10 Most Extreme ECW Moments

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10 Most Extreme ECW Moments

Much of wrestling history reflects on what WCW was like WWE biggest competitor of the 90s, but ECW You can’t stay out of this conversation. Although ECW was not on track to beat WWE in the ratings for 83 weeks as Eric Bischoff, Extreme Championship Wrestling has largely inspired many of the sensibilities of modern wrestling.

Before WWE was quick to introduce inappropriate moments in the Attitude Era that they wouldn’t pull off today, Paul Heyman was reserving even more extreme angles for ECW. Before WCW had a hardcore division ECW was unconditional. To this day, ECW leaves a mark on wrestling today, with WWE’s NXT brand heading to the classic 2300 ECW arena in Philadelphia, showing that Extreme’s legacy is still alive and well in WWE. When looking at some of ECW’s most extreme moments, it’s easy to see why wrestling fans find the promotion so unforgettable.

10

The Dudley Boyz Powerbomb Spike Dudley through two burning tables

ECW Hardcore TV August 21, 1999


Spike Dudley faces Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley of the Dudley Boyz in the main event of ECW Heat Wave 1998

Before Bubba Ray Dudley and his on-screen brother, D-Von, became two-time Hall of Famers (in WWE and TNA), they were wreaking havoc on Hardcore TV. The frequent target in his sights who would receive the brunt of his punishment was the runt of the Dudley Boyz, Spike Dudley. While Spike being punished by everyone every week was getting old at this point, just like the Dudleys using a flaming table, this was particularly brutal as Bubba decided to power bomb his little brother onto not one, but two burning tables.

9

Sandman reveals he pretended to be blind

ECW Unforgettable November 1994


The Blind Sandman in ECW

One of the wildest storylines to happen in ECW revolved around The Sandman’s feud with Tommy Dreamer. During the January 10, 1994 edition of Hardcore TV, the two had an I Quit match, where Dreamer lit a lit cigarette in the Sandman’s eye, blinding the man. It was a kayfabe injury, but presented as real to the point that Sandman announced his retirement from professional wrestling. Dreamer would dedicate the rest of his career to the fallen Sandman out of guilt.

This included mercilessly beating Sandman’s former tag team partner Tommy Cairo for mocking Sandman’s injury. Sandman’s retirement ceremony would be interrupted by a dismissive woman threatening to attack Sandman. When Dreamer came to his aide, Sandman would remove the bandages from his eyes to the shock of the crowd and hit Dreamer with his signature cane. Sandman would admit that he lied about his injury just to have Dreamer do his dirty work in the violent fight against Cairo. It’s worth noting that to keep kayfabe alive, Sandman would go anywhere in real life wearing bandages over his eyeseven answering the door of his house selling the wound.

8

Fans don’t stop throwing chairs

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1994

There has never been a more rowdy crowd in wrestling history than the ECW faithful. There’s a reason WWE was on high alert at the Hammerstein Ballroom for John Cena’s match against Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. If an ECW crowd says, “If Cena wins, we riot,” then it’s wise to believe so.

After all, this is the same crowd that threw every single one of their chairs into the ring at Terry Funk’s request. The late Funker asked a fan for a chair, causing the dedicated fanbase to throw every chair in attendance. The crowd even became too rowdy for ECW to handle when the call to “Stop the chairs!” can be heard echoing in the microphone as Joey Styles finishes.

7

Raven Crucifies Sandman

ECW High Incident 1996

The Sandman vs. Sandman rivalry Raven was filled with unbelievable moments and eerie visuals, including Raven adopting the Sandman’s youngest son as her own. Nothing could be as impressive, however, as the moment Raven crucified The Sandman, preceding The Undertaker’s more famous crucifixion on WWE TV. In addition to the shocking look of The Sandman on a barbed wire cross, the moment is memorable for the controversy it generated, mainly from Kurt Anglewho was present right after winning the gold medal. He almost signed with ECW, but did not approve of the images which he considered sacrilege. If Angle hadn’t been offended, he might not have felt convinced about going to WWE.

6

Tommy Dreamer pushes Brian Lee off scaffolding

ECW High Incident 1994

ECW’s High Incident event was clearly quite eventful. In addition to a live crucifixion, the audience watched a Scaffold fight which inspired the name of the show. The main event pitted Tommy Dreamer against former Undertaker impersonator Brian Lee, suspended several feet in the air on unstable scaffolding with the goal of knocking his opponent down. Dreamer was declared the winner after punching Lee from the scaffolding, sending him through stacks of tables into the ring.

