Over the decades, WWE has played host to several championships, many of which undergo re-designs as the company wants a fresh look. This week, fans caught their first glimpse at a never-before-seen version of the ECW World Championship, over 14 years after the Extreme brand came to an end.
The reveal was featured on the WWE Vault YouTube channel, showcasing a silver-plated design with a nameplate for CM Punk. The Best in the World held the ECW Championship from September 2007 until January 2008, when he dropped the title to Chavo Guerrero.
Despite its striking look, the design never made it to television as the belt “was not received the same way it wanted to be received.” It’s also possible that the idea of the babyface CM Punk replacing the original ECW title design might have alienated fans nostalgic for the iconic Extreme brand.
Instead, WWE unveiled a revamped ECW Championship design during Mark Henry’s reign in July 2008. This silver-eagle design remained in use until the closure of WWE’s ECW in February 2010, paving the way for the rise of the original WWE NXT.
Posted December 23rd, 2024 in WWE. Tagged: CM Punk, ECW.
WWE NXT’s recent tribute show at the iconic 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on November 6, 2024, has reignited fans’ passion for the extreme wrestling era. This event not only honored the legacy of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) but also showcased the ongoing evolution of professional wrestling.
Let’s explore this memorable show and other notable ECW tribute events that have left an indelible mark on the wrestling world.
WWE NXT’s special episode at the 2300 Arena, formerly known as the ECW Arena, was a nostalgic journey for wrestling fans.
The show featured a good blend of NXT’s current roster and ECW legends, creating an electric atmosphere that paid homage to the extreme wrestling roots.
Francine’s Surprise Appearance
One of the highlights of the event was the return of Francine, the “Queen of Extreme.” Her presence in the crowd during the main event added a layer of authenticity to the tribute, reminding fans of ECW’s glory days.
Francine’s cameo was particularly significant given her long absence from wrestling, making this appearance a true treat for longtime ECW supporters.
Star-Studded Main Event
The show’s climax was a thrilling 10-woman tag team match that showcased NXT’s deep and talented women’s roster.
This match not only paid tribute to ECW’s legacy but also highlighted the evolution of women’s wrestling, demonstrating how far the industry has come since the ECW era.
Other Memorable ECW Tribute Shows
While NXT’s 2300 Arena show was exceptional, it’s not the only tribute that has captured the essence of ECW. Let’s look at some other notable ECW tribute events that have left their mark on wrestling history.
ECW One Night Stand 2005
This pay-per-view event was WWE’s first official ECW reunion show. It featured original ECW stars and recreated the promotion’s unique atmosphere. Matches like Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome and the main event featuring The Dudley Boyz against Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman perfectly encapsulated the ECW spirit.
ECW One Night Stand 2006
Building on the success of the previous year, this event saw ECW alumni clash with WWE superstars. The show is particularly remembered for Rob Van Dam’s WWE Championship victory over John Cena in a highly charged atmosphere that epitomized the ECW fanbase’s passion.
Hardcore Homecoming 2005
Organized independently by Shane Douglas, this event brought together numerous ECW originals for a series of hardcore matches. It served as an alternative reunion for fans who wanted a more authentic ECW experience outside of WWE’s production.
For years, Scott Levy, better known as Raven, rose through the ranks of the original ECW to become one of the very top stars of the extreme promotion. Now, a new documentary aims to spotlight the man behind the character, as well as the high-risk, high-reward lifestyle of the original Extreme Championship Wrestling.
This week, fans caught their first trailer for Nevermore: The Raven Effect. NightSchool Films, the team behind the documentary, describes the project as follows:
The man behind pro wrestling’s punk rock revolution.
“Wrestling is such a brutal business, it doesn’t surprise people that it attracts sociopaths, fame whores, coke whores and adrenaline whores, but why did it attract an artist?” Asks Billy Corgan, frontman for the Smashing Pumpkins and wrestling promoter. It’s the question posed in Nevermore: The Raven Effect, which examines a pivotal shift in wrestling history, through the eyes of Raven, a brilliant but complicated performer who simultaneously self-destructs while establishing the tone of ECW, an exciting, but extreme and hazardous indy wrestling promotion that
features bloody matches, involving real weapons. Featuring: Raven, Chris Jericho, Billy Corgan, Rob Van Dam, Diamond Dallas Page, Bubba Ray Dudley, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, Perry Saturn, Kevin Sullivan, Blue Meanie, Shane Douglas, Lodi, Brian Meyers, D’Lo Brown, Buff Bagwell, Sami Callihan, Moose, Scott D’Amore
The trailer doesn’t hold back as several wrestlers and wrestling personalities open up on the rampant drug use in ECW during the company’s first run. The long-term effects of ECW’s violent nature are also spotlighted in the trailer, with Jim ‘The Sandman’ Fullington, struggling to know the name of the CTE he states he is dealing with.
