[2001-01-07-ECW-Guilty as Charged] Steve Corino vs Sandman vs Justin Credible (Ladder) / Sandman vs Rhino

[GSR]

Steve Corino vs Sandman vs Justin Credible (Ladder) (ECW Guilty as Charged 1/7/01)

We hear some from Rhino who’s punching doors in the back, screaming that he “lives for violence” and claims that he’s only just begun.

Three Way Dance for the ECW World title with the belt suspended from the ceiling.  Even though the Sandman stole the belt, Steve Corino is still officially the champion.  Smart comments from Cyrus, who wonders why people don’t cut deals and get rid of one guy first and then worry about each other later. Everyone takes plenty of punishment but this is a car crash.  At one point Credible reverses an Irish whip and you see Sandman hurl himself over the top rope to take a bump through a table at ringside  You can also see them clearly talking to each other as they work this.  With Sandman all alone in there he starts to climb a ladder, only for him to lose his balance as he climbs tipping the ladder over.  Maybe one beer too many during his entrance tonight?  Joey Styles does try to cover, saying the ladder was all bent out of shape because they had been using it as a weapon, but the fans can’t hear that and are laughing at him.  Corino bridges a table between the guard rail and apron, so you can bet your bottom dollar someone is going through that.  It wouldn’t be a ladder match without some slow climbing, Corino deliberately taking his time waiting for Credible to be in position for the missile dropkick he’s about to give him.  Oh yeah, Sandman takes the bump through that aforementioned table.  He’s killing himself and this is terrible.  Francine is loitering on the apron, shoes off, so she’s getting ready for something.  Credible blocks the ‘Old School Expulsion’ and hits ‘That’s Incredible’.  Francine with a rana from the apron to the floor on Sandman which Styles calls the ‘Coochiecanrana’.  Give it a rest man.  Sandman pulls out a monster ladder, a good several feet taller than the ones they’d already been using.  As Credible and Corino climb it, someone winches the belt upwards and out of their grasp.  What is this nonsense?  A bit more action and as Corino climbs again, Credible follows him up.  I think he was supposed to bulldog him through a table but it just looked like they both jumped off and through it.  With his two opponents down Sandman climbs the ladder and collects the belt to become, for the fourth time, the ECW World Heavyweight champion.

Surprisingly all three shake each others hands post-match in a show of respect.  Da Baldies are out but Credible and Corino fight them to the back while the Sandman positions a table upright in the corner.  Hmmm, this isn’t finished.

Sandman vs Rhino (ECW Guilty as Charged 1/7/01)

As the Sandman climbs the turnbuckles to celebrate his win, he doesn’t realise that Rhino has entered the ring and is ready to pounce.  Oh dear, Rhino slips on a chair just about recovering to hit the gore.  He grabs the microphone and wonders why is he the TV champion “when this fucking poor ass company doesn’t even have TV?”  He’s got a point with that one.  He tells “Mr Extreme, Mr Hardcore Icon” to give him a title match now.  Sandman tells him where to go, however after Rhino threatens his family he has a change of heart, barely being able to muster the words “ring the fucking bell”.   Rhyno immediately gores him through that strategically placed table but Sandman kicks out of the cover.  Piledriver from the apron through a table on the floor and again Sandman is able to raise a shoulder once his lifeless body is dragged back into the ring.  A second piledriver, this time on a broken shard of table, and for the second time in the space of about five minutes we have ourselves a new ECW World champion.  Cyrus leaves his position at the broadcast desk to join Rhino in the ring, announcing that with the win the TV and Heavyweight titles have been unified.  He makes an open challenge to anyone in the building, anyone in the company or anyone in any company who has got the guts to face the Manbeast to bring it “right fucking now”.  Are they going for the record for most impromptu matches on one show?  Rob Van Dam answers the challenge but as he squares up to Rhino he’s jumped from behind by Jerry Lynn and the champion heads out of there.

Rhino is the right person to be champion and the “match” with Sandman was fine as it got the belt away from him and was done and dusted in three moves.  The ladder match that preceded it was awful though.

[soup23]

 A garbage brawl that encapsulates ECW pretty perfectly. Not everything looked good but it was entertaining enough and for 420 style wrestling consumption, you can make the leap that it is innovative and something more. It is a style that did help transcend and we see ramifications of that with numerous ladders and other instruments first brought to the national stage with ECW.  Credible was kind of on the backburner for most of this and to me the main players were Sandman and Corino. Corino along with Tajiri and Roadkill are the three biggest prizes that are still young and on the rise with ECW folding even above the likes of RVD or others. Sandman winning was  a nice moment and felt like a fitting ending moment until the post match occurred. ***1/4 (6.3)

 

Rhino vs Sandman

Rhino slips on the first gore attempt.  He demands a match now, but Sandman says fuck you. Rhino says if Sandman doesn’t give him a match, his family dies.  That seems pretty extreme. RVD is chanted for but Rhino says there is no surprise. Sandman then says to ring the bell and the match is on. Table is set up in the corner.  Sandman gets gored through that but kicks out at 2. Piledriver from the apron through a table on the floor that looked pretty nasty. That also only gets two and the crowd is up for this. Another piledriver on a piece of table and that wins the title for Rhino. ½*