"Brew Town
Rumblings"
by
Craig King
11/13/2000
Greetings from Brewtown! Lots to talk about in the wonderful world of ECW this week. I'm feeling a little reflective this week, there's a new gunslinger in town, and the king is very much alive. However, before I get into things, I would like to congratulate everyone who worked on the site redesign here at ECWNews.com. I hope all of you readers and ECW fans are enjoying the new look. I didn't have a direct involvement with the redesign, but those who did, did a fabulous job. Onto the happenings…….
Indianapolis Invasion
Attending the November 2 Remember PPV a little over the week ago got me a little nostalgic. It made me think back to the first time I ever attended a live ECW event. I remember it like it was yesterday. I first saw the ECW television product back in August of 1997, with the help of my friend's satellite dish, during the 'As Good As It Gets' period. Needless to say, I was hooked instantly. At that time the Midwest was still pretty much a virgin to the action of ECW. Upon searching the internet one day, I found out that ECW was going to be making its debut in Indianapolis. I brought this up to my friend, and since it was going to be during college semester break, we decided to make the 5+ hour drive down there. My life as a wrestling fan has never been the same since.
ECW Indianapolis Invasion
Tyndall Armory
Indianapolis, IN
January 4, 1998
The Tyndall Armory is a small,
and I do mean small, venue in the middle of downtown Indianapolis. Picture
the gym from where you went to high school. That's pretty much the Tyndall
Armory. It was a packed, sold out crowd that night and my friend and I were
lucky enough to have third row seats for the show. From the first notes of
'This is Extreme", the ECW theme song, the crowd was hot. The first match
up was Justin Credible, still in his first 6 months with the company, against
Mikey Whipwreck. They had one hell of a match and tore the house down. To
this day it is still one of the best opening matches I have ever seen. A
number of great undercard matches followed, featuring the ECW lockerroom
of the time.
Then came a match that I will forever remember as being the best ECW match I have ever seen live. It wasn't a wrestling classic, it was pure chaos. It was a match pitting The Dudley's vs. New Jack and Kronus. The atmosphere for this match was just off the charts. They brawled to all corners of the venue and up in the balcony. At one point in the match a table was set up outside the ring and Devon Dudley was put onto it by Kronus. New Jack went up to the balcony area and, you guessed it, he dove off. The crowd was totally bonkers at this point. The pop that dive got was the loudest I had ever heard as part of a live audience up to that point in my 15 years of watching wrestling and going to shows. I read an interview last year in which New Jack said that the Indianapolis spot was the most insane balcony jump he had ever done at that point.
After that, I thought that there was no way ECW was going to top what had happened so far that night. Then came the main event. Sabu vs. The Sandman in a tables and ladders match. Sabu made his way to the ring first to a big pop. Next came The Sandman. The crowd was on their feet from the first notes of "Enter Sandman". Suddenly, Sandman appeared up in the balcony, beer in hand, Singapore cane raised high with the other, and cigarette in mouth. After soaking in the adulation of the crowd, he made his way to the floor area towards where we were sitting. He stood up on the chair directly in back of me, chugged his beer, and spit it all over everyone around, including myself. Do you think I cared? Hell no! This is EC-F'N-W!!!! Finally he made his way to ringside. The bell rang and what followed were a series of insane and brutal spots, much like their N2R '97 match, only the match flowed a lot better. Sabu ended up winning the match, but that couldn't kill the crowd. Sandman ended up celebrating in the ring long afterward by climbing up a ladder in the center of the ring, and taking it all in while the crowd sang along to "Enter Sandman".
I left not quite knowing what I had just seen. All I knew is that it was the best damn wrestling show I had ever seen in my life. I was amazed that the ECW wrestlers would practically kill themselves at a house show just to entertain their fans. A HOUSE SHOW! In the 15 years that I have been going to live shows from the WWF, WCW, the old NWA, AWA, ECW, and various indy promotions, that Indianapolis show still ranks as the best live show I have ever seen. The moral of this story? If you haven't seen ECW live already, you don't know what you're missing. So many people have said that you have not really seen ECW until you have experienced it live. That's not a gimmick, it's a fact.
Hey Yo!
As everyone knows by now, Scott Hall made his debut for ECW over the weekend. In a move that somewhat surprised me, Hall was put over Justin Credible in the main event of the TV tapings on Saturday night, but not before jobbing to Big Sal in the opening match. This shows me that Hall is not afraid to pay his dues and prove himself to ECW fans as well as the boys in the back. Hall could have came in, demanded the ECW World Title, demanded not to job, and would have probably been shown the door. This did not happen though. That is a very good thing. A clean and sober Scott Hall can be nothing but a boost for ECW. It will improve their image amongst wrestling fans in general, and perhaps more importantly at this point, any interested cable companies. Anyone who thinks the presence of Scott Hall in ECW won't help them to get a TV deal is only kidding themselves. I'm no cable executive, but I would pretty much bet the bank that one of the things the executives look at is the talent. Granted, most cable executives may not know a wristlock from a wristwatch, but anyone can tell them that Scott Hall has been a major player in the wrestling industry for the better part of the last five years. He may not guarantee ECW a cable contract, but it certainly can't hurt their chances. It's do or die for ECW at this point, and they made a huge step in the right direction by bringing Scott Hall into the company.
The King Retains His Throne
Congratulations to Steve Corino for retaining his ECW World Title in not two, but three title defenses in two days. His first successful title defense came at the expense of CW Anderson at a house show in Schnectady, NY on Friday night. Then on Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, NY, he wrestled Jerry Lynn to a no-contest thanks to Justin Credible. His night wasn't done yet though. After the match he got on the mic and challenged anyone in the back, which led to another successful title defense in the same night against The Sandman. If anything, Steve Corino has already proven he will be a fighting champion, taking on all comers. Corino is out to prove the doubters wrong, and prove to Paul Heyman that he made the right choice in giving him a chance to run with the ball. Corino's looking for a touchdown and I'm not going to be the one to bet against him.
That's all for now. Please send any questions or comments to [email protected]. Until next week…….
To read other Brew Town Rumblings click on the links below