The Piledriver Report 04.19.12: Remembering Barely Legal

Has a decade and a half really passed since Joey Styles hit the airwaves welcoming the world to the biggest event ever to be held inside of the confines of the ECW Arena? WOW! Time sure has gone by fast. It’s weird. Fifteen years seems like a long time ago. However, I remember the night like it was yesterday. I guess because “Barely Legal” wasn’t just any old wrestling pay per view. It was the pinnacle. The show represented the final rung on the ladder that ECW wasn’t just an indy promotion. Extreme Championship Wrestling was now cemented as one of the “big three” professional wrestling promotions in the United States.

GETTING ON PAY PER VIEW

In a recent WWE.com interview, Tommy Dreamer was quoted as saying, “Barely Legal put us on the map. It made us legit. It made us the real deal. It wasn’t like it is today where anyone can put on an Internet pay per view.

Landing on pay per view wasn’t just a victory for the promotion, and its wrestlers. It was a victory for it’s fans. The ECW fan was extremely loyal to the company. They loved the Philadelphia based promotion. While its wrestlers bled for the fans, these fans would figuratively do the same for the promotion.

Extreme Championship Wrestling should have made their pay per view debut months earlier. However, on November 23rd, 1996, the Mass Transit Incident occurred in Revere, Massachusettes. The Mass Transit Incident centered around 17 year old Eric Kulas, who wrestled in place of Axl Rotten, who could not be at the show. Kulas claimed that he was trained by Killer Kowalski, and could fill in. Paul Heyman approved the substitution, as he didn’t know that Kulas was only 17. In the match, New Jack cut the kid open to draw blood, and Kulas “bled like a stuffed pig.” After the match, Kulas needed medical attention due to the loss of blood. Once Request TV reviewed the incident, they contacted Paul Heyman on Christmas Eve, and informed him that they were cancelling the pay per view. The fans of ECW did not take too kindly to the cancellation, as they flooded Request TV and their cable providers with complaints until ECW was finally put back on the pay per view schedule.

I never understood what the big problem was in having Extreme Championship Wrestling on pay per view television. Even when Request TV gave in and decided to carry the ECW pay per view, Heyman was forced to put the product on at 9pm instead of 7pm, which was the standard at the time. Pay per view companies claimed that ECW was too violent, that they were real. It wasn’t suitable for children. These claims were coming from the same hipocrites that aired the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and pornography on their pay per view schedule. I was always under the impression that pay per view meant that you had to PAY in order to see the program. Therefore, if you were not interested in the show, you would not order it. A pay per view program was not easily accessible by minors if their parents did not order the show. It’s not like a child could channel surf, and accidentally watch the pay per view. At the time, it was easier for a kid to come across soft core skin-a-max porn on late night Cinemax, than it was to watch pay per view. Unless, they ordered it without their parents’ permission. That is a whole other issue that would be settled when the cable bill arrived.

THE SHOW

One of the things that I remembered most about the pay per view was that my friends were disappointed in the show. They were expecting the hardcore ECW Arena shows that we were all found of. “Barely Legal” lacked a lot of the violence that we were accustomed to. I understood that ECW would have to tone things down a bit for this show. They already had a ton of heat with the pay per view carriers over being too violent. The worst thing ECW could have done was air a barbed wire match or an Axl vs. Ian Rotten Taipei Death match. The company would have never been on pay per view ever again. Paul Heyman had to present a toned down show in order to have the pay per view companies off his back. Once they were convinced that “violent” rep of ECW was not as bad as they thought, and enough people were ordering the pay per views, then ECW could start to amp up the violence that was accustomed to your standard Extreme Championship Wrestling telecast.

I enjoyed the show a lot. I sit here watching it today, fifteen years later, and am still enjoying it. The first match of the night featured a tag title match between ECW World Tag Team Champions, the Dudley Boys against their rivals the Eliminators. It was a good opener that saw the titles change hands.

