ECW 6\19
Dave Scherer
First, as Charlie Gavinelli will attest, the fans at the show were the
single scariest group of people I have ever seen. Send ANY anti
abortion group to that show and they would change their mind. Happily,
Charlie and his pal Pete, were two of the few normal people!
If Charlie does not post a full report, I will.
Highlights:
Gilbert and Funk's chain match where the winner was crowned the King of
Philly. Funk hit all 4 corners, but Ref Kevin Christian did not see it.
Then, Gilbert hit Funk with a chair and piledrove him on it and touched
all 4. After the match, there was an obvious alliance between Christian
and Paul E. Promoter Tod Gordon came out and fired Christian, who's
Brian Christopher's brother and Lawler's kid. Paul wasted Gordon with
the phone. It appeared that Gilbert was the winner to me, but last
night on Mike Tenay's radio show, Funk was on and said that they
reversed the decision. Did it seem that way to you Charlie?
During the catfight, where the loser "must be stripped" neither Peaches
or Tigra were. However, a hot girl came out and was detopped, baring a
set of, my guess, 40 DD's much to the crowd's enjoyment. I have never
seen that at a wrestling match before.
Rebel vs Sandman was a pretty good match with lots of violence. Rebel
won on a screwjob.
Stetson and Winters was also pretty good, with Stetson busting Winters
open with a chain in a first blood match.
---
. SLMR 2.0 . E MAIL Address:7375...@compuserve.com
Eric Chmiel
>During the catfight, where the loser "must be stripped" neither Peaches
>or Tigra were. However, a hot girl came out and was detopped, baring a
>set of, my guess, 40 DD's much to the crowd's enjoyment. I have never
>seen that at a wrestling match before.
Now wait a minute. Are you saying (sans smiley no less) that they
actually allowed a woman to strip bare topless at the show? Weren't there
little kids in attendance? I would think doing something like this wouldn't
go over really well with any parents in attendance, unless this was the world's
first wrestling show where they proofed you at the door. What gives? Wouldn't
they get complaints up the wazoo?
***********
Eric Chmiel
***********
charles.gavinelli
> Went to the ECW show last night in Philly.
>
> First, as Charlie Gavinelli will attest, the fans at the show were the
> single scariest group of people I have ever seen. Send ANY anti
> abortion group to that show and they would change their mind. Happily,
> Charlie and his pal Pete, were two of the few normal people!
I've probably seen scarier looking people at some club shows
featuring punk bands, but the Philly crowd was unique as far as
wrestling goes. I love it - it adds to the atmosphere.
>
> If Charlie does not post a full report, I will.
>
> Highlights:
>
> Gilbert and Funk's chain match where the winner was crowned the King of
> Philly. Funk hit all 4 corners, but Ref Kevin Christian did not see it.
> Then, Gilbert hit Funk with a chair and piledrove him on it and touched
> all 4. After the match, there was an obvious alliance between Christian
> and Paul E. Promoter Tod Gordon came out and fired Christian, who's
> Brian Christopher's brother and Lawler's kid. Paul wasted Gordon with
> the phone. It appeared that Gilbert was the winner to me, but last
> night on Mike Tenay's radio show, Funk was on and said that they
> reversed the decision. Did it seem that way to you Charlie?
I was invited to an autograph session after the show and Gilbert
came out with the crown.
I wish I could elaborate on the autograph session, but I'll be pressed for
time all week.
>
> During the catfight, where the loser "must be stripped" neither Peaches
> or Tigra were. However, a hot girl came out and was detopped, baring a
> set of, my guess, 40 DD's much to the crowd's enjoyment. I have never
> seen that at a wrestling match before.
>
This match followed a "First Blood" match. The two ladies started
tearing at each other's clothes which prompted a "First Bush" chant
from my section.
I met and spoke to Ms. 40DD at the autograph session. I told her "I enjoyed
your work". She said "thanks, tell the promoter". I said "I'll tell
the promoter that you give me two reasons to come back".o
> Rebel vs Sandman was a pretty good match with lots of violence. Rebel
> won on a screwjob.
