Random EC F'N W Bullshit

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I never found a definitive answer but Reddit seemed to think it was $14.99 to $19.99.

I remember what an outrage it was when WWF PPVs moved to $40 in the '00s. TBF, we did get to a breaking point where wrestling PPVs were too expensive.

Actually looking into it, the average buyrate for WWE PPVs were actually fairly steady (and mildly increasing most years) in the early 2010s after gradually going downhill in the mid late '00s (and hitting rock bottom in 2010). Go figure. Maybe people would still pay $50-70 for this BS if WWE Network never existed.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

How much was a WWE PPV right before the network rolled out? It had to have been close to $70 for the HD feed. UFC PPVs ate stupid expensive too.

My mom let me order In Your House PPVs in the 90s because they would be cheaper than a "Big 4" show ($15 for a two hour run time).

 

[Gert]

I don't think they ever topped $20. I remember that being a big selling point on my folks letting me get all of them, because the WWF was already hitting $40 a show around that time.

Maybe I'm misremembering, or I was getting suckered to throw in more money!

It's funny, as passionate as the fans were, Paul probably assumed they would buy anything, but the fact that Vince wanted some of the guys in 1998 since we was keeping ECW afloat, and WCW taking a bunch of guys, storyline wise and injuries there was almost no chance they were going to be able to make PPV's that would generate new interest every other month.

 

[Bret "Hitman" Hart]

One of my great regrets about the way my run in the WWF ended is that I never gave ECW a chance. Had I chosen to go there, I would have never had to wrestle Bill Goldberg.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

there was almost no chance they were going to be able to make PPV's that would generate new interest every other month.

I disagree, but that's more because it was the idea of ECW being a draw more than it was any one particular talent. Even the dying days with Justin Credible in the main still saw the company hit its peak of popularity and credibility. Despite the Attitude Era aping the ECW style, and WCW taking its best in-ring talents, ECW still presented a different product that couldn't be matched. Vince couldn't go as far as Paul could, and WCW couldn't match the average match quality.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I've always wondered what ECW 2002 would look like with Danielson, Samoa Joe, etc working their way up.
Plenty of WCW and WWF wash outs starting to come to the indies as well.
Maybe some odd one offs w/ a Piper's Pit on ECW PPV or something?
Do the Jarretts still give it a go w/ TNA if ECW is alive in some form?

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I don't know how many Indy stars would've actually jumped to ECW to be honest... with WCW folding into WWF, I could've seen ECW having a lot of talent making their returns (ala Raven in 1999): Mikey Whipwreck, Kid Kash, Mike Awesome perhaps if he wasn't feeling his WWF run, Lance Storm, etc. along with guys who were on the lower tier WCW list like Kanyon who I think could've had an Al Snow-esque resurgence in ECW and guys like Billy Kidman/Juventud Guerrera who knew WWF wouldn't really use them.

People think based on the success of ROH that most of those workers would've just been in ECW instead and I don't buy that at all with the other notable Indy groups running at the time. Japan also would've been a stronger possibility for some of those guys IMO.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Except Paul E. has said that if ECW lives that it'd turn into something like ROH. Even in the last year or two of ECW, it seemed like they were slowly starting to phase out the blood and guts aspect.

I feel like the XFL doesn't get brought up enough IRT the nosedive in wrestling's popularity in the early '00s. If Vince never gets into football, I'm guessing ECW lasts another few years. I think it was doomed to fail long with Paul E in charge but maybe it lasts another 2-3 years before it folds into WWF or is bought by a money mark.

Spoiler

I couldn't find the clip of Jeff Jarrett at the ECW Arena but this is a reasonable substitute of what it'd be like if Jeff Jarrett took over ECW

Either that or VKM gets into doing B movies a few years earlier.

 

[Valeyard]

I can't see ECW ever becoming ROH. I think they stay the course with the style they had at the end with phasing the hardcore stuff down, kind of separating the Sandmans and Dreamers of the world from the rest of the roster for the most part. Basically the middle ground would be Corino, I guess. Bring in Eddie (actually you could make a strong case for all the Filthy Animals), the core ROH guys for the first couple years (Punk, Bryan, Daniels, Joe), work out some deals with Zero One or Toryumon. Get something for everyone again.

Jarrett still starts TNA, maybe sharing talent for a while, but it winds up like the TNA/ROH partnership where they start banning their guys from being on the other's DVDs and so on. Roster winds up the same more or less, variables really only being where Lynn and Kash go.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Except Paul E. has said that if ECW lives that it'd turn into something like ROH. Even in the last year or two of ECW, it seemed like they were slowly starting to phase out the blood and guts aspect.

I feel like the XFL doesn't get brought up enough IRT the nosedive in wrestling's popularity in the early '00s. If Vince never gets into football, I'm guessing ECW lasts another few years. I think it was doomed to fail long with Paul E in charge but maybe it lasts another 2-3 years before it folds into WWF or is bought by a money mark.

Spoiler

I couldn't find the clip of Jeff Jarrett at the ECW Arena but this is a reasonable substitute of what it'd be like if Jeff Jarrett took over ECW

Either that or VKM gets into doing B movies a few years earlier.

I think there's (to me anyway) a drastic difference in saying Paul E. would've made ECW more like ROH in tone/style and going, "Oh, he'd bring in the key ROH guys/core ROH guys/etc." talk like what Valeyard mentioned. By 2002, Punk was establishing himself at IWA-Mid South; Samoe Joe was at UPW; Low Ki was working JAPW and joined ROH in 2002; Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson was in NJPW; Christopher Daniels would join ROH in 2002 but never struck me as a guy who'd go to ECW... The only one of that group I could really see was CM Punk and I'm not 100% that he'd have jumped to ECW that early in his career. I also don't buy that Bryan would've turned down the NJPW opportunity for ECW.

