Zack Malibu 0 Report post Posted July 15, 2008 Cross-posted from The Pit, but I figured it would be a good discussion piece here as well given some recent topics. I do these Armchair Booker topics every so often, so if it gets enough hits here, I could make it a regular thing for both boards. Given the recent discussion of the Sullivan era of 2000 WCW, as well as my recent viewings of the awesome Guest Booker DVD's, I figured it was a good time to revive this topic and start some discussion/get the creative juices flowing. The premise is simple: In January of 2000, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn were all granted unconditional releases from WCW. Benoit was fresh off being the WCW World Champion for a night, and all four were regarded as some of the best workers in the company. History saw them show up on WWF Monday Night RAW a week later and immediately immerse themselves in a main event storyline with Mick Foley and Triple H...but what if that didn't happen? What if the four men opted to return to the company that made them into household names, and enabled them to "break out" in the North American wrestling scene? What if they returned to ECW? Now keep in mind, ECW had the TNN deal at the time, and were a year away from bankruptcy. Could the arrival of some of the greatest workers in wrestling at the time (and Perry Saturn LOLZ) help bolster the notoriety of the hardcore promotion, or would they still be swept up by the big boys? Would the four men show up together to denounce their former employer, or would their arrivals be for different, individual agendas? What I'd like to see is a timeline of their return and what it would entail. So I would make January the starting point, and culminate the fantasy booking with what was normally ECW's biggest show of the year: November To Remember. That's 10 months of booking to get whatever feuds and angles you guys can come up with over. If you want to go even further into it, so be it. To give you a refresher of the roster and angles/feuds at the time, here are the results of Guilty As Charged 2000, which took place two weeks before these four men arrived on RAW: Guilty as Charged 2000 took place on January 9, 2000 from the Boutwell Memorial Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama. Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match. Dark match: Bill Whiles defeated Tom Marquez C.W. Anderson (w/Lou E. Dangerously and Bill Whiles) defeated Mikey Whipwreck (4:41) Anderson pinned Whipwreck after a Anderson Spinebuster. Danny Doring, Amish Roadkill and Simon Diamond (w/Mitch and Elektra) defeated Nova, Kid Kash and Jazz (9:58) Roadkill pinned Chris Chetti after an Amish Splash. Chris Chetti came out to help Nova after Jazz, Diamond, and Kid Kash brawled to the back. Yoshihiro Tajiri and Super Crazy (w/Steve Corino) defeated Little Guido and Jerry Lynn (w/Big Sal E. Graziano) (12:37) Tajiri pinned Lynn after a Brainbuster. Before the match, Steve Corino returned to the locker room. Angel (w/DeVito and Vic Grimes) defeated New Jack (8:48) Angel pinned New Jack after hitting him with a steel shovel. Rob Van Dam defeated Sabu to retain the ECW World Television Championship (18:40) Van Dam pinned Sabu after a Five-Star Frog Splash. Bill Alfonso was at ringside since he was the manager of both men. The Impact Players (Lance Storm and Justin Credible) (w/Dawn Marie and Jason) defeated Tommy Dreamer and Raven (w/Francine) to win the ECW Tag Team Championship (10:38) Credible pinned Raven after a That's Incredible!. Mike Awesome (w/Judge Jeff Jones) defeated Spike Dudley to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (14:22) Awesome pinned Dudley after a Awesome Bomb from the top rope through a table Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BUTT 0 Report post Posted July 16, 2008 Are we assuming everything else is equal here? Does RVD get injured early in the year? Does Awesome leave in April? