[1995-10-17-ECW-TV] Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is way better than I remembered. To this point, probably the best ECW match I've ever seen. There is the chair and table stuff, but it feels less forced than in some of the Juventud matches. It also fits Psicosis' working style better than Juventud's. Also, I just generally like Psicosis better as a worker than Juventud. This really works as a match that just happened to get out of control when tempers flared. I hate this stuff in AAA, but I don't mind it so much in ECW.

[Cox]

I actually have a story about this match, that I once told on DVDVR, but I figured I'd retell it here because it's pretty cool, if you can indulge me for a second.

 

In '95, I was on the old Prodigy service and a bunch of us used to go to the ECW shows together. So I'm at the ECW hotel and I'm wearing a New Jersey Devils hockey jersey when a small Hispanic man comes over to me and says "Hey man, I like your shirt, where did you get it?" I mention I got it at a local sporting goods store, and we make a little small talk and he walks away. Afterwards, Dave Prazak (well before he was in the business, he used to be on Prodigy) comes over to me and says, "You know that was Rey Misterio Jr, right?" Of course, I didn't.

 

Anyway, fast forward to the ECW show that night. It's intermission and I'm talking with some friends over by the entrance way and John Arezzi (known for his old radio show in New York during the WWF steroid trial with Vince Russo, who was running the AAA show that took place in Chicago two weeks later, and who I think was booking the AAA guys into ECW) comes over to me and says that Rey Misterio and Psicosis both want my jersey, and were willing to trade their masks in exchange for it. I decide to do it and told Arezzi that I'd take the Psicosis mask, so he takes me behind the curtain, where I wait for a few minutes before he comes out with Psicosis. Psicosis has a towel on his head to cover his identity. Arezzi points out that it's autographed (I don't think Psicosis' English at this point was great), we shake hands, and I walk off with the mask he wore that night.

 

Only regret I have is that as cool as Psicosis' mask is, Rey's mask probably would have been worth more and is much more recognizable because he became a much bigger star. Still, pretty cool to have a match-worn Psicosis mask displayed in my basement. And the cool thing is, I've seen Tijuana handhelds of Psicosis wrestling in my Devils jersey, which was pretty cool, and two weeks later, I saw unmasked Rey at the hotel for the AAA show in Chicago wearing his own Devils jersey, so I guess he got what he wanted in the end too.

[Loss]

That's a really awesome story. Really awesome. I think you made the right choice. I would have picked the Psicosis mask too.

[Tim Evans]

I think this is my favorite of the Rey vs Psicosis matches in ECW. Hell maybe the best of the AAA matches I've seen them have too. Rey was just insane and the lights going in and out helped the match too.

[Laney]

I was surprised when I re-watched this recently as I seem to remember all they Rey/Psicosis matches from ECW being about the same. I was wrong, this one was by far the best. They were absolutely insane in this match and it still holds up today, which I think is impressive, since in my opinion, spotty matches don't seem to age too well.

[Timbo Slice]

Here's what I wrote on my blog, The Best of ECW:

 

The ECW rematch of the duo’s 1995 series, which at this point seems like it had been done in like 70 countries or something crazy like that. Always like that this started out with Gertner doing the ring introductions in Spanish. And he did it well, too! So consider this your normal lucha dos a tres caidas match, so the tecnico is going to go nuts and win the first fall, as Mysterio does a plancha off the apron, another over the top rope and then finishes the fall with a standing rana.

Psicosis starts the second fall with his awesome missed corner dropkick spot and then Rey starts with the ranaing and all that. Psicosis makes his comeback and starts slamming Rey all over the turnbuckles. Great powerbomb for a near fall. Rey avoids a corner charge so that Psicosis can show people why he does the post bump better than anyone else. Rey then gets his incredible handspring spinning rana and tries a springboard moonsault, but Psicosis catches him and destroys him with a martinete for the win. Always liked that wrinkle.

Third fall begins with Psicosis hitting a powerbomb through the table and an absolutely nutty tope into the front row. Psicosis then continues the nuttiness by missing a corner splash and bumping off the post to the floor, where Rey follows with a springboard somersault silla. Then, they realize they’re in ECW and start kicking each other on the floor, throwing chairs with Rey doing most of the damage by wrapping the chair around Psicosis’ head and ramming him into the post. Rey is an absolute highspot machine in this match, hitting a beautiful triangle somersault plancha to the outside, too. Psicosis then gets SUPER nutty, hitting a friggin KAORU diving senton on Rey through a table and a chair on the floor. After another powerbomb, Psicosis finishes with his fantastic corkscrew senton with a chair laid across Rey.

Immensely better than the first match, which was really about them just introducing the crowd to their style. This match saw them take everything up 10 notches and put their own twist on the ECW style. Fantastic stuff for the time, and for a pure spotfest, there are few matches that touch it. Still holds up extremely well today.

[PeteF3]

I still think the double dog collar match should stand at the top of the pile for being the quintessential ECW match--but the best "pure" match, for whatever that definition is worth, is probably this. This was, in a word, incredible. Death-defying shit all over the place, but with Psicosis ramping up the heeling and the aggression and Rey matching him as the match goes on. See, Eddy and Dean, this is what you get when a match and a rivalry BUILDS to something. Psicosis can't outquick Rey, so he has to overpower him, brutalize him, and when necessary, cheat. That leads to both guys stepping up their game both in terms of moves and in terms of objects and furniture used. Great combination of lucha and ECW-style brawling, and a contender for best North American match of the year.

