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.

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1995 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

It took me a long time to finish this one. I couldn’t just power through it, but I wanted to make sure that I started reviewing all the ECW events I could get my hands on. Now, I owned the original releases from RF video and from boot legs that I traded for. ECW Hardcore Heaven 1995 is an event that featured great wrestling, some hardcore, and some not so hardcore elements. If you see this on WWE Network, you will NOT get the real crowd reaction nor will you get the music. It’s heavily edited. I recommend picking up the original release by clicking here, or the dvd option here.

This event occurred on July 1, 1995 and had 1,150 people in attendance at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a super card, and was NOT on pay per view.

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1995 Results and Review

The Dudley Brothers defeated The Pitbulls

This wasn’t the Dudleys that you remember today. This was the initial introduction and they weren’t really good. The Pitbulls were massive, over, and put the boots to the Dudleys in this one. However, the two exchanged brawling elements before the Dudley’s number game caught up with the Pitbulls. Not a great match, but definitely an interesting starter.

Dino Sendoff and Don E vs. Chad Austin and The Broad Street Bully (no contest)

The crowd was really letting these guys have it, until 911 showed up and choke slammed everyone to oblivion.

Hack Meyers defeated Big Malley

A forgettable match, nothing special here.

2 Cold Scorpio defeated Taz

Taz looked great here. His suplexes are so crisp, great work from him. Scorpio picked up the win, and I can’t help but remember Flash Funk and how the WWE really missed the boat with him. Scorpio picked up the win with high flying moves that predate a lot of the style that you see today. Taz, wow, dude just has such quick suplexes, this wasn’t a classic, but it was definitely a good match.

Raven and Stevie Richards defeated Tommy Dreamer and Luna Vachon

This was a fun match to watch. Luna Vachon is underrated in my book. Dreamer got a ton of offense, but would eventually cave to Raven and Richards. The Pitbulls made an appearance here, and it was just a brawl throughout the match before Raven and Richards got the win.

Axl Rotten defeated Ian Rotten (Taipei Death match)

This was just a brawl. The gimmick is that each participants hands were wrapped in tape and glass. It was brutal, but Axl Rotten would win. Not a good match folks. It was just blood and guts. ECW trademarks, I guess.

The Sandman defeated Cactus Jack (ECW World Championship Match)

Cactus came out with his arm wrapped in barbed wire. Sandman came out drinking and with Woman (Nancy Benoit). This match was nothing short of a cluster of missed time wrestling moves, and brawling. Sandman is not a technical great, and Cactus carried him through 13 watchable minutes of what you may call a wrestling match. Lots of cane shots, lots of barbed wire, lots of blood, and the classic Cactus Jack spots.

The Public Enemy defeated The Gangstas

This was a brawl with weapons. Overall, nothing grand, unless you really liked these two teams. People went through tables, lots of hard hits to the head with weapons, and eventually The Gangstas go down in a heap. The fans jumped in the ring and celebrated with Public Enemy to send everyone home happy.

Overall, this show wasn’t half bad. It’s not a great one, but it’s not a terrible match. If you liked WWE’s hardcore division or WCW’s hardcore title, then this is for you. It’s a cluster of violence, with a ton of plunder, and no real psychology. It’s a fun watch, but nothing that great. The post match celebration was memorable.

Overall Rating 5 out of 10

That’s it for ECW’s Hardcore Heaven 1995. While the WWE Network version is fine, I highly recommend getting the UNEDITED version. It's rare, out of print and hard to find. That has the original music, the original full length matches, uncensored commentary and more. It’s just better. Until next time, this has been another review of a classic card, from the VHS days.