OMEN
07-05-2006, 08:59 PM
Credit: PWInsider.com
The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia opened its doors for wrestling once again tonight, but the difference in crowd size was tremendous. Obviously, last night's Supershow taping and near sellout had fans all over. Tonight, the entire upper deck and half of the lower area were tarped off and a couple thousand fans showed up to watch ECW. Here in Philly, the weather was lousy, so it was nice to be indoors. There were a lot of children in attendance. Hat Guy was in the building and he arrived in his seat to a standing ovation and ECW chant. Justin Roberts came out and was booed mercilessly all night long. He got "You Duck D*^k" and "A******" chants throughout the show whenever he came in the ring.
Dark Matches:
Tony Mamaluke vs. Roadkill
Roadkill got the old 'You F*&k Sheep" chant. He tossed Mamaluke around a bit before Mamaluke was able to lock in a headlock. After Roadkill escaped, Mamaluke hit a huracanrana and armdrag. Roadkill took control again, but missed a sit down splash. Mamaluke hit some kicks but Roadkill clotheslines him. Mamaluke was able to knock Roadkill out of the ring and hit a suicide dive. He went to the apron for another move, but was caught by Roadkill and tossed on the barrier. In the ring, Roadkill got a two count. He applied a headlock, then hit a side slam for another 2 count. Mamaluke fought back with a jawbreaker, a neckbreaker, and then a swinging neckbreaker. This was followed by a botched leap frog and sloppy exchange. Roadkill was able to slam Mamaluke and then hit the Amish Splash from the top for the win.
Your winner, Roadkill!
It was a decent match to open and the crowd was into both performers.
CM Punk vs. CW Anderson
The match opened with some collar and elbow exchanges between the two men. Punk got a headlock, then some chops in the corner. He threw Anderson into the other corner and locked in an octopus stretch. A top rope dropkick resulted in a two count. CW took over and slid Punk into the ringpost and put him in some armbars. Punk made the ropes and CW continued to work on the arm with holds and punches. CM fought back with a clothesline, corner splash & bulldog, and kicks to Anderson. Anderson knocked out Punk with a haymaker for a 2 count. The Anderson Spinebuster got another near fall. Punk fought back with a rapid succession of slaps and kicks before hitting the arm triangle facebuster and locking Anderson in the Anaconda Vice for the submission victory.
Your winner, CM Punk!
Great match. Punk is awesome at selling, and the chops and slaps were stiff. This was a better match than the one he had with Stevie Richards 10 days ago at the Arena. Punk had more support from the crowd than Anderson.
Sabu vs. Stevie Richards
This match was announced as being fought under extreme rules. Sabu got a good pop, and Stevie did a great job of getting heat throughout the match. Richards stalled to start the match and mocked Sabu. Sabu responded by punching him to the outside. He then hit a baseball slide and a triple jump plancha. back in the ring, Richards was able to take over in the corner and worked over Sabu for a bit. A Stevie Bomb got a two count. Sabu got a marijuana chant from the crowd. Sabu went for the camel clutch, but Stevie got to the ropes and then low blowed Sabu. He picked up the chair but threw it down because the fans wanted him to use it. Sabu picked it up and threw it at Richards. He jumped off the chair and hit a splash in the corner for a two count. Sabu hit a middle rope leg drop with Stevie between the ropes, then followed that up with a triple jump moonsault. Sabu set up the table in the ring. Stevie tried to fight back but crotched himself in the corner. Sabu set him up on the table and then hit a Flying Arabian Skullcrusher for the victory.
Your winner, Sabu!
Another good match, and again, Stevie did a great job of getting heat on himself.
After some merch shill and the t-shirt gun, a video of classic ECW action was shown. Why would they show stuff that won't be done anymore to a bloodthirsty crowd?
Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer
The crowd chanted 'Justin A******' before the action started. Dreamer started off with a headlock. The two then traded spots and missed elbow drops before coming out even to applause. Dreamer hit a fallaway slam on Credible. He followed this up with a baseball slide. When Dreamer came to the outside, Credible hit a suplex. Back in the ring, he got a headlock on Dreamer and hit some punches. Dreamer countered with his own punches and balanced Credible between the ropes before coming off the second turnbuckle with an elbow drop. He then hit a swinging neckbreaker. A botched sitout spinebuster only got a two count. Dreamer put Credible in the tree of woe, stepped on his crotch, and then hit a running dropkick to Credible's head (no chair, though). Credible made the ropes when Dreamer put him in an armbar. When both men got up, Dreamer hit the snap DDT for the win.
