[ECW] Results from the Arena 11 January 1997

[Mr ECW]

Hello Once again Everyone--
It was quite a wild night at the ECW Arena and we start
off
with no Bob Artese no referee and just Raven in the ring calling for
Sandman to bring in his belt. Those two go at it with the wild one
that you ve come to expect from those two over the course of the feud.
The BWO makes an appearance and Raven and Stevie still having
their problems as Raven being the reciepient of a StevieKick Stevie
takes off his BWO shirt and gives it to Sandman so there seems to be
some kind of alliance there. Sandman goes off with the belt leaving
Raven laying.

Chris Candido gets the win over Louie Spicolli in their match
even more tables get used in this match and Candido wins after a
reversal on Spicolli. After the match Douglas and Brian Lee are out
to help with the post match fun as we in fact have a New Triple
Threat of Shane Douglas, Brian Lee and Chris Candido.. PitBull2
is out to help out Louie after this one.

Mikey Whipwreck with the win over Spike Dudley in
a good battle of the light heavyweights.

More surprises over the course of the night as we see the
return of Awesome Mike Awesome over Balls Mahoney. Those two
just didn t seem to mesh, but the highlight was a great chant- Awesome
Balls

The Eliminators beat Dvon Dudley and Axl Rotten to keep
the ECW world tag team champions. The new belts look great-
nice to see some new belts on the champs. Lets hope that even
though I m sure that they ll be extreme, that they stay as nice as they
are.

The Gangstas in a wild brawl and the win over HellBent
and Whiskey Bound. I think you d know them better as RIcky Morton
and Tommy Wildfire Rich. After the match- there was a riff between
Morton and Rich which got kinda out of hand in which both men were
bloody messes and then from there they end up coming over into
the front row.

Joey Styles is out to do the opening for the tv show and
do his interview, but he s interrupted as Tommy Dreamer s up on
the stage watching things and he gets jumped by the new Triple
Threat, getting mauled with the metal trash can and then goes off
the upper stage onto the lower, Terry Funk out to help, but it doesn t
seem to help and Tommy may not make his title match later.

Joey interviews Taz. Taz goes off about Sabu being in Japan
with
Rob Van Dam and questions how loyal is Sabu since he s over in Japan
and not here in ECW and then questions a fan in the crowd yelling Fuck
Sabu and how can he chant fuck Sabu when he s never been in the
ring ( the fan that is) it was interesting and Taz also was trying to show
Styles
how he s not hurt at all, there s no shoulder injury.

Its Buh Buh Ray Dudley vs PitBull2 in even more interesting
matches
for the night. Wasn t long until the Triple Threat was out and Pit2
slammed through
a table and even shows more how the threat is back!

It was the BullDozer for hire Brian Lee vs Terry Funk in the
wild
brawl that you would expect from those two, Funk was all over the place as
much as referee Jim Molineaux tried to keep them in the ring. Funk got
slammed with help from Candido and Lee and Lee gets the win even
though those two get into a bit of a brawl afterwards.

Shane Douglas lets us know that Tommy Dreamer can not
be in that title match tonight cause he s out at hospital getting stiched
up- so Shane wants an opponent and a masked man is out who
Shane refers to him as Juventud Guerrera but I think this guy was
pretty Rude myself.He gets the mic and tells us all that his New Years
Resolution is to fuck with the Franchise and then while Shane asks how
come he s keeping the mask on, Rick replies that if he took the mask
off Shane would shit himself and that he and the people couldnt take
that stench. So, who do we get to take on the Franchise-- PITBULL1
back in the ECW and the Arena- he looked ok but needs sometime
back in the gym- he took it to Shane really well- place went wild when
Gary Wolf made his return into the ring, one of the loudest pops I ve
heard in a while-- Shane being thrown from pillar to post and then
as the triple threat comes in to help out, the masked man is along
to help out as they clear off the Triple Threat- the locker room
empties with Mikey, Sandman, Buh Buh, Sign Guy Dudley all in
celebrating the return of PitBull1, even Sandman gave him a
post match beer to drink....

