EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING
Acronym: ECW
Established: 1992
Style: Hardcore wrestling
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founder(s): Tod Gordon
Owner(s): Paul Heyman 1992-2001
Vince McMahon 2001-Current
Formerly: NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling
Merged with: World Wrestling Entertainment
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a groundbreaking and influential professional wrestling promotion. The company became known for its rabidly loyal fanbase as well as its tendency to push the envelope with several extreme storylines. ECW, for instance, featured the first ever lesbian storyline in professional wrestling between Kimona Wana-Laya and Beulah McGillicutty. The group would showcase many different styles of professional wrestling, popularizing bloody hardcore wrestling and the three way dance. It was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon, and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001.
Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and Eastern Championship Wrestling
Technically, ECW had its origins in 1991 under the banner Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. Joel Goodhart was the owner of Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. In 1992, Goodhart sold his share of the company to his partner, Tod Gordon, who in return renamed the promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling. When Eastern Championship Wrestling was founded, it was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
After Tod Gordon had a falling out with head booker Eddie Gilbert, Gordon chose Gilbert's friend and WCW alumnus Paul Heyman to replace him. Eddie exhibited unstable behavior and drug abuse before he was replaced. Heyman's first show with the promotion was NWA Ultra Clash '93 on September 18, 1993 at Viking Hall (which was eventually dubbed The ECW Arena) in Philadelphia.
When ECW was branching out, professional wrestlers had far more cartoonish gimmicks. The product was marketed more towards children than the 18-35 male demographic that ECW was aiming towards. There were also far more taboos such as blading and women getting regularly beaten up by the male wrestlers. Heyman saw ECW as the professional wrestling equivalent to the grunge movement.
Withdrawing from the NWA
In 1994, Jim Crockett's non-compete agreement with Ted Turner, who purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from Crockett in 1988, was up and he decided to start promoting with the NWA again. Crockett went to Tod Gordon and asked him to hold a tournament for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the ECW Arena on August 27, 1994. NWA President Dennis Coralluzzo thought that Crockett and Gordon were going to try to monopolize the title (much like Crockett did in the 1980s) and told them they didn't have the NWA board's approval so he took control over the tournament. Gordon was upset at Coralluzzo for his power plays so Gordon and Shane Douglas, who was booked to win the title against 2 Cold Scorpio, planned to have Douglas throw the title down after he won it and break ECW from the NWA. In a now classic post-match speech, Shane Douglas said that he didn't want to be a part of an organization that "died" seven years earlier (presumably when Jim Crockett sold his NWA super territory to Turner Broadcasting in 1988).
On the Forever Hardcore DVD from 2005, Shane Douglas revealed that that he only agreed to Paul Heyman's idea to throw down the NWA title (even though both Douglas and Heyman were aware that could potentially do great harm to Douglas' career, due to him being perceived as a pushy wrestler) after Dennis Coralluzzo buried and said borderline slanderous things about Douglas on Mike Tenay's radio program. Tod Gordon even managed to convince Coralluzzo that what Douglas was doing was part of an angle. However, what Coralluzzo didn't realize was that Gordon and Heyman were legitimately planning to distance ECW from the National Wrestling Alliance. Thus, Dennis Coralluzzo and the NWA legitimately got swerved.
Popularity
After ECW withdrew from the NWA and officially changed its name from Eastern Championship Wrestling to Extreme Championship Wrestling, it became an underground sensation. The unorthodox style of moves, controversial storylines, and intense blood thirst of ECW made it intensely popular among many wrestling fans in the 18- to 25-year-old demographic. Its intense fanbase, albeit a small constituency, reached near-cultism in the late 1990s and inspired the "hardcore style" in other wrestling promotions, namely WWF and WCW.
