The history of ECW is a bizarre one. It is a company which had such a strong following yet often let those fans down with awful events, unreal amounts of controversy, and crazed booking that sometimes even rivaled that of the absurdity of WCW post-2000.
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ECW rose to prominence in the 1990s to the point where they even had a TV deal and produced periodic PPV events. When it comes to these events, there are many shocking things which took place on and around these shows. For those who are newer fans to professional wrestling, the history of ECW may be a big unknown, and there will be plenty you don’t know about these events. It has been over two decades since the boom of ECW, so many will not know much about the brand.
10 Mass Transit Incident Nearly Stopped ECW’s First PPV
The infamous “Mass Transit” incident in which Paul Heyman lied about the age of someone 17 years old and all the controversy that followed nearly led to ECW’s first ever PPV not even happening.
The broadcaster nearly canceled Barely Legal 1997 after being made aware of the Mass Transit incident, but were eventually talked into letting the show go ahead. However, Request TV, who showcased the event, ensured that a script was produced in advance so they knew what was going down at the PPV.
9 Their First PPV Was Bad
Barely Legal 1997 is a cult classic which lives in a high regard in the nostalgic heads of ECW fans. However, it may come as a shock to those who rewatch it but the event was not good at all. Despite high ratings on the likes of cagematch.net, this was a very boring slow which plodded along without much “extreme”.
The match quality was not of a high standard, and whilst there were a few gems up and down the card, the show overall was far worse than people make out.
8 Lack Of Women’s Matches
ECW did not have a women’s division, though several women were featured over the years. For whatever reason though, they didn’t capitalize on what would have been big for North America at the time - taking women’s wrestling seriously.
Instead, the likes of Jazz were beat down and buried on the Anarchy Rulz 1999 PPV by male wrestlers, in what was a braindead booking decision.
7 Blue Meanie & JBL Shoot Fight
Although the One Night Stand shows were technically “WWE” events, they were run under the newly reinstated ECW brand. In 2005, during a huge multi-person brawl, JBL and The Blue Meanie had a shoot fight in which JBL took liberties and beat the holy hell out of the Meanie.
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Upon a rewatch, it is hard to sit through when you spot the pair. Meanie needed his face stitched up after the assault. The pair since made amends, but it was a dark point on the One Night Stand 2005 event that may have gone unnoticed by some fans who didn’t keep up with backstage heat and online stories.
6 Sabu & The Sandman Debacle
Sabu and The Sandman had a match at the November to Remember PPV in 1997, but instead of a chaotic match between two ECW legends, it was a mess. Sandman was clearly not in the right state to be competing, with him looking out of it.
For 20 minutes these two plodded their way through this uncomfortable match where one half of the match simply should not have been in the ring. It was irresponsible to let this match go ahead.
5 Paul Heyman & Vince McMahon Falling Out
December To Dismember was the last ever ECW PPV and it was held under the WWE banner. Paul Heyman’s ECW was unrecognizable, even more so when McMahon wanted to book Bobby Lashley to win the ECW Championship.
Heyman strongly pushed for the more gritty competitor of CM Punk to win. The disagreements of the winner and other clashes in personality led to Heyman getting fired from WWE.
4 Taz’s Messy Title Win
Taz was a hugely popular name in ECW, and Guilty As Charged 1999 should have been his crowning moment in the promotion as he took on Shane Douglas in the main event for the ECW World Championship.
All ECW needed to do was have him win the match and enjoy the adoration of the crowd. However, ECW shockingly screwed it up. A sea of overbooking and interference consumed the match, meaning that Taz ended up scoring the win after a distraction and outside help, lessening the impact of the win. It was a bizarre booking call.
3 Sid Was The Most Over Man On The Roster
By the time 1999 rolled around, Sid’s stock in professional wrestling had dropped a bit due to some slow and plodding matches towards the end of his WWE run. He shockingly cameoed in ECW for a little while, competing at three PPVs.
To the surprise of everyone, Sid was getting the largest pops of the night. Despite ECW being all about the chaos and violence, Sid’s squash match at Guilty As Charged 1999 was the best received thing at the show. It was a short stint but shockingly it was a success.
2 The Sandman’s Crucifixion
For those unfamiliar with ECW, this is a prime example of how downright unhinged some of the creative was for the promotion. During his feud with Raven, The Sandman got crucified on a cross with barbed wire live on PPV.
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It was an absolutely shocking sight and something no one wanted to see. It was highly controversial and certainly one of the darkest moments in the history of ECW. ECW were forced to dish out an apology for what occurred at the High Incident PPV.
1 Kurt Angle’s Professional Wrestling Debut
Kurt Angle began his professional wrestling rise in 1999 for WWE, though it will come as a shock to some that his first foray into the world of professional wrestling was with ECW in 1996. He didn’t have a match, but he cut a promo at the High Incident event.
However, Angle would threaten to sue ECW if they featured him due to the aforementioned crucifixion angle between Raven and Sandman. Angle didn’t know what he was getting into with ECW, and his disgust was shared with everyone else who watched the event.