Lets see we have surprises of Mike Awesome, Ricky Morton, Tommy
Rich; problems with the BWO and Raven, the formation of the new
Triple Threat, the return of PitBull1 and a Rude man in a mask.
Overall a good show at the ECW Arena....
Upcoming shows include----
Friday January 17th
Tabor Youth Association
Whitaker & Loudon Sts- NE Philadelphia
Raven & Shane Douglas vs Tommy Dreamer & PitBull #2
Sandman vs Balls Mahoney
Eliminators vs the Dudleys
Gangstas vs Axl Rotten & D-Von Dudley
Chris Candido vs Mikey Whipwreck
Saturday Night Jan 18th
Scranton, PA s CYC Center
500 Jefferson Avenue
ECW title match- Raven vs Sandman
Mixed Tag- Dreamer & Buelah vs Franchise & Francine
Bulldozer Brian Lee vs PitBull #2
Eliminators vs Gangstas
Mikey Whipwreck vs Chris Candido
D-Von Dudley & Axl Rotten vs the Dudleys

FRIDAY NIGHT JANUARY 31
Winter Blowout 97
SportsPlus of Long Island
110 New Moriches Road
Lake Grove, NY

for info about these shows call the ECW offices
at 215-928-9772
for directions and other updates 610-544-0421

[CactusB]

Here's my 2 cents:

The evening starts off with a slight change. There is no Bob Artese, there
is no referee, just RAVEN in the ring with the mic. Raven is here to get
his belt back. "Sandman, bring me my belt!" Enter SANDMAN. The two men
start pounding on each other until the music plays. It's the BWO.
HOLLYWOOD, BIG STEVIE, THE BLUE GUY, and 3 1/2 come to ringside. Stevie
gets into an altercation with Raven. Stevie goes to superkick his cohort
but Raven ducks and Sandman gets nailed. Raven and Stevie argue some more
before Raven becomes the latest recipient of the Steviekick. Stevie gives
Sandman a BWO shirt. Sandman ties Raven up in the ropes, canes him 3 times
before leaving the ring, with the belt.

Now Bob Artese comes to the ring. The show has officially begun.

CHRIS CANDITO vs LOUIE SPICOLI
The crowd begans chanting we want Sunny. Louie grabs the mic. "You hear
that, they want Sunny. Instead we get the bitch of the family!", Louie
says. The two men battle it out. They go outside the ring where Louie gets
a chair. He decides not to use it and sets up a table instead. Chris gets
back in the ring, Louie on the apron. Chris is able to escape the suplex
attempt and throw Louie through the table. Louie gets back in the ring
where the two men make their way to the top turnbuckle. Louie with the
belly to belly off the top rope. Louie went for his finisher, the death
valley driver, but Chris held on to the top rope. Chris went over and out
of the ring. The two men continued to battle. Louie went for a sunset flip
off the top rope but Chris was able to hook his legs and sit on him for
the victory. BRIAN LEE, THE FRANCHISE, and FRANCINE come to the ring. Lee
prime time slams Louie. This is followed by a spike piledriver on Louie,
by Shane. PITBULL 2 runs in to save Louie. Prime time slam on Pit 2. Pit 2
gets up! Pit 2 and Louie remian in the ring and clear house.

SPIKE DUDLEY w/ SIGN GUY vs MIKEY WHIPWRECK
Mike wins in 4:05 after Spike misses with an off the top rope dropkick,
Mikey rolls him up for the pin. Good match but not over with the crowd.

JOEY STYLES enters the ring to do his interview. "We're going coast to
coast in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Good evening everyone and welcome to the ECW
Arena. Tommy turn around, behind you!!", Joey yells. Up on the main
stage, TOMMY DREAMER is jumped, from behind by Brian Lee, Shane, and
Chris. Lee continuously nails Tommy with a garbage can. Shane hits with a
DDT an Chris follows it up by throwing Tommy off the stage. As this is
taking place, Francine is keeping Paul E. occupied :) The Tripe Threat has
hit again. Since the action was taking place in the back of the building,
we couldn't see who came out to help Dreamer but chairs were flying so it
is assumed that the legend from the Double Cross Ranch may have been
there.

