His entrance was the epic. Drinking beer, coming out to Metallica music fans singing in unison, busting cans on his head. Paul still got the best out of talents who weren't big names.
@@yoholmes273 Paul wasn't a business man. I think Todd Gordan and Paul needed each other. Todd kept Paul in check and made sure the day to day operations were taken care of and Paul was the guy who ran creative. Paul likes to say his reputation is unfair, but there are plenty of stories where wrestlers had to pay penalties because Paul forgot to send out promotional materials on time (Bully Ray talked about it). I don't think Paul was trying to stiff guys intentionally, but when you are $1M in debt and you bring in $500K and you need to spend that just to keep the lights on it's hard to pay people. People see money coming in, but they don't know it's all going to operating expenses. Maybe he was looking for an angel to save him at some point. Supposedly the PPV companies owed him a ton of money and decided to screw him over as well since they thought it be cheaper to pay him 10% in bankruptcy than pay him what they owed him. I know that Joey Styles said that Paul didn't tell anyone he was going out of business because he couldn't. He worked it so that the wrestlers would get whatever money he could because investors. I also know that there was an offer to sell ECW to Tommy Dreamer's friends and he didn't show up to the meeting and Dreamer had planned to kill Heyman on TV afterwards and commit suicide but Paul cut a promo on live TV with Vince that save his life since he explained why he did what he did. I don't think it's been on Darkside of the Ring yet but I'm sure it will one way.
Correct description. All of Sandman's best stuff happened before the bell rang... Too bad everything he did after the opening bell was always complete crap.
The Sandman was one of those guys who could barely wrestle but who was the perfect act for ECW. His entrance alone was more over than 90% of wrestling today.
My respect for him went up when he told the story about them taking different cars so a fan wouldn’t see them whenever wrestlers try and keep kayfabe instant respect. That shows they care
I disagree. The garbage wrestlers today are not emulating ECW. They’re emulating the backyard wrestling craze of early 2000s, when that, jackass, girlsgonewild, bum fights, moutain dew & limp bizkit were all over. When sammy is doing a shooting star off the ladder, hes channeling mdog 20 jumping off a roof to impress his bros, more than hes thinking about ecw highspot which was more like we’re willing to hurt ourselves and work harder for your money, so give us a chance.
I agree guys today are too young to remember ECW. it's not like the Young Bucks Who like them or not are the wrestling grandsons of the Rock n Roll express. The Rockers being their fathers. The same way FTR come from Arn and Tully and Tully and Arn come from Gene and Ole
This is actually a pretty solid take. Used to have some of those Backyard Wrestling tapes back in the day and it really gave off a vibe of "anybody could do this".
One of the appeals that Joey Styles made about Sandman was he played the fact he couldn't wrestle. I remember in like 2006, WWECW was in the Hammerstein. The opening match was Sandman and Dreamer vs Mike Knox and I wanna say Monty Brown. Sandman threw the worst Dropkick since Brian Zane. Joey Styles shouts at the top of his lungs "DID THE SANDMAN JUST DO A DROPKICK!?!?!"
Raven was Roman 30 years ago. He used Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie the same way the Usos were used for Roman. Different audience of course but the elliments are there for us who were there. Raven was to Tommy Dreamer what Roman was to Cody.
@@sionrouge1697 that is a very good observation. My other take is that while Stone Cold is basically David Schultz meets Sandman, Cody is basically Dusty meets Tim Storm.
@@BrokenSaintRW I can see that. The problem with wrestling since 2000 until now is that people think everything seen in WWF/WWE was done there first. There was a time where guys had to move from promotion to promotion developing their in ring style and act. Jim Cornett forgets He was an indy manager longer than he was a mainstream manager. World Class and Memphis were not mainstream promotions. For all of historical wrestling knowledge that I enjoy He was not Jimmy Heart or Bobby Heenean and of you want to keep it real He maybe below Captan Lou.
@sionrouge1697 But Jim doesn't see it that way. To him Memphis, Mid-west, Oklahoma, The Carolina's, and so on. To him those were the big promotions because to him those were his most fondest memories. When it comes to the bigger promotions that he worked for. The F/E WCW NWA He has fonder memories of NWA but when he speaks of the other w its nearly always negative.
I was at the WrestleCon this year since I am a Philadelphian and was able to attend. There were a lot of ECW people there for obvious reasons. Sandman was set up next to Jerry Lynn, who is always a pleasure to talk with! Sandman was in good spirits and just wanted to meet everyone and was very appreciative of everyone for taking the time to get a photo and/or autograph and just shoot the breeze.
To be fair, the Austin character was already over before he ever drank beer on television. I think WM 14 had already happened before I saw him take a drink. And I don't remember anyone making Sandman comparisons when he cut the Austin 3:16 promo.
Actually I think a lot of the wrestlers like Darby Allen get more of the ideas from watching Big Japan's deathmatches or CZW deathmatches with the gusset plates, chopsticks or whatever those are, the broken glass, light tubes, scorpions than they did from ECW.
I was surprised listening to Sandman how he was actually a wrestler and knew psychology and ring awareness and all that stuff. He was way deeper a personality than i previously gave him credit.
Jim forgets that ECW was over in Florida as well as it was on the Sunshine Network and drew some really good crowds. It was also starting to get over in Georgia, too. And it was over in Southern California, too. So it wasn't just a product that only got over in the Northeast. I do agree it's too much. Dusty wrestled in barbed wire matches, but he made sure to build up the feud to such a point that it made some sense to have a barbed wire match and they got a lot out of it.