The group showcased many different styles of professional wrestling, popularizing bloody hardcore wrestling matches and the 3-Way Dance. ECW was always intended to be counter-culture and a grittier alternative to multi-million dollar organizations such as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and WCW. In addition to their hardcore match types, they provided an alternative to North American wrestling with technical wrestling that was common overseas. International stars such as Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko anchored a solid technical wrestling core in ECW. Rey Misterio, Jr., Psicosis, Konnan and Juventud Guerrera brought a lucha libre style rarely seen in the national wrestling promotions.
Wrestlers such as Shane Douglas, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, The Sandman, Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Sabu, Public Enemy and The Tazmaniac were seen as being too dangerous for the multi-million dollar companies and were given a chance in ECW. They also helped launch the new ECW at this time. One of the promotion's marquee feuds was the long-standing feud between Tommy Dreamer and Raven, which involved many ECW wrestlers over a period of two and a half years. Another was between Raven and the Sandman, which included the crucifixion angle, one of the most controversial angles in wrestling history.
Shows at the ECW Arena and television syndication
The bulk of ECW's shows remained at the ECW Arena, a rundown bingo hall secluded under a section of Interstate 95. Seating comprised simple folding chairs and four sets of portable bleachers, and the whole sort of unconventional set up reflected the gritty style of the wrestling itself. Shows were actually broadcast on a Philadelphia local cable sports station (SportsChannel America's local affiliate, Sports Channel Philadelphia) on Tuesday evenings. After Sports Channel Philadelphia went off the air in 1997, the show moved to WPPX-TV 61. It later moved to a former independent broadcast station (WGTW 48) in Philadelphia on either Friday or Saturday night at 1 or 2 a.m. Shows were also aired on the (MSG Network in NYC on Friday nights (Early Saturday morning) at 2 a.m. Due to the obscurity of the stations and ECW itself, as well as the lack of FCC oversight at that late hour, many times expletives and violence were not edited out of these showings, helping to get ECW noticed.
In relation to the "Big Two"
After noticing ECW's growing popularity, the "Big Two" (World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation) started adopting their ideas and hiring away their talent. Paul Heyman believes that ECW was the first victim of the "Monday Night Wars" between WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night RAW. While the WWF had somewhat of a working relationship with ECW (going as far as allowing cross-promotional angles, and providing financial aid to Heyman for a considerable period of time), WCW refused to even mention ECW by name (with a few notable exceptions; including a passing remark by Raven in late 1996 and Kevin Nash and Scott Hall mentioning it as a viable second option in American wrestling in a slight on their main competition, the World Wrestling Federation), referring to it as "barbed wire city" and "a major independent promotion" that wrestled in bingo halls during a segment directed at Diamond Dallas Page.
Vince McMahon claimed that he put Paul Heyman on the WWF's payroll as compensation for the talent (namely Tazz, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and The Dudley Boyz) leaving ECW for the WWF. On the other hand, Heyman believed that Eric Bischoff never compensated him for ECW bred talent such as Mikey Whipwreck, Raven, The Sandman, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Steven Richards, Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) and Chris Jericho leaving to go to WCW.
The "Sandman is blind" angle
After Michael Fay was arrested in Singapore and sentenced to a caning, Paul Heyman decided to capitalize on the publicity by holding a Singapore Cane match between Dreamer and The Sandman — with the loser having to take 10 lashes. After losing the match Dreamer took his lashes, then asked the Sandman for another, causing the crowd to feel sympathy for him as he took the extra, and another. This was a launching point to an angle that ended up blurring wrestlings "face" and "heel" divide, as well as start a new way or working the fans, especially the "smarks" — fans with some amount of inside information. In a later match Dreamer (kayfabe) accidentally blinded the Sandman, first by knocking a lit cigarette into his eye, then hitting in the other with a Singapore cane. Immediately after, Dreamer seemed to break kayfabe and started aiding the Sandman. He professed that he "didn't mean to do it" and that it was "an accident" as other wrestlers — face and heel — swarmed out to help. The feud eventually ended with Sandman planning to announce his retirement at an ECW show, only to attack Dreamer and reveal he was never actually blind.
