & YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI [UNHOLY ALLIANCE] (w/SINISTER MINISTER)The tag team champions were determined to make the people sure that they were not “the others” in the match and the three teams brawled without discrimination. Soon, the chairs began to be used and some pin attempts took place, as all teams tried to eliminate some duo from the match.
After eight minutes it finally happened: the champions were out on the floor after U.A. threw Roadkill and I.P. threw Doring. Credible’s cane gave the Players an advantage that wasn’t even neutralized by Sinister Minister, who was superkicked out of the apron by Storm. Then, the duo got rid of Tajiri too and Credible hit a Tombstone Piledriver on Mikey to eliminate the Unholy Alliance!
JUSTIN CREDIBLE DEF. MIKEY WHIPWRECK – PIN – UNHOLY ALLIANCE ELIMINATED – 8:22
Francine, who hadn’t been a factor, stepped up in the final stages, distracting Roadkill when the action was rebooted. The tag champs eventually focused and fought the best they could, but ultimately the Impact Players were the better team and Roadkill tapped out to the Canadian Maple Leaf as Credible contained Doring.
RESULT: LANCE STORM DEF. ROADKILL – SUBMISSION – NEW CHAMPIONS! – 12:49
RATING: 58»» LYNN: OPEN CHALLENGE = NEW DEBUT»» Jerry Lynn, a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, got to the ring. He didn’t have a match scheduled for Hardcore Heaven and claimed to be disappointed by his performance in the tournament (he was eliminated by Dreamer in the 1st Round). However, with some trash talking, he reminded the Philly crowd that he’s still the most polished talent ECW has to offer and he’s going to prove it. So, he issued an open challenge to anyone who wants to testify his claim.
»» Billy Kidman (!) was the one to answer the challenge! One of the most respected cruiserweights in WCW’s latest years, who’s also respected by the ECW fans due to his connection with Raven in The Flock, made his way to the ring, and the match started.
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MATCH #7
BILLY KIDMAN vs. JERRY LYNNIn the pre-main event, we got a great fast-paced match. The pre-match made the fans pull almost exclusively for Kidman and his high-flying offence also made it hard to dislike him. Lynn was aware of that high-flying prowess, so he enjoyed taking the match to the ground and work on Kidman’s legs.
The most painful move of the match was actually a Sunset Flip Powerbomb to the outside, introducing Kidman to the painful ECW floor. Nearing the end, the match could’ve fallen for each side, but Lynn was smart enough to prevent Kidman from gaining enough momentum to hit a Shooting Star Press and hit a nasty kick below the belt before rolling Kidman for a three count loss in his debut.
RESULT: JERRY LYNN DEF. BILLY KIDMAN – PIN – 8:25
RATING: 64»» HEYMAN: INTERRUPTED BY THE DEVIL WHEN POURING HIS HEART OUT»» The main event was next and Paul Heyman got to the ring. He received a hero’s welcome and poured his heart out to the ECW faithful, essentially hyping Rob Van Dam before the tournament final and talking about the importance of RVD’s win for the future of “our” ECW.
»» Of course, Shane McMahon interrupted Heyman by reminding him that he’s the owner of ECW and the future of the company is and will always be on his hands… but tonight, it’s Mike Awesome’s night! Awesome also entered with McMahon and in the middle of a war of words, RVD entered the ring too, predicting Heyman could be attacked. Teased by both McMahon and Heyman, the two finalists began to brawl and John Finnegan ran to the ring, calling for the bell!
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MATCH #8 – ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT FINAL – SPECIAL ENFORCER: SHANE DOUGLAS
ROB VAN DAM © vs. MIKE AWESOME (w/SHANE MCMAHON)The match started and Paul Heyman joined Joey and Kevin on commentary. Awesome started out strong, dominating RVD at first, but the ‘Whole F’N Show’ eventually found a way into the match with a series of unhortodox counters. The match lit up as a chair was brought in, and McMahon played a factor, trying to distract Van Dam. A table was also set at ringside, but not used.
