IWA Mid-South Crowning of a Champion 1997

War Machine #1 vs Tower of Doom

Tower of Doom is a big lad, but he’s managed to dress in a way that makes him look totally unthreatening, with a big baggy black t-shirt and shorts. Everything feels like it’s at 2/3 speed, with strikes being thrown slowly. War Machine barely gets ToD up on a back suplex before hitting the worst side Russian legsweep I’ve ever seen. ToD at least has a nice elbow drop, full weight. ToD gets the win after War Machine helpfully jumps into a sky high powerbomb.

Kip Morris vs Mike Simpleton

Simpleton is a fat guy in a black t-shirt and a generic mask. Morris amusingly has “Winner” and “I’m Winning” emblazoned on his tights. This is utterly shit though. Morris controls with some plodding generic offence, apart from the amusing moment he suplexes Simpleton, who lands on top of him. Simpleton is really bad, he can’t even get thrown from the ring without getting embarrassingly caught up in the ropes. A side slam looks terrible as Simpleton basically slips from Morris’s grasp. In the end, Simpleton misses a corner splash, gets tripped and Morris gets the win. So bad.

War Machine #2 vs Chris Kidd

This was better. Not perfect, as War Machine really struggled to get Kidd over for a suplex, but some of Kidd’s offence looked decent. Nice leaping clothesline, good spinebuster, perfectly decent execution. War Machine BARELY gets Kidd up for a powerbomb that looked really dangerous, but gets distracted by #1 at ringside, and Kidd rolls him up for three.

Mad Man Pondo vs Ox Harley

Hark at young Pondo coming out with long hair and a Superman shirt, looks very different to the man he’d later become. There’s lots of mic work to start this, and the sound quality isn’t great. Pondo kicks us off with some really shitty armdrags. Harley looks better, nice kicks to the face and a decent clothesline. Pondo does some token legwork but eats a DDT on the floor and a Harley moonsault wins it. Nothing much to this.

Ian Rotten vs Tarek the Great

This is a big step up in match quality. They both look super comfortable working the mat, with the strange image of a fat scarred-up hillbilly and a skinny, balding man going through really neat exchanges on a tatty piece of shit mat. They up the tempo, with Rotten hitting a neat Full Nelson suplex and a really nice top rope rana by Tarek. Tarek does a few moves you really wouldn’t expect, a top rope twisting corkscrew and a nice moonsault press both get two. However, he ducks his head and Rotten hits a huge implant DDT for the win. This was really neat.

Bull Pain vs Justin St John

This was also fun, though Pain never really looked like losing. Pain just beats St John down, but St John does look capable, getting a few nice takedowns. Pain hits a DDT that looks great and, after St John hits a shitty leaping elbow into the corner, Pain swiftly puts him away with a neckbreaker and a top rope splash. Short but effective.

Kip Morris vs Tower of Doom

Into the second round now. ToD looks better in this match, hitting a nice running clothesline and a big legdrop. However, he’s got really lazy covers, barely leaning on top of Morris. Morris takes control on the floor, ramming Doom into the ringpost, hitting his head on the floor and nailing a nice short elbow to the head. ToD is soon bleeding, but hits a killer piledriver that really should have been the finish. ToD sells being too exhausted to cover, so at least there was no kickout. Like in the opener, ToD gets the win after his opponent helpfully leaps into a sit out powerbomb.

Ox Harley vs Chris Kidd

Another very short match, Harley mainly hits punches to control, with a chop to the face looking hilariously nasty. Kidd’s offence is pretty generic, but he too throws some nice punches, so this is at least watchable. Kidd hits a powerslam but misses a moonsault, allowing Harley to hit a reverse DDT and hit a moonsault for the win.

Ian Rotten vs Bull Pain

This starts off awesomely, as Pain throws Rotten to the floor and hits an insane suicide dive for the win. He follows this with a pedigree on the concrete, and I’m totally into this already. But then, we get disaster. The ringside camera seemingly stops working, leaving us with just the hard-cam, and at one point a member of production crew stands in front of it for at least a minute. They’re brawling in the crowd, and it’s impossible to see what’s going on. Ian hits a cannonball from the apron which looks great. We miss more floor brawling, before Pain gets him back in and hits a top rope splash for two. Ian hits his DDT, but is unable to cover and eats an RKO for the Pain victory. I really wish we’d been able to see all this, was hard to really enjoy.

