[1997-07-12-ECW-TV] The Sandman & Tommy Dreamer vs Sabu & Rob Van Dam

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Recap of the tag match from the previous week's TV. Bill Alfonso stops a three count on his team, and RVD ends up attacking Tod Gordon with a chair. Sabu then puts him through a table. This is followed by a Sandman/Dreamer comeback. Maybe I'm old school, but a non-wrestler commissioner being attacked like that should be a big enough deal that it is the angle that closes things out.

 

But the eventual planned finish was a much bigger deal. The lights go off and when they come back on, Lawler is in the ECW Arena and helps Sabu and RVD clean house. Sandman and Dreamer do make a comeback, but wow that is some hokey stuff. Lawler has his back turned in all of this and then Sandman and Dreamer are about to attack him. But then the lights go out again. When they come back on, JIM CORNETTE is in the ECW Arena and attacks Dreamer from behind with the racket! Dreamer takes the awful balls shot.

[Zenjo]

I don't enjoy much ECW but that was fun with Lawler and Cornette showing up like that. Obviously the match continued through all of it.

[ajtroma]

Tommy's scream is still just sickening. I guess all those cinderblock on his crotch shots didn't make that area stronger.

[Kevin Ridge]

One of my favorite table bumps as Tod Gordon gets his pants knocked off after taking a Sabu leg drop. Lights go out and Lawler makes another appearance. Dreamer and Sandman fight off RVD and Sabu and Lawler is all along. Cornette saving Lawler is great. Dreamer’s nut shot is painfall to watch and then Cornette’s clubs him repeatedly with the racket. The Prodigy music playing over this whole highlight was too much.

[soup23]

I didn't like the wayt his was spliced together with the shaky cam and background music. I still think Rude as announcer is one of the most wasted roles for him. The lights go out and Lawler makes his second ECW appearance. We then gets the light going out again and we have the debut of Cornette in a cool moment. Him and Lawler embracing is great. ECW is still able to feel really fresh bringing in these surprises in the wake of Raven and Stevie leaving but it does feel like eventually this string of gimmicks will run out.

[PeteF3]

This is annoyingly set to an endless loop of "Breathe" by Prodigy, but the angle itself is fun. Tod Gordon attempts to count a pin with the referee unconscious, but ends up taking a Sabu dive through a table! Wow. We have to be nearing the end of Commissioner Gordon and that, intentionally or not, seems like an effective way to write him out. We get more fun stuff with the lights, with Rude putting over how Alfonso is controlling the lights through signals with his whistle. First Lawler (who does some great stooging as Dreamer & Sandman make a comeback behind him), then when the King's about to get caned and DDT'd, Jim Cornette!

 

Cornette only did this shot as a.) a favor to Candido, and b.) under the condition that he be allowed to bring Dennis Coraluzzo along so that Paul E. could make a personal apology to him for the NWA title business of '95. The whole story is on the WWF 1997 timeline, but needless to say, that apology never happened.

[El-P]

That cane shot by Lawler was totally unprofessionnal (funny how stuff like this of the infamous alcohol down the throat of Jake Roberts gets a pass…). I don't think Corny needed to lay those racket shots in like that either. Still, this is a classic ECW angle. Absolute chaos and terrific beatdown. And HEAT.