This week Throwback Thursday returns to the famous ECW Arena in the archives of the WWE Network and Peacock to revisit a classic, early edition of Eastern Championship Wrestling’s Hardcore TV that aired 29 years ago yesterday!
As this edition of ECW’s Hardcore TV hit airwaves tensions between Eddie Gilbert, Paul Heyman, and Tod Gordon were at an all-time high. ECW owner Tod Gordon originally brought Eddie Gilbert into ECW in late 1992 to help book and format ECW’s maiden television series on the fledgling SportsChannel Philadelphia, which was set to start taping in March of ’93. Gilbert had had a successful history as a booker in Puerto Rico, Continental Wrestling Federation in Alabama (Ron Fuller’s former territory), USWA, and as head booker for Bill Watts’ Universal Wrestling Federation. In May 1993, Gilbert brought Paul Heyman into the fold as on on-screen talent, with Gilbert and Gordon handling the booking. By June 1993, however, Gilbert’s substance abuse issues were starting to become a problem. At the same time Jim Crockett, Jr., free of his non-compete clause with Turner Broadcasting Systems, was trying to get his innovative World Wrestling Network (WWN) up and running. The new WWN venture was to be the first streaming wrestling product, with events streamed over the internet in high-definition. Paul Heyman was helping Crockett put the WWN promotion together and, with Tod Gordon’s blessing, was using ECW to prepare talent like the Public Enemy, Road Warrior Hawk, and a slew of others for spots in the new promotion. As all of this was going on, Eddie Gilbert was working to strengthen ECW’s position by having ECW join the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in early September at the cartels annual convention in Las Vegas, believing the NWA name would add prestige to the Eastern Championship Wrestling brand, maybe even drawing in lapsed fans. But Gilbert’s intensifying drug and alcohol problems had led to Gilbert missing shows, tapings, and studio work by this time in August 1993. When Gilbert discovered that Tod Gordon had met with Jim Crockett and Paul Heyman regarding the WWN promotion, Gilbert exploded. Heyman and Gordon were trying to squeeze Gilbert out, Gilbert wrongly believed, accusing Gordon of using Gilbert to improve ECW only to sell out to Crockett. Gordon attempted to walk Gilbert off the ledge, explaining that Crockett had no interest in buying any part of the ECW promotion or having Gordon work for Crockett, but an irate and irrational Gilbert wound up quitting the promotion just days before ECW’s first real supercard, Ultra Clash ’93, an event Gilbert was to main event with Abdullah the Butcher against Terry Funk & Stan Hansen in the blow-off of the Gilbert/Funk saga. The departure of Gilbert proved to Gordon that Paul Heyman could be relied on to help run the promotion, setting in motion the successful working relationship between the two. While Gordon and Heyman, who was gifted 49% of the promotion in lieu of salary, would team up to make ECW a true player in the national wrestling space, Eddie Gilbert drifted. Eddie Gilbert passed away in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico on February 18, 1995 at the age of 33.
The top story on ECW TV at the time edition of HCTV aired was the build for the upcoming Ultra Clash I event (retroactively knows as Ultra Clash ’93) at the ECW Arena on September 18, 1993. Among the big stories in the promotion at the time was Eddie Gilbert’s war with Terry Funk, Dark Patriot’s ongoing feud with J.T. Smith, Sandman’s pursuit of the ECW Heavyweight title, and the tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions. Away from the squared circle the top song in the country was UB40’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” from the film Sliver while the soundtrack album for the hit film Sleepless in Seattle was the top-selling album. On television ABC’s Home Improvement was the top rated program on television while The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, was the top film in theaters.
Now let’s fire up the WWE Network on Peacock, hit ‘play’, and find out just how well this edition of ECW’s Hardcore TV holds up 29 years later!
This edition of Hardcore TV is a VHS transfer, so there are minor issues with both the audio and video that, while noticeable, do not hinder the enjoyment of the show. Edits are of the typical variety, namely music and ECW Home Video promos. Context is complete, with all prior editions of ECW Hardcore TV, including the pilot from the fall of 1992, available for you to enjoy right now on the WWE Network and Peacock.
