Heat Wave 2000

(All screen captures are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment)

Heat Wave

July 16, 2000

Grand Olympic Auditorium

Los Angeles, California

News & Notes: After Hardcore Heaven, ECW and Paul Heyman learned TNN was in talks with the WWF to move RAW onto their network. When you coupled this with the fact TNN never promoted ECW and changed their time-slot, Heyman lost his cool. He dared TNN to kick them off the air, and he vowed to break all of their rules until they did. This also increased the on-air venom toward TNN to the point it became tiresome. Cyrus grew more unbearable than ever. He confronted Gertner multiple times and had Rhino gore him. This led to the returns of Spike Dudley and Pitbull #1 to stand up to the Network, but Rhino put Pitbull through two tables.

Now I want to discuss some other returns and debuts. First, we have Chilly Willy. This dancing and fun-loving newcomer changes his hometown to wherever they are each week because he’s everybody’s homeboy. Next, there is the tag team of Chris Hamrick and EZ Money along with their friend Julio Fantastico. They feuded with half the roster in a short amount of time. Then there are the returning wrestlers. The Blue Meanie came back a hundred pounds lighter, and he has a new name and a girlfriend. You can call him the Blue Boy. He showed up with porn star Jasmin St. Claire at his side. Even Pierre Ouellet appeared in ECW. They said he was looking for a job, so he came to the ring and attacked HC Loc to make an impact.

They open with Blue Boy and Jasmin on a beach. Blue says he is looking fit, firm, and fine in his natural habitat. But he also shows disgust at a man he calls a fat piece of shit. He labels the perfectly healthy guy as a lard ass and mocks his appearance. Blue Boy says the fat bastard could never score a woman like Jasmin. When the guy tries to fight, Jasmin gives him a low blow, and Blue Boy kicks sand onto him. Nearby, the Sinister Minister cackles before introducing the show. He calls this PPV a fully loaded Rodney King of the ring. Plus, Minister plugs the main event. He says Credible and Dreamer are up to their necks in hot water, like Mikey. The camera pans down to show Mikey Whipwreck buried in the sand with the tide coming in.

Afterward, Joey and Joel welcome everyone to the event. Gertner forgoes the usual innuendo and overtly references oral sex during his shtick. This brings Cyrus to the ring. He says he’s the man who had Super Crazy deported, took the belt from Tajiri and handed it to Rhino, and used ECW’s advertising budget to promote Roller Jam! After trading some unfortunate insults with Gertner, they almost come to blows. Cyrus calls Joel gutless and dares him to take a swing. However, Gertner says he has a high IQ and an Ivy League education, so he doesn’t need this. He doesn’t want to be on a product affiliated with TNN or Cyrus. Joel says he’s leaving, and Cyrus falls for it. When he turns his back, Gertner attacks Cyrus, but security comes to stop them. Cyrus tells them to put Joel in the same cell OJ had.

Now Big Sal and Tony Mamaluke arrive while the chaos dies down. Sal shoves some members of security and gives the referee a sidewalk slam. So Balls Mahoney runs to the rescue with a chair. He punches Mamaluke and faces off with Sal.

Sal E. Graziano (w/ Tony Mamaluke) vs. Balls Mahoney

Storyline: Mikey Whipwreck continued throwing fireballs in poor Sal’s face, so Sal wanted some payback. He got some help from an unlikely source. The former Tony Marinara came to ECW and sought to prove he’s a full-blooded Italian. Now he calls himself Tony Mamaluke. Tony faced Whipwreck to prove himself and almost broke his back when he landed on the guardrail. He also lost, so Tony attempted to make up for it by getting the FBI more matches against Mikey. After one, they tried to light Mikey on fire, but Balls Mahoney saved him. This led to Sal & Tony vs. Mikey & Balls. Balls’ team won after Balls smashed a chair over Sal, but Sal wouldn’t stay down. He put Balls through a table. Later, Mahoney sought revenge, but the FBI outnumbered him. They held Balls down while Sal dove onto him and put him out of action.