>
> Stetson and Winters was also pretty good, with Stetson busting Winters
> open with a chain in a first blood match.
=====
Here is a match report from Pete Theophall which will appear in the
next Chatterbox:
ECW Match Report - Pete Theophall
Eastern Championship Wrestling promoted a show at the ECW arena in
South Philadelphia on June 19, 1993. I was on hand with my son Paul
and friend Charlie Gavinelli. We arrived about a half hour before
bell time, and were greeted by the one and only Donnie "Daddy"
Laible. Don and his wife were recently blessed with a brand new
baby boy - congratulations Don! We chatted a while and wondered
when John Arezzi would arrive with his Pro Wrestling Spotlight bus
trip. We made our way to our second-row ringside seats, and soon,
John and his busload of fans from New York arrived. We knew it was
going to be a great night when Fred "The Elephant Boy" and his
brother Phil sat right in front of us. Phil brought a mask with
him. He said it was given to him by Jerry Lawler as part of an
angle they worked in Memphis some time back when Phil was supposed
to be Lawler's illegitimate son. Phil put the mask on, and then his
glasses over it, and wore it for the entire card. The scary part
about this is that there must have been about four other people
there who walked in with masks on and never took them off!
The arena was packed with about 400 loud fans who were ready for
action. The show started right on time. Famous wrestling
photographer George Napolitano was also working at ringside.
1. ECW TV Championship Match - J. T. Smith (Challenger) vs
"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka (Champion)
Jimmy looks to be in great shape. He is currently a heel and
played it well, including treating his ECW belt with
disrespect. There were lots of near-pins by JT early in the
match, but Superfly soon took over. Superfly executed a
piledriver in the middle of the ring, then went up to the top
turnbuckle, filed a flight plan, and unleashed a fantastic
"Superfly Splash" for the win. (**)
2. Tony Stetson vs Larry Winters
Stetson attacked Winters when Winters came into the ring and
got the early advantage with some rough-house tactics. He
leg-dropped Winters off the top rope, but when he later
removed the turnbuckle pad, he got his own head rammed by
Winters, after which he executed a very respectable "Face
First Flair Flop" (FFFF) to the canvas. When Rockin' Rebel
interfered, Stetson pulled out some chain from his tights
while the ref was occupied with Rebel, and clobbered Winters
with a chained fist. The ref turned around, saw Winters was
busted, and stopped the match and gave the win to Stetson.
Winters then chased Stetson and Rebel from the ring. (**1/2)
3. Womens' Match - Peaches vs Tigress
This was a real cat fight. Lots of kicking, scratching, and
hair pulling. Both ladies looked really good, so when they
started ripping each others' outer layer of clothing off, the
heat started building rapidly. Apparently, after several
minutes, Tigress had had enough, and left the ring, but was
forced back in by a third woman who was unbelievably
"stacked" and dressed in a hot red mini-skirt outfit and was
a friend of Peaches (no name given, so I'll refer to her as
"Red"). When Tigress decided the odds were too great, she
left for good. As "Red" was raising Peaches' hand in
victory, Stetson and Rockin' Rebel came in, clobbered
Peaches, and then ripped "Red's" top off, revealing a couple
of perfect 40 DD's (an estimate - attempts at close
inspection were NOT made). At this point the crowd went
totally wild, and Sandman and Winters came in and made the
save. Sandman carried Peaches out while Winters covered up
"Red" with some towels. Charlie took off his shirt and
offered it for the cover-up effort, but no dice. Match gets
*** for "work" and ** for .... well, you figure it out!
(*****)
4. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (ECW TV champ with Paul E.
Dangerously) vs Tommy Cairo(Philadelphia State Champ)
Lots of power moves by both wrestlers, and Paul E acting up
on the outside as usual. Several back-body drops and
suplexes by Cairo on Snuka, and lots of loud mat-pounding by
Paul E. As the wrestlers were criss-crossing off the ropes,
Paul E tripped Cairo from the outside, and Snuka quickly
rolled him up for the pin getting some extra leverage by
bracing his foot on the ropes. (**)
5. "Philly Street-Brawl Match" - Rockin' Rebel vs Sandman
Carrying over the heat from the women's match, Rebel had on a
shirt which said "I had Peaches" on the front, and "She was
the pits" on the back. This one started fast and kept going.
