ECW facts, tidbits, and stuff people forgot

[JoeDirt 0]

The WCW thread really turned into a great one that people really seemed to enjoy, so with the ECW DVD coming out this week I thought it would be fitting to start an ECW thread. Post something ECW-related that you think the majority of people on this board won't know/remember.

 

Go!

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Would rumors of The Ultimate Warrior at one time petitioning to go into ECW, only to back out when he wanted either Spike Dudley or Taz to crush him count?

[JoeDirt 0]

Oh, I have a question. How/when did Sabu come back after no-showing that show in 1995 where Heyman buried him publicly?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Oh, I have a question. How/when did Sabu come back after no-showing that show in 1995 where Heyman buried him publicly?

He returned at November To Remember 1995. Heyman entered the ring after the first or second match, called for the lights to go down, and when they came up, Sabu was in the ring. The crowd went apeshit. Sabu and Heyman hugged. Later in the night, Sabu wrestled Hack Myers in a pretty entertaining extended squash.

[BUTT 0]

What the hell was the deal with the main event of Hardcore Heaven 2000? It was supposed to be Justin vs. Dreamer vs. Storm, but Credible told Dreamer that unless it was a singles match between him and Storm, he would vacate the title. Dreamer, then not wanting to soil the unbroken lineage of the ECW title, selflessly backed out of the match. Why didn't they just have the three-way? I know they wanted to build to a Credible-Dreamer match for the title, but it's not like it would have hurt Dreamer that much if he had jobbed.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

What the hell was the deal with the main event of Hardcore Heaven 2000? It was supposed to be Justin vs. Dreamer vs. Storm, but Credible told Dreamer that unless it was a singles match between him and Storm, he would vacate the title. Dreamer, then not wanting to soil the unbroken lineage of the ECW title, selflessly backed out of the match. Why didn't they just have the three-way? I know they wanted to build to a Credible-Dreamer match for the title, but it's not like it would have hurt Dreamer that much if he had jobbed.

Every match ranged from being solid to very good. But the show was clearly being booked on the fly, and it showed. Even as late as the day of the show, the main event was being changed around again. The original main event was a three-way with new champ Justin Credible, his soon-to-be-departed tag team partner Lance Storm, and the former champ who held the belt for literally a few minutes, Tommy Dreamer. At one point during the day there were plans of turning the three-way into a four-way, with Raven, as a way to eliminate Dreamer to leave the Storm v Credible as the ending with Credible winning clean, which was the idea they wanted to get to. Technically the plan going in was for Storm and Credible to work together as a tag team to attack Dreamer, and take him out with stuff piledriver. Raven was to hit the ring for a hot comeback, but eventually also be double-teamed and stuff piledriven. Credible would pin Dreamer while Storm would pin Raven, and they would tease that they were still together as a team, but then Storm would attack Credible and the match would go on as a singles match. When Raven was pulled from the show, they changed the scenario because they didn't want emphasis on Dreamer being pinned (with Raven being pinned at the same time, the emphasis on the Dreamer pin would be diluted), since he has to headline the next PPV against Credible, so they switched to where Dreamer never got into the match in the first place.

 

Credit - WON

[Special K 0]

Just reading about the Sabu reappearance reminds me why I loved the ol' E-C-Dub

 

Here's a question: before his untimely injury, RVD was obviously being groomed for the worlf title (though the tv title was probably worth more due to his almost 2 year reign) Did they have a plan for to whom he would job the TV title? And when would he win the world title?

 

Also: was Sandman often actually drunk for matches?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Here's a question: before his untimely injury, RVD was obviously being groomed for the worlf title (though the tv title was probably worth more due to his almost 2 year reign) Did they have a plan for to whom he would job the TV title? And when would he win the world title?

 

Also: was Sandman often actually drunk for matches?

I don't know who he would have dropped the TV Title to, but I would guess Rhino. His winning the World Title was meant to be the first big program once they got national tv, but various circumstances kept it from happening.

 

And yes, Sandman was usually drunk for his matches in ECW. By his own admission, he was only ever sober for three matches during his ECW stays, and each time he got injured.