However, when McMahon tried to physically interfere, Awesome stopped him and asked him to go to the back as he was able to win alone. McMahon was reluctant, but Douglas ordered him to leave, which he did, intimidated by some ECW wrestlers (Funk, Dreamer, Sandman, Balls, even Spike) after complaining. Some near-falls took place, notably when RVD hit a Van Daminator followed by a Rolling Thunder with the aforementioned chair.
Later, Awesome got two tables in the ring, setting one up and beating RVD before placing him on top of it. Awesome then climbed the corner, looked at Heyman taunting him and crushed Rob with a huge Awesome Splash! Heyman panicked, but he was euphoric when RVD kicked out! The match was on fire as it neared a final stage.
The other table was placed in the corner and both guys tried to put each other through it. At that point, the momentum was shifting until Awesome had Van Dam on the ground. He went for another Awesome Splash, but RVD was aware and surprised him with an Avalanche Frankensteiner! RVD had a huge chance! He climbed up top for a Five! Star! Frog! Splash!... but caught only knees! Awesome got up, fierier than ever, and the crowd feared the outcome. Awesome got RVD up for a big Awesome Bomb on the cornered table! But instead of pinning him, he got him up for one more in the middle of the ring! 1…2…3!!! Awesome wins the World Title and litter starts flying to the ring as Heyman puts his hands on his head.
RESULT: MIKE AWESOME DEF. ROB VAN DAM – PIN – NEW CHAMPION! – 13:15
RATING: 76»» «…AND THEY CAN ALL KISS OUR ASSES!»»» Shane McMahon was quick to get to the ring and to stick it to Heyman and the ECW fans, as Rob Van Dam was helped to the back. He was eager to congratulate his client Mike Awesome and invited Shane Douglas to be the one handing the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to the tournament winner. Strangely, ‘The Franchise’ grabbed the belt and looked at it, leading the crowd to think he would smack the other Shane in the head with it. But no… with an unpleasant look in his eyes, he handed the championship to Mike Awesome, who laughed in Douglas’ face.
»» Then, McMahon grabbed the microphone and began cutting a disrespectful promo. Why? It reached a point where it went like this: «(…) as I said, one of my clients would be the World champion under a WWF banner. In the tradition of Bruno Sammartino, and from the Billy Grahams, to the Hulk Hogans… The Rocks, the Triple Hs...». Thankfully, the lines were interrupted by Douglas, who cut the original promo back in 1994: «AND THEY CAN ALL… KISS… OUR… ASSES!!!»
»» McMahon didn’t like it, but he didn’t have much time to react, as shockingly Mike Awesome hit Shane between the eyes with the belt! The crowd erupted, now believing Awesome is with ECW! Then, he picked the owner for a big Awesome Bomb from the ring to the table set at ringside! Styles, Kelly and specially Heyman couldn’t believe it too. Finally, Awesome picked up the microphone and shouted at Shane: «AND YOU CAN KISS OUR ASSES TOO!!!», ending Hardcore Heaven in peace and McMahon being sent to hell.
FINAL RATING: 71
THE BOOKER'S TAKEAWAYSI'm really happy with how the show came along in terms of ratings and all. I have a small issue with the attendance, but I'll not change my popularity again, as it really is a DB issue. I mean, Judgment Day had a crowd of 60+ thousand...
PREDICTION CONTEST - RESULTS:Asaemon - 4/6
Beejus - 3/6
Frank Reed - 1/6
henriquesser - 5/6
johnnyboombatz - 6/6 (+1 for guessing an extra match)
kyegds - 4/6
marc91 - 7/6 (+1 for guessing an extra match)
Purotastic - 5/6
The winner is:
marc91! The guy actually went on to break his curse by guessing all the matches right, only missing in the outcome of the extra match! Insane!
