Names like Billy Suede, Tony Baroni, and Jamie Diaz won’t ring a bell with most wrestling fans, but give it some time.
Founded in 1996, Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling’s been the stomping grounds of many wrestlers before they rose through the ranks elsewhere. One good example is The Hart Dynasty, who called ECCW home before they debuted in WWE.
Shows are shot with handheld cameras and commentary isn’t great, but look beyond that and you’ll find a solid product within ECCW with a few stars, while not quite ready for the big leagues, are making the most of their time in ECCW. This was evident on “TLC VI,†filmed in March earlier this year.
Matches:
Artemis Spencer/Divine Prophet Vs “Brilliant†Billy Suede/Kenny Lush: The match went on longer than needed, but both former Tag Champion teams made it worthwhile. The Match ended when Prophet walked out on Spencer after he was accidentally hit with a dropkick, leaving him as prey for Lush/Suede as they capitalized and picked up the win.
Azeem The Dream vs. Lumberjack Bubba: Dream was accompanied by his manager, The Natural, who sported a suit and sunglasses, had shades of the late Larry Sweeney in him. It was all over when Azeem hit a low blow/DDT on Bubba with the Ref’s back turned after The Natural interfered to pick up the cheap victory. Nothing special.
Rick The Weapon X vs. Abbadon: Abbadon looked like a Legion Of Doom reject, but had a certain charm, even if he did weird things like scream gibberish and hump Rick’s leg. Abbadon scored the pin in a somewhat entertaining contest.
Nick Price vs. Jamie Diaz (2011 Pacific Cup Qualifier): Diaz had the support of his manger, the ridiculously named Chuck Awesomesauce, while Price was cocky enough to be his own manager. This was one hell of a bout with numerous near-falls as it could have been either man’s match, but Price picked up the win and responded to Diaz’s handshake offer with the finger.
Nicole Matthews vs. Chuck Awesomesauce (2011 Pacific Cup Qualifier): Matthews cut a promo about how she deserved to qualify and a decision was made that Matthews would face Awesomesauce in a qualifying match. Awesomesauce spent most of the match on the run from Matthews, but she eventually got the better of him, even if things ended controversially when Matthews scored the pin with Awesomesauce’s foot on the rope.
Scotty Mac/Dropkick Murphy vs. El Phantasmo/J-Sin Sullivan: Manager Michael Sweetser came out with Mac/Murphy and had quite the presence outside the ring. Phantasmo can fly, he even used his partner to catapult himself to the outside and took out Mac, Murphy, Sweetser, and a few rows with a dive. Sullivan also worked his ass off hard to please the crowd. Sullivan/Phantasmo hit their Superkick/Jay Driller combo to collect the pin.
Bishop vs. Tony Baroni in a TLC Match (EECW Heavyweight Championship): Both men went all out and provided viewers with countless harmful ways to use a chair. The Natural was outside, and it wasn’t long before he interfered for his Natural Selection stablemate, and instructed Azeem The Dream to come into the ring as well, which backfired when Azeem was accidentally clobbered with a chair courtesy of The Natural. Baroni dived onto a chair-covered Bishop and Bishop hit a Van Terminator on Baroni and also powerbombed him through a table from the top rope. This hard-fought battle ended when Baroni knocked Bishop from the arena’s balcony and sent him through tables on the floor below, which allowed Baroni to become the new Champion.
Final Thoughts: Solid show with some great matches like Bishop-Baroni, Diaz-Price, and Mac/Murphy-Phantasmo/Sullivan. Guys like Baroni, Diaz, Price, Suede, and Phantasmo have bright futures ahead of them if they continue to work the way they do. Matches like Azeem-Lumberjack Bubba, Matthews-Awesomesauce, and Abbadon-Rick Weapon X served as filler, but the right people went over. Time will tell if any more ECCW talent will move on to the big leagues but for the meantime, fans should enjoy what they see.
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