WWE: 10 Most Extreme ECW Matches

4. Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka - ECW on TNN, December 31, 1999

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgSfyHlefeg When it comes to hard-hitting matches in ECW, few were more extreme than Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome. Like Ali and Fraser, these two defined each other by destroying one another. They had many memorable battles in ECW, but this one in particular was especially wary and brutal, and it was for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, held by Tanaka. Right off the bat, vicious chair shots come into play as Tanaka follows up with a Tornado DDT. Awesome comes back with a German suplex and a running powerbomb, only to have Tanaka turn the tables with his signature Diamond Dust (forward somersault three-quarter facelock bulldog/jawbreaker). The crowd in the Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York goes nuts watching these two longtime nemesis beat the holy hell out of each other, and the pace never lets up. Awesome devastates Tanaka with a running Awesome Bomb through a table. Clearly, it's a personal hatred these two have for one another as Awesome relentlessly then DDTs Tanaka off the top rope through a table. Tanaka's roaring elbow to the face of Awesome is as physical as it gets, but Awesome fights back once again and delivers an Awesome Splash for the two-count. This contest epitomizes the ECW World Heavyweight Title and what a motivating force it is, as both men will go to any length to win. Both exhausted, the two continue to exchange blows, hammering away on each other's backs and heads, until Awesome gets Tanaka up for a sit down Awesome Bomb from the top rope. The ref counts to three and a new champ is crowned. Mike Awesome becomes a two-time ECW champion of the world, and once again is the king of extreme.