[NWA] ECW TV 001

[Grape Ape]

"It is 10 PM, do you know where your children are"?

Following the public service announcement and the station logo disappears, the Eastern Championship Wrestling logo pops up, right into our opening ...



NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling presents: ECW TV 001
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Saturday, November 30th, 1993



We fade into the hosts, a suited Jay Sulli and the denim duster wearing Stevie Wonderful, both standing ringside.



Wonderful with a few insults for Sulli before the suited Sulli welcomes everyone to the return of NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling. Wonderful corrects Sulli about the rebirth of ECW being due to the fact that the wrestling fans of Philadelphia want to see him and is in fact NOT due to the persistance of Tod Gordon and the Sports Channel. The eye rolling Sulli turns it over to Tod Gordon ...

We go to the videotape ...



Tod Gordon: Good evening wrestling fans, I am Tod Gordon, President of NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling ... time and again, at great personal expense, stress to both me and my family, my vision for professional wrestling in Philadelphia has failed ... but ... I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it’s going to begin. With a heartfelt thank you to the SportsChannel and you, the Phildelphia faithful, I welcome you once again to NWA EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING!

With the end of El Presidente's message we come back to the ringside and the duo of Sulli and Wonderful. Sulli talks of the heartfelt message from Gordon, mentioning some of the "lowlights" of the past, especially the Hulk Hogan Fiasco. Wonderful says that isn't what the problem was, it was Gordon embezzling from the company. Sulli doubts that but Wonderful says he's got a source "inside". Anyway, Sulli goes on with trying to get the fans up to date with some of the goings on in ECW and when we come back ... we'll see the ECW Tag Team Champions in action!

x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x

We come back to Sulli and Wonderful and get information on the ECW Tag Team Champions, GQ and Tommy Dreamer ...



Having shown promise as a tag team throughout the Northeastern indy scene, Sulli directs us to a short video of the pair from their earlier days before we come back to the Champions inside the ring ...

ECW Tag Team Match: The Dreamers (C) versus the Bon Jovi Boys
While the rocking Bon Jovi Boys are cheered, the pink clad Dreamers aren't. GQ carries a small book to the ring, pointing at it while arguing with fans. Young Tommy tries to intercede and pull his brother away. Once we get underway, the challengers are a high speed duo, taking risks with a bit of high flying maneuvers that give them a quick advantage. With Tommy in, brother GQ constantly harangues the referee while pointing at his book. We get an argument between them, allowing Don and Dean Bon Jovi to get in a little double teaming. Lots of cheers for the challengers but Tommy is able to kick out each and every time. Comments from Wonderful about GQ Dreamer going places, probably not so for Tommy as he's too much of a pretty boy. A comeback for the Champs thanks to GQ nailing Don Bon Jovi in the back of the head with his book, unknown to both Tommy and the referee. Tommy Dreamer with a DDT on a woozy Don puts this one to bed.

More from Stevie Wonderful going on about Tommy not lasting in this business very long without brother GQ watching his back. Sulli defends Tommy, despite GQ's bending of the rules. In any case, the Dreamers defend their titles as ECW heads into the Terror in Tabor where the Tag Team Titles will be on the line at the Tabor Community Center when GQ and Tommy Dreamer defend the belts against the Boston Bad Boy, Tony Rumble's team of the Tazmaniacs! Coverage of the Terror in Tabor begins right here next week! Time to break for a commercial but when we come back, we look at the ECW Heavyweight Champion and the man he will defend his title against at the Terror in Tabor!

x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x

Back to our show, Sulli talks a bit about ring veteran Omar Atlas finally "getting his", winning the ECW Heavyweight Title. Atlas has wrestled all over the world but this is perhaps his biggest accomplishment. Wonderful doubts that, saying that this place probably won't be open more than a few weeks if past history comes into play and Tod Gordon takes the money and runs once again! Sulli ignores him and directs us to a video of the man Atlas will be facing at the Terror in Tabor ... the very popular Sandman!

We go to the videotape ...



Back to our hosts, Wonderful mocks the Sandman, saying no way "that guy" beats a real wrestler like Atlas. Even wonders how he gets a chick like the Beach Babe though he won't keep her for very long once she meets Stevie Wonderful. Oh brother! Sulli ignores him, commenting on one heck of a match up between the Sandman and Omar Atlas but right now, Omar Atlas with a big task before him as he faces the Samoan Warrior! Wonderful says that the Warrior is a big fat guy but no way Atlas is going to beat him.

