The Rise Of ECW, What Happened?

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In this pro wrestling documentary, we will discover the key components in the success of ECW in the early 1990s. From the early days of Tri-State Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance under Joel Goodhart and Todd Gordon, through the early success under the booking of Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert. We will see how a young Paul Heyman would rise through the ranks in WCW before taking over Eastern Championship Wrestling and turning it extreme. With appearances from Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Terry Funk and Jimmy Snuka as well as a host of other hardcore pro wrestlers who took ECW from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia all the way to WWE Wrestlemania.
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Wrestle Pod aims to provide insight via this video series into the world of professional wrestling. DWP will look at the historic-side of the squared circle, from wrestling move inceptions, iconic performers' careers and even the darker side of the wrestling industry. PART TWO • The Lies Of Hulkamania Attempting to shine a light on some of the more interesting events in wrestling’s past. As well as weekly coverage of topics covering modern promotion such as WWE, AEW, NJPW, ROH and several British wrestling brands (with highlights, predictions, reviews) and more. All footage in this video courtesy of ITV & ITV Box Office, Sky Sports, The Fite App, All Elite Wrestling, WWE, Impact Wrestling, Ring Of Honor & New Japan Pro Wrestling. If you believe you are due credit in this video please get in touch.

[@roblee7309]

I was so blessed to be able to see ECW live shows a handful of times, including once at the ECW Arena. Truly something for everyone - violence, amazing storylines, incredible technical wrestling, beautiful women, great music, and terrific mic work.

[@rockapartyjd]

I as well in 98 and 99 in Pittsburgh...priceless...wish I would of went to Arena...had tickets to Barely Legal but had school

[@jayleblanc3598]

It's unfortunate what Wrestling has become. I swear, I sometime wonder if RAW has an arena full of plants(workers) in the crowd. No Passion, Fake cheers and boo's and EVERY guy/girl looks the same...presentation has become the main aspect of wrestling.

[@Thor-Orion]

I saw so many great matches at the Bingo Hall. Malenko-Benoit, Rey-Psycosis, RVD-Jerry Lynn.

[@MikeyMike-uu3fe]

Lucky guy

[@D-Fens_1632]

If I ever get my hands on a time machine, an ECW match is definitely in my top ten first things to visit, just after the Kennedy assassination.

[@rezsurfer2808]

became a fan in i think 95 on tv late at night i found it.. Tripped me out and when i moved home i had to find it. Became fan and in late 99 trained with Mikey Whipwreck. Over time i had to quit wrestling. But ECW gave me my dream and had my chance. Thank you ECW

[@WrestlePod]

Thanks for sharing the memories! ECW really was something special

[@arrisbaldwin6498]

@@WrestlePod The Rise of FMW 🔥🔥🔥 IWA 🔥🔥🔥 W*ING 🔥🔥🔥

[@Caspanova]

What a testimonial

[@randallharter]

You and me both brother! Was MSG channel in NJ at 1 am and I faithfully watched every episode until they closed.

[@TopFlight_Jeezy]

Same. I’m on the east coast I found it at 1:30 am on a random uhf station

[@jagtaggart936]

I loved how in ECW so many guys that wouldn't even be considered for midcard were big deals and allowed to shine and show what they could do to get fans on their feet and pay for seats.

[@thedarkplague1475]

I would say that was the same for wrestling back in the 80s and 90s regardless of which company the wrestler was from. Mid card wrestlers got a lot of great heat and had great matches just like top wrestlers did. You won’t see that now.

[@Tcup1982]

ECW was everything ❤there will never be another like it🤟🏻

[@WrestlePod]

I loved making this ECW documentary as I got to watch so much classic stuff

[@JuliusC1973]

There certainly have been more than a Few Professional Wrestling Promotions who took parts of what made up ECW and tried running with that. Some such as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) have leaned very hard on The Hardcore Facet of ECW and Not American Style, Canadian Style, Japanese Strong Style, Mexican Lucha Libre Styles of Wrestling.

