The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “palooza” as a large-scale festival or event, characterized by a specific thing or person. While CM Punk finds the name “ridiculous,” Wrestlepalooza kicked off a new era of WWE PLEs on ESPN. Wrestlepalooza was originally an event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) until the company went out of business in 2001, and WWE acquired the assets in 2003.
Wrestlepalooza is not the first time WWE has used an event name from ECW’s past. Heatwave was ECW’s summertime pay-per-view and is now an NXT PLE. ECW held four Wrestlepalooza events, featuring a total of 29 matches between 1995 and 2000. Despite ECW’s reputation for consistently delivering memorable cards, there is one Wrestlepalooza to rule them all.
Wrestlepalooza ‘97 emanated from South Philadelphia’s ECW Arena on Saturday, June 7, 1997. It was a fun time to be a diehard wrestling fan as the Monday Night War was on fire. WCW Monday Nitro was 12 months into its infamous streak, beating WWF Monday Night Raw in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, ECW influenced changes within the industry, in front of and behind the camera.
Wrestlers were constantly jumping ship to different promotions, creating a “You never know who will show up next” atmosphere across the big three promotions in the United States. A hallmark of ECW was its ability to make the most of its shocking arrivals. One of ECW’s top stars was leaving the promotion for greener pastures, while a star from another company crashed the party in lights-out fashion.
The voice of ECW, Joey Styles, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude opened the show to announce a change to the world title match. Stevie Richards was pulled from the match due to what was thought to be a career-ending neck injury. Terry Funk would now defend the ECW World Heavyweight Championship against the Triple Threat’s Chris Candido on short notice.
- ECW Television Championship:
“The Franchise” Shane Douglas (c) w/ Francine vs. Chris Chetti
Douglas made a gentleman’s agreement with Chetti to have a traditional wrestling match instead of a weapons-filled brawl. Chetti outwrestled Douglas until Francine interfered. Douglas capitalized on the distraction and hit Chetti with a chair. So much for a clean wrestling match. The fans booed Douglas for hitting Chetti with a soft chairshot. Douglas made good on the second chairshot. The fans applauded, but Douglas shunned their approval with a pair of middle fingers.
Chetti missed a moonsault and lost his balance on the landing long enough for Douglas to deliver his signature Bell to Belly suplex for the win. Chetti was touted as a top prospect at the time, and Douglas did a good job of putting him over as such despite beating him in under seven minutes. Douglas luckily caught Chetti and conveyed as much with his facial reaction before the arrogant smugness quickly returned.
– The Pitbulls vs. The F.B.I. (Little Guido & Tracy Smoothers) w/ “Wildfire” Tommy Rich
The Pitbulls planted Little Guido with a SuperBomb to defeat the FBI. Tracy Smothers, hilariously announced from the Nashville section of Sicily, and Guido got the heat early on with their antics and blatant cheating until the power game of the Pitbulls became too much to handle. This was the last big win for the Pitbulls as they would leave the promotion a month later, while the FBI went on to become one of ECW’s most enduring acts.
– The Dudley Boyz vs. The Sandman & Balls Mahoney
The Dudleys beat the makeshift team of The Sandman and Balls Mahoney in a number one contenders match. Mahoney was relatively new to ECW at the time and made an impression with the fans in a loss to the Sandman months earlier. Buh Buh Ray and D-Von were in the midst of their push to become main event acts. The Dudleys hit Mahoney with a 3D on a steel chair to move on and face the Eliminators later in the evening.
– ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Terry Funk (c) vs. Chris Candido
Things started on a somber note as Stevie Richards came to the ring and gave Terry Funk his flowers. Stevie’s withdrawal from the bout was already announced. The fans genuinely felt bad for Stevie since rumors about his injury and potential retirement had been leaked online. Chris Candido, who was a heel, put aside the bad guy persona while wearing “The Funker’s” striped tights as tribute.
The match was a slow, plodding brawl that was cursed with poorly timed spots and a table that broke too early during a piledriver. After a series of slaps and punches that lacked intensity. Funk pinned Candido with a rolling cradle to retain the title. However, the fans chanted “Bullshit” because it was clear that Candido’s shoulders were up. Funk immediately rolled out of the ring and threw his arms up as if he was over the whole thing.
– Tommy Dreamer w/ Beulah McGillicutty vs. Raven w/ Chasity and Lupus
The next installment of the Tommy Dreamer/Raven saga became more complicated when the news broke that Raven was leaving ECW and signing with WCW. Dreamer had never beaten Raven, and this was his last chance to score that elusive win against the man he’d been feuding with since their time together at summer camp. Many assumed Raven would lose. However, this was ECW, which meant Raven could get the last laugh on his way out.
