The legacy of ECW is most known for Paul Heyman creating something that diehard fans sick of WWE and WCW got to enjoy. ECWgrew a passionate diehard fan base despite having a fraction of the audience of WWE or WCW without a great television deal. The hit list of names to become ECW Champion featured some legends and all-time greats holding a top prize.
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Wrestling is a cosmetic business, and that was even more relevant in the 1990s. Everyone who held the ECW world title had their own look to stand out. The best “look” for a wrestler doesn’t only mean a jacked physique since some wrestlers just cultivated unique visuals to match their personas. Each of the following former ECW Champions had the best look in the original promotion.
10 Taz
Taz proved that having an unconventional look in wrestling can work to perfection with the right booking. Paul Heyman took his biggest career risk by booking Taz to be the most unstoppable and unbeatable wrestler on the roster who steamrolled over his opponents.
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Taz made up for his height by getting into his best shape and having a great presentation with the towel over his head. Even the trademark orange colors added to Taz’s look since no wrestler before him had made it “their” color.
9 Steve Corino
ECW loved pushing Steve Corino as a heel since he had the classic look of an old-school wrestler with bleach-blond hair. Corino was quite young in ECW and felt like one of the final new stars made when going all the way into the ECW Championship scene.
The bloody matches of Corino showed how valued his look was since few wrestlers looked cooler with blood all over their face. Corino did his best to make an unexpected push work to deliver a heel ECW Championship reign that constantly drew heat.
8 Justin Credible
Justin Credible looked like a traditional wrestler every step of the way. ECW decided to push Credible harder than he had ever been in his career to move into a main event role after losing a few of their established top stars to WWE and WCW throughout the years.
Paul Heyman made Credible the ECW Champion with Francine at his side to add to the act. Credible came off cool in the jorts of the 1990s along with a kendo stick on the way to the ring. The physique of Justin was always good to show why he was a touted prospect early in his career.
7 Sabu
ECW made Sabu feel like the coolest wrestler in the world with how they reacted to everything about him. Sabu’s innovative moves helped him break out and spotlight what made ECW feel different from every other wrestling industry of a larger size.
The look of Sabu worked perfectly for him with all the cuts and scars from barbed wire matches adding to his mystique. Sabu’s long hair and intense facial expressions also added to his overall look and character. The ECW Championship reigns of Sabu always had great crowd support as a top star.
6 Shane Douglas
Shane Douglas was considered the prototypical look for wrestlers in the late 1980s and early 1990s with blond hair, babyface look, and impressive physique. However, those traits didn’t help him in WWE and WCW where he flopped badly in both promotions.
Douglas used ECW as the platform to make his name and prove he could be a top star in the industry. Fans enjoyed the look of Douglas since he felt most like a traditional wrestler on the ECW roster. Someone having a look more common in WWE and WCW would have always had a better chance at getting heat in ECW.
5 Raven
Raven made a few changes in his look to reboot his entire career in ECW after stints in WWE and WCW as Johnny Polo and Scotty Flamingo. The appeal of grunge in pop culture saw Raven adopting that and transforming his look into a much cooler character.
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ECW fans saw Raven becoming the top heel and a great ECW Champion during their biggest growth. Raven wearing his grunge outfits and even wearing a t-shirt and shorts made him feel different. The long hair and stoic face sold Raven’s character of the time perfectly in ECW.
4 Bam Bam Bigelow
Bam Bam Bigelow spent time in all three major promotions of the 1990s, but ECW pushed him the hardest. Paul Heyman booked Bigelow to win the ECW Championship and have a short run as the top dog in the promotion thanks partially to his name value.
The look of Bam Bam added another dynamic that helped him find success in wrestling. Bigelow having all his tattoos, especially the ones on his head, made him come off as extremely intimidating. The selling point of a big man who did agile moves also helped him get over to the extent he did.
3 Jerry Lynn
Another unique wrestler to get his best chance in wrestling featured Jerry Lynn who broke out in ECW and even won the ECW Championship. Lynn had exciting matches and was a popular person among his peers, but his look was his best-selling point before he proved his worth.
The long hair made Lynn look like a rocker and just had the look of a babyface character. Lynn continued to make waves in ECW with his epic rivalries against Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm, and Justin Credible. ECW fans welcomed Lynn into the family despite having a better traditional look than most of their roster.
2 Mike Awesome
The ECW stint of Mike Awesome showed his best work as a taller wrestler that towered over everyone in ECW. Awesome felt like just another wrestler in WWE and WCW at 6’6’’ tall, but he had one of the best looks in ECW history thanks in part to his size advantage.
The long hair and impressive physique added to Awesome’s appeal when entering ECW and instantly becoming one of the most popular names. Everything about Awesome connected with the audience enough to make him ECW Champion defeating Taz of all people.
1 Rhino
Many people in the industry expected Rhino to get his first big break in WWE since Edge and Christian were his close friends. However, it was ECW who signed Rhino first as Paul Heyman’s final major new star pushed to the top of the card in the final few months before going out of business.
Rhino had a great look as one of the strongest wrestlers in ECW with long hair and a great face for wrestling expressions. Heyman believed in Rhino enough to make him the final ECW Champion and ECW TV Champion to get those honors to boost his career once the doors closed.
