Professional wrestling fans have always enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia - reminiscing upon the glory days of the pro wrestling industry, which - unfortunately - only exist for the public through the footage captured at such shows.

The first live professional wrestling show to be held at Viking Hall was scheduled, promoted, and operated by the late, great Eddie Gilbert under the license of Eastern Championship Wrestling, the precursor to the promotion which is now remembered as Extreme Championship Wrestling. E(Eastern)CW- from its formation in June 1992 until August 27, 1994, when it became ExtremeCW - was one of the many different territories that was owned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Operated by Eddie Gilbert and Tod Gordon, ECW began running its first shows in the Philadelphia area in June 1992 at venues such as the Original Philadelphia Sports Bar, the Chestnut Cabaret, the Aztec Club, the Tabor Rams Youth Association building, the Kensington Ramblers Youth Association building, Morrisville High School (1), the Radisson Hotel, and Cabrini College (2), which was the location of the promotion's first television taping in March 1993. The show was broadcasted on SportsChannel Philadelphia, a very small, part-time sports network that aired locally in the Philadelphia area.

Finally, on May 14, 1993, ECW debuted at Viking Hall, which would eventually become known worldwide as The ECW Arena. Competitors on the card included Road Warrior Hawk, Chris Candido, Don "The Rock" Muraco, a young Sandman, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert, and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, (among others). The night featured several memorable "firsts" in Viking Hall (considering it was the first show ever ran in the building), including the first pro wrestling match period (in the building), the first Battle Royal match (which crowned the inaugural ECW Pennsylvania Champion, a title that was short-lived and was eventually scrapped a few months later), the first ECW World Tag Team Title match, the first ECW World Heavyweight Title match, the first ECW Television Title Match, and the first "gimmick match" (this being a Chain match) in the building's history. Several different performers worked more than one match that night. This would become a common practice for most of the Viking Hall shows during the rest of 1993.

The very next night (May 15), ECW ran another show at Viking Hall. That show featured many of the same names who competed the previous nights, along with the ECW Arena debuts of a few new ones, among them "The Living Legend" Terry Funk.

ECW returned to Viking Hall on June 19 with The Super Summer Sizzler, the first supercard that the promotion ever held in that building. About 650 fans attended the show, which was headlined by a Texas Chain Massacre match between Eddie Gilbert and Terry Funk. Other highlights included a catfight between Peaches (The Sandman's wife) and Tigra, which was Viking Hall's first match between two female wrestlers.

August saw the ECW Arena debut of several hardcore brawlers who were based in the W*NG promotion in Japan, most notably The Headhunters (Headhunter #1 & Headhunter #2), Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, Crash the Terminator (who later became "Laughing" Hugh Morrus in WCW and most recently, Bill DeMott in WWE), and Miguel(ito) Perez Jr.

Viking Hall hosted the ECW Ultra Clash show on September 18, which featured legends like Abdullah the Butcher, Kevin Sullivan, Stan Hansen, and, of course, Terry Funk, along with the usual ECW roster. Abby and Sullivan would end up continuing to work for ECW for the rest of 1993. Probably the main highlight of this show was the unannounced appearance by Eddie Gilbert. He had recently had a falling out with ECW management and ended up leaving the company earlier in this month. On this show, he told the fans in the building that he was leaving ECW, but instead of criticizing any ECW management or decisions made by management, he encouraged the fans to continue supporting the young and hungry company that was ECW, a very classy thing for him to do. After Gilbert left ECW, Paul E. Dangerously - better known as Paul Heyman - took over the ownership and operational duties of ECW. Ultra Clash is generally considered to be the night that Heyman took over control of ECW from Gilbert.

The October 1 Viking Hall show, entitled NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 saw the ECW debuts of two of the greatest stars in ECW history as Taz (competing as "The Tazmaniac") and Sabu, as the two stars squared off one-on-one for the first time ever, thereby beginning what is generally ranked as the second most influential singles feud in ECW's history. Sabu left with the victory that night and then, at NWA Bloodfest: Part 2 at Viking Hall the very next night, he captured his first-ever ECW World Heavyweight Title by beating champion "The Franchise" Shane Douglas.

The first annual ECW November To Remember show occurred at Viking Hall on November 13 and featured Sabu becoming the first man to hold two ECW championships simultaneously when he pinned TV Champion Terry Funk to win that title. That match would begin another memorable feud in ECW, that which pitted the maniacal Sabu against the soft spoken living legend, Funk. This night also saw Tommy Dreamer win his first championship in ECW - the World Tag Team Title. He teamed with Johnny Gunn.

The day after Christmas (December 26), Viking Hall served as the venue for ECW's first annual Holiday In Hell show. Although, Tommy Dreamer did double duty that night, as he lost to Shane Douglas and then - a few hours later - won a "Lights" Out Battle Royal, this night's primary highlight featured Terry Funk regaining his ECW World Heavyweight Title from Sabu.

Funk's most memorable challenge during this title reign came at The Night The Line Was Crossed on February 5. He put his title up for grabs in a very memorable three-way match that featured himself, Sabu, and Douglas. All three competitors battled to a 60 minute Time Limit Draw, allowing Funk to retain his title by default, but that didn't change the fact that this match became one of the most talked about matches to ever occur in Viking Hall during the building's first few years of hosting pro wrestling shows. The tremendous bout gained ECW a significant amount of publicity in pro wrestling magazines, newsletters, and radio shows and therefore attracted many more fans to the ECW product.

Funk retained his title against Douglas yet again (this time in a Taped Fist Match) on the first night of a doubleheader event at Viking Hall on March 5. That show also saw the ECW tag team titles (then held by Kevin Sullivan & Taz) be vacated. New tag team champions in The Public Enemy were then crowned, comprised of Johnny Grunge & the late, great Rocco Rock (real name: Ted Petty), who beat Sullivan & Taz in a match to determine the new title-holders at the second half of the doubleheader, which occurred the very next night (March 6). This same show saw another battle between Taz (who, along with a few others, wrestled twice on this one card) and Sabu and this night, it was Taz who reigned victorious and thereby captured Sabu's ECW TV title. Taz, though, would lose the title to J.T. Smith later on that very same show.

April featured the shocking, unannounced invasion of Viking Hall by legends Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton, an appearance that continued to ECW's increase in publicity. Their debut sparked one of the loudest pops to ever be heard in Viking Hall throughout its entire existence. ECW ran a few shows in Viking Hall in May, but nothing of significant note happened on any of them. It was in June that a very memorable era in the historical chronicles of Viking Hall began, thanks to the debut of Cactus Jack (a.k.a. Mick Foley) in that building. His irreplaceable legacy in Viking Hall probably began on August 13 at Hardcore Heaven. The Public Enemy (who had recently won a memorable Barbed-Wire match over The Funk Brothers [Dory Jr. & Terry] at Viking Hall on July 17), ran in during the first five minutes of his match against his real-life idol, Terry Funk, at that show and began beating up Funk, but Cactus would surprise many fans by sticking up for his arch-rival and helping him fight off Grunge & Rock.

During the brawl between the two duos, Cactus yelled for somebody to throw a steel chair into the ring for him to use as a weapon against The P.E., but he didn't expect to be thrown about 200-300 chairs. As the arena began raining chairs as if they were rain drops falling from the sky on a cloudy day, a dumbfounded Cactus Jack stared in awe at one chair after another after another, etc. came flying into the ring. It took one chair to clock him right on his head to make him realize that it was time to get the hell out of the ring as soon as one chair clocked him right on the head. He hurried out of the ring, leaving both P.E. members helpless, as they were covered in steel chairs within a few moments.

Cactus would continue making history in ECW and his next memorable Viking Hall moment occurred on August 27, a night when he shockingly revealed tha tag team partner for his scheduled match vs. The Public Enemy for The P.E.'s Tag Team titles as ECW's ultimate underdog, the 5'7" Mikey Whipwreck, who he literally dragged out to the ring and forced to serve as his partner. Mikey eventually took every single ounce of courage he had in his approximately 185 lb. body and - to the shock of the fans in attendance - entered the ring and helped Cactus fight back against Grunge and Rock and eventually gained a shocking 1-2-3 pinfall over Rock to win the tag team titles for Cactus and himself!

However, as memorable as that match was, August 27 is regarded as one of the most infamous nights in pro wrestling history for another reason - for featuring the shocking transformation that began one of the most historic eras in pro wrestling history. It was on this night that ECW (Eastern Championship Wrestling) World Heavyweight Champion "The Franchise" Shane Douglas pinned 2 Cold Scorpio in the final round match of a one-night, eight-man, single-elimination tournament to crown a new NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Champion. Douglas, having won the NWA World Title and therefore now a double champion (as he was also the ECW World Champion, too), took the microphone after the match and proclaimed the NWA dead and introduced "a new flame in the sport of professional wrestling": the era of ECW - Eastern Championship Wrestling was dead and Extreme Championship Wrestling was born. After proclaiming himself the new Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, Douglas dramatically threw the NWA World Heavyweight Title down to the mat in a moment that seemingly stood still in time.

Also around this time, the memorable feud between The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer began, but it reached a climax at an October show at Viking Hall when the two men battled in an I Quit match, during which Dreamer shoved a lit cigarette that Sandman was smoking into Sandman's face. After the incident, Sandman's manager, Woman (a.k.a. Nancy Sullivan), kicked her protege to the curb, citing that he was useless if he was blind. However, a few weeks later, a confrontation between Sandman and Dreamer resulted in Sandman turning heel by beating up Dreamer and then shockingly reuniting with Woman. A pissed off Peaches (Sandman's wife) allied with Dreamer and the angle led to a series of further matches pitting Sandman and Woman against Dreamer and Peaches in various combinations. The "Sandman Blinding Angle" - as it has since came to be called - was one of the most effectively booked angles in ECW history and gained the still growing promotion significant publicity with pro wrestling fans.

