It's great to be back after a short time off due to moving as well as some computer issues in general. I am ready to dive right back in with a little history lesson.
This article will focus on the explosion of ECW onto the wrestling scene and the impact that it had on the wrestling industry in general. I will also preface this by saying that if all you know of the REAL ECW is what WWE has edited and put onto a DVD, you may not enjoy this article very much. Without further ado, let's look at the areas in which Extreme Championship Wrestling changed the business as we knew it.
Cutting Edge Storylines
Nobody was better than Paul Heyman at coming up with cutting edge storylines and television ideas. At least, that is what the trendy fan wants you to think. The truth is Paul surrounded himself with excellent minds for the business and gleaned many of his ideas off of those people around him. The faces on TV were given complete creative freedom to do as they wish from week to week.
One man who has since come out and told many of his stories is Scott Levy or Raven. Raven is an absolute genius with a mind for the business. One of the greatest storylines in the history of wrestling is that of the Raven/Tommy Dreamer feud. Tommy Dreamer and Raven fought week in and week out in a bitter and personal feud. It was so well written and presented that you actually felt like you were in the middle of this feud. Very few fans of ECW could look at Raven without feeling sick to their stomach and filled with hatred for him. ECW had a way of doing this. They made things personal and on a level that the average fan could associate with. They didn't come off as stretching to piece together stories. Nowadays wrestling companies tend to make you feel less involved and more like you are simply watching a show.
Tommy and Raven fought for the better part of three and a half years with Tommy never once picking up a victory in a one on one setting. Yet every week, you tuned in to see if he would finally get the job done. Raven and Paul threw every great roadblock in the way they possibly could. Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie, Brian Lee, Cactus Jack, and countless other "followers" of Raven interceded and yet all you could feel was sympathy and passion for Dreamer. You rallied around him and truly felt one in the same with Tommy.
Countless other storylines and events kept you tuning in each and every week to SportsChannel or MSG to watch it play out. Waiting for 911 to chokeslam Bill Alphonso, watching the out of this world wrestling and ringwork of Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero, the first American introduction to Lucha Libre with Rey Mysterio and Psychosis, as well as innovative match types kept you on the edge of your seat. While they might not have had the greatest TV deal of all time, ECW gave you one hour a week of their absolute best in-ring work. In addition, you got unbelievable promos and event hype (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ8AtL5_LRw&feature=related.) Anytime ECW presented a card for a show that was coming up or did a video release, you had to have it at any cost.
The Atmosphere
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