The Match: Sal dares Balls to use the chair, but he attacks when Balls turns to grab it. Then Balls fires back with punches and a low blow before delivering the chair shot Sal desired. He bends the weapon over Sal’s head, yet Sal doesn’t go down. He recovers and nails a chokeslam before climbing onto the first rope. The referee tells him to get down from there, so Sal drops an elbow on Balls’ crotch instead. He also scores a belly-to-belly for the quick win.

Thoughts: That wasn’t much of anything. Plus, it was shocking to see Balls lose so easily. Given Sal’s size, they couldn’t go long, but he has wrestled longer bouts on TV. This was a flat way to begin the show.

Winner: Big Sal (2:30)

RVD and Fonzie are backstage. Bill says RVD will carry Scotty Anton to a five star match and ass-whipping. Then RVD asks if Scotty heard the buzz about the Van Terminator. It’s dangerous, and there’s a reason Anton will be the first recipient. He says Anton deserves to have his brain rattled. Scotty turned his back on RVD and almost broke his leg again in his first match back. Plus, he took away Rob’s ability to tell his fans he was undefeatable. That comes with a price, and RVD wants to collect. He will kick Anton’s ass with the Van Terminator the way only one man can because he’s the whole fucking show!

Now they show a replay of Bobby Eaton’s recent return to ECW. He confronted C.W. Anderson, who drew a line in the sand before fighting with Eaton. Anderson superkicked Bobby with Simon and Swinger’s help. Joey says Kid Kash idolized Eaton, so he wants payback.

Speaking of Simon and Swinger, they arrive for the next bout. Simon says he and Swinger have a problem, but the problem solver has arrived! This brings us C.W. Anderson’s entrance. Lou E. and Elektra try to talk him into returning to the New Dangerous Alliance, but he tells them to get lost. Afterward, Doring, Roadkill, and Kid Kash appear.

Kid Kash, Danny Doring, & Roadkill vs. Simon Diamond, Johnny Swinger, & C.W. Anderson

Storyline: Simon was tired of being labeled a comedy act and sick of his entourage embarrassing him. He wanted to team with someone with potential, so Swinger answered the call. The problem was, Simon’s entourage cost Simon & Swinger a match against Doring & Roadkill, which sparked a feud. While those teams screwed with each other, another team dissolved. CW Anderson had enough of Wiles and the Alliance. Wiles started trouble with Simon and Swinger and got punked out, so Anderson walked away. CW left the Alliance and attacked everybody. Then he told Simon & Swinger to get serious. He convinced them to ditch the circus of misfits and team with him. When they attacked Doring & Roadkill, Bobby Eaton of all people came to help, but Anderson took him out too. Later, they announced this bout, and CW fought Kid Kash. He cheated to end Kash’s long winning streak.

The Match: Doring, Roadkill, and Kash control the early minutes with chain wrestling, strikes, and double-teaming. This lasts until Simon’s team regroups, but Kash scores a slingshot hurricanrana and a springboard clothesline. Afterward, CW catches Kash with some suplexes until Kash rebounds with a moonsault. Now Doring takes out Simon and Swinger with the G-Spot Sweep and Bareback, but Swinger answers with the Swing Thing. Plus, Simon lands his rolling suplexes into a gourdbuster. The rally doesn’t last because Roadkill tags and makes Simon’s team regroup again. This time, everybody dives onto them, including Roadkill! However, Simon and Swinger give Roadkill a double reverse DDT and a double superplex. Furthermore, Anderson hits his spinebuster on Kash, and Simon and Swinger attempt the Problem Solver. Kash stops this with a low blow as Doring gives Simon the Wham Bam. Then Kash ends it with a Moneymaker.

Thoughts: This was a lot of fun. They did a good job mixing traditional tag action with cool spots. As always, Roadkill impressed the hell out of me. Plus, I enjoyed the closing moments. ECW should have begun the show with this instead.

