Related
Much of wrestling history reflects on how WCW wasWWE’sbiggest competition of the 90s , butECWcan’t be left out of that conversation . While ECW was n’t on course to beat WWE in the rating for83 weeks like Eric Bischoff , Extreme Championship Wrestling did largely inspire many of the sensibility of modern grapple .
Before WWE quickly introduced inappropriate moments into the Attitude Era that theycouldn’t get away with today , Paul Heyman was booking even more extreme Angle for ECW . Before WCW had a hard-core division , ECWwashardcore . Even to this sidereal day , ECW leaves a mark on current grappling , asWWE ’s NXT brand headed to the classic 2300 ECW arena in Philadelphia , showing that the legacy of Extreme is still alert in WWE . When looking at some of ECW ’s most extreme bit , it ’s soft to see why twist fans get hold the promotion so unforgettable .
10The Dudley Boyz Powerbomb Spike Dudley Through Two Flaming Tables
ECW Hardcore TV, August 21, 1999
Before Bubba Ray Dudley and his onscreen blood brother D - Von became two - time Hall of Famers ( in WWE and TNA ) , they were causing mayhem on Hardcore TV . The frequent objective in their sights who ’d get the brunt of their penalty was the peewee of the Dudley Boyz , Spike Dudley . While Spike getting punish by everyone every workweek was get old at this detail , as was the Dudleys using a flaming table , this was particularly brutal as Bubba decided to powerbomb his little brother through not one , but two flame table .
9Sandman Reveals He Faked Being Blind
ECW November to Remember 1994
One of the wild storyline to take place in ECW revolved around The Sandman ’s feud with Tommy Dreamer . During the January 10th , 1994 edition of Hardcore TV , the two had an I Quit match , where Dreamer would torch a lit coffin nail into The Sandman ’s eye , blinding the Isle of Man . It was a kayfabe hurt , but one presented as real to the point thatSandman herald his retirement from professional wrestling . Dreamer would dedicate the balance of his vocation to the fall Sandman out of guilt .
This include mercilessly nonplus Sandman ’s former tag team partner , Tommy Cairo , for mocking Sandman ’s wound . Sandman ’s retirement ceremony would be interrupted by a disdainful Woman jeopardise to assail Sandman . When Dreamer come to his aide , Sandman would remove his middle bandagesto the shock of the crowd and hit Dreamer with his signature cane . Sandman would accept that he lied about his injury just to get Dreamer to do his dirty work in violently fighting Cairo . It ’s deserving noting that to keep kayfabe awake , Sandman would go everywhere in veridical life wear his eye patch , even answer the door of his nursing home selling the injury .
8Fans Won’t Stop Throwing Chairs
ECW Hardcore Heaven 1994
There was never a rowdier audience in worm history quite like the ECW close . There ’s a intellect why WWE was on high alert at the Hammerstein Ballroom for John Cena ’s compeer against Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand . If an ECW crowd say , " If Cena Wins , We Riot , " then it ’s wise to believe that they will .
You ca n’t see him , but you ca n’t ignore his greatest matches . John Cena is approach retreat , so it ’s time to calculate back at his good bouts .
After all , this is the same crowd who toss away every single one of their chairs into the ring upon the asking of Terry Funk . The belated Funker asked for one chair from one fan , prompting the dedicated fanbase to throw every chair in attendance . The crowd even get too rowdy for ECW to handle , as the supplication " terminate the chair ! " can be heard echo on the mike as Joey Styles signs off .
7Raven Crucifies Sandman
ECW High Incident 1996
The Sandman vs. Raven feud was filled with unlikely moments and eerie visuals , including Raven adopting Sandman ’s young son as his own . None may be as impressive , however , than the moment that Raven crucified The Sandman , pre - dating all The Undertaker ’s more famous excruciation on WWE TV . Beyond the shocking visual of The Sandman on a barbed wire cross , the consequence is memorable for the arguing it spurred , specially from Kurt Angle , who was in attendance fresh off his gold palm win . He closely signed with ECW , but did n’t approve of the imagery he take for blasphemous . Had Angle not been offended , he may not have been swayed to go to WWE instead .
6Tommy Dreamer Pushes Brian Lee Off a Scaffold
ECW High Incident 1994
ECW ’s High Incident upshot was quite the eventful one , intelligibly . Besides a live crucifixion , the crew was treated to a Scaffold match that pep up the show ’s name . The independent consequence pit Tommy Dreamer against former Undertaker impersonator , Brian Lee , suspended several base into the air on a shaky scaffold with the documentary being to knock the opposition off . Dreamer was declared the winner after punching Lee off the scaffolding , sending him through stacks of board in the ring .
