Often times, great ideas on paper turn out to be manure in execution. Welcome to another edition of UnWrest Focus REWIND as I dare watch what has been considered to be one of the worst moments in ECW history: the "shoot fight" between Chris Jericho and Taz.
You would think this would be a good idea. Taz's gimmick was that of being an MMA tough guy and shoot fighter. Chris Jericho, even at his young age back then, was considered to be one of the best young talents in the world. So, having these guys work in a match that had no rules and would convince the fans that this was a "real fight" should work.
Well, in watching ECW Unreleased Vol. 2, even Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles admitted that this match was a debacle. Styles himself said he tried as best he could to make this presentable. So, what the heck am I doing watching this match? Well, for better or for worse, I am a true wrestling fan. I've seen my fair share of bad matches before (Kennel from Hell, WarGames 2000, most celebrity matches). I think I can stomach this. Right?
Let's find out!
ECW
April 13, 1996
"Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight"
Chris Jericho (w/ ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon) vs. Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso)
Jericho comes to the ring with Tod Gordon. And here comes Taz, the walking personification of tough. The referee tell Fonzie that he has to be handcuffed to Gordon to prevent him from interfering in the match. The handcuffs are on.
The bell rings. Jericho kicks at Taz. Taz catches the leg and goes into a front face lock. Fujiwara armbar and suplex by Taz. (Um... I don't remember seeing that in MMA. Then again, after seeing what happened at UFC 228, they obviously took some notes from either ECW or Ron Artest/Metta World Peace).
Taz and Jericho are rolling through submissions in the ring while Gordon and Fonzie are arguing at ringside. They're continuing to do wrestling moves in a shoot fight. Jericho now hits Taz with a German suplex. One of the referees gets superkicked by a member of Team Taz. He gets the key from him and undoes the handcuffs to Gordon. Now, Fonzie hits Jericho with a chair. Tazmission on Jericho. The referee turns around and calls for the bell.
Winner: Taz
Match Grade: W. As in what the hell was that silliness about? That was basically a wrestling match. The only thing missing was a bunch of Jericho's aerial maneuvers. I don't even get what they were trying to do here. On one hand, it definitely didn't make Taz look any better. For that matter, Jericho gains nothing from even being in the match. Nothing is advanced, and the fans get robbed of 10 minutes of their life. DUD.
Wait, the referee sees the chair and hits Tod Gordon with the chair. Now, he's attacking Gordon. They were in cahoots. Taz now does Sabu's taunt to further continue that rivalry. Now, the MMA referee is getting paid in front of the fans by Alfonso.
_ _ _ _ _
Now, I will say this: There are PLENTY of things in ECW's history that should be remembered being worse than this. This is just unfortunate on so many levels. We know Taz and Jericho can do much better than this, but ECW overbooked the heck out of this match and helped absolutely no one in the process. When you screw over the fans, you are basically screwing only yourself as a promotion. I get that ECW wanted to get in on the MMA craze of the 1990s. But if you are going to do it, do it authentically. Otherwise, just let Jericho do their thing and have a match.
All that being said, this was hardly one of the worst matches/segments I've ever seen. It's just disappointing, and that's enough of an indictment on this match.
_ _ _ _
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
You would think this would be a good idea. Taz's gimmick was that of being an MMA tough guy and shoot fighter. Chris Jericho, even at his young age back then, was considered to be one of the best young talents in the world. So, having these guys work in a match that had no rules and would convince the fans that this was a "real fight" should work.
Well, in watching ECW Unreleased Vol. 2, even Tommy Dreamer and Joey Styles admitted that this match was a debacle. Styles himself said he tried as best he could to make this presentable. So, what the heck am I doing watching this match? Well, for better or for worse, I am a true wrestling fan. I've seen my fair share of bad matches before (Kennel from Hell, WarGames 2000, most celebrity matches). I think I can stomach this. Right?
Let's find out!
ECW
April 13, 1996
"Extreme Hardcore Shoot Fight"
Chris Jericho (w/ ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon) vs. Taz (w/ Bill Alfonso)
Jericho comes to the ring with Tod Gordon. And here comes Taz, the walking personification of tough. The referee tell Fonzie that he has to be handcuffed to Gordon to prevent him from interfering in the match. The handcuffs are on.
The bell rings. Jericho kicks at Taz. Taz catches the leg and goes into a front face lock. Fujiwara armbar and suplex by Taz. (Um... I don't remember seeing that in MMA. Then again, after seeing what happened at UFC 228, they obviously took some notes from either ECW or Ron Artest/Metta World Peace).
Taz and Jericho are rolling through submissions in the ring while Gordon and Fonzie are arguing at ringside. They're continuing to do wrestling moves in a shoot fight. Jericho now hits Taz with a German suplex. One of the referees gets superkicked by a member of Team Taz. He gets the key from him and undoes the handcuffs to Gordon. Now, Fonzie hits Jericho with a chair. Tazmission on Jericho. The referee turns around and calls for the bell.
Winner: Taz
Match Grade: W. As in what the hell was that silliness about? That was basically a wrestling match. The only thing missing was a bunch of Jericho's aerial maneuvers. I don't even get what they were trying to do here. On one hand, it definitely didn't make Taz look any better. For that matter, Jericho gains nothing from even being in the match. Nothing is advanced, and the fans get robbed of 10 minutes of their life. DUD.
Wait, the referee sees the chair and hits Tod Gordon with the chair. Now, he's attacking Gordon. They were in cahoots. Taz now does Sabu's taunt to further continue that rivalry. Now, the MMA referee is getting paid in front of the fans by Alfonso.
_ _ _ _ _
Now, I will say this: There are PLENTY of things in ECW's history that should be remembered being worse than this. This is just unfortunate on so many levels. We know Taz and Jericho can do much better than this, but ECW overbooked the heck out of this match and helped absolutely no one in the process. When you screw over the fans, you are basically screwing only yourself as a promotion. I get that ECW wanted to get in on the MMA craze of the 1990s. But if you are going to do it, do it authentically. Otherwise, just let Jericho do their thing and have a match.
All that being said, this was hardly one of the worst matches/segments I've ever seen. It's just disappointing, and that's enough of an indictment on this match.
_ _ _ _
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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