Viking Hall's next major show was November To Remember on November 5. This show is remembered for two notable incidents, but unfortunately one of those was that Sabu seriously injured his neck during his match against Chris Benoit (2). Medical personnel attended to Sabu and took him out of the ring as Too Cold Scorpio was sent out to serve as an impromptu opponent for Benoit, replacing the injured Sabu. Earlier that same night, The Public Enemy finally succeeded after a series of failed attempts in regaining their tag team titles from Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck, ending the surprisingly impressive and quite memorable title reign of the ironicly adored duo.

The incredibly resilient Sabu persevered, though, and returned just a few weeks later and quickly reformed his tag team with Tazmaniac. The team quickly became very popular with ECW fans. At December 17's Holiday Hell at Viking Hall, the two men gave The Public Enemy a tough fight for the tag team titles, but at ECW's first Viking Hall show of 1995 (on January 7), they bounced back by teaming with 911 to beat P.E., Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit in a 4 vs. 3 Handicap match. That same January 7 show also included a "Double Dog Collar" match in which The Pitbulls (#'s 1 & 2) beat The Bad Breed (Axl Rotten & Ian Rotten). Due to pre-match stipulations, Axl and Ian were forced to break up as a tag team and compete as singles wrestlers, but the problem was that each brother blamed the other for the loss against The Pitbulls.

What ensued was one of the most violent rivalries in pro wrestling history, as Viking Hall served as the site of several violent bloodbaths between the two. The feud has gone down in history as one of the most bloody rivalries ever. Their rivalry culminated at Hardcore Heaven on July 5, 1995 at Viking Hall when Axl finally emerged as the winner of the feud in the first and only Tapei death match to occur in ECW history, but the first meeting between the two was on February 5 at the historic Viking Hall show entitled, Double Tables. This show was capped off by Sabu & Tazmaniac beating P.E. in the first-ever Double Tables match to win the ECW World Tag Team Titles. However, this was far from the only memorable match that night, as the show also included one of the most amazing technical wrestling matches in ECW history between Al Snow and Chris Benoit, a match that is still reminisced about today.

Sabu & Tazmaniac lost their titles less than a month later at Viking Hall on February 25 to Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko and also that night, Shane Douglas defended his ECW World Heavyweight Title against former-Rockers teammate of Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty. However, that match's quality far exceeded its expectations and it instantly became one of ECW's often forgotten classic bouts. Judging by the fact that this show was entitled, Return of the Funker, it also logically featured the return of Terry Funk to ECW. Funk made his prescence felt during the show's final segment, which featured an angle that has since been dubbed "The Funk in a Box Angle" and was a landmark angle in ECW history because it was booked so intelligently that it resulted in turning the returning Funk heel (by assisting Sandman [a heel] in attacking Cactus [a face]) and Shane Douglas face.

This incident logically led to a tag team collision on March 25 that saw Sandman & Funk battled Cactus & Douglas. The four participants brawled throughout Viking Hall and assaulted each other with a variety of weapons, most notably a flaming branding iron, which Cactus used to piledrive Funk on to win the match for himself and Douglas. The show also featured Too Cold Scorpio winning the ECW Television Title from Dean Malenko and the first-ever one-on-one match between Raven and Tommy Dreamer at Viking Hall. The inference from Raven's evil entourage was too much for Dreamer to handle and eventually allowed Raven to pin Dreamer, a common occurrence in most of their matches.

ECW's next major Viking Hall show was Three-Way Dance on April 8. The show was headlined by a three-way tag team match for the ECW World Tag Team Titles. Sabu was scheduled to participate in the bout, but he no-showed the event and as a result, Rick Steiner unfortunately served as a last-minute replacement to team with Tazmaniac. The match was pretty lackluster overall, both because of the lack of Sabu's involvement in it and Benoit & Malenko (who were defending their titles) being forced to resort for the most part to one of their very few weaknesses, which was consequently an expertise of the other four participants - brawling. Due to Sabu's no-show, ECW was able to turn its fans against Sabu so much that "F*ck Sabu!" chants were quite common in Viking Hall over the next several months, until the Arabian maniac returned to the company in 1995.

Although its undercard was slightly better than the main event and it served to elevate the show at least to a level of decency, this show is better remembered for its significant historical events than the actual quality of its matches. The Pitbulls made their ECW debut, Eddy Guerrero unseated ECW Television Champion 2 Cold Scorpio in an entertaining technical bout to capture Scorpio's title, and Ian Rotten was forced to have his head shaved due to losing to his brother, Axl, in another chapter of their bloody feud. However, most importantly, Beulah McGillicutty was introduced as Raven's new valet, thereby beginning a new chapter in the historic rivalry between Raven and Tommy Dreamer.

The function that Beulah played in the feud between those two was explained during a segment at April 15's Hostile City Showdown at Viking Hall. This angle caused an impromptu match between Dreamer and Raven that was highlighted by Beulah receiving a piledriver from Dreamer. The entrance of Beulah in ECW increased the stakes of the rivalry between these two and therefore made their feud that much more intriguing. Later on this same night was an instant technical classic between Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero for Eddy's ECW TV Title, the first match between these two at Viking Hall. Later on still, The Sandman won the ECW World Title from Shane Douglas and then, in the show's main event, a chaotic brawl between Cactus Jack and Terry Funk featured the use of a flaming branding iron (which Funk used to blow a fireball at Cactus and to burn Cactus with) and definitely gave the fans their money's worth.

A month later on May 13 at Viking Hall, ECW presented Enter The Sandman, which - as one would logically expect due to the title of the show - was primarily built around The Sandman and his rivalries with Cactus Jack and Shane Douglas, against both of whom he beat to retain his ECW World Heavyweight Title (in two separate matches against each challenger, albeit). The historic midcard of this show once again stood out, just like that of Three Way Dance. The first effectively-booked debut appearance of Bill Alfonso and the transformation of The Tazmaniac into "Taz" set the tone for the future storylines that each character would participate in. Meanwhile, the drama of the Tommy Dreamer & Mikey Whipwreck vs. Raven & Stevie Richards tag team match and the classic nature of the second encounter between Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero continued the Dreamer-Raven and Malenko-Guerrero feuds, respectively. A decent "Double Dog Collar" match between The Pitbulls and The Public Enemy and the ECW debut of female wrestler Luna Vachon capped off this mediocre show.

Following Exit Sandman, ECW unfortunately reached a new low with Barbed-Wire, Hoodies, and Chokeslams, which occurred at Viking Hall on Juve 17. Even though it featured the in-ring debut of the new version of Taz, the first appearance of The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed) in ECW, and a No-Rope, Barbed-Wire death match between The Sandman and Cactus Jack, the show is generally considered as one of ECW's worst shows ever. ECW's streak of shows that lacked the promotion's usual quality continued with Hardcore Heaven on July 1 at Viking Hall. The Dudley family made its first appearance in ECW on this show, although the group didn't yet feature Buh Buh Ray or D-Von. Fans would have to wait a few more months for those two to enter the picture. Two solid midcard matches (Taz vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Raven & Steve Richards vs. Luna & Tommy Dreamer) saved the show from being another complete diasaster, but other than those, lackluster brawls like Axl vs. Ian Rotten (their bloody feud finally ended on this show), The Sandman vs. Cactus Jack, and The Gangstas (making their in-ring debut at Viking Hall) vs. The Public Enemy disallowed the show's quality to surpass any level above "halfway decent." On a historical note, however, Hardcore Heaven did feature the debut appearance of Francine Fournier in ECW and the final appearance of her future client, Shane Douglas, at Viking Hall before his departure to the WWF, where he portrayed the ill-fated "Dean Douglas" character. Douglas would return to ECW a few years later.

Two weeks later on July 15, ECW presented HeatWave at Viking Hall and ended its streak of bad shows. A memorable tag team match pitting Taz & Eddy Guerrero against Dean Malenko & 2 Cold Scorpio highlighted the midcard, while the main event was a Steel Cage match (this one with a Weapons gimmick added to it and was the first Steel Cage match in Viking Hall's history) between The Gangstas and The Public Enemy. After an Intergender Steel Cage match (the first of the two Steel Cage matches on this show) between Luna Vachon and Stevie Richards, the legendary "Chairshot Heard Around the World" angle between Dreamer and Raven occurred. Not only did it feature Dreamer getting some important revenge on Raven, but the intensity that the angle possessed made it one of the most talked-about angles in ECW history.

ECW ran its first Wrestlepalooza show on August 5 at Viking Hall. The show featured an eight-man tag team match featuring Dreamer and Raven, a six-man tag team match between 2 Cold Scorpio, Dean Malenko, & Cactus Jack and Eddy Guerrero & The Steiner Brothers, a major upset win by Mikey Whipwreck over The Sandman in a Singapore Cane match, and a Stretcher match between The Gangstas and The Public Enemy. Later that same month on August 26, another Viking Hall show (this one a house show) became quite memorable for featuring the classic Best Two-out-of-Three Falls match between Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero. It was the last match that either man wrestled in ECW and like so many of their previous matches in ECW, they grappled to a Time Limit Draw, but that didn't change the memorable nature of the bout.

