ASJ , have you ever been to any small level independent shows , or do you just like the big-time stuff ?
There's a local group called GCW that runs Palmerdale and Pell City regularly , it's pretty cool if you like independent wrestling. I used to go all the time but a couple of years ago i had a spat with the owner and quit going.
^
I thought the best company ever was the ECW brand out of Philly when Tom Gordon (not the relief pitcher) founded it before he sold the company to Paul Heyman.
Gordon's ECW had great *extreme* (border line nuts) wrestlers like Sabu, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Taz (before he messed up his neck) was a beast, Rob Van Dam (when he was in his 20's was an extreme high flyer) Joey Styles..................
Crowds at ECW events were well known for their rowdiness and distinctive chants that either supported or demeaned what was transpiring in the ring. ECW chants such as "You fucked up!" and "Holy shit!" became infamous during those shows, and are still used by fans in other promotions. ECW crowds would sing along to a multitude of wrestler's theme songs, as all wrestlers used popular music as entrance themes.
In ECW, there were virtually no rules. The role of referees only included counting pinfalls and acknowledging submissions. ECW was known for making popular several types of matches, including the 3-Way Dance, Barbed wire match, Flaming Tables match, Singapore Cane match among others.
The "Big Two" (World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation) began hiring away their talent. ECW, according to Heyman, was the first victim of the "Monday Night Wars" between WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw.
The WWF (WWE) had a working relationship with ECW, going so far as to participate in cross-promotional angles, providing talent on loan in exchange for developed young talent and marketable gimmicks (Al Snow's "head" gimmick among them), and even providing financial aid to Heyman for a considerable period of time. WCW on the other hand, refused to even mention ECW by name (with a few notable exceptions; including a passing remark by Raven in late 1997 and Kevin Nash and Scott Hall mentioning it as a viable second option in American wrestling in a slight on their main competition, the World Wrestling Federation), referring to it as "barbed wire city" and "a major independent promotion that wrestled in bingo halls" during a segment directed at Diamond Dallas Page.
I thought the best company ever was the ECW brand out of Philly when Tom Gordon (not the relief pitcher) founded it before he sold the company to Paul Heyman.
Gordon's ECW had great *extreme* (border line nuts) wrestlers like Sabu, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Taz (before he messed up his neck) was a beast, Rob Van Dam (when he was in his 20's was an extreme high flyer) Joey Styles..................
Crowds at ECW events were well known for their rowdiness and distinctive chants that either supported or demeaned what was transpiring in the ring. ECW chants such as "You fucked up!" and "Holy shit!" became infamous during those shows, and are still used by fans in other promotions. ECW crowds would sing along to a multitude of wrestler's theme songs, as all wrestlers used popular music as entrance themes.
In ECW, there were virtually no rules. The role of referees only included counting pinfalls and acknowledging submissions. ECW was known for making popular several types of matches, including the 3-Way Dance, Barbed wire match, Flaming Tables match, Singapore Cane match among others.
The "Big Two" (World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation) began hiring away their talent. ECW, according to Heyman, was the first victim of the "Monday Night Wars" between WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw.
The WWF (WWE) had a working relationship with ECW, going so far as to participate in cross-promotional angles, providing talent on loan in exchange for developed young talent and marketable gimmicks (Al Snow's "head" gimmick among them), and even providing financial aid to Heyman for a considerable period of time. WCW on the other hand, refused to even mention ECW by name (with a few notable exceptions; including a passing remark by Raven in late 1997 and Kevin Nash and Scott Hall mentioning it as a viable second option in American wrestling in a slight on their main competition, the World Wrestling Federation), referring to it as "barbed wire city" and "a major independent promotion that wrestled in bingo halls" during a segment directed at Diamond Dallas Page.
Yes , i used to love ECW. I went to one of their ppv's here in B'ham in 96 or 97 (yes ECW actually did a ppv in B'ham).
My favorite ECW memory (i bought this on tape from RF video) was Cactus Jack's ECW farewell before he left for WWF/E. After the match they played "New York New York" and he paraded around the ring with the downs syndrome guy that always sat front row at the ECW Arena. (it would almost bring tears to your eyes)
...btw , Raven recently worked one of the local GCW shows here.
My favorite ECW memory (i bought this on tape from RF video) was Cactus Jack's ECW farewell before he left for WWF/E. After the match they played "New York New York" and he paraded around the ring with the downs syndrome guy that always sat front row at the ECW Arena. (it would almost bring tears to your eyes)
...btw , Raven recently worked one of the local GCW shows here.
I have only ever went to one of the smaller shows...it was at my high schools gym and I don't remember who it was that fought. I don't watch it that much anymore, but I usually try to catch the Rumble match which has always been my favorite. We did go to the Rumble a couple of years back when Edge won it in Atlanta. Also went to Atlanta for WrestleMania last year since we had never done that before either. I see advertisement for that group you are talking about all over the place...guess it is because of all the different places I go for work. I might check them out one day.
