ECW '01 - A World in Jeopardy | BetheBooker (2024)

So, Heyman is clearly the authority figure and Shane was not around this time. This should be a slow build, leading to Dreamer/Shane or somebody else at NIR maybe

2000 Francine was hot, but Credible was so overrated and Heyman pushed him down everyone's throat for years, I am happy to see him not progress. Match got a weak rating as well. Storm and Credible feuded when the Canadian left in 2000, so let's see why they are together

A decisive squash for Corino, he was really a good hand for ECW at the end of the 90s. Something is cooking, Funk/Corino can be great

Awesome/Sandman is a great first round match in terms of names, Awesome wins clean and that is a huge push for him

Nice show, a step below the first one, but that's probably because the other one was high anticipated

I have a strong feeling that Terry Funk will make it to the semi finals of the tournament. I was incredibly surprised that Sandman lost, but I liked that Awesome got pushed.

My final match prediction: Awesome vs. Rhyno

ECW on MTV #3
Friday, May 19th, 2001
Attendance: 961 – Harris Riverfront Park – Huntington, West Virginia, USA
TV Rating: 0.82 on MTV

DARK MATCH:
KID KASH DEF. SONJAY DUTT – PIN – 4:54
RATING: 30

FULL-SHOW RECAP
»» BALLS: CUTTING THE CRAP, STARTING THE MATCH
»» The episode #3 started with a backstage promo from Shane McMahon and Rhyno. The owner of ECW hyped up the World Heavyweight Champion, who will enter the Tournament tonight against Balls Mahoney.
»» However, the promo was cut short by Paul Heyman, who interrupted the two and prompted Balls himself to throw a chair to Rhyno. Then, the punches flew and a brawl started, moving to the ring. As both men were already in the center of the action, John Finnegan came to the ring and started ECW’s first title match since its reboot.

MATCH #1 – ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP + TOURNAMENT 1ST ROUND
RHYNO © vs. BALLS MAHONEY
Less like a wrestling match, more like the dragging of the brawl that started backstage. However, it was a match, and so Rhyno was the better man for most of it. Balls was actually close to being the hero ECW needed when he countered a Gore with a sick chair shot to the head of the champion. McMahon got to ringside halfway through to cheer for Rhyno and he saw him successfully defending, following a Gore that exploded the table that was leaned on the corner.
RESULT: RHYNO DEF. BALLS MAHONEY – PIN – 5:43
RATING: 50

»» ORIGINALS STOP THE CHAMPION
»» The bell sounded again that didn’t stop Rhyno, who stomped his fallen challenger, much to the joy of Shane McMahon. The vile moment was stopped, of course, by Rob Van Dam, The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer, who once again united to defend ECW’s honor and pride, running Rhyno and Shane off.

MATCH #2 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 1ST ROUND
NOVA vs. ROB VAN DAM
One of the best matches of the night from a technical standpoint. Nova had the chance to redeem himself of a quick loss to Kanyon two weeks ago. He didn’t win and RVD advanced to the 2nd Round following an amazing Five Star Frog Splash, but it was certainly a bout that hurt no one and the handshake in the end proved it.
RESULT: ROB VAN DAM DEF. NOVA – PIN – 7:32
RATING: 69

»» DORING & ROADKILL: NEEDING CHALLENGERS AND… «CHICKENS!»
»» The ECW World Tag Team Champions were on the screen now. Danny Doring and Roadkill noted that they’re in need of something and that’s… challengers. They are the champions but seem to be somewhat overshadowed by the World Title Tournament and they… don’t like it! A bit more than a week away from Hardcore Heaven, they want a challenge from some team.

»» INSURANCE OF QUALITY: THRILLING DEBUT
»» Chris Kanyon was in the ring. Amidst boos caused by some anti-ECW cheap heat tricks, the ‘Insurance of Quality’ had an announcement, so he told the fans that the I.Q. isn’t Kanyon alone. Instead, he will have someone else joining him tonight.
»» Another WCW alumni joined Kanyon in the ring: none other than one of the biggest prospects in the dying days of the federation: the former ‘Natural Born Thriller’, Sean O’Haire!

