The "Best" moment in ECW History?

[T2KFreeker]

So, 2013 is right around the corner. It will mark the 20th Anniversary of Eastern Championship Wrestling becoming Extreme Championship Wrestling and a complete change in the feel and look of Professional Wrestling. Both WWF and WCW changed the way they looked and ran to become more like ECW was as a company. I'm not saying they both copied Paul Heyman outright, but they did pick and choose things that they felt ECW was doing that would make their company more risque. More cutting edge, More Attitude.

Revisionist history aside and WWECW aside, what do you think was the best moment ECW ever had. You can count ECW One Night Stand because it actually felt and ran like an old school ECW event. Matches and feel was there, spot on. This is in memory of ECW turning 20. It's a shame it isn't around as a company to do it, but what memories we have were awesome.

For me, to be honest, with all the great moments in ECW history, with all the cool things that happened, my one, awesome moment probably has to be when Tommy Dreamer finally beat Raven at Wrestlepalooza 1997 in the Loser Leaves Town match. After what was essentially one of the best feuds the company had ever had, these two beat the Hell out of each other in one of the most grueling matches I have seen that wasn't a Barbed Wire or Tai Pei Deathmatch or some other hardcore special thing. Plus, you really got to see Dreamer really wrestle. Not on a Bret Hart level or anything, but he and Raven made sure that Raven's "Last match" was awesome. Dreamer won and that was that. The crowd was hot, and seeing it for the first time was just awesome. At the time, I didn't realize that raven was going to WCW. Put Dreamer where he needed to be with the company and did nothing to hurt Raven going into WCW. I miss days like this.

 

[rickyc]

To me, the best moments in ECW history didn't happen in the ring, but on the mic. Paul Heyman allowing his wrestlers to have free reign on the mic, to say what they wanted, when they wanted, was what made the company so interesting to watch. Not only that, but it allowed future superstars to show their full potential, and show that they were not just one trick ponies, but that they could get things done in the ring, out of the ring, everywhere in a wrestling arena. The two promos that immediately spring to my mind, that I would categorize as not just "Best" ECW moments, but two of the greatest promos to ever be cut in the history of this business are the "Cane Dewey" Cactus Jack Promo, and Stone Cold's first real promo for ECW in which he laid out what happened to him in WCW.

Cane Dewey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28KH9YiJ9DI

Steve Austin: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x83j4k_stone-cold-steve-austin-ecw-promo_people

These promos still give me chills every time I watch them.

 

[Foshinzo]

If I were going to pick one hard moment, not a theme or anything else, my moment would be the chair fiasco. I call it the fiasco in jest, for the very reason that I nominate it for the best ECW moment.

I didn't watch ECW; I didn't have a way to. I got introduced to it when my local video store started carrying the VHS tapes in like, 98-99, something like that and the ECW appearances on Raw. Only reason I knew what ECW was for a while. I rented a tape (no idea what PPV it was,) and I even bought a tape online, but I never really cared for it. I was a diehard wrestling fan, not an ECW fan.

Still, the first time I saw the chair incident with Terry Funk and Cactus getting buried under the chairs from the audience, I wanted to see more. A company's defining moment should be the very most scene in which after viewing it, newcomers are wanting more. It was raw, it was real, and it was scary, hilarious, and cool; ECW at its best, in the most ironic way possible. For WWF, their moment was Hogan v Andre at WM3, with 90,000+ fans screaming like maniacs. For ECW, it was their fans throwing what seemed to be 90,000+ folding chairs at Terry Funk.

What should have been a tragedy for the company became ECW's best moment, in my opinion. If you're going to show one person ECW and try to get them hooked, hey, it worked for me.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

A definite contender is the moment that technically "started it all", when Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and the the Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title ultimately became the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Title. This was a huge moment, not just in the history of ECW, but in the history of the wrestling business.

This moment really embodied everything that ECW was all about. ECW bucked the traditions of "old school wrestling", and Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA Title and disrespecting everything that it represented was the perfect illustration of that. Furthermore, the controversy surrounding this moment would be indicative of the future of ECW as a whole.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Cane Dewey promo and the chairs getting thrown into the ring was awesome, but this was a moment that really changed the direction of ECW and the landscape of the wrestling industry. It all depends on how you want to define "best moment" I suppose, but I think this is a moment that absolutely has to be in this conversation.

