Professional wrestling company Extreme
Champioship Wrestling, or ECW, for short, filed for bankruptcy
under the Chapter 11 U.S. Bankruptcy Laws on April 4th, 2001
through it's parent company, the HHG Corporation. ECW Owner Paul
E. Heyman was represented in court by Joseph Capobianco of the
"Reisman, Peirez & Reisman" law firm from Garden
City, New York. Not only were ECW lawyers on hand, but so were
lawyers of the rival wrestling promotion, World Wrestling
Federation Entertainment, who was a creditor in the case. Judge
Adlai S. Hardin Jr. presided over the case. When the Southern
District of New York Bankruptcy Court released their findings
pertaining to the debts of ECW, HHG, and Heyman, grappling fans
were in awe after viewing such big numbers.
Through official documents obtained from the
bankruptcy court, it was discovered that Heyman, through HHG,
owed $8,881,435.17 in unpaid bills. Heyman himself, however,
claims that that number is inaccurate and that he only owes
$1,385,500. Here are ECW's debts, in alphabetical order (Please
note that there are NO typos in the below numbers):
COMPANIES:
- American Cable Productions, Inc.: $243,000
- Annodeus, Inc. (subsidiary of Acclaim): $1,000,000
- Farm Club Online, Inc.: $300,000
- In Demand L.L.C. (U.S. Pay-Per-View network): $150,000
- MSG (Madison Square Garden) Network, Inc. (America's
largest regional sports network): $244,000
- New York Department of Taxation & Finance: $30,000
(for unpaid taxes pertaining to ECW live shows)
- The Original San Fransico Toymakers: $250,000
- The State of Connecticut: $4,000 (for unpaid taxes
pertaining to ECW live shows)
- Stonecutter Production: $75,000
- World Wrestling Federation Entertainment: $587,500
- Other unknown debts to companies: advertising agencies,
cable companies, courier companies, financial
institutions, hospitals, insurance companies (including
the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) for unpaid taxes by
Heyman), J-Mar Championship Belts, media corporations
(including "The National Network," or TNN, for
short), travel agencies, and universities
PEOPLE (Non-ECW Wrestlers, Mangers, or
Announcers):
- Eric Kulas (for the New Jack/Exacto-Knife Incident, which
resulted in Kulas almost dying due to SEVERE blood-loss
when Jack began to "shoot" on him, and cut his
head open with an Exacto-Knife, resulting in NUMEROUS cut
arteries and blood veins. The tape of this incident is
one of the most-wanted by hardcore wrestling fans, but is
very rare. New Jack was found guilty for his part in the
incident, and got off all charges.): UNKNOWN
- Steve Karel (former-ECW Lawyer): $50,000
- Victor Quinnones (Peurto-Rican wrestling promoter):
$12,000
PERSONAL ITEMS:
- 1998 Ford F-800 Truck: $14,455.14
- Personal Bank Account: $2,000
- Unsold ECW Merchandise Catalog Products: $4,000
ECW WRESTLERS, MANAGERS, or ANNOUNCERS:
- Angel: $500
- Balls Mahoney: $4,000
- Bill Alfonso: $5,000
- Carlene Moore (Jazz): $1,000
- Chilly Willy: $500
- Chris Hammerick: $300
- C.W. Anderson: $500
- Dawn Marie Psaltis (Dawn Marie): $9,000
- Dan Morrison (Danny Doring): $2,100
- Don Callis (Cyrus): $12,000
- E.Z. Money: $300
- Francine Fournier (Francine): $47,275
- Francisco Pantoja Islas (Super Crazy): $5,000
- James Fullington (The Sandman): UNKNOWN
- James Mitchell (Sinister Minister): UNKNOWN
- James Stone (Little Guido): $25,000
- Jerome Young (New Jack): UNKNOWN
- Jerry Lynn: UNKNOWN
- Joey Bonsignore (Joey Styles): $50,480
- Johnny Swinger: UNKNOWN
- John Watson (Mikey Whipwreck): $12,000
- Julio Deniro: $300
- Kenneth Rinehurst (Jack Victory): $3,000
- Lou E. Dangerously: $7,000
- Matthew Hyson (Spike Dudley): UNKNOWN
- Michael Depoli (Roadkill): $21,250
- Michael Moraldo (Nova): $4,000
- Pat Kenney (Simond Diamond): $9,000
- Peter Polaco (Justin Credible): $7,990
- Robert Szatkowski (Rob Van Dam): $150,000
- Scotty Anton: UNKNOWN
- Shane Douglas: $48,000
- Tajiri Yoshihero (Yoshihiro Tajiri): $5,000
- Terry Richards (Rhino): $50,000
- Thomas Marquez (Tom Marquez): $500
- Tommy Laughlin (Tommy Dreamer): $100,000
- Tony Devito: $500
- Tony Mamaluke: $600