Your winner, Tommy Dreamer!
Post match, Tommy got on the mic and said he waited six long years and it was great to be home. Tommy mentioned people saying how the crowd in the Hammerstein Ballroom was the best and asked if we would let that be the case. He knows people keep wondering about the old ECW and the new ECW, and people talk about who is responsible for ECW returning. Vince got boos, but Tommy said we had to show Vince what the passion of ECW is. He asked the fans to make a lot of noise tonight, and promised not to let the spirit of ECW die. He then got a loud ovation. After he left, there was a 'New York Sucks' chant because of Dreamer's previous comments. Tazz & Lawler then came out to a nice applause.
During Kelly's striptease, the crowd booed for the entire time she was out there. Mike Knox then got a lot of heat when he came out and spoke. Little Guido got some cheers when he attacked Knox to start the match.
There was an RVD chant after his segment with Paul went to commercial.
Test's arrival got some cheers, but as soon as the match started, there was a loud "You take steroids chant".
After Big Show left the ring before his and RVD's match started, the crowd chanted 'You Smoke Pot'. RVD laughed and made a toking gesture. Yeah, you lost both of your belts in two nights. Hilarious. There were many variations on the chant throughout the match. A funny sign in the crowd read that RVD and Sabu Are the Real Highlanders.
The crowd wasn't into the main event for much of the match and was distressed at how long it took to introduce the chair to this extreme rules match. After the turn, trash was flying from all angles. All the cups were plastic, but there was a lot of liquid in them. A couple of cups landed on Show's head, and many more hit his body. The crowd HATED the turn and title change.
I was thinking during the booing that Vince should use the Philly crowd as a gauge for fan reaction overall to ECW, much like he used to use the MSG crowds for WWE, but after the trash throwing, I don't know what he'll think of our fair city.
Overall, the event was good since we had four quality dark matches, but they might have pissed off a lot of people when the put the title on Big Show. We'll see where it goes from here, but it might have been a much better idea to put the belt on a name ECW fans can care about.
Biggest Pops:
1. Tommy Dreamer
2. RVD
3. Sabu
Biggest Heat
1. Big Show/Heyman
2. Mike Knox
3. Stevie Richards
The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia opened its doors for wrestling once again tonight, but the difference in crowd size was tremendous. Obviously, last night's Supershow taping and near sellout had fans all over. Tonight, the entire upper deck and half of the lower area were tarped off and a couple thousand fans showed up to watch ECW. Here in Philly, the weather was lousy, so it was nice to be indoors. There were a lot of children in attendance. Hat Guy was in the building and he arrived in his seat to a standing ovation and ECW chant. Justin Roberts came out and was booed mercilessly all night long. He got "You Duck D*^k" and "A******" chants throughout the show whenever he came in the ring.
Dark Matches:
Tony Mamaluke vs. Roadkill
Roadkill got the old 'You F*&k Sheep" chant. He tossed Mamaluke around a bit before Mamaluke was able to lock in a headlock. After Roadkill escaped, Mamaluke hit a huracanrana and armdrag. Roadkill took control again, but missed a sit down splash. Mamaluke hit some kicks but Roadkill clotheslines him. Mamaluke was able to knock Roadkill out of the ring and hit a suicide dive. He went to the apron for another move, but was caught by Roadkill and tossed on the barrier. In the ring, Roadkill got a two count. He applied a headlock, then hit a side slam for another 2 count. Mamaluke fought back with a jawbreaker, a neckbreaker, and then a swinging neckbreaker. This was followed by a botched leap frog and sloppy exchange. Roadkill was able to slam Mamaluke and then hit the Amish Splash from the top for the win.
Your winner, Roadkill!
It was a decent match to open and the crowd was into both performers.
CM Punk vs. CW Anderson
The match opened with some collar and elbow exchanges between the two men. Punk got a headlock, then some chops in the corner. He threw Anderson into the other corner and locked in an octopus stretch. A top rope dropkick resulted in a two count. CW took over and slid Punk into the ringpost and put him in some armbars. Punk made the ropes and CW continued to work on the arm with holds and punches. CM fought back with a clothesline, corner splash & bulldog, and kicks to Anderson. Anderson knocked out Punk with a haymaker for a 2 count. The Anderson Spinebuster got another near fall. Punk fought back with a rapid succession of slaps and kicks before hitting the arm triangle facebuster and locking Anderson in the Anaconda Vice for the submission victory.