 

[HBsam31]

A definite contender is the moment that technically "started it all", when Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and the the Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title ultimately became the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Title. This was a huge moment, not just in the history of ECW, but in the history of the wrestling business.

This moment really embodied everything that ECW was all about. ECW bucked the traditions of "old school wrestling", and Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA Title and disrespecting everything that it represented was the perfect illustration of that. Furthermore, the controversy surrounding this moment would be indicative of the future of ECW as a whole.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Cane Dewey promo and the chairs getting thrown into the ring was awesome, but this was a moment that really changed the direction of ECW and the landscape of the wrestling industry. It all depends on how you want to define "best moment" I suppose, but I think this is a moment that absolutely has to be in this conversation.

This right here. It not only changed ECW, but it is something that will always be remembered when one thinks of ECW, and wrestling in general. Watching The Franchise thrown the title down, and disrespect the history of the NWA really set the tone for what ECW was going to be. I love a lot of ECW moments, but to me this is the first and most important moment in ECW history.

 

[T2KFreeker]

"The Franchise" Shane Douglas. You know, I hat5e getting off track on a thread I started, but he really was something special at the time. He, as a performer, really embodied what ECW was going to be, not just the moment. Guy had the look and skills in the ring, but his interviews and promos really cut like a knife. His blatant disrespect of the old school industry as a whole made him what he was. Every other wrestler on the planet could have ran their mouths like Douglas did and I would have hated them for it. He did it and I loved him for it. It's almost ironic. It's one of the things that always made me sad that he really never hit it big in either WWF or WCW. Then again, I guess the gimmick is everything. His first run in WCW was okay, but the second one where he always had that damn cast on was not very good at all. In WWF, well we all know what was wrong with that crap. In ECW though, Douglas shined and the unedited, hardcore character he played was a masterpiece of the industry. Totally awesome as a performer, and so underappreciated by the masses these days.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

A definite contender is the moment that technically "started it all", when Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and the the Eastern Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title ultimately became the Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Title. This was a huge moment, not just in the history of ECW, but in the history of the wrestling business.

This moment really embodied everything that ECW was all about. ECW bucked the traditions of "old school wrestling", and Shane Douglas throwing down the NWA Title and disrespecting everything that it represented was the perfect illustration of that. Furthermore, the controversy surrounding this moment would be indicative of the future of ECW as a whole.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Cane Dewey promo and the chairs getting thrown into the ring was awesome, but this was a moment that really changed the direction of ECW and the landscape of the wrestling industry. It all depends on how you want to define "best moment" I suppose, but I think this is a moment that absolutely has to be in this conversation.

As much as dislike Douglas I have to agree. This was the official start of ECW. This type of moment defined what ECW was about and it opened the flood gates.

I don't think anyone else but Douglas could have done it. He was so jaded and in his mind thought that the wrestling world was trying to screw him. I don't see anyone else who could have pulled that off like he did.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

It's a little hard for me to pick just one moment, but I think for me the best was when Terry Funk won the world title at Barely Legal. Such an emotional moment for Funk, and all the fans as well. Another one of my favorites is in the Guerrero vs Malenko match from Hostile City Showdown 95. They go through a chain wrestling sequence, and jump up into the air at the same time with simultaneous dropkicks at each other that miss. They leap back up to their feet at the same time in with a staredown and the crowd goes crazy for them. Awesome moment right there.

Taz calling out UFC VII tournament finalist Paul Varelans in the ECW Arena in the summer of 96 was another one of my favorites. Loved it when Taz told him that he was the real ultimate fighter.

I got a bunch of favorites. It's hard for me to pick just one. I could go on to fill up this entire page.

 

[boozinjedi]

The first Malenko/Guerrero battle...a time limit draw not a dull moment throughout the entire match,I can still remember sitting on the couch,glued to the screen not believeing what I was seeing.
Two guys at the top of their game going all out!!
Taz put it best when he and Styles were on wwe.com promoting I think itwas WM23 saying how hard it was to follow one of their matches.
Styles:Those two always had great matches
Taz: Did they ever have a bad one?!

 

[johnhn]

The Sandman!

Brought a tear to my eye and I just checked the video to test my memory. Incredible sustained emotion.

While I agree with the historic significance of the other moments here and I was there for most or all of them ... compare the heat from the Sandman's return to, say, Shane throwing down the belt ... and let me know what you see.