The Piledriver Report 02.11.10: The End of The Extreme

MY ECW INTRODUCTION

To me, the letters ECW stood for so much more then that. My first recollection of ECW was through the “Wrestling Observer Newsletter.” In the “dirt sheet,” I used to always read about a crazy wrestler named Sabu. At the time, I knew nothing about Sabu. I didn’t even know what he looked like. All I did know is that I wanted to see what this wrestler could do.

One day I attended a wrestling convention where they were selling wrestling videotapes. I bought two tapes. One was featured the Snuka-Backlund Madison Square Garden cage match, as I never saw that bout. The other was a tape of ECW matches that featured Sabu. These were the early days of ECW, as the TV show on the tape was hyping the Three-way Dance between Sabu, Terry Funk, and Shane Douglas. The matches on the tape were average at best. Nothing to write home about. However, that would all change when I discovered that Madison Square Garden Cable Network was airing ECW at 2am on Saturday morning.

WELCOME TO THE EXTREME

This is where I went from casual ECW observer through the newsletter, and became a full-fledged ECW hardcore wrestling fan. The first shows that vividly remember watching were in the Fall of 1995. I know I was watching before that though, because I was at the 1995 King of the Ring pay per view in Philadelphia, and was one of the thousands in attendance screaming “ECW! ECW! ECW!” at King Mabel during his coronation. The first big ECW memory for me was when Steve Austin debuted. He was doing the whole “Monday Nyquil” skits, while poking fun of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. During this time, Austin was involved in a three-way feud against the Sandman and the new ECW World Champion Mikey Whipwreck. On the same card that Whipwreck captured the ECW World title, 2 Cold Scorpio won the ECW Tag Team championship. At the time, 2 Cold Scorpio was the reigning ECW Television Champion. In one of my favorite ECW gimmicks, 2 Cold decided to change his name now that he was a dual titleholder. 2 Cold Scorpio now became known as 2 Gold Scorpio.

One of the greatest storylines in the history of the company took place around this time. It was the anti-hardcore storyline where Mick Foley, after viewing a “Cane Dewey” sign was influenced to no longer wrestle in a hardcore style. Mick Foley’s “anti-hardcore” promotions were some of the best promotions in the history of this industry.

The next big angle in ECW that I remember was Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer. More specifically, the night of January 5th, 1996 ECW House Party from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA. In an in-ring segment Stevie Richards, alongside the Blue Meanie and Beulah McGillicutty, bragged about making out with Missy Hyatt a few weeks ago. Richards attempted to kiss Beulah but she told him she didn’t want to be touched. When Richards pushed the issue, she admitted she was pregnant. Raven then came out, confronted Beulah, and then dropped Richards when she said the baby wasn’t Raven’s. Beulah shocked the arena by announcing “It’s Tommy’s! The baby’s Tommy’s!” Dreamer assaulted Raven around ringside before hitting a piledriver in the ring onto a STOP sign and spit a blueberry pie at Raven, in a famous ECW visual. Dreamer and Beulah then left ringside together. This twist brought the Raven/Dreamer storyline to a new level. However, their feud was about to get even more shocking.

On April 20th, 1996 Hostile City Showdown, prior to a Raven vs. Shane Douglas match-up, Douglas grabbed the mic and said Beulah McGillicutty was cheating on Tommy Dreamer at the same time that she was cheating on Raven. Dreamer came out and threatened Douglas, asking whom the man was. Kimona then grabbed the mic away and confessed it was her. Beulah then came out with the two women kissing until Dreamer pulled the apart and said he would take them both. I first saw this segment in my dorm room. This was at a time when professional wrestling wasn’t really that popular. As I’m watching the angle, a couple of my roommates walked into my room, saw the angle, and said “what….is…..this?” They were mesmerized at what they where seeing. That was awesome.