"Monday NyQuil"
In 1995, Steve Austin was fired by WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, after suffering an injury, while wrestling on a Japanese tour. Bischoff and WCW didn't see Austin as a 'marketable' wrestler. Eventually, Austin was contacted by Paul Heyman, who had managed him in WCW. Heyman told Austin that since he had a TV show and Austin had a grievance, it would be a good opportunity to go on ECW television to air it. While in ECW, Steve Austin used the platform to develop his future "Stone Cold" persona as well as a series of vignettes running down WCW in general and Bischoff in particular, referring to WCW's flagship program as "Monday NyQuil, where the big boys play with each other."
While with ECW, "Superstar" Steve Austin feuded with The Sandman and Mikey Whipwreck. Whipwreck, who was the ECW World Heavyweight Champion at the time, scored a win over Austin at November to Remember 1995.
The crucifixion angle
From December 1995 through May 1997, The Sandman engaged in a bloody war with Raven. Raven "brainwashed" Sandman's son to join his cult-like following and turned him against his father. Raven got at Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father and perform Raven's taunt to slowly eat away at his father. This led to many bloody matches, in which Sandman's son interfered to help his father. After the match, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Kendo Stick, and smacked his enemy. Steven Richards and the Blue Meanie came out with a giant wooden cross, tied Sandman down to it, and then lifted it up and "crucified" him. At the time, Kurt Angle was backstage and the offensive angle caused him to leave and threaten a lawsuit if his name appeared on the same episode as the "crucifixion". Raven came out and gave a questionable apology for his actions. To this day, Raven claims that the angle wasn't an insult to Jesus Christ, but an insult to The Sandman, by using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint. The footage of the "crucifixion" was never used by ECW and was not publicly seen until it appeared on the WWE DVD The Rise and Fall of ECW.
The Beulah McGillicutty pregnancy/lesbian angle
In 1996, Beulah McGillicutty claimed that she was pregnant and told a shocked Raven that it was Tommy Dreamer's baby, intensifying their feud. Beulah eventually left Raven and aligned herself with Dreamer. However, at the 1996 Hostile City Showdown, Shane Douglas informed Dreamer that Beulah was never pregnant, and also had been cheating on him. When Dreamer demanded to know who with (suspecting Douglas) Douglas pointed to Raven's new valet Kimona Wanalaya, who proceeded to kiss Beulah to the mat. After some hesitation, Dreamer kissed both women, proclaiming "I'll take em both, I'm hardcore!" According to Tommy Dreamer on The Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, the angle was so controversial, that ECW got thrown off of virtually every television station at the time.
Tod Gordon sells ECW to Paul Heyman
In 1996, Tod Gordon sold ECW to his head booker, Paul Heyman. Afterwards, Gordon remained in ECW as a figure-head commissioner. Years after being the ECW "Commissioner", Gordon left ECW. His absence was explained on-air that he retired from wrestling due to family. However, rumors circulate that Gordon was fired by Heyman after he was suspected as a "locker room mole" for a rival wrestling promotion, helping to lure talent to World Championship Wrestling. Many years later, in an interview, Gordon claims that the "WCW mole" situation was nothing more than a work.
Cross-promotion
Storyline-wise, Vince McMahon first became "aware" of ECW while at the 1995 King of the Ring event in ECW's home base of Philadelphia. During the match between Mabel and Savio Vega, the crowd suddenly started to angrily chant "ECW ECW ECW" At the September 22, 1996 In Your House: Mind Games event in Philadelphia, ECW stars (The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, and Taz) were in the front row with Sandman even interfering in one match (when he threw beer on Savio Vega during his strap match with Bradshaw). McMahon acknowledged ECW's status as a local, up and coming promotion on the air.
On February 24, 1997, ECW "invaded" Monday Night RAW from the Manhattan Center. They advanced a storyline, plugged their first ever pay-per-view and worked three matches in front of the WWF audience while Vince McMahon called the action with both Jerry "The King" Lawler and Paul Heyman.
