Columnists from ImpactWrestling.com

AS I SEE IT 6/29: Legends of the Arena report

BobMagee — 6/29/2009

Legends of The Arena took place yesterday before crowds larger than most anticipated, for all the day's events the afternoon premium priced meet-and-greet, and the evening's show which had at least 600 in the building . Given that the event was a cancer fundraiser and charged a bit more, some were concerned about what the show would draw given the economy. The organizers of this event had nothing to worry about as the pre-show line (minus the SuperTicket fans, who were already in the building) extended down the block down past Forman Mills.

The event had a pre-show meet and greet. The talent and the fans clearly were having a blast; truth be told, the talent had just as much, if not more fun than the fans. During the meet-and-greet, Balls Mahoney acted like a little kid at Christmas. Everyone (big shock) gravitated over to Terry Funk all day long.

The only sour note of the day was Shane Douglas's no-show. I've gotta wonder what in the hell made Douglas no-show a cancer fundraiser. It could have been a medical problem. Maybe the local pharmacies were closed or he had an allergy to doing jobs. I hear Benadryl works wonders.

An unnamed but unquestionably source indicated to me on Sunday that Douglas gave Francine Fournier three different excuses. Douglas was one of the few wrestlers working the show who were paid trans, with Fournier paying and sending Douglas a plane ticket. Fournier called Douglas on Friday, when he should have been at the airport and he was home. The first excuse was that he indicated that he thought the ticket was for Saturday, not Friday. When she called Saturday, he had another excuse for not being on the scheduled flight. When it weas suggested he drive the six hours (because he missed a third flight Douglas had a third excuse.

As for the other two advertised that didn't work, Spike Dudley also didn't work on the show, but was in the building at least until the BBQ (one e-mail to me indicated he left the building with his gear after the BBQ, which would explain why his match was changed). No idea on Jack Victory.

The evening show began with a quick video running down the history of ECW and the ECW Arena before the show fully kicks off. Bob Artese is out to start the show, then is cut as in days of old by by Joel "first it was Cyberslam, than House Party and November 2 Remember, tonight's latest induction is my legendary member" Gertner!

2 Cold Scorpio over CW Anderson (with Referee John "PeeWee" Moore) at about 10 minutes with his somersault leg drop from the top rope. Decent opener that saw Scorpio land a moonsault legdrop after the match finished. Crowd was really juiced at this stage.

Bilvis Wesley defeats The Muskateer (with Referee John Finnegan) by pinfall at five minutes with a school-boy. Bilvis teased New Jack's music playing to swerve the crowd and the Muskateer, and rolled him up for a quick finish.

Chris Hamrick defeated Devon "Crowbar" Storm (with Referee John Finnegan) with an anaconda vice. Crowbar began the match by running down Taz (the two have legit heat, plus he cracked on Taza for not coming to a cancer fundraiser, then heeling himself out by putting over his WCW titles.

Rhino defeated Jamie. Dundee vs. Scotty "Riggs" Anton (with Referee John Finnegan) after goring Jamie Dundee. There was a lot more mike work than match here, as Dundee got on the mic and ran down both Rhino and Anton, referring to Anton as Bagwell's bitch and suggesting Rhino carrried Jeff Jarrett's bags. Rhino didn't seem to care for this promo, and kept giving Dundee dirty looks all during the brief match. Rhino quickly nailed a gore after Dundee and Anton try some comedy spots, and Rhino abruptly leaves ringside.

The Hardcore Hall of Fame induction follows... with Eddie "Hot Stuff" Gilbert and Chris Candido as memorial inductions; with Tod Gordon and Sabu inducted. The Shane Douglas induction was pulled for obvious reasons. No idea on why the Bigelow induction was. It was mentioned that both ECW and all that's followed in the Arena was because of people like Terry Funk (inducted two years ago), Eddie Gilbert and Tod Gordon...not to mention this guy named Heyman.

Balls Mahoney/Axl Rotten defeated Da Baldiez vs (with Referee John "PeeWee" Moore) in about nine minutes in the typical Axl/Balls blood bath/chair shot formula. Balls Mahoney legit lost a tooth (he was holding it in his hand after the match).

Following intermission, Nova and Meanie [as the bWo] defeated Sal E. Graziano and Little Guido Maritato [as the FBI] by pinfall (with Referee John Finnegan) in about 8 minutes. A lot of comedy as you'd expect, with a hilarious dance off erupting midway in the match with Sal E. and Blue Meanie, before Nova and Meanie took it home for the win. Another dance-off post match, with both teams said it's their last match at the arena.

Francine then came out to cut her promo and thanking the crowd for their support. Francine is VERY, VERY pregnant. The usual wits in the audience suggested she'd give birth in the ring anto a "She's hardcore" chant. Since that didn't happen, Francine talked about her sister and father who'd died of cancer, and her one sister (sitting in the balcony with the other family members) who beat cancer. The SISTER got the "she's hardcore" chant instead.

In the semi-main event, Al Snow defeated Jerry Lynn (subbing for the no-show Douglas) in eighteen minutes. The match began slowly, tyhen picked up well. It was the ECW Arena, and they actuallly GASP wrestled. The finish saw two ref bumps, two false finishes, and the expected "Head" shot to end the match. Guess Shane Douglas doesn't like getting Head.

