I mean he definitely didn't live harder than Ric did accumulatively. He's also 14 years younger. It's way way more shocking that Ric is still alive considering outside the ring stuff.
SMW had a very pronounced regional audience. Southerners who wanted to refight, and win their lost cause". from a 100 years before. "Southern Pride"?!? Who outside the south gives a damn..
“A lot of talent were using hip hop without royalties being paid.” Well, in Heyman’s defense hip hop at the time was using a lot of samples without paying for them.
so true, reminds of a band who covered Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" but her lawyers wouldn't let them use samples of her voice because copyright so they had to rework their cover to put their album out
Not by the time Heyman was running ECW. 1991 was when the legal copyright crackdown on that happened. It's why people often will point to something like Paul's Boutique by The Beastie Boys as a record that will never be made again....no way all those samples would get cleared.
@@makaveli4205lol modern rap sucks for more than just lack of using samples kiddo 😂. The new "rappers" are just garbage and cannot rap lmfao. It doesn't matter if they use samples or not. In fact if these new age clowns did use samples then these new clowns would make the original song worse 😂
The good parts of ECW were some of the best things in 90’s wrestling. The bad parts gave us the shit we have today. But you can’t take Paul E’s genius away. He got the most out of guys who could barely perform a hip toss
And that’s fine. Not everyone is made for the big stage. ECW was what it was and gave it’s fans what they were looking for. If anything, Heyman was too ambitious. It’s very of it’s time, outside of the great wrestling matches they had. Prob the best example of “you had to be there” to get it
@positively_broad_st3780 I'm a cornett guy not a Heyman he's a greedy pig say what you want about cornett his biggest concern when he closed smokey mountain was paying his talent he the greatest talker in wrestling and an honorable guy
Paul was getting a $1000 check but it went straight back to the company. His own father spent almost his entire life savings funding ECW to keep it afloat. Paul was still living off a lawsuit settlement he won against wcw when they fired him.
I think RVD did a good job describing the difference in hardcore wrestling in ECW versus when he got to WWE. He didn't know how to take a chair shot because no one taught him. He also didn't realize how easy the chair spots in WWE would be because ECW never rigged their chairs. They would grab the regular ones from the audience.
@eljermo In WWE chairs used for spots have the supporting bracket between the seat and back removed. It makes them less stiff on impact. And more likely to bend and fold, making hits look much more painful
Great concept. But, ECW only ever had one GREAT 3-way dance lineup, which was Tajjers Super Crazy, and Jerry Lynnnnnnnn, which didn't happen much. Every other 3-way dance lineup had at least one weak-link.
It's so much easier to figure out many different ways to make the in-ring work make good psychological sense in a 3-way dance. A triple threat has to do similar things every time because of the psychology
@@BiscoWho Super Crazy and Taijiri were the essential parts to the three way dance. But they could make it work with any 3rd party. Jerry Lynn, Mikey Whipwreck, Rhino, etc...
Cornette and others have this irrational fear of fans giving up on a wrestler after they get pinned one time, so wrestlers have to be booked carefully for years to avoid clean losses. Of all the things that Cornette might call phony bullshit, this mindset should be on top of the list.
I was living in Philly at the time of the rise of ECW and one thing that Jim doesn't talk about is that ECW was a reflection of the city. The Phillies were a collection of half-crazy, drug-fueled players that had the entire region becoming fans again. The Flyers were getting their Broad Street Bullies swagger back with The Legion of Doom line and hard-hitting style. Philly is the neglected big city sitting between the media powerhouse NYC and everything political DC. Rocky really did reflect the city. So Philly developed into this place with the short kid complex in that we won't back down. And ECW was another reflection of the city. The loud, brash, we'll settle this in an alley attitude. It was never meant to be corporate or sanitized. It was unfiltered and unleashed Philly attitude with blood and barbed wire.
Re: Corny’s comment on ECW audiences: they did one show at a Twin Cities suburban high school. Big crowd. Because of crowd behavior, ECW was told the next day to never come back. All other schools in the area told them not to call.
Mike Awesome left as world champion because he needed to feed his family. Rob, Stevie, and others weren't mad at him for leaving. That belt doesn't pay the bills and neither did Paul.
Paul Heyman and ECW in general were in desperate need of a more boring and down to earth figure to help the actual running of the thing. When left to his own devices Heyman just couldn't rein anything in, ultimately they were always gonna crash and burn but hey the guy ran a promotion that people still remember to this day which is more than you could say for most in wrestling.
Brian really hits the nail on the head: fans weren't angry in general, but angry at how wrestling was presented. I fell out of wrestling 1993 because it was so bad. I slowly started watching again in 1994/95 but it still was mostly lackluster. But then I saw ECW (2am Saturday on Prime Ticket) it was like a breath of fresh, or is it fetid?, air. It was something totally new and exciting. It was definitely the perfect antidote to the crap we were being fed the previous few years. Now, in hindsight, was it all worth it? Up to personal opinion but I think it was. Blaming ECW for the rise of some shitty wrestling is like blaming Black Sabbath for some shitty metal bands that existed 20 years after their fact. I love Cornette but not only do I not always agree with him, I think a lot of his views are sour grapes. And think his hatred of ECW is based on his dislike of Heyman. Yeah, he gives him credit and praise but still in 1991 Jim starts up SMW. A few years later, a guy who's pretty much an imitation of him, character-wise (Paul E.) starts up ECW. One has a millionaire backing, one doesn't. One takes off and, for better or worse, changes wrestling (to add insult to injury, doing a style Cornette hates), the other struggles and dies after a few years. So it's hard not to think this colors JCs view of ECW, instead of giving the "devil his due". (For the record, I like SMW too, so I'm not knocking it, just stating facts.)
Although I see your point I still have to agree with Cornette, the only company really doing the hardcore wrestling to the same degree outside of ecw was FMW and they were just a tape trading thing, so many company’s will say they started because of ecw or the “aura”/spectacle of it look at xpw it only exists because of ecw and so many companies didn’t understand the heart or even basic psychology of ecw and just saw cool weapon hits and high spots so just went off of that which is where we are today, where even that type of high spot or garbage wrestling has seeped into our mainstream wrestling today
Yeah, Jim not being able to understand why the Sandman is cool and relatable even still today tells it all. Cornette does seem to have a complex that if it’s something he didn’t like it’s something no one on the planet should’ve conceivably liked either.
@ch66ry88 yeah, all the postECW organizations imitated the part that was the easiest to imitate. Anyone can go through a table. Not just anyone can have a good match. And the fact that if you do it every match its no longer special or has an impact. That's why I'm not fond of those groups. I'm not saying he's wrong or that I don't understand his position, I just don't entirely agree with it.