Tower of Doom vs Bull Pain vs Ox Harley

Triple threat elimination for the title here. I liked how there was a constantly switching series of allegiances, with one person getting double teamed at all times. There’s a lovely big double chokeslam on ToD early doors, and we get a few nice spots. Really like Pain and ToD teaming to hit a Hart Attack into a sitout powerbomb, which eliminates Harley. It gets a bit dull from that point, felt like just two guys exchanging moves having used up their inspiration in the previous bouts. ToD hits two powerbombs without going for covers, and some Ian Rotten interference allows him to hit a big legdrop on Pain for the win. Really felt like everyone going through the motion.

ECW Hardcore TV #30 02/11/1993

Not exactly a banner week of ECW TV here, with only two very short matches. The first 5 minutes is spent promoting a Sandman world title match, that thankfully never comes due to a backstage attack that includes some awful Tod Gordon acting. The main event seems to be a dimly lit interview, with Madusa and Sherri Martel arguing about the importance of being over in Japan. Yeah, not a great show this week.

Shane Douglas vs Sabu

This is from the NWA Bloodfest show. I’m assuming this is clipped, because if not it’s a very underwhelming match. Douglas gets the advantage after Sabu is distracted by a fight between Paul E Dangerously and Sensational Sherri, but Sabu reverses an Irish whip to the corner, hits a back suplex then hits a moonsault to win the ECW title. That’s the whole match.

The Bad Breed vs Chad Austin & Todd Shaw

Pretty decent squash, as the Bad Breed continue to impress. Austin is allowed to hit a moonsault press as his token jobber offence, but the Bad Breed hit some nice impact moves to win the bout. Axl’s spin kick to Austin looked great, just ploughed through him. Ian’s dropkick from the apron to Shaw looked a little weak and unimpactful, but he makes up for it with a terrific looking underhook DDT that drops Shaw on the top of his head. Huge Rocket Launcher splash to Shaw gives the final three. 

ECW Hardcore TV #29 26/10/1993

The Bad Breed vs Don E Allen & Chad Austin

Fun squash, with the Bad Breed looking like fun tubby bullies. There’s more than a hint of the Nasty Boys in their performance, not just because Axl is a dead spit for late 90’s fatter Brian Knobbs. Ian probably shows a bit more than Axl here, loved his full Nelson suplex on Allen before catching a top rope crossbody by Austin, and slamming him into the corner, ultimately sending him over the top rope. Axl hits a second rope leg lariat, essentially just hurling his massive frame at Austin, before a rocket launcher splash puts Ian on top for the three.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Chris Michaels

I have, at worst, as soft spot for both guys, so the fact this ends up as the backdrop for a Sal Bellomo angle is disappointing. Basically, we’re joined-in-progress with Rebel decimating Michaels, picking him up on pins after a DDT and a piledriver, but Bellomo stops him before he’s able to attack Michaels with a chair. Probably the highlight was Rebel holding the chair over his head, dropping it in shock on seeing Bellomo, and the chair accidentally landing on the head of the fallen referee

There’s supposed to be a Bad Company vs Snuka/Muraco match, but the Public Enemy destroy Bad Company before the bell, so Snuka/Muraco win by forfeit

Shane Douglas vs JT Smith

This is an ECW title match, but Smith is going in with a bad knee. Smith gets in zero offence, as Douglas goes right to the knee and works it over. Smith can’t even get in an early slam attempt without his leg collapsing. Douglas puts in a figure four and Terry Funk throws in the towel on Smith’s behalf. Nothing to this, but it’s all set up for the post-match angle where Funk beats up Smith, annoyed at his reaction to the match being stopped.

ECW Hardcore TV #27 12/10/1993

Abdullah The Butcher, Terry Funk & JT Smith vs Kevin Sullivan, Jimmy Snuka & Don Muraco

Joined-in-progress brawl, which at least manages to feel hatefilled during it’s brief running time. No hint of structure, just 6 guys mainly fighting outside the ring, which helps cover up for the advanced age of it’s participants. I like that they made it feel like JT was on the same level as the veterans, previously he’s felt like someone who could easily be beaten by any half-competent pro. Smith even gets the win after Snuka throws powder in Muraco’s face by accident, allowing JT to get a sloppy small package for the win. Not blaming JT for that, by the way, feels like it would be quite tricky to tuck the large belly of Muraco into a small ball.