I’ve seen all from 1980-Now I’m from NY and I was blessed to attend every ECW Supercard/PPV the only PPV I didn’t attend was Heat Wave 2000 in CA amazing memories
@@crangesmcbasketball367no it’s great but I watch all wrestling promotions around the world I enjoy Japanese poresu and Joshi as well as Mexican wrestling more
Im Jim's biggest fan but I don't always agree with him and have you ever given any thought that the reason he doesnt like ECW is because all of these years later people still talk about it and not SMW?
Sandman is a great guy. Saw him at a BTW show here in VA a few years back. Before the show he was playing basketball with some of the little kids there. His entrance is even awesome in a high school gym. Everyone was focused on the curtain and he showed up standing on the chairs a few feet from me.
Come on, Corny, dont act like ECW didn't do better with less than you did with Smokey Mountain. In the annals of history, ECW will be remembered more than your own promotion.
Come on guys. RVD, Public enemy, the Eliminators,Dudleys,Gangstas and Pitbulls would work anywhere. Jerry Lynn was ahead of his time. Mikey Whipwreck would get over even today. Vince saw how 2 cold was being used in ECW and picked him up. He flopped as Flash Funk because Vince didnt get his style of wresting
New Jack and Sting were the two wrestlers that _really_ should have jumped over to WWE much earlier. ECW New Jack was a modern-day gladiator, but had Vince Mcmahon taken him in, he'd be the designated _executioner_ of the company. Hell, imagine Teddy Long punishing wrestlers on Smackdown by having them go one on one with New Jack 😂
I think besides the violence, Cornette’s biggest beef with ECW was that they told NWA and traditionalists to stick it. I’m in neither camp. It’s about business. Paul Heyman had a great idea that worked for the 90s, but he took it too far. No matter how “extreme” the 90s were (which is what I loved about that time), TV stations, especially nationally, weren’t going to put the ultra violence on the air. Paul took it too far. The very thing that got him all the attention prevented him from making money long term. Sure, it might have had a national appeal at that time to a degree well beyond New York and Philly, but American network TV, especially nationally, or even cable, weren’t going to air that stuff in a prime time slot like WWF or WCW even then and if that wasn’t a goal ECW could have achieved, they had limitations which ultimately led to their demise. Also, Paul was paying a lot of guys competitive rates to the big companies and that wasn’t sustainable. If they were going to make it on national, cable or network television, they needed to tone it down, which defeated the purpose. They actually did tone it down for TNN, and we saw what happened. Meanwhile, they were quickly becoming a farm system for WWF and WCW. By 1999, they had lost most of their top talent. All their exciting cruiserweights were in WCW. WCW’s midcard was dominated by ex ECW guys. It wasn’t sustainable. The very thing that made them cool and popular was their undoing.
Plus what Paul did made ECW unsustainable. Because extreme violence was their brand and mark, ECW had to provide it in spades and up themselves *every show* , and it tore through their roster. The fact that no one was outright killed in any of their matches is nothing short of a miracle. If Paul had the resources to continue with his brand, ECW would have notable fatalities before crashing down because of its brand of violence
Was looking forward to Corny's review of this and we got Gran Torrino Corny. This episode was one of my favorites and had barely anything to do with the wrestling
First time I saw the Sandman? Mind was blown. Holy shit, who’s this guy? He’s in my top 10 favorites today. ECW had Sabu, Van Dam, Sandman, and Corino. Today they’re living legends. They gave it all.
There were two ECWs. In the early days, there was violence, but also pretty good angles, some lucha, some mat based wrestling , humor. The early Mick Foley stuff was as non-violent as you can get (because the fans were expecting violence). Later on, by the end of 1996, they started losing too many guys and maybe Paul stated running out of gas, but after that it was mostly the garbage and that is unfortunately what they are solely remembered for today.
I remember watching Eastern Championship Wrestling when I was younger. My family moved out of the Philly metro area just as ECW became Extreme. By the time we moved back a few years later, it had mutated into a parody of wrestling, albeit a charming, fucked up, little-engine-that-could parody of wrestling. They were the perfect promotion for Philadelphia. Honestly, it's a miracle they lasted as long as they did, also a miracle no one died at the ECW Arena. Sandman was never my favorite of the regulars, but his entrance was the most iconic.
I disagree. Those early Tri-State and Eastern wrestling shows are more of a parody of wrestling. ECW was a gonzo art form at its best for the wrestling industry. The worst of Japanese wrestling, AEW, CZW, PWG, etc. None of it has the level of charm that to it that ECW had.
I love Jim, but I've never agreed with him about ECW. I LOVED ECW. I had completley lost interest in wrestling (after following it religiously since 80) I found ECW by accident in 96. It was SO cool. Sorry Jimmy😁 ( I never got to see SMW where I lived .I'm sure I would have liked it too. You had Tammy and the Gangstas!)
Sandman/Sabu Stairway to Hell was as insane and as incredible as Foley/Taker. Tons of high risk maneuvers, insane spots, and the Sandman getting knocked off an 8 foot ladder by Sabu and falling to the floor below. Might've been Joey Styles' greatest "OH MY GOD!" ever.
@@MrBlazemaster525 pretty much, yeah. RVD is at least fortunate enough not to have any life-threatening conditions, but ECW left its mark on him. Mick Foley is possibly the only exception because he soaked-up damage before, during and after his time with ECW.
I’m a huge Jim fan but I gotta be honest ECW is held in a much higher regard among wrestlers promoters and fans then SMW is has been or ever will be and that’s not shade that’s just facts 💯
While I enjoyed this episode, Vice glossed over his WCW and WWE runs. The ending was so rushed that they skipped his post WWE run and him becoming sober. Heck they don’t even go into his WWE run. Just showed him getting pinned and then moved on. I wish Dreamer, Meanie, Douglas, Whipwreck, and Stevie Richards talked about Sandman.