Main Event Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) and Sandman defeated Raven (with Chastity) and Justin Credible (with Jason); and Terry Funk as special referee. Sabu and Sandman won at about 15 minutes when Sabu hit Credible with the Arabian face buster through a table after both of Sandman's sons (the fact that Tyler Fullington, the "little kid" in the Raven-Sandman storyline is now grown and teller than his father made a lot of people feel REALLY old). Storyline was that Tyler returned to the Arena to get a matter of revenge on Raven. Then, Sandman's youngest son hit a DDT on Raven as Sabu covered Credible for the pinfall.

At the very end of the show, Justin Credible finally let his inner heel down long enough to say in a surprisngly heartfelt way to the crowd "Thank you for giving me the best four years of my life".

Until next time...

If you have comments/questions/event announcements/results, if you'd like to add the AS I SEE IT column to your website, or if you'd like to add advertising on PWBTS.com (the flagship website of this column), e-mail me at the address above. Advertising consists of banner ads, available for $400 for one year. These ads would appear on each newspage appearing on the newsboard. Cube ads are also available for $200 for one year, which would be placed on the main newsboard page. ________________________________________

Linda's Thoughts - The Bash Predictions

Linda Robin — 6/27/2009

I’m sorry I didn’t get a Raw column out, but this might be a pattern for a few more weeks. Our house is finally coming to the end after almost 11 months of construction. Yes it’s been a nightmare, but things are I would say a couple of weeks away from finally getting done. And once it’s done, we have to have the house painted so that will take up just a little more time. The reason I couldn’t get a column out was because the electricity was on and off for a couple of days. One day it was because we lost power due to the heat, dare I say it wasn’t pleasant in here? The other was because of work being done in the house. I’m just going to go with the flow and if I can get a column out, oh I definitely will, if not at least you guys will know why and you’ll know that it’s just a temporary thing. With that said I would like to say that I loved Raw and Smackdown this week. You guys would have been so proud of me, because my Raw column was going to be so positive. And last night’s Smackdown was another fantastic show. With the exception of too much Vince on both shows, everything else just about worked for me. And both shows along with ECW really have me all ready for the Bash. Yeah this one I’m ordering and you know if there’s a pay per view this weekend it must be time for my predictions. I feel somewhat shaky with most of them, but what the hell it’s not like I’ve been doing excellent in the last few months. So here are my Bash picks, and I want to thank all of you that have sent me yours, and don’t forget keep them coming I promise I will get to each and every one of them.

Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase
Sure this is the first tough one for me. Now this is one of many feuds that WWE rushed to get into this pay per view. See I would keep the title on the Colons, which would allow them more TV time. But I have a feeling that Legacy is going to win. Now I am very sure that this is going to be a good match and it’s nice to have a tag team match on a pay per view for a change. I just wish this one would have gotten the build up that Morrison and The Miz got when they feuded with Primo and Carlito. But then as good as that build up was they didn’t even get a shot at Wrestlemania, their match was saved for the Wrestlemania DVD, go figure. So Legacy wins and God only knows whom they will defend against because without the Colon’s there really isn’t anyone to go against.
Winner; Legacy

John Cena vs. The Miz
This is another match that should have had a better build up. Now don’t get me wrong, they have had the Miz taunting Cena for several months, but the problem was that instead of more focus between Cena and the Miz, they kept that miserable Big Show /Cena feud going. Listen I’m not sure that it’s over. I have a bad feeling that Big Show is going to interfere and cost Cena the match, and believe me that’s the last thing that I need to see. Now I would prefer Miz to beat Cena. I feel that way because on the mic the Miz has knocked this feud out of the ballpark. His insults week after week have been so solid and it would be very sad to see the Miz lose the first time out to Cena. I think this could turn out to be a good match, at least it’s a fresh match, and I’m going with the Miz to win. Now I hope this makes sense I’m staying with the Miz, but a Cena win I think is more likely.
Winner: The Miz

The Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler is a shoe in. This guy is on the way up, and he’s managed to get the upper hand on Khali when he has lost to him. Ziggler has really been a blast to watch since his move to Smackdown and this guy is going to get a “big” win tomorrow night. I think this match will be kept short, but just from their past encounters this should be a good one to watch.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio
There is no way that Rey is losing that mask, nope no way at all. Rey is going to win and get the IC title back. I can’t wait to see this one; these two have been so great together and when this feud ends which I guess could be after the Bash I am really going to miss it. You can bet that this will be one of the highlights of the night. And watching Jericho’s facial expression when he loses will be another highlight.
Winner: Rey Mysterio

Women's Champion Melina vs. Michelle McCool
I guess it’s goodbye to Melina’s title reign tomorrow night. I would rather see her retain, but I see McCool getting the win. Many of you know I’m not big on McCool; she just can’t seem to break out of her lackluster heel persona. There’s just so much more that she needs to do to get that character over. Anyway I will go with McCool for the win, and hopefully this will be a decent match, and I think it will be. I’m also thinking, well maybe hoping if McCool wins, than maybe Gail Kim will finally get into the spotlight and the title picture.
Winner: Michelle McCool

ECW Championship Scramble Match - Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian vs. Fit Finlay vs. Jack Swagger vs. Mark Henry in a Championship Scramble match
This is another match that I’m not sure about. It’s a toss up between Dreamer and Swagger. Of course I have been waiting for Swagger to get the title back for a couple of months now. I don’t know if they want to take it off Dreamer after only one month, then again I think Swagger could bring in more ratings. The scramble match could be fun and I’m sure this will turn out well. In fact it should be a good match and it was nice of Vince to allow ECW to have one match on tomorrow nights show. Yes that was sarcasm. Well I’m going with a Swagger victory. It would be good to get the belt back on him. He wears it very well.
Winner: Jack Swagger

