ECW Cyberslam 1996 Results and Review

ECW Cyberslam 1996 VHS Cover Art

I’m going to be reviewing more and more older wrestling since I am paying for the WWE Network. Today, we go back to 1996. In that year, I was only 13 years old, and I was starting to garner a giant VHS wrestling collection. I had nearly every WWF event either live from the original PPV recording, or from purchases I made at video stores. I didn’t have a lot of ECW events, so I didn’t get to see this one until recently. I can tell you that the original DVD and VHS tapes are way better than the WWE Network stuff because they have to edit out the music, and some of the obscene things that are in the event. However, you’re going to still see a lot of it, and well, here we go, a review of the event that occurred on February 17, 1996, known as Cyberslam 96!

ECW Cyberslam 1996 Results and Review

The Bad Crew and Judge Dredd defeated Dino Sendoff, Don E. Allen, and The Dirt Bike Kid

This was a 2 minute match of just bad attempts at wrestling. Not every ECW performer was great. This was just filler, and it was ok, I guess.

Spiro Greco defeated El Puerto Riqueno

This was a four minute lucha type match, and while it was a bit faster paced than the previous one, it’s not that good either. I liked it for what it was, but it was definitely not worth going back to watch.

Taz defeated Joel Hartgood

A squash match that was less than two minutes, and not much to say about this one. Sorry.

Buh Buh Ray Dudley defeated Mr. Hughes

This match was under a minute, I kid you not! This was a terrible squash, but hey that’s what wrestling was back then, I guess.

The Bruise Brothers defeated The Headhunters

Another fast paced match, but not much wrestling action, It was ok at best, and it was a normal tag match with only about 4 minutes of time given to it. This was definitely more like a Raw tag match, and just filler for the other matches.

J.T. Smith defeated Axl Rotten

This was a slightly longer match than the other ones, and it wasn’t half bad. It was ok for what it was, but it definitely left a lot to be desired as it was only about 7 minutes long.

Francine and The Pitbulls defeated Stevie Richards and The Eliminators in a Dog Collar Match

Now this is more like it. A stellar outing with a lot of brawling, and a lot of back and forth. Some great table spots, and some hard hitting elements, alongside Francine looking sexy as always. This was one hell of a brawl for the two teams, and at one point the dog collar snapped on Saturn, and he was free. But other than that, the teams were nearly killing each other for this match, and the crowd was going nuts.

2 Cold Scorpio versus Sabu ended in a Time Limit Draw

This match was for the ECW World Television Championship and it was one hell of a battle. The two guys went back and forth, and at one point I thought Sabu was dead. Scorpio was so good, I wish he didn’t have drug problems because he would have made it huge in wrestling. I loved his work, and he still goes strong in this match. Sabu is looking beat up even in 1996, but he throws down some great moments, and Scorpio looks legit knocked out a few times with chair shots and Sabu’s onslaught of action. This is a 30 minute match of pain, and it was great to see.

Shane Douglas defeated Cactus Jack

In one of the last appearances of Cactus Jack before he became Mankind about a month later, here’s Shane Douglas putting the fists and the boots to Cactus. This match was a lot like the Royal Rumble match that Foley had with the Rock, and it was a hard hitting affair. Douglas eventually handcuffs Cactus and he gets pummeled with unprotected chair shots. Out runs Mikey Whipwreck, Cactus Jacks’s partner in ECW and he brings a chair and knocks out Cactus, letting Shane Douglas get the win. A great hard hitting match, and one of the better ones on the card.

Raven defeated The Sandman

This was only about 10 minutes, but the crowd ate it up. Sandman brought out Missy Hyatt and she fought with Kimona Wanalaya and it was an extreme cat fight where they didn’t pull any punches. They were literally beating the hell out of each other. Meanwhile, Raven had help from the Blue Meanie and Stevie Richards. The Sandman got some great shots in, and he’s so sloppy that it just looked painful to watch Raven take abuse. Raven eventually got the win, but he had to take a great deal of abuse before the win.

That concludes ECW Cyberslam 1996. Not a terrible PPV, not a great one, but definitely worth checking out for the last 4 matches. That really had me going for this one. OH, and at one point Brian Pillman shows up and launches into his crazy Mark’s promo!

You can purchase ECW Cyberslam UNEDITED by CLICKING HERE, otherwise watch it on the WWE Network, but it’s going to be heavily edited.