Tommy Dreamer reflects on that match. “The first match I knew was going to be really good, The Eliminators vs. The Dudleys. That set the tone. It was a hard-hitting match, the tag team titles changed hands, and I remember the place going nuts. You talk about importance of that pay-per-view? Bubba Ray Dudley had broken his ankle a week before, and was in a cast. He was told he needed to keep the cast on. So we were going to put somebody else in there with Devon instead, but Bubba said “I’m wrestling on this first pay-per-view.” He sawed off his cast to wrestle. And now when Bubba walks he has his foot turned to the left and has a bad ankle, but that’s how much it meant to him. He didn’t miss a beat. And trust me, that’s a lot of weight on that ankle.”

The second match featured Rob Van Dam beating Lance Storm. There are two things that I remember regarding the background of this match. This match was originally supposed to be Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Candido. Then it was changed to Lance Storm vs. Chris Candido. Aft an injury to Candido, Van Dam was inserted back into the match. In a shoot interview, Lance Storm admitted that Van Dam was really mad about not being on the card, and then being inserted as an injury replacement. I understand his being mad. He should have been on the card the whole time. However, Tommy Dreamer wasn’t on the card. If Dreamer wasn’t on the show, than no one else has a right to complain. The other thing that I remember was the rumors running rampant that Rob Van Dam was heading to World Championship Wrestling. Fans were chanting “You Sold Out!” throughout the match. It was really surprising when RVD showed up on Monday Night RAW instead as part of his “Mr. Monday Night” gimmick. I thought this was a good match, but could have been better.

The third match featured performers from Michinoku Pro Wrestling as Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy and Dick Togo battled The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada and Masato Yakushiji. From a “working” standpoint, it could be argued that this was the best match on the card. I’m not a follower of Japanese wrestling, so it was nice to see them perform on an American stage where they would be given time to perform as opposed to being a comedy act or an afterthought.

The next match featured a few that was a few months in the making. ECW Television Champion Shaen Douglas battled Pitbull #2. The Pitbulls/Shane Douglas feud started back in July of 1996 when the Pitbulls manager, Francine, turned on the team and joined forces with “The Franchise” Shane Douglas to become his “head cheerleader.” During their feud, Shane Douglas broke Pitbull Gary Wolfe’s neck. At “Barely Legal,” Pitbull #2 faced Shane Douglas to try to gain a measure of revenge. The match was one of the more intense matches on the show, which saw Douglas retain the Television title. Surprisingly, their match, at 20 minutes and 43 seconds was the longest match of the night.

While the ECW World Heavyweight Championship was to be contested in the main event of the evening, the battle for the belt was not the true main even for the night. The match that the show was built around was the clash that was one year in the making. This past year, an argument could have been made as to whether it was a wise business decision to announce The Rock/John Cena WrestleMania XXVIII match the day after the twenty-seventh installment. A record 1.3 million pay per view buys, and $67 million dollar revenue for just that night should convince you that it was the right move. Twenty odd years earlier, the WWF had a one year build to WrestleMania V’s Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage encounter that to this day was one of the best built feuds in WWF/E history. This was ECW’s turn. Their answer to Hogan/Savage was Taz vs. Sabu. Taz began calling out Sabu, but his challenge was left on deaf ears, until “November to Remember” when the two men stood face to face in the middle of the ring. The challenge was answered, and the two former tag team partners would battle at the very first ECW pay per view. Taz vs. Sabu at Barely Legal is one of my favorite professional wrestling matches of all-time. It may not have been amongst the best matches in wrestling history. However, I love the big fight feel to the match. It really felt like you were witnessing a “dream match.” This match featured a double turn, just like the WWF pulled off two weeks earlier with Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13. After Taz beat Sabu, his manager Bill Alfonso turned on him, and joined forces with Sabu and his partner Rob Van Dam. Taz became the top babyface of the company (along with Tommy Dreamer), and Sabu and Rob Van Dam became one of the federation’s top heel acts.