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Triple H - Three Stages Of Hell match with a regular first fall, a Falls Count Anywhere second fall and, if needed, a Stretcher Match third fall.
I was so thrilled with Hunter and Orton’s Last Man Standing match this past Monday night. It was absolutely outstanding. Now can they do it again tomorrow night? That I don’t know, but I sure hope so. They really have to work hard to top Monday’s match and I think it is possible. Now this might be a stupid reason for going with a Triple H win, but here it is. Since this is a two out of three falls match you just know it’s going to take all three stips to get a winner. And the reason I’m going with Hunter is because the last match is a Stretcher match, and I just can’t see Hunter going out that way. Only because he has gotten “hurt” time and time again from Orton. I think tomorrow night; Hunter will be the one that ends Orton’s title reign by putting him on a stretcher and taking his belt away from him. My reasoning might sound weird but then again you know me. As I said I hope that this one turns out to be one of the best of the nights. They proved on Monday night that they certainly could work a 5 star match let’s hope the streak can continue for the Bash.
Winner: Triple H

World Champion CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
This feud has been off the charts on Smackdown. CM Punk has been outstanding and I still say he’s turning heel. This has been a very gradual turn, and kind of a sneaky one. He has done nothing but play mind games with Jeff Hardy. Hardy has come back very strong on the mic when he has interacted with Punk and everything with these two have clicked. This is a MUST see match at least I think it is. It could maybe be the match of the night. Can you tell I’m excited? I really am and I see Punk beating Hardy and not necessarily beating him cleanly. Punk could care less how he wins, as long as he wins and all of that should add to one hot match.
Winner: CM Punk

There you have my picks of the night, and I already ordered the show. I’m kind of worried because I am so hyped for the show that it could turn out to be nothing great, so I’ll try to tone down my excitement just a little so we can get one terrific show. I will also try to return with my thoughts on this show and Raw Tuesday or Wednesday, but remember if you don’t see me than you know it’s house related. For those of you planning on watching The Bash or anyone lucky enough to be there live ENJOY!

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com

AS I SEE IT 6/22: Legends of The Arena

BobMagee — 6/25/2009

AS I SEE IT Bob Magee Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets PWBTS.com

First, happy 50th birthday to friend Kathy Fitzpatrick!.

Now, news on this coming weekend's Legends of the Arena show.

For one night only, this Saturday June 27 at the (ECW) Arena located at the corners of Swanson and Ritner, the Arena which has been the host arena to many legendary wrestling events that revolutionized the wrestling industry in the mid to late 1990s; over 30 ECW legends will participate in a truly nostalgic night at the world famous (ECW) Arena.

Matches scheduled for that evening:

Sandman with Tod Gordon vs. Sabu with Bill Alfonso Special Guest Referee Terry Funk

The Franchise Shane Douglas vs. Al Snow With Head

Chris Hamrick vs. Crowbar

B.W.O. vs. F.B.I

Raven vs. Justin Credible

Rhino vs. Spike Dudley

Philly vs. NYC/South Philadelphia Street Fight Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten vs Da Baldies

A Matter Of Repect! CW Anderson vs. 2 Cold Scorpio

3 Way Dance Jack Victory vs. Jamie Dundee vs. Scott Anton

Bilvis Wesley vs. The Muskateer

For tickets, please go to this link.

The legends of the ECW Arena being honored on June 27 are:

Eddie "Hot Stuff" Gilbert 1961-1995: Eddie Gilbert was one of these few that gave the Arena life. Eddie Gilbert was brought in by ECW founder Tod Gordon in 1993 to take what was then one more small bar promotion to a higher level. Gilbert was perfect for the role because, together with Mick Foley, brought the modern tradition of hardcore wrestling now associated with Philadelphia to the rest of the United States. This started in 1991 with their legendary matches in Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, including the legendary best of three falls match between the two at Philadelphia's Convention Hall. Gilbert brought instant credibility to this upstart promotion.

With Eddie also came Terry Funk, who had recently done an interview in the Pro Wrestling Torch about his idea for a "hardcore" style wrestling TV show; and a well-known manager Paul E. Dangerously, better known in years to come as Paul Heyman. Gilbert brought to ECW a career that had seen legendary feuds with Jerry Lawler in Memphis (and the infamous angle at the WSB TV studios where Gilbert ran over Lawler on live Memphis TV), as well as one of the hottest live angles ever when Gilbert turned on Bill Watts on a Mid-South/UWF TV taping along with "The Russians" Ivan and Nikita Koloff along with Kortsia Korchenko and "bury him" under a Russian flag, nearly starting a riot.

Eddie Gilbert booked ECW for its early months at the ECW Arena, bringing a Memphis-flavored product to ECW, including the Texas Chain Match Massacre with Terry Funk vs. Eddie Gilbert on June 19, 1993 was the first ECW show sold on tape commercially, with what was then the largest crowd in the young promotion's history. These two gave the fans at the Arena an old school all-Arena brawl.

Along with the Memphis-style product, in August 1993, many ECW fans got their first live exposure to Japanese wrestling through W*ING workers The Headhunters, Miguelito Perez, Crash the Terminator (WCW's Hugh Morris), and Mitsuhiro Matsunaga. Gilbert also held the ECW Tag Team Championship together with brother Doug "Dark Patriot" Gilbert.