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zack Malibu 0 Report post Posted July 16, 2008 IIRC, RVD got injured in Feb/March and Awesome didn't negotiate with WCW until March or April, so that's really up to you. January's the starting point, so what happens there on out with the roster is up to you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasbeen2 0 Report post Posted July 16, 2008 Not exactly what you asked for but I'd say Benoit and Guerrero would be thrown into the top of main event scene immediately, Saturn and Malenko would be mid-carder/upper mid-carders or in a team, maybe with each other. I wouldn't see all four as a group. I'd have Sabu go for revenge over the broken neck, Benoit go over, leading to a Benoit-Van Dam feud for the belt after Van Dam beats Awesome for it. Benoit, Guerrero, Van Dam, Awesome, Sabu and a rotating spot (Raven, Dreamer, etc depending on health) could be their version of the Smackdown 6. I don't know if anything short of bringing in Austin or the Rock could have saved the show unfortunately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Corey_Lazarus 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 Nothing would change, but the product would have had much higher quality wrestling, and considering, ring-wise, it was already the best overall in the States at the time, that doesn't say much. Here's the fatal flaw: Heyman was already starting to bounce checks by then, which is why Douglas left in '99, Axl in '99, Bam Bam in '99, Awesome in '00, and Storm in '00. So seeing as how it was known that Heyman was bouncing checks, I don't think the Radicalz would have gone back to ECW in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2008 Yeah, I was going to say, they would have been around for like two weeks, and then left for the WWF when Heyman failed to pay them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 I guess you'd have to assume that they'd get the Raven deal, where they couldn't enter the WWF for a year. In this case, they would have to be in ECW until the end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 I think if RVD had been healthy then Heyman mostly would have used the Radicals as high card jobbers and used them to get RVD over. Heyman would have realized that these guys wouldn't stay too long before going to the WWF. Maybe Malenko and Saturn would get a tag title reign. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 I've got an interesting 'what if'.. is it too soon to do another one? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 No, feel free to start another "What Might Have Been" thread. And I agree with cabbage- I think The Radicalz ECW run would have been pretty short. Just long enough for Benoit and Guerrero to put over RVD and Malenko and Saturn to put over The Impact Players. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 I'm working on this right now. I've gotten to Living Dangerously. As I progress in my task, I'll post more, PPV by PPV. ************* I'm delaying by a couple of weeks, since ECW's taping schedule was kind of wonky: TNN on the last Friday of January 2000: Show opens with a Doring & Roadkill/Nova & Jazz match in the ring. Doring & Roadkill get the win and keep attacking Jazz post-match. Lights go out, Perry Saturn in the ring, DVD to both heels, shakes hands with Nova and leaves through the crowd. Throughout the show, Joey Styles & Joel Gertner put over the impact of Saturn returning on commentary. Also, you do a Pulp Fiction deal with people putting over the impact of Saturn returning, with Raven saying he's old friends with Saturn and Dreamer better watch his back, Doring & Roadkill distraught that Nova might have a new, dangerous ally, RVD alluding to challenging Saturn to a match to show him what a true TV champion is (Saturn held the belt for a while in WCW)...then Mike Awesome & Jeff Jones close the program, saying Saturn ain't worth a thing and Awesome would kill him in a match. TNN for the 1st Friday of Feb. 2000: The only mention of the Saturn deal is, after another Pulp Fiction deal with guys talking about Saturn and their motives in his direction, a Late-Breaking News feature breaks into the show late, saying that Perry Saturn will be on TNN next week to address what his motives in ECW are.ri But, a short video plays in the middle of the show, just showing two hands rubbing together, then a fade to black, then you dissolve in the title graphic "He's Coming..." Throughout the show, a crawler plays, explaining that RVD broke his leg in a World TV Title match at a house show on 1/29. TNN for the 2nd Friday of Feb. 2000 Do the angle that really happened where RVD is forced to relinquish the World TV Title to Cyrus, tournament announced for Living Dangerously. After that opens the show, have Joey Styles explain that two tremendous competitors have broken free