[@RealSpudsBuckley]

Here before the dingbats try to convince you AEW is ECW rebirth 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@guywilliams6569]

Lol.. you STILL live in your mom's basement, don't you?

[@JuliusC1973]

@@RealSpudsBuckley There are an awful lot of people working at AEW behind teh scenes who worked in The Original ECW and you can see some of the influence that ECW has had in The History of Professional Wrestling when you watch AEW. However, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who works for AEW who is as good a storyteller as Paul Heyman.

[@mikeyrocks4274]

The come up of Paul Heyman is actually admirable to me, I’d like to think if I was around back then I’d have been trying to do the same stuff, like the photography bit that you mentioned as little as it is that’s genuinely cool and now I see Heyman differently

[@chinoasesino3465]

The 90s....what a time to be alive....loved ECW

[@markwrenn5965]

I will never forget staying up past my bedtime one time when I was about 10 or 11 and coming across ECW on cable TV. It was SO intriguing. I was hooked immediately.

[@radaction5743]

I spent many Saturday nights at the ECW Arena. It was a very special place to me.

[@WrestlePod]

Very jealous! Would have loved to attended at least one show

[@paulieswalnut]

I'll never forget one fateful night at 3am in 1997 when I was flicking through the channels and found ECW. ❤

[@Half-Vampire]

I rarely watch a long youtube video, but i just watched the entire 1 hour of this video non-stop. What a great documentary! This covers a lot of what happened in ECW. I love it! Can't wait for the 2nd part.

[@WrestlePod]

I’m so glad you stayed for the whole hour thank you! I’m working on part 2 right now

[@crazypaisan7226]

@@WrestlePod I was wondering about that. The video kind of just abruptly ended..

[@DeathMetalDerf]

This is an incredible documentation of a truly unique, and truly insane wrestling promotion. Despite how it all ended, Paul E Dangerously will always be a wrestling genius for the ages, and the promotor responsible for some of the best hardcore wrestling ever performed by anyone!!!

[@mikehawk1270]

1997 my brother and I found ecw on channel 14 at midnight on a Saturday night… by changing channels and messing wit the antenna. Watched it on a 10’in tv… since that day we watched it and added it to our Saturday night agenda…. I’ll cherish those memories with my older brother… it brings a tear to my eye. We didn’t have much what we did we cherished it… thank you ecw

[@1enhanced1]

Mike(stevie richards)lived a few blocks from me in port richmond. After a few friends bugging me to go to south philly to check it out...we lived there. I do miss the days...

[@brad8606]

My brother used to wake me up at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="60">1:00</a>am every Saturday night when I was a kid and I’d go hang out in his room to watch ECW we never missed it. It’s such a great memory of childhood.

[@claudegrinnell9602]

My first pro wrestling show is when ECW came to Kissimmee, Florida!!! What a show! Pulled up at a checkers and was chilling with sandman Justin credible van damn and new jack

[@BrianBarrettWilson]

Fantastic as always. ECW was so important to me and other wrestling fans. Happy to see this celebrating what ECW really was.

[@calvinfolan1736]

The greatest wrestling promotion to ever exist imo.

[@Idkmyusernamewtfbruh]

I was a 10 year old kid trying my best to stay up until 2 am to catch it on TV and when I did, it was worth every minute.

[@Venom_741]

The Sandman, Taz, Tommy Dreamer yes please, Great Kabuki and of course Sabu

[@chinonoelmoreno]

ECW was Nirvana and Pantera mixed together. Just truly beautiful. ECW 4 EVER!!!