As much as I liked all of them, this episode had too many talking heads as it is. We really didn't need to hear any more brief input from any more of his former peers.
Back when fans singing was actually cool and bad ass. Now compare that to literally every single wrestler's lame ass generic song they sing now. It's beyond annoying at this point and it doesn't help the theme songs they're singing are absolute shit. They took what the ECW fans had started and completely butchered it
i wish they'd at some point just review the actual episode rather than spend most of the time criticizing ECW. There was a lot to discuss about his approach, angles, dedication to it, etc
I LOVED ECW! Not the use of toasters, real trash barrels, choke slams from 15 feet, etc. No, I liked the PG 13 rating, the edgy storylines, sexy women, minimum use of foul language and authentic Rock N Roll! Sandman epitomized ECW even if he couldn't wrestle his way out of a wet paper bag! ECW was a show meant for 10:00 or later, like DALLAS!
Sandman rocked, he got it. You dont need 300 moves. You just need to get over it. Sandman 's entrance was so over that afterwards all he had to really do was he canning
Similar here. Loved it back in the day, but it hasn't aged well. Looking back on some of the matches and what we know know about head trauma and all the substance abuse problems the workers had makes me cringe.
You guys are crazy. JERRY LYNN VS RVD, 2 COLD SCORPIOS 2ND TV TITLE RUN, SHANE DOUGLAS VS TAZZ, DEAN MALENKO VS EDDIE GUERERRO. Pittbulls VS Public Ennemy. ECW gave us Classic stuff.
I wish they did a Dark side of the ring on Andrew Test Martin who was married to Stephanie then got Buried by HHH and he dated Stacy Keibler and died of drugs...
Cornette doesn't like ECW and he is entitled to that opinion. However, he should remember ECW became popular in the mid 90s because it was doing things that were different than WCW and the WWF. Cornette likes to ignore the fact the WWF was downright awful aside from a few things between 1992-1996. Everybody had a bad gimmick and it was basically a live cartoon and not a very good one. WCW was a little better, but it was not anything spectacular either. ECW had the wrestlers be themselves as opposed to stupid gimmicks Vince and others thought were funny which would have been or were impossible to get over. Just ask Shane Douglas, Justin Credible and Raven what ECW did for their careers after they left the WWF? Chris Candido was a dumb fitness guru until he just became himself with "No gimmicks needed" and was a great talent. ECW was different because it felt real and made you emotionally invested in the storylines and matches. If it weren't for ECW, there would have been no Stone Cold, cruiserweights and the business might have never peaked to where everybody seemed to be watching wrestling in the late 90s and early 2000s because the two big companies never would have evolved and upped their game otherwise. There were several things ECW did that were ridiculous and unnecessary even back in the 90s like the Sandman crucifixion, Beulah & Kimona lesbian angle, unprotected chair-shots to the head among other things. But it should not be blamed for the downfall of wrestling. Cornette blaming ECW for all the indie wrestlers doing these ridiculous spots with all these weapons is like blaming violent movies and video games for school shootings and violence among kids in general. These copycat promotions like CZW, GCW and others think just because they turn the volume to 11 and bleed every match means they can replicate ECW. There is no psychology and not much skill except bashing your opponent with weapons and landing on barbed wire or real glass with a pizza cutter in between. Have they ever had matches equivalent to RVD vs Jerry Lynn or Taz vs Sabu? Hell no!
Every time I think of the Sandman, I instantly remember his fling with Missy Hyatt and how he basically used her like one of those cheap blow-up dolls. 😂
What is Brian Lasts problem with Darkside? He always makes little comments about it which you can tell fluster Cornette. Is he boo boo faced because they didn't ask him to be an expert on camera?
Being from the area. Ecw in strip clubs and bars where there was 1 foot from ring to crowd was a great time. The NJ CYO shows in trenton were fun. Plus got to hand with wrestlers in parking lot and dully boys drinking on the fore escapes was great..ecw was what it was.
Sandman episode was good, but I'm waiting for Jim and Brian to comment on Jungle Boy's ultimate badass promo where he nearly drowned himself pouring water on his own face....because badasses always pour water on themselves. 😂
Jungle Boy is dead, he's Angry Boy now. Wet Angry Boy! Or Tantrum Toddler. Whatever. F%&king hell, that kid sucks! "WON Promoter Of The Year" Tony Klown fired CM Goddamn Punk for that asswipe...
Whatever you think about Jims take on ECW his take on Sandman was correct. Literally just a cool entrance and people liking him doing hardcore nonsense stuff. He was the hardcore Ultimate Warrior, the minute he had to wrestle or do anything athletic it was all downhill.
Sandman makes Steve Austin look like a g-rated imitation. I'm not saying Austin wasn't over or that he wasn't great, but sandman just seems way more authentic.
@@colonelkenpachi5009to be fair Austin was also a much better promo too. But yea if Austin didn’t go to ECW, we probably would’ve never seen stone cold
Yes. Sandman had arguably the best entrance ever in wrestling, as presented by ECW. Austin was miles ahead everywhere else. In ring, promos, physique. Austin was influenced by Sandman but took it to a level he never could.
“Well it was thirty years ago and we’re all smarter now. I don’t know about *you*…” We all need to step back and appreciate that joke. Mr. Last is my age, 30 years ago I was 14. And Jim knows that.
As someone whos first wrestling match watched was SNME Hogan amd Savage match where Miss Elizabeth got hit and Hogan went to the back with her and Savage got beat in the ring. I liked ECW for the Rob Van Dam and Sabu matches, and alot of those promos were really cutting edge.
