#ECW HArdcore TV

[salirophiliac]

cactus jack

ecw hardcore tv — may 13, 1995

[astralbondpro]

ECW Hardcore TV #305 (02/27/1999) // New York, New York

Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy.

[arcadebroke]

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[g4tvnocontext]

Another Disturbingly Squeaky Message from the Raven (ECW Hardcore TV - 1/31/95)

What do we mean by that? Just watch, as Raven tells Tommy Dreamer that he’ll take him back to the inescapable classroom of his youth.

Only this time… (squeak) he will not graduate.

[malditoportal]

FRIKIANOSTALGIA 25

HARDCORE TV - NWA ECW 26 DE JULIO (1994)

[littletroubledgrrrl]

Rob Van Dam currently was at Exxxotica in Chicago with his wife Katie Forbes, and I'm going to Chicago next month.

I wonder if Exotica will be still there in Chicago next month and if Rob will be there?

[skeletonrodeoqueen]

Stevie Richards, ECW Hardcore TV 11/28/95

[muffin-man-marq-lynch]

Annoying Straight Wrestling Fan on Twitter: Oh My God why the fuck should we care about the lesbian three-way kiss ending a barely non-existent 'story' on Forbidden Door?

Me, A Queer History Nerd Already Fighting The Urge to Create an 'Intro to Professional Wrestling 101' in the Face of a New Hyperfixation, Excellent Specialized Resources, and the Absence of a Comprehensive Overview: Seriously? Hmm...

Me: Well if we take your question in good faith and not just as the whining of a homophobic bigot, I suppose one great reason would stem from the 1996 turn in the Raven & Dreamer ECW feud that caused the first three-way kiss in Wrestling & its fallout:

Beulah (non-Kayfabe was married to Dreamer) left her position as Raven's Valet by telling him she was pregnant by Dreamer (whom she had been enamored of as a teenager but scorned, making her a bit obsessed).

Dreamer took Beulah on as his girlfriend and protected her from seemingly vicious attacks, only for Shane Douglas to reveal to him that Beulah was not only not pregnant, just fake baby-trapping him for his affections, but she was also now cheating on him as well.

Furious, Dreamer demanded to know who, assuming the culprit to be Douglas himself, but Douglas pointed across the ring at Raven's new valet, Kimona Wanalaya (Amazing Bond Girl Name).

Kimona confirmed her guilt and kissed Beulah to the mat to raucous applause. When asked what he wanted to do, Dreamer responded "I'll take 'em both, I'm hardcore!" Before kissing both of them, then pulling them in for a three-way kiss.

Unfortunately this event was heavily censored in most ECW TV releases, with the show cutting right before the first kiss in most markets, and being pulled off the air entirely in the states of Florida and New York, two of ECW's largest markets, right as they were about to launch a major set of new plotlines. By the time the shows were restored weeks had passed. Remember this was all late night cable television already, Extreme Champion Wrestling already had some of its reputation well in hand and the Attitude Era was about to begin for WWF, sex and violence was somewhat part and parcel, but a consensual lesbian kiss and a continued M/F/F three-way relationship was a bridge too far.

Forbidden Door might have been a PPV and it might have been more PG than ECW by modern standards, but never forget they'll come for the sickos, the queers, the deviants, and the pervs first, be it in wrestling or anywhere else and it's all of us or none of us.

Happy Last Day of Stonewall Week.

[demoralizedreprobate]

um... sorry what?

Ecw Hardcore TV January 14th 1997

[blowflyfag]

Wrestling World presents Wrestling Maniacs: JUNE 1999

Sabu: THE SILENT KILLER! 

Alongside Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and maybe Sandman, Sabu is a hardcore wrestling legend. He has always been ECW’s most well-rounded performer, willing and able to make not only himself but any opponent look good.

By Chris Faust

[If you want to see hardcore wrestling, then Sabu is your man!]

EXTREME Championship Wrestling (ECW) has a variety of reputations. Some describe it as a slaughterhouse, a kind of Ultimate Fighting organization minus the sportsmanship.  Others are quick to note the technical, high-flying aspect to many ECW wrestlers’ styles. Unquestionably, ECW is violent, bloody, and bruising. But the acrobatic, high-impact, death-defying talents throughout the promotion are just as prevalent. One longtime ECW star has always performed with both of these objectives in mind. That man is Sabu, one of the most influential, mysterious, and entertaining wrestlers ever to compete in any federation.