With the success of the Iron Claw biopic, Netflix’s Mr. McMahon docuseries, and VICE’s Dark Side of the Ring, there is a clear market for in-depth looks at wrestling’s past. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from Nevermore, which is sure to be an extremely informative watch for fans of Raven and the original ECW.
Posted October 25th, 2024 in News. Tagged: ECW, Raven.
It’s been over 20 years since the original ECW closed its doors, but Paul Heyman still remembers his time with the promotion very fondly. Speaking to Newsweek this week, the WWE Hall of Famer and former owner of ECW recalled his time leading the tribe of extreme.
“Every single day of it was just an honor and a blessing and a dream job.”
Heyman’s tenure with ECW turned the promotion from an Eastern-based territory to a violent, counterculture, cult-followed entity that was among the three biggest promotions in its heyday. In 2001, ECW closed its doors in the face of immense financial strain. Heyman would depart the company shortly before the company went under and would appear as a WWF commentator, replacing Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.
Paul Heyman Today
These days, Heyman remains part of WWE and his influence has bolstered talent from CM Punk to Brock Lesnar to Roman Reigns. Speaking about what’s to come in wrestling, Heyman was optimistic about the future.
“An era more of continued transparency. Intelligent discussion of the product itself. Authenticity, in terms of the characters. And just great stories.”
Heyman hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since being attacked by Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline, though he was backstage at SummerSlam and was seen conversing with Roman Reigns. This has led fans to speculate that Heyman’s return is imminent, though Reigns was by his own on last week’s SmackDown. Stay tuned to SE Scoops for the latest on Paul Heyman as the ECW magnate continues to be am important figure in wrestling.
WWE 2K24 will be adding new content as they roll out their first of five downloadable content from Season Pass. On May 15, fans who purchased the Season Pass for $39.99 will have access to WWE 2K24’s ECW Punk Pack.
The upcoming DLC will add CM Punk, Terry Funk, The Sandman, and The Dudley Boyz(Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) to the stacked game roster. Fans who bought will also receive new My Faction content, with a pack of cards including an ECW version of Paul Heyman as a Manager.
WWE 2K24’s ECW Punk Pack will mark the first time in a few years that all five characters have been in a WWE game. For The Sandman, it will be the second time he will be playable in a WWE video game since his debut in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. While fans will appreciate playing with some of their favorite ECW legends, Punk will likely be what many players will look forward to in the game.
Punk hasn’t been in a WWE game since WWE 2K15 in 2014. After he made his return to WWE last year following a turbulent tenure in All Elite Wrestling, fans hoped that he’d be in WWE 2K24. The game’s developers considered fans’ requests to add him for the first DLC swiftly.
Next week will be rewarding for fans who bought the Season Pass as WWE 2K24 has previewed the looks of each new character ahead of the launch.
WWE 2K24 ECW Punk Pack Character Models
In the lead-up to the official release of WWE 2K24’s ECW Punk Pack, fans have been given a sneak peek at how each character looks. The developers have done a great job making each wrestler look realistic to their actual counterparts. It’s noticeable that the developers were also selective in choosing which version of the characters they wanted to use in the game.
— wrestling game attires (@WWEGamesAttires) May 9, 2024
For example, a fan on X/Twitter pointed out that the WWE 2K24 version of Funk may be inspired by his appearances at ECW Barely Legal from 1997. However, The Sandman and The Dudley Boyz character models are from their time in the WWE. It’s unclear why the WWE 2K developers choose not to have each ECW legend be a version of what they were during their time in the company.
That said, each character model looks impressive and shows the evolution of video gaming to make each wrestler look realistic.
Overall Ratings
In addition to sharing a special look at each character in the upcoming DLC, WWE 2K24 has also released their overall ratings. The developers wanted to ensure they gave the correct stats based on wins/losses and championships when making decisions. This new strategy has led to some interesting comparisons as The Sandman (86) has a higher overall than the likes of Booker T(85), Harley Race (84), AJ Styles (85), and others.