About a month later on September 16, ECW presented Gangstas Paradise at Viking Hall. Included on the show was a fantastic match between masked Mexican Lucha Libre stars Rey Misterio Jr. and Psichosis (both of whom were making their first wrestling appearances ever in the U.S. outside of California) and a Six-Man Steel Cage match, but what really stole the show was an exellently booked Double Dog Collar Tag Team match between Raven & Stevie Richards and The Pitbulls. While the bout left much to be desired on a technical wrestling level, its excellent drama was formed via a very effectively choreographed bout and this bumped it up to a level of significance that few other ECW matches can brag of. the bout was capped off by Tommy Dreamer helping The Pitbulls win their opponents' ECW World Tag Team Titles. Fresh off from their short tenure in the USWA, John Kronus & Perry Saturn (collectively known as The Eliminators) made their ECW debuts on this show.

Richards & Raven regained the tag team titles the next month on the October 7 Viking Hall show, but later on that same show, they lost them to The Public Enemy. This Viking Hall show also possessed the ECW debut of Mexican and future-WCW star Konnan and a memorable Best Two-out-of-Three-Falls match between Misterio Jr. and Psichosis. The feud between Misterio Jr. and Psichosis continued in a tag team match that also featured La Parka (who made his only ECW appearance on this show) and Konnan on the October 28 Viking Hall show. Later on that same night, TV Champion 2 Cold Scorpio beat Rocco Rock in a singles match to win the ECW World Tag Team Titles for himself and The Sandman. Sandman was busy defending his World Heavyweight Title on this show against Mikey Whipwreck in a Ladder Match. It was in this match that Mikey accomplished what was seemingly impossible - he pinned Sandman to win the ECW World Heavyweight Title in one of the most significant upsets in pro wrestling history. The main event of this show, though, was also extremely memorable. The match pitted Cactus Jack vs. Tommy Dreamer, but Terry Funk - among others - would get involved in the bout.

Following the 10/28 show was one of the most memorable shows not only in Viking Hall history, but in the history of ECW. It was on November 18 that ECW presented the blockbuster November To Remember 1995 show. Buh Buh Ray Dudley made his first appearance in ECW. Another great match occurred in the series of Psichosis vs. Rey Misterio Jr. A confrontation between Bill Alfonso and Tod Gordon led to the excellently booked heel turn of Taz. Steve Austin made one of his very few appearances in ECW and put over the popular underdog of Mikey Whipwreck. Sabu made his shocking return to ECW after being booed out of ECW venues for the last six months. Finally, a memorable dream tag team match pitting Terry Funk & Tommy Dreamer vs. Cactus Jack & Raven featured a little bit of everything and resulted in increasing the interest in the Funk vs. Cactus and Dreamer vs. Raven feuds and providing fans with an intense brawl that helped create the unreplaceable legacy of ECW.

 

 

 

Eric Gargiulo: Viking Hall is very important me to me in a lot of ways. First off, it was the building that made me a wrestling fan again. I went to my first ECW shows more just to hang out with friends, than to see the actual show. WWF and WCW had become so terribly boring, that being a wrestling fan was nothing more than a childhood memory. ECW was something much different than anything else I had seen before. Month by month, the shows kept getting more exciting. The building was jammed for The Night The Line Was Crossed, and everything changed from there. The whole atmosphere was just something that I cannot even express in writing. The electricity was turned on that night and has not been shut off since. I had some brief opportunities to be in front of the crowd in ECW. I was involved in some pull-aparts, which were always a lot of fun.

My favorite Viking Hall memory personally has to be from CZW's A Night Of Infamy. I took a bump in my favorite wrestling building, which allowed me to share the stage with so many of the greats in this sport. I compare it to a relief pitcher, who may throw one inning in Yankee Stadium. Sure, for the world it was just another pitch from a journeyman pitcher. For the pitcher, it was a dream come true. He just pitched an inning in Yankee f'n Stadium, the same stadium that Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle called home! That is how I feel when I reflect back on that special moment. As a kid I always heard about Madison Square Garden as the mecca. My dream was to just go see a show in MSG. I would hope that the same legacy continues for Viking Hall.

Chris Hero: I've only had the pleasure of wrestling in Viking Hall a handful of times [four times, to be exact; twice in CZW, once in 3PW, and once in XPW], but there is definitely a magical feeling in the air. There's so much history in that building and one, like myself, can only wonder what it was like to actually perform there during ECW's heyday. The building located at the corners of Swanson and Ritner will forever be known as Extreme Championship Wrestling's own little Madison Square Garden.

CW Anderson: I guess my best memory is the night I worked Super Crazy (on March 4, 2000) and got a standing ovation from the fans on my match. I had always watched ECW on TV before I was there (in the promotion) and seeing the electricity in that place was just awesome. Stepping out in front of that crowd, you had better be on your 'A' game because they'd let you know how they felt. After my match with Crazy and they were applauding my efforts, I knew I had done something great to appease these fans and knew I belonged in ECW.

Gabe Sapolsky: As someone who was at every show ECW held at the ECW Arena from Sept. 18th, 1993 up until the final ECW event ever, except for one TV taping during a blizzard in January of 1994, to say that the building is something special to me and that I have a million memories is an understatement. Watching the entire wrestling business change right there in an unknown bingo hall was incredible. You see the fingerprints of what happened in the ECW Arena all over the wrestling business whether its all the talent that is now in WWE that got their first break there to the fact that every company seems to be able to get on PPV now when it was consider impossible back in 1997 until ECW broke through on PPV from the ECW Arena to the fact that American wrestling completely changed based on styles we first saw at the ECW Arena. I'm proud to say that one of my jobs in ECW was to have just about every ticket go through my hands that was sold in that building. The ECW Arena is where I learned a ton of lessons I use now as booker of Ring Of Honor, its where I met some great friends and people and its where as a wrestling fan I got to have just about all my dreams come true by seeing so much fantastic wrestling. Nothing can ever compare to what happened at the ECW Arena.

Chris Hamrick: The very first time I pulled up to the arena, I thought we must have been in the wrong place, but once you got in there and the show started, the chemistry in that building was like no other.

Rockin' Rebel: Well, to start off, in '93, I smashed Sal Bellemo's face when he turned over and really screwed his face up. Or the at the summer sizzler show - I was wrestling Sandman and Tammy Fytch did a suprise run in (she was fucking Eddie Gilbert in the back before the show). Another funny note that year was when Tony Stetson and I ran in and pulled Angel's top off, exposing her tits. I also was the one who trained and brought Francine and Sandman in, along with Tommy Dreamer and others, to ECW. It was a blast working there and working with some of the legends. That's how I got my job in WCW - thru Kevin Sullivan, who came in and asked me to come down. That's when Paul E. and my friendship fell apart. But I was doing it to better myself. Tommy called me about nine months before ECW went under and asked me to come back - they needed a mouth piece cause all they had at the time was Corino. And I sat and spoke with Paul, but the money didn't jive and a lot of the were telling me checks were bouncing and 3/4 weeks behind in checks, so I walked away and was happy with my earlier run in ECW when the cash was good. Working in the building for 10 years was a real honor. One month, the crowd would love 'ya; The next, they'd hate 'ya. That's what kept 'ya on your toes and work(ing) hard - or (if you didn't keep on your toes and work hard), the fans would let you have it and I hope when I retire, it's in the Arena - a place I called home for years.

M-Dogg 20: Viking Hall (the old ECW Arena) is far and away my favorite place to wrestle. Being the home of ECW, the building personifies that company and the many stars that have been through it's doors. ECW is solely responsible for rekindling my interest in professional wrestling and making me pursue it as a possible career. In that regard, the ECW Arena, to me, is essentially the Mecca of professional wrestling. Though the building itself may not be anything special, it's the history it holds that makes it something special. The fans of the area have always been a pleasure to work for and appreciative of what we workers give them. I'll never forget my first time there and how awe struck I was by the whole experience. My favorite personal memory would have to be from September of 2002 when I faced Josh Prohibition in our feud ending TLC match for CZW. Hoping to add a small footnote to the building's impressive history, I climbed one of the support beams at ringside and did several pull-ups in the rafter's before climbing back to the "I" Beam, only to leap off it, crashing onto Josh Prohibition on a table below. Someone should really clean up there. It's filthy. LOL.

Nick Berk: In 1993, I attended my first indy wrestling show; It was at Viking Hall. ECW was mildly known and you could show up at 7:00 and get either a front row seat or damn near close. I remember little about that actual show, but I'm sure I witnessed some history. Through the next few years I attended the majority of shows held there. I saw things like the Broad Street Bully beat the hell out of The Jersey Devil up through the ECW debut of Rey Misterio (Jr.), Juvy, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, and many more. I saw classic acts from Eddie Gilbert to Steve Austin. I saw Mikey Whipreck overcome all odds, as well as J.T. Smith busting his head on a mishap during a tope. I saw the ever-so-classic chairshot from Tommy Dreamer onto Raven as he was chained to the fence...when the handcuffs were cut off that fence, I took two halves that were thrown to the ground. I witnessed Cactus Jack whipping a fire-lit-chair into the crown, only two rows in front of me. I witnnessed alot...alot that was probably not mentioned, but I was there. When I was 15 years old, I met Trent Acid on top of the back bleachers that faced the camera, and he told me where to train to become a wrestler. I hated that kid at that time. After I began training, I stopped going to the ECW shows. However, that's where MY LEGACY in pro wrestling started. So, on top of all the history in that building that all you have witnessed, I owe that building my wrestling career.

Simon Diamond: I remember standing in the middle of the ring for my first match in Viking Hall, thinking how much larger it looked on TV. I was wrestling Skull Von Krush (later became Big Vito in WCW) and was absolutely terrified the crowd would eat me up. I had only been in ECW a couple of months and was still not comfortable in my surroundings and it showed in my performance up to that point. I remember after the match was finished, I was standing in the ring by myself and the crowd started to clap...and clap...and clap. My heart stood still. I acknowledged the crowd and they cheered even louder. It was their way of saying, "you can wrestle for us," because in a way, that's what Viking Hall was all about. It was you wrestling for the Philly fans, who took it personally when you didn't put forth an effort that satisfied them. Right or wrong, that was the idealogy of that place.  You played on their team and they loved that team and when things weren't going well they would let you know about it.  I always look at my first match there as my baptism into ECW. I was accepted by the most critical fans of them all.

