[2000-03-12-ECW-Living Dangerously] Mike Awesome vs Kid Kash

[soup23]

Awesome interrupts a Diamond vs. Kash match and gives them the choice to flee or stay and die. Diamond and crew flee and Kash attacks Awesome. This is essentially a squash with Kash getting a big moment by hitting a springboard dive onto Awesome in the crowd which looked impressive. Tables come out and Awesome hits a super Awesome bomb from the top rope to win pretty handily. I don’t really understand why this took up PPV time or why as tag champion and World Champion ECW felt the need to establish Awesome even more. *1/2

[Loss]

Kash makes Awesome look great, but what was ECW thinking establishing this guy so much without signing him to a long-term contract? I wasn't a fan of this at all outside of Kash's springboard plancha getting him over strong in getting squashed, but at least it was kind of a different Mike Awesome match, which is a rarity.

[GSR]

Simon Diamond is with his entourage in the ring and he has a problem. He is interrupted by Judge Jeff Jones who tells him that he does have a problem, and out walks Mike Awesome (who is now tag team champion with Raven as well as being the Heavyweight title holder). Awesome tells Diamond and Kash that they do have a problem and gives them the chance to get out of the ring and live, or stay in it and die. Of course Simon Diamond and chums flee, however Kash throws his top at Awesome and attacks him. Irish whip reversal, Kash takes a running leap at the champ who catches him and launches him overhead with a huge belly to belly. A right hand and Kash bumps big for it. Splash in the corner, big body splash and Kash kicks out at two. Awesome tosses him to the floor and a double axe handle off the apron. He rams him into the guardrail, but as he charges at Kash he backdrops him over it and into the front row. Excuse the choice of words, but awesome springboard plancha from Kash out onto him. Jeff Jones is in the ring and he takes a swing at Kash with his gavel, he ducks out the way though and nails him with a double underhook into a sit out piledriver. He may have gotten the worse of things, but Jones distracted Kash enough and gave his man time to recover. Awesome with a shoulderblock over the ropes back into the ring. Whip to the corner, Kash avoids the charge and a nice leaping huracanrana, although Awesome is straight back to his feet and levels him with a clothesline. ‘Awesome Bomb’, however no cover and he goes outside to collect a table. He lies Kash on it and climbs the turnbuckle. Kash is up and after a bit of back and forth, ‘Awesome Bomb’ off the top through the table to retain his title.

 

I’m higher on this than everyone else it would seem, but maybe that’s because I’ve had a bellyful of Awesome vs Tanaka and it’s nice to see something different. I say ‘different’ because Awesome still gets a lot of his usual shit in like the overhead belly to belly and the powerbomb off the top in. Kash did a good job here, bumping around and getting Awesome over as this monster. Super impressive springboard plancha to the floor, and I think the move he hit on Jeff Jones is his eventual finisher. In essence though this was a squash (similar to the ones Awesome had against Little Guido) and not the sort of match you would expect from your World champion on PPV.

[Stiva]

Kid Kash is an absolute bumping machine here, just incredible height and snap on everything he does. I enjoy Awesome in settings where there's a size discrepancy and they can bump and fly for him, making his power stuff look really good but I thought this was some degree worse than the Spike matches. At this point in ECW, Awesome is like a bad Brock Lesnar with table spots replacing German suplexes.