— The Pro Wrestling Shoot (@TPWSpodcast) May 10, 2024
Among the ECW Punk Pack characters, Punk has a higher rating at 90. The second highest overall is Funk, with an 87. Unfortunately for D-Von, he was awarded the lowest of the group at 84 overall.
It’s worth noting that the game’s roster still has talent active in WWE below each DLC playable character’s stats.
ECW Punk Pack should be a welcomed addition to the current WWE 2K series installment. The new content may urge fans to jump back into WWE 2K24 to play with Punk or Funk.
WWE made a big deal about ECW WrestleMania weekend and it was reportedly for good reason.
With WrestleMania 40 taking place in Philadelphia it only seemed appropriate for WWE to induct Paul Heyman into the Hall Of Fame. The home of Extreme Championship Wrestling was in the “City Of Brotherly Love” and Heyman had a lot to say about Philly and the homebase fans.
Heyman hat-tipped not just the fans but the legends ECW helped to cultivate, shouting out names like Rob Van Dam and Bully Ray. He even donned the appropriate attire as he pulled out the hat, headset, cinderblock cell phone and leather duster. Heyman’s words immediately became an all-time Hall of Fame speech, but that speech could be bittersweet in the immediate.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Heyman’s speech signified WWE “spiritually closing” the book on ECW. This was also why Heyman was the primary induction for the year and the focus was put on Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer and The Dudley Boyz.
ECW fans experienced a satisfying follow-up on night two of WrestleMania 40 as Bully Ray ended up being the surprise referee for the Philadelphia Street Fight between The Final Testament and The Pride.
WWE also had a full ECW entryway set-up installation on display at WWE World over WrestleMania weekend.
As for the actual ECW residence, the 2300 Arena on the corner of Swanson and Ritner, the venue stayed very busy with live events including a Busted Open Radio party and RVD in competition.
Blue Meanie has had one heck of an April. Not only did the ECW legend have WrestleMania in his own backyard of south Philadelphia, but he had his own WrestleMania-themed party at his local watering hole, McCusker’s Tavern. However, even that gets better.
The night of that very party (aptly named “MeanieMania”) Meanie got married to his partner in a ceremony officiated by his trainer and fellow ECW alum, Al Snow. WrestleMania 40 weekend had to feel like a full circle moment for a main born and raised in the City of Brotherly Love and Meanie decided to commemorate such an occassion.
Over this past weekend, Meanie happened to share on his social media that he decided to get some new ink on his leg and it’s in particular tribute to his ECW roots.
Meanie revealed that he got a tattoo of the two street signs of Swanson and Ritner, the very location of where the ECW Arena (now called the 2300 Arena) is located.”
“Been wanting a new tattoo for a while. After Mania week and the love ECW got, this seemed the most appropriate. Thank you to Fredrick Tigerman at Carvin’ Ink for the amazing work!!”
Been wanting a new tattoo for a while. After Mania week and the love ECW got, this seemed the most appropriate. pic.twitter.com/bkiyHRFfm2
— Brian Heffron aka The Blue Meanie (@BlueMeanieBWO) April 20, 2024
Meanie also shared a time-lapsed video of the process of getting said tattoo.
Thanks to my dude Fred at Carvin' Tattoo for this great tattoo! I can't wait to see how it looks healed! Love it!! pic.twitter.com/jfFnK61KcJ
— Brian Heffron aka The Blue Meanie (@BlueMeanieBWO) April 21, 2024
While Meanie is a stalwart of Philadelphia, another fan happened to get a tattoo that punched his ticket to WrestleMania 40. Across the country in Los Angeles, a fan had The Rock autograph his arm and told ‘The People’s Champion’ that he’d in turn get it tattooed. Sure enough, he did and The Rock gave him and his daughter tickets and a flight to WrestleMania.’
Growing up as a young pro wrestling fan in the 1990s, I was lucky to have experienced a magical time when WCW Nitro and WWE Raw were running hot and heavy. I also discovered another renegade, rough-around-the-edges (in the best possible way) company called ECW.