On February 17th, 1996, ECW presented CyberSlam from Philadelphia. That show was famous for the worked shoot angle presented by Brian Pillman. Pillman, who was a WCW wrestler at the time, had a feud with Kevin Sullivan. After losing an “I Quit” match at WCW SuperBrawl to Sullivan, Pillman got on the mic and said “I respect you, booker man.” Shortly after SuperBrawl, Eric Bischoff fired Pillman. Brian Pillman was perhaps the most brilliant man in wrestling history. As part of his angle with Sullivan, instead of a storyline firing, Pillman actually convinced Bischoff to really fire him. Instead of a short stint in ECW to make the release look more realistic, Brian Pillman became the top free agent in professional wrestling. Before Pillman signed with the WWF, he made a pit stop to the ECW Arena.

In an in-ring interview, Pillman said an announcer in Atlanta took away his Constitutional rights and he had just been fired by Eric Bischoff, who he referred to as “Jerkoff,” and then called Paul E. Dangerously – Verne Gagne’s former gopher – “a piece of fucking shit;” Styles then attempted to end the interview but Pillman grabbed the mic and took over. As Pillman started calling the crowd smart marks, several fans in the front row held up a sign saying “Don’t work me, Pillman” Pillman then attempted to urinate in the ring. Todd Gordon, Paul E. Dangerously, and Shane Douglas came out to stop him, with Pillman calling Dangerously “Bookerman” before he was taken away by security. Pillman eventually broke away from the security, pulled a ringside fan into the ring, and appeared to stab him before Douglas chased Pillman out of the ring. Douglas then grabbed a mic and said he wouldn’t let the show continue until Pillman was thrown out the door; moments later, Pillman was dragged ringside by security, taken through the crowd, and ejected from the building. The “Loose Cannon” was at the top of his game.

When you watched ECW wrestling on Madison Square Garden television, aside from the matches and interviews, you saw commercials for the ECW hotline, merchandise, and videotapes. One of the most famous plugs for an ECW videotape told the fans to “see the night when Kimona Wannaleia danced on top of the ECW Arena.” Every show, there would be a plug for this videotape. I still hadn’t seen that tape, but it took place on June 22nd, 1996 at Hardcore Heaven 96. This plug for the video was as much a part of the ECW TV show as Joey Styles was.

During the summer of 1996, the Sandman started a feud with Raven over the ECW World title. This was one of my favorite ECW feuds. During the feud, Raven allied himself with the Sandman’s ex-wife Lori Fullington and the Sandman’s real-life son Tyler into joining him. Raven psychologically attacked Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father, telling Tyler that his parents’ divorce was Sandman’s fault, and making him perform Raven’s trademark taunt and other mannerisms. On October 26, 1996, during one match, Tyler interfered to help his father. Afterward, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Singapore Cane and smacked his enemy. Stevie Richards and the Blue Meanie came out with a giant wooden cross and crucified him. This was a highly controversial storyline at the time. It was also one of the angles that the WWF stole from ECW. Instead of using a cross, the WWF used the Undertaker’s logo to hang Steve Austin in crucifix style. There was no controversy, despite being extremely similar.

MY FIRST TRIP TO THE BINGO HALL

February 22nd, 1997 Cyberslam at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia will always have a special place in my heart as one of my favorite wrestling cards. Why would a simple house show rank right up there at the top of my favorites list? It’s because Cyberslam 97 was the first wrestling show I attended in the bingo hall that was dubbed the ECW Arena. The line-up was the following:

ECW Tag Team Champions Perry Saturn & John Kronus defeated Sabu & Rob Van Dam Chris Chetti pinned Little Guido (w/ Tommy Rich)
Stevie Richards (w/ Nova, the Blue Meanie, & 7-11) pinned Balls Mahoney
Axl Rotten pinned Spike Dudley
Buh Buh Ray & D-Von Dudley (w/ Sign Guy Dudley & Axl Rotten) defeated New Jack & Mustafa
Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer (w/ Beulah McGillicutty) defeated ECW World Champion Raven & Brian Lee
Sabu pinned Chris Candido