Match six featured a three way dance between Terry Funk, the Sandman, and Stevie Richards. At this time, I was a huge Stevie Richards fan. He was starting to break away from Raven, and I was hoping that he would go on to fight Raven in the main event for the ECW World Heavyweight title. I am not a big fan of the WWE version of the Three Way Dance, because each match is the same. Three guys start out, one guy get knocked to the floor. The two in the ring battle, until one of the combatants go for a pin attempt, only for the three-count to be interrupted by the third member of the match. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Yawn! Well, except for the Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chris Benoit match at WrestleMania XX. That was awesome, as were both Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, and Christopher Daniels matches. ECWs version doesn’t end until there is only one man left in the ring, so there is no need for the predictable pinfall breakup. It leads to a much more dramatic match. This match was no different, as all three men put on a terrific performance. While I was rooting for Richards at the time, looking back, Paul Heyman made the right choice in putting Terry Funk over.

The main event pitted Terry Funk against Raven. Admittedly, this was not a great match. However, from a historical purpose, this match told the perfect story. Most of the “older” wrestlers at the time did all they could to hold on to their spot as the main eventer. Terry Funk was just the opposite. He knew that for the business to grow, you needed to create the stars of tomorrow in the present time. Having Terry Funk capture the ECW World title at their inaugural pay per view was more than just a title change. It was a lifetime achievement award given to Terry Funk for all that he has done for the industry.

THE LEGACY

Everyone knows the story by now. Right after the pay per view went off the air, the generator blew. If the show lasted seconds longer, the pay per view audience would have missed out on the ending of the match. The last impression that the fans at home witnessed was Terry Funk celebrating with the crowd at ringside. What I wished I could have viewed was the scene in the locker room after the show. After all, this was their Super Bowl. All of the blood, sweat, and broken bones that were laid out in the land of the extreme was all worth it, because on this one night, the misfits of ECW ruled the wrestling world.

Tommy Dreamer recalls in the wwe.com interview, “I remember fans hugging each other because they were all part of the experience. Joey (Styles), you were hugging people. It was almost like when your favorite team wins the World Series at home. Everyone was embracing each other. It was just like, “We did it.” I’m getting goosebumps even talking about it. I remember fans hugging Terry Funk who was covered in blood. There’s a very famous photo of me and Terry Funk in the crowd. My face is covered in blood. It wasn’t my blood, it was all his (Funk’s) from hugging. Was it the best pay-per-view in the world? No. But everything was perfect that night for the fans that were there. It was magic. It was one of those amazing ECW moments that can never be recaptured. I remember Paul E. all sweaty backstage, his hair was all over the place, embracing Terry Funk, embracing Raven. It was the biggest bromance ever. And then Paul looked at me and mouthed, “Thank you.” Paul hugged me like we had won the World Series and the Super Bowl. He was the head coach, I was his quarterback.”

Joey Styles adds, “We were all in tears after the show. I know people always ask me, “What was the greatest show you ever called? What was the greatest night of your career? What was the greatest moment?” I think they all expect me to say my WrestleMania debut, my Raw debut, my WWE debut, but the answer is always Barely Legal.”

Fifteen years later, I sit watching a DVD of the Barely Legal pay per view. Memories come flooding back to me of the days when extreme wasn’t just a hip new term, but a revolution that turned the wrestling business on its ear. Without ECW, there would have been no “Attitude Era.” Without ECW, guys like Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Taz, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, the Sandman, Rob Van Dam, and the Dudley Boyz may not have gotten their big break in front of a national audience. During this time, what separated WCW from the WWF was the depth of WCWs undercard. While the New World Order gets all of the press for turning the tide in the ratings war, it could be argued that WCWs mid-card talent helped keep the viewers’ eyes glued to Nitro while the Hogan, Hall, and Nashs’ of the company took a breather. There mid-card lineup, that was filled with former stars of ECW, may not have been around to keep the fans entertained, if it wasn’t for Paul Heyman’s promotion that called a bingo hall home. Who knows what the landscape of wrestling would be like today without ECW’s short existence.