I somehow came across it on a local station that also aired Memphis’ USWA and late at night on Sunshine Network in South Florida. The atmosphere you could liken to a rowdy rock show or college rager. Beers and blood flowed on the regular. Characters were more grounded and gritty. The show’s biting video packages and overall presentation were accompanied by a killer soundtrack. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was introduced to the likes of Alice & Chains, The Offspring, and Pantera through ECW.
Since ECW produced a more adult-oriented product, it was no surprise that when it ran the War Memorial Auditorium in South Florida I remember you had to be a certain age or be with an adult of 18 and over to attend. Now this could have been what my parents told me, but I do also vaguely recall that being a rule.
Anyway, since I was a younger teen at the time, I was bummed that I couldn’t find anyone to take me when they were in town. So now decades later, I think about how cool it would have been to go to an ECW event, let alone at the world-famous ECW Arena.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago when WrestleMania 40 invaded Philadelphia. With it came your usual cornucopia of shows including at the 2300 Arena. Yes, the beloved ECW Arena. This was my chance to be in, as they say in Hamilton, “the room where it happens.” With the schedule jam-packed, the only opportunity I had to experience the venue in its glory was the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow.
Pulling up to S Swanson Street, you see the big 2300 Arena signage and immediately get goosebumps. Of course, I had to get my photo in front of the building just like Paul Walter Hauser did. He was marking ou as well, and you can’t blame him.
The award-winning actor would headline the show in a bloody street fight against Sami Callihan. More on that later. Walking into the building, you see the time and care the owners put into updating the place while still respecting the ECW history in the past.
It was certainly surreal to see the banners celebrating the legends, past show posters, and the mural in the men’s bathroom in person. While there is no way you can recapture that lightning in the bottle of ECW, I think there were elements throughout the card that gave you the feeling you were transported back in the day.
Nostalgia could be felt seeing the likes of Rob Van Dam, The Full Blooded Italians, Masato Tanaka, Bill Alfonso, ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis and Jim Molineaux. However, the real icing on the extreme cake was the surprise during the Hauser and Callihan final match with an appearance from THE Sandman! Between the lights going out with the sounds of Metallica beginning to play and his iconic entrance, it was one of those moments that reminds you why you became a fan. What a moment in time.
You could say I finished my own story in a sense with another legendary spot off the bucket list. Insert ECW chant. Gone but never forgotten.
ECW alum Francine has reflected on a moment from the company in which she nearly lost her sight, stating nothing compares to the original promotion.
Francine was a staple of the original ECW and was one of the most featured women in the promotion’s history. This week marked 25 years since one of ECW’s most dominant tag teams, the Impact Players was formed. The duo of Lance Storm and Justin Credible.
During their formation, Credible and Storm brawled with Shane Douglas, who was being managed by Francine at the time. During a shocking moment (even by ECW standards!) Credible swung for Douglas with a cane but clocked Francine in the face. Taking to Twitter, Francine recalled nearly being blinded by the shot and named Paul Heyman as someone who told her not to block.
This was BRUTAL @HeymanHustle told me not to block it, so I didn’t. The kendo stick hit me right in the face/cheekbone. An inch more and I could have went blind. Nothing compares to the original #ECW! https://t.co/nF3mTEDFlo
By the time ECW closed its doors in 2001, Francine was managing Justin Credible, though was not signed to the WWF as part of the Invasion angle. Instead, Francine debuted for NWA: TNA in June 2002 and would feud with fellow ECW alum Elektra.
In 2005, Francine appeared for WWE as part of the ECW One Night Stand event, where she was attacked by Beulah McGillicutty. The next year, she signed with WWE as part of the revamped ECW brand. After competing in house show bikini contests, Francine would face Ariel to a no-contest on the September 26, 2006, edition of ECW on Sci-Fi before being released the next month.
In July 2021, Francine appeared in a backstage segment in Impact Wrestling via a video call with Brian Myers.
ECW legend and WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is the subject of the latest WWE Icons series. The new episode aired on Peacock and WWE Network just after the WrestleMania Backlash show and highlighted the career of the ‘Whole F’ing Show.’
During the special, RVD would discuss the ECW Television Title match that he believes made him a star in the company. “Bam Bam Bigelow was the Television Champion. I wrestled him in Buffalo, New York” Rob Van Dam began, discussing the match from 1998. “At the time, that was probably our best building with the biggest crowd.”
