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I have some ECW questions after watching some ECW Week content on WWE Vault?
OK.
If there was no Internet really, how did the company promote its shows and sell tickets? Like, you are from NYC, so how would you know what was going on in Philly?
They promoted their events on their Sportschannel Philadelphia TV series, which aired I believe Tuesdays. They also did lots of postering locally on telephone polls and store windows and things like that as well as flyering of events. To buy Arena show tickets, you would have to go to Carver W. Reed, which Tod Gordon owns and operates, to buy tickets or call to order them via phone and have them mailed to you. Later, there were other ticket outlets. Or, you could just buy a ticket at the door. Until much later, the ECW Arena hows never sold out in advance. As far as how I would know about the shows, it was either word of mouth or via tape trading in that era. The newsletters in that time period were a big deal for diehard fans as well. When the Internet really started taking off, AOL, Prodigy and the Rec Sport Pro Wrestling newsgroup helped accelerated the attention the company got and they even had Internet convention weekends.
How did they get away with destroying the arenas, brawling all over, etc.?
In the case of the ECW Arena, the ownership was happy to let them do whatever they wanted as long as the damages were paid for, since Butchie, who managed the place, would do the repairs themselves. Other venues absolutely ended up kicking ECW out because of the damage from time to time, even when they were happy with making money on concessions, etc. when ECW came to their venues. ECW was like a punk rock show - sometimes, it got out of hand. The extreme tag wasn't just a buzzword, it was the style and the attitude of the company and many of those who worked there at the time. As far as how they got away with so much, it was a lot of luck and the fact that since there weren't things like cameras on every cell phone, incidents didn't really leak out to the general public, in part because there was no Internet or social media at the level it is now where incidents could go immediately viral and turn the tide against them, etc. If iPhones existed, ECW would have been snuffed out really fast.
How did the company not get shut down for some of the more insane things like the fire incident and the crucifixion?
Regarding the fire incident, there was a hearing with the PA State Athletic Commission and I believe fines levied. There was also a civil lawsuit, but the jury ruled against the fan who brought it. In the case of the Sandman on the cross, I don't believe there was any fallout officially beyond fans being upset about it and ECW really, really walking back from the angle, including sending Raven out to apologize the same night and some who worked for the company asking photographers at the time not to use the photos. Obviously fan photos made it out there, but it wasn't until the Rise and Fall of ECW documentary released by WWE that any of that material was ever utilized. So, that wasn't as much of a big deal outside of the wrestling circle because they mitigated the damage as much as possible.
One of the urban legends around the fire incident was that the footage was lost or destroyed. Is it possible that footage is still out there?
I have never heard anything official about where that footage is or was or where it went so I can't speak on the veracity of those urban legends. I will predict that no one will ever, ever see them (if they even exist today), nor should anyone ever want to see it. It was a completely awful, scary confluence of events that I hope are never repeated anywhere. To me, it was the darkest moment of ECW's history, far worse than any riot or bad angle.
We see lots of promotions try to be the new ECW or even go crazier but did any company ever come close to catching their buzz or attention?
I think the only company that came sort of close was the 2001 era CZW, which at the time had a really revolutionary style and lots of insane antics but on a larger scale, I don't believe anyone ever had the sort of momentum or live vibe that ECW had in its best days for any lengthy period of time. ECW was unique to itself, it had Paul Heyman as its leader and cheerleader and there were a lot of talents who had chips on their shoulders to prove themselves and ECW as a concept. I think there's lots of good talent and companies that have come and gone since but nothing has ever, in my mind, lived up to or surpassed what was so special about those ECW Arena shows from 1994-1997. Just my opinion.
Most underrated ECW regular of all time?
JT Smith.
Most underrated ECW team?
Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke.
Was New Jack as insane as he came across?
Yes and no. He could get fired up for sure, but he was always very kind and respectful towards me. If you showed him respect, he was the same towards you. If he was in a bad place or mood and someone antagonized him, well, Good luck.
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