His entrance was the epic. Drinking beer, coming out to Metallica music fans singing in unison, busting cans on his head. Paul still got the best out of talents who weren't big names.
And then never paid them 😂
Sandman could work an entrance with the best of them, but he couldn't work a match to save his life lol. He was still entertaining nonetheless
@@yoholmes273 Paul wasn't a business man. I think Todd Gordan and Paul needed each other. Todd kept Paul in check and made sure the day to day operations were taken care of and Paul was the guy who ran creative. Paul likes to say his reputation is unfair, but there are plenty of stories where wrestlers had to pay penalties because Paul forgot to send out promotional materials on time (Bully Ray talked about it).
I don't think Paul was trying to stiff guys intentionally, but when you are $1M in debt and you bring in $500K and you need to spend that just to keep the lights on it's hard to pay people. People see money coming in, but they don't know it's all going to operating expenses. Maybe he was looking for an angel to save him at some point. Supposedly the PPV companies owed him a ton of money and decided to screw him over as well since they thought it be cheaper to pay him 10% in bankruptcy than pay him what they owed him.
I know that Joey Styles said that Paul didn't tell anyone he was going out of business because he couldn't. He worked it so that the wrestlers would get whatever money he could because investors. I also know that there was an offer to sell ECW to Tommy Dreamer's friends and he didn't show up to the meeting and Dreamer had planned to kill Heyman on TV afterwards and commit suicide but Paul cut a promo on live TV with Vince that save his life since he explained why he did what he did. I don't think it's been on Darkside of the Ring yet but I'm sure it will one way.
@@geneanthony3421 clearly not in check enough
Correct description. All of Sandman's best stuff happened before the bell rang...
Too bad everything he did after the opening bell was always complete crap.
The Sandman was one of those guys who could barely wrestle but who was the perfect act for ECW. His entrance alone was more over than 90% of wrestling today.
"I can't do a standing dropkick, blow me" is my new response to every situation now
Have you tried to do one? Don't cut yourself off short.
his old friend Shaggy 2 Dope can
@@takerdust Shaggy 2 Dope and Scotty Too Hotty forming a tag-team. It would be like the "Mega-Powers" of the Modern era.
Try coming up with your own comeback instead of copying your " fearless leader Uncle Jim "
@@andrewbowyer5043 coming from someone that is wasting his time with someone he doesn't like.
Sandman is the only guy who the boys would want to work while he was intoxicated😂
I found it funny that Sabu said he had no problem with working with Sandman when he was drunk, but didn't want to wrestle him if Sandmsn was sober.
He never hurt anybody so it checks out😂 Do urself a favor and watch the video of him and New Jack wrestling on acid!
@@kushclarkkent6669hey lizard lizard
Lol idk man, the Harris Twins might challenge that statement
@@Rando1975
Alcoholic savant
My respect for him went up when he told the story about them taking different cars so a fan wouldn’t see them whenever wrestlers try and keep kayfabe instant respect. That shows they care
In the Rise & Fall doc he talked about not leaving his house for weeks to sell his blinding angle.
@@quentinkaasa47 now that’s legit
The Sandman being a chip & Dale dancer early on, is NOT something i ever expected. lol.
Yeah, it was back in the day when chicks liked ugly guys.
Right
Chippendale. Nothing to do with those lil cartoon squirrels or whatever they were
I disagree. The garbage wrestlers today are not emulating ECW. They’re emulating the backyard wrestling craze of early 2000s, when that, jackass, girlsgonewild, bum fights, moutain dew & limp bizkit were all over. When sammy is doing a shooting star off the ladder, hes channeling mdog 20 jumping off a roof to impress his bros, more than hes thinking about ecw highspot which was more like we’re willing to hurt ourselves and work harder for your money, so give us a chance.
I agree guys today are too young to remember ECW. it's not like the Young Bucks Who like them or not are the wrestling grandsons of the Rock n Roll express. The Rockers being their fathers. The same way FTR come from Arn and Tully and Tully and Arn come from Gene and Ole
This is actually a pretty solid take. Used to have some of those Backyard Wrestling tapes back in the day and it really gave off a vibe of "anybody could do this".
I agree. ECW was much different than CZW or XPW and that's what these mudshows try to emulate
ECW was garbage
Tripp pants and ball chain necklaces. Everyone hitting Jeff Hardy poses before jumping off the garage roof.
I liked how Sandman gave a mention to Nancy as his manager and put her over as a manager
He adored Nancy. Apparently everyone in ECW loved her. She was perfect for them
Sandman was very close with Nancy
Sandman was fucking nuts
It was just his character. His surf character was kinda funny but also way lame
To be fair ECW didn't stand for Extremely Charismatic and Well adjusted
was? you mean is lol
I was just watching "diet of the Sandman". He's basically the human form of Bender and Duke Nukem. 😅
@@Christoffski He actually looks like Bender after he turned into a human
One of the appeals that Joey Styles made about Sandman was he played the fact he couldn't wrestle. I remember in like 2006, WWECW was in the Hammerstein. The opening match was Sandman and Dreamer vs Mike Knox and I wanna say Monty Brown. Sandman threw the worst Dropkick since Brian Zane. Joey Styles shouts at the top of his lungs "DID THE SANDMAN JUST DO A DROPKICK!?!?!"
I really wish Joey would come back - Hell, I'd be joining Netflix.
Now I have this odd interest in seeing that POS Zane do a dropkick. True what Corny says, the marks are now in the ring...
Sandman could wrestle just fine. Go watch his WCW Thunder match with Kevin Nash. It's surprisingly good.
The fact he's still alive is astounding. This mfer OD and died but resuscitated to wrestle the very night.
