This time I'll be reviewing ECW's 11/23/96 show. This was the infamous Mass Transit show. This is the show where New Jack carved up a 17 year old kid named Eric Kulas. Once I get to that match in this review, I'll go in depth on this there.

This is one tape that I specifically searched for, because I remember hearing everything when this match first happened, but never actually got to see it. Now seeing it, wow.

ECW
Extreme Fancam...11/23/96
Revere, MA
Mass Transit Incident Show
(This show took place right after November 2 Remember 1996)
The tape starts off with the fan cam going through the crowd. We hear the cops tell the fan cam that they can't be taping the line. No reason is explained why. The fan cam does get a shot of the crowd, and it looks like some 500 odd people are there. The fan cam goes up the escalator, and we go to the ring.

Taz, with Bill Alfonso, comes to the ring. Big "Fuck Sabu" chants can be heard. The crowd pops for Taz, but as soon as Taz mentions Taz's name, the crowd turns on Taz as "WE WANT SABU!" chants break out. Taz says it only takes 3 minutes for him to choke someone out. Taz goes on to challenge one of the Boston fans to a fight. No one will answer Taz's challenge, and Taz continues to insult the crowd. Taz challenges the fans to jump the guardrail and fight him. No one will answer Taz's challenge. Taz finishes off by laying more verbal abuse on Sabu, before heading to the back.
Decent promo that got the crowd hyped up. Sabu wasn't on this show, so the promo wouldn't be answered until the next ECW show.

Chris Chetti d. Roadkill
This match wasn't that hot. Both were in the opening ranks of ECW at the time, at it showed. This match featured Chetti in his mask. This match also featured a pre-chicken fucking Roadkill. Quickly into this match, you can you hear boring chants. A few minutes later you can hear "This Shit Sucks" chants. Most of this match was a back and forth affair, that picked up towards the end. The finish of this match saw Roadkill hit a flying clothesline off the top rope for 2. Chetti came back, knocked Roadkill down and hit a top rope legdrop for the 1-2-3.
Eh, not really a good match here, and the crowd lets you know that on tape.

Chris Candido d. Big Stevie Cool aka Stevie Richards w/The BWO (Super Nova/Blue Meanie)
PREMATCH: Mikey Whipwreck is supposed to wrestle against Stevie Richards. The ring announcer says that due to injuries, that Mikey suffered at a prior show, Mikey would not be able to wrestle tonight.
Stevie then gets the mic. Stevie says that Mikey is too much of a pussy to wrestle him. All of a sudden, Chris Candido's music plays. Candido comes out and offers to take Mikey's spot. Candido and Mikey talk about a match they had a week ago. Candido then says that he doesn't care about ECW. As soon as he says that, Stevie hits a Stevie Kick on Whipwreck, knocking him out flat on his back. Candido watches this as it goes on. The refs take Mikey out of the ring. Stevie gets the mic again and says he agrees with Candido, he doesn't care about ECW either.
This was a very good match. In the middle of the match, Meanie interferes, as he hits a running powerslam on Candido. Stevie then goes for a move off the top, but eats Candido's boot. Candido is able to get up and hits a sling shot suplex for 2. Meanie comes in yet again, and splashes Candido's back. Stevie, looking to capitalize, then goes for a roll up, but Candido escapes at 2. The BWO tries interfering again, but Nova legdrops Stevie by accident, and Meanie drops a leg on Stevie by accident, as Candido outsmarts both of them. Candido goes for a top rope headbutt, on Stevie, but Stevie rolls away as Candido crashes hard. Stevie gets up and hits a nice powerbomb, but Candido gets out at 2. The finish of this match saw Stevie go for a Steviekick, only for Candido to duck it. Candido then hits a savate kick onto Stevie's face. Candido hooks Stevie's legs and gets the pinfall.
Great match here. Watching this match, I forgot how great Stevie Richards used to be. I'm sure he still has it in him today, as right now, he's just a victim of horrible WWE booking. This was Candido's earlier ECW work, and he was on the whole entire match. Nova and Meanie were perfect in their roles in this match, as everything they did made sense here. Good work from everyone in involved.

Brian Lee d. Louie Spicolli
This match starts in progress, with Lee dominating over Spicolli. Spicolli is very bloody. This match goes into the crowd, as Lee beats the piss out of Spicolli. Both men brawl into the lobby, where several trash cans are over turned. Both guys make their way towards the ring, where Lee suplexes Spicolli through a table. Instead of going for the pin, Lee grabs some chairs. Lee smashes a chair over Spicolli's head. Lee then puts a chair on Spicolli's head, and sets Spicolli up for a top rope move. As Lee jumps off the top, Spicolli throws the chair at Lee's head. With both men dazed, Spicolli grabs the ref, without realizing it and hits the Spicolli Driver on him. With blood in his face and in his eyes, Spicolli doesn't realize who he laid out. He goes for the pin on the referee. Brian Lee counts 3, as Spicolli covers the ref. Spicolli, still not realizing who he pinned, gets up and celebrates, what he thinks is a victory. Lee waits for Spicolli to turn around, and hits a swinging chokeslam on Spicolli. Another referee comes out, and counts the three count.
Another good match here. The end was hilarious and innovative. The only thing I thought didn't make sense was when Lee had Spicolli practically dead. Why wouldn't he just pin him and win the thing? Either way, a very entertaining match here.