MATCH #3
CHRIS KANYON & SEAN O’HAIRE [INSURANCE OF QUALITY] vs. CHRISTIAN YORK & JOEY MATTHEWS [YOUNG BLOOD] (w/JOEL GERTNER)
So, the I.Q. had their first tag team match against the exciting but green Young Blood. York and Matthews showed guts, but Kanyon and O’Haire were too much to handle, specially as the latter showcased his undeniable strength to make a difference. Kanyon’s Flatliner ended the bout.
RESULT: CHRIS KANYON DEF. CHRISTIAN YORK – PIN – 5:38
RATING: 39

»» INSURANCE OF QUALITY: ENFORCING THEIR OWN RULES
»» Joel Gertner grabbed a mic and, at ringside, went off on the Insurance of Quality, criticizing their stance against ECW and opening the door for them to leave the company. The fans loved it and stood by the Young Blood manager.
»» C.W. Anderson didn’t, attacking Gertner from behind. O’Haire joined and helped manhandling Young Blood. In the ring, Chris Kanyon introduced C.W. as I.Q.’s own enforcer. Kanyon started this show by being the I.Q. himself. Now there’s two more by his side.

MATCH #4 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 1ST ROUND
LANCE STORM vs. YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI (w/SINISTER MINISTER)
Bad blood fueled this 1st Round match, but it didn’t overshadow the action in the ring. Some chairs were used, but for the most part, Storm and Tajiri’s offense was clean and technical, filled with nice counter-attacks and submission attempts.
In the end, though, it was spoiled by… Francine! Justin Credible’s valet got to the ring and hit Tajiri in the back of the head with a cane, then hitting Sinister Minister too. Storm used the advantage and made Tajiri tap out to the Canadian Maple Leaf, using a chair for extra wrench.
RESULT: LANCE STORM DEF. YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI – SUBMISSION – 12:17
RATING: 62

»» ANOTHER IMPACT OVER THE ALLIANCE
»» The bell rang and Mikey Whipwreck was quick getting to the ring. With his own chair, he hit Lance Storm and got his hands on Francine. Everyone in Huntington cheered for Mikey, wanting to see Francine paying for her own sins.
»» But Justin Credible stormed the ring with another cane. Whipwreck avoided it, but as the two brawled, Francine hit Mikey with a Low Blow and Credible was able to hit him with a stiff cane shot that busted him open. The Impact Players are getting along and get another one up the Unholy Alliance.

MATCH #5 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 1ST ROUND
JERRY LYNN vs. TOMMY DREAMER
The main event put two former ECW World Champions against one another in a battle of styles. Dreamer was the fan favorite, but Lynn wasn’t exactly hated, even if he had been part of The Network just months ago.
During the match, the momentum shifted some times and we saw Dreamer going through a table on the outside with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, but it was the ‘Innovator of Violence’ the one reaching the 2nd Round, following a DDT on a chair after some shots with it.
RESULT: TOMMY DREAMER DEF. JERRY LYNN – PIN – 11:52
RATING: 64

»» DREAMER’S CALL OUT GETS HIM AMBUSHED
»» Once again, Tommy Dreamer got a microphone to call Shane McMahon and his reign of terror out. Dreamer made it clear that it’s ECW vs. everyone else, and surprisingly, McMahon seemed to be on his way to the ring to confront Dreamer.
»» However, two guys passed by him on his way: Chris Candido and Simon Diamond got to the ring, ambushing Dreamer and using the remains of the weapons used in the main event to do so, finishing him with Candido’s Powerbomb onto Diamond’s knees.
»» McMahon was now in the ring with the two, looking impressed, but before the ECW owner could say a thing, Paul Heyman and his crew of ECW originals (Balls, Nova, RVD and Sandman) ran them off. One thing is sure: McMahon now has two more allies.