Can’t say he wasn’t dedicated.
Much Respect! One Bad Man feed him jim c.😅
That's as hardcore as it gets!! Literally!!
different breed.
Being crucified with a crown of barbed wire.
Dying and being resurrected from before a match.
Sandman is truly our Jesus Christ.
Sandman is a classic example of how Paul E. could highlight strengths and hide weaknesses.
Raven was the best part of ECW. He did the hardcore shit, but his programs were memorable.
Raven was Roman 30 years ago. He used Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie the same way the Usos were used for Roman. Different audience of course but the elliments are there for us who were there. Raven was to Tommy Dreamer what Roman was to Cody.
@@sionrouge1697 that is a very good observation.
My other take is that while Stone Cold is basically David Schultz meets Sandman, Cody is basically Dusty meets Tim Storm.
@@BrokenSaintRW I can see that. The problem with wrestling since 2000 until now is that people think everything seen in WWF/WWE was done there first. There was a time where guys had to move from promotion to promotion developing their in ring style and act. Jim Cornett forgets He was an indy manager longer than he was a mainstream manager. World Class and Memphis were not mainstream promotions. For all of historical wrestling knowledge that I enjoy He was not Jimmy Heart or Bobby Heenean and of you want to keep it real He maybe below Captan Lou.
@sionrouge1697
But Jim doesn't see it that way.
To him Memphis, Mid-west, Oklahoma, The Carolina's, and so on.
To him those were the big promotions because to him those were his most fondest memories.
When it comes to the bigger promotions that he worked for.
The F/E
WCW
NWA
He has fonder memories of NWA but when he speaks of the other w its nearly always negative.
@@colonelkenpachi5009 Jim has selective memory. World class,Memphis and mid south were minor leagues of its day
I was at the WrestleCon this year since I am a Philadelphian and was able to attend. There were a lot of ECW people there for obvious reasons. Sandman was set up next to Jerry Lynn, who is always a pleasure to talk with! Sandman was in good spirits and just wanted to meet everyone and was very appreciative of everyone for taking the time to get a photo and/or autograph and just shoot the breeze.
Wrestling missed a trick by never pairing Sandman with Bagwell in a male stripper tag team called The Sandbags
You win the internet today! 😂😂
I just think of "Bang bang Bart" in the simpsons if i think of Sandman's stripper career.
@@SteelSundayyes
Sandman: How old are you?
Fan: 23
Sandman: 🍺🍻
He may be crazy but not crazy enough to get fined for giving booze to minors.
The gimmick that Stone Cold Steve Austin was created after
To be fair, the Austin character was already over before he ever drank beer on television. I think WM 14 had already happened before I saw him take a drink. And I don't remember anyone making Sandman comparisons when he cut the Austin 3:16 promo.
Stone cold was a bigger name than sandman and he could actually wrestle unlike sandman stone cold was a rip off of David Schultz you nimrod
Actually I think a lot of the wrestlers like Darby Allen get more of the ideas from watching Big Japan's deathmatches or CZW deathmatches with the gusset plates, chopsticks or whatever those are, the broken glass, light tubes, scorpions than they did from ECW.
I was surprised listening to Sandman how he was actually a wrestler and knew psychology and ring awareness and all that stuff. He was way deeper a personality than i previously gave him credit.
Travis should have drawn Sandman as a Chipendale. Hearing that revelation made me laugh my ass off.
The only thing dark is the gang of raiders that are harrasing a settlement, as per usual. Another settlement needs your help, I'll mark it on your map
?????
It took me a second to get this lol
Him the Minutemen are available BUT I’ll have to call the good ol Enclave to check it out!
@@danieldeleon8922 that's not very minuteman like
How did you know OP’s wife’s nickname for him
Jim forgets that ECW was over in Florida as well as it was on the Sunshine Network and drew some really good crowds. It was also starting to get over in Georgia, too. And it was over in Southern California, too. So it wasn't just a product that only got over in the Northeast.
I do agree it's too much. Dusty wrestled in barbed wire matches, but he made sure to build up the feud to such a point that it made some sense to have a barbed wire match and they got a lot out of it.
Definitely were. I caught a few shows at the War Memorial Auditorium in Ft. Lauderdale. Great times.
I’ve seen all from 1980-Now I’m from NY and I was blessed to attend every ECW Supercard/PPV the only PPV I didn’t attend was Heat Wave 2000 in CA amazing memories
Is ECW your favorite promotion of all time?
@@crangesmcbasketball367no it’s great but I watch all wrestling promotions around the world I enjoy Japanese poresu and Joshi as well as Mexican wrestling more
Im Jim's biggest fan but I don't always agree with him and have you ever given any thought that the reason he doesnt like ECW is because all of these years later people still talk about it and not SMW?
Sandman is a great guy. Saw him at a BTW show here in VA a few years back. Before the show he was playing basketball with some of the little kids there. His entrance is even awesome in a high school gym. Everyone was focused on the curtain and he showed up standing on the chairs a few feet from me.
Come on, Corny, dont act like ECW didn't do better with less than you did with Smokey Mountain.
In the annals of history, ECW will be remembered more than your own promotion.
Come on guys. RVD, Public enemy, the Eliminators,Dudleys,Gangstas and Pitbulls would work anywhere. Jerry Lynn was ahead of his time. Mikey Whipwreck would get over even today. Vince saw how 2 cold was being used in ECW and picked him up. He flopped as Flash Funk because Vince didnt get his style of wresting
Nah Scorpio had drug problems that is why he fizzled in WWF.
