It’s time once again for the At Odds homework. Each and every week that there is not a major PPV, Joe and Adam assign a “classic” wrestling event for the other one to watch. And for listeners that need to do something else in their free time. This week’s homework is two episodes of ECW Hardcore TV from 10/17 and 10/24/1995.

We start out with “Beulah’s Box”. Write in to the address later on in the show and Beulah will… I don’t know. It’s never really said. I’m guessing they send a catalog and on the front is a big ad for an autographed Beulah bikini picture for $24.99.

This is height of her powers Beulah. I remember saving my taped off TV VHS of this episode because the Heart Shaped Box music video best of Beulah is stunning. In the House Show series we’ve seen many women in the two major wrestling companies given no support and no publicity. Here is arguably the most beautiful woman in wrestling at the time right up front in a major story and looking sexy as hell.

This is my teenage years. Gorgeous women in skimpy clothes. Pro wrestling. Heavy metal music. If there was an ECW comic too I would be all set.

There’s a lot of filler here. The rumor was that these ECW shows were sold to various TV stations as glorified informercials. The segments include: Extreme Encyclopedia. Supplement commercial. Hardcore phone line. Beulah’s Box PO address. Dudley’s promo. Lance Wright hype central. New ECW shirt. Phone commercial. We’re 14 minutes into a one hour show and there’s been no wrestling.

I did enjoy the commercials though. Any one else remember tracking down all the songs ECW used not only for wrestlers but also for upcoming show commercials? Pre internet being everywhere. My best find was Elastica on the Mallrats soundtrack. That was a good one.

It’s time for Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis in a two out of three falls match. Both guys are young and healthy and more than willing to feed off of the audience and regret moves later. Rey over the top guard rail. Into the fans. Beating the hell out of Psicosis. Hunacanrana and a pin in the first two maybe three minutes of the match.

Gangsta’s Paradise commercial.

Back. Rey’s offense is iconic but look at how he makes Psicosis look like a star. Selling, bumping all over the place. The size difference is really played up well. Psicosis catches Rey coming off, hits a piledriver and gets the pin. We’re tied up 1-1.

Mattress commercial. ECW instant replay.

Psicosis chases after Rey and power bombs him onto a table which doesn’t break but collapses. He tosses Rey into the crowd and then topes into the crowd too. I keep wondering if there was a waiver that had to be signed. Especially by the parents of that little kid that keeps trying to get noticed.

Joey calls it a “springboard 1 1/2 Thesz Press” and I don’t have a better name for that move.

This match is groundbreaking. Their whole feud in ECW before immediately being grabbed by WCW. Nirvana at the beginning of the show really brings home how those of us of a certain age had everything that was familiar, normal, and expected from our childhoods absolutely ripped up and changed as we grew older. And then it was “ours”.

Psicosis moonsaults with a chair and actually gets the pinfall to win the match. Rey is such a star I forget that if he didn’t lose sometimes to Psicosis, or anyone else, it would make the matches less interesting.

Hotline commercial. Is Joey Styles implying Bill Watts is a racist?

Highlights of Raven and Stevie Richards vs the Pitbulls (with Francine). Tod Gordon and Bill Alfonso are the referees. 911 and Big Dick Dudley are lumberjacks. I understand showing highlights in order to get people to order tapes of events. I do like knowing who won matches. But it does take a lot away from the larger story that takes place within a match.

We get the Pulp Fiction montage and I forgot how much I miss these. I could watch a collection of nothing but these montages as the next Best of ECW release.

Next episode.

Highlights of the Public Enemy vs the Gangstas vs Raven and Stevie Richards for the tag team titles. Again, all highlights and it’s tough to get into a match when it skips ahead many minutes multiple times.

Stevie Richards, Joey Styles, and the sexiest man alive Jason have some banter. Nothing against Jason, but I don’t see how he constantly had work. Am I missing something? I’m willing to learn.

More recaps and commercials.

Sandman (ECW World champion) (with Woman) vs Mikey Whipwreck.

Steve Austin comes out and has words with the Sandman. This leads to huge brawl and again later in the night where the biggest victims are the fans that almost took a ladder to the face. This isn’t a wrestling match. This is a beat the hell out of each other. This is dad kicking his teenage son’s ass for getting mouthy. Pot belly. Throwing the guard rail around. Then there’s Austin and the ladder later and I’m shocked no fan needed stitches. It’s not a five star classic but it does make me want to watch the next match in this feud. Maybe even pay for the VHS of it.

Oh, Terry Funk returns at the end.

I’m not sure why this was this week’s homework assignment. Other than the anniversary dates. Maybe we will all find out more on this week’s show. But it was a blast to feel like a late teenager again staying up late on a weekend to watch ECW and then talking about what crazy thing they might do next the rest of the week.