[JoeDirt 0]

How long were Ian and Axl Rotten in ECW? I know Ian started IWA-MS in 1996, so did he have a falling out with Heyman and if so, over what?

 

Were there ever any plans to put the world title on Tommy Dreamer at Barely Legal instead of Terry Funk? It just seems that would have been the perfect place for Dreamer to finally beat Raven.

 

Why did New Jack never get in any real trouble for the Mass Transit incident? Because Kulas falsified documents and had asked New Jack to cut him?

 

When did Corino debut in ECW?

 

What happened between Mind Games in September of 96 where Sandman spit beer on Savio Vega and the ECW Invades RAW show in February 97? Did they build up ECW at all over those few months?

[JoeDirt 0]

Would rumors of The Ultimate Warrior at one time petitioning to go into ECW, only to back out when he wanted either Spike Dudley or Taz to crush him count?

What/when was this?

[Vanhalen 0]

Who or what were Stonecutter Media, as their name comes up a lot on a Mick Foley comp I have of ECW stuff

[Scroby 0]

What the hell was the deal with the main event of Hardcore Heaven 2000? It was supposed to be Justin vs. Dreamer vs. Storm, but Credible told Dreamer that unless it was a singles match between him and Storm, he would vacate the title. Dreamer, then not wanting to soil the unbroken lineage of the ECW title, selflessly backed out of the match. Why didn't they just have the three-way? I know they wanted to build to a Credible-Dreamer match for the title, but it's not like it would have hurt Dreamer that much if he had jobbed.

 

Storm was heading to WCW, so thats the reason why the match happen. Credible had spit on the tag titles that him and Storm held which started a light feud till Storm left. I beleave Credible thought the match was just set up so Storm and Dreamer could kick has ass and take the title off of him, because and please correct me if I'm wrong it was an elimation match.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

How long were Ian and Axl Rotten in ECW? I know Ian started IWA-MS in 1996, so did he have a falling out with Heyman and if so, over what?

 

Were there ever any plans to put the world title on Tommy Dreamer at Barely Legal instead of Terry Funk? It just seems that would have been the perfect place for Dreamer to finally beat Raven.

 

Why did New Jack never get in any real trouble for the Mass Transit incident? Because Kulas falsified documents and had asked New Jack to cut him?

 

When did Corino debut in ECW?

 

What happened between Mind Games in September of 96 where Sandman spit beer on Savio Vega and the ECW Invades RAW show in February 97? Did they build up ECW at all over those few months?

They arrived in late 1993. Ian actually teamed with Jason Knight to take on Public Enemy at Ultraclash '93. Ian had a big falling out with Paul over being paid $350 for 3 shots, which included a barbed wire bat match and a Taipai Death match. Ian felt he should get more, Heyman either didn't or wasn't forthcoming with more money right away, and Ian walked.

 

Terry Funk was always going to get the ECW World Title at Barely Legal.

 

New Jack didn't get into trouble over the Mass Transit incident because when it came time for the civil trial, Kulas, for whatever reason, chose to fuck up a case he probably would have won by lying over and over again. He was a terrible witness, who lied constantly, and killed a case he had a strong chance of winning.

 

Steve Corino debuted in early 1999 I think, possibly at the first ECW Arena show of the year.

 

The Mind Games deal was the first part of a two part angle. As well as what you saw at Mind Games, Tazz and Bill Alfonso also jumped the rail at Raw the following night. It didn't lead anywhere. The December WWF house show tour was called Holiday Hell, and that was apparently meant to lead to another angle with ECW, but that fell through. The ECW invasion of Raw on February was built up to the week before, when Jerry Lawler snatched an ECW sign from a plant who was sitting by the commentary table, and ripped ECW, daring them to show up on Raw the next week. This angle was done, both to give ECW press for Barely Legal, and because the WWF was going to have almost no real names at hand, because of a European tour, and they wanted something to give Raw a boost with so many names not there.

 

QUOTE (ChrisMWaters @ Nov 19 2004, 12:38 AM)

Would rumors of The Ultimate Warrior at one time petitioning to go into ECW, only to back out when he wanted either Spike Dudley or Taz to crush him count? 

 

 

What/when was this?

