By MIKE WHALEY — For SLAM! Wrestling
ECW once again showed why it is the greatest wrestling around today, even if the March Madness fans don’t realize it, at their Living Dangerously pay per view. From Ashbury Park, NJ, the card was topped off by a rematch from the first ECW pay per view as ECW World Champion Taz successfully defeated FTW champion Sabu, thus unifying the belts.
Sabu was supposedly wrestling with an fractured jaw (I say supposedly since I heard nothing on the internet about it) Before the match started Taz made it an Extreme Death Match with falls counting anywhere. Sabu’s manager Bill Alfonso seemed against it but Sabu threw him out of the way to get the match started.
Taz immediately went to work on Sabu’s jar from the outset laying forearms into it. The match though would go back and forth in the opening. Both men exchanging high spots with each other. Sabu went for his first big move when he jumped off a chair, off the ropes and over the guardrail but Taz greeted him with a chair to the face.
The two then spilled into the stands and fought. Nothing too special happened in there. After Alfonso set up a chair between the ring and the guardrail, Taz nailed a belly to belly suplex, sending Sabu over the top rope and through the table.
Taz then went back to work on the jaw, with blood flowing out of Sabu’s mouth. He stopped his attack to challenge the like of Flair, Hogan and the likes but was interrupted as Sabu started to rip at his eyes with his fingers. Taz though maintained control and had Alfonso so worried that he tried to throw in the towel but Sabu stopped him.
Sabu though would mount a comeback capping it off with a face first dive onto Taz who was lying on a table mounted at the corner of the guard rails. The fight would then become a back and forth contest with the two foes alternating between Taz’s trademark suplexes and Sabu’s aray of flying moonsaults and legdrops.
Taz soon though would take control for good. It started with a head & arm superplex from which Sabu kicked out of. Sabu somehow found the energy to try and set up another table in the corner of the ring but he took too much time and Taz was soon on him, laying the beats to him. Then Taz connected with a Dragon suplex, sending Sabu through the table.
Alfonso again tried to throw in the towel but Sabu threw it back out. Maybe he should of let it stay though as Taz wrapped up Sabu in his submission move, the kati hajime and the fight left Sabu as his arm fell three times to give the win to Taz and to unify the ECW World Championship and FTW title.
After the match Taz grabbed the mic again and said that every time they fight he gets more respect for Sabu. He then asked to shake hands and Sabu agreed, ending what was a great show.
- The next WCW pay-per-view is Living Dangerously on May 16th, 1999.
ECW Living Dangerously Results
Super Crazy vs Tajiri
- Rematch from the last pay per view.
- Shorter match but much better then their last effort.
- A great match of that the fans appreciated. Two minutes into the match they gave a standing ovation after a prolonged series of counter wrestling. This match would never go over in the big two.
- Bad moment for Crazy as he slipped on the top rope and got a “You fell down” chant.
- End came when Tajiri hit a huricanrana but Crazy rolled through it for the pin out of nowhere.
- Both men received a huge ovation afterwards with Tajiri getting a standing ovation for his effort after the match as he bowed to them.
- Match Rating: 8.5 / 10
Steve Corino vs. Ballz Mahoney
- Corino came out and bragged about how he was a “wrestler” stuck in a land of brawlers. Challenged anyone to come out and Balls Mahoney answered the challenge.
- Mahoney stunned me with a frog splash across the ring. Impressive for someone with the beer gut he possesses.
- Corino teased using a chair but then just opened it and sat on it while applying a headlock.
- Mahoney soon grabbed control and nailed Corino with the same chair to get the pin.
- Fun match but nothing special.
- Match Rating: 5 / 10.
Antifaz Del Norte vs. Little Guido
- Guido accompanied by Big Sal but noticibly absent were Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich.
- Action went back and forth for most of the match.
- Sweet move by Guido as he hit a Side Italian (Russian) Leg Sweep from the second rope.
- Antifaz sprung over the top rope but was caught by Sal and the 500 pounder power slammed him through a table.
- Guido then slapped on a Sicilian (Boston) Crab for the victory.
- After the match both Smothers and Rich came out, weird since both were rumored gone from ECW. Smothers nailed Guido and Rich attacked Sal with the flag, but it did no damage as Sal chased the two from the ring and the end of the FBI (the Full Blooded Italians) came to pass.
- Match Rating: 6 / 10.