ECW was a necessary shot in the arm of an industry that was growing stale. It led to WWE's rebirth in the Attitude Era and inspired (for better or worse) indie promotions and their extreme matches. ECW revitalized the industry but the industry shouldn't get hooked on that shot in the arm. ECW had to die a natural death- but man, it is quite possibly the most mourned wrestling promotion ever
ECW will always be my number 1. It came when I was a teenager and sick of the cartoon nonsense of wcw and wwf. I got my drivers license in 97 and the ecw area was one of the first places i went. Just the most fun and amazing times. It wasn't just extreme stuff. There was a deep appreciation for real characters and technical matches. Sadly, the roster had been gutted by the time they got on tnn. I always thought if there was one song or two wwe would license, it should be the NIN sample and Thunderkiss 65. That can help bring that ECW feel
@@j86485Francine, Beulah McGillicuddy, Jazz (would go on to WWE), Lita (would become one of the biggest stars of the entire WWE attitude and ruthless aggression eras), Tammy Sytch (everyone knows Tammy), Woman (Chris Benoits wife and a huge name in WCW for her time with ric flair and Chris Benoit), missy Hyatt (a big name in WCW) Dawn Marie (showcased very heavily on smackdown in the early to mid 2000s in many many segments for her sex appeal). That’s just to name a few. Funny how just as the guy above you said, they’re all iconic names in the industry and several like Lita and Woman would go on to WWE and WCW and become bigger names than half the men. “So forgettable”
@@thehorrorhound6575 Lmao all of them except Lita aren't known in today's time. I'm talking about if they're still popular to this day. Out of all the names you said, only Lita was/is the biggest star 😂
I was at a show in ‘99 in Chicago at the Odeium where The Dudley Boyz nearly caused a riot. They literally went into the crowd when the ref got hit with a folding chair thrown into the ring.
@@kiprandom7208 No it was a few months before the Dudleyz recaptured the belts and Raven returned and they lost them on the debut shown on TNN in August and Anarchy Rulz was in Sept 99.
I still remember seeing old interviews from the 2000's of ECW garbage wrestlers criticizing guys like Lance Storm for *not* taking unprotected chair headshots.😅😬
The internet and youtube exists Go searching, pal Those interviews are 26 years old at this point Its asinine to expect a random person to remember something from 2002 Not everyone has cornettes vast memory and knowledge @quentinkaasa47
Anyone else stick to the back teeth of documentaries and media coverage of the same old stuff? ECW, Fall of WCW, Montreal Screwjob. There’s only so many times you can hear the same stories.
Not just RVD. Paul brough over Mexican, Japanese, and smaller wrestlers. Eddie, Dean, Taka, 2 Cold, etc. Psychosis credited Paul with bring luchadores over when no one would.
ECW was amazing for the first time you see it because nothing was done like that before for weekly TV in the US. But then you get desensitized. You need more tables, more blood, more fire, more chair shots (now to the head) to get the same reaction Terry Funk got piledriving Flair on a table in 1989 compared to 1999 in ECW.
Why cant they make bios on Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Rick Martel etc instead of the same things over and over. How many times can you hear the same thing?
ECW was cool because it was actually THE OUTLAW SHOW. It would come on one of the local broadcast television channels at like 3am and it was pirate TV. It felt like something you weren't supposed to be seeing. And it's a good chance it won't be on the same channel at the same time next week.
Getting to do the meet and greets during Mania Weekend this year, since it was in Philly, it was basically an ECW reunion and it felt like a high school reunion for myself. I got to talk with Jerry Lynn, Shane Douglas, Francine, and even Tajiri was there! I wish Joey Styles was there haha They're all super cool people and ECW is still alive and well with the fans, especially the locals.
A couple things to mention: 1) It's still interesting that the (admittedly deserved) criticism of Paul being a "poor businessman" and the 8 million dollar loss being a testament to that... but the 8 million was over the life of him running the promotion. There was a point where Dixie Carter lost that in a _single_ _fiscal_ _year_ and still operated years after while she was there. Tony Khan has probably pissed 8 million away per month in strictly operational costs since AEW started. 2) The idea of ECW being famous ONLY for blood and furniture falls into that same weird filter that the NFL has for safety protocol BS and overzealous pentalties but some of the most popular footage is people getting their clocks cleaned with giant hits. Imagine if that's ALL the NFL got sold as any time anyone ever mentioned it? If the league folded tomorrow, and all anyone was ever shown were massive collisions or events like the Theismann injury, eventually, people in the future would think America Football was far more barbaric and dangerous and was this lawless murdergame. This has been what happened with ECW: they perpetuated the strictly hardcore lawless image until that image is pretty much the only part of the legacy that remains intact. Any time ECW is mentioned, it's overlaid with footage of flaming tables, and the night Terry Funk asked for "a chair" and got buried by them from half the audience. Anything else gets willfully excised by everyone - be it fans, alumni, or any sort of documentarians - because it becomes more important to perpetuate the lore that events like Kimona's striptease was constant or that nearly every match was like a New Jack match when it actually wasn't. 3) Whenever anyone mentions WCW, up to and including the currently topical "Who Killed WCW?" stuff, they go into at least some detail about how the latter era Turner execs weren't happy with or straight up loated wrestling. They site, among many things, the suits hating the dipping ratings. I say that to note that no one ever really mentions the absolute giggling contempt TNN showed for ECW from jump, even in spite of ECW being THE HIGHEST RATED SHOW ON THE NETWORK during their initial transition phases of The Nashville Network>The National Network>Spike TV. They got screwed with so much with notes and such, they made an angle out of it (Don Callis was essentially "the network stooge"). The only time TNN aired adverts for ECW programming and/or events was during ECW itself. And they always wanted to use the show for a lead-in to whatever bullshit show they tried to manufacture as "their" homegrown hit, like "Rock N Bowl". To use a current situation, it's like AEW and Big Bang Theory, except ECW TV was Big Bang Theory. And even still, they wanted nothing to do with and had no help for - what needs to be mentioned again - the network's highest rated show. So, when WWE's relationship ended with USA and the situation landed them on the same network, suddenly, TNN suits were all about wrestling. They couldn't wait to crow about when and where WWE was happening and swept ECW under the rug.
With Jim because he’s more about the state of the wrestling business it’s why he looks at the negative affects of that aproach and what he sees as all the lives it’s ruined whether documented from ECW or not known at some death match mudshow which I can understand. Also with how tract record sounds I’d assume TNN viewed ECW like such because of particulars about sponsorships and also the business relationship paulie could have.