Sandman immediately DDT'd Rebel, then hung him over the ropes
with his shirt, and on the outside, slammed him on the cement
with a thud (no pads at all). Rebel got flung into the
railing right in front of us, and knocked Fred off his seat.
Rebel later recovered and executed some good moves, including
a bulldog and a side suplex. He also took off his weight
training belt and whacked Sandman with a loud "snap" that
sounded throughout the arena. There were numerous loud and
hard-looking chair shots delivered by both wrestlers.
However, when Rebel tried to "chair" Sandman from the
outside, he missed and the chair bounced off the ropes and
hit him in the head instead (reminiscent of what happened to
Cactus Jack vs Sting last year). Things got confusing after
this as Rebel got "busted wide open" (BWO). Stetson came in
to help him double team Sandman and there was a ref bump. A
woman came into the ring to tend to the ref, but wound up
spraying Sandman in the eyes with hair spray, after which
Rebel got the pin. (***)
6. Dark Patriot (with Paul E. Dangerously) vs "Dirty" Dick
Murdoch
Paul E came to the ring first and was explaining how Dark
Patriot would not be there because he was in Japan. This,
like lots of other things Paul E says, turned out to be
bogus, as Patriot came in and attacked Murdoch from behind as
Murdoch had his hands around Paul E's throat in the far
corner. From there, the match seemed kind of heavy and slow
and so did the wrestlers. When Murdoch finally got his
jacket off, he started pummeling Patriot. Patriot did a real
nice FFFF (see second match for definition of FFFF), but
later got pinned in a roll-up after he slammed Murdoch from
the apron back into the ring. (*1/2)
7. Six Man Tag Team Match - Suicide Blondes & Manager Hunter Q.
Robbins vs "Wildman" Sal Bellomo & Super Destroyer#1 &
Manager Stevie Wonderful
The "Blondes" looked really good in their outfits and HQR
drew a lot of heat with his effeminate manner and walking
cane. The fans kept yelling "K-Mart suit", apparently
pushing his very sensitive fashion button. The blondes were
Sir Jonathan Hot Body (Johnny Hot Body, black hair) and Sir
Richard Michaels (Chris Michaels, blonde hair) - I guess one
out of two is enough to justify the "Blonde's" name? The
"Blondes" did lots of double-teaming and HQR joined in for a
few triple-teams. The biggest pop was when Stevie Wonderful
busted HQR's cane over his head on the outside. Match ended
with Bellomo and Destroyer both sitting on Sir Richard
Michaels for the three count. (*1/2)
During the short intermission, I walked around and bumped
into Pete Ruggiero, a well-known wrestling photographer in
the Philadelphia area and a Chatterboxer as well. It was good
to see Pete - we fist met at Halloween Havoc last October,
and hadn't seen each other since the WCW show at the Civic
Center this past January 23rd.
8. Russian Chain Match - "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert (with Paul E)
vs Terry Funk
Funk was the first to enter, and was greeted with loud chants
of "Ter-ry! Ter-ry!" started by yours truly. He had the chain
already strapped to one of his wrists. When Gilbert came out,
there was lots of jockeying as Funk was teasing him with the
chain, but the ref finally got them linked-up and the bell
rang to start the match. The winner is the first one to touch
all four turnbuckles in succession, and was to be crowned
"King of Philadelphia". Promoter Todd Gordon had brought the
crown to the ring and displayed it to the fans before the
wrestlers were introduced.
Funk was the first to use the chain as he "chain-fisted",
slapped, choked, and then hung Gilbert with it. Funk touched
three turnbuckles, but then got clocked by Gilbert before
touching the fourth. Funk got BWO (see fifth match for
definition of BWO) and started juicing first. Outside the
ring, Gilbert was rocking Funk. When Funk got up to walk
away, the chain was between his legs. Gilbert gave a pull,
and for the next three minutes, Terry was singing soprano!