What some old-school ECW fans remember best, though, is not just Eddie Gilbert's Memphis-flavored in-ring product; but the humor Eddie featured on TV, and his sense of humor in person. Some fan favorites include the times he went to Philadelphia's South Street and Delaware Avenue's Katmandu club for ECW TV posing as the "King of Philadelphia" in full gimmick. Another classic was Eddie's weekly on-air torturing of co-host Jay Sulli that left Sulli with the nickname "Six Pack" that has lasted him to this day. One of Gilbert's last classic moments was his "match" with former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski at Jaworski's "Eagles Nest" restaurant.

Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow 1961-2007: While probably most known for his Wrestlemania XI match with New York Giant legend Lawrence Taylor, Bigelow played a key role in the late 1990s with ECW, including his time as part of the Triple Threat faction, with Chris Candido and lead member Shane Douglas. Bigelow's most notable moments included throwing Spike Dudley out of the ring and into the audience and slamming Taz through the ring itself.

Bigelow's biggest ECW program saw a turn on fellow Triple Threat member, Shane Douglas, to eventually win the ECW World Heavyweight Title in October 1997, losing the belt a month later at the November to Remember 1997 PPV in a classic match. He then won the ECW World TV Championship from Taz at the Living Dangerously PPV in March 1998.

Chris Candido 1972-2005: Candido first worked ECW during the Eddie Gilbert era, together with Johnny Hotbody as ECW Tag Team Champions in 1993. The two partnered with Chris Michaels as The Suicide Blondes until 1994 when Candido went to Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Candido went to WWF from 1996-1997, where he worked with wife Tammy Sytch as "The Bodydonnas". Candido joined ECW in 1997, becoming part of the revived Triple Threat stable alongside Shane Douglas with the nickname "No Gimmicks Needed".

Candido developed a rivalry with fellow Triple Threat member Lance Storm, who was soon replaced in the Triple Threat by Bam Bam Bigelow. Candido teamed with Storm in a partners but not friends tag team to win the ECW Tag Team Championship in December 1997 from Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon. They held the titles until June 1998 to Rob Van Dam and Sabu.

Shane Douglas - Douglas was trained by WWWF's Dominic DiNucci, and received his ring name from Eddie Gilbert. He worked for Bill Watts's UWF and won their TV title in 1987. He moved to WCW and was known (infamously in Philadelphia) as one of the Dynamic Dudes with Johnny Ace. After a brief tour of duty with the WWF, he again wrestled tag team this time with Ricky Steamboat and became Tag Team Champions in 1992.

Douglas began his ECW career in 1993, turning on Tommy Dreamer during a Tag Title match in which he defended the title with Dreamer (on behalf of Johnny Gunn, who had been with him in WCW) against Kevin Sullivan and The Tasmaniac. Douglas went heel, the way most people remember Douglas as the cocky heel....The "Franchise".

In February 1994, Douglas was part of a match that defined the new ECW called "The Night the Line Was Crossed" wrestling Terry Funk and Sabu to a 60 minute draw in the first-ever "three way dance" in the United States.

One of the most infamous moments in ECW Arena history came in August 1994, when Douglas, just after winning the NWA title, trashed the belt and started the era of "extreme", promoting the ECW belt for the first time as the "Extreme" Championship Wrestling World heavyweight title.

1995 saw Douglas form the first version of the Triple Threat stable with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko.

After a brief stay in the WWF during 1995, Douglas returned to win the ECW TV title twice in 1996; most notably in a fourway match that included Chris Jericho, 2 Cold Scorpio, and Pitbull #2. Later that year, Douglas feuded with Pitbull #2, then created the second version of the Triple Threat with Chris Candido and "Primetime" Brian Lee (with Bam Bam Bigelow replacing Lee later).

Douglas would go on to hold the TV Title for a year before losing it to Taz at Wrestlepalooza. He then turned his sights on World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk. Hardcore Heaven 1997 saw Douglas beat Sabu and Terry Funk in another three way dance to win the ECW World Title for the second time.

In October, he briefly lost the ECW World Title to Bam Bam Bigelow, but regained it 2 weeks later at November to Remember (held in Pittsburgh); then held the belt until January 1999, finally losing the title to Taz at Guilty as Charged, whom he had feuded with throughout 1998. Douglas then ended his ECW career as a babyface teaming with Tommy Dreamer against The Impact Players (Justin Credible and Lance Storm), beating them at the Living Dangerously PPV before leaving ECW in 1999.

Tod Gordon - If someone had told those of you reading this that a fledging wrestling promotion owned by a center city pawnbroker would be seen nationwide on cable television, would go on PPV from this building in 1997... and would have wrestling fans around the world chanting the promotion's name to this day...If someone had said that it would feature names like Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, and Chris Benoit, Rey Misterio, Jr., Juventud Guerrera, La Parka, and Psicosis... Four Horsemen and Midnight Express members Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton... All Japan stars Steve Williams, Terry Gordy, Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas, and Gary Albright... Japanese lucha style stars Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and TAKA Michinoku... and wrestling legends like Stan Hansen, Abdullah The Butcher, Jerry Lawler, Terry and Dory Funk, and Kevin Sullivan...

If someone had told us that the promotion founded by this center city pawnbroker would see the creation of the most memorable new character of the last decade, a character called Raven... and that the company would change the direction of the professional wrestling industry... if someone had told us ALL these things would happen and more...it would have seemed the most improbable, impossible dream conceived.