@@zachstolpa6521 again, it was the highest rated show on. Even if they had a supposed issue with sponsors, there were more eyes on the show being internally lambasted. That means even the "lowest of the low" sponsors were getting more exposure during that hour of TV that one night than the more prestigious sponsors were getting for most of that week. As for Jim, I get why he doesn't like it. He has opined on that for decades, and it isn't like his feelings aren't known or founded... but, there's still a portion of that feeling that was born out of ECW perpetuating the myth of ECW. Everything wasn't broken glass and eighteen table breaks. Even the appearance of the FTW belt in AEW is more because it was "an ECW thing" and omits _why_ Taz made it up. The only part people bring up about the years long feud between Raven and Tommy Dreamer is the one bit about a supposed pregnancy turned into a lesbian angle turned into a 3-way in the span of two minutes. Nobody mentions "Sandman's blind". Fewer and fewer people know what "Cane Dewey" means outside of being one of the greatest promos ever taped... and even that is getting lost to time. The hardcore stuff is *part* of what made ECW what it was, but twenty-some years on, it has been misattributed as being the *only* thing. Its why shit like CZW couldn't just copypaste the success by supposedly being the new ECW. It's why nonsense like Wrestling Society X died on the vine. There was more to it than table spots and barbed wire in the logo. However, folks were so eager to try to see it as a repeatable formula rather than the sum of its disjointed parts.
I heard RVD talking recently, either on his own podcast or on an old YouShoot, about him not willing to put over, I think Road Dogg (Roadie at the time) because he was a jobber in WWF and he didn't like how it would look for him to lose to the bigger company's job guy.
Heyman may have screwed Tommy Dreamer out of money, but Dreamer has milked many years out of not being very good. I've seen him at events and for a guy who wasn't that good, very obnoxious at events
Heres the thing with ECW. Its very 90s and like a lot of things that are very 90s, it has aged as such. At the time, as a lifelong fan who was a teenager, it really spoke to me.
As much as I enjoy the show, it’s always the same shit regarding ECW from Jim. And really, it’s more WWE that’s promoted ECW than the fans I think. If ECW was as popular as people make it out to be, it might’ve been in business longer.
Thirty years later people are still talking about ECW and no one mentions SMW and no new fans have ever heard of it but they’ve heard of ECW and you know that pisses Cornette off!
I love Jim, and I still like watching old SMW footage since the actual action and plotlines are still enjoyable with a couple of exceptions, but SMW was still a failure and the jealousy is evident.
I knew jim was gonna rip this he didnt like ecw but he also was right about how they didnt show eddie dean the steiners or how any old stars came through in the early beginnings
...people setting people on fire, people diving off balconies. And most dangerous, people willing to get on the ring with New Jack. And then getting in the ring after pissing him off.
Tommy Dreamer was set to WWF debut by crashing the Hardcore Championship match at X-SEVEN; reigniting the Raven rivalry. Tommy Dreamer; so hell bent loyal to ECW declined only to find out Paul Heyman sold COMPLETELY out to WWF. Paul Heyman taking King's spot on commentary. Hence Dreamer's assassination attempt on Paul E. at X-Seven
Atleast he was repaid with consistent work for the next 5+ years primarily off screen. There's been many who got worse than Dreamer, but he was definitely the loyalist to ECW. (also made him way less over elsewhere since his gimmick was basically "does anything for ECW"
@@juicyeboi9006 Like Shane Douglas trying to do his ECW persona in WCW 2000. WCW LUST World Heavyweight Championship THE BRAND Jeff Jarrett vs THE FRANCHISE Shane Douglas
All these guys going on about the irony of what Paul did recently. The whole point is that as a promoter he was asking people to do stuff he wasn’t willing to do himself because he was scared he’d get hurt and it’s only now, decades afterwards when he’s an employee for someone else and his bad financial decisions have bit him in the ass that he’s willing to give that stuff a try. In other words, he was a bad boss who didn’t care about his wrestlers.
I must disagree with something here. The whole idea of "TNN Couldn't Sell Advertisers Because Of The Content" Well,who told them to bring ECW onto their network? If they were stupid enough to sign a wrestling show sight unseen,no clue what it was? That isn't on Paul.
You are correct Jim: A Documentary is the history of a person, event, time period, whatever, that is told through the interpretation of documentation related to the event. This can included first hand accounts, etc. a biography is the history of someone, told/written/recorded in anyway, by a third party such as a writer. An Autobiography is the account of someone’s life, told in their own words, and documented by the person themselves.
I wasn't a fan of the dangerous use of weapons, I was into the hardhitting wrestling, even done by the high flyers; the music, pretty women, relatively freer use of language and the crazy angles! I keep hoping some promoter will understand that for many ECW fans, it wasn't just about tables, ladders, chairs and toasters!
I loved ECW at the time. Some holds up and some doesn’t. But even then, I thought the TNN show was awful. I bought every PPV and always loved stuff on those shows. But TNN was never coherent or put together well.
A&E is not looking to do hardcore in depth biographies. They want feel good stories, that showcase some tough or hard times. It is A&E. That is all you need to know. Always end on a high note....llllaaaaaa!!!!!
Love jim. But. 40 year old cornette vs 16 year old me in philly. Well nuff said. Philly crowd agrees it was not a clown vs garbage man. We will allways love ECW
I remember when ECW showed up at the Manhattan center, I thought it was real! I thought it was a shoot, I live in Washington, we didn't get much ECW other than a rare tape, I was so programmed to WWF that when these guys showed up I was like OMG
I'd really like to have coffee with jim. Not just to talk about wrestling, but just life in general. He strikes me as an exceedingly intelligent individual. And I think he's very interesting
@@jjbjjb273Smoky Mountain was at worst a forgettable continuation of wrestling tradition, ECW boosted an entire trend of garbage matches and terrible promotion tactics that continue to this day.
@@jjbjjb273SMW was funded by Jim & Rick Rubin. ECW had Vince's money. SMW was a southern territory. It wasn't meant for a national audience. ECW was a Philly promotion. It got big through tape trading and word of mouth. The story was ECW needed to go national or else the talent would leave for WCW or WWF. SMW was run on a budget. It died as a whimper. ECW was a plane crash or train wreck funded by Vince to piss off Eric.
When i first heard A&E were doing a biography on ECW, I immediately thought "how are they going to show the footage when they wouldn't show Mankind's skull getting caved in with a chair by the Rock?"
I never thought I would see the day of Heyman getting wiped out on the Spanish announce table which in a way is karma of the ghost of ECW getting its ultimate revenge.
Because of ecw: -we got more realistic storylines and angles -more athleticism in matches Because of ecw we also got: -hardcore wrestling -more injuries -more drug use -more deaths
a WWE wrestler defeated a WCW wrestler on ECW TV wont see things like that ever again from 95 to 99/2000 ECW was the best, id still rather watch that then any wrestling today
I can understand JC criticizing because of the misunderstanding of what ECW’s was and still to this day. ECW played a huge influence on the Attitude Era in the late 90’s. But, over the years its influence was just all over the place and didn’t feel special anymore. On the indies you see death matches and in WWE just an overload of gimmick ppvs with Extreme Rules, HIAC and TLC. Those names are good for one off shows but, annual names. That’s why it’s a positive thing that WWE has slowly moved away from the Entertainment and Reality Eras and started using more traditional PLE names and more traditional matches. ECW is something you can always be proud of for what it did for wrestling unlike WCW which became a joke and a laughing stock on the business as well as a disappointment.