The Manhattan Center in New York was peppered with a large number of ECW fans, who gave the WWF wrestlers "BORING!" chants when they felt it was warranted. Likewise, when the ECW performers arrived, they popped and introduced the WWF Monday night audience to some trademark ECW group chants. It was said that this episode was the beginning of what was eventually called The Attitude Era of the WWF.
ECW's first pay-per-view event
After a series of struggles, on April 13, 1997, ECW broadcast its first pay-per-view wrestling card, Barely Legal, highlighted by Terry Funk winning the ECW World Heavyweight Title.
At the 1997 Wrestlepalooza event, Jerry Lawler, a noted critic of ECW made a surprise appearance at the ECW Arena. Wrestlepalooza '97 featured Raven's final ECW match before leaving for WCW. In this match, Tommy Dreamer finally beat his long time nemesis Raven. Dreamer's celebration was short-lived, though, as Jerry Lawler, along with Sabu and Rob Van Dam showed up to attack Dreamer. This set up a match between Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lawler at the 1997 Hardcore Heaven PPV on August 17, which was won by Dreamer.
ECW continued through 1998 and early 1999 with a string of successful pay-per-views.
The Mike Awesome World Title controversy
In April 2000, Mike Awesome made a surprise appearance on WCW Monday Nitro -- aiding the New Blood by attacking Kevin Nash -- while still reigning as ECW World Champion. Awesome's friend Lance Storm has said that he had refused to sign a new contract with ECW until Paul Heyman paid him overdue wages. There were rumors that Eric Bischoff wanted to drop the ECW World Championship belt in the trash can on television, as was done with the WWF Women's title by Alundra Blayze. Due to concern over legal issues, WCW refrained from having Awesome appear on their television shows with the ECW belt. Eventually, a compromise was reached which resulted in one of the more bizarre moments in professional wrestling history. Awesome (a WCW employee and ECW champion) appeared on April 13th, 2000 at an ECW event in Indianapolis, IN, accompanied by WCW's head of security, where he lost the title to Tazz (a World Wrestling Federation employee). To sum up the uniqueness, a WWF wrestler defeated a WCW wrestler for the ECW World Title.
Conflict with XPW
In 2000, Xtreme Pro Wrestling owner Rob Black purchased six front row tickets for ECW's annual summer pay-per-view, Heat Wave. The tickets for the show were given to a cadre of XPW talent, as their mission was to make it clear that ECW was on enemy's turf. At the beginning of the main event, the XPW contingent donned shirts emblazoned with the logo of their home company, gaining the attention of security and Tommy Dreamer. Security ejected the XPW group. A brawl in the parking lot then broke out between the XPW ring crew and the ECW locker room, but the XPW wrestlers were not involved. In the parking lot, several of the ECW wrestlers brutalized the XPW ring crew in a street fight until several of the ring crew members were left in pools of their own blood. Initial reports claimed that Kristi Myst somehow touched Francine and that prompted the incident, but Francine herself has since gone on record as saying that she was never grabbed or in any other way touched by any of the XPW crew, and other eye witnesses support the story that Francine never had a hand laid on her. XPW was not acknowledged on the telecast, and the XPW contingent consisted of The Messiah, Kid Kaos, Supreme, Kristi Myst, Homeless Jimmy and Kris Kloss.
Television deal with TNN
In August 1999, ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN (for what was initially a three year contract). Despite no advertising and a low budget, ECW became TNN's highest rated show.
ECW on TNN was canceled in October 2000 (with the final episode airing on October 6, 2000) in favor of WWE RAW moving to the network. To this day, Paul Heyman strongly believes that the lack of a national television deal (especially after the TNN ordeal) was the main cause of ECW's demise.
Bankruptcy
ECW struggled for months after the cancellation, trying to secure a new national TV deal. On December 30, 2000, ECW Hardcore TV aired for the last time and Guilty as Charged 2001 was the last PPV aired on January 7, 2001. Living Dangerously was going to air on March 11, 2001, but because of financial trouble it was canceled before March 11. Despite help from the WWF, Heyman could not get out of financial trouble and filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001. Heyman supposedly had never told his wrestlers that the company was on its dying legs and was unable to pay them for well over a month before finally filing for bankruptcy.