 

Sometime in late 1999, Warrior posted a message about Paul wanting him to come in to ECW. Warrior said he would, but only on the condition that he had a shootfight with an ECW wrestler, and that if Warrior was still standing after 30 seconds, then Warrior would be given ownership of ECW. Translation: Paul wanted him to do a job, and this was Warrior's way of saying no.

[Dewe 0]

Heyman said on the first ECW on TNN show that Sabu was banned from every arena in USA. Can someone explain that angle?

[Vanhalen 0]

Vince sort of semi apologises on the ECW DVD for jobbing Tazz to HHH four days after winning the ECW title from Mike Awesome, what was the reason behind this match, just to get HHH more over as conquering the best ECW has to offer fairly quickly?

[redbaron29 0]

Vince sort of semi apologises on the ECW DVD for jobbing Tazz to HHH four days after winning the ECW title from Mike Awesome, what was the reason behind this match, just to get HHH more over as conquering the best ECW has to offer fairly quickly?

It was probably to make the ECW brand seem like a lesser brand then the WWE. As Vince says in the DVD, he's not sure why he did something like that, because for wanting to help out a brand, what he did wasn't very helpfull. Which is probably code for Vince may have been, contrary to what he says, even a little concerned with ECW as competition.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

How many Dudleys were there and why so many of them?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

How many Dudleys were there and why so many of them?

I don't know WHY, but here's what I remember:

 

Dudley Dudley

Big Dick Dudley

Bubba Ray Dudley

D-Von Dudley

Spike Dudley

Dances With Dudleys

Chubby Dudley

Sign Guy Dudley

[Guest Pariah]

Snot Dudley

[Guest M. Harry Smilac]

How long did Sid last and did he ever do anything of note besides powerbomb Spike through a table?

 

How long was Jericho there for?

 

What ever happened to the Pitbulls?

 

Who were the graduates of the House of Hardcore school and what are they doing now?

 

Who did Terry Funk eventually lose the title to after barely legal?Franchise?Sandman?

 

Before the infamous match between Sabu/Benoit were he breaks Sabu's neck when Chris Benoit is being introduced, Joey Styles already refers to Benoit as the crippler on commentary before the match even happens.Was this because Joey was doing the commentary after the match took place or did Benoit already have the monicker?

 

New Jack didn't get into trouble over the Mass Transit incident because when it came time for the civil trial, Kulas, for whatever reason, chose to fuck up a case he probably would have won by lying over and over again. He was a terrible witness, who lied constantly, and killed a case he had a strong chance of winning.

 

I thought I remembered reading that one of the major deciding factors was that Kulas on the tape was clearly shown puffing his cheeks to make himself bleed the way he did.I've seen the clip and even when it's pouring out like a fountain he is in fact still puffing his cheeks like they claimed.

Not defending Jack because he makes Bob Holly look like an angel in comparison by how rough he went on the kid.

That should be a dream match for the fans of stiff wrestling,Holly Vs. Jack

[Guest Pariah]

How long was Jericho there for?

 

Who were the graduates of the House of Hardcore school and what are they doing now?

Jericho came into ECW at Big A$$ Extreme Bash 96 and lost to Taz, he stayed there until he joined WCW. He held the ECW TV Title for a while as well.

 

D'Von Dudley was one of the first graduates I believe, Chris Chetti, Danny Doring and Roadkill are also graduates of the House of Hardcore IIRC.

[Guest nick1091]

How many Dudleys were there and why so many of them?

I don't know WHY, but here's what I remember:

 

Dudley Dudley

Big Dick Dudley

Bubba Ray Dudley

D-Von Dudley

Spike Dudley

Dances With Dudleys

Chubby Dudley

Sign Guy Dudley

The tidbit I can add that many people might not know is that before becoming Bubba Ray Dudley, his first ECW appearance was at a show in Middletown, NY (the same one Steve Austin debuted at) I went to, serving as a bodyguard of sorts for Bill Alphonso, who at the time was in the feud with Tod Gordon and looking to be chokeslammed by 911.

 

And my; what was the storyline reason for the split of the Gangstas?

[Youth N Asia 0]

"Who did Terry Funk eventually lose the title to after barely legal? Franchise? Sandman?"