With Jim because he’s more about the state of the wrestling business it’s why he looks at the negative affects of that aproach and what he sees as all the lives it’s ruined whether documented from ECW or not known at some death match mudshow which I can understand
You got the Cliff Notes, WWE watered down version of the history of ECW. When you don’t interview guys like Douglas, Raven , Sabu, Taz, Fonzie, and only the guys that are Vince guys or Triple H guys get screen time. One Hour is not enough to tell the story of how great ECW was and showing the final days. That episode Sucked!!!
Raven aren't happening due to him working for MLW and MLW probably would stop Raven doing so because of their lawsuit (show was taped in 2023) Taz is working for AEW so it aren't happening also. Sabu probably couldn't care less about doing documentary interviews for WWE. The most surprising was they had Douglas for Steamboat biography but not for ECW
You can satire the “image” but some things don’t need it brother. Do you really want to make fun of suicide? Thank goodness for grunge, it killed big hair music.
ECW was a 90s phenomenon and just like Jerry Springer, COPS, Gangsta Rap, Grunge, WWE's attitude era, and even Bill Clinton, it all had to come to an end when the 90s ended. Paul Heyman's dad was a millionaire, a very successful lawyer in New York and even he couldn't keep financing ECW
@@KClouisville yeah and the talent was very forgiving with the exception of a few. Even til this day RVD was owed almost a quarter million dollars and he loves Paul.
ECW fans were like FUCK THE RULES but then sometimes represented a characteristic that screams "This is why you need rules because you just went way overboard"
Jim criticizing Paul for not going through tables is particularly timely this week. lol
Came here to say this!
When I saw the clip of Paul’s table bump last night I immediately started visualizing what Travis’ thumbnail would be when Jim talked about it.
I was gonna say the same thing. 😂😂
I know, I think Paul trust Samoans more than any other race of wrestlers to do that to him
@@JoeyBeRunningit’s gonna look like a dead walrus in a cheap suit laying flat on a broken table
The most shocking recent development from ECW, is the fact that Sandman is still alive.
He made Ric Flair and Rick James look like Rick Moranis.
Keith Richards is still alive too. Sometimes you can't explain these things.
@@john_blues Keith Richards died in 1974. The drugs still haven't worn off.
Get outta here....Rick James woulda partied Sandman under the fuckin table
I mean he definitely didn't live harder than Ric did accumulatively. He's also 14 years younger. It's way way more shocking that Ric is still alive considering outside the ring stuff.
@@john_bluesKeith Richard’s sandman Twinkies and roaches will be alive when the world gets nuked 😂
"Like cocaine or New Jack..." 😂
SMW had a very pronounced regional audience. Southerners who wanted to refight, and win their lost cause". from a 100 years before. "Southern Pride"?!? Who outside the south gives a damn..
“A lot of talent were using hip hop without royalties being paid.” Well, in Heyman’s defense hip hop at the time was using a lot of samples without paying for them.
so true, reminds of a band who covered Olivia Newton-John's song "Physical" but her lawyers wouldn't let them use samples of her voice because copyright so they had to rework their cover to put their album out
Not by the time Heyman was running ECW. 1991 was when the legal copyright crackdown on that happened. It's why people often will point to something like Paul's Boutique by The Beastie Boys as a record that will never be made again....no way all those samples would get cleared.
That's why modern rap kind of sucks. They don't use samples in music anymore.
Lol he didn't start till 93@@KClouisville
@@makaveli4205lol modern rap sucks for more than just lack of using samples kiddo 😂. The new "rappers" are just garbage and cannot rap lmfao. It doesn't matter if they use samples or not. In fact if these new age clowns did use samples then these new clowns would make the original song worse 😂
I think it's funny how they conveniently skipped over the mass transit incident as well
It's always somehow glossed over in any documentary that isn't directly about New Jack
That’s one of the brightest parts of New Jack’s legacy.
See “refusal to mention NewJack”
True
and have Kurt Angle on and not mention the crucifix spot
The good parts of ECW were some of the best things in 90’s wrestling. The bad parts gave us the shit we have today. But you can’t take Paul E’s genius away. He got the most out of guys who could barely perform a hip toss
Hide the negatives and accentuate the positives
Some of those guys were really good wrestlers, just for some reason or the other (size, look) were not coveted by big promotions.
And that’s fine. Not everyone is made for the big stage. ECW was what it was and gave it’s fans what they were looking for. If anything, Heyman was too ambitious. It’s very of it’s time, outside of the great wrestling matches they had. Prob the best example of “you had to be there” to get it
It was better than smokey mountain wrestling
@@jjbjjb273 totally different products marketed at totally different audiences. I like both, but agree
16:26 “You know what you didn’t see? Paul E. going though a table”😂
Well, they're talking about a promotion that died over 20 years ago. He didn't do then, you know, for context.
Dr. Frankenheyman resurrecting James E Cobain... this is a new level of cursed artwork for the channel 🤣
Dude! this is a T-shirt in my book!
Nice of Paul to make sure he got paid weekly by ECW, but not the wrestlers...
@positively_broad_st3780 I'm a cornett guy not a Heyman he's a greedy pig say what you want about cornett his biggest concern when he closed smokey mountain was paying his talent he the greatest talker in wrestling and an honorable guy
Paul was getting a $1000 check but it went straight back to the company. His own father spent almost his entire life savings funding ECW to keep it afloat. Paul was still living off a lawsuit settlement he won against wcw when they fired him.
Typical Jew ✡️
"New Jack slices him from asshole to appetite" Jim Cornette lol 😆
I think RVD did a good job describing the difference in hardcore wrestling in ECW versus when he got to WWE. He didn't know how to take a chair shot because no one taught him. He also didn't realize how easy the chair spots in WWE would be because ECW never rigged their chairs. They would grab the regular ones from the audience.
The chairs used are regular steel chairs. There's nothing to rig.
@eljermo In WWE chairs used for spots have the supporting bracket between the seat and back removed. It makes them less stiff on impact. And more likely to bend and fold, making hits look much more painful
Not in the attitude era bro@@jrbaxterstockman548
@@chuckles9767You do know the idea is to NOT hurt your talent, right? See, if they're laid up... They don't make you any money.
@@chuckles9767John Moxley voice intensified
Jim Cornette illustrated as Kurt Cobain Frankenstein is the funniest thing I've ever seen
16:30 Paul finally went through a table on Smackdown, June 28 2024.
Praise the lord
Paul was F5’ed by Lesnar Summerslam 2022
I did prefer ECW’s version of three way matches. Pin fall elimination
Yes! Three way dance was way better than the WWE Triple Threat match.
Great concept. But, ECW only ever had one GREAT 3-way dance lineup, which was Tajjers Super Crazy, and Jerry Lynnnnnnnn, which didn't happen much. Every other 3-way dance lineup had at least one weak-link.