Rob Van Dam vs. Pitbull #2 (Anthony Durante) went to a no contest
Both guys go for spinning heel kicks early, after a quick sequence, to earn an applause during the standoff. The match then degenerates into a brawl, where both men battle for the upperhand. RVD takes the advantage as he throws Pitbull 2 into a pillar. Back in the ring, RVD hits a moonsault, where Pitbull tried catching RVD in a powerslam, but fell down. Pitbull quickly recovered and firmly gorilla pressed RVD down. RVD finally is able to come to and return some offense onto Pitbull #2. RVD gets a chair and chucks it at Pitbull's head. RVD then irish whipped Pitbull 2 into the turnbuckle, and threw another chair at Pitbulls head. Pitbull then collapsed in the corner, and RVD hit a running chair dropkick into Pitbulls face. RVD goes to put Pitbull away, but Pitbull hits a gorilla press into a tombstone on a chair. RVD stays alive by putting his foot on the rope during the pinfall. Pitbull quickly powerbombs RVD then puts him him in a camel clutch. Getting frustrated that he can't pin RVD, Pitbull throws RVD to the outside, where both men brawl again. RVD comes out with the upperhand again, as after brawling, he throws Pitbull back into the ring. RVD goes for a top rope move, but Pitbull gets up there and catches RVD with a top rope fallaway slam. Pitbull goes to attack RVD, but as he charges the ring, he flips over the top and lands through a table.
The end of the match sees the ECW TV Champion, Shane Douglas come out. Douglas hits 8 of the weakest belt shots you'll ever see on Pitbull #2. Pitbull #2 doesn't even fall down after these belt shots. RVD then attacks Shane Douglas, which brings out Brian Lee. The bell rings here, and the match is declared a no contest.
POSTMATCH: Some of the ECW locker room comes out to save Pitbull, as Shane and Lee beat the crap out of him. Back in the ring, RVD attacks some of ECW heels who are trying to help Shane. Shane throws Pitbull back into the ring. Despite getting hit in the head about 8 times with a belt, getting hit 5 times with a chair, Pitbull gets up and beats up Shane. The ECW locker room tries breaking up the fight, as they seperate both men. "Let them go" chants start up. This turns into a brawl between RVD/Pitbull #2 vs Shane Douglas/Brian Lee. The locker room has a hard time breaking this all up, but they eventually do. An alliance is seemingly forged between RVD and Pitbull #2.
Good match here, which RVD had to carry. Pitbull didn't look horrible, it was just that RVD was 10 steps ahead of him.

In the reason why you buy the tape moment...
For the ECW Tag Team Titles
(c) The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) d. Mass Transit & D-Von Dudley
Mass Transit, aka Eric Kulas, is fucking fat as fuck. The Gangstas are the ECW Tag champs and were originally supposed to defend against D-Von and Axl Rotten. Axl no showed the event, and Eric Kulas became his replacement. Kulas showed up to the arena early with some midget wrestlers, and made his way to the back. He had fake ID, that said he was over the age of 18, even though he was only 17. Kulas told Paul Heyman that he was a trained wrestler, and that he spent time training with Killer Kowalski. Paul, being strapped for talent, let Eric take Axl's spot. Kulas, who was wearing a bus drivers suit, was repackaged as Mass Transit, a wrestler who demanded authority. This fit in perfectly, as The Gangstas were anti-authority. Before the match started, Kulas told The Gangstas and D-Von that he never bladed before and would need help doing it. New Jack agreed to do it for him, and the rest went down in wrestling history. Here's the match review...

The match starts off with New Jack going after D-Von, and Mustafa going after Kulas/Transit. New Jack and D-Von brawl on the outside. New Jack gets in the ring and breaks a kendo stick over Mass Transits body. Mustafa breaks a guitar over Transit's head. New Jack then takes a toaster and brutalizes Transit with it, as Transit gets hit in the head with it. New Jack then takes a knife out. New Jack stabs Transit in the head. New Jack grinds the knife in Transits head. New Jack continues to carve Transit with the knife. Transit looks like he was shot in the face, as blood is pouring all over the place. The blood is flowing like urine from a drunken man. Sounds of "That's enough!" breaks out on the tape, from Kulas's dad. His dad is heard again saying "Ring the fucking bell! He's only 17! RING THE FUCKING BELL! RING THE FUCKING BELL! END THIS, HE'S 17!" Despite Kulas's dads pleas, the ref continues the match. New Jack continues to destroy Kulas, as he still beats him up. Mustafa bodyslams Kulas on his head. New Jack then hits the 187 dive, with the chair landing directly on Kulas's head. This is way more than enough, to get the simple 1-2-3.
POSTMATCH: On the tape, you can see a busted artery as it squirts out blood. The blood is leaking like a fucking faucet. It is disgusting, and Kulas's face gets pale.
The EMT's immediately come into the ring. They go attend to Kulas. The Gangstas circle the ring like sharks during this. New Jack is pissed, as he screams at Kulas's father. New Jack gets the mic, and is upset that the match was cut short. New Jack says he hopes this fat fuck bleeds to death, because he doesn't give a fuck. New Jack then starts making jerking off motions in front of D-Von. New Jack steps on Kulas, and celebrates with his tag title.
POSTMATCH: The EMT's try to patch Kulas up, but Kulas isn't moving. Kulas's dad is at ringside watching as the EMT's try saving his son. Kulas looked dead in the ring.