Rob Feinstein: My memories of Viking Hall are all very fond. I learned the wrestling business in that building from guys like Paul Heyman, Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Dreamer. I can remeber the very first ECW show I have ever watched there when it was on a Sunday and there were like 70 people in the place. I watched the crowds grow and grow as each show progressed. I saw kids become legends and local talent become national stars. I saw matches that left impressoins in my head to this day. I owe alot to the arena because if I never went to that building to see wrestling and meet the guys that I did I can honestly say that RF VIDEO and ROH would not be where we are today. The arena to me is where I went to school for 7 years and studied the art of pro wrestling. Every other builing to me was like extra credit. But if someone were to ask me what is the one building that I love the most it would be VIking Hall. I can problaly write about all the backstage politics, fights, drug use, self abuse that I have seen as if the walls can talk in that place there would be a great movie. To me that building will always be the ECW arena no matter even if WWE runs there. Long live ECW and Viking Hall.

Kingdom James: I remember driving up to the place for the first time and thinking that the stories of it being in the middle of urban hell were true. I remember walking in for the first time and thinking that how I viewed the building on TV was different from how it was in real life. That crow's nest wasn't as tall as I thought but the building itself was larger inside than I imagined. I also thought it was PERFECT for indy wrestling. It was great working a place with that much history imbedded in it and I'm
sorry I'm not still making my monthly trips there. I saw some great matches that originated from there on TV during the ECW days and some more great matches from my ringside table during XPW's stint there. I know the CZW crew appreciate the signifigance of the building in indy wrestling lore and hope that they and anyone who follows them keep care of the crappy little concrete box that will go down on the last page of wrestling's written history as being as legendary as Madison Square Garden, The Kiel Auditorium, Bhudakon Hall, Maple Leaf Gardens, or the WMC-TV Studio as the place where some of the sports finest moments took place.

Tony DeVito: The first time I ever stepped into the ECW Arena was in December '98. When I first went inside, I was like, "This is it," but when the show started, I was totally blown away - the way the crowd reacted to the wrestlers was unbelievable, so when I finally got my chance to work at that building, I was so pumped. That building definitely has an awe to it and it is definitely the best building I have ever worked in. Every time we were there, I was so pumped you would think it was a PPV. There are a lot of guys out there who say, "It's a bingo hall." I say, "That may be true, but then again, I guess you never wrestled there 'cause the wrestlers who busted their ass(es) there and the fans who supported them made that building infamous and in my opinion the best wrestling building in the world."

Jim Molineaux: The ECW Arena (which it will always be to me) is the place that my favorite match happened in the history of ECW. I was lucky enough to work the Three-Way Dance between Sabu, Shane Douglas, and Terry Funk (at The Night The Line Was Crossed). This match I consider to be the match that put ECW on the map. If it wasn't for that match and the coverage it got, I wouldn't have been asked to be a part of this article. Now, the arena stands there with only memories. Sure, there are companies going in and out of there, but they will never be able to duplicate what was created there by the best group of workers ever assembled. Thanks, guys.

"The Hardcore Homo" Angel: My memories of the ECW arena were good ones.  When I first entered the bulding, I couldn't belive how small it was; It looks so much bigger on television.  As I looked around, all I could think (about) was all the legendary matches that had gone on in that building - if those walls could talk, the stories that they would tell. Our first match there by far is still by best memory of the building. We had such a great show. This was my first trip ever for wrestling and to be wrestling out of the ECW Arena was just unbelivable. The fans were so loud after all these people had seen almost everything that can be seen in wrestling. I just wanted our show to be one of those stories that the walls would talk about.

Bill Apter: The ECW experience never felt right outside of Viking Hall. It's amazing that you had the same talents putting on the best matches, but there was always something sorely missing when ECW ventured outside of that "sacred" bingo hall. Some of my best photos came from that arena. One in particular was Taz executing one of his masterful suplexes on Sabu. It was at Viking Hall that Terry Funk took a frying pan that was offered to him by a fan in the crowd and knocked me senseless when I got in his way as I was shooting photos. It was the first time I knew what the meaning of "I got hit, so hard I saw stars" was really about. I remember laughing when an unmasked Rey Mysterio Jr. was in the dressing room and security came over to him and asked him to vacate the area and return to his seat. They thought he was a 15 year-old kid!

The chants of "Apter sucks" from fans as I came to the ringside area moments before the show started to position myself to shoot photos, actually gave me the feeling that I was accepted by them (I know that sounds weird). I miss some of those fans who were great characters as well (thank goodness I still see the "shirt guy" at some indy shows and that keeps my Viking Hall memories alive)! When old-time wrestlers and boxers talk about the days of the old smoky arenas, they speak about an aura that was irreplaceable back in their time.  I  can't put my finger on what the aura was about Viking Hall, but it too was special as well as irreplaceable. It has certainly become a historical marker in the business of pro wrestling. (Senior Editor of Total Wrestling Magazine - http://www.totalwrestling.co.uk)

Icarus: Viking hall was where it all started. If it wasn't for ECW being born, I probably wouldn't be where I am now. I'm grateful for that and the workers who busted their asses in the Arena. I've been lucky enough to have stepped foot in Viking Hall about a year ago for an XPW show. (It) almost took my breath away when I walked in. It might not be in good shape, but it will always be a big piece of wrestling history.

Sonjay Dutt: When I think of Viking Hall, I think of the history and the people that have walked through those doors and performed there.  For me, a young kid to perform in the exact same building is a hell of an honor and I appreciate it every moment I've had there.

 

 

FOOTNOTES (misc. notes of information which may be of interest to you)

1 - Morrisville High School is located in Morrisville, PA, not Philadelphia, PA. All of the other venues mentioned in this list are located in Philadelphia, PA, except for this and Cabrini College (see directly below).
2 - Cabrini College is located in Radnor, PA, not Philadelphia, PA. All of the other venues mentioned in this list are located in Philadelphia, PA, except for this and Morrisville High School (see directly above).
3 - An animation of the spot that caused Sabu's neck injury can be found at http://www.gerweck.net/sabuneck.gif

 

A special thanks for some helpful information used in this article goes to:

- EPIC Chismo
- xomicide
- Stuart (owner of PuroresuFan.com)
> - coolmodee
- GQ Money/"Devilish" Lee Hanndsome
- Butch D'Amato
- Zandig (an EXTRA special thanks)

 

Paul Heyman and Jay "Six-Pack" Sulli

 

 

A guy named Eli Stein owns it, and Butchy runs it

The ECW Arena Is Located at Swanson and Ritner Streets in South Philadelphia. For tickets call (215) 755-4177.

XPW's lease on the arena began Jan. 1. Carmen D'Amato, property manager for the company that owns the arena, S&S Family Partnership, said he was unsure of the length of the lease and its terms, except to say it gives XPW exclusive rights to promote all sporting events at the venue.

The company will be prohibited from hosting events such as concerts or teen dance parties, D'Amato said, contrary to what had been suggested in the anonymous leaflet.

Several other sources report the lease deal is for three years at $120,000 annually.

Butch D'Amato

Kirk Farrington who the company named General Manager of the venue

 

 

CZW - July 20: 250 paid, according to Meltzer

 

 

Here is part 2 of the interview from Top Rope Radio on June10,2001. ECW
Founder Tod Gordon and legendary ring announcer, Bob Artese werethe guests.
Hosting the show were Bay Ragni and Deacon Lucky Larry..Â

- in talking about the various egos froom other federations, Todsaid
that the egos in ECW were back then non –existent. Everyone wanted thecompany
to get over, everyone went out there and took all those shots and didall
those table spots. Everyone other than Curtis Hughes who would put hishands
up to block the chair shots. All of the guys trusted each other

- Caller asks if Tod will ever get backk in the wrestlingbusiness
again. Tod says he is very happy with his family right now and loveshis
family. He might get back into the business for a bit locally if it was
tohelp out a friend like Bay.

- Bob tells the story about the time duuring the match betweenTod and
Fonsie that at the end of it, Tod had to be stretchered out. Well, whenthey
were taking him out of the ring, Bob, ref John Finegan and some of theothers
went through Tod’s pockets.

- Tod’s favorite aspect off the business was the camaraderie. Heloved
being in the ring, except of course when he was getting his ass kicked init.
But, he also loved the behind the scenes aspects of it as well.

- It was brought up that ECW really revvolutionized the business.It
was the first to really break kayfabe, they were the first company tomention
a wrestler and other federation by name. They thought they sucked andthey
said so. They went out and said what they felt in the ring. The ECWperformers
were extensions of people’s own personalities, they weren’t
cartooncharacters.

- Tod said that there was a synergy bettween ECW and its fans. Healso
points out that ECW was the first federation to offer a refund if a bigtime
star didn’t show up. In fact, if someone didn’t show the fans were allowedto

watch the first half free and get a refund at intermission. No one is saidto
have taken them up on it.

- Tod said his favorite all-time wrestller is the Sandman, hisfavorite
spot was the table spot at Double Tables in 1995 involving ChrisBenoit, Dean
Malenko, Sabu and Public Enemy.

- Tod talked about his favorite angle- the Sandman blindingangle, in
which he kayfabed the boys and fans as well to make it seem morereal. No one
anywhere ever saw that one coming.