It's so much easier to figure out many different ways to make the in-ring work make good psychological sense in a 3-way dance. A triple threat has to do similar things every time because of the psychology
@@BiscoWho Super Crazy and Taijiri were the essential parts to the three way dance. But they could make it work with any 3rd party. Jerry Lynn, Mikey Whipwreck, Rhino, etc...
Cornette and others have this irrational fear of fans giving up on a wrestler after they get pinned one time, so wrestlers have to be booked carefully for years to avoid clean losses. Of all the things that Cornette might call phony bullshit, this mindset should be on top of the list.
I was living in Philly at the time of the rise of ECW and one thing that Jim doesn't talk about is that ECW was a reflection of the city. The Phillies were a collection of half-crazy, drug-fueled players that had the entire region becoming fans again. The Flyers were getting their Broad Street Bullies swagger back with The Legion of Doom line and hard-hitting style. Philly is the neglected big city sitting between the media powerhouse NYC and everything political DC. Rocky really did reflect the city. So Philly developed into this place with the short kid complex in that we won't back down. And ECW was another reflection of the city. The loud, brash, we'll settle this in an alley attitude. It was never meant to be corporate or sanitized. It was unfiltered and unleashed Philly attitude with blood and barbed wire.
Re: Corny’s comment on ECW audiences: they did one show at a Twin Cities suburban high school. Big crowd. Because of crowd behavior, ECW was told the next day to never come back. All other schools in the area told them not to call.
How ironic is the Paul Heyman not taking bumps and not going through tables comments after Last Friday? 😂
I wonder how many people are still owed money from Paul Heyman?
I'm sure there are many...unfortunately 😮
Shane Douglas 220k
He doesn't have to worry about Candido anymore.
All of them
Mike Awesome left as world champion because he needed to feed his family. Rob, Stevie, and others weren't mad at him for leaving. That belt doesn't pay the bills and neither did Paul.
Paul Heyman and ECW in general were in desperate need of a more boring and down to earth figure to help the actual running of the thing. When left to his own devices Heyman just couldn't rein anything in, ultimately they were always gonna crash and burn but hey the guy ran a promotion that people still remember to this day which is more than you could say for most in wrestling.
Yes people remember ecw nobody remembers smw
Paul was a great booker but a pretty lousy businessman. Like the reverse of Tony Khan who has all the money and no booking skills.
That figure was Tod Gordon.
@@MrRyan-wu4jx Tony is worse since he's a lousy booker and a businessman lol
Why did my brain initially read AEW's ECW biography. 😂
Too many ECW unprotected chair shots?🤷♂️😂 Even sillier, why do I think chairshot should be one word. Lol!
I thought it was just me?!🥴🤷🏾♂️😂🥃
Well, they are slowing transforming to ECW so
Brian really hits the nail on the head: fans weren't angry in general, but angry at how wrestling was presented. I fell out of wrestling 1993 because it was so bad. I slowly started watching again in 1994/95 but it still was mostly lackluster. But then I saw ECW (2am Saturday on Prime Ticket) it was like a breath of fresh, or is it fetid?, air. It was something totally new and exciting. It was definitely the perfect antidote to the crap we were being fed the previous few years. Now, in hindsight, was it all worth it? Up to personal opinion but I think it was. Blaming ECW for the rise of some shitty wrestling is like blaming Black Sabbath for some shitty metal bands that existed 20 years after their fact.
I love Cornette but not only do I not always agree with him, I think a lot of his views are sour grapes. And think his hatred of ECW is based on his dislike of Heyman. Yeah, he gives him credit and praise but still in 1991 Jim starts up SMW. A few years later, a guy who's pretty much an imitation of him, character-wise (Paul E.) starts up ECW. One has a millionaire backing, one doesn't. One takes off and, for better or worse, changes wrestling (to add insult to injury, doing a style Cornette hates), the other struggles and dies after a few years. So it's hard not to think this colors JCs view of ECW, instead of giving the "devil his due". (For the record, I like SMW too, so I'm not knocking it, just stating facts.)
Although I see your point I still have to agree with Cornette, the only company really doing the hardcore wrestling to the same degree outside of ecw was FMW and they were just a tape trading thing, so many company’s will say they started because of ecw or the “aura”/spectacle of it look at xpw it only exists because of ecw and so many companies didn’t understand the heart or even basic psychology of ecw and just saw cool weapon hits and high spots so just went off of that which is where we are today, where even that type of high spot or garbage wrestling has seeped into our mainstream wrestling today
Yeah, Jim not being able to understand why the Sandman is cool and relatable even still today tells it all. Cornette does seem to have a complex that if it’s something he didn’t like it’s something no one on the planet should’ve conceivably liked either.
@@MrRyan-wu4jx plus, Sandman turned out to be the beta test run for someone who would become one of the biggest draws of all time
@ch66ry88 yeah, all the postECW organizations imitated the part that was the easiest to imitate. Anyone can go through a table. Not just anyone can have a good match. And the fact that if you do it every match its no longer special or has an impact. That's why I'm not fond of those groups. I'm not saying he's wrong or that I don't understand his position, I just don't entirely agree with it.
ECW was a necessary shot in the arm of an industry that was growing stale. It led to WWE's rebirth in the Attitude Era and inspired (for better or worse) indie promotions and their extreme matches. ECW revitalized the industry but the industry shouldn't get hooked on that shot in the arm. ECW had to die a natural death- but man, it is quite possibly the most mourned wrestling promotion ever
ECW will always be my number 1. It came when I was a teenager and sick of the cartoon nonsense of wcw and wwf. I got my drivers license in 97 and the ecw area was one of the first places i went. Just the most fun and amazing times.
It wasn't just extreme stuff. There was a deep appreciation for real characters and technical matches. Sadly, the roster had been gutted by the time they got on tnn.
I always thought if there was one song or two wwe would license, it should be the NIN sample and Thunderkiss 65. That can help bring that ECW feel
The show was more a tribute to Paul than an ECW biography, most if not all of the girls were not even mentioned when they were a huge part of the show
No they absolutely weren't. The women in ECW were beyond forgettable. Actually even worse than AEWs women.
@kennedywilliams2280 Name some and we'll see how forgettable they are now
@@j86485Francine, Beulah McGillicuddy, Jazz (would go on to WWE), Lita (would become one of the biggest stars of the entire WWE attitude and ruthless aggression eras), Tammy Sytch (everyone knows Tammy), Woman (Chris Benoits wife and a huge name in WCW for her time with ric flair and Chris Benoit), missy Hyatt (a big name in WCW) Dawn Marie (showcased very heavily on smackdown in the early to mid 2000s in many many segments for her sex appeal). That’s just to name a few. Funny how just as the guy above you said, they’re all iconic names in the industry and several like Lita and Woman would go on to WWE and WCW and become bigger names than half the men. “So forgettable”
@@derpderpin1568yeah. ECWs women sucked. What did Lita, Woman (Nancy Benoit), Jazz, or Missy Hyatt ever do in this business. 🙄
@@thehorrorhound6575 Lmao all of them except Lita aren't known in today's time. I'm talking about if they're still popular to this day. Out of all the names you said, only Lita was/is the biggest star 😂
There were were words not mentioned like “cocaine” & “New Jack” 😂😂😂
😊
For me ECW would come on the Spanish channel at 11pm Saturday Nights. Never missed a show from late 96 till they went out of business.