Going to the ECW Arena was always a special experience. I remember that first night there. The “arena” was located in South Philadelphia. South Philly is a tough neighborhood. It wasn’t the kind of place where you would walk alone by yourself at night. However, when you arrived to the arena, you felt safe. You were there with 1,100 of your closest friends. At the time, I was driving a brand new fully loaded Ford Mustang, and never felt nervous leaving my car there. The building was dingy, and dumpy, but it was “our” home. As crappy as it looked, the ECW Arena was the most beautiful building to ever hold a wrestling event. I loved that place. Whether you sat in the first four rows, or in the bleachers, you had an up close seat to the action. It didn’t matter where you sat. You could see everything, and chances are the action would be coming near you sometime during the show.

Another aspect of the arena that made it great was the fans. The ECW fans were the most passionate fans in the history of pro wrestling. “ECW! ECW! ECW!” “You sold out!” “He’s Hardcore!” “You fucked up!” They had a chant for everybody, including the guy who had to clean the ring. “Mop it up, asshole. Mop it up!” Of course, my favorite chant happened when chords of Metallica blared through the P.A. system. The fans would sing in unison the lyrics to “Enter Sandman.” Eleven hundred off-key voices singing the Sandman’s theme song sounded like a beautiful church choir. Honestly, if it wasn’t for those fans, I probably still wouldn’t know the words to that song.

ECW GETS RAW

February 24th was an exciting night for me. That was the night that ECW invaded Monday Night RAW. Paul Heyman said that night on commentary “Man, would this show suck without ECW!” I find myself saying that a lot lately about the current Monday Night RAW. Sadly, there is no Paul Heyman ECW there to save it.

That night was awesome. I couldn’t wait for the inter-promotional feud. Unfortunately, it was a feud that would never take place. However, the fun was not totally dead.

The main reason for ECW on RAW was to help them promote the first ECW pay per view called Barely Legal. After the pay per view, the fans had a mixed reaction to the show. Many were disappointed that the show didn’t truly represent the hardcore nature that was ECW. I loved the show. I believe that Paul Heyman toned down the show to a degree, because they had a very hard time getting on pay per view. If they aired barbed wire, flaming tables, male on female violence on their very first show, the pay per view operators would probably have pulled the plug on any future shows.

Personally, I enjoyed the show. The best match of the show was The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yakushiji defeated bWo Japan (Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy, and Dick Togo). My favorite match was Taz vs. Sabu, which ironically featured a double heel/face turn that the WWE also did less then a month before with Bret Hart and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13.

Following Rob Van Dam’s Barely Legal victory over Lance Storm, the rumors started to circulate that Rob Van Dam was heading to truly become “Mr. Monday Night.” The big rumor was that RVD was heading to World Championship Wrestling. I was at the ECW Arena show on May 10th, 1997 when it was believed Rob Van Dam would be spending his final night in ECW. The crowds chanted “You Sold Out! You Sold Out!” at Van Dam. After Van Dam jobbed to end the match, the crowd screamed at him, “There’s the door! Get the fuck out!”

Imagine my surprise when I saw Rob Van Dam show up on Monday Night RAW two days later. After all, it seemed like every wrestler whose contract was up would get a big offer to jump to WCW. That spring/early summer, Raven, Saturn, and Stevie Richards were all set to leave. What was even more surprising would be what I witnessed live in attendance one month later.

On June 7th, 1997, ECW presented Wrestlepoolza from the ECW Arena. The card was a loaded show. It featured Barely Legal rematch between Taz and Sabu, a TV title match between Taz and ECW TV champion Shane Douglas, ECW Tag Team champions the Eliminators against the Dudleys, as well as the final match in the feud between Raven and Tommy Dreamer. This was Raven’s last night in the company before leaving for WCW. What a night this was.