New Jack and Sting were the two wrestlers that _really_ should have jumped over to WWE much earlier. ECW New Jack was a modern-day gladiator, but had Vince Mcmahon taken him in, he'd be the designated _executioner_ of the company. Hell, imagine Teddy Long punishing wrestlers on Smackdown by having them go one on one with New Jack 😂
@@cb3648 it's more than that.
I think besides the violence, Cornette’s biggest beef with ECW was that they told NWA and traditionalists to stick it. I’m in neither camp. It’s about business. Paul Heyman had a great idea that worked for the 90s, but he took it too far. No matter how “extreme” the 90s were (which is what I loved about that time), TV stations, especially nationally, weren’t going to put the ultra violence on the air. Paul took it too far. The very thing that got him all the attention prevented him from making money long term. Sure, it might have had a national appeal at that time to a degree well beyond New York and Philly, but American network TV, especially nationally, or even cable, weren’t going to air that stuff in a prime time slot like WWF or WCW even then and if that wasn’t a goal ECW could have achieved, they had limitations which ultimately led to their demise. Also, Paul was paying a lot of guys competitive rates to the big companies and that wasn’t sustainable. If they were going to make it on national, cable or network television, they needed to tone it down, which defeated the purpose. They actually did tone it down for TNN, and we saw what happened. Meanwhile, they were quickly becoming a farm system for WWF and WCW. By 1999, they had lost most of their top talent. All their exciting cruiserweights were in WCW. WCW’s midcard was dominated by ex ECW guys. It wasn’t sustainable. The very thing that made them cool and popular was their undoing.
Plus what Paul did made ECW unsustainable. Because extreme violence was their brand and mark, ECW had to provide it in spades and up themselves *every show* , and it tore through their roster. The fact that no one was outright killed in any of their matches is nothing short of a miracle. If Paul had the resources to continue with his brand, ECW would have notable fatalities before crashing down because of its brand of violence
Heymen gets a ridiculous pass from people seeing how he screwed so many wrestlers out of literally thousands of dollars. Complete scumbag
ECW was the single greatest TV show in wrestling history and NOTHING is close.
Was looking forward to Corny's review of this and we got Gran Torrino Corny. This episode was one of my favorites and had barely anything to do with the wrestling
This review of Sandman turned into a review of ECW 🙄
ECW was on chsnnel 48 here in Philly. It was like a community access channel lol. It wasnt even a philly based sports channel.
First time I saw the Sandman? Mind was blown. Holy shit, who’s this guy? He’s in my top 10 favorites today. ECW had Sabu, Van Dam, Sandman, and Corino. Today they’re living legends. They gave it all.
You had me until you mentioned Corino as a living legend
Corino vs Homicide Feud in ROH was fabulous - the 'riot' was hilarious@@analiysanchez9949
RVD is such a talent. Love him.
And now aew has their own less talented sandman from Cincinnati
😂😂😂😂
Calling him less talented than Sandman is definitely a reach lol. At least Mox can somewhat cut a promo, whether you like his style or not.
Death-jit-su
@flobama3247 sure, if your moms your dad and your dads your brother.
I thought the Cincinnati guy was a Stone Cold cosplayer, not a Sandman one.
The summary of the “Dark Side Of The Ring” episode on The Sandman: He likes beer, and there was something here and there about a wife and kids.
Did you even watch it? It doesn't seem like you did.
Sandman had charisma that was not matched but most people who try to be him don't have it
There were two ECWs. In the early days, there was violence, but also pretty good angles, some lucha, some mat based wrestling , humor. The early Mick Foley stuff was as non-violent as you can get (because the fans were expecting violence). Later on, by the end of 1996, they started losing too many guys and maybe Paul stated running out of gas, but after that it was mostly the garbage and that is unfortunately what they are solely remembered for today.
I remember watching Eastern Championship Wrestling when I was younger. My family moved out of the Philly metro area just as ECW became Extreme. By the time we moved back a few years later, it had mutated into a parody of wrestling, albeit a charming, fucked up, little-engine-that-could parody of wrestling. They were the perfect promotion for Philadelphia. Honestly, it's a miracle they lasted as long as they did, also a miracle no one died at the ECW Arena.
Sandman was never my favorite of the regulars, but his entrance was the most iconic.
I disagree. Those early Tri-State and Eastern wrestling shows are more of a parody of wrestling. ECW was a gonzo art form at its best for the wrestling industry. The worst of Japanese wrestling, AEW, CZW, PWG, etc. None of it has the level of charm that to it that ECW had.
Those ECW November Rain videos are the best wrestling music videos of all time
Jim is a super optimistic individual. He has great things to say say about so many people. He truly is a ray of sunshine. ... 😂
Maybe it was a Sandman it inspired our modern day PLUMBER 😮😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
How the actual f*ck was this a “review”? 😂
This is almost the exact same anti ecw review Jim did on the Bam Bam Dark Side, he often repeats himself way too much!
It's more anti-moron than anything. He's repeating himself because it's the same shit, different pile.
The Vince's kid angle is Sandman's best moment.
"Everyone in the truck is zooming in on Sandman, pissing themselves that he's still in the ring." -Deadlock
No it’s not. Sandman had a lot of better and memorable moments. Unless you were being sarcastic, you need to get your head out of your ass.
My favourite part of most episodes is Brian trying to keep the brand sponsorship on track and not get sued 🤣
I love the arguing during the sponsorship ad. It’s become one of my favorite parts of the show 😂
I need to stop skipping over or checking out during the advert section, because your comment convinced me to listen and now I’m crying laughing. 😂😂😂😂
@@iamcasihart I’m TELLING you….. Jim’s over the top selling and Brian trying to reel him in is hilarious 😆
I love Jim, but I've never agreed with him about ECW. I LOVED ECW. I had completley lost interest in wrestling (after following it religiously since 80) I found ECW by accident in 96. It was SO cool. Sorry Jimmy😁 ( I never got to see SMW where I lived .I'm sure I would have liked it too. You had Tammy and the Gangstas!)