Jerry Lynn vs. Rob Van Dam
- Probably the most hyped match of the card and it did not disappoint.
- Van Dam carried most of the match for the first half with only little flurries from Lynn.
- A match full of great spots by both men.
- Both men were battling on the top turnbuckle with a chair when Van Dam hit a mini Van Dam-inator (kick the chair into the face) sending Lynn flying from the top through a table at ringside.
- Another great spot where they had a tug of war for the chair and Lynn got a sunset flip but Van Dam still had a hold of the chair and he used it to stop the pin.
- Lynn then went on the hit a tornado DDT from the top onto a table at ringside, though it didn’t break (probably the only one not to all night)
- Bell rings to sound a 20 minute draw. Ref appears ready to award the belt to Lynn (as he can by ECW rules) but Lynn asks for five more minutes. The fans start to chant for it and Van Dam agrees.
- Match starts up and soon into it Mr. Monday night nails Lynn with a Van Dam-inator. He follows it up with a frog splash and gets the win.
- At Bill Alfonso’s urging he shakes hands with him.
- This could be match of the year material.
- Match Rating: 10 / 10.
Mustafa vs. New Jack
- Former partners in the Gangsters, it was revealed that Mustafa was paying the Dudley Brothers to take out New Jake, setting up this first ever meeting between the two.
- New Jack came out with his usual assortment of weapons and started out using a crutch, a computer keyboard and a golf club into a baking pan over Mustafa’s groin.
- When Mustafa got control of the match he used a plastic toy lawn mower and a baking pan, busting open New Jack.
- Fight spilled into the crowd with New Jack gaining control.
- He used electrical tape to tie his former partner to a table and then proceeded to climb to the balcony and hit a dive from 20 feet sending Mustafa through the table.
- Security dragged both men to the ring where New Jack drapped an arm over Mustafa for the pin.
- After the match the Dudley Brothers started beating on New Jack. We were then treated to a shortened spiel by Joel Gertner but great none the less.
- Bubba Ray Dudley issued an open challenge and it lead to…
- Match Rating: 10 / 10.
Dudley Brothers vs. Spike Dudley and Nova
- Not much of a match to talk about. Bubba threw Spike into the crowd as D-Von beat on Nova. The then hit the 3D, the Dudley Death Drop.
- The ring announcer tried to stop the Dudley from continuing to beat on Nova and he got a 3D for his troubles.
- They then issued another open challenge. This was a big mistake as out came Judge Jeff Jones which could only mean one thing. SID!!!!!
- Bubba didn’t back down though talking trash and calling him a faggot to his face.
- Sid ended up choke slamming both half-brothers and then focused on D-Von.
- In the meantime Spike Dudley made his way back after his crowd surf and nailed Bubba with the Acid Drop for the pin.
- After the match he tried to shake hands with Sid but got a power bome for his troubles. Then to put an exclamation point on things, Sid dropped the 155 pound Spike through a table from the ramp and made his way to the back.
- Match Rating: 3 / 10 (since there wasn’t much of a match but action instead).
Justin Credible and Lance Storm vs. Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas.
- The co-main event for some reason didn’t click and didn’t incite the fans.
- Douglas hit 3 rolling vertical suplexes on Credible and on the third did it one handed with a finger for Storm on the way down.
- The suspected double cross of Tommy Dreamer seem to come to pass as Douglas gave his opponents the Triple Threat sign but he then clotheslined them both.
- Beullah aka Tammy Lynn Bytch then interferred bringing in Francine and the prerequisite cat fight started. Storm though pulled off Francine and then nailed her for good measure.
- Francine though came back with a ladder, which Tommy Dreamer used to perfection on his opponents.
- Credible was about to hit Douglas with Sandman’s Kendo stick when Francine grabbed it from him. She then delivered a roundhouse kick and Douglas caught him with a Pittsburgh Plunge (cradle suplex) for the pin.
- As Dreamer and Douglas were leaving, Don Callis aka Jackyl now known as Cyrus distracted them allowing Storm to hit a flying clothesline. He then tossed them into the ring where Credible dished out Kendo stick blows to both.
- Cyrus stopped them from beating on Francine but then head butted her in the groin before leaving.
- Match Rating: 7 / 10.
Sabu vs. Taz
- Match Rating: 8 / 10.
- Overall Event Rating: 9 / 10. Solid from top to bottom. Even the matches that weren’t special had humor to cover it.