This is still remembered as one of the most horrific bumps in wrestling history. Even though the tables may have cushioned his fall, it was still a horrible fall, and there is no safe way to fall from that height. Brian Lee could have easily lost the ring completely and likely died in the process or suffered permanent injuries. Still, it was this type of venue that put ECW on the map and inspired a generation of hardcore wrestlers.

5

Spike Dudley causes the military press to be attacked by the mob

ECW As Good As It Gets 1997

Speaking of the crowd getting their money’s worth, ECW wrestlers often fought near, around, or directly into the crowd. Those in the front row certainly earned their ticket price, especially whenever Spike Dudley competed. As previously stated, being punished and tossed around was classic ECW, which endeared him to the crowd.

The audience’s love for Spike was no more apparent than in a match against Bam Bam Bigelow, where Bigelow threw Spike across the ring into the crowd. The crowd, however, refused to let Spike fall to the ground. Instead of, they allowed Spike to surf like it was a show until he found himself back in the ring.

4

New Jack mass transit incident

November 23, 1996

Unlike the rest of the entries, this took place at a house show rather than a live show or Pay-Per-View, but it’s still a scary moment that lives in infamy. The New Jack and Mass Transit incident was covered in detail in one of the best episodes of Dark Side of the Ring. New Jack’s intense attack on the untrained 17-year-old Erich “Mass Transit” Kulas during a tag team match severed his arteries.

This incident almost canceled ECW’s first Barely Legal PPVand highlight the violent nature of ECW and wrestling as a whole. According to New Jack and Paul Heyman, the blame lies with Kulas, who lied about his training to get a chance to get in the ring, but regardless of the truth, this still remains one of the most controversial moments in modern professional wrestling history.

3

Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow fall into the ring

ECW Living Dangerously 1998


Tazz and Bam Bam Bigelow after colliding in the ring at ECW Living Dangerously 1998

For many people, the first moment that comes to mind when someone says ECW is the night of Living Dangerously 1999. With Tazz defending the ECW Television Championship, these two giants of men intimidated each other to the point where they collided in the ring. Anyone who wants to see what it’s like when an incredulous crowd rises in unisonwatch the end of this match. ​​​​​​​

A rematch at Heat Wave 1998 for the FTW Championship attempted to recapture the same magic as both men fell on the ramp, but magic like that is hard to pull off twice.

2

Tommy Dreamer takes 10 cane lashes from Sandman

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1994

Tommy Dreamer is rightfully celebrated as the heart and soul of ECW today, but back then he was as polarizing a figure as John Cena. Initially introduced as a cookie-cutter babyface, the crowd would not support Dreamer until his Singapore Cane match with The Sandman, which Sandman won via DQ under questionable circumstances. The stipulation was that the loser would receive ten cane lashes on the back. Despite insistence from fans and ECW Commissioner Tod Gordon to restart the match, Dreamer declared that he would be a man of his word no matter how he lost.

The pro-violence crowd cheered at first, but when the welts, bruises and blood became visible on his back, the crowd was speechless with horror. From that moment on, the previously considered golden boy earned the unwavering respect of ECW fans everywhere. It proved to be a surefire way to overcome any babyface, becoming a trope that AEW would try to emulate in 2020, causing future WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to receive ten belt lashings from MJF.

1

Shane Douglas throws away the NWA Championship in favor of the ECW Championship

ECW August 27, 1994

Arguably, the toughest and most definitive moment in ECW history is not a violent moment, but an immortal mission statement for promotion into a new era. Back when Eastern Championship Wrestling was part of the National Wrestling Alliance, ECW held a tournament to fill the vacant NWA World Championship, the same belt worn by legends like Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. The tournament would be won by Shane Douglas, but he was not happy with holding the NWA title.

He publicly criticized the title, refusing to accept the remains of “an organization that has died.” While calling himself The Franchise for the first time, he promised to “light the new flame in the sport of professional wrestling.” With that said, he revealed the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. ECW would later split from the NWA and become Extreme Championship Wrestling. There would be no Extreme Championship Wrestling without this moment, and without ECWthe professional wrestling scene it would be very different from how it is today.

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