[@christopherdoroba8724]

I grew up going to ECW shows in philly seeing my cousin (Rocco Rock) kicking ass with his tag partner Johnny grunge ! I got to hang out in the locker room it was awesome. Really miss those days and i miss my cousin R.I.P Ted Petty aka Rocco Rock

[@brandonstewart2182]

Great documentary… looking forward to part 2!!🤘🏾🤘🏾

[@WrestlePod]

Glad you liked it! Part 2 is in production right now

[@jonvia]

Would've loved to have been trained in professional wrestling personally from New Jack. "Your camp counselor New Jack will show you what it takes to cut people, throw people off scaffolding, and snort snow before every show."

[@BadLuckLuke]

Terry Funk, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer... all legends!!! And of course, Paul ✨

[@BruuhMikeHawk]

Rhino

[@jefffrearson8764]

I'm glad I got to see ECW live several times at the Bingo hall back in the mid to late 90's. There truly was nothing else like it!

[@Eaglesfan0683]

Living in NJ we still got the Philly market TV. I remember being 12 years old at the time in 95 and channel surfing finding ECW and they were showing clips of the Tapeai death match with Ian and Axl Rotten and my first thought at the time was how is this allowed on TV!? And was instantly hooked. Being no more then an hour from the arena it felt like it was OUR promotion and OUR guys. Never felt anything like that since. Thanks for all the hard work put into this video man!

[@rommyremus9650]

I'm in CT and luckily we got MSG channel, so at Saturday at 2 am, it came on. What a game changer!! It had EVERYTHING!!! I was able to go to a house show here in CT and it was INSANE. Like no other shoe I've been to. The vibe was unmatched to this day. ECW was the wrestling I wanted to see. Not the Godwins vs The Body Donna's, but The Eliminaters VS The Dudleys. Just compare those 2 matches, Barely Legals opener VS WWF s ppv that month. It doesn't compare!!

[@Thor-Orion]

It was also on in NYC at some ridiculous time on one of the weird channels.

[@billepperson2662]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="680">11:20</a> What?! Paul Haymen was also the booker for Windy City Pro? When I was watching it on cable access here in Chicago in the 90's it was just called WCW (Windy City Wrestling, which I think led to a lawsuit from that other WCW, making them change their name to WCPW). That's nuts! I never knew that, how'd he pull that off living in Philly?

[@billepperson2662]

Now that I think about it, it sorta makes sense. 1 of the original unique aspects of Chicago's WCW that I LOVED, was a permanent, perpetual division split of heavyweights, middleweights & lightweights, years before the cruiserweight wrestling that became a revolutionary cornerstone of ECW (later poached by the "other" WCW)

[@hakeemgordon-fi8qz]

WWE gotta put Paul Heyman in the Hall of Fame

[@WrestlePod]

He’s a first ballot HOF easy

[@sinner13halloweenfiend76]

I love old skool ec fn w I remember my pops was the one that told me about it he would get ready to go to work and it would come on some cable ch like at 1 in the morning he told about it I stayed up to watch it and I became a huge fan after the first time I seen it miss those days

[@WrestlePod]

So much warm nostalgia in going back to the classic hardcore days of ECW

[@rezsurfer2808]

i had my VCR set to record the all also lol Different channels on Dish network had sport from regions and they sometimes showed different episodes so recorded them all to keep up

[@EdsterIII]