 

He lost it to Sabu at Born to be Wired in a barb wire match. I was a show in between Barely Legal and Haredcore Heaven 97...and I'm pretty sure it was an accident. Funk and Sabu got so tangled up in the barbwire neither could move. Sabu happened to be on top of him and the ref went to count Funk out, and he kicked out. But they were still tangled and the ref did it again and Funk didn't kick out. They could not get out of the wire and it seemed like a lackluster finsih.

 

Then Douglas won the title at Hardcore Heaven, then lost it very pointlessly to Bam Bam before Novmember to Remember 97, only to get it back at N2R, then held it all of 1998 and 14 months in all before losing it to Taz at Guilty As Charged 99. He had the belt all of 98 despire being always injured and not defending that often...but the build up with him and Taz was great.

 

 

 

"And my; what was the storyline reason for the split of the Gangstas?"

 

I don't know if there ever was a reason for the split. Mustafa just left ECW and left Jack without a partner in 96 I believe. Jack usually worked singles after that or teamed with Kronus as the Gangstanators (even won the tag titles). Then New Jack brought Mustafa back in 99 against the Dudley Boys, only to have him turn on Jack and align with the Dudleys, leading to a bad match where Jack beat Mustafa and he was never seen again.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

How long did Sid last and did he ever do anything of note besides powerbomb Spike through a table?

 

How long was Jericho there for?

 

What ever happened to the Pitbulls?

 

Who were the graduates of the House of Hardcore school and what are they doing now?

 

Who did Terry Funk eventually lose the title to after barely legal?Franchise?Sandman?

 

Before the infamous match between Sabu/Benoit were he breaks Sabu's neck when Chris Benoit is being introduced, Joey Styles already refers to Benoit as the crippler on commentary before the match even happens.Was this because Joey was doing the commentary after the match took place or did Benoit already have the monicker?

I only remember Sid being there for two PPV's, Guilty as Charged 1999 and Hardcore Heaven 1999.

 

According to Jericho's site, he debuted in ECW on Feburary 2nd 1996 and debut for WCW on August 20th 1996. So in between those dates.....

 

I know that Pitbull #1 still occasionally wrestles on the Indy circuit. Putbull #2 unfortunately died on September 26, 2003......here's more info......

 

Anthony "Pitbull 2" Durante Found Dead At His Home In Misquamicut, RI

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Reported by Steve Fox on September 26, 2003

 

 

Overdose suspected in Westerly deaths

The police are waiting for a toxicology report from the state medical examiner's office to learn what caused the deaths of the two people found in a Linwood Avenue house.

 

 

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 27, 2003

 

BY PAUL DAVIS and MEGAN MATTEUCCI

Journal Staff Writers

 

WESTERLY -- A former pro wrestler and the mother of his two children, found in a Misquamicut home Thursday, probably died of drug overdoses, Westerly Police Chief Stephen N. Baker said yesterday.

 

Detectives confirmed that Anthony Durante, 36, had worked as a wrestler named "The Pitbull" in the now-defunct Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling league.

 

The police found Durante and Dianna C. Hulsey, 29, a Wal-Mart cashier, lying face-up next to each other after Durante's stepfather called the police Thursday. Baker said the couple had been dead for at least 24 hours.

 

The police found the couple's children, a 21-month-old boy and 8-month-old girl, inside the rented house at 3 Linwood Ave. Both were at Westerly Hospital yesterday. They had some injuries, said Vincent McAteer, chief of child protective services with the state Department of Children, Youth and Families. The agency will seek temporary custody but will eventually place the children with relatives, he said.

 

The police found the boy foraging for food and the girl in a crib in the bedroom Thursday evening. The police also found prescription drugs and a needle in the house.

 

There was no evidence of trauma to either victim, but "there was evidence of recent drug use," Baker said. He declined to say what kind of drugs were found. The police cannot determine the cause of death until they get a toxicology report from the state medical examiner's office, he said.

 

"I'm not ruling anything out, but it appears a third party is not involved," he said. No weapons were found.

 

Although the police found wedding pictures in the house, Baker would not say whether the couple were married because he could not find a marriage certificate. The police also found wrestling photos in the house, he said.