Yet that is exactly what happened...and it happened because Tod Gordon founded ECW. Without Tod Gordon's initial involvement and investment, there would have been no ECW. Tod Gordon was first involved in professional wrestling as a partner with Joel Goodhart and his Tri-State Wrestling Alliance.

When the TWA closed its doors in January 1992, Gordon founded what was then known as Eastern Championship Wrestling, using much of the same local talent as the TWA. The promotion its first show on Tuesday, February 25, 1992 at the Philadelphia’s Original Sports Bar in center city Philadelphia in front of over 100 people. After running small area shows at local bars and schools for about a year, Gordon took ECW to Philadelphia cable TV in March 1993, with TV tapings on SportsChannel Philadelphia, bringing in Paul Heyman, Eddie Gilbert and Terry Funk, with Gilbert as booker.

Then, in September 1993, Gordon brought in Paul Heyman as booker of ECW. That night began a period where ECW became THE promotion in the United States if you wanted creative, unpredictable angles; an exciting in ring product, with talent yet unseen by most American audiences. It was a time when a fan could come to an ECW show, and realize that (unlike the overly predictable WCW and WWF of the time) they didn’t know what was going to happen at a show that night. But they knew the odds were good they'd be talking about it the next day.

Gordon's product inspired such a word of mouth fan reaction that fans traveled to ECW Arena shows from all over the east coast each three weeks that shows ran at the Arena. The TV spread from SportsChannel Philadelphia beginning in 1993, first available locally (and on satellite) for five years; then followed by New York's MSG Network, Florida's Sunshine Network, then many of the PRIME (now Fox Sports Net) affiliates. Along with PRIME's national feed, ECW's TV was syndicated nationwide on the America One Network, as well as on numerous other independent stations.

Gordon sold ECW to Paul Heyman in 1996, but remained in a business role with the company, including taking the company to PPV in April 1997 when the Barely Legal PPV hit the air. At 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, in the most improbable of locations: the converted Bingo Hall that staff had painted and fixed up on their own, down the street from a bargain basement store and vacant buildings... the home of a wrestling promotion founded by a downtown storefront pawnbroker, started with little more than hopes and dreams... the impossible dream came true, as "Barely Legal" went hot and started the era of ECW on PPV to the United States.

Gordon has been involved since then with other independent promotions. But he'll be remembered always as the man whose dream founded ECW.

Sabu - Many see Sabu as the epitome of the "extreme" style featured in ECW from 1993-2001.

Sabu debuted in 1991 with his uncle The Sheik in Japan's FMW and started the sty;e for which he'd become famous, working hardcore and barbed wire matches for FMW. Sabu had two tours of duty for ECW, in 1993–1995, and from 1996-2001. Tod

Gordon initially brought Sabu into ECW, where he did the gimmick of being an "uncontrollable madman" with a Hannibal Lecter mask brought into the ring on a gurney. Sabu became known for breaking tables.

Sabu was most noted during his first tour of duty for ECW for the The Night the Line Was Crossed against Terry Funk and Shane Douglas in February 1994, a one hour time limit draw. His other major program was (together with Taz) against The Public Enemy for the ECW Tag Team Championship in the first "double tables" match.

After a brief stay in WCW, Sabu returned to ECW in 1996 at the November to Remember supershow. Sabu was most known during that time for his wrestling with and against Rob Van Dam, winning the ECW Tag Team title twice with Van Dam. A slow build also started when Taz challenged Sabu everywhere he could for a year, culminating . This standoff culminated in a grudge match at ECW's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal. Taz and Sabu worked on and off for the next four years.

Sabu was later included in the WWF invasion angle, in which ECW wrestlers invaded WWF's Monday Night Raw program and held ECW-style matches and angles on the show. The invasion angle also led to a heel turn, as Sabu was set up to be defending WWF's style over ECW's with Rob Van Dam and manager Bill Alfonso. This program saw RVD and Sabu wrestling ECW "loyalists" Tommy Dreamer and Sandman.

Sabu's most famous ECW match may well have been his no-rope barbed wire match with Terry Funk at Born to be Wired, a match which was indeed "too extreme even for ECW", even for the bloodthirsty ECW Arena fans of the day. At one point, Sabu did his "Air Sabu" splash onto Terry Funk, only to go into the barbed wire and legitimately tear open his bicep.

We hope to see you there this coming Saturday.

Until next time...

Linda's Thoughts - Ah Smackdown, What A Joy To Watch

Linda Robin — 6/21/2009

First let me start out with a big Happy Father’s Day, and second get ready because this is going to be another Smackdown column that I am going to just praise like hell. It’s one of those shows where even the worst segments didn’t hurt the show and didn’t bother me. I just wish that Vince would really take notice of what they offer on Smackdown and instead of bringing in Donald Trump just follow Smackdown’s lead. Okay I am ready to gush over Friday’s excellent show. I hope you are ready to gush with me.

I want to tell you why Smackdown’s opening segment really excited me. It kind of started with Jeff Hardy being interviewed by Josh Matthews. Hardy has really grown since he became a main eventer. I look forward to watching him week after week not only in the ring, but on this mic as well. Yes I said the mic. While he may not be THE strongest on the mic, he has come a long way from the kid that we got years ago. Matthews was talking about how Jeff couldn’t catch a break thanks to Punk, and the very laid back Hardy responded about how he doesn’t live in the past and that he would get the title back at the Bash. This brought out Punk and this is the guy that really got things going for me. Last week I said that Chris Jericho has become the Shawn Michaels of Smackdown, and now it’s Punk’s turn. Ever since CM got traded to Smackdown and won the World Title championship he has really shown me so much, and I think Punk topped himself once he entered the ring and answered to Jeff Hardy. I was just blown away by his work on the mic and how he explained why he did what he did to Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules. I saw a Punk again with so much confidence and I love it that he is not coming off like a total face. I still believe this guy is going to turn heel and right now I see Punk as a tweener.