I love old school wrestling. I grew up watching Nick Bockwinkle in the AWA. The Crusher, Andre the Giant, Baron Von Rachtke, Verne Gagne, Greg Gagne and "Jumpin`" Jim Brunzell "The High Flyers", Jerry Blackwell, Mad Dog Vachon, Adrian Adonis and his partner Jesse Ventura. The Heenan Family was growing more and more strength. Bockwinkle held the title for a long time, and those TV shows on Saturday mornings were so fun for a kid in the 70's. Later of course the wwf began it's run. For a while I really enjoyed it. Randy "Macho-Man" Savage, Ricky the🐉🐲Dragon🐉🐲 Steamboat, Bret "the Hitman" Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, the 🇬🇧🇬🇧British🇬🇧Bulldogs🇬🇧🇬🇧, and so many others were larger than life. I WAS, REPEAT WAS a fan of Hulk Hogan. Until I learned that he was the biggest FRAUD ever to be in professional wrestling. Once again a little bit later I found another Professional Wrestling show. The NWA/WCW with Rick Flair and others wasn't as glamorous or as glitzy as the wwf's shows but the wrestling was so much better. One match in particular really hit me. It was a match between "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Ricky "🐉the🐲🐲Dragon🐉" Steamboat. One of their matches was an Iron-Man match. One full hour, pin, beat, submitting your opponent as many times as possible. It was really intense and had a much more visceral and a far more "realistic" feel to it. Again I KNOW about wrestling's pre-determined outcomes, but what happens during those matches leading up to those outcomes can be really really incredible, athletic, insane, brutal, high flying, sometimes bloody, but if it's done right it is a hell of a lot of FUN!! Over the years several companies came onto the scene. The wwf had a stronghold for years, but then WCW, began it's push. Sting, Lex Luger, the Steiner Brothers, Ric Flair (still!), and many ex-wwf stars had jumped ship from the wwf and they signed with WCW and for a while WCW had beaten the wwf. But a new attitude came out. The wwf got nasty. 'Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the Rock, the Undertaker, the Sh*tstain Kid Shawn Michelle, and some others began to fight back. Meanwhile ECW was growing in popularity, fans absolutely love the brutality and the intensity and the atmosphere was unbelievable. ECW found it's niche and they continued to grow. Guys like RVD, Tommy Dreamer, Tazz, Sandman, and one of the most incredibly crazy ones of all, the Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal Madman SABU along with the Hardcore Legends Terry Funk & Cactus Jack was amazing. I don't like saying that they or anyone brought "legitimacy" to ECW. Those guys were ALREADY LEGITIMATE! They may have brightened the spotlight a little bit more, but ECW was a full on butt kicking wrestling company. They just had a guy running it who was lousy with money. When the wwe "bought" both WCW & ECW, everything the fans of the original ECW & WCW was gone. Now Vince McMahon owned it all, and yep he destroyed it!

[@stefansatis7270]

Exactly

[@Brando-Lee3725]

Thank God for ECW or I would have stopped watching what was my passion in life since a kid in 85 , pro wrestling . It had gotten so bad in WWF and WCW in 94 I basically quit watching . Until one day out of my old habits I bought a wrestling mag just to see whats going on . I read an article about ECW and it sparked my interest . I ordered two 4 hour tapes and I was hooked ! It had Cactus vs Sabu (who blew my mind) , the Sandman blinding angle etc.. plus it caught me up to speed on Douglas winning the NWA belt and denouncing it . Between all that and crazy highlight vids of everything that was going on , I immediately bought 4 or 5 more tapes and so on !!! There was NOTHING like ECW at the time !!! The insane wrestling , adult oriented angles , violence and the amazing crowd that made it all even better !

[@NathanCline12-21]

I lived in south Jersey in the late 1990s and was able to see ECW many many nights

[@Clip.Collector]

I could only watch it when I stayed over my grandma's house in the mid to late 90's, there was only 2 cable service providers in my area to carry it... Service Electric and Blue Ridge. When it aired, it was on a public access channel.

[@chadczternastek]

I got around to watching ECW and I was blown away. I said to myself someone is gonna die. It was well into when they were on TV. Another thing I noticed is the fans were about as loyal and hardcore as you can get. Almost like a culture or religion. I know if I seen an ECW shirt on someone, I would not even think of messing with them. I can picture one fan bailing out another fan who they never met before. You still see that loyalty shine bright. That massive energy never died down, it was stored in the soul of every ECW fan. I wish I was able to be there from the start. Funny how Paul was bad ass back then. Sad to see what he turned into. A shell of what he was. Had the hat, scruffy beard, the energy, the everything. Then he came over to Vince and he lost the beard, the hat, got fat. Then he went to calling the shots to a yes man. Sorry ECW dudes, don't beat me up. LOL. What a great super job on this. You went into everything and you have some serious documentary skills. I love all your wrestling stuff. I can watch it all day.

