[1997-05-03-ECW-Trenton, NJ] The Eliminators vs Tracy Smothers & Little Guido

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Great performance from the FBI, who make all of the Eliminators' corny offense look as good as it possibly can. They also keep the heat at a fever pitch here with the stalling and heeling. I didn't expect to see a traditional FIP tag in ECW, but that's what we got here. The Eliminators don't look bad, but pretty much everything that works about this match is a credit to Tracy Smothers and Little Guido (and Tommy Rich, who is quite the heat-seeking second). Much better than I expected it to be, and worth seeking out.

[goodhelmet]

Corrected the date as 5/3/97.

 

Eliminators vs. FBI (5/3/97)

- Tommy Rich is on fire before the match. I think the FBI may be the perfect team to counter the Elims spotty nature. They can counter the spots with fluid motion. They can control the tempo of the match, do their shtick in the middle of the match and allow the Elims to hit all of their posts on a big comeback. I am not really a fan of Kronus but I thought both guys were fine here. I don’t see this not making the set. It may be the one Eliminators match on the set where I didn’t have to hold my nose in order to put it on. Easy nomination.

[Childs]

World-class performance by the FBI, especially Smothers. The Eliminators were a truly awful team, but with Smothers and Guido providing every bit of structure and character, they really only had to look tough and hit their spots. Rich was great at ringside as well.

[Dylan Waco]

Just think about how great Smothers/Guido with Rich in their corner would have been if they had actually had good opponents

[Kevin Ridge]

Those action movie kick combos don’t work if there ain’t someone on the end bumping and selling it properly. This was a excellent performance by FBI. Especially enjoyed Smothers with his stalling and great bumping off all the Eliminators kicks. I thought FBI looked strong and Eliminators were able to squeak out the victory. One of the better ECW matches on year book so far.

[soup23]

This was a sight to see and felt like a really good argument for the FBi being a great tag team. The Eliminators looked ok in their big moves here but as always a little sloppy. The glue was clearly held together by the FBI using classic heel techniques to flesh out the match. Really solid tag action.

[PeteF3]

Other than a few advanced moves from the Eliminators, this could easily have taken place on a regional Midwest or southern indy circa 1989. The FBI are so good at shtick that this doesn't feel like a '90s east coast crowd at ALL. Other than "whoo"-ing on the chops, this is a crowd that seems emotionally invested in who wins or loses. They boo the shtick of the heels, cheer for the Eliminators comebacks, and pepper the match with "U-S-A" chants that I'm pretty sure aren't meant to be ironic. Rich is a bastard at ringside and my biggest criticism is the lousy sound quality doesn't allow us to hear what he says during his pre-match spiel on the mic. He knows how to build to his interference and payoff too, and it results in a great pop when Saturn finally levels him with a spin kick and sends him flying off the apron. Easily the best ECW match of '97 and actually now one of my favorite in the history of the promotion--a testament to the timing and psychology of Smothers and Guido.

 

I love the little bits of cross-promotion symmetry you only get on Yearbooks, with Ricky Morton and Tracy Smothers both providing out-of-nowhere awesome performances from two southern wrasslin' staples, in decidedly non-southern environments, on opposite sides of the earth at the same time.