Winners: Doring, Roadkill, & Kash (11:01)

Rhino is backstage. He wonders if Sandman knows what he likes best. He enjoys putting Sandman’s wife in the hospital. Plus, he loves hearing about their kids standing over her bed while her neck is in traction. She is lying there reeking of the rotting stench of her gash! So he tells Sandman to keep coming after him and bring everything possible to the ring. It doesn’t matter because Rhino isn’t lying down and giving up his belt. This is his meaning in life. He won’t give up because he’s the big fucking deal and the Television champion. With that said, Rhino grunts and growls while telling Sandman to bring it.

Jerry Lynn vs. Steve Corino (w/ Jack Victory)

Storyline: Was Jerry with the Network? They kept helping Lynn. Rhino cost Lynn a chance to win the ECW title, but it appeared to be an accident. Plus, Jerry didn’t reject them, and the coincidences mounted. He beat Tajiri with Network help that he conveniently didn’t see. Then Cyrus made Lynn referee Tajiri vs. Corino. Tajiri hit Lynn with the mist by accident, and a blinded Lynn cost Tajiri the win. Lynn took over as ref for Tajiri vs. Guido to make up for it. However, Lynn took an errant kick and missed the interference that cost Tajiri the victory. Later, Lynn fought Tajiri, and Cyrus stood in his corner. However, Corino attacked Lynn and cost him the contest because Lynn didn’t take the Network’s offer. Afterward, Lynn & Sandman faced Corino & Rhino in a dream partner contest, and Corino put Lynn through a table.

The Match: After taking out Corino and Victory, Jerry brings the fight outside and bloodies Corino with a tornado DDT off the rail. Lynn attacks the cut until Corino takes control through interference by Victory. Steve scores a sit-out bomb, powerslam, and suplexes. This lasts until Jerry dropkicks a chair into Steve’s face and gives him DDT onto it. The opening allows Lynn to take Corino’s blood and turn it into warpaint. He even writes the word DIE on his stomach. Nonetheless, Corino fires back with an Old School Expulsion. This rally doesn’t last. Lynn thwarts Victory’s powder attack, but it hits the ref, and Victory knocks the ref out! Plus, Victory decks Lynn with the cowbell, but Corino’s cover only gets two. Now they trade punches on their knees and exchange rapid pin attempts. Corino almost avoids a Cradle Piledriver, but Jerry ends the bout on his second attempt.

Thoughts: This was a great mix of bloody brawling, good wrestling, and storytelling. Plus, the image of Jerry Lynn with his bloody war paint was memorable. The only minor gripe is I’m unsure this feud warranted such a display. The storyline was all over the place, and Corino and Lynn didn’t interact that often until the last two weeks. But none of this detracts from the match itself.

Winner: Jerry Lynn (15:23)

Lori sits with Sandman in a dressing room. Sandman reminds Rhino of everything he did to her. He asks how Rhino thinks he felt when he took his kids to see his wife in the hospital for seven weeks. Sandman said he and his kids had tears in their eyes. Every night he put his kids to bed, and they asked when mommy was coming home. So he promises to take Rhino to the extreme, but Rhino interrupts this thought with a cane to the back of Sandman’s head! He then drags Lori to the bathroom and tries to stuff her head in a toilet. Sandman stops this and brawls with Rhino until security breaks them up.

Meanwhile, Joey and Cyrus welcome Dawn Marie to the announce booth. Dawn says she’s nervous because she’s never done this kind of thing before. This leads to flirting and double entendres from Cyrus and Dawn, much to Joey’s annoyance.

While this happens, New Jack’s music plays. He enters the arena on crutches because he broke his leg diving out of another balcony. Before Jack can enter the ring, Da Baldies jump him from behind. They attack Jack and use the staple gun on him, so Nova and Chetti run to the rescue and start an impromptu bout.