Ecw or smw
@@jjbjjb273 ECW .
Only way to watch ecw was on ppvs where I'm from. Until they went to tnn for a short time.
That's right
Those where the days
They should have explained to the viewer watching this, that Paul never paid talent, and was a scumbag.
You left out liar🤗
The Candido and Sunny credit card stuff is beyond fucked up
I was at a show in ‘99 in Chicago at the Odeium where The Dudley Boyz nearly caused a riot. They literally went into the crowd when the ref got hit with a folding chair thrown into the ring.
@@Atomykpimp anarchy rulz?
@@kiprandom7208 No it was a few months before the Dudleyz recaptured the belts and Raven returned and they lost them on the debut shown on TNN in August and Anarchy Rulz was in Sept 99.
Bubba ray was awesome at messing with the crowd
@@Atomykpimp gotcha. Anarchy rulz was my 1st ecw event
I still remember seeing old interviews from the 2000's of ECW garbage wrestlers criticizing guys like Lance Storm for *not* taking unprotected chair headshots.😅😬
That title of Garbage is well earned after that assbackwards level of disrespect..
Such as?
The internet and youtube exists
Go searching, pal
Those interviews are 26 years old at this point
Its asinine to expect a random person to remember something from 2002
Not everyone has cornettes vast memory and knowledge @quentinkaasa47
Anyone else stick to the back teeth of documentaries and media coverage of the same old stuff? ECW, Fall of WCW, Montreal Screwjob. There’s only so many times you can hear the same stories.
It's either that or smokey mountain wrestling
RVD was probably the best to ever come out of ecw
Patiently waiting on the review of his biography. I really enjoyed it
@@barrymccockiner773 rvd will definitely be a great biography
Dudley's as a tag team
Not just RVD. Paul brough over Mexican, Japanese, and smaller wrestlers. Eddie, Dean, Taka, 2 Cold, etc. Psychosis credited Paul with bring luchadores over when no one would.
@juicyfruit6311 yes but rvd was exclusive to ecw the others just passed through
Paul's ears must have been ringing now he went through a table lol
Always love Corny talking ECW. Its just interesting hearing his takes on the promotion since he knew Paul E and a lot of the guys.
ECW was amazing for the first time you see it because nothing was done like that before for weekly TV in the US. But then you get desensitized. You need more tables, more blood, more fire, more chair shots (now to the head) to get the same reaction Terry Funk got piledriving Flair on a table in 1989 compared to 1999 in ECW.
Why cant they make bios on Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Rick Martel etc instead of the same things over and over. How many times can you hear the same thing?
I’m shocked that they still haven’t made one on Ted DiBiase yet.
When Shane "the Franchise" Douglas won the NWA title and disrespected it was a top ECW moment imo.
And they can all kiss my ass...SD😅
And that also gave us cornette in ecw one night only 😂.
RIP Tommy dreamers ballsack
He pretty much started extreme championship wrestling. Before it was eastern championship wrestling.
Jim Cornette talking about Paul Heyman is always entertaining
ECW was cool because it was actually THE OUTLAW SHOW. It would come on one of the local broadcast television channels at like 3am and it was pirate TV. It felt like something you weren't supposed to be seeing. And it's a good chance it won't be on the same channel at the same time next week.
Points to the ceiling
Getting to do the meet and greets during Mania Weekend this year, since it was in Philly, it was basically an ECW reunion and it felt like a high school reunion for myself. I got to talk with Jerry Lynn, Shane Douglas, Francine, and even Tajiri was there! I wish Joey Styles was there haha They're all super cool people and ECW is still alive and well with the fans, especially the locals.
The classic Cactus promos! ❤
James E Cobain
Really hope they cover RVD’s episode
Heyman with Khan's budget would've been magic.
A couple things to mention:
1) It's still interesting that the (admittedly deserved) criticism of Paul being a "poor businessman" and the 8 million dollar loss being a testament to that... but the 8 million was over the life of him running the promotion. There was a point where Dixie Carter lost that in a _single_ _fiscal_ _year_ and still operated years after while she was there. Tony Khan has probably pissed 8 million away per month in strictly operational costs since AEW started.
2) The idea of ECW being famous ONLY for blood and furniture falls into that same weird filter that the NFL has for safety protocol BS and overzealous pentalties but some of the most popular footage is people getting their clocks cleaned with giant hits. Imagine if that's ALL the NFL got sold as any time anyone ever mentioned it? If the league folded tomorrow, and all anyone was ever shown were massive collisions or events like the Theismann injury, eventually, people in the future would think America Football was far more barbaric and dangerous and was this lawless murdergame. This has been what happened with ECW: they perpetuated the strictly hardcore lawless image until that image is pretty much the only part of the legacy that remains intact.
Any time ECW is mentioned, it's overlaid with footage of flaming tables, and the night Terry Funk asked for "a chair" and got buried by them from half the audience. Anything else gets willfully excised by everyone - be it fans, alumni, or any sort of documentarians - because it becomes more important to perpetuate the lore that events like Kimona's striptease was constant or that nearly every match was like a New Jack match when it actually wasn't.
3) Whenever anyone mentions WCW, up to and including the currently topical "Who Killed WCW?" stuff, they go into at least some detail about how the latter era Turner execs weren't happy with or straight up loated wrestling. They site, among many things, the suits hating the dipping ratings.
I say that to note that no one ever really mentions the absolute giggling contempt TNN showed for ECW from jump, even in spite of ECW being THE HIGHEST RATED SHOW ON THE NETWORK during their initial transition phases of The Nashville Network>The National Network>Spike TV. They got screwed with so much with notes and such, they made an angle out of it (Don Callis was essentially "the network stooge"). The only time TNN aired adverts for ECW programming and/or events was during ECW itself. And they always wanted to use the show for a lead-in to whatever bullshit show they tried to manufacture as "their" homegrown hit, like "Rock N Bowl". To use a current situation, it's like AEW and Big Bang Theory, except ECW TV was Big Bang Theory. And even still, they wanted nothing to do with and had no help for - what needs to be mentioned again - the network's highest rated show.
So, when WWE's relationship ended with USA and the situation landed them on the same network, suddenly, TNN suits were all about wrestling. They couldn't wait to crow about when and where WWE was happening and swept ECW under the rug.
