Paul Heyman comments on the 25th anniversary of iconic ECW pay-per-view
WWE manager Paul Heyman has taken to social media to post in honor of the 25th anniversary of ECW: Barely Legal.
The event was the first pay-per-view in the history of Extreme Championship Wrestling, showcasing their groundbreaking hardcore style like never before. At the event, Terry Funk beat Sandman and Stevie Richards in a "Three-Way Dance" to become the number one contender for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Funk defeated Raven for the promotion's top title in the very next bout.
Paul Heyman, the mastermind behind ECW, took to Instagram to talk about the company's difficulties while putting the event on.
"ECW’s fight to get on PPV has been covered in books, documentaries, et al. From ppv distributors’ confusion w/ MMA; our competitors doing everything to keep us off PPV; our uncompromising insistence on doing the show w/ our directors, a one-man announce booth, from the world’s most infamous bingo hall on literally the wrong side of the tracks in South Phily; we were willing to die before we’d sell out our vision."
The Wise Man then expressed his gratitude for what ECW was able to achieve in its short run.
"We weren’t meant to last. We were there to lead the revolution, indeed evolution, of where the business would go. I often tap out trying to describe it better. We did it. We made it. The ECW fans got us there."
You can check out the full post below:
ECW ceased its operations in the early 2000s. WWE purchased the company and briefly reintroduced it as a part of the World Wrestling Federation Invasion storyline.
Paul Heyman had several issues getting ECW on pay-per-view
Though the event would set the tone for the next four years, there were issues getting it on the air.
Pay-per-view provider Request TV ended its affiliation with the event when a journalist made them aware of the Mass Transit incident. The said incident involved New Jack and a wrestler known as Mass Transit, where a real-life assault took place on the Untrained Transit during the match.
#ECW #BarelyLegal did not take place (when) there was 1 brand so dominant, it was easy for companies to call themselves alternative ... We took on two billion-dollar companies during the most hyper-competitive environment in the history of the industry.
instagram.com/p/CcUa6VmDIz3/ https://t.co/xk3GLtoHm8
After a fan email campaign, the event went on air with a different pay-per-view provider known as Premier but still received complaints about its graphic content.
What did you think of Paul Heyman's post? Do you remember watching ECW: Barely Legal? Share your thoughts in the comments down below.