For any hardcore wrestling fan, or any ECW fan in general, we all know what happened after this. Kulas and his family tried suing ECW, but during the trials, Kulas lied and his stories weren't 100 truthful. New Jack and ECW were found not guilty, and Kulas lost out on buttload of money. Kulas, who still was around the 350+ pound mark, died at the age of 22 in Rhode Island in 2001.

To hear what New Jack has to say about this now, check out the RF Shoot Interview he did, in July of 2004, as he goes into specifics. You can read that tape review here

After watching Kulas, lay motionless in the ring, as blood cascaded down his face, the tape blacks out for a second, and we go straight to our next match.

The Eliminators (Saturn/Kronus) vs. Bubba & Spike Dudley This was a short match. The match cuts out a little bit on the tape. As soon as the match starts, it's over 3 minutes later, with no winner, due to technical difficulties on tha tape. We don't see who wins as we go into our next match.

For the ECW TV Title
(c) Shane Douglas w/Francine d. Tommy Dreamer w/Belauh McGuillicutty
We join this match in progress. Shane has the advantage as he hits a neckbreaker onto a chair on Dreamer. Dreamer is in agony, as Shane works over Dreamers left knee in this match. Shane hits many a move on Dreamers knee. Shane lets Francine interfere, as she jumps up and down on Dreamers knee. Shane then went to distract the ref, and Dreamer SHAKA's Francine! Shane quickly turns around and gets Dreamer off his girl. Francine continues to interfere by attacking Dreamers leg behind the refs back. Towards the end of the match, Francine interferes again, but Dreamer gets ahold of her and pile drives her down. Shane Douglas then hits a single arm DDT on Dreamer and gets a quick pinfall.
POSTMATCH: Shane Douglas puts Dreamer in a full nelson. Belauh screams for help but gets no luck. All of a sudden, Pitbull #2 runs out. He attacks Douglas, as he gorilla slams him out of the ring. Pitbull helps Dreamer up, as Shane gets out of dodge.

For the ECW Heavyweight Title
(c) The Sandman d. Raven w/The BWO and Lori Fullington (Dog Collar Match)
Raven leads the attack early, as he busts up the Sandman with a fist full of chain. Raven puts the dogcollar on Sandman, and he throws some ferocious right hands at Sandmans head. Raven begins to choke Sandman, and Sandman gasps for air. This match, like many ECW matches, makes its way to the outside. Both men just beat the piss out of each other, as both are thrown into guardrails and chairs. Raven does go on the upperhand as he treats Sandmans head like a toilet, as he flushes many chair shots on his head. This match quickly turns into a gang beating of Sandman, as the BWO interferes. Blue Meanie hits a moonsault on Sandman, which crashes Sandman through a table. Raven continues to choke Sandman and pummels him with right hands. Raven looks to go in for the kill, but somehow Sandman hits a quick DDT, and gets the pinfall victory over Raven.

POSTMATCH: Sandman celebrates, in his crimson mask, and with his ECW Heavyweight title. This concludes the tape.

Final McWord
Wow, don't watch the Mass Transit match while eating. It can turn stomachs. The close-up view of Kulas's head is an image I soon won't forget.

Like many wrestling fans looking for an alternative during the days of Doink The Clown vs Bastion Booger, ECW was my fed of choice. Watching this tape reminded me of why I am a wrestling fan. While I do think promotions like JAPW and ROH do a great job with their wrestlers, nothing comes close to ECW. ECW will never be forgotten and it's a shame it will never be back again. To be honest, I'd recommend any ECW tape from the early 90's-1998, as those shows were the strongest in ECW's history. You could hardly ever go wrong with ECW. ECW was the first promotion to give the fans what they truly wanted. ECW made the crowd part of the show. ECW was the pioneer in many different things, from being the first promotion to have its letters chanted, to being the first promotion not to insult the fans intelligence on a consistent basis.

As far as this tape, you get some good matches here. Richards/Candido is probably the best wrestling match on the entire tape. RVD/Pitbull 2 is a great match as well. It's a fucking shame to see what the WWE has done to RVD's career. You also get two main event matches in the TV Title and Heavyweight Title matches.

For a tape that's only 8 years old, it is saddening to know that 2 wrestlers and one guy who wrestled are now dead. Watching Spicolli and Pitbull #2 brought back memories.

This tape's appeal is the Mass Transit incident, and is something that every ECW fan should see. It's also something that anyone who talks bad about New Jack should see.

Overall- highly recommended

To purchase this tape go to http://www.rfvideo.com or go to ECW 11/23/1996 Tape directly.

Look for some new tape reviews soon.

Sean "The MiC" McCaffrey
BULLSMC@aol.com