FINAL RATING: 63

TOURNAMENT BRACKET

ECW on MTV #4
Friday, May 26th, 2001
Attendance: 959 – Michigan State Fairgrounds – Detroit, Michigan, USA
TV Rating: 0.77 on MTV

DARK MATCH:
DANNY DORING & ROADKILL DEF. DANNY DOMINION & DERRICK NEIKIRK – PIN – 6:10
RATING: 35

FULL-SHOW RECAP
»» A SPECIAL ENFORCER, BUT FOR WHICH SIDE?
»» The show opened with Paul Heyman in the ring. There, the ECW matchmaker said what everyone thought: Shane McMahon’s group needs to be stopped and he must not spoil the ECW World Title Tournament – to his credit, so far he didn’t… – so, tomorrow at Hardcore Heaven, there will be a special enforcer in the Final: none other than…
»» Shane McMahon interrupted Paul Heyman right when he was delivering the final line, and he had an announcement himself: as the owner of ECW, he’s the one that needs to assure everything runs smoothly in the Tournament, as that’s his own interest. So, he’s the one who needs to announce a special enforcer: someone that contacted him after being contacted by Heyman: ‘The Franchise’, Shane Douglas! He joins the other Shane, laughing at Heyman. The former ECW World Champion has double-crossed ECW! Honestly, Heyman was the fool here for trusting him, wasn’t he?

MATCH #1
AIR PARIS & AJ STYLES & ELIX SKIPPER vs. KID KASH & SPIKE DUDLEY & SUPER CRAZY
A fun 6-man tag team match in which the former WCW Cruiserweights squared off against ECW’s more established ones. There were some flash aerial moves by Skipper and Aerial Assault, but ultimately they weren’t able to stop their opponents from taking the win. Super Crazy pinned Air Paris following a Trifecta Moonsault.
RESULT: CRAZY DEF. PARIS – PIN – 6:51
RATING: 47

»» MCMAHON’S LAUGHING GANG
»» In the locker room, Shane McMahon was getting along with his buddies: Rhyno, Chris Candido and Simon Diamond (along with their valets Dawn Marie and Tammy Lynn Sytch) and, of course, Shane Douglas. They were laughing it out about double-crossing Paul Heyman and the ECW fans.
»» Amidst that talk, McMahon named Candido and Diamond’s team: Diamond Bodies. They loved it, of course, and so did… Sunny Dawn, that being the way he baptized the Dawn and Tammy’s duo.

MATCH #2 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND
STEVE CORINO vs. TERRY FUNK
Corino was probably the favorite in the odds, given that Funk is 56 and Corino is a hell of a wrestler himself. The thing is ‘The Funker’ is one of the most passionate men in wrestling and will bleed for ECW any day. He feels like he needs to get to the Final and be the one to take the World Title away from Rhyno.
Both guys were close to take the win in various occasions and weren’t shy in using weapons, including a bullrope, a nod to Corino’s former feud with fellow Texan Dusty Rhodes. Funk was bleeding in the end, but he was aware enough to roll Corino for a surprising three count. The old man advances!
RESULT: TERRY FUNK DEF. STEVE CORINO – PIN – 9:36
RATING: 48

»» CORINO TO GET TESTED AT HARDCORE HEAVEN
»» After the bell, Terry Funk waited for Steve Corino with his arm extended, thinking ‘The King of Old School’ would shake his hand again. He didn’t. Corino was visibly pissed and shouted at Funk, who threatened to punch him and continued to doubt Steve’s solo run and no-affiliation with McMahon. Corino maintained his position and things got even more heated.
»» Paul Heyman interrupted the scene, also doubting Funk due to Corino’s past. So, he said that tomorrow, at Hardcore Heaven, Corino will have another exhibition match against an ECW original: Balls Mahoney.

»» I.Q., MEET THE ‘GANGSTAS’
»» Backstage, Chris Kanyon, C.W. Anderson and Sean O’Haire, the Insurance of Quality, were hanging out, talking trash about ECW, with Kanyon saying that he needs Anderson to properly introduce him to the gangster-filled jungle that ECW is.
»» «Did I hea’ a dam’ thing about gangstas?», the accent left no room for wondering: the F.B.I. were around: Big Vito, Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke confronted the I.Q. Things didn’t get physical but insults were thrown, with the two factions agreeing about facing each other tomorrow at Hardcore Heaven.

