ECW Barely Legal 1997 Review

The wait for Taz vs Sabu was finally over

Listen to our April 1997 ECW podcast, reviewing ECW Barely Legal 1997

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I’ll spare you the long pre-amble on this one, as I wrote a lengthy piece looking at the build-up to Barely Legal here.
 
We start in the ring with Joey Styles. It’s immediately apparently that the ECW arena has undergone a significant lighting upgrade (for what well could just be this show). It looks real nice, if anything it’s too well-lit as it exposes the previously dingy corners of the building. Still, it’s a big upgrade and an important presentation shift for a big show. Joey Styles does the introduction complete with audio issues, The Dudleys come out – your usual fare.
 
The Dudley Boys (D’von and Buh Buh Ray w/ Joel Gertner and Sign Guy Dudley) vs The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus) for the ECW Tag Team Titles
So this, largely, was a squash match. While the match in March that earned the Dudleys the title was shock value more than anything else, it really did quickly establish them as a firm part of the division – so quite what the reasoning was here for such a one sided victory for the Eliminators I’m not really sure. That being said, the Eliminators worked real hard – busting out a few really nice moves (I’d have happily had the match end with Kronus’ 450 splash). But still, after some very impressive double team moves the Eliminators mop it up with a total Elimination to become the 3 time ECW tag champions. Not bad this.
 
Lance Storm vs Rob Van Dam
We get a Chris Candido promo, that largely goes nowhere, he’s injured. So a chair got involved in this one pretty early, and it played a significant part in the match. This was an impressive outing for both guys, but Storm’s still a really cold act at this stage and even Van Dam is lacking character development. Van Dam throws Storm into the corner, then just launches a chair at his face as he comes back out. Van Dam hits a massive frog splash but only for a two (wouldn’t be an ECW show without a big top rope kick out). Storm hits a real soft chair shot, so soft the crowd booed. And again. Van Dam wins it with a standing moonsault. Nice match, but nothing especially on it.
 
The BWO (Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy and Dick Togo) vs Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada and Masato Yakushiji)
Well, it’d be hard to deny the workrate and skill involved in this match – all six guys did some really impressive stuff (Yakashiji busted out a tilt and whirl spinning arm drag that looked great) and Hamada and Sasuke both looked excellent. It was just a bit… sterile – impressive in the way a circus show would be if you had no idea who any of the acts were.

Perhaps being a bit harsh, in some ways this was by a distance the best match on the card, but I don’t understand the logic behind these matches where the pace actually increases as the match goes on – not sure that’s ever made any sense. The action was undeniably impressive, but there was so much going on and (by any standards) so little selling or pacing, none of it stuck for me.
 
Shane Douglas (w/ Francine) vs Pitbull 2
Back in October, Shane Douglas and Pitbull 2 had one of the best matches of the year from ECW and what was probably one of the best matches in 1996 full stop. While most of that praise stems from the heat the match generated (volcanic) and an epic finish that caused a few fans to jump the guardrail in an attempt to get at Douglas, the appeal of a rematch was limited, not least one seven months removed. Douglas, bizarrely, faced Pitbull 1 (the more logical match-up) a month earlier. This one felt a bit odd.

This match though…  Douglas cut a pre-match promo crediting himself with being the person willing to run down guys like Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair, that’d be funny They gave it 20 minutes – I’m not particularly sure why. Perhaps they were hoping that the heat would be replicated (it wasn’t) or that the occasion would carry it through.

This just blew – Douglas and Pitbull worked a series of neck spots to almost no heat, Douglas tried a hurricanrana… Douglas gets bundled through the ringside table. In a match that involved a table and a guardrail they actually tried to create some drama with some weapons hidden from the referee (a set of knucks and a chain). Pitbull deals with the interefering Chris Candido, but Douglas this the belly to belly for the win.

After the match, the masked man walks out and kisses Francine. Then, one of the three heavies that flanked Douglas to the ring gets in the ring and takes of his motorcycle helmet. Douglas takes off the mask of the other guy to reveal that’s Brian Lee, the guy with the helmet reveals that he is in fact Rick Rude. Lee completes the turn on Douglas with a big chokeslam. An effective post match angle, the Rude storyline never really made any sense so this was a nice swerve if you can call it that.
 

Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs Sabu
This has a big match feel – I’ll give them that. This was a weird clash of styles, in the sense that Taz dominated the mat wrestling part of the match and Sabu the more brawly part, I guess if there was a criticism it lacked a bit of drama as the crowd were waiting for the match to develop. Taz hits a belly to belly over the guardrail and we finally hear from Bill Alfonso, who’s been unusually quiet up until this point.

After the two distinctive phases of the match the final third was a back and forth – Sabu busts out some Taz style suplexes and even a tazmission. Taz hits a t-bone suplex then locks in the tazmission for the quick and clean submission victory – which was a bit of a surprise, and probably a pretty good indicator that something was about to follow.

Taz grabs the mic, attempts to offer Sabu some plaudits to which one fan shouts BULLSHIT. The idea that they were meant to be having a moment after a great match, problem was they didn’t really have the great match. Still, Taz and Sabu make-up before Rob Van Dam comes out and Sabu and Van Dam attack Taz. This is coupled by a properly bungled turn of Bill Alfonso (turn as in siding with Van Dam and Sabu) thanks to a pro-longed attempt to take his shirt off to reveal a Sabu one and a piss-weak excuse for why he was ditching Taz – that he’d bet all his money on Sabu and lost it. They tried way too much here – missed.
 

Stevie Richards (w/ Meanie, Nova, 7/11 and someone dressed as Dennis Rodman) vs The Sandman vs Terry Funk for the right to face Raven
Three very different acts here – ECW had done a good job framing Sandman and particularly Richards in the lead up to the show, but there was very little doubt that this was all about Funk. This match just about worked thanks to the shortcuts (Sandman went and grabbed a ladder about two minutes into the match). They did about every spot imaginable with it – starting with Sandman managing to hit Funk mid ring by chucking the ladder from the floor – to see saws, leg drops onto, climbing spots. The match used so much ladder it might have made more sense to put the title shot at the end of it.

Richards worked really hard, getting a couple of nice near falls with superkicks down the stretch. He’s the first to go as Funk and Sandman hit a double powerbomb on him for the win. Richards doesn’t really leave with match, but does drop to the outside to see while Sandman and Funk get at it with some barbed wire. Eventually Richards superkicks Sandman, who has to completely reposition himself for the moonsault that Funk hits to win the match.
 

Terry Funk vs Raven for the ECW Heavyweight Title
Raven is straight out and the match begins straight after. We’ve had Tommy Dreamer and Beulah on commentary for this match sat with Joey Styles above the entrance. Dreamer says he’s promised Funk he won’t get involved, whatever happens. This match was basically nothing, Raven fucks avbout with a couple of tables on the outside and puts himself and Funk through it. Funk squirts blood from a cut on his forehead then basically ends up selling for the rest of the match.

Some guys come out and setup a trio of tables underneath the commentary position – Dreamer ends up chokeslamming Big Dick Dudley (badly) through those. A big woman by the name Reggie Bennett tries and fails to piledrive Funk, before Dreamer runs down and hits the DDT onto Raven. Funk struggles over to cover Raven who kicks out (which was a bizarre choice, even the bell rang), Funk then inside cradles Raven and that’s enough for the win.

After the match, as has been famously said, if they’d have stayed out there for another couple of minutes the generator powering the broadcast equipment blew. As it was this was a predictable ending. The match was nothing, plenty of smoke and mirrors and a big role from Dreamer who otherwise wasn’t on the card. I feel like Raven kicking out of the DDT was their way of saying “you still haven’t pinned me” but in a funny kind of way that would’ve been the perfect situation to do it in. The false finish/inside cradle was lame.
 

Score Rating: 4/10
Go Back and Watch: I wanted to like this show, and given its significance there’s an argument for seeing it all. It’s harmless in parts but ultimately frustrating, booking made little sense and too many things underdelivered for me.