#216: Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko, ECW Hostile City Showdown (4/15/1995).
Hello, readers!
This week, we are taking a journey into the underbelly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as we look back on memorable matches from ECW!
Under the genius of one Paul Heyman, Extreme Championship Wrestling rose to prominence in the late 1990s, during the hottest period American Wrestling has ever had. It lacked the commercial appeal of the WWE, and it certainly didn't have the checkbook that WCW had, but what ECW had and thrived on over those two companies for a good chunk of time was passion.
In the name, you can take a guess what this company specialized in: The Extreme. The promotion brought hardcore wrestling to the forefront, and created some of the most exciting, violent and chaotic matches ever to take place on US Soil. With it came groundbreaking characters, off the wall oddities, and a sense of unity with its fanbase. It was all one big island of misfit toys.
Along with its thirst for blood, ECW also brought with styles of wrestling that had never really been prominently featured at the time, such as Lucha Libre, Technical Wrestling, and genuine Intergender wrestling. ECW was ahead of its time, and it was a game changer in many ways. In fact, a majority of wrestling promotions today are succeeding because of ideas that ECW did first. Their legacy and mark on the wrestling business will outlive any financial woes they faced during their final days.
So, this week, I'll be taking a look at some standout ECW matches from my own fandom, and what better way to kick things than with this legendary bout between future legends Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko, contested for Guerrero's ECW World Television Championship.
The first singles match between the two, and the first of many in ECW that would eventually led to their signing in WCW, Guerrero and Malenko would seek to bring their style of wrestling to the ECW Arena - a crowd that more than appreciate the "scientific" aspects of professional wrestling.
The bell sounds, and they lock up right away. Malenko gets Guerrero to the turnbuckle, and Guerrero responds with a single leg takedown. They fight for control of the leg on the mat. Malenko twists at the arm, and Guerrero responds with an arm drag. Guerrero grips the neck, and the challenger slips out into a hammerlock. Snap mare by Malenko, and he digs the flat of his boot into his face. Headbutt follows, and Guerrero rakes the eye.
Snap mare by the champion, and he digs his boot into Malenko’s face next. Malenko powders, then returns to the ring. He knees Guerrero in the gut, and looks for a suplex, but Guerrero counters it. They exchange nearfalls, before running the international. Guerrero blocks a powerbomb, and Malenko with a head scissors takeover. Guerrero with a hurricanrana, and both men go for a dropkick! They stare each other down, as the fans give them a standing ovation.
Malenko takes Guerrero down, tying up the leg. Guerrero switches to an arm bar attempt. The fans are staring at something else other than the match. These were the same fans giving these guys an ovation not that long ago. Malenko is able to get to the ropes to break the hold, and we are at a stalemate. Knuckle lock from both men, and we have a test of strength now. The fans chant “throw him out” at whoever has stolen their attention.
Guerrero with a Uranage. He follows with a somersault senton from the apron. He covers, and Malenko gets his boot on the ropes for the break. Guerrero applies a chin lock next. Malenko gets to his feet, and sends Guerrero to the turnbuckle. He elbows him in the ear, then hits a double arm suplex for a 2 count. Malenko works on the arm now, hammerlocking it to the mat. Guerrero is back to his feet, but Malenko stays on him with a dropkick to the knee.
He ties up the legs on the mat, and then hooks the arms. Malenko has Guerrero’s legs grapevined, and is holding his shoulders to the mat. Guerrero fights with all he has to avoid being pinned. Malenko clips the knee, then drops all his weight across the knee. He goes to the floor, and drags Guerrero to the turnbuckle. He swings Guerrero’s bad knee against the ring post. Guerrero tries to walk it off, but Malenko is right on his tail.
Back in the ring, Malenko takes Guerrero down and ties the leg up. Guerrero flails and gets to the ropes. Malenko lifts Guerrero up and drops his bad leg across his own. He drags Guerrero to the center of the ring and slaps on a submission leg lock. Malenko transitions to an STF submission, and Guerrero fights through it to get to the ropes. Malenko with a headbutt, and Guerrero rolls him up for a 2 count. Fisherman Suplex, but Guerrero can’t maintain the grip for the pin due to his leg.
Guerrero with a powerbomb for a 2 count. He follows up with a top rope DDT to a standing Malenko. He makes the cover, and Malenko kicks out. Frankensteiner from the top by Guerrero, but he hurts his leg on the way down! He ties the legs up, and pulls back on Malenko’s arms for a surfboard lock. He switches to an early version of the Lasso from El Paso submission! Guerrero quickly goes from that to the STF submission. Good transitions from the champion.
Malenko escapes, and Guerrero quickly hurts him with some uppercuts in the turnbuckle. Malenko gets back in the lead with the 10 punches in the corner. Guerrero places him on the top rope, and attacks. Malenko hooks his legs around him, and sends both men crashing to the concrete floor below. Guerrero returns to the ring, and he looks to bring Malenko into the ring with a suplex, but Malenko counters with a suplex of his own, bringing Guerrero crashing to the floor. Guerrero avoids a crossbody by walking away. He then goes to the top rope, and hits a crossbody of his own to Malenko! Back in the ring, Malenko fights back with a vertical suplex. They fight for control, until Guerrero connects with a brainbuster.
Guerrero goes to the top rope, and hits a beautiful Frog Splash, and Malenko kicks out. The challenger comes back with a Northern Lights suplex into a bridge, and Guerrero is able to kick out. Malenko looks for the Cloverleaf, and Guerrero frantically gets to the ropes. Malenko kicks him in the chest, and he hits a double arm suplex into a powerbomb, and Guerrero quickly turns it into a roll up for 2. Guerrero hits a springboard hurricanrana for 2.
The crowd are very much into this by this point. Backbreaker by Guerrero, and Malenko kicks out again. Guerrero with the Gory Special submission next, and he turns it into a pin for 2. Malenko flips him over, and Guerrero kicks out. They exchange nearfalls, and the crowd comes to its feet again, as a big “ECW” chant breaks out. Guerrero with a powerslam, and he goes to the top rope. Malenko is right back to his feet, and follows him up. Guerrero reverses into a sunset flip pin for a close 2 count.
Guerrero gets to his feet, and the bell sounds. We’ve gone to a time limit draw. Post match, Malenko shows some respect to Guerrero before leaving. This was a good match that was certainly revolutionary for its time in American Pro Wrestling. ECW is primarily known for its take on hardcore wrestling, but they were also known for great technical wrestling, and here we got to see an early example of the excellence that Malenko and Guerrero had. It’s matches like this that led to both men getting hired by WCW, and eventually the WWE.
There was good limb work throughout this, with Malenko playing the aggressor. Guerrero showed great athleticism as well. They showed their trademark chemistry here, with some great back and forth sequences and counter wrestling. Credit as well should go to Joey Styles, who did a fantastic job on commentary calling this match and correctly identifying the moves. If this suffered from anything, I’d say it had some spotty selling throughout, but let’s not get technical about ECW now. This company was a scrap show full of inconsistencies, and that’s what made it appeal to an entire generation of wrestling fans.