MATCH #3 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND
LANCE STORM vs. ROB VAN DAM
An absolute banger between two of ECW’s finest in-ring performers. RVD had the crowd in his favor, but he was also aware that Storm’s recent reunion with Justin Credible could mean that him or Francine could interfere in the match. Nonetheless, the two had a great technical bout with some fast counters and RVD’s touch of high-flying action, with only a chair being used in the mix, for Van Dam to hit his Van Daminator.
Near the end, Francine did try to interfere, but she was stopped when getting to the apron by… Mikey Whipwreck, who simply pulled her off, allowing RVD to capitalize with a Flying Thrust Kick and a Five Star Frog Splash to advance to the semis.
After the match, Justin Credible tried to get to Mikey, but RVD and Tajiri fended the Impact Players off.
RESULT: ROB VAN DAM DEF. LANCE STORM – PIN – 12:37
RATING: 74

MATCH #4 – ECW WORLD TITLE TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND
MIKE AWESOME vs. MIKEY WHIPWRECK (w/SINISTER MINISTER)
Awesome was not in the mood to play. Or, at least, he was fully committed to book a spot in the semis. He dominated ECW’s underdog, getting most of the offense after almost being surprised by him in the beginning. The match ended after an Awesome Bomb through a table while Awesome looked dead in Minister’s eyes.
RESULT: MIKE AWESOME DEF. MIKEY WHIPWRECK – PIN – 5:19
RATING: 36

»» DORING & ROADKILL: CHASING CHALLENGERS
»» After the match, Awesome left and the Impact Players made their presence felt, jumping Mikey Whipwreck with a cane in hand. To the rescue, of course, came Yoshihiro Tajiri once again, armed with a chair, being partially able to even the ongoing brawl between the Players and the Unholy Alliance.
»» They were interrupted by… ECW World Tag Team Champions, Danny Doring and Roadkill, who called for attention and noted that some of the fire of that brawl should be saved for Hardcore Heaven, because the tag team division needs to be set on fire.
»» Paul Heyman didn’t need to hear more and came to scene, booking a 3-Way for the titles: tomorrow, we will see Doring and Roadkill defending against the Impact Players and the Unholy Alliance.

MATCH #5 – ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - TOURNAMENT 2nd ROUND
RHYNO © vs. TOMMY DREAMER
A PPV-worthy main event and a proper title defense. Dreamer, breathing ECW like no other, stood face-to-face with Rhyno and had full crowd support. The match was the usual between the two: violent, with Dreamer fighting with guts above anything else and Rhyno fueling off his raw power. Some weapons were used: Dreamer tried to “take the trash out” with a trashcan, Rhyno used some chairs and kicked out of a Piledriver that saw Dreamer putting his hands to his head in desperation.
In the end, some stiff chair shots and powerful moves set up for the trademark Gore through a cornered table. Rhyno finished the whole thing off with a Rhyno Driver onto the remains of said table and he goes to Hardcore Heaven as the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.
RESULT: RHYNO DEF. TOMMY DREAMER – PIN – STILL CHAMPION! – 10:57
RATING: 46

»» THE CHAOS AND THE SWERVES
»» After the bell, Shane McMahon came to the ring, cheering for Rhyno with a microphone in hand. The boos echoed and they became even louder when McMahon teased the rebranding of the championship to WWF Extreme Championship once again. Ugh… then, the low points became even lower as the… Diamond Bodies… stormed the ring, attacking a downed Tommy Dreamer.
»» That caused the ECW Originals: Rob Van Dam, Terry Funk and The Sandman to come to Dreamer’s rescue, creating a huge brawl between the three and McMahon’s side composing of Rhyno, Chris Candido and Simon Diamond. McMahon tried to evade chaos and then… Shane Douglas!
»» ‘The Franchise’ acted as McMahon’s bodyguard for some seconds before swerving everyone and hitting him with a Franchiser! Douglas stuck his middle fingers to McMahon, revealing that he’s in ECW’s side after all. The distraction created some room for the Originals to get the upper hand and Douglas was about to leave…
»» Until he was stopped by… Mike Awesome! Awesome hit him with a big Lariat and the brawl shifted to team McMahon again. Finally, Awesome and Shane shook hands and his team got the hell out of there. Swerve after swerve, one can’t surely predict what’s to happen at Hardcore Heaven!

