ECW fans were unaware that Guilty as Charged 2001 would be the final PPV in company history heading into it. The promotion witnessed a few major ups and downs throughout the final year. Most of the biggest names left the company for a chance to make more money in WWE or WCW. Paul Heyman continued building new stars, but things grew troublesome when their television deal with TNN fell apart.
This final PPV took place in the infamous Hammerstein Ballroom with the fans treating it as a huge deal. The end of the road came a few weeks afterward with only a couple of house shows following it before the doors closed. ECW wrestlers to perform on this card viewed it as a special night they didn’t realize heading into the venue. Guilty as Charged 2001 deserves another look as an underrated historic wrestling show.
Guilty As Charged Had A Fun Undercard
The entire Guilty as Charged 2001 card was full of hungry talents trying to get to new heights on this night. ECW booked a strong event with a deep list of names contributing from start to finish. The trio feud of Little Guido, Tajiri, and Super Crazy continued with a fun three-team tag match of The FBI vs The Unholy Alliance vs Super Crazy and Kid Kash. All three teams were on fire this night for an action-packed match in the mid-card.
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The ECW tag team division featured standout wins for the newer teams of Danny Doring & Roadkill and Simon Diamond & Johnny Swinger. Nova won a mid-card match and had the audience completely connected to his journey. However, one match stood out in the under-card due to the long-term investment in their feud.
Paul Heyman gave time to most of his feuds booked on ECW cards. Tommy Dreamer and CW Anderson feuded for months with Dreamer helping the newcomer get over. ECW saved their biggest blowoff match for Guilty as Charged 2001. Dreamer won an “I Quit” match, but the audience gained respect for CW on this night.
The Main Events Delivered
ECW booked two main event feuds for the top of Guilty as Charged 2001 that became the biggest calling cards on the show. Paul Heyman was all about building new stars after losing top names and used this night for that reason. Rhino gained huge heel heat for taking advantage of a situation and became ECW World Champion for the first time.
The Sandman won the title over Steve Corino and Justin Credible in a Tables, Ladders, Chairs, and Canes match. ECW fans loved the violence from that style of match and got it one more time for the top prize. Rhino threatening Sandman by attacking his wife led to an instant title defense. The move was done for Rhino to win the title and become the top heel. ECW would have made Rhino the dominant champ if it continued, but Heyman also did this to help Rhino get signed by WWE when the company closed.
A bigger main event actually took place without the ECW World Championship involved. Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn had one of the all-time great rivalries in the promotion’s history. Lynn was now a heel with Don Callis aka Cyrus as his manager in The Network faction. Fans were ecstatic to see Van Dam shutting him down one more time.
It Was A Surprisingly Perfect Final Show
ECW not intentionally planning a great final show made it more impressive that Guilty as Charged 2001 went so well. The atmosphere of the diehard ECW New York fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom added an element to make it feel like a big show. Ring of Honor and New Japan found success with the venue in recent memory, but the final years of ECW events made it a beloved arena for wrestling.
The fans were given everything they wanted from ECW on this night to make them overlook that the company was actually on its deathbed. A hungry mid-card picture of rising stars like Super Crazy, Tajiri, Little Guido, and CW Anderson all provided strong performances. The mainstays of Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Justin Credible delivered as usual.
ECW pushed a new top star in Rhino by having his elevating title win on this night. The show even ended perfectly with the tremendous rivalry of Rob Van Dam scoring another victory over Jerry Lynn in a great match. Paul Heyman was connected with his audience’s desires in wrestling and fulfilled them one more time. Guilty as Charged 2001 is a special memory for ECW fans who got treated to their perfect final show.