Rob Van Dam on Bam Bam Bigelow
“That match was very important to me,” Van Dam continued. “I loved wrestling with Bam Bam Bigelow. He was so strong. … The match was awesome, everything was just so good.”
“At the end of the match, I rolled him up. Winning the ECW Television Championship was a very big moment for me” RVD revealed. “I don’t think that I realized how pivotal that was going to be for my career.”
“What I probably didn’t realize was that all of a sudden I was a superstar” RVD concluded. “I held the TV Championship for two years, and it was very rewarding.”
This was the match that saw RVD fly from the top turnbuckle to the crowd and it became a moment that has been used in highlight packages ever since.
Check out a sneak peak of the new WWE Icons episode below:
WWE has applied to trademark two former ECW event names recently, including the name given to the first-ever ECW PPV from 1997.
According to a report from PWInsider, WWE is attempting to trademark the names “Barely Legal” and “Cyberslam” for wrestling purposes.
WWE’s trademark application states the following purposes the names Barely Legal and Cyberslam will be used for:
“a show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing wrestling news and information through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information.”
ECW Barely Legal was a one-time PPV held at the ECW Arena (2300 Arena) in Philadelphia, PA. The event drew just over 1100 fans and was the promotion’s first venture onto PPV.
ECW Cyberslam was an annual event the promotion held from 1996 to 2000. In addition to a wrestling event, Cyberslam would also include an interactive fan convention which included Q&As with wrestlers.
Former WWE star Tommy Dreamer claims ECW was being funded by WWE from day one. ECW kicked off back in 1992 as Eastern Championship Wrestling. It brought something completely different to the professional wrestling world upon its debut.
Fronted by Paul Heyman, the industry ultimately met its demise in April of 2001. WWE subsequently swooped in for the purchase.
ECW original, Tommy Dreamer, spoke to WSVN-TV Entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet at MLW’s War Games recently. He offered his thoughts on ECW and its demise.
From what he has heard, Dreamer believes ECW was being funded by WWE from day one:
“I did not find out that Paul was in bed with them until we did any episode of Byte This together and he said it on the air and if you watch my face you can see it.
“The story changes all the time, Jim Ross who was the head of talent relations at the time says they were in bed together all the time and that Paul Heyman would get checks, but Paul said he didn’t get checks.
“It’s many, many conspiracy theories. Shane McMahon told me Paul was in bed with WWE the entire time. Bruce Prichard said he was in bed with them since day one.”
Dreamer helped accompany Cody to the ring for his NWA World Title match against Nick Aldis. Dreamer was asked how the opportunity came about:
“Honestly, when I saw NWA’s YouTube show ’10 Pounds of Gold’ and Cody talked about Dusty’s five guys I seriously got all teary eyed. Then when talking with Glacier and DDP they were like we didn’t know that either.
“So now we’re forever connected. A lot of people say in life you can count your friends on one hand or you’re lucky if you can count them on two and for the fact that Dusty Rhodes counted three wrestlers that were part of his five guys, it was an amazing, amazing thing that we all witnessed together.
“Cody is someone I hired into WWE and The Young Bucks I use them all the time on my shows and they were like my main eventers before people thought they were main eventers. They’re my guys.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about his professional wrestling career. Austin first discussed not wanting to have the ECW World Title immediately thrusted on him upon his run with the promotion back in 1995:
“I was a very good mechanic in the ring, but I wasn’t a superstar yet, although we would call myself ‘Superstar’ Steve Austin there in ECW. I said, ‘Man everyone is going to be expecting me to take the title. Let me chase it, let me earn it.’ I wanted to get over to that ECW crowd or where ever it is from a television standpoint.
“Those people in that sh**hole arena, that ECW arena, it was a dump. When I say that, I mean that as a compliment. It was just this raw crazy atmosphere with a lot of guys working their asses off to build that place up and doing a hell of a job and all those great promos. So I just didn’t want to waltz in there and get handed a belt. I wanted to earn it through the boys in the company and earn the fans respect.”
“The Texas Rattlesnake” then talked about working with Vince McMahon and “The Chairman Of The Board’s” stance on creative:
“At a very early stage I wasn’t afraid to ask. Don’t get me wrong, me and Vince got to be very very good friends, but as you know, talking to Vince or developing a relationship with Vince is a very intimidating thing when you first walk in there. I knew after seven and a half years that I needed to take care of my ass so I had the wherewithal to talk with Vince McMahon and establish a relationship with him and offer my thoughts and ask questions to the man himself.