I could've really seen Paul E. bringing back Konnan/Juvi/Rey Mysterio Jr/Eddie as he already had Super Crazy and Tajiri. Toryumon, as Vale pointed out, would've been a perfect Michinoku Pro type talent pool as well. If Paul E. really wanted that ROH style and that kind of transition then it'd make sense to bring back guys like Mike Awesome, Lance Storm, Shane Douglas, Saturn, etc. because they could all wrestle without having to rely on weapons but had the ECW factory of being able to wrestle in an "ECW garbage" style match if necessary.

If ECW had gone into 2003/2004, I legitimately could've seen Paul E. making a run at the Hardy Boys/Edge & Christian if they were feeling burnout from the WWF. I also could've seen Paul E. going for some of Shawn Michaels' TWA guys instead: Michael Shane (who did work an ECW show!); Brian Kendrick, and Paul London.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1600199810824704000

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1600199810824704000

I've never been more grateful to have not been tagged for a TSMcon fantasy scenerio.
Kamala kept that thought for himself in the shower.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1600921905695166464

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Extreme Championship Wrestling Magazine, December 1999 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

12/99

archive.org

@Laz was telling me the other week that there was an ECW Magazine and now I see an issue of it in the pile of wrestling magazines that were just uploaded to Archive.org.


1999 Dawn Marie. Wa wa wee wa. (takes off shoe and smacks it against head)

Fake edit- They have the first issue too

Extreme Championship Wrestling Magazine, June 1999 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

6/99

archive.org

I guess that Shane Douglas column wouldn't last long lol.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

It was a damn fine mag, too. Published by the same company that did WOW.

 

[Valeyard]

So I've been looking for this shit for over 20 years. I knew it was real, but due it being in Google Books I can't screenshot it so I'mma lower myself to transcribing it.

Pat McNeill of Pro Wrestling Torch, in memory of ECW going out of business, decided that the print medium was the best place to write an ECW tribute parody song set to "American Pie."

A long long time ago...
I can still remember
How their wrestling used to make me smile.
And if I knew they had the chance
They'd book one more threeway dance
And maybe we'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver
With every dirtsheet I'd deliver.
Bad news on the Torch page
The Big Three's in its last stage.

I do know that I never cried
When I read the Rainbow deal was fried,
But I was saddened deep inside
The day ECW died.

So bye bye Bleacher Bums and Sign Guy
It was fun but now it's done
Because the money's run dry.
And the boys drank beer and left the ring with a sigh
As they kissed the revolution goodbye.
Kiss the revolution goodbye.

Did you watch the Brothers Funk
And will you use chairs and all that junk
If the smart fans tell you so?
Now do you remember Rockin' Bowl?
How Shane saved Matt Borne's soul
And Kimona taught us how to dance real slow?

When Eddie gave the book to Paul and Todd
The hardcore fans thought Paul was god.
If the first match wasn't fun
You'd just call 911.

We were sick of Mabel and Bunkhouse Buck
And stupid matches in a flatbed truck,
And with their shows we were in luck
'Till ECW died.

We started singin'
Bye bye Bleacher Bums and Sign Guy
It was fun but now it's done
Because the money's run dry.
And the boys drank beer and left the ring with a sigh
As they kissed the revolution goodbye.
Kiss the revolution goodbye.

I met a girl with big fake boobs
And I asked about the pay-per-view,
But she just frownd and shook her head.
And I went down to Viking Hall,
Where in years past we'd had a ball,
But the man there said there's an indy show instead.

And in the streets, the hardcores screamed.
The Rottens bled, the rookies dreamed.
But not a curse word was spoken
The tables all were broken.
And the man who had the finest hour
Giving all his fans such power,
He caught the bus to Titan Tower
'Cause ECW's dead.

And they were singin'
Bye bye Bleacher Bums and Sign Guy
It was fun but now it's done
Because the money's run dry.
And the boys drank beer and left the ring with a sigh
As they kissed the revolution goodbye.
Kiss the revolution goodbye.

I haven't felt that specific cringe in a long time.

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

I remember during HHH's reign of terror, someone wrote to Wrestlecrap with a poem describing Hunter. The only part I remember was:

"Banging Stephanie 24/7
I'll keep the title until I go to heaven"

Awfully classy stuff.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Pat McNeill of Pro Wrestling Torch, in memory of ECW going out of business, decided that the print medium was the best place to write an ECW tribute parody song set to "American Pie."


I haven't felt that specific cringe in a long time.

I'm going to have @Laz sing that at TSMCon.

 

[Valeyard]

Dude also has one about the XFL based on "Vincent." Prolific.

 

[geniusMoment]

Glory Days...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1604155710333493250

 

[One Epic Winter (OEW)]

Surprised this many ECW alumni are still alive.

 

[Valeyard]

Is that Francine? She looks amazing

 

[Hawk 34]

Something amusing about a Dennis Condrey shirt on the gimmick table amongst those guys.

 

[BruiserBrody]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1604022666641346561

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1607511027213828096

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Is that Francine? She looks amazing

I think so. She looks incredible now that she's been away from the business and started a family.

 

[strummer]

Yeah I saw a Francine interview at the beginning of this year or so and she basically looks exactly the same (or even better) as she did in 1997. She hasn't aged at all

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1609711297280544768

Found @Laz 's burner.

 

[Sex Machine Gun]

... I never made that potential connection until now. Holy shit.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Great. The TRCXF clone saga has begun.