FINAL RATING: 56

TOURNAMENT BRACKET

BOOKER'S TAKEAWAY
Fun fact: I'm liking the diary, hating the game save. I admit to not being a huge fan of the TEW angle mechanic and saves like the AJPW one were great for me because the angles were far more generic. Plus, the ratings seem really off here, but we'll see how it goes.

An eventful show, a lot of things happened and I'm hyped to see Hardcore Heaven now. Yeah, I agree some ratings are quite weird, sometimes TEW is not user friendly at all. I expected these tournament results, with RVD vs Storm being the highlight in my eyes. Douglas was the franchise of the company and him turning on ECW should get a lot of heat... hum, is the swerve an actual swerve? I think Douglas might still be in cahoots with the heels somehow. "Diamond Bodies" is a funny name, while no disrespect to Dawn... but Tammy is clearly my favourite. I'm interested to see where AJ will be a year from now

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Final

Mike Awesome vs Rob Van Dam

ECW World Title Tournament Semi-Final

Mike Awesome vs. Terry Funk

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Semi-Final

Rhyno (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

ECW World Tag Team Championship - 3-Way Dance

Danny Doring & Roadkill (c) vs. Justin Credible & Lance Storm [Impact Players] vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri [Unholy Alliance]

Singles Match

Balls Mahoney vs. Steve Corino

6-Man Tag Team Match

Big Vito & Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke [F.B.I.] vs. Chris Kanyon & C.W. Anderson & Sean O'Haire [I.Q.]

Bonus:

Will there be any other matches in the card? If you think so, name them and their result
Oh come on this is impossible... Tommy Dreamer to defeat Chris Candido or Dreamer and Sandman to beat Candido and Diamond?

ECW Hardcore Heaven - Saturday, May 27th 2001 - Philadelphia, PA
Match card for predictions

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Final
Mike Awesome vs. Rhyno (c)

ECW World Title Tournament Semi-Final
Mike Awesome vs. Terry Funk

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Semi-Final
Rhyno (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

ECW World Tag Team Championship - 3-Way Dance
Danny Doring & Roadkill (c) vs. Justin Credible & Lance Storm [Impact Players] vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri [Unholy Alliance]

Singles Match
Balls Mahoney vs. Steve Corino

6-Man Tag Team Match
Big Vito & Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke [F.B.I.] vs. Chris Kanyon & C.W. Anderson & Sean O'Haire [I.Q.]

Is that you Russo with the double-swerve??? /s haha. That was definitely unexpected. Those semi-final matches would have slapped in real life with the ECW OG vs. Shane O'Mac storyline going. I'm gonna say the bad guys don't get it done just yet and that RVD comes out on top!

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Final
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Mike Awesome

ECW World Title Tournament Semi-Final
Mike Awesome vs. Terry Funk

ECW World Heavyweight Championship - Tournament Semi-Final
Rhyno (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

ECW World Tag Team Championship - 3-Way Dance
Danny Doring & Roadkill (c) vs. Justin Credible & Lance Storm [Impact Players] vs. Mikey Whipwreck & Yoshihiro Tajiri [Unholy Alliance]

Singles Match
Balls Mahoney vs. Steve Corino

6-Man Tag Team Match
Big Vito & Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke [F.B.I.] vs. Chris Kanyon & C.W. Anderson & Sean O'Haire [I.Q.]

Bonus:
Will there be any other matches in the card? If you think so, name them and their result.

Yes. I agree with marc91, Dreamer/Sandman defeating The Diamond Bodies