ECW Hardcore TV #19 (WATCH) Date: August 17, 1993 (TAPED: Aug. 2, 1993) – Location: ECW Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: >500 – TV Ratings: N/A Commentators: Jay Sulli & Paul E. Dangerously – Interviews: Tod Gordon
CHAMPIONS AT THE TIME : ECW Heavyweight Champion: Don Muraco (June 1, 1993, ECW Hardcore TV #9, taped April 3, 1993, from The Sandman) ECW Television Champion: “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka (April 20, 1993, ECW Hardcore TV #3, taped March 12, 1993; defeated Glen Osbourne in the finals of an 8-man single-elimination tournament that also included Tommy Cairo, Eddie Gilbert, J.T. Smith, Johnny Hotbody, Salvatore Bellomo, and Larry Winters; Glen Osbourne, the former TV Champion, was forced to relinquish the title in February 1993 prior to ECW debuting on SportsChannel Philadelphia on April 6, 1993) ECW Tag Team Champions: VACANT (July 15, 1993, ECW Hardcore TV #11; the former Tag Team Champions The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido, Johnny Hotbody, & Chris Michaels) were stripped of the Tag Team titles after Chris Candido left ECW for Smoky Mountain Wrestling) ECW Pennsylvania State Heavyweight Champion: “Iron man” Tommy Cairo (June 8, 1993, ECW Hardcore TV #10, taped May 14, 1993, last eliminating Larry Winters in a 16-man battle royal that also included Rockin’ Rebel, Salvatore Bellomo, Super Destroyer #1, Super Destroyer #2, ECW Tag Team Champion Chris Candido, ECW Tag Team Champion Johnny Hotbody, J.T. Smith, The Sandman, Glen Osbourne, Herve Renesto, Max Thrasher, Canadian Wolfman, Tony Stetson, & The Samoan Warrior)
This week’s edition of Hardcore TV opens with a video package hyping and breaking down the ECW Tag Team Championship tournament that is set to kick off this week. This is followed by the usual ECW opening video montage.
After the opening we head into the “control room” where Jay Sulli welcomes us to the show. Sulli runs down the card to come before going over the announced card for the September 18, 1993, Ultra Clash I event, including the big tag team main event “bunkhouse” match pitting Abdullah the Butcher & Eddie Gilbert against Terry Funk & Stan Hansen. Out of nowhere Eddie Gilbert crashes the set, taking a seat next to Sulli and offering Sulli a beer. Gilbert pokes fun at Sulli in full Jerry Lawler form before betting Sulli $500 that a total stranger, one who Gilbert will find outside of the studio, can come in off the street and do a better hosting job than Sulli. Sulli ups the bet to $1,000 as Gilbert and Sulli shake hands and Gilbert heads outside to find the “first person he sees”.
We cut to Gilbert walking around the building outside, musing about finding a “girl” to work with, before spotting a guy in a Redskins cap. Gilbert brings the man in and, after saving his crown from being sat on, has the man sit next to Sulli. With shaky hands the man reads, and butchers, the names on the sheet before Sulli notices the total stranger is wearing a “King” Eddie Gilbert t-short. Sulli calls Gilbert out on the ruse as Gilbert demands the $1,000. Sulli refuses to pay and dismisses the new “host” as we head to a Peacock ad-break with a promo for the Ultra Clash I tag team “bunkhouse” main event.
Coming out of the break we get a promo from the Koloffs. Ivan says that the Koloffs have reigned may times before as champions and that their history proves the kinds of wrestlers the Koloffs are but Ivan wonders what kind of wrestlers the Headhunters are. Ivan says the Headhunter name is fitting for the team as the Headhunters do anything to their opponents to win a match. Ivan says their going to find out how tough the Headhunters are as they take the Headhunters, and any other team, apart to win the tournament.