[@RealNameDre]

Just stumbled into this channel and I am so glad that I did because the content on this channel is just pure gold! As a wrestling fan from the early 90's I am enjoying the videos on here. Your videos are so detailed and informative as well as entertaining that any wrestling fan will definitely enjoy. I can tell you have a passion for wrestling, because these videos must take a long time to make, but they are definitely worth it. Your hard work does not go unnoticed, thank you for having this channel because it's a gem for wrestling fans or even someone that does not watch wrestling but would like to know more about it. 💯👍👏😀

[@WrestlePod]

Wow high praise! Thank you

[@RealNameDre]

@@WrestlePodwithout a doubt your hard work deserves high praise 💯

[@antoineaustin8257]

I loved the women of the ECW, especially Francine Fournier.

[@ryantoole2327]

I watched an ECW live-show in Mississauga (Toronto) Canada in 2000 while still in highschool. I always loved ECW - and it was a great show.

[@jameswelch7403]

E.C.W.FOREVER THE GREATEST WRESTLING EVER THANK YOU FOR THE MEMORIES MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE 1⃣ IN E.C.W.😊

[@jayxtacee5695]

Paul Heyman, legend. He's been a heel manager all through out his time in WWE, but thats where I became a fan.

[@WrestlePod]

A wrestling genius sure

[@EdsterIII]

ECW took wrestling to a completely different level of insanity. I remember watching and cringing, wondering HOW IN THE HELL ARE THEY STILL AWAKE AND MOVING? Chair shots to the head, flips off of the balconies onto someone's head, back, neck, or ?? I know that it's "predetermined', but some of those shots were brutal, extremely brutal.

[@WrestlePod]

It was definitely hard going back and watching some of the more brutal stunts these guys pulled

[@hemlo7494]

I'm not sure every brutal move was predetermined.

[@jerryreyes7978]

I remember going to a couple of ECW shows when I was a teenager at that and it was by far the most craziest places I've ever been too.

[@rommyremus9650]

ECW had everything, blood yes, but so so much more. What a time in wrestling!!!! EC DUB!!!

[@kevns2148]

Geeat work, this was a really put thought out and put together Doc, you should be proud of yourself The amount of work put into these is staggering an it shows in its quality.

[@WrestlePod]

That hit me hard. Thanks mate, I get a lot of negative comments on here and it can be disappointing. I’m gunna keep trying to improve with each script and video! Thanks

[@markwrenn5965]

I think this is your best work

[@WrestlePod]

Means a lot coming from you Mark! Always been here since the early days

[@jameslogue7474]

I used to love staying up late to watch ECW. That theme music hits and you know it's gonna be incredible.

[@LarryThomas-bl2gg]

Your content is on point as always wrestling pod. !

[@WrestlePod]

Thanks I’m glad you liked it

[@mywifeisgoingtokillme9318]

Found ecw late at night. 1995 i think. I saw a picture of Sabu and i needed to see what that was all about.

[@KingJaq337]

I have so much respect for those athletes putting their buddies through that

[@patandmacmusic]

If you weren’t there, you’ll never understand. What an amazing time.

Damn to be a fly on the wall when Crockett, Coralluzzo, Heyman, and Gordon were talking with each other.

[@shlidgn90]

I still remember watching ECW for the first time. WADL in Detroit aired wrestling at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="420">7:00</a>am and <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="420">7:00</a>pm of random Indies, Smoky Mountain and Memphis. The first match was Public Enemy vs the Bruise Brothers. The was definition of insanity.

[@dickborg452]

In my area ECW came on Friday night at 7pm

[@Bangcat]

New Jack didn't just intentionally did wrongful damage to fellow wrestlers, he caused death to some of the forward motion of ECW's forward motion in legitimate lanes. It's really hard to find an upside to the man yet I still see some folks defend him. Perhaps some day I'll see some of the reasons why he was defendable, but that day still has yet to come so far.