With Jim because he’s more about the state of the wrestling business it’s why he looks at the negative affects of that aproach and what he sees as all the lives it’s ruined whether documented from ECW or not known at some death match mudshow which I can understand. Also with how tract record sounds I’d assume TNN viewed ECW like such because of particulars about sponsorships and also the business relationship paulie could have.
@@zachstolpa6521 again, it was the highest rated show on. Even if they had a supposed issue with sponsors, there were more eyes on the show being internally lambasted. That means even the "lowest of the low" sponsors were getting more exposure during that hour of TV that one night than the more prestigious sponsors were getting for most of that week.
As for Jim, I get why he doesn't like it. He has opined on that for decades, and it isn't like his feelings aren't known or founded... but, there's still a portion of that feeling that was born out of ECW perpetuating the myth of ECW. Everything wasn't broken glass and eighteen table breaks. Even the appearance of the FTW belt in AEW is more because it was "an ECW thing" and omits _why_ Taz made it up. The only part people bring up about the years long feud between Raven and Tommy Dreamer is the one bit about a supposed pregnancy turned into a lesbian angle turned into a 3-way in the span of two minutes. Nobody mentions "Sandman's blind". Fewer and fewer people know what "Cane Dewey" means outside of being one of the greatest promos ever taped... and even that is getting lost to time.
The hardcore stuff is *part* of what made ECW what it was, but twenty-some years on, it has been misattributed as being the *only* thing. Its why shit like CZW couldn't just copypaste the success by supposedly being the new ECW. It's why nonsense like Wrestling Society X died on the vine. There was more to it than table spots and barbed wire in the logo. However, folks were so eager to try to see it as a repeatable formula rather than the sum of its disjointed parts.
I heard RVD talking recently, either on his own podcast or on an old YouShoot, about him not willing to put over, I think Road Dogg (Roadie at the time) because he was a jobber in WWF and he didn't like how it would look for him to lose to the bigger company's job guy.
Heyman may have screwed Tommy Dreamer out of money, but Dreamer has milked many years out of not being very good. I've seen him at events and for a guy who wasn't that good, very obnoxious at events
Candido too
Debt - acknowledge me
Heyman - i dont acknowledge you
Heres the thing with ECW. Its very 90s and like a lot of things that are very 90s, it has aged as such. At the time, as a lifelong fan who was a teenager, it really spoke to me.
ECW has aged like A Goofy Movie. Incredibly Well!
Jim basically saying Smoky Mountain was timeless but it didn't pass the test of time. 😅😅😅
According to Jim, SMW wasn't successful because it wasn't designed to be successful😂 what a ridiculous thing to say
As much as I enjoy the show, it’s always the same shit regarding ECW from Jim.
And really, it’s more WWE that’s promoted ECW than the fans I think. If ECW was as popular as people make it out to be, it might’ve been in business longer.
I think he was saying the way it treated the dynamics of babyfaces and heels was how the territories always treated that part of wrestling.
Thirty years later people are still talking about ECW and no one mentions SMW and no new fans have ever heard of it but they’ve heard of ECW and you know that pisses Cornette off!
I love Jim, and I still like watching old SMW footage since the actual action and plotlines are still enjoyable with a couple of exceptions, but SMW was still a failure and the jealousy is evident.
Jim dressed as Kurt Cobain! 🙌
Brian was an enabler going to multiple ECW shows.
I wonder if he went to any smw shows😂😂😂
@@jjbjjb273nobody did because they were boring shitshows
@@jjbjjb273he did if not how he met Jim and chat his way to be Jim friend and co-host
@@eljermo I did. They were actually good. The problem with SMW wasn't the talent or the booking. It was other factors.
@@MarquisLeary34 TL Hopper was a main eventer. There definitely were problems with the talent and booking
Can't wait to hear JC talk about Paul going thru a table...
Now Paul is the one going through furniture
If only New Jack and Balls Mahoney were around to see that!
For sure, but they're talking about a promotion thay died over 20 years ago. You know, for context.
The Northeast brand of fans were indeed a special lot. No one loved Sid more than the Philly/NY/NJ/New England crowd
They forgot all about Mass Transit almost bleeding to death in the middle of the ring. That may have been the most insane thing.
They did mention it really quick
I knew jim was gonna rip this he didnt like ecw but he also was right about how they didnt show eddie dean the steiners or how any old stars came through in the early beginnings
“Old Man screams at ECW shaped cloud.”
The amount of drugs 💊. In tht ecw lockerroom. Back then must have been ludicrous. 👋🤣
I loved ECW, and JC often grinds my gears, but he’s spitting truth bombs here.
...people setting people on fire, people diving off balconies.
And most dangerous, people willing to get on the ring with New Jack. And then getting in the ring after pissing him off.
This is Jim's best review ever. I must have played this like 25 times since it came out.
I missed this biography on A&E, hopefully its on again soon. Sounds interesting
Tommy Dreamer was set to WWF debut by crashing the Hardcore Championship match at X-SEVEN; reigniting the Raven rivalry.
Tommy Dreamer; so hell bent loyal to ECW declined only to find out Paul Heyman sold COMPLETELY out to WWF.
Paul Heyman taking King's spot on commentary.
Hence Dreamer's assassination attempt on Paul E. at X-Seven
Atleast he was repaid with consistent work for the next 5+ years primarily off screen.
There's been many who got worse than Dreamer, but he was definitely the loyalist to ECW. (also made him way less over elsewhere since his gimmick was basically "does anything for ECW"
@@juicyeboi9006 Like Shane Douglas trying to do his ECW persona in WCW 2000.
WCW LUST
World Heavyweight Championship
THE BRAND
Jeff Jarrett
vs
THE FRANCHISE
Shane Douglas
The Paul Heyman puff piece featuring ECW
💯
All these guys going on about the irony of what Paul did recently. The whole point is that as a promoter he was asking people to do stuff he wasn’t willing to do himself because he was scared he’d get hurt and it’s only now, decades afterwards when he’s an employee for someone else and his bad financial decisions have bit him in the ass that he’s willing to give that stuff a try. In other words, he was a bad boss who didn’t care about his wrestlers.
Ecw gave birth to ROH, TNA, AEW and many other smash face grab a table and take a chair shot wrestling we have today.
Uhm, no. Jeff Jarrett did.choke on that, slap nuts.
I must disagree with something here. The whole idea of "TNN Couldn't Sell Advertisers Because Of The Content" Well,who told them to bring ECW onto their network? If they were stupid enough to sign a wrestling show sight unseen,no clue what it was? That isn't on Paul.
How are you going to do an ECW Biography and not mention New Jack and the Mass Transit incident. Come on?