The company was listed as having assets totaling $1,385,500. Included in that number was $860,000 in accounts receivable owed the company by iN DEMAND Network (PPV), Acclaim (video games), and Original San Francisco Toy Company (action figures). The balance of the assets were the video tape library ($500,000), a 1998 Ford Truck ($19,500) and the remaining inventory of merchandise ($4).
The liabilities of the company totaled $8,881,435.17. The bankruptcy filing included hundreds of claims, including production companies, buildings ECW ran in, TV stations ECW was televised on, travel agencies, phone companies, attorney's fees, wrestlers, and other talent. Wrestlers and talent were listed, with amounts owed ranging from $1 for Sabu and Steve Corino to hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars. The highest amounts owed to talents were Rob Van Dam ($150,000), Tommy Dreamer ($100,000), Joey Styles ($50,000), Shane Douglas ($48,000), and Francine ($47,875).
Revivals
Alliance storyline
A few months after the promotion's 2001 demise, ECW resurfaced as a stable as part of the World Wrestling Federation Invasion storyline. As a participant in the inter-promotional feud between Shane McMahon's WCW and Vince McMahon's WWF, ECW was initially "owned" by Paul Heyman and harbored no loyalty to either promotion. Soon after (on the very same night), it was revealed Stephanie McMahon was ECW's new "owner", and she soon conspired with her brother Shane to oust their father from his leadership position in the World Wrestling Federation. With the creation of The Alliance, the inter-promotional feud shifted into an internal power struggle among the McMahon family. The defection of WWF superstars to The Alliance continued the shift as less focus was placed on WCW and ECW performers. The feud lasted six months and concluded with WWF defeating The Alliance at the 2001 Survivor Series. The WWF's victory also marked the end of the Invasion storyline, and WCW and ECW wrestlers were reintegrated into the WWF.
Documentaries
In the summer of 2003, WWE purchased ECW's assets in bankruptcy court, acquiring the rights to ECW's video library. They used this video library to put together a two-disc DVD entitled The Rise and Fall of ECW. The set was released in November 2004. The main feature of the DVD was a three-hour documentary on the company's history, with the other disc featuring matches from the promotion. The DVD sold well, and is currently ranked as WWE's second highest-selling DVD of all time, behind WrestleMania 21.
An unauthorized DVD called Forever Hardcore was produced by former WCW crew member Jeremy Borash in response to The Rise and Fall of ECW. The DVD had stories of wrestlers who were not employed by WWE telling their side of ECW's history.
Reunion shows
The strong sales of The Rise and Fall of ECW prompted both World Wrestling Entertainment and Shane Douglas to run ECW reunion shows in 2005. Douglas's first Hardcore Homecoming show was held before WWE's ECW One Night Stand and subsequently went on tour.
Lawsuits
Mass Transit
On November 23, 1996, aspiring wrestler Eric Kulas teamed with D-Von Dudley to wrestle The Gangstas. Substituting for Axl Rotten, Kulas was beaten with various weapons and suffered a deep cut as a result of a blading incident by his opponent New Jack. Kulas sued ECW and New Jack for physical and psychological damage claiming he was unaware the match was going to be a hardcore match. Furthermore, criminal charges were filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts against New Jack. During the civil trial, it was revealed that Kulas and his father lied that Kulas was 19 years old instead of 17. Also, Kulas had misrepresented his wrestling experience by stating he was trained by retired wrestler Killer Kowalski. In the end, ECW and New Jack were acquitted of the charges, however, ECW suffered long term repercussions. The lawsuit delayed the broadcast of ECW's first pay-per-view after distributors viewed video of the incident. Eric Kulas died on May 12, 2002 at the age of 22 due to complications from gastric bypass surgery.