[@s4xtt]

I always wanna see if he dare to pull his shtick to king haku who was regarded as the most intimidating man in the business that can only be calmed by all time greats like the late andre and new jacks on idol, Dusty Rhodes

[@Worstpersonsingular]

I remember those late night in Philly in high school in the 90s going over to see the shows. My friends dad was Tony Stetson and he use to tell me about his dad coming in for “bring your father to work day” and all of the other kids being jealous.

[@shlidgn90]

One of the best angles I’ve seen in my years of wrestling fandom was the evolution of the Sandman from Surfer to hardcore icon.

[@zemox2534]

There will never be another ECW.

[@WrestlePod]

I agree! Times have changed

[@rememberstayangry2366]

Joey Styles, as a solo act, is the best wrestling announcer ever. If you include duo annoucer teams I would put The Brain and Gorilla just above him. Joey Styles's voice and commentary really fit ECW. I don't think it would of been as popular without him.

[@OG-GHOST2]

I use to go to my older brothers trailor in southern WV to watch ECW PPV in tbe 90s. It was like having a telescope into a foriegn unknown world that only the likes of us could see or want to see haha Ofcourse we were also so poor we had to use what is called a scrambler box to even get access to it but man after being mainstream wrestling fans all our lives i feel like 90s ECW Was the closest america ever got to Romes man vs lions arena battles the royalty would come to to watch

[@AAVVVAAADDAAAKAAADAVRAAA]

Miss seeing ecw shows in 97-99 so much fun live And love how Dennis looks like tony soprano 😂😂

[@MikeyMike-uu3fe]

THIS WAS REALLY.....REALLY WELL DONE.......RESPECTS 👊👊

[@WrestlePod]

Thank you

[@adib6992]

ECW was a Masterpiece 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙌🏽🔥❤️ Nothing will ever come close to its Greatness….. ECW is hands-down, the greatest wrestling promotion in History!!!

[@WrestlePod]

So raw and intense. Will never be replicated

[@hakeemgordon-fi8qz]

God I just learned something. The NWA formed WCW, ECW and TNA. The NWA is still a big name in wrestling

[@markytheoldgit4096]

it's funny how kirk angel didn't get offended by the undertaker crucifying steve austin in wwf in 1998

[@WrestlePod]

Double standards when the pay is that good

[@bootleggodzilla1]

richards didnt land awkwardly on a guard rail to break his neck, a guard rail was suplexed onto him by terry funk.

[@daveassanowicz186]

The great fighting city of Philadelphia!

[@jefffrearson8764]

The Philly crowd made ECW!

[@markwrenn5965]

Young Sandman looks like Corey Taylor's drunk brother

[@sinner13halloweenfiend76]

Thank you Paul e Dangerously for everything you have done for the wrestling biz and thank to everybody at ecw dreamer raven new Jack sandman ect.... Sabu Taz man I can go on and on but thank you all

[@WrestlePod]

So many people worked so hard to make ECW a success

[@copperdee3073]

ECW was my shit back in the early to late 90s!

[@coalman1313]

I don't know why you did such a thoughtful perspecvive... But I really enjoyed it!

[@WrestlePod]

I’m glad you did

[@legomen3]

Genuinely a great documentary but it ended pretty abruptly for me, not sure if i missed something.

[@WrestlePod]

Sorry there is a YT glitch. There is 16 minutes of the video end missing and I’m working to restore it

[@legomen3]

@@WrestlePod awesome! I look forward to it!

[@kidwaryodproduction]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="83">1:23</a> A Wild Slapnu.... OOPS! Wrong guy 😆

[@rezsurfer2808]

ECW today would be called toxic by the Connecticut company and fan base. #NotLyin

[@zemox2534]

Those people are not true wrestling fans.

