We’re diving into ECW November to Remember 1999, ECW’s biggest event of the year but is it the company’s best event of the year? Let’s find out!
The Best
Little Guido vs. Nova didn’t have nearly enough room to groove but the two of them got their sh** in—and it was entertaining.
Sure, it was just over 4-minutes in length but these two warmed the crowd out a lot with a match that couldn’t be considered the best for either man but was definitely eventful. It made you want to see more of this bout and that’s always good.
Tajiri vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Super Crazy has a legit claim to being the match of the night for November to Remember 1999 as these three tore the house down with a fast-paced, exciting showdown. This was one of two cheat code matches as any match combination involving these three would’ve worked.
In watching the TV leading up to ECW events in our 1999 reviews, a thought that always popped up was “Lynn vs. Tajiri for ten or fifteen minutes would be dope.” Super Crazy was thrown in the mix and it was definitely dope.
The best match of the evening was another showdown featuring Masato Tanaka gunning for Mike Awesome’s ECW World title. Now, I understand that ECW didn’t run the last Awesome-Tanaka match as the main event because of concern that it probably wouldn’t end show well but the crowd ate that match up.
That crowd would also eat this showdown up so it could’ve been the main event this time. It’s stiff, dangerous, brutal—it embodies what an ECW World title match became with the talent that was contesting for the belt at the time.
With Awesome as champion, opponents really needed to have some stank in their punches and their chairshots. They also had to be down for some ridiculously dangerous bumps. A young Masato Tanaka was totally down for it and the match rocked as a result.
The Rest
November to Remember 1999 opened with Spike Dudley making short work of Simon Diamond which is your typical ECW opener, really. Not particularly good or eventful but it gets a star over in squash fashion.
Da Baldies beating New Jack and The Hardcore Chair Swingin’ Freaks was a handicap bout that was a typical wild brawl with plunder being used. If you’ve seen any tag team match where New Jack is just…added to the match, you know what’s going down here.
I will say that it had a bit more time than necessary considering New Jack, Balls Mahoney, and Axl Rotten were outnumbered but it wasn’t a lengthy bout.
Sabu vs. Chris Candido was basically Sabu doing his sh**–which is many Sabu ECW matches and the opponent either matching it, working around it well enough, or the opponent just getting lost in the sauce. Candido managed to work around it and the two made a damn decent match.
It could’ve used more of the early 2000s Sabu where he began using more mat and chain wrestling in addition to his flying and spots but Chris Candido put in a strong effort to not be a part of a blown-spot bonanza.
Rob Van Dam defending his ECW TV title against Taz was decent. For some reason, I was expecting it to be as good as I remembered but I’ve only seen the show twice and the second time was without the scrambled snow of 90s PPV you didn’t purchase.
With that said, it didn’t bog down the show at all. I’d go as far as to say that this match could’ve done better as the main event for the show.
Speaking of the main event, Rhino and the Impact Players taking on Raven, The Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer should’ve been earlier in the card but it didn’t eat up over ten minutes, it was wild and entertaining, and Rhino looked really good here.
The guy just always looked like an absolute beast in the confines of ECW and it really showed in this bout. I know I said that this should’ve been earlier in the show but there is a reason for it to be here as the Impact Players were something of a main event threat during 1999 and early 2000 and Rhino was on the rise.
Both of the stories involving the new wave of ECW warranted the main event spot.
ECW November to Remember 1999 Verdict: Silver Medal (6.75/10)
Outside some matches that could’ve been on Hardcore TV and mildly questionable match placing, I really dug this show. It was PPV-paced meaning ECW knew to keep things tight and move it along because they had a live broadcast schedule to keep.
The matches that were going to meander like the tag team handicap match was kept short, Sabu and Candido were given just enough time, and even the main event had a respectable length for who was involved.
I would’ve loved more time for Lynn vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy as well as Nova vs. Little Guido. Our match of the show goes to the ECW World title match between champion Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx00FfbQiDU
