Retro 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

I know, I’m surprised too.

On paper, Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu sounds like it would be the match of the night on any ECW show. Their original feud from 1996 was not only one of the major highlights of that year, but it helped legitimize the man who would go on to become “Mr. Pay-Per-View” in the eyes of the most hostile audience around. Just a few weeks earlier, RVD had that legendary match with Bam Bam Bigelow where he did the somersault senton into the crowd that features on every ECW video package, and captured the ECW World Television Championship in the process. RVD was only meant to soften Bigelow up as Sabu was the number one contender, but now the tag team partners had to go head-to-head once more.

ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998 has the reputation of being the worst ECW pay-per-view, but if you have a match like RVD vs. Sabu on there, surely it can’t be that bad right? Well that’s where you’re wrong, because this match is truly a chore to get through.

To start with, and spoilers if you haven’t seen the match or the show, but this match between RVD and Sabu went to a time limit draw. The two men wrestled for 30 minutes, with the overarching story being that their manager Bill Alfonso wouldn’t pick a side and that he’d call the match right down the middle daddy (this would be the time to blow a whistle if you have one close to you). However, that really doesn’t factor into things too much. Sure, there are a few moments where Fonzie is asked to hold up a chair for Van Dam, only to move it at the last second, but by the halfway point of the match, Fonzie is just kind of there, blowing his whistle at ringside, which can add to the atmosphere when a match is good, but the crowd just couldn’t get into this.

Even the tables that Sabu tried to use wouldn’t agree with him, with the two he balanced between the ring and the guardrail either not breaking or breaking too early. The table he brought into the ring broke its leg, causing a chorus of boos to be sung by the crowd, and while they did their best to improvise, the match was always one step forward, two steps back. It was very evident by the 20 minute mark that this match should have been that; 20 minutes. Trim the fat, work at a quicker pace, and this would be a match good enough to call Wrestlepalooza 1998 a one match show. They were just making spots up during the final third, and with no time-calls to let the fans know it was ending soon, the end result was just a mess.

Unless you’re an ECW historian, don’t worry about missing this match. However, if you want to see Sabu legitimately vomiting off the ring apron, then go right ahead and watch it I guess.

Written by Sam Palmer

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