[@rcinematic]

I think we were getting the neighbors or apartment complex’s cable signal and I was able to watch some ECW. I remember watching it as a teen, it blew my mind

[@zacharythomason7359]

Great video, Can't wait for Part 2.

[@WrestlePod]

Thanks mate! Working on it now

[@logangale-ec8iv]

Ok ecw was good then but who would succeed nowadays, who would you draft

[@imacerealpanda9395]

I personally feel like ecws hardcore disposition gave an additional level of kayfabe, while we know it’s scripted their bumps hit a whole new level imo.

[@WrestlePod]

I cringed so many times re-watching all the brutal chair shots to the face

[@thoroughbredunderdog]

ECW was Paul Heyman’s religion back then. It’s amazing how he has 4 faces of Heyman. (Cell Phone Paul E Dangerously, ECW Heyman, Manager of Brock, servile Tribal Chief worshipping Manager Heyman)

[@WrestlePod]

He’s been able to adjust and adapt to keep relevant since the early 90s

[@emmanueleferrarotto2986]

This might offend some people and might also be controversial, but to me ECW was for Pro Wrestling what Motörhead was for Heavy Metal. A company with less sucess then deserved but highly influencal and ground-paving for decades to come

[@Matt-cr4vv]

Honestly that’s probably a fair take. What I always think is interesting is how so many people hold ECW in high regard and speak of it within the 90s era almost in a sense to make it seem like it was on the same level of the WWF or WCW when during its highest grossing year they brought in roughly $6M while the other companies were bringing in hundreds of millions as such immensely larger promotions. But the company itself was such a different thing from what people knew and had so many top tier wrestlers pass through there in the early years before they went to the big show and hit high success levels like we saw from guys like RVD or the Dudley’s and how people saw guys like Benoit, Guerrero, Mysterio, and Jericho for example all pass through there prior to joining one of the big companies. But it’s kinda interesting to see how people speak of and view what ECW was and often you hear mostly positive things from fans about ECW but a company like TNA if you asked a bunch of fans you’d hear a ton of negatives and possibly the LOLTNA perspective that a ton of people have had and talk of TNA as a pissant company that never accomplished anything. And I would never argue that a TNA had a culture impact or level of creativity and uniqueness that ECW did but I would wager that if you polled a group of fans that more would perceive ECW as having more success than TNA did because the creativity and unique aspect of the brand have led to people perceiving it to have had more measurable success than it ever did but feeling the opposite of that about TNA the opposite applies where despite having a chunk of years of profit prior to Dixie taking everything over and the company taking a dive most people wouldn’t know it. And that just always gives me a chuckle how the perception of both companies for pumping out a much more favored product and one seen negatively would lead a lot of people having an incorrect perspective. It’s just fun to think TNA despite its iterations, network changes, and owner changes has stuck around for 21 years, had a chunk of profitable years snd had genuine potential to become something much more than what it was had Dixie and co not taken the actions they did that were so harmful while ECW lasted roughly seven year send only stuck around because you had Paul’s parents and the WWE heavily pumping funds to stay open for a number of years alongside a roster of talent that had such extreme commitment and belief in the mission that they’d stick around for long periods of time while Paul was consistently behind on paying then or paying less than they were owed because they had roster members who genuinely had such deep belief that they put up with this stuff. Without all that they’d have gone under way before then and TNAs media rights from spike basically from jump earned then roughly 4x the revenue that ECW had in their best year yet they’re seen in a higher stature than a TNA by so many. Just an interesting thing for me at least

[@Floatillyboats]

Nobody’s going to mention how the video just ends mid sentence?!

[@WrestlePod]

I think there is a glitch with YT, the actual video is 1 hour 8 minutes, but only the first 56 mins are showing up?!