from Hell and they return to ECW at Living Dangerously the same way they left: against each other. Then, show the full farewell match from 1995 between Eddy & Dean. After that, show the deal with the hands and "He's Coming" from last week, but this time, when the title comes up, it says I'm Coming instead and it's Benoit's voice saying it. The show-closer would be Saturn coming to the ring. He explains he saved Nova since he was signing his contract with ECW and was in the building, and as he was watching the show, he saw someone being bullied on like he was by the old guys in WCW backstage (in terms of politics), so he saved them since he was in a position to, but he doesn't want anything to do with anyone but World Champion Mike Awesome. Awesome comes out, but you fade to black before they touch. TNN for the 3rd Friday of Feb. 2000 Open with the footage of last week's Awesome/Saturn incident, starting at the point you went off-air, showing a big pull-apart. Then after the open, announce Perry Saturn vs. Mike Awesome for the ECW World Title at Living Dangerously. Another "I'm Coming" video plays, but you show all of Benoit's body besides his head, as you chroma in shots of x-rays of broken bones in the background. Show a highlight video of Eddy Guerrero's ECW career, then hype Malenko/Guerrero for Living Dangerously. Reveal the first two matches for the ECW World TV Title Tournament: Jerry Lynn vs. Taijiri and Super Crazy vs Little Guido. Keep the other storylines (Dreamer/Raven/Impact Players, Rhino/Sandman, etc.) going as normal. TNN for 4th Friday of Feb. 2000 Mike Awesome squashes John Kronus (not sure if he was with XPW at this point...if not, he comes in for a one-shot and gets killed), then Jeff Jones cuts a promo about the Eliminators being eliminated one-by-one. Saturn comes out, another pull-apart, then Saturn's left alone in the ring with Kronus, who the crowd probably would've crapped on by this point for being fat and sloppy...and Saturn kills him with a DVD to write him off. Play a highlight video of Dean Malenko, then hype up Malenko/Guerrero for Living Dangerously...and announce that it's also a first round match in the ECW World TV Title Tournament, as well as a mystery opponent against Simon Diamond. Brackets announced next week. Another "I'm Coming" video, but intersplice the background x-rays with shots of the Crossface being applied. Keep the other storylines going as they were. TNN for 1st Friday of March 2000: Brackets for ECW World TV Title Tournament: Super Crazy vs Little Guido ???? vs. Simon Diamond Eddy Guerrero vs Dean Malenko Tajiri vs Jerry Lynn Show a training video of Saturn doing Army Ranger drills in preparation for his ECW Title shot next Sunday. Another I'm Coming video, but show half of Benoit's face this time. TNN for 2nd Friday of March 2000: Four-way with Crazy/Guido/Lynn/Tajiri to preview the ECW World TV Title match; Rhino Gores Lynn to get Tajiri the win for The Network, Lynn sells rib injury going into PPV Final I'm Coming Video, with Benoit being fully shown and just saying "I'm home". Training video with Judge Jeff Jones instructing Mike Awesome while he tosses around random guys in the House of Hardcore training school. LIVING DANGEROUSLY: ECW World TV Title Tournament: Open the PPV with Simon Diamond cutting a promo on how every Internet dork has figured out who the mystery opponent is, so he should just come on out. A long pause...then Chris Benoit comes out, blisters the hell out of Simon Diamond's chest, gets a quick tapout victory with the Crossface. Non-Tournament: Nova & Chetti d. Jado & Gedo (figure the agreement overseas was set in stone anyway...) ECW World TV Title Tournament: Guido d. Super Crazy after interference from Big Sal ECW World TV Title Tournament: Tajiri d. Jerry Lynn via ref stoppage (Lynn sells internal bleeding after multiple kicks to the ribs) ECW World TV Title Tournament: Eddy Guerrero wrestles Dean Malenko to a 20-minute draw (after the match, Eddy refuses to shake Dean's hand) Non-Tournament: New Jack, WING Kanemura & Balls Mahoney d. Da Baldies ECW World TV Title Tournament: Chris Benoit d. Little Guido (Big Sal tries interfering, Benoit sends him packing) ECW World Tag Team Titles: Impact Players d. Raven & Rhino and Tommy Dreamer & Sandman ECW World Title: Mike Awesome d. Perry Saturn; Saturn puts up a fight but Awesome ends up devouring him in the end ECW World