 

Durante wrestled as a 225-pound member of the "Pitbull" tag-team in the ECW and later in Pro-Pain Wrestling in New Jersey in the late 1980s and 1990s. ECW declared bankruptcy in 2001, according to the Wrestling Information Archive. Durante also wrestled in a martial arts league and was known for his "Superbomb" finishing move, in which he jumped off a table or ladder in a cannonball onto his opponent, according to a World Wrestling Entertainment Web site.

 

Durante moved from Phladelphia to Rhode Island after he ran into financial problems several years ago. In September 2001, he filed for bankruptcy after he fell behind in his mortgage payments on a home at 1720 South 11th St., said Michael A. Cibik, a lawyer with Cibik & Cataldo in Philadelphia.

 

Cibik said Durante lost a job at a warehouse and once worked as a high-rise window cleaner.

 

In November, Durante and Hulsey moved in with a Westerly relative; three weeks ago they moved to the Linwood Avenue house, Baker said.

 

Durante got a job in February as a money-counter at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn. He was last seen at work on Monday.

 

Durante has numerous drug charges on record with the police in Pennsylvania, but there are no criminal charges against him in Rhode Island, Baker said. Hulsey has family in Baltimore and no ties to Rhode Island, he said.

 

Yesterday, neighbors said they did not know the couple and rarely saw the children.

 

"I've never seen them around. One would think you would see these people around if they had kids," said neighbor Bob Nist, of 9 Linwood Ave.

 

The only House of Hardcore graduate to my knowledge was Chris Chetti. I know other's went there for training, but Chetti was the only graduate.

 

Terry Funk lost the title to Sabu in the famous "Born to be Wired" match that is truly one of the most if not THE most gruesome match in ECW history. I think Funk was scheduled to keep in the match, but they were so wrapped up in barbed wire that they had to to a pin finish where Sabu won because they needed to be cut out of the wire itself.

 

I honestly don't really know about the Crippler thing, but I would say it was because it was taped after the match had happened. I don't remember hearing them call him the crippler before that. Even if they did.........they played it up WAY more after the Sabu incident.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Sid debuted at House Party 99 (January) and squashed Kronus I believe, in maybe John's last ECW show.

[Guest nick1091]

"And my; what was the storyline reason for the split of the Gangstas?"

 

I don't know if there ever was a reason for the split. Mustafa just left ECW and left Jack without a partner in 96 I believe. Jack usually worked singles after that or teamed with Kronus as the Gangstanators (even won the tag titles). Then New Jack brought Mustafa back in 99 against the Dudley Boys, only to have him turn on Jack and align with the Dudleys, leading to a bad match where Jack beat Mustafa and he was never seen again.

Thanks - is the '99 run where he was known as "Mr." Mustafa? WTF?

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

"And my; what was the storyline reason for the split of the Gangstas?"

 

I don't know if there ever was a reason for the split. Mustafa just left ECW and left Jack without a partner in 96 I believe. Jack usually worked singles after that or teamed with Kronus as the Gangstanators (even won the tag titles). Then New Jack brought Mustafa back in 99 against the Dudley Boys, only to have him turn on Jack and align with the Dudleys, leading to a bad match where Jack beat Mustafa and he was never seen again.

Thanks - is the '99 run where he was known as "Mr." Mustafa? WTF?

That would be the one.

[King Cucaracha 0]

Sid debuted at House Party 99 (January) and squashed Kronus I believe, in maybe John's last ECW show.

Wasn't it at Guilty As Charged?

 

Okay, at Hardcore Heaven '97 the Triple Threat were in the ring after Douglas' World Title win. Then, The Dudleyz came down and there was a big brawl at the end of show with if IIRC The Dudleyz destroying some of the 'lesser' wrestlers. What was that all about?

[razazteca 0]

I remember something about ICP refusing to work one of ECWs PPVs or big shows because they wanted to win the match so they went to WCW instead weeks later.

 

Any reason why Johnny Smith did not work the PPV he was advertised for? I think it was supposed to be RVD vs Smith at Anachary Rulz but what happened instead was RVD vs Balls Mahoney.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Shit...I think GAC was before House Party