- ECW was really the first company to rreally use the Internet.Since
that is where a lot of its early press was coming from. Tod did the firstever
chat on Prodigy. That started ECW’s coverage of the live events as
theyhappened at the ECW Arena, back in 1994.

- Caller talks about how much the fans were a part of the showand
everyone agrees. Caller feels that Vince is profiting from what Paul andTod
did, but he can never duplicate what was going on in the ECW Arena. The
ECWArena was revered even by the Japanese, they couldn’t wait to go to a
showthere.

- Even though a lot of the people in ECCW never made it to WWF orWCW
as Bay pointed out about himself. It was felt if you could go over withthat
ECW Arena crowd, that was good enough. Everyone acknowledged how specialthe
Arena was.

- Tod then said to a caller that ECW wiill never come back, Vincewon’t
do anything with it and that he has a lot of great idea people there inWWF
now like Paul Heyman and Mick Foley. If he listens to them though isanother
matter. At this point, Tod also mentions that he might show up at aLiberty
All-Star Wrestling show, you just never know.

- Caller asks about Beulah. Tod says thhat she was TommyDreamer’s date
at Little Guido’s wedding. This was about 2 or 3 months ago andhe saw her
through the photos while he was over visiting the Sandman. Beulahleft to
pursue her education.

- People talked about the surprises at ECW, like Bobby Eaton,Arn
Anderson showing up. Bay Ragni then points out that one of the things
aboutLiberty is that you’ll never know who is going to show up. Just because
someoneis not listed in the program, doesn’t mean that they aren’t
scheduled. Its alsobeen said to expect surprises at the Super Summer Sizzler
2k1 coming July 14thin Philadelphia.

- Tod talks about his time with the NWAA and Dennis Coraluzzo.Tod had
a great angle written out for that an entire invasion angle, butCoraluzzo
didn’t do the best of job promoting it, so that’s why nothing evercame out
of it.

- Bay asks Tod how he feels about the bbuilding at Swanson &Ritner
still being called the ECW Arena. He finds it flattering that people arestill
using those letters. He also likes how at a WWF show in Iowa there issome
sort of spot and the fans chant ECW. Bay pointed out he was watching amatch
from an indy wrestler looking for work from St Louis and there was atable
spot in that match and the fans chanted ECW. Tod feels proud that peoplestill
look at what they did as the standard bearer.

- Right now Tod only watches Monday nigght Raw with his10-year-old
son. Feels that wrestling is in a lull right now because there isno
competition. Also talked about how back in the day the stars from WWF or
WCWthat were in town would stop by an ECW show cause it was felt something
specialwas going on.

- They all feel that hardcore isnâԈ™t what it once was. ECW wentso
hardcore because back when it started, everything in wrestling was acartoon.
He feels that there can be some hardcore today, but it’s got to bedone for a
reason with some storyline, not just to do it.

- Caller finally gets Tod to admit thatt he was a lot moreinvolved in
the creative process, the writing and such, and he did most of thewriting of
ECW before Paul came on board.

- Tod tells people to go out to see thee independent shows in thearea.
Live wrestling now only comes around a couple times a year (WWF), so getout
and support the Indies especially Liberty All-Star Wrestling.

- In closing Tod says that heâ€&trrade;d love to be able to get everyoneback
together again and do one final good bye show so that way the fans couldsay
goodbye to the boys and vice versa. He’d be a part of one in a heartbeat
ifsomeone could arrange it.

- Show wraps up with Bob & Tod sayiing that they all had agreat time
and will be back to continue the ECW conversation at a later date.

 

 

  • SSP Promotions presents WWC (World Wrestling Council) PA. debuts at the ECW Arena on Saturday, November 1st with an 8:00 pm belltime..

    On that card....

  • Ladder match
    Drew Blood vs. White Lotus vs. Robert Pigeon

  • Rockin Rebel, Glenn Osbourne, and Patch vs East L.A., El Lizard, and La Macena

  • The Women of The WWC

    **CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE**
    •

    Thursday, 10/30/03: The SSG show scheduled for this Saturday at the ECW Arena has been cancelled. Rockin Rebel announced this on a radio show this Tuesday night.

     

    Sir Adam asks if it’s true that Paul Heyman was able to emphasize wrestler strengths over their weaknesses and that’s why some came over to the WWE and didn’t work out as well as in ECW “In the WWE you’re entire job is different, the parameters you are working with, what you are planning on achieving, the story you are going to tell. In ECW it was considered, by the wrestling community, reckless, because if you were the 1st or 2nd match on the card you could steal the show, you had no parameters. If you think you could go out there and steal the show, don’t worry about toning it down to save for the rest of the card. You could go out there and do every move in the book if you think it can get you over. Which of course it doesn’t, you can’t just go out there and do every moonsault and expect the fans to love you. You have to make sense, that’s how they would learn, even on a PPV moment Paul Heyman would say to me ‘Go out there and steal the show’, it was all up to me. But, you had to earn that respect, the authority to make those calls, you were watched at the beginning. It was up to us as artists to open ourselves up to everybody and show what we’ve got”

    Get in the Ring; October 2003

     

     

     

     

    ECW reportedly officially filed for bankruptcy on Friday (4/6/01) in New Jersey, citing approximately $6 million in debts. The filing will alleviate HHG, the parent company of ECW and owner Paul Heyman, of the debt. Any future revenue coming into ECW will go toward paying creditors. (first reported by www.betweentheropes.com)

     

     


    Towel Boy (Eric Tuttle of ECW)

     

     

     

     

     

    12/17/2000 1:18:00 PM (both items)

    *IWA results from last night in Bayamon, PR: Rastaman b Ninjitzu, Huracan Castillo Jr. b Super Medico, Shan Hall b Paparazzi, Hombre Dinamita b Pain, Son of Sin kept tag titles over Chicky Starr & Victor the Bodyguard, Steve Corino b Glamour Boy Shane via DQ to keep ECW title. Shane scored the pin but did so using an object. Hombre Dinamita (Savio Vega), doing the commissioner role, overruled the pin which set up a Shane vs. Dinamita program. Miguel Perez b Ricky Banderas-DQ, Yoshihiro Tajiri b Super Crazy, Apolo & Dinamita won an elimination match

    *Regarding the ECW show on Friday night (12/15), the reaction we've gotten from the crowd was very good. There were a lot of things that didn't happen exactly as they were supposed to, and those close to the situation were not a complimentary of the show from an execution standpoint but conceded it was entertaining for the fans who didn't know how things were supposed to go. Actually a lot of heat on Buh Buh Ray Dudley, who stole the show, but it appeared the idea was to elevate Simon Diamond's trio, not with a win, but with a strong showing against WWF superstars. Instead, the feeling was they came across as jobbers and one person described it from an ECW standpoint as the Buh Buh ego show. Lots of praise to Jerry Lynn and Cyrus as a heel duo and for the match with Christian York. Tazz, on the other hand, really put over Doring & Roadkill. Regarding the pay, while nobody got paid, it was in a sense an off-week in that pay won't be due on the old schedule until next week. But the wrestlers are now seven weeks behind on pay. The feeling is if nobody gets paid, panic will set in, but the guys have gone this long and with the exception of Super Crazy, who seems to be a regular for the IWA now since he holds their jr. title, and possibly New Jack depending upon how that situation resolves itself, nobody has left.

     

     

     

    Scott Hall has been added to the 12/20/00 Ultimate Pro Wrestling show in Santa Ana, CA. Hall will wrestle Keiji Sakoda in something of a try-out match for both sides since WWF brass routinely attend the UPW shows to look at developmental talent and scout new wrestlers. Hall is on a card with a weird mix, including Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis, whose goals are probably similar as it pertains to being noticed by the WWF these days, as well as former No Limit Soldier Chase Tatum, a name probably forgotten by most who pay close attention to wrestling, and the Hardys and Lita.

    Scott Hall will not be appearing on the UPW show in Santa Ana on 12/20 after all. At this point Psicosis also won't be appearing on the show, although that is not 100% either way

     

     

    IWA PUERTO RICO in Trujillo Alto Saturday (11/25/00) night:
    --Taka Michinoku b El Paparazzi
    --Super Medico (Jose Estrada Sr.) NC Huuracan Castillo Jr.
    --Ricky Banderas b Nuevo Gran Apolo
    > --Hombre Dinamita (Savio Vega) b Miguell Perez
    --Son of Sin b Yoshihiro Tajiri & SSuper Crazy to retain IWA tag titles
    --Glamour Boy Shane b Steve Corino-DQ iin a battle of the IWA world champion and the ECW world champion
    --Castillo Jr. won an elimination matchh over Pain, Perez, Ninjitzu, Banderas, Dinamita, Crazy, Tajiri, Chicky Starr, Victor the Bodyguard, Vyzago, Andy Anderson, Michinoku, Andres Borges, Shan Hall and Nuevo Gran Apolo to win the hardcore title
    (Thanks to Manuel Gonzalez and PRW News)

     

    WWA results from Saturday night (11/25/00) in Lynn, MA: J.L. Slayer b Trooper Gilmore, Kevin Landry b Slater, Mike Hardy b Smooth Operator-DQ, Patriot (Tom Brandi) & Jimmy Snuka b Jeff Starr & Dave Danger, Sam Dudley b Hardcore Hippie, Tony Roy & Gerry Garabaldi b Tony DeVito (ECW) & John Diamond, Big Dick Dudley retained the WWA title in three-way over Sabu and Tim McNeaney (thanks to Ken Doucet)

     

    Check out Independent Wrestling Federation videos at SMV for ECW guys, too.

    Check out the Prime Time Wrestling and NCW sections at SMV for CZW guys.