—Quarter-Final Round of ECW Tag Team Championship Tournament (11:33) The Koloffs (Ivan & Vladimir) vs. W*ING World Tag Team Champions The Headhunters (Mofat & Mahim) w/Victor Quinones
Vladimir Koloff (Carl Brantley), for those wondering, was trained by Ivan Koloff, among others, and debuted in 1991. This one is a brawl from the start. The Headhunters jump-start the match and we get a wild brawl on the floor. Soon enough, however, Mahim gets the better of Ivan in the ring. Vlad and Mofat trade shots, with Vlad looking lost and directionless at times. Before long the match breaks down with all four guys brawling in the ring, forcing the referee to disqualify both teams at 2:49.
WINNER is The Koloffs (Ivan & Vladimir) (Coin toss: following double disqualification, 2:49)
After the match the two teams continue to brawl before things calm down and referees manage to separate the teams. Any draw in the tournament, per the rules, results in a coin toss to determine which team advances to the next round. The official flips the coin in the center of the ring and the Koloffs win, meaning the Koloffs advance to the semi-final round. Outraged over the outcome of the coin toss the Headhunters jump the Koloffs and the brawl picks up right where it left off!
As the four men continue to brawl we cut to an updated bracket for the Tag Team title tournament before heading to a Peacock ad-break.
Coming out of the break we join ECW Heavyweight Champion Don Muraco, with Freddie Gilbert, in the ring for an interview with Tod Gordon. Muraco rips the ECW fans first before griping about the lack of competition he’s facing in ECW. Gordon tells Muraco to not overlook Metal Maniac before announcing that Muraco does have someone who wants to challenge Muraco for the ECW Heavyweight title next week. Gordon tells Muraco to look at the monitor to find out who it will be that challenges Muraco next week.
Tito Santana appears on screen next and says that wrestling fans are starving for good wrestling. Muraco, Tito says, has offered an open challenge for anyone to face Muraco for the ECW Heavyweight title. Tito says he hasn’t forgotten defeating Muraco for the WWF Intercontinental title and says he’s coming to take the ECW Heavyweight title next!
Back in the ring Muraco rants about Tito defeating him at the Boston Garden for the Intercontinental title but says there was no film because Tito could never actually defeat Muraco. Tito couldn’t do it then and he can’t do it now, Muraco says. As Muraco continues to rant about Tod Gordon bringing in anyone to face Muraco, Metal Maniac sneaks up from behind and jump Muraco to get the title match going.
—ECW Heavyweight Championship (17:30) Metal Maniac vs. Don Muraco(c) w/Frankie Gilbert
Metal Maniac jump starts the action, attempting to take the fight to Muraco. Muraco weathers the offense, though, before easily turning the tide. Muraco batters Maniac in and out of the ring. Maniac attempts a minor comeback but Muraco cuts it short with a lariat and DDT. Muraco cuts of another comeback attempt with a low kick before hitting a tombstone piledriver for the 1-2-3 at 2:51 to retain the ECW Heavyweight title.
WINNER and STILL ECW Heavyweight Champion, Don Muraco w/Freddie Gilbert (Pin, 2:51)
Following the match we cut to a Peacock ad-break with a promo for the next quarter-final round match-up in the Tag Team title tournament.
—Quarter-Final Round of ECW Tag Team Championship Tournament – HIGHLIGHTS (24:01) “Sir” Richard Michaels & Tony Stetson w/Hunter Q. Robinson, III vs. “Wildman” Salvatore Bellomo & The Sandman
This is an odd match to watch. Sandman & Bellomo are controlling the action early on before, just :48-seconds into the match, we cut to an Abdullah the Butcher sizzle reel. The footage seen here comes from Puerto Rico’s World Wrestling Council (WWC) where Abby was a mainstay. We see Abby maul a few opponents, fake eating raw chicken, and bleed. The heels are in control when we cut back to the match before the faces make the comeback. Soon enough Sandman and Michaels knock heads before a ridiculous double suplex spot wipes both men out. Suddenly Hunter Q. Robinson, III, distracts the referee as Stetson switches with Michaels and Sal, unbeknownst to Robinson, switches with Sandman. As the referee turns around Sal rolls up Stetson into a small package for the pinfall to advance to face the Koloffs in the semi-finals of the Tag Team tournament.
