In honor of the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV, this week’s High 5 will be looking at the original ‘House of Hardcore,’ Extreme Championship Wrestling. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating… The 90’s were a weird time, man. We were all hopped up on Surge, playing Goldeneye, and watching Tank Girl. I myself owned no less than three Dr. Suess, Cat-in-the-Hat hats, and several pairs of pants that had a bigger opening at the leg than at the waist.
Please, don’t judge us too harshly. We obviously had no taste. Since the 90s are about as close as America came to an actual Purge, it makes sense that Paul Heyman ultra-violent brand would find its niche, hardcore audience. The ECW wrestlers put their bodies on the line in a way not seen in the major brands. The men in that ring had a chip on their shoulder. Whether they were stating out or spurned by one of the big brands, ECW wrestlers had something to prove and they did it every night.
There’s a reason why so many of us who were alive to experience it speak about ECW as some mythical, lost thing. It’s our Paradise lost, and people have tried to replicate or resurrect it to no avail. It can’t be duplicated, as ECW was a product of its era and the mad mind of Paul Heyman. So as we gear up for WWE‘s version of extreme, let us pay homage to the real ‘House of Hardcore’ and the men that carried the banner. Here are the ‘Top 5 ECW Heavyweight Champions of All Time’.
5. Sabu – 2 reigns – 93 days as champion
The homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, death-defying maniac known as Sabu is one of the most iconic ECW wrestlers of all time, and, for many of us, this was our first impression of the man:
Sabu lept off of the Raw sign in 1997 and stole the show from Taz and Mikey Whipwreck. He didn’t say a word, just took a death-defying leap before being dragged out by a ton of security. Who was this madman? Why did he do that? What the hell is going on?! These were all things my 12 year-old mind was screaming as I watched ECW invade the WWE.
Sabu is a legacy and a legend, and his tight-mouthed approach only added to the mystique. Sabu was the nephew of the original Sheik, Ed Farhat, who taught him to be a technical wrestler. However, technicality would not be his modus operandi, and his years in Japan’s Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling would shape and scar his body as much as his career.
Sabu joined ECW in 1991 and would defeat Terry Funk for his first ECW title reign in October of 1993. Sabu held the title for 85 days before dropping it back to Funk the day after Xmas. Sabu would later no-show an ECW event and be fired by Paul Heyman, but would return in 1995. It was during his second run with the company that Sabu had, arguably, his most famous match: a barbwire match against Terry Funk. During the match, Sabu ripped a 10″ gash in his arm, taped it up, and kept going. The match ended with both men tangled in barbed-wire and having to be cut free. It’s the one match Paul Heyman described as “gruesome” and was scared of ever booking again due to what it took out of the competitors.
Funk would say, of the match, that he’d never seen anything like what Sabu did. His body is like a road-map of pain, etched in the scars of so many death-matches. The man bled and sacrificed himself in a way only Terry Funk and Mick Foley may understand. So, despite his second reign only lasting eight days, Sabu is one of the men who defined ECW and hardcore, and his legacy alone earned him a spot on this list.
4. The Sandman – 5 reigns – 446 days as champion
I’m not entirely convinced that the Sandman was even a wrestler, I’m pretty sure he’s just a drunk fan that they were too scared to throw out. I know you’re asking how the hell I could include Sandman but leave off Terry Funk. Brother, it wasn’t easy. But Sandman is, like Booker, a five-time world champion.
Sandman was almost the ECW‘s attitude made manifest in an ill-fitting Rutger Hauer skin. Except, it wasn’t tears in the rain, just a lot of beer sloshing about.
He was perfect for the blue-collar ECW fan-base. Originally, Sandman was gonna come out with a surfboard and do a surfer gimmick before Heyman saw him drunk backstage chain-smoking. Seeing, basically, an avatar for their entire fan-base, Heyman decided to send the Sandman out as he was. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t wrestle. I mean the Great Khali can barely walk and we’re supposed to see him as a legit wrestler.
Sandman may have been all character and minimal skill, but it was one of the rawest, most unique characters to hit the squared circle (then promptly pass-out in it). Sandman held the ECW Championship more times than anyone else and, collectively, held the belt longer than anyone except for Shane Douglas. Sandman was a brawler in and out of the ring, though his matches never seemed to run too long. I’m not sure if his matches were shorter to hide his faults or just because they were afraid he’d dry-out mid-match and get the DTs.
Regardless of ability, Sandman was captivating and managed to make a career out of being the most unhealthy athlete since the 1950’s men’s track team endorsed the smooth, mild taste of Chesterfields. That’s right, there’s nothing like a good Chesterfield after a hard day at the office. 9 out of 10 doctors agree, smoking a pack of Chesterfields a day can reduce irritability and make you more attractive to others. Now, try Chesterfield Jr.’s! Their small size fits in most lunch pails and makes it easy to smoke during a short recess.
This entry was brought to you by Altria.
Authors Note: Mr. Fullington, if you’re reading this, these were jokes. Please don’t beat me to death with your kendo stick, you terrifying, terrifying human beer keg.
3. Taz – 2 reigns – 261 days as champion
Taz has a special place on this list and in the hearts of ECW fans as the guy who rescued the wayward title from Mike Awesome. Like Alundra Blaze and Bret Hart, Awesome had heard Eric Bischoff’s siren song and joined Ol’ Uncle Ted’s “wrasslin'” federation while being the champ. Would Awesome besmirch the ECW title like Blaze had done the WWF Women’s Championship? Let’s back up a bit first.