Your winner, CM Punk!
Great match. Punk is awesome at selling, and the chops and slaps were stiff. This was a better match than the one he had with Stevie Richards 10 days ago at the Arena. Punk had more support from the crowd than Anderson.
Sabu vs. Stevie Richards
This match was announced as being fought under extreme rules. Sabu got a good pop, and Stevie did a great job of getting heat throughout the match. Richards stalled to start the match and mocked Sabu. Sabu responded by punching him to the outside. He then hit a baseball slide and a triple jump plancha. back in the ring, Richards was able to take over in the corner and worked over Sabu for a bit. A Stevie Bomb got a two count. Sabu got a marijuana chant from the crowd. Sabu went for the camel clutch, but Stevie got to the ropes and then low blowed Sabu. He picked up the chair but threw it down because the fans wanted him to use it. Sabu picked it up and threw it at Richards. He jumped off the chair and hit a splash in the corner for a two count. Sabu hit a middle rope leg drop with Stevie between the ropes, then followed that up with a triple jump moonsault. Sabu set up the table in the ring. Stevie tried to fight back but crotched himself in the corner. Sabu set him up on the table and then hit a Flying Arabian Skullcrusher for the victory.
Your winner, Sabu!
Another good match, and again, Stevie did a great job of getting heat on himself.
After some merch shill and the t-shirt gun, a video of classic ECW action was shown. Why would they show stuff that won't be done anymore to a bloodthirsty crowd?
Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer
The crowd chanted 'Justin A******' before the action started. Dreamer started off with a headlock. The two then traded spots and missed elbow drops before coming out even to applause. Dreamer hit a fallaway slam on Credible. He followed this up with a baseball slide. When Dreamer came to the outside, Credible hit a suplex. Back in the ring, he got a headlock on Dreamer and hit some punches. Dreamer countered with his own punches and balanced Credible between the ropes before coming off the second turnbuckle with an elbow drop. He then hit a swinging neckbreaker. A botched sitout spinebuster only got a two count. Dreamer put Credible in the tree of woe, stepped on his crotch, and then hit a running dropkick to Credible's head (no chair, though). Credible made the ropes when Dreamer put him in an armbar. When both men got up, Dreamer hit the snap DDT for the win.
Your winner, Tommy Dreamer!
Post match, Tommy got on the mic and said he waited six long years and it was great to be home. Tommy mentioned people saying how the crowd in the Hammerstein Ballroom was the best and asked if we would let that be the case. He knows people keep wondering about the old ECW and the new ECW, and people talk about who is responsible for ECW returning. Vince got boos, but Tommy said we had to show Vince what the passion of ECW is. He asked the fans to make a lot of noise tonight, and promised not to let the spirit of ECW die. He then got a loud ovation. After he left, there was a 'New York Sucks' chant because of Dreamer's previous comments. Tazz & Lawler then came out to a nice applause.
During Kelly's striptease, the crowd booed for the entire time she was out there. Mike Knox then got a lot of heat when he came out and spoke. Little Guido got some cheers when he attacked Knox to start the match.
There was an RVD chant after his segment with Paul went to commercial.
Test's arrival got some cheers, but as soon as the match started, there was a loud "You take steroids chant".
After Big Show left the ring before his and RVD's match started, the crowd chanted 'You Smoke Pot'. RVD laughed and made a toking gesture. Yeah, you lost both of your belts in two nights. Hilarious. There were many variations on the chant throughout the match. A funny sign in the crowd read that RVD and Sabu Are the Real Highlanders.
The crowd wasn't into the main event for much of the match and was distressed at how long it took to introduce the chair to this extreme rules match. After the turn, trash was flying from all angles. All the cups were plastic, but there was a lot of liquid in them. A couple of cups landed on Show's head, and many more hit his body. The crowd HATED the turn and title change.
I was thinking during the booing that Vince should use the Philly crowd as a gauge for fan reaction overall to ECW, much like he used to use the MSG crowds for WWE, but after the trash throwing, I don't know what he'll think of our fair city.
Overall, the event was good since we had four quality dark matches, but they might have pissed off a lot of people when the put the title on Big Show. We'll see where it goes from here, but it might have been a much better idea to put the belt on a name ECW fans can care about.
Biggest Pops:
1. Tommy Dreamer
2. RVD
3. Sabu
Biggest Heat
1. Big Show/Heyman
2. Mike Knox
3. Stevie Richards