TV Title Tournament Finals: Chris Benoit d. Tajiri (Network interference galore, but RVD, Scotty Anton and The Sandman brawl with them as Benoit makes Tajiri tap out. After the match, as the babyfaces clear out to help Benoit celebrate, you can see Rhino being held back by the Network from getting to Benoit. ******************************* TNN for the 3rd Friday of March 2000: Plug from the get-go that next week, Chris Benoit will make his TNN debut, defending the ECW World TV Title against Network member Steve Corino. Play from Benoit's entrance to the finish of his match with Simon Diamond from the PPV to show the TV crowd how huge the ECW crowd reacted to him. Air a post-match locker room interview with Dean Malenko, who is irritated by the lack of respect shown to him by a man who went through the same plights and had the same abilities as him, such as Eddy Guerrero. Main event the show with Rhino vs Dreamer, Rhino gets paid off by Raven, hurts Dreamer ******************************** TNN for the 4th Friday of March 2000: Plug throughout the show that Saturn'll face Rhino next week on TNN and Mike Awesome will wrestle on TV. Doring & Roadkill defeat the make-shift team of Mikey Whipwreck (who's already transforming into the satanic minion of the Sinister Minister) & Kid Kash. Pulp Fiction segment with Impact Players, Network, Sandman, other guys who aren't on TNN as much...end it with Raven, who says a soliloquy about Saturn not coming back to him when he returned to ECW. Chris Benoit beats Steve Corino in a short match for the ECW World TV Title; the match is really a backdrop for a Rhino/Benoit staredown to close the show. ********************************* TNN for the 1st Friday of April 2000: The show opens with ECW World Champion Mike Awesome defeating Kid Kash easily. Cue RVD coming out with Scotty Anton, simply telling Awesome that, once his ankle is healed up, he wants the ECW World Title. Chetti & Nova make their return as a team to TNN, defeating the New Dangerous Alliance. Announce Benoit/Rhino for the ECW World TV Title and a Dream Partner Tag Team match with Eddy Guerrero & Dean Malenko on opposite teams for Hardcore Heaven After a Baldies/New Jack segment, frantically cut to a "Breaking News" scene backstage, where Saturn is on the ground, unconcious and bleeding from a Network attack. Jerry Lynn defeats Simon Diamond in the stand-by match. Lynn looks frustrated after the win. The "main event" goes about a minute...Saturn courageously tries fighting Rhino injured, but Rhino quickly piledrives him off of the apron and gets the win. Cyrus gives Saturn an ultimatium to join The Network or get retired by "The Manbeast". ********************************** TNN for the 2nd Friday of April 2000: Play "Late Breaking News" videos every segment, showing stills of the pre-match incident that saw Mike Awesome lose the ECW World Title at a house show in Indianapolis last night after jumping to WCW. The hyped main event on tonight's show (the Awesome match would be edited in) would be Dean Malenko vs Super Crazy in Dean's TNN debut. Doring & Roadkill win a three-way dance over Kid Kash & Mikey Whipwreck and New Dangerous Alliance. Malenko makes Super Crazy submit, Malenko shakes Crazy's hand after the match. The Awesome match is shown...he comes out, cuts a promo, Sandman comes out to answer the challenge...Awesome pins Sandman. Awesome says he wants to kill the company, so he challenges someone else to lose to him. Balls Mahoney comes out, loses quickly to Awesome. Awesome challenges a third man...Lance Storm comes out, superkicks Awesome, gets the half-crab, and Awesome taps out! Storm gets the big babyface pop, fade to black. *********************************** TNN for the 3rd Friday of April 2000: We see the finish to the Storm/Awesome match, the big pop, the camera follows Lance behind the curtain, and Justin Credible, Jason, & Dawn Marie are waiting for him. Justin complains that Lance ran through the curtain before he could get out there to win the World Title. Lance gets in Justin's face...but Justin holds his hand out and Lance shakes it. They both agree that the tag division in ECW is "pathetic" as they walk off with the tag belts and World Title. Main event is hyped throughout the show: The Network of Tajiri, Steve Corino, & Rhino go against Sandman, New Jack, and a mystery partner. Nova & Chris Chetti d. Doring & Roadkill, New