“Like I told him, my response to him was, ‘Vince, you got guys here 6’10, 7 feet tall, 300 to 330 pounds,’ I said, ‘I’m 6’2, 250, black trunks, black boots. If you take my personality, from me, I can’t compete. If you give me my personality, I can compete with anyone you got.’ And he says, ‘Okay Steve.’ And then he stopped editing me and that’s when we starting flying. You got to control your destiny. You can’t just hang it up and say, ‘Hey, creative ain’t got nothing for me.'”
Finally, Austin told the story of coming up with the “3:16” gimmick and his “that’s the bottom line” catchphrase:
“I wrestled Marc Mero, it was one of the first matches of the pay-per-view and I know I was going to work twice. I was going to work with Marc Mero and I was going to beat him and in the process he did this little whirligig behind
me where he’s basically going to hook his feet underneath my arms and do a rollup, but his toe caught me right in the mouth and busted the hell out of my lip. So I finished the match, but I needed to go to the hospital to get some stitches. We went to the hospital, they stitched me up in record time.
“They bring me back to the pay-per-view, I got all these stitches in my top lip. Vader really pummeled Jake and softened him up for me and worked his ribs and so they didn’t want me to bust all my stitches up, so it was going to be kind of a short match and then I was going to cut the promo. I show up backstage in an ambulance, I get out and there’s Dok Hendrix and Michael Hayes and he goes, ‘Steve, I just want to let you know, while you were gone, Jake cut a religious-based promo on you.’
“Back in the old days, when people were kicking a field goal for an extra point, they’d always hold up the John 3:16 signs in the endzone. Austin 3:16 popped in my head and I said, ‘Holy cow, I think I got one here.’ And that’s all I had was Austin 3:16 says, ‘I just whopped your ass.’ I’ll never forget, I got through with Jake, I beat him and there was PSAs waiting for me and I dropped that promo.
“I was a heel at the time, so if you go back and watch it, it didn’t elicit a huge reaction, although it did elicit a reaction. While I was still up there doing the promo with him, Vince was trying to wrap up the promo, he was on RF mic doing commentary feeding television and the house. I said, ‘I need a button on this promo.’ So that’s when I crapped out, ‘And that’s the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so.'”
You can listen to Austin on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.
PROGRESS will be heading to the United States for a special run of dates running August 4th to 12th.
The company has released an update on the availability of tickets for the tour and to also make a change that will see PROGRESS invade one of the most revered independent venues in history…Philly’s ECW Arena.
Tickets for the shows will be available on the dates listed below:
4th August – 2300 Arena, Philadelphia (aka The ECW Arena). TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM ET / 5PM UK
5th August – Melrose Memorial Hall, Melrose, Boston. TICKETS
7th August – La Boom, New York City. TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM ET / 5PM UK
9th August – Washington Hall, Seattle. TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY 28TH MAY AT 12PM PT / 8PM UK
11th August – Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Chicago TICKETS
12th August – Monaghan Knights of Columbus Hall, Livonia, Detroit TICKETS
The ticket pricing for the shows is as follows:
Philadelphia, Boston, NYC, Chicago, Detroit: $75 Front Row
$50 Row 2/3
$40 Row 4 and back in reserved seating (number of reserved seating rows varies from venue to venue)
$30 G.A.
Seattle:
$90 Front Row
$70 Row 2 or Balcony
$50 Row 3
$30 G.A. Standing
New content has been added to the WWE Network recently.
The streaming service has begun rolling out episodes of WWE’s ECW relaunch. The first 143 episodes are now available (although you still have to search for them on some devices), with the remaining episodes to be added later.
Other New Content on the Network
Additionally WWE added 2 new collections:
Piper’s Pit: Born to Controversy”
over 30 videos of Roddy Piper’s famous interview section.
Razor Ramon: Oozing Machismo
29 videos of Razor Ramon in WWE. Does not contain Scott Hall matches.
IPW:UK have announced the details of their April 30th show set to take place at the Clapham Grand in South West London. Headlining this event will be UK fan favourite and renowned Deathmatch competitor Jimmy Havoc taking on the ECW original and Hardcore icon Tommy Dreamer.