     

    *Results from last night's (11/23/00) Bruiser Brody Memorial Cup show in Carolina, PR promoted by the IWA: Andres Borges & Shan Hill b Chicano & Scorpion, Pain b Nuevo Gran Apolo and Steve Corino in a three-way for the tournament, Vyzago & Andy Anderson b Super Crazy & Taka Michinoku, Yoshihiro Tajiri b Ricky Banderas (tournament match), Mideon b Paparazzi (non-tournament), Hombre Dinamita b Ninjitzu (tournament match), Huracan Castillo Jr. & Zaruxx La Momia and Victor the Bodyguard went to a triple count out in a three-way to all be eliminated from the tournament, Super Medico (Jose Estrada Sr.) b Miguel Perez-DQ in a non-tournament match and Hombre Dinamita (Savio Vega) won the tournament in a four-way in the finals over Pain, Tajiri and Banderas. The commission put Banderas back in even though losing because he was on the ropes when he was pinned. Tommy Dreamer and Val Venis both no-showed. Dreamer had legit transportation problems. Nobody knows what the story was regarding Venis. Glamour Boy Shane, the current IWA champ, was in the ring waiting for a match with Venis when he was attacked by Corino to set up an IWA champ vs. ECW champ feud, and with the chair shot attack, Shane wasn't able to continue in the tournament. Corino is expected to wrestle Shane for the IWA title on Saturday. IWA is going to attempt to bring back the ECW wrestlers in mid-December on a weekend when the company is down. There was no blood on a Bruiser Brody Memorial tournament. (thanks to McGyver and Manuel Gonzalez)

     

    Chris Styles is currently working for Hardway Wrestling.

    Hardway Wrestling July 11, 2003, in Northampton, PA: Sonjay Dutt vs. Ruckus vs. Niles Young

    June 25, 2003 in Cementon, PA: The Messiah vs. Ian Knoxx, The Backseat Boyz vs. Chris Stylz & Buzz

    May 9, 2003 - Coplay, PA: Ian Knoxx vs. Sonjay Dutt, Mongoose & Mike Preston vs. Adam Flash & Romeo Valentino, Chris Stylz & Buzz vs. Dino & Chad, New School (GQ & Chri$ Ca$h) vs. HIV (Trent Acid & B-Boy), Josh Daniels vs. Ruckus vs. Nick Berk

    March 14, 2003 in Northampton, PA: Josh Daniels vs. Chri$ Ca$h, Adam Flash vs. Rockin Rebel, Nick Berk vs. Rob Eckos

    Other Matches: Adam Flash vs. Ian Knoxx, Bad Crew vs. GQ & Chri$ Ca$h, Chri$ Ca$h & GQ vs. Bart Scholl & Skeeter McCoy, Matt Vandal vs. Ian Knoxx, The Backseat Boyz vs. Nick Berk & Adam Flash - Steel Cage Match, Chris Hamrick vs. Joey Matthews w/ Alexis Laree, The H8 Club (Nick Gage & Nate Hatred) vs Ruckus & Nick Berk vs GQ & Chri$ Ca$h, The Rachies & Crazy Jake vs. Bad Crew Paul & The Backseat Boyz, Nick Berk & Ty Street vs. GQ & Chri$ Ca$h, Josh Daniels vs. Ian Knoxx, The Backseat Boyz vs. The Rachies, The Rachies vs. Beauty & The Beast (Love Bug & Marshal Law), The Rachies vs. Nick Berk & Ty Street vs. Joey Matthews & Christian York, Ty Street w/ Miss Kara vs 2-Dope, Quiet Storm vs Blind Rage, The Rachies w/ Allison Danger vs Love Bug & Marshal Law, The Backseat Boyz vs Dino Divine & Mongoose, "Softcore" Nick Berk w/ Miss Kara vs Hungarian Barbarian, Backseat Boyz vs Bad Crew - 2/3 falls, RED vs Quiet Storm vs "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush, The Rachies w/Allison Danger vs Dino Divine & Redneck Billy Redwood, Nick Berk w/ Bobcat vs Blind Rage, Backseat Boyz vs The S.A.T., Ruckus vs Nick Berk, Bad Crew vs Love Bug & Marshal Law - Steel Cage Match (features a CZW invasion which includes Wifebeater, Zandig & The Backseat Boyz; episode #38), Cage Terror 4 (episode 32) - CZW invades as Lobo, Dewey & Natee Hatred hit the ring + Nick Berk vs Chris Stylz (10/26/01?), The SANDMAN vs Blind Rage (episode 31), John Kronus vs Danny Rose (EWF episode 18), Dino Divine vs Kronus (EWF 4/1/00; Reading, PA), The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) vs Love Bug & Chad Austin (EWF 11/19/99 Bethlehem, PA), Bad Crew, Danny Rose & Kronus vs Adam Flash, Hungarian Barbarian, L.A. Smooth & Sal Bellomo - Barbed Wire Cage Match (EWF 11/1/99; Bethlehem, PA)

    Da Hit Squad and Ric Blade worked several EWF matches.

     

    Neo Pro Wreslting May 19, 2002 ''Genesis''

    2. Mitch Paradise vs. Matt Burns (Nick Mondo, right?)
    7. Horace the Psychopath vs. Matt Burns (Nick Mondo, right?)

    NPW July 6, 2002 ''Slam-A-Thon 02''

    6. Ladder Match - "Sick" Nick Mondo vs. Dysfunction

    NPW March 22, 2003 ''Anarchy at the Armory''

    7. Horace the Psychopath vs. Mason Quinn (Nick Mondo returns to Neo Pro)

    NPW April 25, 2003 ''April Onslaught''

    7. "Sick" Nick Mondo & Horace the Psychopath vs. Mason Quinn & Tommy Gunn

     

     

    Championship Wrestling Federation

    CWF - April 20, 2000 - Wayne, NJ

    1. Mikey Whipreck vs Little Guido
    2. Rocky Jones & Gino Caruso vs Equalizer & Dave Delicious
    3. Big Dick Dudley vs Rocco Rock vs Kuvatro
    4. Ryan Wing vs Mad Dog Max
    5. Dirty Frickin Creep vs Brooklyn Thug
    6. Steve Corino vs Tommy Dreamer
    7. Nicole Bass vs Riptide
    8. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka vs Tony Atlas
    9. Johnny Thundar vs Andrew Anderson

    CWF - CWF TV Episodes 1 - 5

    Episode 1:
    1) Moondogs 2000 vs Ace Darling & Andrew Anderson
    2) Johnny Thundar vs Tiger Mulligan
    3) Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka vs Mad Dog Max
    Episode 2:
    1) Battle Royal
    2) Johnny Thundar vs Ryan Wing vs Dave Delicious
    Episode 3:
    1) Dave Delicious vs Johnny Thundar
    2) Nova vs Little Guido vs Mikey Whipreck vs Ryan Wing - Special Ref:Steve Corino
    Episode 4:
    1) Moondogs 2000 vs Flesheaters
    2) Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka vs Mad Dog Max
    Episode 5:
    1) Amanda Storm vs Little Jeanie
    2) Johnny Thundar vs Tiger Mulligan, Dave Delicious & Peter Van Orton

    CWF - CWF TV Episodes 6 - 10

    Episode 6:
    - Interview w/ Peter Van Orton - Intervview w/ Eddie from the TV show Big Brother
    Episode 7:
    - Interview w/ The Flesheaters
    - Johnny Thundar vs Andrew Anderson - GGuest Referee: Ace Darling
    Episode 8:
    - Interview w/ Johnny Thundar
    - Interview w/ Peter Van Orton
    Episode 9:
    - Judas Young vs Dave Delicious vs Tigeer Mulligan vs Red - Ladder Match
    - Little Guido vs Ryan Wing
    Episode 10:
    - Steve Corino vs Ryan Wing
    - Roadkill & Danny Doring vs The Fllesheaters - Tables Match

    CWF - July 22, 2001 - Wayne, NJ and CWF TV Episodes 11 & 12

    1. Judas Young vs Tiger Mulligan
    2. Ryan Wing vs Kid Kruel
    3. Little Jeannie & Bobcat vs Nicole Bass & Brandi Wine
    4. Royal Rumble for vacant heavyweight title
    5. King Kong Bundy vs Metal Maniac
    6. The FBI (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) vs Danny Doring & Roadkill vs Mikey Whipreck & Chris Chetti vs Flesheaters
    7. Crowbar vs Simon Diamond w/ Dawn Marie
    Episode 11:
    1. Big Dick Dudley vs Equalizer - hardcore match
    2. Ace Darling vs Johnny Thundar - steel cage match
    Episode 12:
    1. Nicole Bass vs Tracii Taylor vs Little Jeannie
    2. Chris Candido w/ Tammy vs Tommy Dreamer - cage match

    http://www.wextremew.com/private.htm

    ECW fan cam (and I bought a freaking ton of those things), was 2/14/97, from Webster, MA. It has Machinoku Pro's US debut, Scott Taylor (Scotty 2 hotty) Vs. Tazz

     

    It began in Philadelphia's Original Sports Bar on February 22, 1992 in front of over 100 people. (first match - Stevie Richards vs. Jimmy Jannetty

    For all intents and purposes, it ended on March 5, 2001.

    At its best, from late 1993 to early 1996, it was a wrestling promotion that had the smartest fans in North America... educated to the various types of wrestling that existed... North American, various Japanese styles, as well as lucha libre.

    The promotion's home base had an atmosphere like no other within wrestling. Their crowds were appreciative of the product that was being offered to them, and of the talent roster from around the world that was second to no other.

    Their fans were respectful of the considerable effort being put out on their behalf by those working for this company. So much so that from 1994 to 1996, ECW and its fans were described as "Team ECW" by the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer to reflect the unique relationship that the company had with its fans.