Nova & Chris Chetti vs. Da Baldies

Storyline: Nova and Chetti have joined the mess of tag teams who want a shot at the vacant tag titles. They competed in 3-Way Dances with Doring & Roadkill and Simon & Swinger. Yes, even Da Baldies were involved in some of this. Grimes interfered to help eliminate Nova & Chetti from one of these contests. However, Da Baldies disappeared from TV for weeks. Not that you’ll hear me complain. Meanwhile, Nova and Chetti came to Doring and Roadkill’s aid when the New Dangerous Alliance attacked them. However, that didn’t last long. After getting eliminated from another 3-Way, Chetti returned and shoved Doring off the top rope to cost Doring and Roadkill a win.

The Match: Nova and Chetti make Da Baldies regroup with crutch shots and kicks. Then they dive onto them before returning the action to the ring. After some traded strikes, Da Baldies score a double flapjack and taunt Chetti. However, Nova reverses a whip into a sidewalk slam before Chetti and Angel tag. Chetti takes out both Baldies with a sidekick and a Blue Thunder Bomb, yet Nova misses a Swanton. This allows Da Baldies to nail a Bronx Bomb, but DeVito misses a moonsault. Now Nova lands rolling piledrivers that end with a sit-out bomb. (He calls it the 3^rd Degree.) Next, Chetti does a step-up wheel kick and the Amityville Horror, and the Tidal Wave follows for the victory.

Thoughts: They kept it short and explosive, and I liked Nova’s rolling piledrivers. This was enjoyable, but it will probably be forgettable by the end of the night.

Winners: Nova & Chetti (5:00)

Tommy Dreamer finally breaks his silence. He talks about everything he sacrificed for the business and the big payoff. Tommy wouldn’t change a thing if he did it again, but then Credible and Francine denied him of that right after he broke his back for this business. He says Justin has the ability, yet he wants to do things the easy way. Tommy says he’s sick of being on a network that doesn’t appreciate them, and he’s sick of Justin Credible. If he wants blood and flesh, he will give it to him for the big payoff. When it’s over, Credible’s mind, body, and spirit will be like his silence, broken. As he says this, Tommy rams his head into the locker until it bleeds.

Now Guido, Psicosis, and Tajiri arrive for a 3-Way Dance, but Mikey Whipwreck interrupts them. When Guido sees him, he dares Mikey to enter the ring. Mike obliges, and this becomes a 4-Way.

Four-Way Dance: Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Mikey Whipwreck (w/ The Sinister Minister) vs. Little Guido vs. Psicosis

Storyline: There’s not much to tell here. Almost everyone involved had their own stuff happening. I already mentioned Tajiri’s issues with Jerry Lynn. I should mention Tajiri gave Cyrus the mist and put him in a Tarantula. Plus, I discussed the FBI’s feud with Whipwreck. Mikey has turned into quite the pyromaniac. It wasn’t just Sal’s face. He lit the ring bell on fire and wielded a flaming 2×4 to help Balls Mahoney. Meanwhile, Guido scored pins on everybody else in this bout except Psicosis. Guido also faced RVD in a TV title number one contender bout. RVD won, but Guido put up a good fight. Now RVD will face the winner of Rhino vs. Sandman.

The Match: Mikey suplexes Psicosis, gives Guido a hurricanrana, and nails a somersault plancha to the outside. But then the FBI arrives to get vengeance on Mikey. Sal rams him into the post and rolls him inside, so Psicosis nails a guillotine leg drop. When he covers, Guido pulls Psicosis away and eliminates Mikey. The three remaining competitors trade takedowns until Tajiri scores an Asai Moonsault. He even gives Guido a superplex, but Guido recovers and hits the Maritato on Psicosis. This allows Tajiri to pin Psicosis with a German suplex. Now, after trading strikes and pin attempts, Tajiri does the handspring elbow and Tarantula. Next, they fight with a chair, and Guido gains control. He lands the Sicilian Slice and attempts another Maritato. Tajiri blocks it, and answers with the green mist and a brainbuster on the chair for the win.

Thoughts: This was another one that was good fun. They kept it the right length and didn’t let it overstay its welcome. Although, I wonder why they added Mikey only to eliminate him after such a short amount of time. It’s a minor gripe. I enjoyed this.