Dangerous Alliance, & Da Baldies in a four-way to get a title shot at the Impact Players at Hardcore Heaven. A highlight video is shown of Chris Benoit's tenure in ECW thus far, ending with a promo Benoit cuts on Rhino for Hardcore Heaven. The Network lose to Sandman, New Jack, & Dusty Rhodes. Cyrus gets involved in the finish and is stretchered out after a bloody beating by the babyfaces. ********************************* TNN for the 4th Friday of April 2000: The show opens with an official statement from "The Network", announcing they've pulled their effort to bring down ECW from within and that, if Cyrus wants to keep working for ECW, he'll do it on his own time. You show Tajiri, Corino, & Rhino watching this in their locker room, and when Tajiri does the money hand signal and Corino says it's all dried up, Tajiri flips them off and walks out of the locker room, disbanding from his crew. Jerry Lynn defeats Tom Marquez easily, then as he is about ready to cut a promo (looking very disgruntled), Eddy Guerrero comes out and talks to him about how he feels underappreciated as a veteran, and how Eddy himself shares these feelings since he should be getting title shots and the such and is instead back with Dean Malenko. He asks Jerry Lynn to be his partner at Hardcore Heaven...and Lynn agrees. They walk away together. The PPV card is run down: ECW World TV Title: Chris Benoit vs Rhino ECW World Tag Team Title: Impact Players vs. Nova & Chris Chetti Dream Partner Tag Team Match: Eddy Guerrero & Jerry Lynn vs Dean Malenko & ???? Milwaukee Street Fight: Angel of Da Baldies vs New Jack A Feud Renewed: Sandman vs Raven Plus: The In-Ring Return of Rob Van Dam Everytime RVD is brought up, tease that he's only coming back for the World Title. Angel of Da Baldies beats Balls Mahoney when the rest of Da Baldies rush in, big brawl with New Jack and weapons afterwards. Joey Styles announces that Perry Saturn returns to TNN next week. Sandman beats Mikey Whipwreck in the main event, but Sinister Minister shoots a fireball in Sandman's face after the match, then Raven jumps on him and won't allow the EMT's to come in and tend to him while grinding sandpaper on his right eye. ********************************* TNN for the 1st Friday of May 2000: The show opens with Scotty Anton laid out, selling his shoulder, in the locker room. Steve Corino vs Tajiri added to Hardcore Heaven due to Tajiri leaving Team Corino when the Network's money ran dry. Lance Storm vows to defend the ECW World Title somehow, someway, at Hardcore Heaven 2000 during an Impact Players promo, as Justin Credible looks on, bewildered. Doring & Roadkill beat Nova & Chetti via interference from Elektra and the New Dangerous Alliance Perry Saturn squashes Kid Kash, shows a heel edge. Video profile is shown on Chris Benoit's life and career. RVD comes out and wants to know who injured his friend Scotty. Lights go out, come back on, Perry Saturn has the Rings of Saturn locked in on RVD. Referees and lower-tier wrestlers rush the ring and can't get the hold off, as we fade to black. ********************************* TNN for the 2nd Friday of May 2000: RVD vs Saturn is made official for Hardcore Heaven. Lots of lower-tier matches on this show spliced in with video packages. The main event is Eddy Guerrero's TNN in-ring debut, as he defeats Spike Dudley. ********************************* HARDCORE HEAVEN 2000 The show opens with The Impact Players' entrance. Credible looks visibly distraught at Storm... ECW World Tag Team Title: Chris Chetti & Nova d. Impact Players when Nova pins Credible after Credible hits Storm with the cane on "accident"...but then continues to pound on him before walking into the Kryptonite Krunch. We keep Storm out there selling long enough to hopefully get a standing ovation when he gets up and leaves Kid Kash d. CW Anderson (Showcase for Kash's offense) Da Baldies jump Kash after the match, leading to... Milwaukee Street Fight: Angel & Devito d. New Jack & Balls Mahoney when Balls gets pinned by Devito after taking a powerbomb through a flaming table Dream Partner Tag Team Match: Eddy Guerrero & Jerry Lynn d. Dean Malenko & Super Crazy (who Malenko explains in a pre-match promo knows lucha as well as Eddy) when Lynn kicks Crazy between the legs and hits the Cradle Piledriver. After the match, Little Guido comes down to the ring and stomps on Malenko for not choosing him. A Rivalry