ECW Guilty as Charged 2000

Date: 01/09/2000

Location: Birmingham, AL

Announcers: Joey Styles & Cyrus

The Setup

The Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka feud ran its course after two PPV matches and two TV title switches, so they pivoted to the next plausible contender for Awesome…Spike Dudley. They did do a great angle on TV where Awesome knocked Spike’s girlfriend’s front teeth out, but no one on Earth thought Spike was winning the title. RVD vs. Sabu happened here before Sabu turned on Van Dam a few weeks later and joined Mike Awesome, before leaving the promotion.

The Business

The show was reported to have done 80,000 PPV buys, as well as selling 4,700 tickets for an $80,000 gate. This was on the higher end of ECW PPVs, but the TNN exposure did lead to an overall increase in PPV business.

The Results

CW Anderson def. Mikey Whipwreck in 4:41. The match was solid with the highlight being Mikey taking an insane fucking bump off the apron, over the rail, and into the crowd. There was a lot of silliness with Billy Wiles, Lou E., and cell phones at the end that came off so contrived, but both men worked really hard, and Anderson’s “work a body part” offense was much appreciated. Anderson won with a spinebuster. **

Roadkill, Danny Doring & Simon Diamond def. Kid Kash, Nova & Jazz in 9:58. In many ways, this was the worst of ECW. Simon’s entourage kept getting involved, leaving Simon, his crew, Jazz, and Kash to brawl to the back and disappear, never to be seen again. Chris Chetti, who had recently left ECW, came out to join his old partner Nova for no real good reason at all. Some of the spots were fun, but this was a mess and largely a reason for the announcers to get “Big Dick” jokes in about Dick Hertz. Roadkill pinned Chetti with a splash off the top. *

Super Crazy & Tajiri def. Jerry Lynn & Little Guido in 12:37. This was a dream partner match that included pre-match spiels with Corino and Heyman. This was good, but it may have had a few more hiccups than usual. Additionally, the guys who disliked their teammates probably detracted from the experience with these four, rather than enhancing it. Both teams turned on each other in something that was both predictable and overkill, then Tairi pinned Lynn with a brainbuster. ***

Angel def. New Jack in 8:48. Angel was really bad. That’s undoubtedly true, but Vic Grimes got involved, and New Jack threw in a few insane spots to go with the weapons. That helped pick it up a tad for me. The finish was Angel hitting New Jack with an object and getting the pin, and it sure was flat. *

ECW TV Title Match: Rob Van Dam (c) def. Sabu in 14:37. This was kind of a basic RVD/Sabu match with a lot of big dives and big moves. They did a visual pinfall with Sabu having RVD beat while the ref was down. There wasn’t a lot of sloppiness, and they also played a little psychology with RVD countering a Sabu top rope moonsault because he knew Sabu so well. I’ve seen worse with these two left to their own devices. RVD won with the frogsplash. ***

World Tag Team Title Match: Justin Credible & Lance Storm def. Raven & Tommy Dreamsr (C) in 9:23. It took months to get this match in the ring due to injuries to the babyfaces, but here we are. There was a lot of brawling all over the building, and you know you’re doing a lot when Lance Storm goes through TWO tables. It turned basic with Dreamer taking the heat, and he tried to get tricky during the hot tag and fell out of the ring without touching Raven. Storm looked a cut above everyone else here. Credible pinned Raven with a tombstone after Raven was trying to break up a catfight between Francine and Dawn. **3/4

World Title Match: Mike Awesome (C) def. Spike Dudley in 14:10. This was okay, but the basic story was Awesome beating the shit out of Spike, who wouldn’t give up. The problem was that no one expected him to win, as mentioned. Awesome fucking flung Spike around, but the powerbomb off the top through a table was the finish. It was at least a spectacle.

Recommendation

This was a show where everyone worked hard, but also blended together. Nothing exceptional, good or bad, but there were both. I love Spike, but I’m lost as to why you get national TV, and just over four months later, you’re running Spike Dudley in the main event of a PPV. The tag title match was fine, but a letdown considering the buildup. Thumbs solidly in the middle here.