[@zerocool1ist]

Always made me laugh when Raven pointed out yea ok Angle was so offended by the crucifixion of Sandman because it hurt his religious sensibilities BUT! When Angle joined WWF and the Undertaker was crucifying people on his symbol left and right Angle said not one word about it. Raven was right for not wanting to apologize and Paul never should have made him.

[@michaelpaiva9924]

Can't wait for part 2!!

[@WrestlePod]

Working on it over the weekend!

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

It's funny to see that Kaientai was originally a parody of a parody...INDEED!!!

[@rogercook9217]

Really enjoyed this 🙂👊👊 keep up the great work 🦾

[@WrestlePod]

Thank you! Part 2 incoming soon

[@EdsterIII]

Stevie Richards I had felt was an underutilized wrestler. He seemed to have the skills to be a decent professional wrestler, but none of his "Gimmicks" really gained momentum. The B.W.O. while a funny idea, it wasn't or didn't have the longevity or the long-term success of the others.

[@WrestlePod]

He was super duper handsome too!

[@calvinfolan1736]

Often thought of as just tits, blood and barbed wire. But it was so much more than that. It gave some of the biggest stars in the game their beginning. Some excellent matches took place in that bingo hall. Brilliant promos were seen, and the fans were rabid and cult like! Something we'll honestly never see again. But I'm so glad that we did! I'll always be an ECW fan. Often imitated but never duplicated.

[@vortex_1336]

$3000 for wrestling school in the 90's? That's insane.

[@syxxpoppin8830]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1798">29:58</a> cool breeze smoking 🚬 dope at the B hall😂🎉

[@nathanschellhamer6814]

Ecw was it. Nothing will ever compare to that time period 😢.

[@rustino660]

I remember moving to the east coast as a kid and telling my mom “can we go to an ECW show??” 😭😭she did get me the DVDs tho lol

[@rockapartyjd]

Thank you! As a rat who lived it, breathed it, loved it....WELL DONE, guy, WELL DONE! Seriously, some of the clips u put in this, simply priceless. Thank you!

[@thebackwoodsmechanic5029]

I was a people wrestler from 2000-2013. Loved it.

[@thomasmeyers2565]

Ecw !!! It was awesome even the into , I can still hear that theme to this day

[@bayupahleza2957]

from attitude era to the rise of ECW sure we live in the best wrestling action.

[@zandig4670]

Fantastic material! Thanks!

[@FunkSwaggMusiK]

Is that ECW Academy a real commercial?

[@WrestlePod]

Lol I changed the images but the audio is real yeah!

[@jjkcommentaries8645]

Taz was the head trainer. It was the house of hardcore

[@hakeemgordon-fi8qz]

Paul Heyman manages the USOs, roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, solo sikoa, CM punk, and Brock Lesnar. Now change the name to the new dangerous alliance with these same superstars in it. They would be unstoppable. What if these same superstars was in ECW. ECW would probably be in business right now

[@WrestlePod]

Woah what a great idea! Never thought of that

[@nicktan4530]

I wish we can go back to this era.

[@philminkeesickquayash8988]

I remember first time watching ECW... I was amazed, and shocked at the same time...

[@Garf_malarf]

Fantastic video man. Subbed

[@WrestlePod]

Much appreciated! Glad you found and subbed to me

[@davidblank5296]

As a young HARDCORE wrestling fan in the 90's late night's was for ECW

[@PhilMiCoochie]

You got some details wrong and also forgot to mention. With the Mass Transit shit show, Eric(Mass) went backstage to New Jack and told him that he wanted to get some moves in, which in wrestling that's a BIG no no. He also stated that he wanted to get some color and Jack just looked at him and nodded yes. Fast forward to the end of the match and Eric realized he couldn't so Jack again, just looked at him and nodded. Then he pulled out an x-acto knife and cut the shit out of him

[@diggadirt393]

This was very good! New sub

[@WrestlePod]

Thanks for subbing!

[@vincenzoragusa6923]

I still remember my dads face when rhino pike drives dawn Marie through a table in NYC …. The good old days