[1994-04-19-ECW-TV] Terry Funk vs Sabu

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Could Joey Styles be any more annoying? Really good match. Funk really brings out the best in Sabu because he knows how to work with a madman. He seems to be trying a lot of new things here, including a piledriver from the middle rope on to a steel chair, which is nuts to even try! At one point, Funk starts hitting himself with a table. Really, this is more about the chaos than anything specific that happens, so I give them credit for creating something that really felt wild and out of control.

 

BOBBY EATON debuts in the post-match after helping Sabu win! Arn Anderson quickly makes the save! Fun stuff.

[Kevin Ridge]

Not as good as their earlier match on the yearbook. Funk tries some crazy stuff here though. Ringside cameramen and ring announcers get in his way. Sign Guy fan in front row looks much heavier than he does later on. Funk is really determined to get a broken table into the ring. And breaks it further over his head. Post match has Tod Gordon trying to attack Eaton. Yeah, that's not going to work.

[Exposer]

This was a great performance by Terry again. He knows how to work around Sabu's stupidity because he can deliver his own mentally disturbing and stupid things. Terry tried to piledrive Sabu from the second rope onto a chair. That is insane as fuck. Terry is about to win but has to get rid of a bunch of Paul E. and Sabu's handlers. A third handler comes in and takes out Terry with a neckbreaker and beautiful flying elbow. Sabu wins the match and the handler is revealed to be Bobby Eaton. They beat down Terry until Arn Anderson runs down to make the save. This was a lot of fun accompanied with a very good match. Great stuff.

[soup23]

This really feels a lot more ECWey than the night the line was crossed match two months earlier. Joey Styles in only one step above the laughing All Japan Carnival announcers at this point. Fun brawl and their matches have been very good with each other this year. Post match was fun and nice to see Eaton and Anderson in this type of setting.

[PeteF3]

This was supposed to be Funk vs. Mr. Hughes, but Hughes was taken out by the Bruise Brothers with the worst spike piledriver in history. Paul E. clobbering Funk with the phone was really well-done--Funk does turn his back but doesn't make it blatantly obvious that he's feeding the guy for a sneak attack. Styles is not as bad as he was at UltraClash but his constant yammering over "the format" being messed up by the impromptu match is maddening. I get that it's apparently supposed to set ECW apart from the Big Two but it's not like impromptu matches weren't a staple of the studio days. Anyway, these two have had better matches, but a lot of the ECW staples are now in full effect. I'm pretty sure Sabu's spring off the chair sending both guys over the top is the spot that was in the ECW TV intros for years. This is really, oddly, kind of heatless for the bulk of the match. Funk unmasks Sabu's handlers but a third masked man costs him the match. NOW we get good--Paul E. takes his mask off and it's BOBBY EATON! I marked out for that, as well as ARN ANDERSON's big save! Great, great post-match, and I love how intentionally or not it continues the story that Smoky Mountain was telling a year earlier.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Terry Funk vs Sabu - ECW 4/19/94

 

Terry Funk piledrove Sabu from the top rope on an open chair. NOW THATS HARDCORE!

 

For those keeping track at home, Douglas beat Funk for the title in March and Douglas is still with Sherri. He won by basically suffocating Funk with a plastic bag. There are things that ECW does in 94 that seem too extreme even for Attitude Era or Russo WCW. They really love the plastic bag as Funk does it with Heyman here after Heyman cracks him with the phone. This is an impromptu match as it was supposed to be Funk vs Mr. Hughes (Douglas' bodyguards), but he got waylaid by the Blu Brothers. I watched a Public Enemy promo before this and play total morons so well. I know they aren't too well-loved but I thought their gimmick was pretty funny. I wouldn't say this was as good as their non-ECW stuff from 83 & 94, but this was still pretty entertaining. Sabu kicks Funk's ass at the beginning, great punches and good use of chair for the clothesline over the top. Nice transition with Sabu missing the legdrop. Funk heabutts him busts himself open and a wicked DDT on the floor. Sabu is actually pretty damn good at selling. It does get a little spotty after this but the spots are good like Funk hitting a standing piledriver on a chair or Sabu somersault plancha or the aforementioned spot where Funk piledrives Sabu from the top to the open chair. Was pretty eye-popping insane. Finish was well set up, Sabu crashes through table sells it really well. Funk has to fight off the masked goons to apply Spinning Toehold, but the last goon gets to him and hits a top rope elbow drop to garner Sabu the victory and it is BOBBY EATON! Styles sells the Dangerous Alliance connection. ARN FREAKING ANDERSON makes the save to a huge pop and oddly felt like Arn was a giant star. Arn is one of the ultimate mid-carder guys like the best possible second banana. This moment might be the one time when he felt like the man and it happens on a random ECW Arena show from April 94. Pretty surreal seeing The Enforcer give Sabu a DDT in the ECW Arena. Loved the post-match and the match itself was full of energy and crazy spots. ***1/2