Renewed: Sandman (wearing an eye patch) d. Raven. After the match, Sandman leaves a beer by Raven's prone body, as he says "We're even, Scotty...". Raven comes to, drinks the beer, then leaves, signifying without saying a word that Raven's leaving. Perry Saturn d. Rob Van Dam (same scenario with Anton as the real Hardcore Heaven 2000, just different opponent) ECW World TV Title: Chris Benoit wrestles to a 30-minute draw with Rhino, as both men beat the living tar out of each other. Lance Storm then comes to the ring, as the crowd is probably annoyed by the non-finish in the advertised main event. He says he wants to send the people home happy since they're all he has after tonight, and unlike other guys, he wants to do things the right way before he leaves. He offers to give Chris Benoit the ECW World Title, but Benoit turns him down and wants an actual match. As the referee comes down to ringside, Rhino comes out of nowhere and Gores Benoit through a table set up in the corner that wasn't used in the previous match! Rhino then Gores Storm, gives him two piledrivers, and wins the ECW World Title! The show goes off the air with Rhino standing over the damage, celebrating his title win. ***************************** ECW on TNN for the 4th Friday of May 2000: Show opens with Scotty Anton in the ring. Anton explains that he's sick of being "RVD's friend" and wants to be himself. He beats Mikey Whipwreck with the Sharpshooter. Justin Credible meets up with Elektra on a street corner to negotiate a managerial deal. She alludes to hooking in order to get Justin, but Justin says he broke away from one tramp and doesn't need another at this point. Steve Corino confronts Sandman, who wants to rip his head off, but puts into Sandman's head that Dreamer meant to give him the DDT on purpose. Plug for next week's show: ECW World Champion Rhino & Scotty Anton vs RVD & Chris Benoit. Devito of Da Baldies d. Balls Mahoney after double-teaming with both Baldies. New Jack is noticable by his absence, but Spike Dudley makes the save for his former partner. Main event is Nova & Chris Chetti & Dean Malenko against Danny Doring, Roadkill, & Jerry Lynn...Lynn scores the pin over Chetti. ***************************** ECW on TNN for the 1st Friday of June 2000: Justin Credible is invited to the ring by Lou E. Dangerously and the New Dangerous Alliance. Lou offers him money & back-up, but Justin doesn't like the offer and canes everyone in the ring. Tajiri defeats Simon Diamond. After the match, as Simon is hurt and covered in mist, he promises that Tajiri'll be sorry. Tommy Dreamer defeats Steve Corino, but after the match, Sandman attacks Dreamer with the cane. A "Late-Breaking News" piece is aired, claiming that New Jack has gone missing and no one knows where he is, but all clues point to interference from Da Baldies. RVD & Chris Benoit defeat Rhino & Scotty Anton when RVD pins Rhino. After the match, a three-way brawl ensues between Van Dam, Benoit, & Rhino as Anton sneaks away. **************************** ECW on TNN for the 2nd Friday of June 2000: The show opens with an argument between Chris Benoit & Rob Van Dam in the ring, after a match on Hardcore TV where Benoit defended the World TV Title. They both think that they deserve a shot at Rhino since Benoit's the #1 contender by holding the World TV Title and got screwed out of a shot offered to him by Lance Storm at Hardcore Heaven, but RVD pinned Rhino last week in the tag. Rhino runs out, Gores RVD out of the ring, then brawls with Benoit & gets put in the Crossface, but RVD breaks it up with the 5 Star Frog Splash as referees come out to break up the brawl. Danny Doring defeats Nova after interference from Roadkill. Spike Dudley defeats Angel of Da Baldies. Afterwards, Balls Mahoney & Devito get involved in a huge brawl with the other two. Joey Styles announces that an international star will return to ECW at Heatwave. The main event is supposed to be Dean Malenko & Super Crazy against Eddy Guerrero & Jerry Lynn, but Super Crazy was involved in a serious car accident, so Malenko goes it alone until the closing moments, when Kid Kash runs out to get the hot tag, hits a few hurricanranas, then gets the surprise win on Guerrero. ************************** ECW on TNN for the 3rd Friday of June 2000: It's announced that, at Heatwave, both Chris Benoit & Rhino will have singles matches. If they win their singles