    "Team ECW" was a group of hardworking people behind the scenes and a fan base who BELIEVED, and would do nearly anything for the company. ECW was made up in those early days of behind-the-scenes names like Bob and Lex Artese, Jay "Six-Pack" Sulli, Larry Gallone, Kathy Fitzpatrick, Kathy Donahue, Steve Truitt, and Matt Radico.

    - http://pwbts.com/columns/b031001.html

     

    At COD5

    In a very markish move before the show, the ABK and the eventual booker of Nickels were witness to an historical moment at around 5 as they decided to put a black CZW banner over the current ECW Arena/Bingo 22 sign that has been gracing the front of that building for a decade. Very emotional moment for all the marks in attendance.

    I guess you can officially say that it is the CZW Arena.

    ::waits for Eric walker's scathing commentary on how CZW destroyed the legacy of ECW::

     

     

     

    They took it down after the show anyway:( but it was cool:)

     

    In a moment that suprised a lot of people Rockin Rebel came out before the show and spoke. Breaking out of character Rebel, the licensed promoter of CZW, 3PW and several other indies, basically told the crowd if anyone had a problem with what they were about to see, to come in the back and see him. Rebel basically stuck his neck and PA promoters license out Saturday night and was more than willing to "take the bullets" if need be for CZW. In an era of this business of covering your own ass first, Rebel stuck his out for CZW. For the record, I do not think anyone actually complained about the show, but for any of Rebel's detractors out there you should be happy that CZW, 3PW and others have someone who will go to bat for them with the vaunted State Commission and be willing to make a public stand like that.

     

    SportsChannel Philadelphia on April 6, 1993, the night ECW hit TV for the first time

    http://www.prowrestlingcolumns.com/Magee/7062000.html

     

    The Dudleys vs. Nova/Spike Dudley (Sid Vicious takes Nova's place)

    http://www.liveaudiowrestling.com/wo/news/features/default.asp?aID=55

    http://members.tripod.com/~ecwbyshaggs/interview.html

     

     

     

     

    : I seem to recall there was that legendary Maryland area card that totally fell apart back in 12/96 or 12/97. Cheetah or Amdur or Jeremy could tell you about it, and there probably is a show report about it in the google archive of RSP-W. I couldn't do it justice, though it's possible that I have Cheetah's copy of the tape.

    Hmm, if you're thinking of the infamous Woodbridge VA show, it wasn't wrestlers who no-showed, it was the fans...

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

    Ah, it was a great card. At least, on paper.

    Sabu v. Candido, Jimmy Snuka, Iron Mike Sharpe, Shane Douglas, the Blue
    World Order and the Gangstas, Axl Rotten and Corporal Punishment, the
    artists formerly known as the Headbangers, the artist formerly known as
    Johnny Gunn, Corino and Cicero and Profit (oh my!), Mark Shrader and Earl
    the Pearl, and the rest of their supporting cast all descended on the
    Total Sports Pavilion, Woodbridge, VA for a heavily loaded inaugural indy
    card of an as-yet-unnamed promotion on Dec. 8, 1996...

    ... at which there seemed to be almost as many workers (and relations of
    workers) as there were fans.

    Okay, I had been nervous about this card for a couple of weeks. A
    first-time booker/promoter combo... who didn't seem to be doing a whole
    lot of aggressive advance promotion for a card that heavily loaded with
    indy talent... and counting on Sabu making it back from his All Japan tour
    [and, it turned out, work an ECW card the night before without getting
    injured to boot], not to mention hoping that everyone else showed up...
    there were so many things that could have gone wrong.

    But in the end, it was a far stranger night than even I could have
    imagined. And I have a pretty darn good imagination. *wink*

    A heapin' helping of Internetters (and very few others) started arriving
    early for a 7 PM bell time. Robster Hoffman and David Hagan were already
    present when Jeremy Billones and I got there around 6. Then "Anxiously
    Anticipating Sabu" Chris Shutters, along with Steve Marsh and his tag-team
    partner Beth, added to our contingent-- and to the crowd of less than a
    hundred that was there by the official bell-time. Also present at the
    card, but not in my notes, were such rsp-w irregulars as "Elusive
    Anthony"Gancarski and the person known to us only as Wanamaker. [Excuse
    me, WanaFNmaker. Sorry. :) ] Anyone else who was there, and who has any
    info that I don't cover in this report, please feel free to follow up to
    this. I can only report what we saw and heard from where we were, and
    even so there's a lot of confusion as to what actually happened...

    Oh, we were also hoping to meet up with a bunch of Richmond-area netters
    coming up for the card. Apparently Tim Noel was there, but was too shy to
    introduce himself to timekeeper Jeff Amdur. :) But as for Dean "Don't
    Call Me Dean Douglas" Rasmussen... I think I'll let him tell you himself
    the funny thing that happened to him on the way to the card. *grin* 1;1;0
    Anyway, perhaps it was an omen that they were playing the Led Zeppelin
    song that contains the line "lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time"soon
    after we walked in. The arena, which apparently can be set up for indoor
    volleyball, basketball, and whatever sport uses the mysterious "white
    dotted line", had enough chairs to seat about a thousand people. And, as
    I said, by the official bell time of 7 PM, there were maybe, MAYBE a
    hundred people in the place. Well, indy cards never start on time, and we
    heard that there had been three different starting times given for the
    card: 7, 7:30, and 8. Of course, we also heard that there had been three
    different _advances_ given for the card: 100, 200, and 300. And we also
    saw a lot of concerned-looking wrestlers milling around in the back area
    and the locker room... and some very worried-looking non-wrestlers looking
    at the wrestlers milling around in the back. We shrug-- we're there, and
    we can entertain ourselves, and not much else we can do at this point but
    wait.

    7:30 comes and goes. We have gained a few people, but not many. Yeah,
    the weather is blah, and the place is hard to find. But somehow we're
    getting the distinct feeling it's a more fundamental problem than that...

    8:00 is well on its way. We've gained a few more people. I think the
    actual paid will turn out to have been under the 150ish crowd I counted,
    as some of those apparently were attached to the wrestlers. But, in
    amongst all our wisecracking-- I particularly liked our idea for the
    promotion name: RLW [Really Late Wrestling] and also Beth comparing Royce
    Profit's flirting with me to Jabba the Hut and Princess Leia [I _hope_ she
    cast me in the Leia role there]-- we've also been spending some of this
    time doing a few simple calculations, and... it just don't add up. The
    money going in, as far as we can tell, can't possibly cover the money
    that's about to go out.

    And there's been a lot of walking back and forth between the locker room
    and what looks to be the main offices of the arena. A lot of unhappy
    walking back and forth...

    Finally, at 8 o'clock, Shane Douglas's pet announcer Joel Gertner [Joel,
    my boy, you've gotten plump in your old age, what happened to that sleek
    underage Jaguar I knew? *shakes head and sighs*] comes out and announces
    that the card will start soon. Robster starts a "five more minutes" chant
    to try and get the crowd-- if so that few people in that big a space can
    be called-- going.

    8:05 actual bell. We have two ring announcers [Kevin Carson and Joel
    Gertner], three referees [Dennis Anthony, Jim Molineaux and Mike Kehner],
    and one timekeeper, Jeff Amdur. I bet later on Jeff wishes there'd been
    another timekeeper as well. *grin* We also have...

    MATCH 1

    Corporal Punishment vs. Earl the Pearl. Corp begins to work the crowd up
    at once with all those one-liners he stole from Stud Lee-- I mean, he
    TAUGHT Stud Lee *grin*-- and in between all that jawing, we get a nice
    little opening match. Every time Corp rolls out of the ring to stall and
    scream at the crowd some more, Ref Kehner loses his place in the ten count
    and we decide to help him out. Corp starts reacting to _our_ ten-count,
    and Mike relaxes in the ring as we do his job. Er, this is getting
    surreal fast. Again, a nice solid opening match-- in fact, a little too
    solid, as it went a good ten minutes before Corp gets the pin with the
    Corporalizer. Hmm.

    MATCH 2

    Joel Gertner vs. Kevin Carson. Well, not literally, though Joel does have
    a bit of weight advantage there. Seems Joel wants to find out how much
    more popular he is with the audience than Kevin is. Considering the
    reaction of the applauseometer, and then the screamometer, Joel is going
    to have a hard time even winning Miss Congeniality tonight. *grin*

    Anyway, the REAL Match 2 is the six-man tag with Axl, the
    Headba^H^H^H^H^H^HFreaks of Nature and Chris Stevenson vs. Cueball
    Carmichael, Darkside and Sean Powers. And yes, I know that's eight men,
    but then I still haven't figured out why they don't call it a THREE-man
    tag match [think about it for a moment]. At any rate, the first team
    comes to the ring with a number of chairs [gee, I wonder where they found
    empty ones :P] and as the "faces" [esp in Cueball's case :P] hit the ring,
    the ring hits back. Or at least the wrestlers already in it do. *grin*
    Axl jumps out of the ring, throws a shirt over Jeff's head and rings the
    bell, then asks him what he rang the bell for when the match hadn't
    started yet. Jeff Jones, having come to the ring with Da Bad Guys, tries
    his hand at NWO style announcing. "Look at that armbar!" Uh, neither
    Hall nor Nash need to panic quite yet. :) Then someone comes down the
    aisle to yell that whoever's car is blocking the entrance needs to go and
    move it-- and Jeff Jones leaves the ring. Stevie Richards brings out a
    cell phone for Axl, who announces that he has liver trouble, that there will be refunds at the door, and does anyone have their donor card handy? And the only table in sight-- perhaps the only table in the entire arena--
    is then thrown into the ring, and breaks. Hmm.