At the bell, Lupus told Raven to leave since it was his last night. Dreamer cut off Raven, and they bralwed to the Eagle’s Nest, where Shane Douglas and Francine had a birdseye view of the action. Raven and Dreamer played their best hits as an ode to their storied rivalry. Raven tortured Dreamer with some extreme offense using a chair, and Dreamer received an assist, courtesy of a disguised “Do Not Enter” sign from the fan affectionately known as Sign Guy.
The odds piled up against Dreamer as they usually did when he fought Raven. The worst of it came from Dreamer’s newest rival, Louie Spicolli. Dreamer took a beating until he knocked Spicolli out of the equation and traded DDTs with Raven. Then, Dreamer delivered the one final DDT onto the street sign as he screamed “E-C-F’N-W” to score that elusive win over his arch nemesis.
Up next is the most well-booked, wild sequence of events ever produced in wrestling.
– ECW Arena Invasion
Dreamer had no time to celebrate his well-earned win as the lights went out in the arena. When the lights came back on, Dreamer received a Van Daminator from the WWF-endorsed Rob Van Dam. Dreamer fought back, and the lights went out again. This time, Sabu is in the ring and throws a steel chair at Dreamer’s head. The lights go out for a third time. The lights come back on, and surprise! Jerry Lawler is in the ring.
Dreamer charged at Lawler in a fit of rage, but got cut off by Van Dam and Sabu. Bill Alfonso erratically blew his whistle while Louie Spicolli held down Beulah McGillicutty in the corner. Lawler insulted all things extreme on the microphone and uttered his infamous line, “This bingo hall oughta be built out of toilet paper because there’s nothing in it but shit.”
The locker room emptied as Sabu and Van Dam intercepted anyone who tried to stop Lalwer’s offensive presence in the ECW Arena. Axl Rotten, Chris Chetti, Blue Meanie, Nova, Little Guido, and Balls Mahoney were picked off one by one. Even Paul Heyman tried to get his hands on Lawler, but couldn’t get past the blockade they had created.
Alfonso called out Shane Douglas. The fans popped at the idea of Douglas and the Triple Threat charging the ring to challenge the WWF-sponsored invasion. Douglas insulted the WWF every chance he could get. Surely he would jump at the opportunity to send Lawler, Sabu, and Van Dam packing. Such a tantalizing idea was met with refusal. Douglas casually told Alfonso to kick all the asses he wants and that he has no part in it.
Natural Born Killaz blasts through the speakers to signal the arrival of The Gangstas. It was another jolt of excitement that was quickly extinguished by Van Dam and Sabu. The Sandman came out and cracked anything that moved with the Singapore cane, but he was quickly subdued. There seemed to be no one left to defend ECW’s honor. Lawler claimed as much, but there was one last hope. TAZ finally made his way to the ring.
Sabu wanted to fight Taz, but Van Dam, Lawler, and Alfonso held him back as they cleared the ring. Taz stood tall in the ring as medics attended to the injured wrestlers. Taz got the microphone and told Lawler to suck his BLEEP.
Shane Douglas interrupted Taz and told him to calm down because he had already run off everyone. Taz warned Douglas never to interrupt him again. Remember this, as it will play a big role in what happens later.
Taz said he wasn’t waiting until the main event and wouldn’t leave the ring until Sabu came out to fight him. Alfonso baited Taz, told him he missed the boat on his Monday night dealings. Sabu returned, emulating a boxer’s skip with a big smile on his face.
– Taz/Sabu Backstory
Taz entered their initial bout at ECW’s inaugural pay-per-view Barely Legal as the rogue heel while Sabu was the noble babyface. Taz won the match but fell victim to the traitorous Bill Alfonso in the aftermath. Alfonso’s heel turn was foreshadowed in the match by Sabu countering and even applying some of Taz’s moves.
The first match occurred under the veil of a broken promise. Both men gave their word to Paul Heyman that they would never fight each other. This stemmed from Taz being mad at Sabu for no showing their tag title match in 1995 in favor of a booking with New Japan Pro Wrestling. This time, no such promises were made.
– Taz vs. Sabu w/ Bill Alfonso
Taz unexpectedly went for a top rope somersault, but there was no water in the pool. Sabu put Taz through a table with a twisting frog splash off the top rope. Taz recovered quickly and locked in the Taz Mission, but Sabu rolled backwards and scored the pin. Taz refused to let go of the hold and eventually attacked anyone who tried to break it up.
This was a surprisingly short match, considering it was a big rematch, but it never felt rushed and said what it needed to say. Taz and Sabu worked well together, playing into the reverse dynamic, and were now 1-1 against each other. Sabu got the win using a basic wrestling counter, which rubbed a little extra salt on the wound of Taz’s defeat.
