5 ECW Originals who deserve induction into the WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame was established way back in 1993, originally as a way to pay tribute to the passing of much-loved WWE legend Andre the Giant, who had died two months earlier.
It was a wonderful idea in theory as the company sought to celebrate the three-decade history of the promotion by celebrating the legends of its past.
As the years have ticked by, grapplers who have not wrestled or rarely competed in WWE have been enshrined, such as: Gorgeous George, Nick Bockwinkel, Mad Dog Vachon and Verne Gagne, as WWE looks to promote its very own pro-wrestling Hall of Fame, now not limited to its former employees.
However, one organization that has so far been overlooked in recognition of the WWE Hall of Fame is ECW, Extreme Championship Wrestling.
ECW was founded as Eastern Championship Wrestling, a regional promotion based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1992 and closed its doors in spring 2001, after it was declared bankrupt.
However, in the mid to late 1990s there was not a more influential wrestling promotion in the United States; WWE's famed Attitude Era was directly lifted from ECW who had produced weapons-type matches, featured scantily clad women and used profanity and reality-based angles regularly, years before Vince McMahon and WWE did the same.
However, the pioneers who wrestled at the top of ECW during this period have yet to be recognized inside the Hall of Fame. Former ECW world champion Taz was rumored to be inducted into the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame but later reports suggested that the "Human Suplex Machine" may have to wait a while longer to be honored.
This slideshow looks back on five names from ECW's illustrious past who deserve to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the near future.
#5 Shane Douglas
Although he is rarely mentioned on WWE television, "The Franchise" Shane Douglas was one of the leading stars of the original ECW.
Douglas ushered in the "extreme" era, establishing ECW as a national presence when he famously double-crossed the diminishing National Wrestling Alliance back in August 1994.
ECW at that point in time was a member of the NWA and Douglas was competing in a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Douglas won the belt and in an unforgettable moment denounced the title he had just won, rechristened it, the "ECW World Title" and said he did not want to represent a "dead" promotion such as the NWA.
Only Douglas and ECW bosses Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman were aware of the double cross which infuriated the NWA and made ECW major players overnight.
Eastern Championship Wrestling was renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling and the rest, as they say, is history.
However, Douglas achieved much more for ECW during his tenure in the promotion. He reigned as its world champion on four occasions and also held the TV title twice, competing in famous feuds with the likes of Taz, Terry Funk and Cactus Jack.
Many WWE fans may only know Douglas as the unsuccessful "Dean" character he portrayed for a mere few months in the fall of 1995, however, the man achieved so much in ECW, that he deserves to be remembered for his vast achievements there.