Malia Hosaka vs Molly McShane

Hosaka has a sheen of professionalism here that keeps this match on the right tracks. McShane is willing, but definitely green and looks slightly lost in places. She barely gets enough height on a leapfrog and struggles to lift Malia on a gutwrench suplex. Love Hosaka hitting a spinning kick on a charging McShane and she hits a great top rope cannonball for the win.

Pat Tanaka & Paul Diamond vs The Bad Breed (Ian & Axl Rotten)

The Bad Breed feel very much like a cut-price Nasty Boys in this bout, maybe lacking the sloppy violence that the Nasties would bring to the match. Tanaka and Diamond both look great here. Tanaka hits a really quick flurry of violent kicks that looks terrific, and he gets really velocity on a flying chop from a standing position. Meanwhile, Diamond hits a great springboard bulldog on Ian from the corner. The Bad Breed briefly control Tanaka, and look fine in doing so. Ian’s top rope Bansai Drop was a nice move that I thought he was certain to miss. Diamond gets the hot tag and quickly dispatches Ian with a series of moves, culminating in a double superkick with Tanaka and a big back suplex. This was real good.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Don E Allen

Quick squash, with Allen getting a short flurry, but falling prey to a nice backbreaker and a leaping spinebuster by the Rebel.

Rockin’ Rebel vs Chris Michaels

Very odd, we get Michaels and Rebel randomly falling out after a post-match promo in the ring together, which feels like it should lead to a future match…then we get it this episode just after some backstage footage focused on Sabu. Disappointingly short, as I thought Michaels looks good here. He showed real fire as he unloads on Rebel in the corner, but a loaded punch by the Rebel gives him a quick win. 

ECW Hardcore TV #23 14/9/93 & #24 21/9/93

Combining two episodes here, as #23 is mainly a preview of Ultraclash 93 and #24 is dealing with the fallout.

Tony Stetson vs Tommy Cairo

This is for Cairo's Pennsylvania Heavyweight title. Actually a pretty good match here, thought Stetson was really good. Loved him jawing at the crowd and suddenly poking Cairo in the eye. Stetson controls with a nice flying clothesline and a throat chop. Also, loved the mule kick as he re-enters the ring, just flowing round into it in one quick movement. Cairo isn't great here, his belly-to-belly looks unimpressive and his leg lariat looks more like a clumsy hip attack, but he's perfectly carryable. The match ends with a clash of heads, the ref getting bumped and Hunter Q Robbins putting Stetson on top for the win.

Jimmy Snuka vs the Metal Maniac

Oddly, the face/heel roles seem off in this match. Snuka has been heel for his whole ECW run, but here he’s leapfrogging, moving quickly and posing for the crowd. Meanwhile, Maniac does stuff like a cheap shot knee to the stomach. Everything Maniac does looks slow motion, making this feel more like a training match. Snuka gets the win with a small package.

The Public Enemy vs Jason Knight & Ian Rotten

This is a full match from Ultraclash 93, and is a squash for the Public Enemy. Ian Rotten is oddly billed as coming from Newcastle, England. It’s an overlong squash, though TPE look impressive throughout. Liked their double-team tombstone on Rotten, though the bit where Rotten leaped over the top rope off an Irish whip just so Rocco Rock can hit a big tope looks off. The end sees Grunge hit a reverse DDT and Rock hits a swanton for the victory.

Necro Butcher - Choose Death

After that fucking terrible XPW tape I reviewed last time, it was nice to receive this Necro Butcher comp from Lovefilm. My XPW negativity may give them impression that I hate hardcore or deathmatch wrestling, but done well it's a type of wrestling I do really enjoy. Thankfully, Necro is better at it than most, and this is a largely fun set of matches.

Necro Butcher vs "Mean" Mitch Page
I've never seen Page before, despite watching a good few IWA-Mid South tapes in the early 2000's, so he was new to me. It was a good first impression, as I really dug this. Within a minute, Necro hurls himself without abandon from the top rope into Page and two rows of chairs. What I enjoyed is that this felt like a real fight, with the exception of Page hitting a Rocker Dropper onto a pile of lightbulbs. The bulk of the match was the two guys leathering each other with weapons or hurling the other into things, and there were no cutesy or over-complicated weapon set ups. I loved a big suplex by Necro into another row of chairs and the spectacular image of fans having to runs to avoid getting nailed with a ladder than Page hurled towards the Butcher. The end spots were goofy, but fun. First Necro set fire to his fucking leg before hitting a second rope legdrop. He only got two, probably because he had to put his leg out before going for the pin. Page ended up winning, after setting fire to a towel around his head and hitting a top rope flaming headbutt to win. Good stuff.