After a few minutes, Joey continues by introducing TAZ and BILL ALFONSO.
Taz comes out and gives his usual speech about Sabu being in Japan because
he cares about us fans so much.

ELIMINATORS vs AXL ROTTEN and DVON DUDLEY
The Eliminators prove, once again, why they are the greatest tag team in
wrestling today. They immediately take control and set up their opponents.
Simultaneous moonsaults!! Axl and DVon take control for a few minutes but
pretty soon the tables are turned once again. Total Elimination on Axl for
the victory.

RICKY MORTON and TOMMY WILDFIRE RICH vs DA GANGSTAS
Crazy brawl. All the men fought all over the place. At one point, NEW JACK
and Ricky came over the guard rail by us. We moved out of the way but not
far enough. New Jack punched Ricky who went flying into my cohort,
Sidekick Ron's, arm. Back in the ring, New Jack off the top with a chair
on Rich for the win. Rich grabs the mic and tells Ricky he only came here
to party and have some "Beeers". Ricky doesn't see things this way. He's
slightly upset at the loss. The two men start beating on each other.

RICKY MORTON vs TOMMY WILDFIRE RICH
Outside the ring we go. Chair shot on Rich. Rich is bleeding like crazy.
They brawl in front of us, again. This time Ricky is thrown over the top
rope, into my lap. My pant legs is now covered with Rich's blood. Now both
men are bleeding as they make their way back into the ring where Rich
rolls him up for the three count.

BALLS MAHONEY vs AWESOME MIKE AWESOME
Awesome took immediate control but Balls soon countered by working on
Awesome's injured leg. Awesome battled back and went fo a power bomb but
wasn't able to pick up balls. Balls was dropped on his head. The second
attempt was better and Balls crashed to the canvas. The third time, he
lifted up Balls, Awesome started falling toward the ropes. He held on,
bombed and splashed Balls for the win.

PITBULL 2 vs BUH BUH RAY DUDLEY
Why? They start wrestling when we hear Shane on the mic. Out comes Shane
stating that a bounty is on the head of the Pit. BAD CREW try to jump Pit
but he and Buh Buh fight them off. Axl and DVon try to take him out. No
such luck. Chris and Brian? Lee prime time slams Pit over the top rope,
through the table. Shane follows it up with the DDT. Pit bull gets
stretchered out.

BULLDOZER BRIAN LEE vs TERRY FUNK
The two men start the match ouside the ring and battle around the Arena.
They make their way toward us. Terry says get out of the way. (At least he
gave us a warning, thanks!) Terry throws Brian over the guard rail and
follows him. They fight between us for a few minutes. Lee picks up Funk
and crotches him on the guard rail. Funk fails over and Lee pulls the
guard rail toward us, nailing me in the leg. They get in the ring, where
Lee has thrown in a table. The table is set up in the corner. Funk is
whipped into the table which shatters. They fight down the aisle and back.
As Terry is getting back into the ring, Shane clips him. Shane and Chris
set up a table on the floor. Prime tiem slam off the apron, through the
table. Terry is throenm into the ring where Brian pins him in 15:39. Lee
grabs the mic to harrass Funk. Funk instead starts throwing punches. Lee
says that Funk's dad is probably rolling over in his grave. Funk and Lee
keep throwing punches and insults at each other. Shane and Chris pull Funk
off Lee.