Covered with scars from barbed wire death matches (his specialty during his early days), standing a modest 6-foot tall, and never weighing in over 225 pounds, Sabu looks like a man who has taken more punishment than he has handed out. He never speaks on camera, but communicates to the fans with his trademark index finger pointed into the air. He wrestles all the time and has a reputation for overbooking himself–some say for the money, but less cynical fans realize that very few men have surrendered themselves to the sport like Sabu.

Sabu’s wrestling style is better seen than described. He walks the line between fearlessness and complete psychosis. He is equally known for his vast arsenal of moonsaults, flips, and other top-rope maneuvers as he is for his various barbed wire, table, and chair stunts. He inflicts pain mercilessly, yet gracefully. At his ECW debut in 1993, he pinned Taz (then known as Tasmaniac) twice in one night, setting off a feud that still resurfaces periodically. His threshold for withstanding pain goes to an even greater extreme. Legend has it that once during a match against Chris Benoit, Sabu actually had his neck broken, yet still managed to finish the match.

[Sabu is one of the most downright brutal competitors ever to perform…and yes, those scars are real!]

The story behind Sabu’s rise in the American wrestling scene sounds like the stuff of legend as well. He was born in Bombay, India, the nephew of The Sheik. In 1984, after giving his nephew some training in mat technique, The Sheik announced that Sabu would compete against a mystery opponent in order to prove himself. The opponent was later revealed as The Sheik himself, but Sabu managed to pass his test one way or another. 

Sabu’s professional debut  came in 1985 when he defeated the Canadian Road Warrior. He then spent several years traveling the American independent circuit, making a name for himself as one of the most feared men in wrestling. He worked himself as much as possible, often wrestling six days a week, occasionally as much as three times in one day! In 1992 Uncle Sheik again helped further Sabu’s career, helping him make the jump to Japan’s FMW promotion. Sabu earned his first gold teamed with Horace Boulder (the same who now wrestles in WCW), when the two won the tag belts from Atsushi Onita and Tarzan Goto. At this point, Sabu’s growing reputation earned him a contract offer from the WWF, which he declined in favor of his interests in the Japanese scene, which included winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title.

Strangely enough, less than a year later, in October of 1993, Sabu made his ECW debut. Within less than a month, he had defeated Shane Douglas to become ECW World Champion. Weeks later, Sabu staked his belt against Terry Funk’s ECW Television title, defeating Funk and claiming both belts. Ironically, Sabu lost the World title to none other than Funk in December. Sabu held the TV title a bit longer, losing it to the Tasmaniac in March of 1994.

Taz and Sabu actually managed to reconcile their differences amiably, and formed a tag team. They won the belts in early 1995 from The Public Enemy, losing them a few weeks later to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. THe feud between the two reignited, culminating in a much-anticipated match between the two reignited, culminating in a much-anticipated match between the two at the first-ever ECW pay-per-view, “Barely Legal,” in early 1997. Sabu’s nose was broken early in the match, but this didn’t prevent the two from putting on the most grueling, strenuous match of the card. Taz, at that time managed by Bill Alfonso, won the match by choking Sabu unconscious. After the match, Taz extended a hand to a revived Sabu, but Alfonso ruined the moment by selling Taz out and instead offering his services to Sabu.

“Under new management, as the saying goes, Sabu once again claimed the ECW World title, again defeating Terry Funk. This time, in August of 1997, it was in a barbed wire match in Philadelphia, one of the most legendary matches in ECW history, so bloody and gruesome (even by ECW standards) that it has never aired on TV.The match ended with Sabu wrapping himself in barbed wire and using himself as a lethal weapon. He and Funk were so entangled in barbed wire that after the match they had to literally be pulled apart. Less than a week later, Sabu defended the belt in a three-way dance (against Shane Douglas and Terry Funk) at the second-ever ECW pay-per-view, “Hardcore Heaven.” The Sandman interfered, and Sabu was the first to be eliminated, with Douglas going on to pin Funk and win the title.

