[2000-11-05-ECW-November to Remember] Yoshihiro Tajiri & Mikey Whipwreck vs Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke

[soup23]

After the opening 5-7 minutes, I was wondering why this didn’t get talked up more. Then Mikey gets injured, Super Crazy subs in which is cute but also pretty unfair especially considering that Mikey/Tajiri and FBI have a sort of mutual respect for each other and on top of all of that shit, FBI win again. Tajiri already feels wasted being deep in a tag team feud where he isn’t the champion up to this point, but it is completely ludicrous now. Crazy looked good and had some exciting bumps including the balcony sault but a part of the allure of the match was lost on me with Mikey out of the way. Mamaluke and Guido continue to be pros and two of the most rock solid performers in ECW in 2000. I think if they would have built this as the ultimate blowoff and had Mikey/Tajiri regain the belts and give them a lot of credibility, it would have been fine. Instead, this feels like a major whiff and I’m no longer interested in watching these four (5 if you throw in Super Crazy) compete against each other ***1/4 (6.4)

 

[GSR]

No Sinister Minister with the ‘Unholy Alliance’ tonight, the FBI apparently having cut off his finger (this must be when he had that accident with the gun and blew it off).  Mikey is holding his own on the grappling front and it’s nice to see that out of him.  He drives Mamaluke to the mat with a tilt-a-whirl and when Guido tries to rush him he gets some of the same.  Double spinebuster on Mamaluke and after stereo dropkicks to the head he tags out having had enough.  Some lovely mat wrestling from Guido and Tajiri, this was real good shit and smoking anything we had seen earlier out of Whipwreck and Mamaluke.  Tajiri offers Guido his hand, the Italian foolishly accepting as Tajiri then kicks him hard in the leg.  The ‘Unholy Alliance’ drape Guido over the bottom rope, place a chair either side of his head and each dropkicks one of them.  As Mamaluke comes over to check on his partner he’s snatched and dumped onto the guard rail.  With Guido down Mikey climbs to the top turnbuckle, however doesn’t realise Mamaluke has recovered and he swipes a leg from under him.  FBI swarm all over him but he fires off some elbows and hits a double Whippersnapper, although it looks like he injures his shoulder in the process.  Big Sal ends up splashing his own man as he goes to break up the pin, Mikey seeing the pondersome oaf coming.  He’s holding his shoulder with Cyrus speculating that he’s got a cracked collarbone.  The EMT’s are out to check on him and the fans are already chanting for Super Crazy, conditioned by now as to how Heyman books things.  Mikey is put in a neckbrace and taken out of there on a stretcher as Tajiri has to go it alone, at least for the time being.  Guido takes him down by crowbarring the arm and the FBI with a combination camel clutch/Sicilian crab.  With Tajiri trapped, right on cue comes Super Crazy, just as the fans predicted.  The FBI let go of the double team to try and rush Crazy who backflips over them into the ring.  He is straight at it with his trademark spots like the ten punches in the corner where the crowd count along in Spanish and the three storey moonsault.  We’re informed that Crazy is a substitution for Mikey and referee Jim Molineux is allowing it.  Like there was any doubt that he wouldn’t?  Guido throws a chair into the ring but Tajiri uses it against him, busting him wide open.  Fujiwara armbar by Guido on Tajiri.  Mamaluke with a quality overhead belly to belly suplex, keeping Tajiri’s arm hammerlocked behind his own back so he lands on it upon landing.  They work over his arm for all of thirty seconds.  ‘Sicilian slice’ for a two count.  Guido snatches Tajiri on the attempted handspring elbow, who then counters the ‘Kiss of Death’ as the two fight it out over the backslide.  Tajiri wins that battle, dropping Guido with a kick to the head after he’d flipped over, but then gets cut off courtesy of a Mamaluke running lariat.  Double handspring elbow.  Tag to Crazy who takes it to both members of the FBI.  Swinging DDT on Guido.  Mamaluke ducks to the floor following a spinning leg lariat and has enough wits about him to put a stop to the Asai moonsault.  Big Sal attacks Crazy from behind, throwing him into the fans with the big man following him over the guard rail.  We lose the pair of them for a bit, next thing you know, moonsault off a(n announced) 15 foot balcony by Crazy (I don’t know why I’m clarifying that).  Tajiri locks the Tarantula on Mamaluke, but he’s all alone in there and wide open for Guido.  Double team bulldog and the FBI escape with the belts again.  Post-match Crazy gets the “welcome back” chants as he and Tajiri shake hands.

I’ve made my comments about the ECW tag team title pretty clear recently.  The same good match that you’re guaranteed from these guys and it looks like Crazy has been inserted in there to replace Crazy, probably meaning another month’s worth of matches between them while Doring & Roadkill remain on the sidelines.