Just like Monday night, Punk reiterated that he took advantage of his MITB contract. He said there was nothing in that contract that said you can’t cash in on Jeff Hardy. I loved when Punk said that he was offended because there were people that said he stole the match on Monday’s Raw. His answer to that was that he never stole a thing in his life. Mind you during most of this there were plenty of fans booing Punk, which just added to what he had to say. Punk has become extremely solid in and out of the ring, and when he talks and explains the way things are I find myself buying into all of it, and I think that’s what makes a character so good. So a very cool opening segment with Hardy and Punk, and as I said the Roanoke, VA crowd with their loyalty to Jeff Hardy was just icing on the cake during this segment. The first match of the night was way too short, but such a good match. It was Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho. This could have been easily the match of the night, but I want to say it was only 5 minutes long. But those five minutes were excellent. And not only was the match awesome but it was time for Rey to get even wth Jericho for taking Rey out weeks ago posing as a Mysterio fan with a mask This surprise attack by Rey was just as good. Just as Hardy got Jericho with a DDT and was about to hit him with a Swanton Bomb, Jericho got out of the ring. Hardy tried to take out Jericho, but Chris moved and threw Hardy into the rail. Now here comes the Rey part. As Jericho turned Mysterio ran out from the audience and did a hurricanranna on Jericho and then went right back to his seat. It was funny because Rey was sitting next to two guys dressed exactly like him, with the mask and the tee shirt. Well of course Jericho wasn’t laughing because he never made it back to the ring and was counted out. Between this match and the opening I know I could tell that Smackdown was going to be one hot show and I was right. Punk, Hardy, Jericho, and Mysterio again showed why Smackdown is still the A show for WWE and what makes this even more important is that it has been the A show consistently now since the April draft.
Okay so we got another Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler match. And I’m happy to say this was kept short, but again I like that Ziggler always seems to come out on top. It’s the little things that he pops with which makes me care about watching these two. No matter how dominant Khali is, Ziggler always finds a way to come off still looking tough and like a guy heading into a future push. Ziggler did an “Eddie Guerrero.” He brought a chair into the ring when the ref wasn’t looking, and just as he tossed it at Khali, the Great Khali slammed it with his hand. Dolph fell down and when the ref turned around he saw Khali holding the chair and called a DQ. These are the kinds of antics that keep from making Ziggler look weak. Now I would love to see Ziggler move on and up.

I kind of liked Melina vs. Alicia Fox. I thought Fox did a better job against Melina on Friday night. Okay I didn’t kind of like it I liked it. What I didn’t like was once the match was over and Melina won, Michelle McCool attacked Melina in the ring, which was okay. It was McCool’s very amateurish mic work that I really hated. She said she was going to destroy Melina, and she would be the first woman to win both women’s titles. Any progression that McCool might have made kind of disappeared with her promo. This was just so bad and I hope she doesn’t walk out the women’s champ next week at the Bash. Well now we are in for not only one very STRONG promo from Edge but as far as I’m concerned a pay per view quality match between Edge and John Morrison. Edge is another of Smackdown’s bright spots and he was fantastic bitching and complaining about being screwed out of his title match and about Jeff Hardy. It’s so great to have Edge out there without Vickie. He’s right back to being one of the best heels in the company. Edge’s promo brought out my up and comer, John Morrison. Edge said that Morrison was another one that was trying to be like him. He insulted Morrison’s look by asking if he was Siegfried or Roy? Edge came up with some good stuff here. Morrison responded with some great comebacks as well. He made fun of Edge and his Canadian accent. He asked Edge what was he complaining about, was it his silly boots, his bobble head, or his bug eyes?” And then Morrison said he would give him something to complain about after Morrison kicked his face. Ah another reason why Smackdown is so good, because you get segments just like this one.

And as I just said their match was off the charts fantastic. This one went on longer than 15 minutes. I was so happy for Morrison. Having him work with Edge in my opinion is a major move. I am hoping that it shows Vince that Morrison is the future and that this match is the beginning of an Edge/Morrison feud. Both men gave their all here and I am telling you if you didn’t catch this match of the night, really try too. That’s how excellent it was. Hey did you guys know that I’m not a Ricky Ortiz fan? Oh I think you know that since I say it every time he’s on TV. I did not care for the match with Ortiz, Haas and Benjamin vs. R. Truth and Cryme Tyme. Smackdown was doing this for a while and now Raw is. They just throw a match out there with no rhyme or reason and that’s just what this was. I was hoping to see R. Truth get a nice push, but now I worry that we are going to get stuck with Truth feuding with Ortiz, my God I hope I’m wrong there. And I am wondering what the hell is going on with Shelton’s solo push? Don’t get wrong, Haas and Benjamin are a great tag team, but watching Benjamin on his own has really appealed to me and it’s not against Haas, but I am starting to think that Mr. Benjamin’s push is no longer happening. I guess we will have to wait and see how the next few weeks go.