SHANE DOUGLAS w/ FRANCINE vs TOMMY DREAMER
Shane and Francine come out. Shane announces that Tommy is in the hospital
due to the attack earlier in the evening. Shane knocks out the ref. Down
the aisle comes a masked man. Shane yells, "Who are you? Juventud
Guererra?" The tall masked man wearing jeans, a sweater, and boots, gets
into the ring. He looks somewhat familiar. He grabs the mic and says he
came here to change the direction of ECW. The voice souns familiar. By
now, the crowd has come to the conclusion that this man is none other
than, RAVISHING RICK RUDE!!! "My New Year's resolution is to **** with the
Franchise." he says. Douglas says then take of the mask. The masked man
has 2 reasons why he can't. One, if he did, Douglas would soil himself and
two, the crowd would have to deal with the stench. Rude talks about the
former NWA champ who said if you wanna be the champ you've gotta beat the
champ. He continues by saying there is someone in the back who will take
Tommy's place. It can't be Dreamer, he's in the hospital. Pit 2? No, he's
been stretchered out. Who can it be? THE RETURN OF PITBULL 1,
GARY!!!!!!!!!

Gary runs in and clears house. He goes nuts on Shane. Clotheslines, press
slams, Shane is getting a beating. Shane goes over the top rope and
through the table. Francine comes over to help him but Rude throws her in
the ring with the Pitbull. Brian Lee runs in to make the save. Brian Lee
is taken down. Chris runs in. Rude jumps in, with a chair to help Gary.
Chairshot on Chris. Gary clotheslines Shane over the top rope. Shane and
his friends run for safety. Sandman, Louie, Buh Buh, Sign Guy, Rude, and
Mikey pick up Pitbull on their shoulders as the crowd chants "Welcome
Back". As they all leave the ring, Pitbull 1 makes his way around the
ringside area to give a high five to all his fans.

My thoughts and comments:
I was shocked to see Rich and Morton here. They were scheduled to be on
Ian Rotten's card in Kentucky tonight. While Rich looked more like Buddy
Rose and Morton is getting old, they did have a good ECW style brawl.

After getting Pitbull 2 stretchered out. Lee and Shane seemed to offer
Francine to Candito. Candito said he couldn't, he'd get in trouble.

Why is it that if people chant things that others don't necessarily agree
with those doing the chanting are given the finger by those who disagree?
(BTW, who won the match?)

During the Lee vs Funk match Lee rammed my leg with the guard rail. I
started saying thanks a lot Brian and he turned and said he was sorry. Now
that's class!

At first, I didn't get the reasoning for having Rude in a mask introducing
the return of Pit 1. Couldn't they have put anyone in the mask to do that?
However, I was later reminded of Rude's entrance into WCW. He first
appeared in a mask and it wasn't until after he won his big match that he
unmasked and became a part of the Dangerous Alliance. Hmmm.

The return of Awesome was awesome. While he and Mahoney didn't seem to
work well together, he is still a great addition.

I personally hope Rich, Rude, and Morton stick around since it helps give
ECW some "big", more recognizable names that they could use to help
promote future shows. These names may also help draw viewers when the PPV
finally takes place.

Overall, I enjoyed this show immensely and it was a great kick off to a
new year.

Brett A. Schwan
ECW On-Line PR Guy
Grandstand Wrestling Board Leader
Charter Subscriber to The Wrestling Lariat the #1 newsletter.
Member of the Crazy Ivan Fan Club

[DarrenOT]

Did anyone notice during the dreamer / triple threat altercation that a
fan got hit by a chair by Terry Funk. It was kind of funny. The chairs are
pretty cheap anyway and the kid only got tapped. He wouldn't shut up about
it the rest of the night, saying how hardcore he was. This was the same
kid that caught the beer can that the sandman threw into the crowd. he
drank from it and then the dumbass threw the can on the ground. However,
my friend Brian got a nice souviner. That kid isn't hardcore. Hardcore is
when my broke down on I-95 south at midnight coming home from the arena
and my friends having to walk an hour in the freezing cold to get to a
phone.

I don't know if they will show the attack of dreamer. Paul E was freakin
that something had gone wrong. I don't know if it was the kid or that
Dreamer was in such sad shape.

Darren