Sandman/Sabu Stairway to Hell was as insane and as incredible as Foley/Taker. Tons of high risk maneuvers, insane spots, and the Sandman getting knocked off an 8 foot ladder by Sabu and falling to the floor below. Might've been Joey Styles' greatest "OH MY GOD!" ever.
The Sandman is my all time favourite wrestler just because he reminds me so much of my Dad
the dreamer raven feud was my fav
IDK why I expected Jim to say anything good about Sandman 😂
Because he kept kayfabe when wrestling
It’s a miracle RVD survived that ECW. Still doing it today
You could say Masato Tanaka as well if he counts
_anyone_ who got out of that promotion alive and without long-term body damage was given a free pass by the Guy Upstairs.
@@MarvinT0606so seeing as RVD has vision damage from concussions he didn't get a pass
@@MrBlazemaster525 pretty much, yeah. RVD is at least fortunate enough not to have any life-threatening conditions, but ECW left its mark on him. Mick Foley is possibly the only exception because he soaked-up damage before, during and after his time with ECW.
Tommy Rich?
I’m a huge Jim fan but I gotta be honest ECW is held in a much higher regard among wrestlers promoters and fans then SMW is has been or ever will be and that’s not shade that’s just facts 💯
I subscribed to Sandman’s podcast after watching his Dark Side of the Ring episode It’s absolutely hilarious😂😂😂
Yo WTF? There's a Sandman podcast?!
Yes, Just found it myself! @@sigh909
??
How can I find the podcast? What's it called?
The cross and Raven gimmick was legendary controversial though
He had respect for New Jack, but not The Sandman? They were both hardcore legends.
While I enjoyed this episode, Vice glossed over his WCW and WWE runs. The ending was so rushed that they skipped his post WWE run and him becoming sober. Heck they don’t even go into his WWE run. Just showed him getting pinned and then moved on. I wish Dreamer, Meanie, Douglas, Whipwreck, and Stevie Richards talked about Sandman.
ONE MORE TIME. THIS AINT BIOGRAPHY. WWE AND WCW ARENT RELAVENT
They talked about both enough
As much as I liked all of them, this episode had too many talking heads as it is. We really didn't need to hear any more brief input from any more of his former peers.
Back when fans singing was actually cool and bad ass. Now compare that to literally every single wrestler's lame ass generic song they sing now. It's beyond annoying at this point and it doesn't help the theme songs they're singing are absolute shit. They took what the ECW fans had started and completely butchered it
Dollar Store Steve Austin
13:21 perfect summation haha
Sandman is the human equivalent of Bender
Yeah but Sandman was never forced to be "THE GENDER BENDER". Well I guess Vince did castrate him a bit.
Not a big ECW fan but have the upmost respect for Sandman and what he has done for the business. A true great and found his dark side interesting
23 minutes of shitting on ECW... talk about the episode. Regardless of your knowledge of Sandman.. TALK about the episode.
MR. 👍PPV👍 come on Jim... ECW was fukn awesome. That atmosphere was ELECTRIC.
Never had any idea prior to this that Sandman had worked in the business as not a garbage wrestler. Honestly amazed 😂😂😂
Makes sense now why he’s called the sandman
Watch cornettes promos from WWE. 1000 miles a minute. But Heyman has no restraint eh?
i wish they'd at some point just review the actual episode rather than spend most of the time criticizing ECW. There was a lot to discuss about his approach, angles, dedication to it, etc
I LOVED ECW! Not the use of toasters, real trash barrels, choke slams from 15 feet, etc. No, I liked the PG 13 rating, the edgy storylines, sexy women, minimum use of foul language and authentic Rock N Roll! Sandman epitomized ECW even if he couldn't wrestle his way out of a wet paper bag!
ECW was a show meant for 10:00 or later, like DALLAS!
Travis missed an opportunity to draw ‘The Cornman’ with a can of Sprite
Sandman rocked, he got it. You dont need 300 moves. You just need to get over it. Sandman 's entrance was so over that afterwards all he had to really do was he canning
Cornette has been so old for so long that no one remembers a time he was young!
Needless to say, Shopify will not be back as a sponsor.
I don't think jom watched this episode. Most of this segment was bashing the hardcore side of ECW
14:46 That's actually a great idea for a T-shirt, Jim Cornette doing a standing dropkick
I loved ECW. Hard to watch a lot of it now. But holy moly back in the day. And the clown shows of today do not deserve comparison
Similar here. Loved it back in the day, but it hasn't aged well. Looking back on some of the matches and what we know know about head trauma and all the substance abuse problems the workers had makes me cringe.
You guys are crazy. JERRY LYNN VS RVD, 2 COLD SCORPIOS 2ND TV TITLE RUN, SHANE DOUGLAS VS TAZZ, DEAN MALENKO VS EDDIE GUERERRO. Pittbulls VS Public Ennemy. ECW gave us Classic stuff.
@@sionrouge1697 neither of us said anything like that. Happy mother's Day 🤣
@@Christian.J_hXc didnt age well was said. I provided matches and rivals that did age well.
I wish they did a Dark side of the ring on Andrew Test Martin who was married to Stephanie then got Buried by HHH and he dated Stacy Keibler and died of drugs...
He never married Stephanie. And his death was inevitable due to brain trauma.
That episode was awesome. ECW, ECW, ECW!. 😂😂😂
HERE LIZARD LIZARD LIZARD!