Oh my gawd - Jim is saying this a few days of recording before Paul goes through a table ... man is finishing his story. 16:47
Ecw could only exist in the 90's. There's no way it could've been earlier or later
You are correct Jim:
A Documentary is the history of a person, event, time period, whatever, that is told through the interpretation of documentation related to the event. This can included first hand accounts, etc.
a biography is the history of someone, told/written/recorded in anyway, by a third party such as a writer.
An Autobiography is the account of someone’s life, told in their own words, and documented by the person themselves.
I wasn't a fan of the dangerous use of weapons, I was into the hardhitting wrestling, even done by the high flyers; the music, pretty women, relatively freer use of language and the crazy angles! I keep hoping some promoter will understand that for many ECW fans, it wasn't just about tables, ladders, chairs and toasters!
I went to an ECW show and got blood, sweat, & beer on me. Thought it was cool at the time but now I’m grossed out by it.
@kennedywilliams2280 All day too
FrankenCobain!
You're a genius Travis.
I loved ECW at the time. Some holds up and some doesn’t. But even then, I thought the TNN show was awful. I bought every PPV and always loved stuff on those shows. But TNN was never coherent or put together well.
"I didn't like the whole endginess of the thing. You know, Bill Alfonso bleeding buckets over Beulah or what ever that match was" - Jim Cornette
Remember Jim according to the law of the land corporations are people. So a biography of ECDub is entirely fitting.
A&E is not looking to do hardcore in depth biographies. They want feel good stories, that showcase some tough or hard times. It is A&E. That is all you need to know. Always end on a high note....llllaaaaaa!!!!!
16:28, cant wait for the smackdown review after that comment😂😂😂
I wonder what Tammy Sitch is doing in prison ? What is her daily life like ?
She's having sunny days
Apparently is eating all the vending machine snacks in sight and has been dealing with blood clot issues.
Love jim. But. 40 year old cornette vs 16 year old me in philly. Well nuff said. Philly crowd agrees it was not a clown vs garbage man. We will allways love ECW
I remember when ECW showed up at the Manhattan center, I thought it was real! I thought it was a shoot, I live in Washington, we didn't get much ECW other than a rare tape, I was so programmed to WWF that when these guys showed up I was like OMG
Just realized since BL said it, there was no mention of New Jack. Wow. Wonder how many other wrestlers got left out of the show. 💪💥🔥
I'd really like to have coffee with jim. Not just to talk about wrestling, but just life in general. He strikes me as an exceedingly intelligent individual. And I think he's very interesting
I think you meant Sprite Zero. Cornette hasn’t tasted coffee in over 40 years lol
Doesn't seem like it. Nerd stuff sure
Candido, balls, smothers, gangstas, just a few ppl from smw that r only remembered for ecw
ECW is patient zero for when wrestling completely went to shit
No sir that would be smokey mountain wrestling
@@jjbjjb273Smoky Mountain was at worst a forgettable continuation of wrestling tradition, ECW boosted an entire trend of garbage matches and terrible promotion tactics that continue to this day.
@@SportPhilosophieswell Smokey Mountain was that old school wrestling that was starting to become obsolete
@@jjbjjb273SMW was funded by Jim & Rick Rubin. ECW had Vince's money. SMW was a southern territory. It wasn't meant for a national audience. ECW was a Philly promotion. It got big through tape trading and word of mouth. The story was ECW needed to go national or else the talent would leave for WCW or WWF. SMW was run on a budget. It died as a whimper. ECW was a plane crash or train wreck funded by Vince to piss off Eric.
When i first heard A&E were doing a biography on ECW, I immediately thought "how are they going to show the footage when they wouldn't show Mankind's skull getting caved in with a chair by the Rock?"
worst part of ecw thats continued to this day is the obnoxious live audience that wont shut up with the chanting.
True.
E-CEE-DUB
E-CEE-DUB
E-CEE-DUB
E-CEE-DUB
The non sequitur chants are the worst.
I never thought I would see the day of Heyman getting wiped out on the Spanish announce table which in a way is karma of the ghost of ECW getting its ultimate revenge.
I WANNA BE LIKE SANDMAN
Because of ecw:
-we got more realistic storylines and angles
-more athleticism in matches
Because of ecw we also got:
-hardcore wrestling
-more injuries
-more drug use
-more deaths
a WWE wrestler defeated a WCW wrestler on ECW TV wont see things like that ever again
from 95 to 99/2000 ECW was the best, id still rather watch that then any wrestling today
I can understand JC criticizing because of the misunderstanding of what ECW’s was and still to this day. ECW played a huge influence on the Attitude Era in the late 90’s. But, over the years its influence was just all over the place and didn’t feel special anymore. On the indies you see death matches and in WWE just an overload of gimmick ppvs with Extreme Rules, HIAC and TLC. Those names are good for one off shows but, annual names. That’s why it’s a positive thing that WWE has slowly moved away from the Entertainment and Reality Eras and started using more traditional PLE names and more traditional matches. ECW is something you can always be proud of for what it did for wrestling unlike WCW which became a joke and a laughing stock on the business as well as a disappointment.
With Jim because he’s more about the state of the wrestling business it’s why he looks at the negative affects of that aproach and what he sees as all the lives it’s ruined whether documented from ECW or not known at some death match mudshow which I can understand
ECW ruled, loved every minute of it
You got the Cliff Notes, WWE watered down version of the history of ECW. When you don’t interview guys like Douglas, Raven , Sabu, Taz, Fonzie, and only the guys that are Vince guys or Triple H guys get screen time. One Hour is not enough to tell the story of how great ECW was and showing the final days. That episode Sucked!!!
Raven aren't happening due to him working for MLW and MLW probably would stop Raven doing so because of their lawsuit (show was taped in 2023) Taz is working for AEW so it aren't happening also. Sabu probably couldn't care less about doing documentary interviews for WWE. The most surprising was they had Douglas for Steamboat biography but not for ECW
Travis should have put a big bald spot on top of the head with stiches around it on the Kurt Cobain Frankenstein monster
Oh yeah that would have been hilarious 😐
You can satire the “image” but some things don’t need it brother. Do you really want to make fun of suicide?
Thank goodness for grunge, it killed big hair music.
ECW was a 90s phenomenon and just like Jerry Springer, COPS, Gangsta Rap, Grunge, WWE's attitude era, and even Bill Clinton, it all had to come to an end when the 90s ended. Paul Heyman's dad was a millionaire, a very successful lawyer in New York and even he couldn't keep financing ECW
And that was with Paul being notorious for stiffing a shitload of the talent on their pay as well. Lol.
@@KClouisville yeah and the talent was very forgiving with the exception of a few. Even til this day RVD was owed almost a quarter million dollars and he loves Paul.
American 1 would show ECW in the mid and late 90'$. I was able to watch every Saturday night in San Antonio
5:35 and heavy metal, Brian.
Waiting for Jim's take on Paul taking the bump through the table from the Bloodline.
ECW fans were like FUCK THE RULES but then sometimes represented a characteristic that screams "This is why you need rules because you just went way overboard"