There was probably nothing better than watching ECW as a teenager. I mean violence and sex are basically 75 percent of what a 16-year old thinks about. And ECW was nothing but violence and sex. I still remember watching ECW Hardcore TV every Saturday at midnight.
Growing up in Sacramento, my family didn’t get cable. We did have over-the-air/broadcast television which was pretty awful most of the time. That’s because we only got the local FOX, UPN and WB affiliates as well as PAX (look it up!) and a bible channel. There was also this one channel that was a complete smorgasbord of non-sense. In fact, I’m pretty sure no one even realized it existed.
It showed MEAC football games, movies from the 1950s no one remembers, a steady stream of infomercials and ECW Hardcore TV. It has been more than 20 years since I first watched it, and with nothing better to do, I decided to check out Hardcore TV again. Since I got into ECW in 1999, I’m starting here and going from January up until the June Heatwave pay-per-view.
7 random observations from 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episodes
1) There are not a lot of different faces
The main event of every 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episode will feature at least two, and usually more, of the following: Taz, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, the Dudley Boyz, Ball Mahoney, Jerry Lynn and New Jack. It gets really noticeable in May and June when Taz is fighting scrubs and everyone on this list is seemingly feuding with everyone else on this list.
Shane Douglas leaves before the Hardcore Haven pay-per-view in April but was also in the top group. Chris Candido is sort of around during this time. Steve Corino hasn’t had a match yet and we’re in June. Sid Vicious also hasn’t had a match despite being around all year. You have a bunch of other guys like Tajiri, Super Crazy, the FBI, Danny Doring and a few others who come and go.
It’s not bad, but is something I picked up on now that I didn’t notice in 1999.
2) Gimmick matches that don’t have gimmicks
I’m going to get my only real complaint out of the way now. For the most part, ECW matches don’t have rules to begin with. Yet the wrestlers demand various special matches that are just really normal ECW matches. What’s the difference between a Chicago street fight or an extreme death match and a match with no rules? I can tell you after watching, there is no real difference. Hell, the Dudley Boyz were using flaming tables in regular matches.
There are two occasions where a gimmick match was different from a normal match. Taz’s FTW rules where falls count anywhere in the building and an unsanctioned match that the Impact Players setup for Jerry Lynn and a mystery partner who happened to be Sabu.
At the time, Sabu was barred from wrestling by the “athletic commission”. But he could wrestle in that match because it was unsanctioned and not governed by the “athletic commission”.
3) Lance Storm and Justin Credible are pretty good
Everyone knows about how great RVD, Taz and the Dudley Boyz were, but I was surprised by how compelling Lance Storm and Justin Credible were throughout the 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episodes. As a teenager, it was hard to appreciate what they were doing, but Credible and especially Storm were fun the watch.
4) The chair shots to the head are hard to watch
The most cringeworthy part of watching the 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episodes had to be the constant and totally unnecessary chair shots to the head. I can look past the questionable use of slurs and objectification of women because that is what flew in 1998, but watching people get hit in the head with a chair constantly and for no reason was not fun. It’s one thing to do it in a meaningful moment of a match. But it’s another thing entirely to start pounding on people’s heads with chairs two minutes into a match just because.
5) It’s not as bad as you think
Before starting this, I thought I was going to watch this and feel ashamed about myself for liking ECW as a teenager. That never happened. Look, the chair shots are tough to watch and some of the language and violence on women are unacceptable today. However, it’s not the seedy, snuff film I was expecting.
The 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episodes were mostly entertaining with some good wrestling, a lot of violence and a few pop culture references I had forgot about. If you liked it then, you’ll like it now. If you hated it then, you will still hate it today. And if you’ve never seen it, it’s worth a watch just to see how it influences today’s wrestlers.
6) The editing and commentary hold up
Apart from the low-def video quality and dubbed WWE Network music, I’m surprised at how good the editing and commentary on the 1999 ECW Hardcore TV episodes were. Joey Styles does a good job explaining everything and also showing the right emotion at the right the time. The editing and cuts make it interesting to watch as well. The most dated thing about the broadcasts are what the fans are wearing. Check out some of the NFL jerseys on display.
7) 1999 Rob Vam Dam is still the coolest
It is still easy to see why I thought RVD was the coolest when I was a teenager. His interactions with Sabu and Bill Alfonso, his awesome moves and the fact he wrestled like all the time made him a total bad ass then and today. Everyone talks about his matches with Jerry Lynn from 1999, but he did a lot more.
