(note: this article was posted previously on Jan. 11th, due to modem problems I just got around to posting it now.)
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968)
What DID happen to our friends? Our cult like favorites whom we marked out for every Monday or Friday night. Tazz, The Rock, Raven, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Sting… How did Triple H become the biggest star on the WWE roster? We were a wrestling society based on the choice of three shows and now down to maybe 1 and a half. One being Raw and the other half split between Smackdown! and TNA. Was there a time when wrestling was extreme? As Terry Funk put it in 1995 at an ECW show, “we want to show everyone that wrestling is still spelled W-R-E-S-T-L-I-N-G” Of course a remark to wCw’s and the WWF’s “wrasslin’” like styles. What happened to Terry Funk? Where are our friends that were silenced nearly 4 years ago that sparked a new generation of wrestling? It sparked the wrestling revolution in which the sport we love so much was never the same again. Was it all a dream? Could the father of this revolution right now be jobless? Vince McMahon is talking about running an ECW Pay-Per-View in June and it’s going to be without the father of it? For years now Extreme Championship Wrestling – NEVER dead – has been subject to ongoing ridicule by the “big 2”, “old school” wrestling fans who are impressed with pyros and million dollar gimmicks, a self pro-claimed legend who has accomplished literally NOTHING in his career (hint hint, Jerry Lawler) plus a number of internet fans who want us to accept ECW’s fate and let it go. Ehh…not yet.
“The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.”
H. L. Mencken (1880 – 1956)
The disrespect is amazing when you ask me about this article in general. It’s a risk writing about ECW because I don’t think anyone wants to hear it anymore. Nobody wants to hear about things they do not understand. The truth is, Shawn Michaels can proclaim that his ladder match with Razor Ramon was “hardcore” and that it spawned the future of ladder and hardcore matches…tell that to Public Enemy who dove through two tables to the outside of the ring that very same year. Tell that to Sabu and the Sandman who had a ladder match only it led to a batch of barbed wire in the first Stairway to Hell match. Think about it. Imagine if Jimi Hendrix never got the respect for revolutionizing the way the electric guitar was played, if Joe Montana was shown nothing for becoming one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, if people just turned their heads after John F. Kennedy prevented a war with Russia in 1962 with the Cuban missile crisis. ECW re-invented the sport of wrestling but all it did was give Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon a warehouse full of goods for them to steal and no security to stop them. HOW did ECW innovate and reinvent the sport? Why would you have never seen any TLC or Hell in a Cell matches if it weren’t for ECW? You wouldn’t be watching Rey Mysterio right now on Smackdown, you wouldn’t mark out for Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero or even Chris Jericho if it wasn’t for ECW. Not to mention Steve Austin and Mick Foley. Wow. Those are too big names huh?
“Art is either plagiarism or revolution.”
Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903)
Okay so I haven’t sold you on the importance of ECW yet. When you have names like The Sheik, Terry Funk, and past bloodbaths with old farts like Snuka and Backlund, Sammartino we can come to the conclusion that ECW did not invent blood. So what gives? It’s the attitude! In 110 degree bingo halls filled with testosterone and loyal hardcore Philly fans some of the greatest wrestlers had there chance to shine. I DO mean some of the greatest wrestlers. There would be no Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero if it weren’t for ECW. Especially Steve Austin. These “misfits” and nobody wrestlers who weren’t pumped full of protein shakes and 600 pound bench presses were given the opportunity. The first of many ECW revolutions and evolutions I give you “the wrestlers”…
You know him as the fat cynical Brooklyn Smackdown! Broadcaster, but THEN he was a maniac running around with no shoes and a caveman outfit who called himself Tazz. Then Tazz grew out of his gimmick and became one of the best technical wrestlers of the 90’s. How abut Steve Austin? Bischoff fired him, Vince wasn’t looking, but Paul Heyman was! Where do you think Austin formed his “attitude”? It didn’t start at King of the Ring 1996, it started in ECW. Eddie Guerrero became a rising star in ECW from pure wrestling ability. As well as Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Chris Jericho. Look at all of this talent! Still more…Lest we forget Mick Foley A.K.A. Cactus Jack whom later feuded in the WWE with Terry Funk another future WWE acquisition. Ron Simmons passed through the ECW arena as well as Al Snow. Do you like cruiserweights? ECW brought Lucha Libre to America and put out a product that STILL exceeds the current and past wCw or WWF cruiserweight matches. Rey Mysterio, Juventude Guerrera, Psychosis…You can connect this to the wCw cruiserweight division so lets throw in Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero in there too. Not directly from ECW but definitely a cause. Tajiri, Guido Maritato (Nunzio) Jerry Lynn Spike Dudley, TAKA Michinoku even. The first WWF lightweight champion ever, was an ECW star. The Dudley Boyz are considered one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling history and yes, they too started in ECW. ROB VAN DAM. Enough said. Past WWE stars include Tommy Dreamer, Lance Storm and Raven. Kurt Angle was even close to signing a deal in ECW way before Vince ever thought of it. Then he witnessed Raven do a crucifixion to the Sandman. Kurt didn’t like that so much. Oh yeah, the Sandman. The spark to “stone cold” Steve Austin. In it’s beauty they also had Dawn Marie and Lita before Vince did. Steven Richards played a big part in ECW as well. Even now Chilly Willy is working with the WWE now and even though Vince ruined him, lets not forget Nova A.K.A. Simon Dean. I forgot Rhyno too. Sorry, there is a lot of these. Was it just the wrestling? ECW had produced some of the biggest names to come in wrestling history is there more? Of course!