The main event was great. You had Jericho doing a terrific job on the mic along side JR and Todd Grisham. He was “critiquing” the match with Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. And of course with Jericho’s cocky demeanor this was fun to listen too. Punk and Mysterio ranked right up their with the match of the night, in fact I would have to say that this match and Edge vs. Morrison tie for the Smackdown match of the night. I love when these two work together and I think this match was better than the one that had a while ago on Raw. You know Smackdown started so well and it ended even better. The action here was fantastic and along with Jericho’s smart-ass remarks you couldn’t ask for a better main event. Well Punk won the same way that he’s been winning since he became World Champion. He took advantage of Jericho interfering. After Punk attempted a GTS, Rey countered and ended up out of the ring. Punk was keeping the ref busy and while the refs back was turn Jericho got up and threw Mysterio head first in to the ring post. Right before the 10 count Mysterio got back in the ring and Punk did another GTS for the win. After the win Hardy ran out complaining to the ref about Jericho’s interference. And Jeff did a hell of a job showing how pissed he was. Of course the ref is signaling that he didn’t see a thing, and while the arguing is going on, Punk the champ rolled out of the ring holding up the belt.

My God so many great things happened on Smackdown. The two main feuds with Hardy vs. Punk and Mysterio vs. Jericho played out so well. And those are two reasons why I won’t pass on the Bash next week. Then we got a super match between Edge and Morrison, and the main stars came through on the mic. How can I not praise the show? Okay so it’s a commercial free Raw tomorrow night with Raw’s new owner Donald Trump, and the Last Man Standing match with Triple H vs. Randy Orton. I don’t have the same feeling about the show like I have with Smackdown, which could be a good thing. Maybe I will get a nice surprise and the last Raw before Sunday’s Bash will come through. Look for me on Tuesday or Wednesday for my thoughts on Trump’s Raw.

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com

Linda's Thoughts - It Was A Long 3 Hours

Linda Robin — 6/17/2009

Let’s see, Vince went from face to heel, sold Raw to Donald Trump, Trump wants to be inventive and sets up a Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Randy Orton on next Monday’s commercial free Raw, and they will also meet 6 days later at the Bash, the Raw brand offered VERY little to the show, but the two Smackdown matches were phenomenal. I think that about sums up a pretty bland three hours with just a few exceptions. So I will leave you with that, and you please check out my column over the weekend. Okay that’s my humor, of course I’m not leaving quite yet, but I was very disappointed with Monday’s show, in fact disappointed might be an understatement. I know many of you emailed me with very favorable thoughts about the show, but I just couldn’t find that many highlights. Let me do my list, you know when I do a list that usually in not a good sign of what’s to come in this column. But what the hell, things could get interesting with the Trump angle, well they could. Okay I’m going to hit the list and comment on each segment. Wish me luck.

1.   Before the first match Chris Jericho got things started in a big way with one if his excellent promos. He couldn’t have said it better when he said that since he was drafted to Smackdown Raw has gone into the toilet and that it’s in a tailspin that they will not be able to recover from. Wow how true that statement was. He then had to bring up that there is no General Manager, and no WWE champion. Jericho also knocked the fans and said that one day they will realize how important he is to Raw. He was just so good here. He went on to talk about Rey and his mask. Jericho really got things off to a great start and that continued with the first match.

2.   Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio was the first match, and it was a solid match. They left off where they did at the Extreme Rules pay per view. This was the second hot match of the night, and mind you there weren’t many. I just want to see this feud continue because the chemistry here is just off the charts. I thought because this match was so hot, Raw would be a strong show, but damn it I was wrong.

3.   There was a backstage segment with Josh Matthews interviewing Randy Orton with John Cena interrupting. I hate the way this started with Cena trying to be funny, and I do mean trying. He made fun of Orton and did it like he was cutting a promo about how the WWE Universe always talks about Randy Orton. He said Orton was "the grand wizard of the baby oil boy's club." I wasn’t laughing with any of this. But then Cena turned a little serious and reminded Orton that it wasn’t just him and Orton in the 4-Way match. He said if Randy thinks that he and Show are going to take the night off then maybe the oil he puts on his skin is starting to rot his brain. Now this part was okay, because Cena didn’t have to be “funny.” So at least the end of this wasn’t bad. This segment ended better than it started.

4.   Then we got the beginning of too much Vince for the night. As I said he went from a victim of Randy Orton’s back to a heel and announced that he sold Raw to Donald Trump. The first thing that I thought of was, dear God things must be really bad because Vince is using Trump to get that mainstream media attention. This segment kind of bothered me because it screamed of desperation, just like last year when Vince had to give money away.

5.   Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian was next and I’m sorry to say that this match did nothing for me. I think I might have said this last week, but the timing is all wrong making Dreamer the ECW champion. Maybe if he would have had that title two years ago it would have meant something, but Tommy really hasn’t done much in a while, that’s why I feel ECW champion Tommy Dreamer really isn’t doing much for ECW. I also noticed that the fans weren’t exactly making too much noise while this match was going on. And I feel bad because Christian isn’t getting a lot of focus, and I feel Vince is really making a huge mistake by not giving Christian a lot more to do.

6.   The four way with Randy Orton vs. Triple H vs. Big Show vs. John Cena was a good match, it was what I expected, and probably one of the only decent matches that the Raw brand put on. I do not understand why they took the belt off of Orton at Extreme Rules. They could have had Batista beat Orton on a DQ, this way Randy still would have had the title, and then the next on Raw the injury angle still would have happened because Big Dave was demanding a rematch. That would have be reason enough for Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase to go after Batista. I wasn’t happy to have Orton with the title, I think Cena winning would have worked for me, and believe me at first I didn’t want that either. But I got to thinking about it and a Cena win would keep Orton and Hunter feuding but not for the title. So a good match but the Orton win was a slight disappointment for me.