matches, they advance to face Rhino for the ECW World Title. If neither advances, Rhino doesn't have to defend that night. If both advance, it'll be a Three-Way-Dance. Van Dam will get a chance at revenge against Scotty Anton, while Benoit will face the winner of tonight's Four-Way-Dance for the ECW World TV Title. Mikey Whipwreck defeats Simon Diamond. After the match, Perry Saturn runs out and helps Simon beat down Whipwreck. The PPV line-up is run down: ECW World Title: Rhino vs Chris Benoit and/or Rob Van Dam ECW World TV Title: Chris Benoit vs Tajiri or Justin Credible or Tommy Dreamer or Sandman ECW World Tag Team Titles: Nova & Chris Chetti vs Danny Doring & Roadkill Rob Van Dam vs Scotty Anton Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney vs Da Baldies Plus: The Return of an International Superstar Tommy Dreamer cuts a promo on Sandman, but mid-way through, Steve Corino whispers something in Tommy Dreamer's ear and Tommy goes, "That makes sense." Guido Maritato (who announces he's dropped the "Little" part) defeats "Beautiful" Billy Whiles when CW Anderson superkicks Whiles, then takes out Lou E. Dangerously at ringside. During the Pulp Fiction segment, he says he realizes how big of losers he was dealing with last week, when Justin Credible laid them all out by himself. Credible defeats Dreamer, Tajiri, & Sandman. Dreamer & Sandman beat the tar out of each other, then as both have canes in mid-ring, they connect at the same time, allowing Tajiri & Credible to roll them up at the same time. Credible & Tajiri go about ten minutes before Credible beats Tajiri clean with That's Incredible. Also during the Pulp Fiction segment, Credible theorizes that what he doesn't need is a manager, but a crew of equals. ******************************* ECW on TNN for the 4th Friday of June 2000: Show opens with a pull-apart brawl between Sandman & Tommy Dreamer in the locker room. In the middle of the show, Sandman vs Dreamer is announced for Heatwave. Nova & Chris Chetti defend the ECW World Tag Team Titles against Da Baldies and win after interference from Balls & Spike. Then, Doring & Roadkill run down to the ring and an impromptu eight-man tag is made. Doring/Roadkill/Angel/DeVito d. Chetti/Nova/Spike/Balls when Roadkill pins Chetti after a wild brawl throughout the building. Backstage segment with Malenko, who accuses Guerrero & Lynn of causing the car accident with Super Crazy. They deny the allegations. Meanwhile in the background, Guido & Big Sal stand, smiling at what's occuring. Malenko says he'll get revenge tonight against Lynn. Malenko defeats Jerry Lynn after Eddy Guerrero comes out to interfere, but Kid Kash brawls with him. Hype for next week: Chris Benoit defends the ECW World TV Title against Scotty Anton and Rob Van Dam faces Justin Credible. ECW World TV Champion Chris Benoit makes Steve Corino submit in a non-title bout in the main event. ******************************* ECW on TNN for the 1st Friday of July 2000: Hype for this week's double main event, of which the first one's happening right after the announcers' intro... Justin Credible defeats Rob Van Dam after interference from Scotty Anton and a crutch. Simon Diamond reveals that Perry Saturn is not his tag team partner, but according to almost every state's athletic commission, is now his manager after procurring a manager's license. Simon defeats Mikey Whipwreck after massive interference from Saturn, including Saturn breaking Sinister Minister's cane and shoving him down. CW Anderson defeats former partner Bill Whiles with a spinebuster, then claims while talking into the camera that he'll show ECW that old school wrestling isn't just headlocks and armbars. Run-down the PPV card: ECW World Title: Rhino vs Chris Benoit and/or Rob Van Dam ECW World TV Title: Chris Benoit vs Tajiri or Justin Credible or Tommy Dreamer or Sandman ECW World Tag Team Titles: Nova & Chris Chetti vs Danny Doring & Roadkill Rob Van Dam vs Scotty Anton Dean Malenko & Kid Kash vs Eddy Guerrero & Jerry Lynn Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney vs Da Baldies Tommy Dreamer vs Sandman Plus: The Return of an International Superstar In the main event, Chris Benoit successfully defends the ECW World TV Title against Scotty Anton. After the match, RVD runs down to the ring to attack Scotty Anton and Justin Credible runs down to the ring to attack Chris Benoit. The babyfaces clear out the