Winner: Tajiri (9:12)

Justin and Francine are backstage. Credible says the PPV industry tried to hold ECW down for years. They tried to put their thumb on the company, but tonight they take the gloves off and introduce barbed wire to PPV. Justin doesn’t like it. He’s a trained pro-wrestler who doesn’t dive into barbed wire. But if he has to do this to beat Dreamer, so be it.

TV Title Match: Rhino (c) vs. The Sandman

Storyline: After Hardcore Heaven, Rhino bragged about putting Lori in the hospital. Then Cyrus tried to name Kanemura as Rhino’s next challenger. Anyone who wanted a shot had to go through Kanemura first, so Sandman answered that call. He fended off interference by Kanemura’s wife and won. Sandman got that match on TNN, but the Network ruined it. Plus, Rhino and the Network gave Sandman a concussion before the next show. Later, Sandman and Lori both came after Rhino and Cyrus. Sandman caned Rhino while Lori jumped on Cyrus’ back. Then, after the dream partner match I mentioned earlier, Spike Dudley helped Sandman give Rhino a 3D! It allowed Sandman to pin Rhino for the win. However, the Network got their revenge. They cost Sandman his ECW title match with Credible. It was a bout that might have set the record for most run-ins ever.

The Match: Sandman breaks his cane over Rhino’s head, but Rhino slings beer on him before they trade strikes. Now Sandman brings a section of guardrail into the ring, so Rhino counters with a chair. A chair shot isn’t enough. Sandman recovers and uses the rail. He nails a Heinekenrana and a bulldog onto it. When Rhino rallies, he suplexes Sandman on the metal. This doesn’t get the job done. Sandman places Rhino on the railing and performs a senton bomb. Sensing trouble, Corino and Victory interfere and wipe out the ref. This draws out Spike Dudley, but Rhino gores him and gives Spike a piledriver on a table! Rhino also blocks a White Russian Leg Sweep and ends it with a piledriver on the guardrail in the ring.

Thoughts: It wasn’t as good as their last match, but I still enjoyed it. They did some cool stuff with the rail. Plus, the piledriver to Spike looked great.

Winner: Rhino (8:38)

Rhino drinks Sandman’s beer and flips him off before leaving. Meanwhile, Cyrus gets Dawn Marie to jump for joy to celebrate the Network’s win. He also tells her bend over to pick up a piece of paper. This causes an argument between Joey and Cyrus, which makes Dawn sad.

Rob Van Dam (w/ Bill Alfonso) vs. Scotty Anton

Storyline: Anton was sick of everybody seeing him as only RVD’s best friend. That’s no gimmick! Now he has a better one since he joined the Network. Scotty wants to give everyone—the clap! Anton brought back his old American Males clap taunt to annoy ECW fans. He even calls his Sharpshooter the Clapper! Scotty used it to injure Raven, which led to brawls between the two. Nonetheless, RVD wouldn’t let him get away with these antics. Any time Anton joined a Network attack, RVD came after him. So Anton and the Network interrupted RVD’s chance to regain his TV title and caused a no contest. You don’t do that to RVD. Since RVD lost his respect for Anton, he vowed to not hold back. In fact, RVD promised to debut a new move called the Van Terminator, just for Scotty.

The Match: RVD makes Anton bail before landing a moonsault off the rail and a guardrail leg drop. He also gorilla presses Anton and nails two moonsaults. When Fonzie interjects again, Anton takes him out and uses the chair on RVD. Then Anton bulldogs Rob onto the rail. Now Scotty puts him in holds and forces RVD to do the clap motion. Plus, he makes RVD regroup before hitting an axehandle. Next, Scotty targets RVD’s bad leg and uses the Clap Trap (Boston Crab). Next, Anton intercepts a chair from Fonzie. However, Rob scores a bodyscissor takedown, running Van Daminator, and split-legged moonsault. Afterward, he does a chair-assisted Rolling Thunder. Unfortunately, Anton whacks RVD’s leg with the chair and places him in the Clapper. Fonzie intervenes and receives a Clapper as well. This allows RVD to do another Van Daminator, a Five Star, and the Van Terminator for the win!