IPW have also announced that Pete Dunne, Joey Ryan, The London Riots and Matt Riddle will be competing on what looks set to be a memorable show for the UK scene this year.
Tickets for the event are available to purchase through the IPW:UK site: www.ipwuk.com/events/2017/04/30/extreme-measures-2017
WWE has released this extended preview for tonight’s “The Authentic Untold Story of ECW” special, which airs on the WWE Network immediately following RAW. The show was taped last week after SmackDown 900 and features Paul Heyman, Taz, The Dudley Boyz and Tommy Dreamer looking back on the revolution that was ECW.
Go beyond extreme and join Paul Heyman, Tommy Dreamer, The Dudley Boyz and Tazz for a unique look at the enduring legacy of ECW, exclusively on the award-winning WWE Network.
Posted November 21st, 2016 in News, WWE. Tagged: ECW.
– The ECW project taped last week at SmackDown 900 involving Paul Heyman, Taz, Tommy Dreamer and the Dudley Boyz is, “The Authentic Untold Story of ECW.” The program, which is hosted by Corey Graves, airs Monday night after RAW exclusively on WWE Network. Here’s a preview clip of Paul Heyman talking about repositioning ECW from “Eastern Championship Wrestling” to Extreme Championship Wrestling.
– SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon will be rocking these custom Air Jordan sneakers at tonight’s Survivor Series PPV. Shane is stepping in the ring for only the second time this year as part of the Team RAW vs. Team SmackDown men’s elimination match.
As we noted earlier in the week, WWE filmed an ECW special for the WWE Network backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown 900 show from Wilkes-Barre, PA. Paul Heyman, The Dudley Boyz, Taz and Tommy Dreamer were involved, with Corey Graves hosting.
According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE specifically did not want Joey Styles involved, a sign that there is heat with him related to his departure from the company earlier this year. Styles was ousted for comments about “why WWE pushes Roman Reigns” during a web clip. WWE’s decision to avoid working with Joey Styles on the ECW project was prior to his Donald Trump joke at last weekend’s Evolve show, so that adds additional context to his standing with the company.
At one point Jim Ross was considered as the host for the ECW special, but ultimately they went with Graves. No word yet on when it will air. Bubba Ray Dudley tweeted on Wednesday evening:
– Rhyno received eight stitches following his match on last night’s SmackDown Live. He was busted open by Mosh while standing on the apron towards the end of the match.
– Early 1993 episodes of Eastern Championship Wrestling are being added to the WWE Network. This is from the pre-Paul Heyman era of ECW, when the promotion was still owned by Tod Gordon.
– After Tuesday’s SamckDown went off the air, John Cena teamed with Roman Reigns to face Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins. The finish of the match saw Reigns hit Rollins with a spear to get the win.
WWE has a new ECW DVD on their release schedule for this year, and it’ll include several talents from the original promotion.
OMG! ECW’s Top 50 Craziest Moments is scheduled to be released on November 15th in the United States. It’ll be released on the 14th in the UK. The main countdown feature of the DVD will be hosted by ECW alumni Tazz, Joel Gertner, and Tommy Dreamer.
Here’s the official synopsis for the DVD from Amazon:
OMG! It’s back and this time with by far the craziest moments to date, as ECW rears its head on this series.
ECW was extreme and there is no shortage of OMG moments throughout its history. Hear exclusive interviews from ECW legends as they tell stories behind some of the craziest moments in ECW history!
The cover for the DVD has yet to be released. You can pre-order on Amazon.com.
One of the biggest complaints about WWE Network has always been the speed at which they release older content as well as the inconsistency in how they do it. The service added shows at a pretty consistent clip for its first couple months, but since then, it’s been all over the place. The last month or so has been encouraging, with a wide range of old shows added from all sorts of promotions and eras, but we still don’t really know when to expect anything.
In light of this, a fan asked Joey Styles on Twitter when we can expect more ECW shows, and Styles replied:
This was common in pro wrestling for many years, but ECW did it later than any other major promotion. Music was also a much bigger part of the aesthetic of ECW than it was of other promotions, though, so he’s right that it will take much longer to edit those shows than it would with other promotions.