[ohtani's jacket]

#344

 

This was the extreme version of their touring match and was full of tables and chairs and all sorts of crazy dives. I'm more partial to Psicosis doing comedy rudo spots, but it's pointless to complain about those sort of things in a match like this -- it's ECW, you know what you're getting. I respected the way they were able to tweak their tour match to fit the territory they were working.

 

I also had a lot of fun watching this with my six-year-old daughter. She was peaking over my shoulder checking links to her favourite YouTube vids when the costumes drew her attention. Immediately, she recognized that Psicosis was the heel and Misterio was the face. According to her, Psicosis had a scary mask and was strange looking. She cheered Misterio on and admonished Psicosis for being "warui" (bad.) She even pretended to box him on the nose, which was cute. ECW is a bit violent for a six-year-old, and I cringed when she described to her mother what happened with the table, but it took me back to my own childhood and watching with shock as Outlaw Ron Bass attacked Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake with his spurs. Props to Mistero and Psicosis for delivering a bit of awe and wonderment to my daughter even if she forgot about it two seconds later when she commandeered the computer to watch unboxing videos.

[BBscout]

Cox what do you remember from the six man tag with these guys, Calo, Sabu and Foley from the Chicago show? I remember the old Grails thread on DVDVR talking about the chances of Arezzi having a tape. Just never heard anything about the match itself

[Cox]

Cox what do you remember from the six man tag with these guys, Calo, Sabu and Foley from the Chicago show? I remember the old Grails thread on DVDVR talking about the chances of Arezzi having a tape. Just never heard anything about the match itself

Sorry for not responding sooner. I honestly don't remember much about the match years later. I certainly remember liking it at the time, but it was over 20 years ago and I was only 16 at the time, so my wrestling tastes weren't exactly refined at the time. I actually remember more about the ECW six man, with Public Enemy and Dreamer vs Scorpio and the Eliminators, but that's probably because one of my friends (who was working backstage at the show) managed to get me a piece of the table used in the match signed by all of the participants in the match, which to 16 year old me, was one of the coolest things ever. Luckily, it was 1995, because I can't imagine trying to get that through airport security these days, and still don't know how we got it through back then.

[JKWebb]

#344 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/

 

Super cool story from Cox up above. That's a great story man! I remember the first time I saw this. It really blew my mind. I got into ECW probably around 1997, so I was a little late to the party. But, I ordered the tapes and caught myself up. It was definitely my favorite ECW match at that time (when I first watched it on tape). I haven't watched too much ECW since back in the day, but it's possible my opinion hasn't changed. This was still really fun, and I'd still say this a great match. To OJ's point, I thought Psicosis was pretty great with his heel mannerisms. Rey, as always, was selling and bumping really well for him. The pacing is fast and action packed. I was really glad I revisited this today. It's pretty phenomenal. The chair wrapped around the head of psicosis stuff - with Rey ramming it into the ringpost... just great stuff! Also, the spots were so well-timed and big and crisp most of the time... The perfect match for this moment in time for that company.

[Superstar Sleeze]

That was a great story from Cox! Really cool!

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis - ECW 10/17/95 2 Out of 3 Falls

This match won best ECW Match Ever in the Smarkschoice poll. I remember thinking this was the best of the ECW series, but the Bash at the Beach 96 is still my favorite match of theirs (I feel like I have seen the highly acclaimed AAA match, but I cant remember it).

 

First Fall: All Rey All The Time! Sometimes Rey can be a little shy with his shine like in the first match of this series, but here it is two dives into the crowd and snapping off a rana. Psicosis is an all-time great bumper. Rey what you actin shy for?

Second Fall: The party dont stop as Psicosis goes ass first into the top turnbuckles when he charges in like a maniac. Psicosis is the long lost member of the Midnight Express. Rey keeps the party going with another rana out on the floor. Psicosis wants to shake hands. It was a bit clunky but he got an enziguiri out of the deal. Good Psicosis offense. I was not keen on him just relinquishing the Scorpion Deathlock, a pet peeve of mine. I liked Rey getting a hope spot before Psicosis caught and planted him with a Tomsbtone Piledriver. To tie this up.  

Third Fall: AWESOME! Totally have no complaints with anybody who says this is the best ECW match ever because wow! Psicosis was so damn good in the mid-90s. Rey is trying to catch his breath as the bell sounds. Psicosis drills him into a table and then does that awesome Psicosis leap over the top rope into the crowd. Torpedos Rey. Then Psicosis takes a nutty bump ala Sgt Slaughter over the top turnbuckle into the post and then to the floor. Then Rey POPS the crowd huge with a springboard somersault plancha to the floor! Wow! Loved all the chairs throws by Rey and driving Psicosis into the post with the chair. Extreme Rey! Psicosis whips Rey into the railing and then hits a MONSTER Senton through a table! He does a backwards Skytwister Press onto a chair for the win!

The typically awesome Rey/Psicosis match adapted to the ECW setting. I really dug the 3rd fall. I totally forgot Psicosis wins the match to set up the Mexican Death Match, which I also love. I have Sabu/Sandman and Sabu/Funk over this, but this definitely one of the best ECW matches ever. ****1/4

 

[paul sosnowski]

The highly acclaimed AAA match is 9/22/95