Tod Gordon
In December 2005, Eastern Championship Wrestling founder Tod Gordon challenged WWE's ownership of the Eastern Championship Wrestling section of the ECW video library, claiming that the state didn't have the right to sell that section of the video library to Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. He also claims that Eastern Championship Wrestling, Inc. was separate from Extreme Championship Wrestling. On May 8, 2006 the case was thrown out and Gordon plans to appeal the decision. Tod Gordon is now one of the owners of Pro Wrestling Unplugged, running out of the New Alhambra Arena.
Tradition
There were several distinctive fans that were always in the front row at ECW shows. Among them were Sign Guy, Tye Dye Guy, Hat Guy (also known in the Philadelphia area as Straw Hat), Faith No More Guy, and Kato. They gained their respective nicknames because Sign Guy always had different creative signs with him, Hat Guy always wore a straw hat and Hawaiian shirt, Faith No More Guy bore an uncanny resemblance to "Big" Jim Martin, former guitarist for rock band Faith No More and Kato resembled O.J. Simpson house guest Kato Kaelin. Regular patrons of ECW Arena events were given Club ECW status by the promotion and were able to reserve seats ahead of the general public. Many members of Club ECW were present at Shane Douglas's 2005 Hardcore Homecoming shows in Philadelphia, and at ECW One Night Stand.
Crowds at ECW events were well known for their rowdiness and distinctive chants that either supported or demeaned what was transpiring in the ring. ECW chants such as "You fucked up!" and "Holy shit!" became infamous during those shows, and are still used by fans in other promotions.
In ECW, there were virtually no rules. Weapons were abundant, with much blood spilled. There were referees, but their role was normally limited to counting pinfalls and acknowledging submissions, occasionally performing tag team maneuvers with a wrestler during the match, several times becoming the winner of the match themselves though not officially a part of the bout.
ECW was known for making popular several types of matches:
Barbed Wire Match
Flaming Tables Match
Singapore Cane Match
Stairway to Hell Match
Three-Way Dance
Fans Bring Their Own Weapons Matches
ECW was also infamous for regularly holding "Bring Your Own Weapon Nights" at the ECW Arena in the early days of the promotion. Fans were encouraged to bring their own weapons to give to wrestlers, as fighting in the crowd was a staple of ECW matches. A dollar store located next to the ECW Arena often supplied the bulk of the weapons, with fans purchasing them while they waited in line for each show. Memorable weapons included crutches, a large piece of cardboard with the words "Use Me!" handwritten on it but actually concealing a full-sized Stop sign, a two-man kayak, a Leonard Cohen vinyl record, a VCR (with remote), and a Nintendo Entertainment System. An accident actually helped put an end to Bring Your Own Weapon Night when wrestler Cactus Jack, believing the weapon he was holding to be an inexpensive aluminum pan, swung the object full force into The Sandman's head. When he heard the resulting "clang" noise, he realized the object was in fact a cast-iron skillet, and The Sandman's resulting injury put him out of action for two weeks.
Also, WWE promoted the ECW One Night Stand 2005 PPV with the "ECW Rules Match", with the same rules as a No DQ match or Street Fight but was regularly contested between former ECW wrestlers, most notably Chris Benoit and Tajiri.
Championships
ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1992-2001, 2006-present)
ECW World Tag Team Championship (1992-2001)
ECW World Television Championship (1992-2001)
ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship (1998-1999)
ECW Maryland Championship (1993)
ECW Pennsylvania Championship (1993)
Books
Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW (ISBN 1-59670-021-1) - Scott Williams
Rise & Fall of ECW (ISBN 1-4165-1058-3) - Thom Loverro for World Wrestling Entertainment
Turning the Tables (ISBN 1-905363-78-8) - John Lister
Sex, Drugs, and Wrestling - The Truth, The Lies, and the Extreme - a Rob Van Dam story - Tod Gordon
***THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS PAGE WAS BORROWED FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Championship_Wrestling
