Loss Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Talk about it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted November 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 I remember really loving this match when I saw it years and years ago. It's definitely the best match they had, at the very least stateside. Lots of nearfalls that have the crowd biting and I think they do a better job than usual of working in their spots organically and doing at least a little between the big spots. Unbelievable finishing move that would have pissed me off like crazy if it wasn't the finish. Awesome regains the ECW title. Post-match, Spike Dudley comes back to confront Mike Awesome yet again. Whoever his Spike fan is takes out Judge Jeff Jones, but then gets lariated pretty hard and starts bleeding from the mouth to sell it. Spike goes after Awesome out of anger for it but ends up thrown through a table at ringside. And that's the end of 1999. And the 90s. Whew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Evans Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 This match is pretty played out by this time but they still do enough to make it entertaining. That finish was insane for Tanaka to take. The fan that Awesome takes out was I think Spike's girlfriend that was a student at the ECW school who only lasted a few weeks. Good finish to 1999. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zenjo Posted November 29, 2015 Report Share Posted November 29, 2015 If you like their other matches then you'll like this I guess. I dislike their other matches and feel just the same about this one. The buildup to the next PPV revolved around Mike Awesome knocking out some of the teeth of Spike Dudley's girlfriend character. Presumably that happened here with the lariat/axe bomber. Putting a 100 pound untrained girl in there to take a hard bump against a 270 pound man fuelled by adrenalin and roid rage. Not the best idea. As this is the final chapter of the 90's Yearbooks I look back and compare it to the opening chapter of the 1990 Yearbook. 'We are Dynamite' was wrestling at its most goofy and cartoony. The final image here was a guy being powerbombed from inside the ring onto a table on the floor. Something that years ago would've been crazy and shocking now felt throwaway and meaningless. The 90's was a decade of great change for pro wrestling. Not always the right changes, but there was rarely a dull moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Maybe a little less absurdly over the top than their other matches so far. Probably the best incarnation of the match also. Entertaining match overall with more of a bomb throwing feel than an exhibition feel as compared to their other matches. So ends 1999! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 I cant believe this match is not online. It was the only match of the series I had seen before. The Awesome Bomb from the ring through table is one of my all-time HOLY SHIT spots I was really looking forward to reliving it. Oh well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 It should be on the WWE Network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Duh! Why did I not think to look there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 ECW World Heavyweight Champion Masato Tanaka vs Mike Awesome - ECW 12/31/99 What the hell match was I thinking of? I swear there is a match or post-match where Mike Awesome Awesomebombs someone from the ring through a table that is by where the entrance ramp meets the ringside area. I have this memory seared into my brain and I could have sworn it was this match. Anyways my faulty memory aside, best match of the series. It finally did not feel like an exhibition. A lot of it had to do with Awesome coming out of the gate red hot steamrolling Masato Tanaka. Awesome was pissed and wanted the title back. That gave the match a sense of urgency on his part that was lacking. Also he felt like an unlikeable brute for the first time in this series. In doing so, this gave Masato Tanaka something to overcome increasing the struggle of the match and made him feel like an underdog. So better face/heel dynamics. Still very spotty, but the spots are always really good in this series now they have the heat to match. I really don't have much else to add. It is a lot of the same spots but down with more vim & vigor and better transitions. The finish is fucking mind-blowing! A sitout, REVERSE, SUPERBOMB~! Marked out huge! Great match! **** The post-match angle to set up the Guilty As Charged 2000 main event sees Spike's girlfriend give Judge Jeff Jones the Acid Drop only to be WIPED OUT by an Awesome Clothesline. She has worked internal bleeding ala Ken Shamrock. Horrible. Im just so glad man on woman violence has ended in pro wrestling. Just stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted November 9, 2016 Report Share Posted November 9, 2016 You might be thinking of the match from the week prior, Marty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted November 10, 2016 Report Share Posted November 10, 2016 Nope watched that match. Very good match. Didn't have that ending. Had Tanaka celebrating at the end. Awesome throwing Spike into the crowd from the ring was insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Badger Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 They had so many encounters that I feel like they had better ones than this. It was not bad but, it hurt that the crowd got distracted so much that you can see Tanaka slow stuff down because of it. Camera never shows it but, I believe there might be a fight or someone being removed from the audience. You see a guy a minute or two later being escorted out. He's throwing his arm in the air in defiance to the crowd...or something. Regardless, the crowd isn't into the match and that throws things off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenese Sarwieh Posted December 11, 2019 Report Share Posted December 11, 2019 This was a fast paced spectacle with the usual crazy dangerous Tanaka/Awesome spots that would not fly today. One aspect that made this match of theirs different was Awesome showing a sense of urgency trying to put away Tanaka quickly as possible. Working underneath and absorbing the punishment that was dished while having great fiery comebacks made Tanaka shine. A must see if you want to sit back and be in awe of the level of violence on display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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