HERE LIZARD LIZARD LIZARD!
“I mean it was only acid” - Sandman
Flash Flannagan was popular in Puerto Rico. There was another name he went by that I can't remember.
Sandman was in the parking lot asking for a ride to a liquor store at a show in Chattanooga one night.
I think it was 1996-97.
Cornette doesn't like ECW and he is entitled to that opinion. However, he should remember ECW became popular in the mid 90s because it was doing things that were different than WCW and the WWF. Cornette likes to ignore the fact the WWF was downright awful aside from a few things between 1992-1996. Everybody had a bad gimmick and it was basically a live cartoon and not a very good one. WCW was a little better, but it was not anything spectacular either.
ECW had the wrestlers be themselves as opposed to stupid gimmicks Vince and others thought were funny which would have been or were impossible to get over. Just ask Shane Douglas, Justin Credible and Raven what ECW did for their careers after they left the WWF? Chris Candido was a dumb fitness guru until he just became himself with "No gimmicks needed" and was a great talent.
ECW was different because it felt real and made you emotionally invested in the storylines and matches. If it weren't for ECW, there would have been no Stone Cold, cruiserweights and the business might have never peaked to where everybody seemed to be watching wrestling in the late 90s and early 2000s because the two big companies never would have evolved and upped their game otherwise.
There were several things ECW did that were ridiculous and unnecessary even back in the 90s like the Sandman crucifixion, Beulah & Kimona lesbian angle, unprotected chair-shots to the head among other things. But it should not be blamed for the downfall of wrestling. Cornette blaming ECW for all the indie wrestlers doing these ridiculous spots with all these weapons is like blaming violent movies and video games for school shootings and violence among kids in general.
These copycat promotions like CZW, GCW and others think just because they turn the volume to 11 and bleed every match means they can replicate ECW. There is no psychology and not much skill except bashing your opponent with weapons and landing on barbed wire or real glass with a pizza cutter in between. Have they ever had matches equivalent to RVD vs Jerry Lynn or Taz vs Sabu? Hell no!
Beer,cig,kendo stick 3 moves of doom
Moxley thought this episode was DOPE!
Every time I think of the Sandman, I instantly remember his fling with Missy Hyatt and how he basically used her like one of those cheap blow-up dolls. 😂
Cant wait to play as sandman when the dlc drops
What is Brian Lasts problem with Darkside? He always makes little comments about it which you can tell fluster Cornette. Is he boo boo faced because they didn't ask him to be an expert on camera?
I can’t do a standing dropkick , blow me 😂
Being from the area. Ecw in strip clubs and bars where there was 1 foot from ring to crowd was a great time. The NJ CYO shows in trenton were fun. Plus got to hand with wrestlers in parking lot and dully boys drinking on the fore escapes was great..ecw was what it was.
I heard of ECW & Sandman,Paul Heyman
didn't go to ECW show
When Paul showed up with Brock i was like cool &
Roman,And now Solo
Sandman episode was good, but I'm waiting for Jim and Brian to comment on Jungle Boy's ultimate badass promo where he nearly drowned himself pouring water on his own face....because badasses always pour water on themselves. 😂
Jungle boy poured water on his face? Is he taking after plumber Moxley but with water instead of blood?
it really was bad and ass alright 💯🔥
Jungle Boy is dead, he's Angry Boy now. Wet Angry Boy! Or Tantrum Toddler. Whatever. F%&king hell, that kid sucks!
"WON Promoter Of The Year" Tony Klown fired CM Goddamn Punk for that asswipe...
Whatever you think about Jims take on ECW his take on Sandman was correct. Literally just a cool entrance and people liking him doing hardcore nonsense stuff. He was the hardcore Ultimate Warrior, the minute he had to wrestle or do anything athletic it was all downhill.
EXCATLY!
Sandman makes Steve Austin look like a g-rated imitation. I'm not saying Austin wasn't over or that he wasn't great, but sandman just seems way more authentic.
Austin stole Sandman's shtick.
Only difference is that Austin could work.
Facts.
@@colonelkenpachi5009to be fair Austin was also a much better promo too. But yea if Austin didn’t go to ECW, we probably would’ve never seen stone cold
Yes. Sandman had arguably the best entrance ever in wrestling, as presented by ECW. Austin was miles ahead everywhere else. In ring, promos, physique. Austin was influenced by Sandman but took it to a level he never could.
@@jay_1212
Idk Sandman could cut some really good promos when he wasn't absolutely blasted.
But I ultimately agree, Austin took it to another level.
Sandman will always be a legend for being too drunk to get out of the ring in the McMahon Son angle.
Your breakdown of the whole episode 13:50 is pretty spot on.
“Well it was thirty years ago and we’re all smarter now. I don’t know about *you*…”
We all need to step back and appreciate that joke. Mr. Last is my age, 30 years ago I was 14. And Jim knows that.
Corny reviews Sandmans DSOTR, or as its also known, How to say nothing in 21 minutes.
I'm on a bench and menching ~Jim 😂.
Jim should put a book out on his Sayings..
Mensching, not menching.
As someone whos first wrestling match watched was SNME Hogan amd Savage match where Miss Elizabeth got hit and Hogan went to the back with her and Savage got beat in the ring. I liked ECW for the Rob Van Dam and Sabu matches, and alot of those promos were really cutting edge.
So you came in after the disrespect angle between Sabu and RVD ?
I can't do a standing drop kick, blow me - Jim Cornette (and this is why he is a god)
Let's calm down there
This was a great episode for the LEGENDARY SANDMAN!!
The gimmick STEVE AUSTIN stole when he was in ECW for a couple weeks 😂