WINNERS are “Wildman” Salvatore Bellomo & The Sandman (Pin, 3:16 highlight time)
As the winners celebrate we head to the next Peacock ad-break with an updated bracket of the ECW Tag Team title tournament.
Back from break ring announcer Bob Artese introduces ECW President Tod Gordon. Gordon takes the microphone and begins to give the fans a rundown of the Ultra Clash card to come on September 18, 1993 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, including the reveal that Abdullah the Butcher will partner with Eddie Gilbert while Stan Hansen will team with Terry Funk in the tag team “bunkhouse” match.
From the back Stan Hansen rushes the ring, wraps his rope around Gordon’s neck, and chokes the ECW President out as Hansen screams about teaming with Terry Funk. But Hansen is more worried about tonight, he says, and demands that Jimmy Snuka make his way to the ring for their match. Hansen pounds the mat with his rope and cowbell before storming from the ring as we head to another Peacock ad-break.
Coming out of the break we get a pre-taped promo from Paul E. Dangerously and ECW Television Champion Jimmy Snuka. Paul E. starts by mocking Hansen, with one of the best Hansen impressions your likely to find anywhere, about bragging that Hansen broke Bruno Sammartino’s neck in Madison Square Garden. Paul E. turns to Snuka and says that Hansen doesn’t seem to realize that Snuka jumped off of the “top of the ceiling” in the very same Garden and could do the same thing today, that Hansen is “living in the past”. Snuka says Hansen has a big mouth and having a big mouth is the first sign a man is scared. For Snuka it’s all about T.C.B., taking care of business. After a trio of grunts, and with the flip of a tongue, we head back to the ring for the main event.
—ECW Television Championship (34:59) Stan “The Lariat” Hansen vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka(c) w/Hunter Q. Robinson, III
This match marked Hansen’s ECW TV debut. Snuka jump starts that match, going after Hansen, but Hansen battles back. On the floor Hansen goes after Eddie Gilbert, giving Snuka the opening to pounce on Hansen from behind. It’s a brawl on the floor before Hansen sends Snuka in to Gilbert and takes over the match. Snuka refuses to go down without a fight and, at one point, sends Hansen into the ropes where Hansen stumbles badly, nearly knocking himself goofy in the top rope. Moments later, despite the blunder, Hansen drops Snuka with the lariat. Hansen takes too much time to make the cover and by the time Hansen does. Gilbert is in the right to break it up, giving Hansen the win by DQ at 3:42.
WINNER is Stan “The Lariat” Hansen (Disqualification, 3:42)
Following the bell Hansen goes after Eddie Gilbert, backing Eddie into the corner. Freddie Gilbert runs into the ring and jumps on Hansen’s back, saving Eddie, but ends up on the clutches of Hansen. Hansen then tears Freddie Gilbert’s pants down, puts Freddie across his knee, and spanks the bejabbers out of Freddie Gilbert to the glee of the ECW Arena.
Hansen tosses Gilbert over the top rope and celebrates before grabbing the microphone and saying that despite being blown up, out of breath, and having a “fat gut”, he and Terry Funk, who Hansen says he’s fought all over the world, are coming for Abdullah the Butcher & Eddie Gilbert on September 18th. Hansen gives another of his big Texas woops and walks to the back as Jay Sulli hypes the Ultra Clash ’93 main event, wraps this week’s card, and hypes next week’s show before singing off and tossing to the credits.
This is a fun, fast-paced edition of Hardcore TV. The action is high impact and high energy throughout, with brawls being the chief item on the menu. The promos, meanwhile, are solid, including the often unintelligible Snuka. The opening portion with Sulli and Gilbert is fun for what it is but drags a bit long. For fans of ECW this show is a must-see, proving that the bad rap the early ECW product gets is, more often than not, overblown. If you haven’t seen this edition of Hardcore TV, or it’s been a while, it’s worth a look, if even for the nostalgia of it all. Who knows, you may actually end up liking it, and that’s never a bad thing!
Already subscribed to the WWE Network on Peacock? Then you can relive the classic edition of ECW Hardcore TV right now or experience it for the very first time! As always, let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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Thanks for reading – until next week, see ya at ringside!
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