WCW World War 3 1996 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

And here we go, in 1996 this event was definitely an intriguing one. If you are not familiar with the wrestling event of WCW World War 3, you should know that it has 3 rings and 60 men. That’s right, 3 rings, and 60 men go in, and only 1 wins. It’s a battle royal to end all battle royals, and it’s amazing to say the least. I loved these events, and absolutely enjoyed the 60 man gimmick. Anyways, for 1996, the VHS was unedited. When I watched it back on the network, I noticed a lot of blurs, and changes made by the WWE team. So if you’re going to watch this, get the unedited version, or just watch it on the network, what do I care?

In Norfolk, Virginia a crowd of 10,314 was gathered to see this one, and there was a lot of action. I didn’t get to see the dark match, but apparently it featured La Parka and Villano IV. So here we go, Sunday, November 24, 1996, World War 3 cue the fireworks.

WCW World War 3 1996 Results and Review

The Ultimate Dragon defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. (J Crown Championship)

Holy crap! This was an opener that you have to see. These two were in their absolute primes. Mysterio is young, light, and flies around the ring like no other. Ultimate Dragon is a great fighter, and he really showcases some great respect for Mysterio in this match. I loved the back and forth, and the two were playing a game of pro-wrestling chess. Dragon would eventually get the win, and that was that.

Chris Jericho defeated Nick Patrick in a one arm tied behind the back match

This was not a high point for Chris Jericho. He beat up Nick Patrick, in a forgettable match.

Harlem heat defeated The Amazing French-Canadians

Not a great match, but afterwards Sherri would get Colonel Robert Parker for 5 minutes. She is awesome, and she really threw herself around the ring. As for Harlem Heat, they worked stiff, and I don’t know how a lot of teams let Booker T drop his tree trunk of a leg on their heads. Holy crap. You have to see him fly around the ring.

Dean Malenko defeated Psychosis (Cruiserweight Championship)

Malenko was all technical wrestling in this one. Psychosis is a high flyer normally, but Malenko had him grounded for the whole match. I was surprised how this went, and Malenko would eventually get the win. Psychosis is one of my favorite luchadors, but here, he just couldn’t get much going against a very methodical Malenko.

The Outsiders defeated The Faces of Fear and The Nasty Boys (World Tag Team Championship)

This match was hard hitting. The Outsiders and the rest worked stiff in my view. They all brawled but it would eventually be The Outsiders with the win. This was like watching the old school get tossed aside for the new. The Outsiders won after around 16 minutes.

The Giant won the World War 3 match

This was amazing. The ending had the NWO against Lex Luger alone. Luger took on all of them by himself, but eventually it was The Giant that would give him the win. Great match, and a lot of fun.

WCW World War 3 Competitors: Arn Anderson, Marcus Bagwell, The Barbarian, Chris Benoit, Big Bubba Rogers, Jack Boot, Bunkhouse Buck, Ciclope, Disco Inferno, Jim Duggan, Bobby Eaton, Mike Enos, Galaxy, Joe Gomez, Jimmy Del Ray, Johnny Grunge, Juventud Guerrera, Eddy Guerrero, Scott Hall, Prince Iaukea, Ice Train, Mr. JL, Jeff Jarrett, Chris Jericho, Kenny Kaos, Konnan, Lex Luger, Dean Malenko, Steve McMichael, Meng, Rey Misterio Jr., Hugh Morrus, Kevin Nash, Scott Norton, Carl Ouellet, Diamond Dallas Page, La Parka, Sgt. Craig Pittman, Jim Powers, Robbie Rage, Stevie Ray, Lord Steven Regal, The Renegade, Scotty Riggs, Roadblock, Jacques Rougeau, Tony Rumble, Mark Starr, Rick Steiner, Ron Studd, The Taskmaster, Syxx, Booker T, Squire David Taylor, the Ultimate Dragon, Villano IV, Michael Wallstreet, Pez Whatley and Alex Wright.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 10

The event seemed short to me. I don’t know if that’s editing on the WWE’s part, or it was that short. Other than that, the matches were not that great, with the exception of the opener, which was a lot of fun to watch. The rest was ok at best. Good back and forth hard style wrestling at points, but it’s the main event and opener that is worth checking this out for.

If you find this on VHS, you should buy it, why not? It’s better than the network experience, I guarantee it.