ECW: 1992-2001; An End of Era

In the midst of main stream media reports regarding Turner’s decision to cancel WCW programming and to sell the company to the WWF, pro wrestling’s extreme promotion, seemingly lost in the shuffle, has dwindled away. No official word on the status of ECW, but for practical purposes, the promotion is history. Paul Heyman joining the WWF announcing team, and the cancellation of the company’s annual “Living Dangerously” PPV seems to seal the fate of the struggling company.

For months, Heyman sought a financial investor and a television network to carry his weekly programs. It is believed the promotion is between $7-10 million in the red, with many wrestlers still owned substantial amounts of money. With no national cable outlet, and a handful of the promotion’s top stars signed with rival company’s, ECW’s value is greatly diminished.

Tod Gordon started ECW in 1992. The promotion was originally affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance. In August 1994, ECW hosted a tournament to crown a new champion. “The Franchise” Shane Douglas defeated Dean Malenko, Tazz, and Too Cold Scorpio to earn the vacant title. Fireworks erupted after the tournament.

The victorious Douglas grabbed the mic and talked about the history of the NWA belt and the many great athletes who had held it. With that in mind he threw the belt to the canvas and declared himself ECW champion. This was a precursor to the extreme angles ECW became popular for.

Heyman joined ECW has a booker shortly after leaving WCW, where he was a successful manager named Paul E. Dangerously. In WCW, Heyman managed the likes of Arn Anderson, Rick Rude, Bobby Eaton, and a guy named Steve Austin.

In 1996, Heyman purchased ECW from Gordon. A year later, ECW was visible on WWF television. The added exposure to a program that ran exclusively in syndication allowed Heyman to book his first PPV “Barely Legal” in April 1997. The PPV originated from the ECW Arena, a bingo hall in Philadelphia used prominently by the promotion.

After months of negotiations, ECW signed a contract to produce a weekly Friday night program called “ECW on TNN.” Due to Viacom’s agreement to broadcast the WWF’s weekly cable programs on their sister networks, including TNN, the network canceled Heyman’s show last October.

There is speculation, within wrestling circles, that with Heyman now working for the WWF, McMahon will opt to run an ECW evasion angle. The WWF has already signed a handful of ECW’s prominent wrestlers, and could bring in other stars to advance the storyline. The discussed angle would be one of the major post-Wrestlemania storylines.

Heyman has always had a keen eye for talent, and is considered one of the most successful and creative bookers in the history of the business. Over the years, several of today’s top wrestlers have had stints with ECW, including Austin, Foley, Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, Dudley’s, Steiner’s, among others.

The anticipated closing of ECW brings to an end one of the most exciting periods in the wrestling industry. There is no doubt that Heyman has made his mark, and that ECW won’t be a distant memory anytime soon.

Tidbits: Fusient Media Ventures has announced that they have terminated its efforts to purchase WCW … Former ECW stars Nova and Christ Chetti received a WWF try outs last week … Vampiro is once again on tour with the Insane Clown Posse rap group … Rhino (Terry Gepin), now apart of the WWF roster, will have his named spelled Rhyno.

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