Necro Butcher vs Ian Rotten
I enjoyed this far less. I find I enjoy Ian more in his straight-up wrestling matches than his hardcore stuff. Ian is bleeding before the match even starts. To start off, they just exchange blows and strikes, which is pretty fun, before Ian waffles Necro with a tack-covered bat. This leaves an impressive looking sheen of silver tacks embedded in Butcher's head. Despite there being more weapons used than the Page match, this felt less violent, less like they were hurting each other to win a fight and more like they were moving on to the next weapon spot. They also included the hardcore spots I hate most, where guys mutilate their opponent rather than try and hurt them to win, like wrapping them in barb wire or trying to carve them with broken glass. Eventually, they just move onto the finish with no build-up, as Rotten clumsily powerbombs Necro neck first onto the edge of a flaming table. Not good.

Necro Butcher vs 2 Tuff Tony
This doesn't take long to heat up, with Necro getting slammed from the apron onto lightbulbs within two minutes. They recklessly exchange bulb shots in front of the crowd, before heading back in to allow Necro to pretend to staplegun Tony's penis. Butcher uses a nice tigerbomb (wrestling move!), before Tony hits an MK Ultra on some bulbs, which is somehow only a 2. We get a lovely shot in the crowd of a father carrying a small child, whilst in front of them 2 Tuff Tony powerslams Necro onto the ring steps. In the ring, Tony totally takes over and keeps hammering Necro with bulbs, including smashing a bulb in Necro's mouth. So nasty. This gives Tony time to set up a board with more bulbs and barbed wire outside the ring, but Butcher is able to reverse a suplex attempt. Butcher goes for his own suplex from the apron, pretty much misses the board but still picks up the win.

Necro Butcher vs Mad Man Pondo
This match is pretty lightbulb heavy, what with the ropes being covered with them. It gets pretty ridiculous really quickly as the ring is soon covered with broken glass, the match soundtracked by the crunching of glass as they try to move around the ring. Pondo spends a lot of time trying to create structures to throw Butcher through, with every successful move buying him more time to build a fancier structure. Highlights include a horrifically sloppy DDT from the top by Pondo onto a bridge of bulbs over two chairs, a bloodsoaked Butcher hurling Pondo from the top rope like a javellin into a bin full of lightbulbs and a nasty looking senton by Pondo through lightbulbs onto Butcher. The end sees Pondo set up his most ridiculous structure yet, with bulbs wedged between two ladders, barely staying up, before superplexing Necro's near lifeless body into it (not through it, due to lack of elevation) for the win. The camera zooms in on Necro's arm just spewing blood, with a big chunk of flesh hanging off as someone yells for an ambulance. A remarkable spectacle.

Necro Butcher vs JC Bailey
This is a CZW match, but because it's "unsanctioned", it's held in the basement of the arena with no fans present. There is a barbed wire cage set up, with a belt hanging above it, with the winner being the first man to grab the belt. Necro doesn't even wait for Bailey to get to the cage, battering him with some nasty strikes. Bailey is smaller than Necro, so relies on both his speed and some convenient weapons to get an advantage. Bailey ramming Necro with a shopping trolley with lightbulbs taped to the front is pretty choice. In the cage, Necro takes more punishment, until hitting a double powerbomb, first into the side of the cage (smashing some conveniently placed lightbulbs), then into the mat. Like the Mitch Page match, this feels like a real nasty fight, with the bare minimum of setting up of weapons as most are already in place. When Bailey does takes some time to set up a pane of glass over the Butcher, it backfires, as Necro hurls him off the top and smashes the glass. The end sees Bailey set a load of bulbs over Necro, hit a big senton from the top, then climb the cage to take the title. Lots of fun

Necro Butcher vs Toby Klein
This is fantastic. Again, as with the best matches on this disc, there was a minimum of setting up complex spots, and more beating the other man up. I loved the use of strikes here, as both guys were content to exchange blows, with a few brutal looking punch exchanges having a palpable feeling of hate. The weapons shots seemed nastier than usual too, with Klein hurling a bulky old PC monitor at Butcher's head, and later pouring salt all over the wounds of Necro. A powerbomb off the bleachers to the floor by Klein was also tough-looking. Necro pulled a few shocks out of the bag too, first reversing a sunset flip powerpomb attempt with an unlikely flying headscissors to the floor, then barely glancing Klein with an insane flip dive from the top rope. The end sees Necro lock in an Asiatic spike sleeper, but a ref bump means the ref misses the tapout. A schoolboy by Klein nearly wins the match in the most unlikely way possible, but he finally gets the job done for real with a death valley driver onto an open chair.