Thoughts: This was quite good, but it was a little slow at times. Yet I still enjoyed it. Also, the Van Terminator looked great. It got an amazing reaction from the fans and Joey Styles. But it’s a shame Shane McMahon steals the move before RVD comes to the WWF.

Winner: RVD (19:02)

Now it’s time for the main event. Dreamer brings Jazz with him, but they turn and point at the entrance. The former Gorgeous George appears with a ladder in her hands. Francine grabs the cane because she wants to hit George again, but something else happens before she can.

There’s a commotion in the crowd. Joey says a fan grabbed Francine, but he didn’t want to acknowledge the truth. This was a contingent from a rival promotion called XPW. Their owner, Rob Black, and his wife were in the front row along with some wrestlers. One of them grabbed Francine, so the ECW locker room emptied to confront them. Security escorted them away while the ECW wrestlers yelled at the group.

Stairway to Hell Match for the ECW Title: Justin Credible (c) (w/ Francine) vs. Tommy Dreamer (w/ Jazz & George)

Storyline: Dreamer refused to speak with anybody after Hardcore Heaven. He saved Raven from an attack by Credible, but he still wasn’t talking. So Credible decided to get Tommy’s attention by making a sacrificial lamb out of Jazz. He caned her in the middle of an interview, but this was a mistake. Now Jazz had Tommy’s back in this battle. However, Justin had his own help. He started doing the Network’s bidding in return for their aid. Later, Jazz kept coming after Francine and Credible. This led to a match between Jazz and Francine, which turned into Dreamer & Jazz vs. Credible & Francine. At the end, Justin gave Tommy That’s Incredible on barbed wire! But Dreamer returned the favor a week later. Meanwhile, Francine also pissed off the former Gorgeous George. Francine caned her when George made her debut, so George came back for a fight.

The Match: They surprisingly start with some chain wrestling, but it doesn’t last. Soon they head into the crowd to brawl. The fight ends up under the announce booth and around some merch tables. Tommy sets a ladder up on the tables and looks to grab Credible, but Justin fights back. He knocks Tommy down onto the table. Next, they return to the ring and set up a ladder in the corner. It backfires for Credible, so Tommy goes after the barbed wire. Now Francine grabs him, but Jazz and George confront her. However, George attacks Jazz! Francine attempts to give Jazz a Bronco Buster, but Jazz kicks her.

Afterward, Tommy nails the Tommyhawk (a variation of the cutter) for a two. Plus, he fetches the barbed wire and wraps it around the top rope. This leads to Credible getting crotched on it! To make matters worse, Francine canes Justin by accident, and Dreamer nails a DDT. It isn’t enough. Justin recovers, blocks another Tommyhawk, and lands That’s Incredible on the barbed wire for the three.

Thoughts: This was okay, but it was disappointing for a main event. George wasn’t in the company long enough for her betrayal to hold much weight. Plus, Justin and Tommy had to lie around while the women did their part. It brought the action to a halt.

Winner: Justin Credible (12:20)

The Good:

• Kash, Doring, & Roadkill vs. Simon, Swinger, & Anderson

• Lynn vs. Corino

• The 4-Way Dance

• RVD vs. Anton

The Bad:

• The disappointing main event.

• Sal vs. Balls.

Observations:

• The episodes of TV before Heat Wave were a mixed bag. There was some good action, but their venom toward TNN feels petulant.

Performer of the Night:

I’m giving it to Lynn and Corino. They put on a great match that told a good story.

Final Thoughts:

Outside of the opener and the main event, this was a solid program. But it’s hard to call this great when it started and ended with weak matches. Things are falling apart behind the scenes, yet ECW continues to put on good PPVs. That’s the difference between them and WCW. Both companies are in bad shape, but WCW’s shows aren’t as good.

Thank you for reading. My next review is the WWF’s Fully Loaded 2000. Look for it next Sunday.