This is still remember as one of the most terrifying bumps in wrestling account . Even recognize that the tables might have broken his twilight , it still makes for a horrifying free fall , and there ’s no dependable way to descend from that height . Brian Lee could have easily missed the ring entirely , and probably decease in the process or suffered permanent injuries . Stil , this character of pip is what put ECW on the single-valued function , and inspired a generation of hardcore wrestlers .
5Spike Dudley Gets Military Press Slammed Into the Crowd
ECW As Good as It Gets 1997
Speaking of the crowd getting their money ’s Charles Frederick Worth , wrestlers in ECW oftentimes wrestled well-nigh , around , or straight into the crew . Those in the front row for sure earned the price of entrance money , especially whenever Spike Dudley compete . As enounce earlier , his getting penalize and flip around was classic ECW , which endeared him to the crowd .
The hearing ’s love for Spike was none more unmistakable than in a match with Bam Bam Bigelow , where Bigelow discard Spike from the other side of the ring into the bunch . The crowd , though , turn away to let Spike hit the ground . rather , they allowed Spike to herd - breakers like it was a concertuntil he happen himself back in the band .
4New Jack’s Mass Transit Incident
November 23, 1996
Unlike the rest of the entries , this happened at a sign of the zodiac show rather than a live show or Pay - Per - scene , but it ’s nonetheless a scary moment that inhabit on in infamy . New Jack and the Mass Transit incident was insure at length in one of the bestepisodes of Dark Side of the Ring . New Jack ’s intense assault on untrained , 17 - yr - old Erich " Mass Transit " Kulas during a tag team match break up his arteries .
This one incident nearly cancel ECW ’s first PPV scantily Legal , and put a public limelight on the violent nature of both ECW and wrestling as a whole . According to New Jack and Paul Heyman , the fault lies with Kulas , who lied about his education to get a luck to abuse in the ring , but disregarding of the truth this still remains one of the most controversial consequence in mod pro wrestling history .
3Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow Fall Through the Ring
ECW Living Dangerously 1998
For a lot of masses , the first moment that bound to intellect when someone says ECW is the Nox of Living Dangerously 1999 . With Tazz fend for the ECW Television Championship , these two behemoths of man bulldozed each other to the percentage point they go down through the ring . Anyone desire to see what it reckon likewhen a gang in mental rejection all climb to their feet in unison , watch the ending of this match .
A replay at Heat Wave 1998 for the FTW Championship examine to recapture the same magic when both men go down through the ramp , but magic like that is hard to pull off doubly .
2Tommy Dreamer Takes 10 Cane Lashes from Sandman
Tommy Dreamer is truly observe as the heart and soul of ECW today , but back in the twenty-four hour period , he was as polarizing of a figure as John Cena . Initially presented as a cooky - stonecutter babyface , the crowd would not get behind Dreamer until his Singapore Cane match with The Sandman , one which Sandman succeed by DQ under refutable circumstances . The stipulation was thatthe loser would get ten cane lashes to the back . Despite insistence from both the fans and ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon to restart the match , Dreamer declared he ’d be a man of his countersign , disregardless of how he lost .
The pro - violence crowd cheered it at first , butas the welts , bruises , and blood became visible on his back , the crew go speechless in revulsion . From that bit forward , the antecedently comprehend golden male child gained the unwavering respect of ECW fans everywhere . It proved to be a surefire way to get any babyface over , becoming a trope that AEW would endeavor to emulate in 2020 by havingfuture WWE Champion Cody Rhodesreceive ten swath stacks from MJF .
1Shane Douglas Throws Away the NWA Championship In Favor of the ECW Championship
ECW, August 27, 1994
Arguably , the most hard-core , classic moment in ECW history is n’t a fierce bit , butan immortal missionary post argument for the promotion into a novel epoch . Back when the then - Eastern Championship Wrestling was a part of the National Wrestling Alliance , ECW hold a tourney to fill the vacant NWA World Championship , the same belt worn by legends like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes . The tournament would be won by Shane Douglas , but he was n’t felicitous to hold the NWA Title .
He in public scold the title , refusing to consent the rubbish from " an organization that died . “In the same breath that he call himself The Franchise for the first time , he promised to " inflame the new fire of the sport of professional grappling . " With that said , he unveiled the ECW World Heavyweight Championship . ECW would later separate from the NWA and become Extreme Championship Wrestling . There would be no Extreme Championship Wrestling without this moment , and withoutECW , the landscape painting of pro wrestlingwould appear a pile different from how it does today .