    Powers gets pinned by the entire heelside after the Freaks Drop the Bomb
    (their powerbomb/legdrop combo), and both Kevin and Jeff get terrorized at
    ringside as we roll right on into...

    MATCH 3

    Practically half the locker room-- that is to say, the younger, goofier,
    more local half-- are out to accompany Steve Corino-- against the Hard
    Rock Kid Joey Matthews. The other half of ringside was taken up by the
    meltingly malicious Royce Profit. *grin* Kevin Carson is supposedly trying
    to put the busted table under the ring and look around for the bell for
    poor Jeff, who is still trembling at ringside from his recent Close
    Encounter of the Weird Kind, but as he crawls completely under the ring I
    do wonder if he was thinking, "Hmm, this may be the safest place at this
    point..." The Kid pulls off a good steiner from the turnbuckle, but
    otherwise Steve dominates this match and gets the pin. There's a lot of
    clowning around going on around the ring, not to mention in it, and we're
    laughing our asses off, but for Corino to get a [reasonably] clean pin...
    Hmm.

    MATCH 4

    Sheik Ali Amin Abu Dhabi Abracadabra Open Sesame Walla Walla Washington
    [also known as indy wrestler "Julio Sanchez"] starts out for the ring but
    gets chases off by Axl, who tells Ali to come back without the headress. Then-- a sight I never thought I'd see, or at least not for a few more
    months yet given the nature of wrestling *grin*-- Mark Shrader being
    carried to the ring by Axl Rotten and the Freaks. *shakes head* Again,
    half the locker room-- the same half-- runs out and get pinned by the
    Shark. His opponent, Julio Sanchez (having stolen Ali Amin's flowing trunks *grin*) comes out only to be told by Axl that if he does any of
    Sabu's moves, he's gonna get hurt worse than before. Damnit, where's
    "Chadbu" Austin when you really need him? *grin*

    Finally, Ref Kehner gives up on actually being able to control the match--
    hell, the CARD-- and takes off his ref shirt and throws it at someone. It
    ends up getting passed between Stevie and Mosh, and then Mosh decides to
    put the shirt on to ref in. Now Kehner is built like a rail and Mosh
    isn't exactly a lightheavyweight, so we hold our collective breath as Mosh
    pulls it on... and it stretches. Gee, I didn't know ref shirts were made
    of 100% spandex. The things you learn. *shakes head* Ali gets beaten up
    and pinned and chased to the back by Axl with-- you guessed it-- a chair.

    At some point during these matches, Axl starts a "pay the wrestlers"
    chant. Need I say... hmm?

    MATCH 5

    Ref Mosh calls for the next match-- and then gets out of the way. Smart
    move, as it will be the ECW tag title champs the Gangstas are defending
    against the Blue World Order [Big Stevie Fool and Da Blue Guy] with
    special guess "Extreme Ref" Jim Molineaux. I figure I'd better head for
    th bathroom now (just in case they decide to go IN there later in the
    match). But wait, a word from our sponsor. Or is that a word with _the_
    sponsor? Axl and the Freaks get in the ring and just go off in a wave of
    irreverence that I couldn't entirely catch from the back of the room, but
    was kind of an "Ask Axl Rotten Anything You Want" period. Eventually I
    make it back to ringside just as the tag match is finally about to get
    underway, and...

    First Axl and Thrasher throw a garbage can in the ring-- and then Axl and
    Stevie proceed to clean it up. Axl rings the bell for the rest of the
    wrestlers to come out of the dressing room, but no one comes. Well, that's
    a switch. Finally, the Gangstas come out, and 22 seconds later, New Jack
    has pinned the Meanie and is walking back to the locker room after
    pronouncing, "Bow down, Virginia," like a bored death sentence. Hmm.
    Then Stevie yells at Meanie, and pins him... only to have Meanie Hulk Up
    and do finger wave, punch, punch, punch, whip across ring into boot and
    leg drop of doom... only to have Stevie Warrior Up and shake the ropes.
    One Stevie Barber impression later, Da Blue Guy and Axl Hogan go at it.
    Then Axl grabs the mike and apologizes for the card, along the lines of,
    "You know, I feel sorry for you guys. You paid twenty bucks, and you were
    promised you'd get a good show. We came to here to give you that show,
    and there's a lot of guys in the dressing room who wanted to give you that
    show but they ain't gonna get paid for it. Neither are we, but we hope
    you enjoyed it anyway. End of card."

    Hmm.

    And Axl passed the hat around ringside, after which he and the Freaks danced in the ring to the music from Alexandria-- still the most amazingly raunchy music I've ever hear, wrestlers sure do have a weird sense of humor sometimes... for some reason, the entire ending sequence reminded me of the end of the old Sha Na Na TV shows: kind of a 90s "Goodnight,
    sweetheart, goodnight-- and fuck you."

    End of card.

    As for what happened after the card, I'm sure everyone has their ownversion depending on where they were standing and who they were talkingto. Dennis Wipprecht, who didn't once set foot anywhere NEAR the ringtonight in his nom du ref "Dennis Anthony", was more philosophicallyamused than anything as he noted that Axl's hat passing had netted a good
    hundred bucks. Even split with Jeff Jones and the Freaks, it's notenough-- but it was something. *shrug* As for Sydney Johnson, usually a ringside photographer but this night the hopeful first-timebooker/assistant promoter of Bayou Productions, he _was_ present theentire time, though he certainly looked like he wished he wasn't by thetime the audience had filed out and the wrestlers were lining up to ask questions and see if they would get anything for their acts, and aches,and pains. In fact, Sydney bravely joked, "Hey, can I write this report?"as he saw me and Robster in the lobby on our way out. [I did, actually, consider saying he should, and of course if he wants to say anything heknows where Jeff Amdur's email address is. :) ] I do know that thewrestlers were getting paid _some_thing, as there were a bunch of guys lined up at a hastily constructed "pay window", and there was a call for "local guys" first. Someone coming away-- I don't know who-- said that they were getting "half cash, half check". Hmm.

    Anyone who knows more about what happened, feel free to chime in. I
    didn't have the heart to ask a lot of questions. I just kind of stood and
    watched for a while, and then we all left a card that IMODO wasoverbooked, underpromoted, and in the end left a bad taste in the mouth of
    pretty much everyone involved. Too bad... but I guess that's the way the
    indy cookie crumbles sometimes. *sigh*

    Oh, and it's spelled Cronan. C-r-o-n-a-n. *grin*


    Respectfully, if sadly, submitted,
    Lee Morey, The Dark Cheetah and rsp-w roving show reporter

    http://groups.google.com/groups?q=group:rec.sport.pro-wrestling+author:lagana%40aol.com&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&scoring=d&selm=3ufhq0%24al9%40newsbf02.news.aol.com&rnum=29

     

     

     

    For people who don't know, Rockin Rebel has a promoters license in Pennsylvania. He is the on record promoter for 3PW and CZW. Basically, what that means is that when someone files a complaint about CZW or 3PW, Rebel has to sit in Greg Sirb's office and "take the bullets". His speech was a message not just to the fans at Cage Of Death V but to everyone, if there's a problem don't send an e-mail or call the PSAC, see him. It was a great stand, considering the number of people who would happily try to harm his position with the PSAC. Rebel stood up for those companies before and will undoubtebly do it again.

     

     

     

     

    My understanding is that the building needs some sort of new electronic card to operate the "TV lights" that you're referring to...and the company that originally put up the lights went out of business.

    The same problems presumably affects tapes of 3PW, as the lights aren't just something that CZW operated, but are used by anyone running at the Arena.

    If anyone's an expert on such things, let CZW know if there'a a cost-effective way to get such a "card".

    http://www.websurfnicaragua.com/spin/gallery.htm

     

     

    PWTorch.com reports that several showed up backstage for the ECW HeatWave 2000. They report that Barry Blaustein, Konnan, Jason Hervey and Christopher Daniels all came to the show to visit friends.

     

     

    3PW's 1/24/04 show: Even The Hurricane, who came by to see the event, admitted to me that he loved the ECW Arena atmosphere. Other WWE officals including referee Jack Doan were in attendance for this truly special night. BWO shirts flew off the gimmick table Saturday. There were quite a few fans sporting the blue and white by nights end.

     

    This Ain't Seinfield: Taz debuts FTW title.

    http://www.bar-a.com/Photo_Galleries/Wrestling/ECW/1999/

    http://www.bar-a.com/Photo_Galleries/Wrestling/ECW/1998/

    Go to fullsize image

    http://www.wrestlingklinik.com/czwbestofthebest3.html

    Low Ki was backstage at the final ECW PPV Guilty as Charged 2001 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. There were plans to bring him into the company had it not closed. The Backseat Boyz, Trent Acid and Johnny Kashmere, were at the final ECW Arena date in Philadelphia in December 2000 and were scheduled to start with the company shortly as well. I also believe that given their relationship to Mikey Whipwreck that you likely would have seen some of his students such as The Amazing Red and the Maximos pop up as well. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.

     

     

     

     

    2/25/92 - Debut ECW Show

    Eastern Championship Wrestling at the Philadelphia Original Sports Bar:

    Jimmy Jannetty drew with Steve Richards...following the bout both wrestlers were attacked by Gentleman Jeff Royal

    Super Destroyer beat Michael Bruno

    Tony Stetson beat Ivan Koloff...Koloff then bloodied Stetson after the match with his chain

    Glenn Osbourne beat Crybaby Waldo

    Jeff Royal pinned Matt Thrasher

    Johnny Hot Body & Larry Winters battled to a DDQ with J.T. Smith & D.C. Drake

    Kind of an inauspicious debut for ECW. But at least the card took place in a bar, my favorite venue to watch matches.

    Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

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