Necro Butcher vs Corporal Robinson vs Brandon Prophet
This is a triple threat, with the guys who don't get pinned going through to the next round of a tournament. We kick off with Corp beating Prophet with weapons. This does feel like an initiation for Prophet, especially as this is pretty much a handicap match. Corp and Necro never tangle here. We get three chairs set up for a three-way punch-out, with Corp and Necro's punches on Prophet looking more impressive than his attempts. The veterans take it in turn to drop Prophet onto chairs. Necro spits lemon juice into Prophet's wounds, which has to suck. Prophet is made to look super tough, surviving a few nasty shots (including a piledriver onto a VCR) and he gets a two count by hitting a fisherman's suplex on Corp onto the lightbulbs. However, Necro breaks it up, despite not being out of the tournament if Corp gets pinned, so you can tell it's Prophet vs the world. In the end, Necro nails Prophet with a load of punches and Corp hits Boot Camp through a box coated with lightbulbs and barbed wire. This finishes Prophet. Pretty good fun.

Necro Butcher vs Tank
The majority of this match is the two big guys exchanging big punches, which is pretty fun. We get the seated slugfest, before Tank beats up Necro outside the ring. Necro returns the favour by lobbing chairs at a downed Tank, before the two get into another kneeling slugfest. Inside the ring, Tank nails Necro with more light-tubes and keeps up the assault. He hits a 2nd rope stomp through light-tubes for two, but a second attempt gets the win. I loved the punching, but it dragged a bit towards the end.

Hardcore Homecoming 2005

So, Lovefilm finally sent me one of the wrestling DVD's on my list in the form of this Shane Douglas booked ECW reunion show. It has the feel of ECW, with Joey Styles on commentary and filmed in the ECW arena. Question is, is it any good?

Simon Diamond & CW Anderson vs Mikey Whipwreck & Chris Chetti

You know it’s a hit crowd when even the heel team get huge pops. Perfectly decent formula tag match, where Diamond and Anderson take control on Chetti after some initial face offence. Styles prefaced this by pointing out Chetti was the only one of the four who wasn’t wrestling regularly, so it makes sense when he becomes face-in-peril. CW looks the best out of the four men, nailing a lovely looking superkick on Mikey, but even an out-of-shape Diamond or a semi-retired Chetti keep pace and don’t blow anything. This might well be the best match I’ve seen Chetti in. After things break down, we get a series of finishers, culminating with Mikey hitting a Whippersnapper on Simon for 3. Good Heat main event.

Tracy Smothers vs the Blue Meanie

Tracy is accompanied by JT Smith for an FBI reunion. Despite Smothers being awesome, the limitations of the Meanie mean this has to be a comedy match. Luckily, Smothers can do those really well too, leading to a sequence where he fails to slam Meanie, but both Meanie and referee John Finnegan manage to slam him. Finnegan even covers for two. Tracy doesn’t appreciate the negativity of the crowd, advising them to stop or “everybody dies!” Tracy challenges Meanie to a dance off instead. Spoiler: both are terrible dancers. Smothers attacks Meanie from behind during the dance-off, but Meanie isn’t down for long. A corner splash puts Smothers to the mat, but Smith belts Meanie with a chain on an attempted moonsault, allowing Smothers the pin (with foot on rope). Not great, but Tracy was fun here.

Kid Kash vs Too Cold Scorpio

This is the match most likely to steal the show. They do things so well, even the little things like Scorpio adjusting his legs when he has Kash from behind to ensure Kash can’t grab them to escape. Scorpio remains slightly ahead at first and seems to be having fun, but he soon takes things seriously as Kash starts uping the tempo. Scorpio makes his first mistake by missing a pescado, before Kash springboards out and hits a rana on the floor. Kash is in command on the floor as much as Scorpio was in the ring, which he shows by throwing Scorpio from the stage and following with a cannonball. Kash hits Scorp with his own GHC tag belt, but the insult causes Scorp to no-sell it. He gets Kash back in the ring and plants him with a powerbomb and 2^nd rope flipping legdrop for two. A top rope flipping legdrop gets two. Kash tries to fire back with a slightly botched rana for two, but Scorp regains control and hits another powerbomb and a 450 splash to win. Unsurprisingly, match of the show. Great display by both men, especially the contrast between Scorpio dominating in the ring, and Kash dominating on the floor.

