Taroostyles

I just got done watching one of my favorite old events which was ECW November to Remember 1996 and figured I might as well write up a review. I guess it goes here cause there's no DVD/review section in the ECW section. Anyway onto the review:

November 2 Remember 1996-November 16th,1996-ECW Arena, Philadelphia,PA

1st match: Stevie Richards vs David Morton Tyler Jericho(aka Kid Kash)

This match saw the intro of the BWO which the whole place went nuts for obviously and they were actually really into it. The match itself was nothing real special with a weird sequence of low blows and Stevie trying really hard to wrestle like Kevin Nash. Stevie goes over with the Stevie Kick less about 8 or 9 minutes into match.

Rating: **1/2 The BWO involvement adds to the atmosphere and the two guys actually do wrestle for part of the match.

2nd match: Axl Rotten vs Hack Myers

This one obviously wasn't pretty and nothing really technical about it. The match is fairly sloppy but the crowd loved the "shaw". Axl wins the match fairly quickly, nothing memorable really.

Rating: *1/2 Its just a ugly match with no real redeemable qualities.

3rd Match: Bubba Ray Dudley vs D-Von Dudley

This was right before they aligned and became a great tag team. They go all over the place with this one and it is a nice brawl and not just sloppy botches. There not Malenko and Guerrero but the match is pretty entertaining. Bubba picks up the win with a Bubba Cutter after around 12 minutes or so.

Rating: **3/4 Decent matchup, nothing more and nothing less.

4th match: The Eliminators vs RVD/Sabu-no. 1 contender for the tag titles(later on in the show)

Now before I even start I have to say that IMO this is one of, if not the best tag team match atleast in North American wrestling history. The athleticism of all 4 men is on diaplay and they give the fans a little bit of everything. There's tons of high flying spots, some technical prowess,and great team work all around. The match really is the epitome of what tag team wrestling should be all about. At this time, The Eliminators probably were the best tag team in the world and it's a shame there not known more than they are.

The match goes for a 20 minute time limit draw and commish Gordon allows five more minutes. After that 5minutes are over, 5 more are allowed cause they needed a winner. After that minutes, Gordon finally decides that later on in the show it will be a 3 way dance between these two teams and The Gangstas for the titles. So after all the match is a 30 minute time limit draw and one of the best tag matches of all time.

Rating: ***** Absolutely deserved in this match. I really can't describe just how great this match is, u just have to see it for yourself. Now I have in on VHS and I don't think it's on DVD so it might be hard to find but if u can, its worth it.

5th match: Chris Candido vs Mikey Whipwreck

Nothing but a real solid contest out of these two. I am pretty sure this was Candido's first big match since coming back from the WWF a few months before. The action goes back and forth between the two before Candido hits the Blond Bomb from the top rope for the 3 count.

Rating: ***1/4 Another really solid contest.

6th match: The Gangstas(c) vs RVD/Sabu vs The Eliminatos-ECW World Tag Team Titles

It's amazing that after going for 30 hard minutes of great wrestling that these two teams were back out there again for another match. This one is the polar opposite of the first match due to the Gangstas involvement. This one is a wild brawl that goes into the crowd and several weapons are used in the match. There are still some great flying spots from Sabu and Saturn, but the match is primarily a breakdown. Taz comes down towards the end to attack Sabu(this was during their long feud). The Gangstas pick up the win after New Jack hits one of the Eliminators with a trash can off the top rope.

Rating; ***1/2 Still a really fun and wild match but not the classic of earlier in the night.

After this match there is a promo from 2 Cold Scorpio crapping on ECW before he goes off to the WWF. He challenges a couple of jobbers consecutively(Devon Storm,JT Smith,etc.) to loser leaves town matches before he challenges Louie Spicolli and is defeated by him. The best part of the whole thing is after Scorpio losers and still won't leave and Taz comes down to the ring and kicks him out. Ending their convo with "Bye,Bye Flash", a reference to his new character in the WWF. After that Taz calls out Sabu and the lights go out. Then Sabu is in the ring and the lights go out again. The lights come back on and their both gone.

7th match: The Sandman vs Raven(c)-ECW World Title

Raven tries to turn this match into a technical wrestling diplay instead of a hardcore brawl. Lots of mat wrestling with commentary from Stevie on the outside. A guardrail becomes implanted into the ring which Raven ddt's Sandman on for the win. A decent match but not nearly their best.

Rating:*** A really slow match that didn't feel right with Raven and Sandman mat wrestling.

8th match: Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk vs Shane Douglas and Brian Lee

A good ME match consisting of some great action. At one point Funk is absolutely getting pummeled by Lee and Douglas. This one goes pretty long, about 25 minutes I believe. Francine gets involved a little bit and the crowd is super hot for this one. The odds are agsinst the good guys but Dreamer and Funk pull it out the victory. Lots of different action in this on but Funk gets brutalized for a good portion of it as well.

Rating; ****

Overall this is probably the best N2R ECW put on. The only other one that might be better is 99 which I will prob review another time. Also, before the first match there is a long Taz promo blowing up Paul's surprise about the ppv show coming in the next spring. Its a pretty good cut and shows his chops on the mic back then were gold. He is featured prominently in the show despite not actually having a match.

Hope u enjoyed the review.