Taz joined when it was still Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1993. He kicked around the tag team division, winning the doubles titles and even the TV Championship. Taz severely injured his neck during his first run, but Heyman continued to pay him. This show of loyalty bonded the men and would come into play later when Paul needed a champion to retrieve his title back from Awesome.
Taz would return to the ring in December of 1995 sporting his signature black and orange singlet and debuted his new suplex heavy offense, and the Tazmission. Taz would spend the next few years in the TV Title picture and feuding with his former partner Sabu. Eventually, he lost the gold to the ‘Beast from the East,’ Bam Bam Bigelow in March of 1998.
After, Taz was put in the hunt for the ECW Championship, and eventually beat Shane Douglas for his first heavyweight title run. The ‘Human Suplex Machine’ held the title for 252 days and cemented his status as an ECW legend. Toward the end of this run, he signed with the WWE and eventually lost the title to Mike Awesome.
Mike would go on to have some amazing matches with Masato Tanaka as they feuded over the belt. This is when the real drama started.
Mike signed with WCW but Paul Heyman was able to legally bind him from taking the title to WCW television. So, in an event that hasn’t been seen since. Two wrestlers from the rival organizations met in a separate promotions ring to fight for their title. This was the first and only time a WCW contracted talent a WWE contracted talent met in the squared circle.
Taz defeated the Benedict Arnold of ECW and brought the belt back home to Paul, losing the belt to Tommy Dreamer 10 days later. The weight of such a victory cannot be overstated. It wasn’t RVD or Sabu representing ECW, it was the ‘Human Suplex Machine,’ Taz. His importance to the company cannot be overstated.
2. Raven – 2 reigns – 389 days as champion
To paraphrase Vince McMahon, “Who the HELL resigned Johnny Polo?!” Raven’s first few gimmicks in WCW and WWE were… bad. Just awful. I think they were trying for a Jim Cornette, spoiled, rich-boy, manager gimmick, but it was such a waste of talent.
After leaving WWE, Scott Levy developed the Raven character based on the Edgar Allen Poe poem and Bodhi from Point Break. I know! Freakin’ Bodhi, man?! I was as confused as you all are by that revelation. I didn’t think Patrick Swayze inspired anything but sexy dance moves and two people trying to use the same potter’s wheel.
Raven would form his Raven’s Nest with Steven Richards always at the core. Eventually, the two would go on to win the ECW Tag Team Championships. In early 1996, Raven defeated the Sandman for his first ECW Championship with help from the Raven’s Nest.
Like Taz’s first reign, Raven held the title for 252 days before having to drop it to Sandman. At Ultimate Jeopardy in October of 1996, Raven was scheduled to team with Brian Lee against Sandman and Tommy Dreamer with the ECW Title on the line. He couldn’t compete and was replaced by Steven Richards, and Sandman won his fourth title after pinning the latter. Raven’s feud with Sandman was marked by the highly controversial angle of Raven and his followers crucifying Sandman and put a barbwire crown on him. This controversial act even prevented Kurt Angle from joining the organization after he witnessed it.
Raven would eventually win the title back from Sandman in a hellacious barbed wire match. Raven held the title for 127 days during his second reign. He even successfully defended against ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams, giving the ‘Doc’ his first loss in the US in a decade.
Raven would eventually lose the title to Terry Funk at Barely Legal in 1997. Raven accomplished some remarkable things in ECW and the time he spent there established the character he’d continue on in WCW. Raven was the personification of the disenfranchised Generation X’er and his mood and attitude struck a chord at the right time. As a moody teen in the 90s, Raven always spoke to me. I dressed like him, I read Edgar Allen Poe, and generally thought he was the coolest guy since Billy Dee.
1. Shane Douglas – 4 reigns – 874 days as champion
Who else? Who else would be in this spot but one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time? Shane may have never truly shined in WCW or WWF, but in ECW he was the man. Maybe I’m biased because he’s a Douglas and so am I. I’ve even got the clan crest tattooed on my forearm. Ok, so his real last name is Martin, but whatever, I’ll claim him. But this is no favoritism, oh no! This man has earned his spot here by holding the title nearly twice as long as any other competitor, and, in a way, by being the first Extreme Championship Wrestling Champion.
By the time Shane made it to Eastern Championship Wrestling, he was already an experienced competitor, having feuded with big names like Brian Pillman and Paul Orndorff in WCW. After only a short time, Shane captured his first heavyweight title after Tito Santana had vacated the belt. Douglas held the starp for less than a month before dropping it to Sabu.
However, Shane’s second title run began with one of the most memorable moments in ECW history. At this time, Eastern Championship Wrestling was part of the NWA, and was using their heavywieght championship. That’s right, Sandman held the same title that Ric Flair made legendary. Weird.
On March 26, 1994, at Ultimate Jeopardy, Douglas beat seven other men to regain his title. When he was presented with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, he threw aside and declared himself the ECW champ. Eastern became Extreme and ECW left the NWA. It was the moment when Paul Heyman planted his flag and declared ECW it’s own sovereign nation of gratuitous violence.
Douglas would hold the title an impressive 385 days during his second reign, making it the second longest title run in the belt’s history. The top spot goes to Shane’s fourth and final run with the title that lasted an impressive 406 days before Taz dethroned him.
While we fondly remember RVD, Tommy Dreamer, and Sabu, as extreme faces we couldn’t wait to cheer, it’s easy for some to forget the ultimate heel in ECW. The ‘Franchise’ was one of the most important members of the house of hardcore and arguably its greatest champion.
Who were your favorite ECW Champions? Yell at me for leaving Terry Funk off on Twitter HERE, or in the comments below. You can also join us on Discord to chat with Oli, Luke, the magazine team, the website writers and each other here!
Comments.
Loading comments…