Shane Douglas told Taz to leave the ring, citing he was trying to enjoy the show and had seen enough of his “greasy ass.” Taz dared Douglas to make him leave, but “The Franchise” refused, saying he gets nothing out of showing Taz how to throw a proper suplex. Taz guaranteed he could make Douglas tap in under five minutes, or he’d leave ECW for 30 days.
Douglas offered to put the TV Title on the line, which incentivized Taz to up the ante that he’d make Douglas tap out in three minutes or he’d leave ECW for 60 days without pay. Douglas agreed to the terms and mockingly said he hoped Taz saved his money because his family was going to fucking starve.
– ECW Television Championship: “The Franchise” Shane Douglas w/ Francine vs. Taz
Douglas subverted expectations by going right after Taz’s surgically repaired neck instead of wrestling as a hit-and-run heel. One minute and thirty seconds into the three-minute affair, Douglas made Taz a sympathetic protagonist. Taz countered Douglas and applied the Taz Mission, but couldn’t get his hooks in. With thirty seconds left, Douglas tried to kick backwards like Sabu did earlier, but it didn’t work. Taz got his hooks in, and Douglas tapped out! Taz is the new ECW Television Champion!
Taz’s title win was the exclamation mark on a fifty-minute string of tremendous storytelling. Action, emotion, elevation, and high stakes were conveyed in a manner unseen in wrestling today. An already popular Taz was elevated even further, while Douglas’ loss set the stage for his world title win two months later. Tommy Dreamer’s short-lived celebration, followed by the sight of Jerry Lawler inside the ECW Arena, was worth the price of admission alone. Sabu and Rob Van Dam picking off talent one by one was an emotional rollercoaster with intense peaks and valleys that never let up.
- ECW World Tag Team Championship:
The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray & D-Von Dudley)
The Eliminators were expected to surrender the titles to the Dudleys due to Saturn’s torn ACL. However, Kronus wanted to defend the titles by himself, but Buh Buh objected and inadvertently goaded commissioner Tod Gordon into starting the match. The Dudleys used every trick in the book, including interference from their enforcer, Big Dick Dudley.
Kronus hung in there and hit a beautiful 450 splash on D-Von, but the referee was down. Saturn broke one of his crutches over Big Dick Dudley’s head, hobbled up to the top rope, and hit D-Von with an elbow drop. Saturn was in a lot of pain, but somehow made the cover as the referee came back in to count the 1-2-3.
So, no one knew about Saturn’s injury until sometime AFTER the Dudleys earned their title shot, three matches into the show? If this were a shoot, there is no way ECW wasn’t aware of Saturn’s injury before the bell. So, unbeknownst to the Dudleys, they were fighting to win the titles via forfeit? Chalk this match-up to sacrificing logical storytelling for the moment.
However, wrestling is about the moments.
The Eliminators wanted to go out on their shield, even if it meant holding on to their titles for one more day. Saturn’s elbow drop was the ultimate display of guts and determination, earning him a standing ovation as he was carried out of the ECW Arena on a stretcher. It was a well-earned moment that marked Saturn’s swan song with the promotion.
Saturn informed Paul Heyman he could no longer work with Kronus due to personal issues and wanted to start working as a singles wrestler. Heyman refused, stating he invested too much money in the Eliminators to break them up. 13 days later, Saturn was released from his contract, and Kronus lost the titles in a handicap match to the Dudleys.
– The Finish
Wrestlepalooza ’97 didn’t have a match of the year candidate and produced a disjointed world title bout. Still, the show is an excellent example of prime ECW. Chaos, carnage, and calamity were woven together with nuanced storytelling that encompassed the elevation of main characters and an invasion angle. The teases, the hope, and the rescue by Taz will make any wrestling fan of any generation stand up and chant “E-C-Dub, E-C-Dub.”
The last ride of the Eliminators, Taz ending Shane Douglas’ year-long title reign in under three minutes, Jerry Lawler nearly inciting a riot, and Tommy Dreamer finally defeating Raven were all unforgettable moments. The energy of the electric crowd in the ECW Arena was the glue that held it all together. The narrative and behind-the-scenes impact of Wrestlepalooza was felt in ECW, WCW, and WWE, marking an unprecedented milestone.
The success of Wrestlepalooza ’97 led to ECW making it a pay-per-view event the following year. The June 10, 1996, episode of ECW Hardcore TV contains everything from Dreamer vs. Raven to Taz’s title win and all of the mayhem in between. Those looking for the original ECW home video version of the show can click here to watch it in all its unedited glory.
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