[Sabu is known for his vast arsenal of moonsaults, flips and other top-rope maneuvers!

Manager Bill Alfonso helped Sabu capture the ECW World title!]

More recently, Sabu has paired with Rob Van Dam to form one of the greatest tag teams ECW’s ranks have known. They defeated Chris Candido and Lance Storm for the tag team titles during the timer of 1998, before the ever-present tag threat of Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley won them in November at a Cleveland event. Since the loss, the two have regained the tag titles, and Sabu has set his sights on a third reign as ECW World Champion. His title shot was scheduled for January at ECW’s “Guilty as Charged” pay-per-view, a shot he earned by pinning current champion Shane Douglas in a non-title-six-man tag match at “November to Remember.” The two faced each other in Pittsburgh recently, where a bloodied Douglas retained his title when the match was declared a draw.

Some love him, some hate him, but no fan will deny Sabu’s influence on wrestling today. When he first hit the U.S. scene in the mid-’80s, promoters were more interested in cartoonish, buffoonish wrestlers like Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior. A wrestler like Sabu was too real, too violent, and too dangerous for mainstream audiences. So he remained in the ugly underground scene before breaking into ECW.

[Sabu walks the line between fearlessness and psychosis…and proves it with every brutal ring outing!]

Unlike many wrestlers who simply imitate their own heroes’ maneuvers, Sabu originated many of the complex moonsaults and flips in his repertoire. He brought chairs, tables, and barbed wire into ECW, and he was the first to use the chair as a springboard (like Al Snow) instead of a weapon (which is not to say he doesn’t use it as a weapon too–I saw him give One Man Gang a top rope legdrop on the face while holding a chair under the leg in question!)

Many of ECW’s top stars have recently left the promotion in favor of the big two (Bigelow, Candido, Whipwreck, Sandman), with more rumored to be on their way out (Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer). Nevertheless, some tough competition remains for Sabu in ECW, in the form of Douglas and Masato Tanaka. Tanaka’s pain threshold approaches (if not equals) Sabu’s, as evidenced by the battle on the chairs with Balls Mahoney. Come to think of it, a tag team of Sabu and Tanaka could be unstoppable (in ECW or the WWF), should Van Dam decide to leave ECW.

[Unlike many wrestlers who simply imitate their hero’s maneuvers, Sabu originated many of the moonsaults and flips in his repertoire!]

Much like Kanyon, Jericho, and even Austin, Sabu is among the performers who always put on a good match, regardless of the occasion or opponent. By the time you read this, Sabu could very well have given Douglas a lesson in violence at “Guilty as Charged,” and won the ECW Championship for a third time. He deserves it, and if he doesn't win it, he should consider going after the WWF’s Intercontinental title. Alongside Funk, Mick Foley, and mauve Sandman, Sabu is a hardcore wrestling legend. He has always been ECW’s most well-rounded performer, willing and able to make not only himself but any opponent look good. All fans should point to the sky when they hear “Huka Blues” and Alfonso’s whistle going off, out of respect. Who knows which of the Sabu legends are true, whether Benoit really broke his neck, whether Alfonso really superglued him back together after the barbed wire match with Funk, but one thing is for sure, the fact that these legends even exist makes Sabu one of the most intriguing, mesmerizing, and downright brutal competitors ever to perform. And yes, those scars are real.

[salirophiliac]

raven

ecw hardcore tv — january 7, 1995

[astralbondpro]

February 14, 1995 -

The Sandman leaves Joey Styles confused on this episode of ECW Hardcore TV.

[renee-ckstrong]

Continuing the tradition of watching random episodes of wrestling when I take my HRT tonight we are turning ECW Hardcore TV into ECW Hardcore HRT and watching the episode with the famous "Cane Dewey" promo.

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

If Cena Wins , We Riot: Looking Back On John Cena vs Rob Van Dam

In honor of tonight’s new episode of Biography: WWE Legends on A&E about Rob Van Dam, this article is going to be looking back at the match between John Cena and Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand in 2006.

Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) was once a popular wrestling promotion founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as a branch of the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) , however , in 1993, wrestling manager and businessman , Paul Heyman ( previously Paul E.Dangerously ) , took over creative control. Heyman made the promotion into being known for hardcore wrestling, which meant weapons such as tables and sometimes fire would be used during the shows. He also had different wrestlers of different backgrounds come in to the promotion and show styles of wrestling that were never seen before . Wrestlers such as Rob Van Dam, Raven , The Sandman , and Tommy Dreamer are examples of stars of the promotion. Heyman described his promotion as a grunge version of the WWF as Grunge Music was a popular genre of music during the 90s. However , Vince McMahon bought out the company after it went bankrupt in 2003. Thus, McMahon would make it WWE’s third brand in 2006.

Paul Heyman would be in charge of creative for the rebrand of ECW in 2006 with McMahon supervising his role for a few months. Heyman’s brand would be the third one to be on TV alongside Monday Night RAW and Friday Night Smackdown. Therefore, he would also bring back the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and the first champion being Rob Van Dam. Van Dam received the championship as a reward for winning the main event of One Night Stand.

Following One Night Stand’s success in 2005, WWE decided to bring back the show for 2006 under the rebrand of ECW. The show took place on June 11,2006 in New York. Paul Heyman opened the show with a promo and welcoming fans. Nevertheless, wrestlers from all three of WWE’s shows were there as well as ECW originals . The card for One Night Stand was stacked with matches such as Edge, Lita, and Mick Foley vs Tommy Dreamer , Beulah McGillicutty , and Terry Funk , and Sabu vs Rey Mysterio for the World Championship. The main event was Rob Van Dam vs John Cena for the WWE Championship.

The ECW fans did not respect John Cena before the big match started. Cena did his entrance the same as he did on RAW by throwing his T shirt out to the crowd , fans threw the shirt back multiple times due to their hatred of the future WWE Hall of Famer. When Rob Van Dam made his way to the ring , the fans erupted with cheers. During the match , fans kept shouting expletive chants at Cena and telling him that he could not wrestle. The match went outside of the ring with RVD hitting a moonsault off of the steel ring steps onto Cena. While the match was continuing and RVD getting out of Cena’s submission , the STFU , Cena decided to clothesline the referee. RVD also blocked Cena’s attempt to use his finishing move, the FU ( now the Attitude Adjustment). Nick Patrick was the substitute referee for the remainder of the match. Therefore , a person wearing a motorcycle helmet decided to run in the ring and gave Cena a spear through a table. Nevertheless, the person who wore the motorcycle helmet was revealed to be Cena’s rival , Edge. Edge also knocked out Nick Patrick with the fans cheering him on.

Paul Heyman rushed to the ring and counted to three, giving RVD the victory and the WWE Championship. On Monday Night RAW the next night , Heyman came to the ring and announced that Mr.McMahon looked back on the match and ruled that RVD was the WWE Champion . Heyman would reintroduce the WWE Championship as the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on the season premiere of ECW on Sci-Fi ( SyFy). Van Dam wanted to keep the WWE Championship because it spun and became the ECW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Champion. He would soon be speared by Edge with John Cena coming through the crowd to attack Edge and punching Paul Heyman. Cena was chased away by ECW originals. At the Vengeance Pay Per View , Van Dam would retain the WWE Championship by defeating Edge. Cena defeated ECW original , Sabu , in an Extreme Rules Lumberjack Match. Rob Van Dam and John Cena’s One Night Stand Match was 20 minutes and 40 seconds.

Fun Fact: Kevin Steen ( Kevin Owens) was in attendance at One Night Stand.

My Final Thoughts:

This match has to be one of my all time favorites. It had so much drama with it and a lot of controversy to it , which is something I love to see because I think it is great storytelling when it comes to wrestling. Yes , you might be angry if your favorite loses but if it is a great match , it will be a classic. Cena and RVD put on a great show . I wasn’t expecting Cena to basically be booed out of the building . I also thought RVD was pretty cool as a kid and I still do. If you could go back in time , would you watch this match live?

Love You All,

- Kay

[maxwelljacobfriedman]

ECW Hardcore TV 5/16/1995: She just loves that gold. She digs it!

[s0re-loser]

ECW Hardcore TV Jan 17 1995 - A special look at Raven