The guys at the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast have a new interview out, and this time it’s with Matt Anoa’i, best known for his run in WWE as Rosey. In the interview, he discusses a wide range of topics, including his brother, Roman Reigns, and we’ve got some quotes for you to check out:
On the large quantity of big name star pro wrestlers that the Anoa’t family has produced:
The fact my family has grown as big as it has is actually extraordinary in itself. To be honest with you, I really don’t think there is going to be another family that’s going to top the amount of professional wrestlers in WWE that’s associated or tied into the same last name. We’ve produced a lot of family members going into WWE. Moving forward with that, it’s not going to slow down. We’ve got young bucks on the rise as we speak and lookout because they will make it one day. It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the Anoa’i family name, the Fatu family name it’s got everything to do with for some reason we’ve got a killer drive for this business and whoever is on the way up that’s their goal.
Did he expect his brother, Roman Reigns, to have so much success so soon and develop as a performer as quickly as he did?
I knew he was going to do something like that with whatever he did. I’m not trying to say anything that is stereotypical, that’s just his life. That’s just the way he’s been watching him grow up. It was going to happen regardless of whether it was in football or being the superstar at WalMart he’s just got “that” and it’s just the way it’s always been with him. It didn’t surprise me but the quickness of everything did because time does fly by and now that I look at it three or four years ago he was just getting into this business and now he’s sitting on top of the wrestling world.
Career advice from his father, Sika of the Wild Samoans:
He basically said exactly this: “Son, if you want it, go out and get it. Nobody is going to come knocking on your door to give it to you so get your ass out there and get it.” So I listened and I started down in New Orleans. I worked my way around the country. I went down to Puerto Rico and worked my way around there and all the way to actually signing a WWE contract in 96.
Getting trained by his Uncle Afa:
My Dad has a certain way of teaching things and my Uncle has a certain way of teaching things and everyone has a different way of teaching. They might be brothers but they have different styles and I was just lucky enough to grab a bunch of different little things from everybody. Having Samu as a mentor and one of my cousins, he worked pretty close with me and just getting all this information from several of my family members it made a very big impact at a very young age.
His brief runs in WWE and ECW with Samu as The Samoan Gangsta Party in the mid-’90s:
I remember a little bit. I ain’t going to lie to you I was f*cked up pretty good through those days so there was a lot of times where I forgot what happened the night before and was just happy I was waking up in a hotel. I don’t exactly know who’s hotel, but it was somebody’s. At that point in time I did like what ECW was dishing out and it was fun to walk into a locker room and smell blood and see a little bit more of an old school type of thing. It brought me back to when I was between like 8 and 15 years old running the roads with my cousin The Tonga Kid down in the Gulf Coast area.
It kept it un-corporate for a little while. Everyone knew it was all moving to be corporate and business attitudes but ECW was a nice shot of having a lot of fun. With WWE, there were some things that happened that I really didn’t understand since I was still relatively new to the business and specifically with WWE. I let my cousin handle his business with Vince and my cousin just called me up and said we are going to move on from here so I just packed my bag and said alright lets go. I told them that I will be back and they said they know I will and it just pushed it of a little bit longer but it was none of my business at the time on why we didn’t stay very long.
Teaming with Umaga/Jamal/Eddie “Eki” Fatu as 3 Minute Warning:
I was very comfortable with it and I know he was too. It seemed to fit pretty well that we were both around the same size and both had the same understanding of how we wanted to work our matches and how we wanted the wrestling world to view us. We seemed to mesh pretty good but we are family too so that didn’t mean that we didn’t have our fair share of the down part of being around each other for more than we were our own families, but for the most part it was just something that clicked and it turned out that it worked out pretty good and of course when we split we were still pretty much okay on the back end of that. My cousin is very missed and I miss him every day and I’ve got a picture of him on my end table right next to my bed and I talk to him every day. He was a hell of a guy and I love him very much.
Looking back at 3 Minute Warning’s debut:
We didn’t have time to soak it in. We didn’t know we were doing that until the day of the show. Arnie came up to us and gave us some money and said we’ve got to go to the mall and get some clothes and that we were starting that night. We didn’t know what we were going to get and he said “Hip-Hop” clothes. So hell-yeah, we kind of bypassed the mall and found a spot in the worst part of town where we knew we could pick some sh*t up and I think we bought it in an Indian convenience store and I don’t know why but for some reason in the ghetto you can always find 6XL shirts in “Hip-Hop” fashion.
In the full interview, Anoa’I also talks about his team with the Hurricane, being a tag team champion, the controversial {HLA” segment, and more.