Back in the ring, Gilbert touched three corners but before he
got to the fourth, Funk pulled him back and busted him open
with the chain.
There was an abundance of action and blood throughout,
including a segment where they brawled near the locker room
entrance about 150 feet away from the ring. All I could see
was the chain being swung through the air by Funk, and all I
could hear was the pounding of the chain as it simultaneously
and repeatedly struck Gilbert and the hard cement floor. As
Funk dragged him back to the ring, he dislodged the ring
steps and dropped them on Gilbert. Several more times, both
men tried touching all four corners but couldn't. Gilbert
finally gave Terry a crotch-kick in the jewels, and in the
mayhem that followed, there was a ref bump as well. For a
while there were three refs in the ring as they finally got
the clocked ref out and a new one took his place.
Funk finally caught his second wind, worked Gilbert over, and
was in the process of touching all four corners. While he was
touching the third and fourth, Paul E was on the apron
distracting the ref (he must be the champ at this routine),
and although Funk thought he had won, the ref didn't see it!
As Funk was arguing with the ref, Paul E slipped Gilbert a
chair. Gilbert decked Funk with it, then gave Funk a pile
driver right onto it. Gilbert touched all four corners and
the ref declared him the winner.
At this point, ECW commissioner/promoter Todd Gordon ran into
the ring, grabbed the mic, and fired the ref. As they argued,
Gordon shoved the ref into the corner and onto the mat, but
then Paul E clocked Gordon with the ever-present portable
telephone. Gilbert and Paul E fled the scene as Funk was
coming after them with a chained fist. When the smoke
cleared, Funk declared that he would be back in Philly and
next time would win the crown. He then placed the crown on
Gordon's head, even though Gordon was still sitting on the
mat. Someone threw a rolled-up paper ball into the ring and
scored a bulls-eye on the crown. (*****)
After the Show
I still say there's nothing like an independent show in a small to
medium size arena. The crowds at these shows tend to be real
hardcore fans so the reactions are loud and in the "right" places,
and I sense that the wrestlers appreciate this. The fans also are
closer to the action and the wrestlers themselves. It's just an
atmosphere that you don't find at the big house shows.
Our tickets, which we ordered through John Arezzi, entitled us to
attend the autograph party after the show. We got to meet, talk
with, and have our pictures taken with Terry Funk, Jimmy Snuka,
Eddie Gilbert, Paul E, Sandman, and just about everyone else who
was on the card, including Peaches and Tigress. They were all very
friendly and accommodating. I also got to meet Todd Gordon and a
few of the other folks who work for ECW - all very nice people.
We also bid fond farewell and best wishes to John Arezzi on his
Asian tour - good luck John!
Final Comments
Although there was a wide range in the quality of matches and the
talents of the wrestlers on this card, it was a damn good show in
my opinion. All the wrestlers worked real hard and nobody dogged
it. Obviously ECW is playing to a hardcore audience, what with the
chain match and the role of the women on the card, and they are
playing to that audience very effectively based on the crowd
reaction. The ring was finely tuned and resonant, which to me adds
a lot to the enjoyment of the action.
Before the show started, it was announced that ECW would be
promoting a show in the fall, in Philly, in conjunction with Smokey
Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and the new promotion out of Texas being
started by Paul E and Jim Hudson. We really enjoyed the show, and
look forward to going back again.
Dave Scherer
DS>>During the catfight, where the loser "must be stripped" neither Peaches
>>or Tigra were. However, a hot girl came out and was detopped, baring a
>>set of, my guess, 40 DD's much to the crowd's enjoyment. I have never
>>seen that at a wrestling match before.
EC> Now wait a minute. Are you saying (sans smiley no less) that they
>actually allowed a woman to strip bare topless at the show?
Yup.
>Weren't there little kids in attendance?
Yup.
I was a shocked as anyone.