heels, then walk backwards and bump into each other, and the show fades to black with a staredown... ****************************** ECW on TNN for the 2nd Friday of July 2000: Training videos are shown throughout the show for Rhino, Chris Benoit, & RVD. Danny Doring & Roadkill defeat Balls Mahoney & Spike Dudley after DeVito tosses Doring a staple gun and he staples Balls' forehead. The PPV card is run down. Guido Maritato makes Kid Kash submit to a Fujiwara armbar. Guido once again complains after the match about not being Dean Malenko's tag team partner. In the main event, Eddy Guerrero pins Tajiri clean. ****************************** HEATWAVE: The show opens with Tajiri vs. Mikey Whipwreck. After a minute, Simon Diamond comes down with Perry Saturn, and a 2-on-2 brawl ensuses. Then, PSICOSIS makes his return to ECW. Saturn is forced out of the ring and a 4-Way-Dance is declared! Four-Way-Dance: Simon Diamond d. Mikey Whipwreck, Tajiri, & Psicosis (Tajiri & Whipwreck dominate early doing double-team moves and shocking themselves with the success of their brief alliance, but both get rolled up after celebrating the success for too long. Simon beats Psicosis after interference from Saturn. Tommy Dreamer NC Sandman: They beat the tar out of each other for about five minutes, then Steve Corino & CW Anderson come to the ring and take out both men. Corino reveals that he did all this so that they'd weaken each other and be easy to lay out while he & CW make an impact by taking out two ECW icons. Rob Van Dam d. Scotty Anton (Anton works over the broken ankle during the match, but RVD makes a comeback and finishes Anton off with the 5-Star Frog Splash, but sells his ankle going back to the locker room) Jerry Lynn & Eddy Guerrero d. Dean Malenko & Kid Kash (Kash takes the clean pin...afterwards, Guido & Sal come out & beat up Malenko, then take credit for having "their boys" take care of Super Crazy's car. Da Baldies d. Spike Dudley & Balls Mahoney (finish comes when Balls goes to light a table on fire, the lights go out, and he's laid out in mid-ring...with NEW JACK standing over him. New Jack & Da Baldies then slam Balls through a flaming table for the win) ECW World Tag Team Championship: Nova & Chris Chetti d. Danny Doring & Roadkill (clean pin when Nova pins Roadkill) ECW World TV Title: Justin Credible beats Chris Benoit to win the belt after interference from Rhino, Steve Corino & CW Anderson. It's a long, hold-for-hold, mechanically sound battle before that. After the match, Corino, CW, & Credible pose together, signifying their new group, then RVD limps down to the ring to save Benoit (Note; Rhino's not in this group and it's made clear by their actions when Rhino runs in seperately). Rhino stays in mid ring and the match begins! ECW World Title: Rhino defeats RVD (RVD battles valiantly, but the ankle hurts too much to do any of his signature moves and in the end, he falls to a Gore through a table) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheFranchise 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 I wonder if it's worth it, or it will get a simply answer. I was reading Eric Bischoff's 'Controversy Creates Cash' earlier, (actually recommended read.. A lot of things surprised me about Bischoff's early career) and one thing really made me stop and think.. He was talking about Vince going nationwide with Cable TV and Verne's AWA not being able to compete, just like everybody else. Bischoff's job was to try and syndicate the AWA show around the whole country, like Vince was doing, but one market at a time.. Bischoff mentioned, not that he knew it at the time, that Verne should have gotten a better deal than his ESPN deal at the time. So my What If is.. What If the AWA had secured a similar nationwide TV deal, just like the WWF did? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0 Report post Posted August 8, 2008 I modified my original post to go through Hardcore Heaven 2000 now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard 0 Report post Posted August 8, 2008 I modified my original post to go through Hardcore Heaven 2000 now. Good so far. Just remember to keep the belt away from Justin, and use Spike more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phoenix Fury Legdrop 0 Report post Posted August 8, 2008 I'm up through Heatwave now in the original post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