7.   I absolutely despised the segment with Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. I think it was pretty obvious that the Trump part was pre-recorded, but maybe Vince forgot because he kept interrupting and the whole thing just bombed. And to make matters worse they replayed this thing throughout the show. The crowd was dead for most of this and I was embarrassed because Vince just didn’t know when to shut up. This had to be one of the worst segments on Monday’s show.

8.   So they give Rosa Mendez a solo shot against Mickie James and I wasn’t impressed. Now I’m not saying that they should dump her, but throwing her in there like that was really ridiculous. This wasn’t much of a match; it just felt like a way to fill a few minutes.

9.   The Miz got things going with insult after insult directed at Goldust. Goldust and Hornswoggle started things off by shooting t-shirts out to the fans. The Miz then came out and did a very good job putting Goldust down. The Miz was one of the few highlights of the show, and after he insulted Goldust and attacked him, he then aimed the t-shirt gun at Hornswoggle and shot him with a shirt, my God this was brutal. No, it wasn’t at all, but it was a good segment thanks to the Miz and his insults.

10.   Okay yes, I’m a CM Punk fan, but I feel since this push has happened and he has become the World champion he seems to be showing much more confidence. His mic work as been very smooth and he carries himself in a different way, he just seems very confident. I love it that they are not having Punk apologize for the way he got the belt at Extreme Rules. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win. The interaction between Punk and Matt Hardy I also liked very much. Hardy was kissing up to Punk and telling him he would have done the same thing. Matt was referring to the way Punk beat Jeff at the pay per view. Punk shot Hardy down immediately by saying that it wouldn’t be possible for Hardy to do the same thing because Hardy has never won the Money In the Bank match. And then Punk said that Hardy thrives on jealousy and hate, while Punk feels that he earned everything that he has done. Punk in my opinion is showing that his new push is well deserved.

11.   The match of the night was with CM Punk vs. Edge vs. Jeff Hardy. And this was as good as it gets. It’s sad when this match and Jericho and Mysterio’s match outshined anything that the Raw brand had. All three of these guys did a superb job and as far as I’m concerned this could have been on a pay per view. Punk won by taking advantage of Jeff Hardy. Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb on Edge and was just about to pin him, but Punk who was out of the ring, reached in and pulled Hardy off and slammed Jeff into the ring steps. CM got back into the ring, and pinned Edge for the win. This was just a great ending and it set up Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the Bash. I can tell you right now, this is a match that I WANT to see.

12.   Carlito and Primo defeated the Hart Dynasty. Now this one really bothered me, but before I tell you why, I will say that I liked Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase at the announce table checking out this match and for the most part putting down Michael Cole. I really enjoyed their insults towards Cole and they both came off cocky and very secure as far as taking the tag team titles from the Colons at the Bash. But what I hated about this match was that on ECW the Hart Dynasty is being built up to be one of the strongest stables in the WWE. But in less than three minutes the Colons beat them and they were basically jobbers out there. I really did not like the way this match was booked.

13.   The 10 man Battle Royal with MVP, William Regal, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Triple H, John Cena, Matt Hardy, and Big Show turned out better than I thought it would. I mean come on I think most of us knew Hunter was going to win, but yet there were times when it got a little exciting wondering if Cena would get it. I noticed that MVP went out fast and it worries me that he’s being pushed down again. I thought when he lost his title to Kingston it might mean bigger things for him, but in the last few weeks very little has been done with MVP and that makes me think that a major push might not be in his future. Matt Hardy was another guy that didn’t last long, but I’m going to say that’s because of his injured hand, at least I hope that’s the only reason why. But I did like this match, but my one complaint was we all know the Miz is gunning for Cena. I could not understand why we didn’t see the Miz and Cena go at it from the beginning. They could have taken it out of the ring into the fans, but no instead they have the Miz sneak up on Cena and Hunter and he goes over the ropes thanks to those two guys. I just don’t get why they have the Miz rock with his anti Cena promos but when it comes to any in ring action, all the momentum that the Miz has disappears. So Hunter won, and Randy Orton was standing on the ramp, not a happy camper that he has to face Triple H for the title. Just as the show is ending we get another pre-recorded segment with Donald Trump. Trump congratulates Hunter for the win. I guess Donald reads tealeaves because he knew Hunter was winning that match. Anyway he makes an Orton vs. Triple H match at the Bash. Okay fine, but then he says why wait until then, next Monday night on the commercial free Raw it’s a Last Man Standing match with Triple H vs. Randy Orton. Okay fine, then why the hell do we need to get another match 6 days later with these two again? You know it makes no sense to me at all. It’s not like Hunter and Orton have had 5 star matches, so why not hold that Last Man Standing match until the pay per view?

See there were just so many weird things going on that it just got the best of me. As I said way too much Vince, way too many replays of the very bad segment with Trump and Vince, and the Raw mid carders just don’t get enough build up, so when they are thrown into matches it really doesn’t mean much. I noticed I forgot to mention another Vince segment, this time with Santino. It wasn’t much, but Santino came off pretty funny when he kept saying all the wrong things to Vince. Hopefully bringing in Trump won’t turn out be a big mistake, and it will make for a strong storyline, it’s possible. I will be back over the weekend with my thoughts on Smackdown and honesty I can’t wait to see it, remember Smackdown has been the A show at least for me it has been now for a while now.

Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com