 Kronus vs the Bad Breed

This was supposed to be an Eliminators reunion, but Saturn got injured. The Bad Breed go to the ring and mention that due to a stipulation ten years before, they can’t team up. However, they can beat someone up, which doesn’t seem legally enforceable. Also worth noting Ian’s “Operation Exterminate Vince”shirt, which I bet has Vince just shitting himself. Essentially, they batter Kronus, until some familiar music starts and New Jack comes out to even the sides. You know how this goes, they walk around hitting each other with weapons, guys bleed and it’s all pretty dull. At one point a huge scaffold is wheeled to ringside, which New Jack uses to leap from onto a Ian Rotten-covered table.  This isn’t a match as there’s no ref, so the Bad Breed roll to the floor, where upon New Jack takes the mic for a rambling promo. All four men fist-bump, New Jack gives the Bad Breed “much love” and I mourn 20 minutes I’ll never get back.

 Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible

I like the way the opening section establishes the difference between the two: Lynn outwrestles Credible, so Justin uses brawling to try and take over. Lynn tries a cannonball from a table onto Credible really early which he misses, but both of the act like he hit, which is a bit sloppy. Credible is shown as being one step behind Lynn, only taking over when some Jason distraction allows him to superkick a chair into Jerry’s face. Jason’s usefulness is shown again, as he sets up a chairspot for Credible, making it a bit less contrived. Credible tries to dominate with powermoves, hitting a Bossman slam and a powerslam for two counts, but it’s hard to be convinced by the raw power of a thin man in a wifebeater. Both hit their finishers, both only get two. Lynn crotches Credible on the top rope, and ranas him through the table he used earlier that I’d forgotten all about, which is a nice touch.  Jazz comes out to prevent Jason interfering again, and Lynn reverses That’s Incredible into a cradle tombstone for the win. Surprisingly decent, leagues ahead of their TNA series that sucked.

Raven vs the Sandman

Raven is accompanied by the Blue Meanie and the Musketeer, which must be the worst entourage he’s ever had. Raven decides to substitute the Musketeer for himself, which leads to a Sandman beating for Meanie and Musketeer. Raven takes advantage of this distraction to take over. Raven dominates a lot of the match, fair to say Sandman doesn’t add much to proceedings. Meanie throws powder in Sandman’s face and the Evenflow gets 2 for Raven. Sandman gets in a bit of offence, putting Raven through a table and hitting a swanton onto a ladder with Raven underneath. Swanton through a table gets 2. Meanie comes in to help Raven and hits two shitty moonsaults for 2. A third one is much better, but still only gets two. Don E Allen comes in to help Raven to zero reaction, but Mikey Whipwreck sends him off. Mikey goes to share a beer with Sandman, but turns and hits a Whippersnapper to give Raven the win. Pretty much held together by Raven and overbooking, the result was a mess, but a watchable mess.

Shane Douglas vs Sabu vs Terry Funk

This is a barbed wire rope match, and instantly Douglas and Funk look smarter by the fact they’re wearing t-shirts (not that you would expect Sabu to do so). It seems even smarter as both men are in the barbed wire within two minutes. Indeed, a fair bit of the opening segment is dedicated to all three men getting pushed into the wire. The best of these spots sees Sabu go for a chair-assisted springboard, only for Funk to move the chair, sending Sabu flying into the barbs. As the match progresses though, the barbed wire spots really start to lose their impact through overuse. Things get worse as Funk gets his arm so stuck that they have to cut the wire to free him. At this point, the overbooking kicks in, but in a way that actually makes the match more fun. Firstly, Shane KO’s two referees in a row, the second with a chain wrapped round his fist. Styles then claims that the whole show was  a plot by Shane to cripple both Sabu and Funk, which is a brilliant storyline. Shane starts climbing a rickety ladder, but the lights go off. When they come back on, Mick Foley is in the ring in a ref shirt to a huge pop. He uses socko on Douglas to a chorus of boos, but then amends it to barbed wire socko to a huge cheer! Sabu hits Shane with a chain to the face to eliminate him. Funk recovers and puts Sabu on a table, but climbing the rickety ladder causes it to collapse, and Sabu hits the Arabian facebuster to win. The first half was dull, but the second half was overbooked enough to make it at least entertaining. The overall theme for the show is that the wrestling was below average, but enough smoke and mirrors were used to make the matches fun.