ECW Heavyweight Title Match: Omar Atlas (C) versus the Samoan Warrior
We join the match in progress with the Warrior calling for a Test of Strength against the smaller Atlas. Looks like it is going to be a tough outing for the Champ as the Samoan Warrior powers Atlas to his knees. Atlas fights back and follows this formula with the much bigger Warrior using his size and mass to throw Atlas around and the Champion fighting back. With a drop toe hold, Atlas is able to ground the Warrior and work him on the mat, even able to roll him to his back for a near pinfall. The Warrior leaves the ring for a breather and Atlas fights past the referee to join him on the outside. A running knee to the big man's back is followed by a whip into the ring barrier. Atlas jaws about being the Champ before taking it back into the ring. The Samoan Warrior favors his back and Atlas zeroes in on it with the challenger doing his best to get away. A game of cat and mouse with Atlas now stalking his prey. Like the mythical figure, Omar Atlas is able to heft the great weight on his shoulders with the Somoan Warrior screaming in pain. Adjusting the weight across his back, Atlas drops his opponent with a Samoan Drop of all things. Seems to knock the Samoan Warrior silly as Atlas grabs a leg and takes the victory that no one is kicking out of.

Back to our hosts, Jay Sulli says the Champion is primed and ready for the next challenge, the Sandman at the Terror in Tabor. A surprised Wonderful says he know Atlas was going to beat the "Lard-O" Warrior. Oh brother! In any case, Jay Sulli says they are out of time ... join them next week right here as the NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling begins coverage of the Terror in Tabor!

[somethingsavage]

Great use of the commentary team throughout this one. Really helped to liven things up & carry the show along, in my eyes.

Pitting two polar opposites like the Sandman and Omar against each other could make for an entertaining program, if ya choose to pursue it beyond Tabor. Liked the presentation & Wonderful's reactions to Hak here already though. Neat way to intro Sandman and get over his unorthodox "gimmick" in a sense.

Fun interactions between the Dreamers also. Not sure what characters they necessarily portray anyway, but there's obviously something ya have in mind with 'em here. What's the book all about?

As usual, the pics were a neat feature. Always cool to see dated stuff like that, haha.

[Deleted]

You had good banter here with the commentators. That to me is always a good chunk of the show, at least with U.S. wrestling as it is what we are used to, and having just Joey Styles solo kind of kills that. He definitely has a place going solo, or in that pairing, but I much preferred this as a way to start. Pretty sure I used them too, honestly can't remember for the life of me though lol. May have had Styles in the place of 1. Wonderful specifically with the shots at Gordon and how the place will probably not even be here in a few weeks.

I will be the first to admit I have never heard of GQ Dreamer in real life or even knew that Tommy Dreamer had a gimmick brother at any point. I assume this is not like you did with the Douglas Brothers and they were at some point portrayed as brothers since you have their photo like that. Already showing the signs of dissension it seems with GQ more heelish and Tommy more by the books, no pun intended since there was a book involved in their gimmick. A feud like that rests a lot on the build of them first, so hopefully it is a slow build, especially for me when again, no idea who the 1 guy is. Said it before too, your tag team division for whatever reason since it is not like these teams are well known or this is deep into your run here to have them established, but it looks really good early on.

Nice build for the title match to close the show. The pairing does make a nice contrast in styles to paint Atlas as this serious, world traveled wrestler, while Sandman is more something out of the WWF low mid-card with that more cartoonish gimmick right now. Look forward to the TVs from the Tabor shows.

[promoterx]

Dreamer was a partner with GQ Madison as TD Madison in the Northeast Indys back in the day, like them being the Dreamers instead of the Madisons, but maybe that's because I used to date a girl named Madison and still have nightmares about her...........


Like the video for Sandman, where in the hell did you dig that up? Pretty cool seeing what he was before he became the Sandman everyone knows.

Good little match for Omar to sell him as Champion, nice little gift for the journeyman.

I am really interested to see what you do with ECW, looking at the FA wire there is plenty of guys that can fit the promotion, so it'll be neat to see how you bring them in, if you bring them in, and what you will do with them. Looking forward to a fun ride.

[Grape Ape]

GQ and TD had a very good tag run together for the Savoldi's ICW in the early 90's, carrying the tag titles a couple of times (I believe). Not sure what GQ did after Tommy moved on, if anything and was suddenly gone from the business.

The Douglas Brothers came about because of a picture I saw of Chris Duffy that had an uncanny resemblance to a young Shane Douglas. For some reason, I am fascinated brother teams and multiple generation wrestling families. The KAW duo was set to have a relatively short shelf life before moving Shane into a feud with Prof. Tony Falk and the members of Falk U!

The Sulli/Wonderful team are slated for the early shows and will most likely be replaced by Joey Styles down the road.

Lots of guys on the FA list that could fit here.

[Deleted]

Can't really add much more here. This was a lot of fun throughout. Really captured the feel of the early days of Eastern Championship Wrestling throughout. Can't wait till the Terror in Tabor coverage begins!

Also it's good to see the Boni Jovi Boys gimmick come with you, it honestly makes more sense here for Nova & Don E. to be working on the East Coast as opposed to Oklahoma.