Extreme Championship Wrestling

Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a groundbreaking and influential professional wrestling promotion. The company became known for its rabidly loyal fanbase as well as its tendency to push the envelope with several extreme storylines. ECW, for instance, featured the first ever lesbian storyline in professional wrestling between Kimona Wana-Laya and Beulah McGillicutty. The group would showcase many different styles of professional wrestling, popularizing bloody hardcore wrestling and the three way dance. It was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon, and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001.

NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling

ECW was founded in 1992, under the name Eastern Championship Wrestling, and upon its foundation, it was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. After owner Todd Gordon had a bad falling out with head booker Eddie Gilbert, Gordon called upon Paul Heyman. Gordon called Heyman because Heyman was Eddie Gilbert's closest confidant. Gordon wanted Heyman to help him book a big show called Ultra Clash '93 (on September 18, 1993) at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia.

Related Topics:
1992 - National Wrestling Alliance - Todd Gordon - Booker - Eddie Gilbert - Paul Heyman - September 18 - 1993 - ECW Arena - Philadelphia

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Paul Heyman felt that mainstream professional wrestling had become like the hair bands. When ECW was branching out, professional wrestlers had far more cartoonish gimmicks. The product was marketed more towards children than the 18-35 male demographic that ECW was aiming towards. There were also far more taboos such as blood-letting and women getting regularly beaten up by the male wrestlers. Heyman saw ECW as the professional wrestling equivalent to Nirvana.

Related Topics:
Hair bands - Gimmicks - Demographic - Taboos - Blood-letting - Nirvana

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In 1994, Jim Crockett's non-compete agreement with Ted Turner, who purchased WCW from Crockett in 1988, was up and he decided to start promoting with the NWA again. So Crockett went to Todd Gordon and ask him to hold a tournament for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the ECW Arena on August 27, 1994. NWA President Dennis Coralluzzo thought that Crockett and Gordon were going to try to monopolize the title (much like Crockett did in the 1980s) and told them they didn't have the NWA board's approval so he took control over the tournament. Gordon was upset at Coralluzzo for his power plays so Gordon and Shane Douglas, who was booked to win the title against 2 Cold Scorpio, planned to have Douglas throw the title down after he won it and break ECW from the NWA. In a now classic post-match speech, Shane Douglas said that he didn't want to be a part of an organization that "died" seven years earlier (presumably when Jim Crockett Promotions itself broke away from the NWA to become WCW).

Related Topics:
1994 - Jim Crockett - Ted Turner - WCW - 1988 - NWA World Heavyweight Championship - August 27 - 1980s - Shane Douglas - 2 Cold Scorpio - Post-match speech - Jim Crockett Promotions

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After ECW withdrew from the NWA and officially changed its name from Eastern Championship Wrestling to Extreme Championship Wrestling, it became an underground sensation. The group would showcase many different styles of professional wrestling, popularizing bloody hardcore wrestling matches and the 3-Way Dance. ECW was always intended to be counter-culture and a grittier alternative to multi-million dollar organizations such as WWF and WCW. Wrestlers such as Shane Douglas, Tommy Dreamer, the Sandman, Cactus Jack, Terry Funk, Sabu, Public Enemy and the Tasmaniac helped launch the new ECW at this time.

Related Topics:
Hardcore wrestling - 3-Way Dance - Counter-culture - WWF - WCW - Shane Douglas - Tommy Dreamer - Sandman - Cactus Jack - Terry Funk - Sabu - Tasmaniac

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