ECW on TNN, now known as ECW Wrestling is a television show by Extreme Championship Wrestling. While the company had Hardcore TV, a syndicated program, this was ECW’s big time shot on a national television channel. With the WWE Network adding the entire program’s history I thought it would be a great time to relive some of the episodes and very likely watching some of them for the very first time.
Well, this is very underwhelming. While past episodes featured matches not part of this particular taping, to have every match on the show be replays seems very lazy, or an indication of what kind of buyrates ECW was doing at the time. Regardless, I recently reviewed ECW Anarchy Rulz ’99 so I’m not going to review the same matches again. Instead, I’ll simply place the same thoughts I had before once again while discussing what else is presented on the program.
The program’s beginning features a Paul Heyman voice over where he promises that Sunny, Tammy Lynn Sytch, will discuss women’s roles in professional wrestling. Commentators Joel Gertner and Joey Styles discuss what this could mean while we get a very brief look at Tammy. Gertner being a commentator on the usual tapings means little tonight, as the PPV commentary remains, but he’s hanging out anyway.
Little Guido (with Big Sal) vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy
This was exactly what you’d hope for. It was just a chaotic brawl with tons of high spots and fun sequences. If you want a match with an excellent story being told, this isn’t so much what you want, but man is it ever fun.
So much good happened, but in particular Tajiri and Super Crazy shined with their athleticism, as they did recently on an ECW on TNN episode I reviewed. Little Guido, better known to many as Nunzio, however, was no slouch either. All of the styles complimented each other and this was just so much fun.
Little Guido ended up being the first guy eliminated, followed by Super Crazy after a flurry of kicks and a beautiful brainbuster. I doubt much else on this show will be as enjoyable as this, although a few matches have potential. Thus far, this is my match of the night.
Winner: Tajiri
After that, Joey and Joel throw us to part one of the Tammy interview and she discusses how fans have a website dedicated to her feet, being a sex symbol, and then drugs. In a very uncomfortable bit, she begins to discuss Louie Spicolli and how he passed from mixing pills with alcohol. I’m honestly not quite sure what the point of this segment was. In a happier world, it would be to warn talent and everybody about the side effects of pills, but knowing of the parties involved, it seems unlikely.
Of note, they used both WWF and Smoky Mountain Wrestling footage. I’m really curious as to the legalities of this at the time. I know ECW and WWF were on good terms, but still, something about this seems pretty risky.
Lance Storm (with Dawn Marie) vs. Jerry Lynn
This was… really long. I’ve spoken at length in my ECW on TNN reviews about how I’m not a big Rob Van Dam or Jerry Lynn guy, and wouldn’t you know it, they have the longest matches on the show. Lucky me. With that being said, I acknowledge both guys have talent and can be quality.
Meanwhile, I’m a big fan of Lance Storm’s matches, but I’ve always preferred him in a tag match or in shorter TV matches. A near 20 minute outing just isn’t as interesting to me. Not to take anything away from either guy as both have a lot of talent, but just when it comes to personal preference, this isn’t doing it for me.
I did like that Lance Storm won with a little bit of Dawn Marie cheating throughout the match but in the end Storm essentially won cleanly. It definitely stands out against WWF and WCW’s average matches at this stage, TV or PPV. And being an alternative is definitely a good thing. So a solid enough match, but it just went on a bit too long for my liking.
Winner: Lance Storm
The show ends with a little more of the Tammy interview, and again, this was just uncomfortable and not good. She talked about getting hooked on alcohol when the pills weren’t working before telling the world she’s alive and she’s back and that she’s setting the standard for women in the industry again.
This whole thing just didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t feel like a big moment, which if you’re going to take advantage of deaths and addiction, you would think it would be more impactful. Instead, it was uncomfortable and seemingly pointless. I’m interested in fan reaction from this time to this interview. That wraps up this week’s episode of ECW on TNN.
Match List
Replay: Little Guido (with Big Sal) vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy
Replay: Lance Storm (with Dawn Marie) vs. Jerry Lynn
Closing Thoughts
Well, this episode was not good. The only two matches on the event were replays from the pay-per-view two weeks prior. This is good for those who didn’t order the event, but it gives no incentive to keep watching for those who had. And for that matter, why buy a PPV if the matches end up on TV anyway? People use this same criticism for WWE but at least with them they do rematches. Yikes.
The one hook the show had was Sunny showing up as Tammy Lynn Sytch and…. it was just ineffective. It didn’t do the trick for me. The interviews felt like they were taking advantage of death and addiction to stir controversy but instead of being controversial it felt uncomfortable and kind of sad. And not sad in a sympathetic way, necessarily. A poor outing this week by ECW Wrestling.
So what did you think of ECW Wrestling or ECW on TNN? Does it hold up almost two decades later? If you haven’t seen it, maybe you should give the show a shot! Be sure to leave your thoughts on the show down in the comments section. As always, stick to WWE Network News for the latest WWE Network news, rumors, reviews, and more!