[2000-08-25-ECW-TNN] Rob Van Dam & Kid Kash vs Justin Credible & Rhino

[soup23]

I kind of like Kash/RVD as a team. They are spotty as fuck but are able to keep the energy between the two of them and having Kash as a buffer allows RVD to not be as egregious with his selling. This was also a good Credible performance. Rhino continues to look like the biggest stars on the brink of being something big along with Corino within the promotion. Francine looked rough here and I don’t know what was going on with her whether she was sick or not. Kash tries to hit a super rana on Credible and he lands directly on his neck. The match has a schmozz finish but a fun one with Sandman and Corino getting involved leading to Kash/RVD winning helping their rapport heading into the tag tourney. Overall, trashy ECW but fun ECW. *** (5.9)

[AstroBoy]

Kash and RVD do make a good team. It's a nice bit of rub for Kash while he can do some of the selling and heavy lifting. RVD gets to shine and work in quick bursts. Everyone wins. Justin Credible is impossibly bland and it's hard to buy into him here as Rhino is a million times more dynamic and works really hard here. RVD gets a hot tag and comes in and. . . does a snapmare in a moment that killed me for some reason. He and Fonzy have impeccable timing on a Van Daminator to Rhino. The overbooking at the end works really well and leads to a good finish. Good use of a TV main event.

 

**3/4

[GSR]

Francine is sporting a pair of nasty looking black eyes, a result of suffering a broken nose last night.  Joel Gertner tries to portray himself as some sort of demigod of tag team wrestling, what with him having guided the Dudley’s to eight world titles and all, and claims that this is a historic main event.  Kash is all over the World Heavyweight champion who wants no further part of him and tags out to the TV champion.  Awesome double springboard huracanrana by Kash.  He milks the tag to Van Dam, RVD then turning his back on his opponent to play to the crowd (shock horror, I know!) and briefly paying the price until blocking a shot and forearming Rhino in the jaw.  Springboard leaping side kick.  Rhino ducks the clothesline and wipes Van Dam out with a short stiff lariat of his own.  Oh, Rhino is now using the ‘Big F’N’ Deal’ nickname, which we can add to the ‘Whole F’N’ Show’ and ‘New F’N’ Show’.  I know that ECW is ‘extreme’ but that is pretty lazy.  Huge military press, however Kash is in and kicks a leg out as RVD falls on top of him for a two count.  Spinning heel kick and Rhino rolls to the floor.  Credible goes to jump RVD from behind, but Kash cuts him off and clotheslines him over the top rope to the outside.  Flip dive by Van Dam and never one to be outdone, Kash with a plancha over the ring post and into the aisle.  Back inside Kash runs into an elbow and gets flattened by a superkick.  Rhino hammers away on him and then gores him up against the turnbuckles.  Francine passes Credible a chair which he slams Kash’s face into.  The two trade hard slaps to the chest before a moonsault press by Kash that only gets him a one.  Tag to Van Dam and he is more than holding his own in there against the two ECW title holders.  He blasts Rhino with a chair and then dropkicks it into Credible’s face.  Kash provides the assist on the Van Dam crucifix as they go about double teaming Rhino.  Credible is in for the save but ends up sat on RVD’s shoulders in an electric chair position.  A super ambitious super rana that they don’t quite pull off, Credible landing right on the top of his head.  I re-watched that a couple of times and he was lucky not to break his neck.  Van Daminator on Rhino.  RVD climbs to the top, however Credible shoves him off and he crashes into the guard rail.  Kash escapes ‘That’s Incredible’ and hits the ‘Money Maker’.  Mike Kehner is about to make the count when he’s gored by Rhino who then piledrives Kash from the apron and through a table on the concrete.  Fuck, that looked every bit as bad as that bump Credible took.  As Rhino is stood all alone in the ring Joey Styles telegraphs the Sandman’s arrival by wondering if anyone can stop him.  Sandman destroys a cane over Rhino’s head before being the recipient of a brutal cane shot to the back of the head from Credible.  Here comes Steve Corino and he superkicks Rhino who falls backwards into the corner.  Fonzie holds a chair in place, Van Terminator and Kehner comes too as RVD gets a pin over the TV champion.

Kid Kash looked phenomenal here, Rhino a killer, RVD kept his annoying traits to a minimum and even Justin Credible was perfectly serviceable.  A really enjoyable ‘ECW style’ TV main event and one where the expected interference at the end didn’t detract as Sandman was in and out to further his rivalry with Rhino and then Corino goes about continuing to establish himself as a face, his superkick ultimately leading to the Van Terminator and finish.