This was one of the most memorable wrestling events I have ever attended, and I have witnessed a lot of major wrestling shows. First, Tommy Dreamer finally pinned Raven. Then, came the major surprise. Following the Dreamer/Raven match, in typical ECW fashion, the lights went out. Not once, not twice, but three times. First, Rob Van Dam hit the ring to beat up Tommy Dreamer. Next, came Sabu to join in on the fun. Finally, came the biggest surprise. The WWF’s Jerry Lawler and Jim Cornette ran to the ring to beat up Tommy Dreamer. The crowd was at a near riotous level. I’ve never been in the middle of a more hostile crowd. I couldn’t even hear Lawler’s promo. It was the greatest atmosphere I have ever had the pleasure of being around. Above anything else, when I think of ECW, this is the moment I remember the most.

LOSING INTEREST IN THE EXTREME

The next ECW Arena show I went to took place on September 20th, 1997. Dubbed “As Good As It Gets,” the show was mostly remembered for a single spontaneous moment by the crowd. During the midcard match-up featuring Spike Dudley and Bam Bam Bigelow, the “Beast from the East” press slammed Spike Dudley over his head, and out of the ring. This was the famous Spike body surfing in the crowd incident. This was a very cool moment to be apart of. What made it special was that it was a moment that was not planned before hand. It just happened.

While I continued to go to ECW Arena shows, as the company started to air more pay per views, I started to attend fewer ECW house shows. Eventually, ECW received a network TV deal. While I was excited at first, the joy didn’t last long. I don’t know if it was the loss of talent that finally became too much to overcome. Was it that the TNN show just didn’t have the same spark of the MSG shows? Or was it that the ECW on TNN aired on a horrible night? Maybe it was all of the above. It all equaled one thing. I started to lose interest in ECW.

To me, in 1998 and 1999, Extreme Championship Wrestling was on a slow decline. By the year 2000, there was no stopping the slide. By the time January 2001 arrived, it was no surprise that ECW had closed its doors.

Thanks to the success of the “Rise and Fall of ECW” DVD in late 2004, the WWE presented an ECW reunion pay per view show called “One Night Stand.” Not to be outdone, Shane Douglas presented “Hardcore Homecoming” reunion show at the ECW Arena two days before the WWE’s event. I attended both events. I thought the “Homecoming” show felt closer to the real ECW, but “One Night Stand” had the better wrestling.

The success of One Night Stand eventually led to the WWE creating a third professional wrestling brand called “ECW.” For me there were two high points for the rebranded ECW. The first was the new ECW’s first and only house show in the ECW Arena. I enjoyed that card, but it wasn’t the same ECW. The second high point was when the ECW television show had a TV taping at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and the crowd totally crapped on the Batista/Big Show match. They were so hard on Batista they he totally lost his cool. That was great. When the crowd treated John Cena very harshly at “One Night Stand II,” Cena was the ultimate professional, and played along with the crowd.

SAYING GOODBYE……. AGAIN

A couple of weeks ago, the WWE announced that the ECW brand would be ending in a few weeks. While I wasn’t a big fan of WWECW once Paul Heyman left the company, I am sad to see the initials E.C.W depart.

When I think back to Extreme Championship Wrestling, I think of a company the was ahead of it’s time. The real ECW was counter-culture. They were revolutionary. ECW was hip. They followed the major trends, and Paul Heyman knew what would be the new “it” things in pop culture before anybody else did. ECW was professional wrestling for adults while the other companies were too busy catering to children. ECW gave the fans a little bit of everything. There was blood, violence, tables, chairs, barbed wire, and garbage can shots. At the same time, ECW presented lucha libre, cruiserweights, high flyers, and scientific wrestling. They gave the fans profanity laced promos, and broke the barrier between kayfabe and real events. As Tommy Dreamer was quoted, “Paul Heyman lied to the wrestlers, but he never lied to the fans.” ECW delivered the most unique promos that you would see at the end of each broadcast that had ever been seen before. The shooting style of the show was very innovative. ECW was a shamorgisborg. They gave us a little bit of every thing, not just garbage wrestling.