“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.”
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821)
We ask for credit for our work beyond a 2 disc DVD. Lets not forget how ECW influenced storylines, now non-existent but I’ll run down what they accomplished. FIRST “crucifixion” before the Undertaker would do it multiple times, FIRST lesbian storyline between Kimona and Beulah with Tommy Dreamer before Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson ever got it on. FIRST storyline involving stealing someone’s kid away with the Raven and Sandman, FIRST announcer in Joey Styles that truly knew what he was talking about and can actually name ALL of the moves. (Gordon Solie and Monsoon were great but compared to J.R. and Tony Shavoine?) FIRST pummeling of a Santa Claus around X-mas time, FIRST 3-way match, stairway to hell match, Singapore cane match and barbed wire matches that the “big 2” dared not to even go near. How about the use of random objects in a hardcore match? Cookie sheets, trash cans, stop signs, etc…Yeah that was New Jack. FIRST to do the “shoot interview” I would even go as far as saying the simple stand-off and the crowd applaudes was an ECW invention from the fans because the WWF and wCw fans really didn’t understand the technicality of the sport they were watching. ECW made wrestling fans smart, and it was up to you to decide if you wanted to learn, or stay ignorant.
”I don’t know that you would have seen WWE Attitude if it hadn’t been for ECW.” ~Mick Foley
Is this true? Clearly it is. From the forever declared WWE Hardcore Champion himself, he even recognizes that ECW invented the aspect of hardcore wrestling in big matches. How much ground does this cover? They threw “WRESTLING” into the mainstream instead of “wrasslin’” which could have led to the WWE NEVER pushing wrestlers like Kurt Angle or Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. No Hell in a Cell matches, no TLC matches, and an appalling travesty when Shane McMahon straight up STOLE Ron Van Dam’s Van-terminator for use at Wrestlemania 17 it starts to get ridiculous. In a way ECW invented “the bump”. Coin the term of some wrestlers that do not take bumps. In the WWF’s desperate attempt to counter the nWo with D-X along came the ability to push the envelope. Val Venis getting a circumcision, Mae Young giving birth to a hand, the Angle/HHH/Stephanie love triangle which I still believe is the last great WWE storyline. Or even good for that matter. Even the RTC storyline seemed to pay homage to the racy “extreme” style that the WWF was putting across as a direct result of ECW. Were there any great “swerves” before ECW? …. Austin heel turn AFTER ECW, Hogan joining the nWo AFTER ECW. Beulah telling an angry Raven that her baby was Tommy’s, the Sandman’s own son turning on him and siding with Raven, hell even Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA world title and claiming ECW as a world title could be considered a swerve and a shoot. Plain and simple, ECW invented the “anything can happen” idealism through it’s storylines, it’s matches, and it’s very heart. Mick Foley was right, there wouldn’t have been WWE attitude or even a racier wCw if it weren’t for a small, underproduced fed in a bingo hall.
“I was on 57th Ave. in New York city and there was a three-car pileup and a bunch of people looked at the car wreck and started chanting ‘ECW’.”
-Paul Heyman
We don’t ask for the blood of Vince McMahon, we do not want the death of slower, steroid enhanced wrestling. We need guys like Gene Snitzky and Heidenreich to laugh at. We want what is coming to us. Respect and a future. All great things come to an end, but not when they change the very fabric of their environment. Like the quote above ECW has moved past Philadelphia and New York. It has landed in the U.K and throughout Europe years after it’s death. It’s DVD is the 3rd top selling DVD of the year in wrestling. The very nature of wrestling is to entertain it’s fans, and that’s what ECW did. Give us 2 hours a week in a bingo hall on national television, give us poor lighting and bad stages, we’ll give you what revolutionized wrestling to this very day. I am asking you the fans to call for a third brand if you will. Or even for Smackdown! To be replaced with ECW. Raw is the flagship, it’s what diehard WWE fans want to see. We are not diehard WWE fans, we are diehard WRESTLING fans… “Revolution is not a onetime event.” – Audre Lorde…Neither should ECW. Save it. Respect it. Bring it back. Wrestling needs a kick in the ass, let Paul Heyman and the ECW fans do it for the better sake of wrestling history.
-Joseph Bachman
SIGN THE ECW PETITION! BRING IT BACK! TELL THEM THAT YOU WANT YOUR ECW!
