Background: Steve Corino decided he was going to bring wrestling back to ECW. ECW World champion Taz confronted Corino, threatening to kill him. Of course, Corino backed off to give someone else a chance at the champ – Chris Candido. After cutting a “shoot” promo, Candido challenged Taz to a Falls Count Anywhere match.
Cyberslam ‘99
Philadelphia, PA
April 3, 1999
Taz vs. Chris Candido
Yep, a lot of crowd brawling after a short period in the ring where Candido actually controlled the match’s tempo. They traded suplexes on the floor. Candido dropped an elbow from the announcer’s stage onto a prone Taz some five feet below. They pretty much walked each other around the Arena, beating each other while only a portion of the fans and the people watching at home were able to see the action. Thankfully, they made it back to the ring, causing a hilarious, “Welcome back!” chant from the thankful fans that didn’t experience most of the action. Candido found himself in control until he set up a table in the corner. Taz reversed whatever Candido had in mind, half nelson Tazplexing Candido through the table! Candido was left in horrible pain, clutching his neck. The referee called for the bell, helping Candido onto a stretcher. Being Taz, he couldn’t take just hurt a man; he had to choke Candido out. Yanking Chris of the stretcher, Taz dragged Candido back in to lock in the Tazmission until Candido tapped out.
Winner: Taz (11:46)
Is It A Classic: An okay match that went on a little too long with the crowd brawling, and capped off by an unnecessary ending as the post-stretcher stuff, while helping make Taz look like a monster, didn’t truly make any more of an impact on the fans.
