Today in ECW History - January 4th

 Wrestler birthday(s): Chris Kanyon (pictured above) was born on this day in 1970. Kanyon is best known for his runs in WCW, WWF and TNA, but he actually appeared in ECW back in the day, having 2 matches on August 28th, 1994. He and Dino Sendoff faced Cactus Jack and Mikey Whipwreck (c) for the ECW World Tag Team Championship, in losing manner. Later that same night, he defeated Paul Lauria in his only other ECW match. 

1997: ECW Live Event @ Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere, Massachusetts

Attendance: 1,030

Results:

• Stevie Richards def. Little Guido
• The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley) def. Chris Van De Lay and Roadkill
• Axl Rotten def. Jimmy Cicero
• The Sandman def. D-Von Dudley
• D-Von Dudley def. The Sandman
• ECW World Tag Team Championship: The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus) (c) def. Axl Rotten and D-Von Dudley to retain the titles
• Pitbull #2 and Tommy Dreamer def. Brian Lee and Shane Douglas
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Raven (c) def. Tommy Dreamer to retain the title 

1998: ECW Live Event @ Tyndall Armory in Indianapolis, Indiana

Attendance: 1,000

Results:

• Justin Credible def. Chris Chetti
• ECW World Television Championship: Taz (c) def. Super Nova to retain the title 
• Al Snow def. Paul Diamond
• Doug Furnas def. Spike Dudley
• Bam Bam Bigelow def. Roadkill
• 6-Man Tag Team Match: The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney) and Tommy Dreamer def. The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido, Tommy Rich and Tracy Smothers)
• Rob Van Dam def. Jerry Lynn
• The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) def. The Gangstanators (John Kronus and New Jack)
• Sabu def. The Sandman

Today in ECW History - December 30th

 Today in ECW History - December 30th:

Photo of Jean-Pierre Lafitte during the era in which he appeared in ECW. He is now known as PCO and still wrestles in promotions such as TNA/Impact Wrestling. 

Wrestler birthday(s): Carl Pierre Ouelett (aka Jean-Pierre Lafitte in ECW and currently known as PCO) was born on this day in 1967. Lafitte had a handful of ECW matches in the year 2000 during June and July of 2000. His ECW debut match came on June 9th, 2000, where he was defeated by Rhino in a match for the ECW World Television Championship. The following day, Lafitte got a win over H.C. Loc, then a month later on July 7th, 2000, he would defeat The Musketeer, before losing to Justin Credible (c) for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship on the following day during a taping for ECW Hardcore TV. His loss to Credible would be his final ECW appearance. 

Death(s): N/A

1995: ECW Live Event @ Bodyslams Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 398

Results:

• Sabu def. El Puerto Ricano
• Bad Crew (Bad Crew #1 and Bad Crew #2) def. The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Dances with Dudley)
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Mikey Whipwreck (c) def. Koji Nakagawa to retain the title 
• The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) def. The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa)
• The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and Pitbull #2) def. The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn)
• The Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio def. Cactus Jack and Raven
• Tommy Dreamer def. Stevie Richards
• Hack Meyers def. JT Smith

Ex-ECW PPV Company CableVision Founder Charles Dolan Passes Away Aged 98

The founder of CableVision and HBO, Charles Dolan, has passed away at the age of 98. 

Dolan owned CableVision, the box office PPV company and one of the first companies to carry the original ECW after ECW fans (most notably the Strictly ECW fan movement led by Tony Lewis) wrote letter after letter and email after email until the company caved in and decided to begin carrying ECW PPV events in 1998. It was a big moment for the company as CableVision was one of the leading pay-per-view networks at the time. 

In addition to his founding of CableVision, Dolan also had a hand in the founding of the HBO network, which is still around to this day as Max (formerly known as HBO Max).

Strictly ECW was a fan led movement in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s led by Tony Lewis, a New York City Transit System worker who was a passionate fan of ECW. Without Lewis's help, it is unlikely ECW would have ever been cleared by CableVision, this ECW wouldnt have gotten as many PPV buys as they did. 

WATCH: ECW Christmas Eve Pulp Fiction Video (1995)

 

Today in ECW History - November 30th

 

Today in ECW History - November 30th:

Birthday(s): Jimmy Del Ray was born on this day in 1962. Del Ray made a handful of appearances in ECW back in late-1995 and early-1996. His most notable matches in ECW were at ECW House Party 1996 where he lost to Buh Buh Ray Dudley and ECW December to Dismember 1995 where he teamed with Tom Prichard in losing fashion against The Public Enemy. He would pass away in 2014 on December 6th, 2014. 

Death(s): N/A

1996: ECW Live Event @ Boomerang Nightclub in Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 250

Results:

• New Jack def. D-Von Dudley
• Axl Rotten def. David Jericho
• Pitbull #2 def. Ric Rage
• The Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn) def. The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley)
• Chris Candido vs. Rob Van Dam ended in a 30-minute time limit draw
• ECW World Television Championship: Shane Douglas (c) def. Tommy Dreamer to retain the title 
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship: The Sandman (c) def. Raven to retain the title 

1997: ECW November to Remember 1997 @ Golden Dome in Monaca, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 4,634

Results:

• Dark Match: Chris Chetti and Spike Dudley def. Erin O'Grady and Paul Diamond
• Chris Candido vs. Tommy Rogers ended in a no contest
• Chris Candido and Lance Storm def. Jerry Lynn and Tommy Rogers
• Mikey Whipwreck def. Justin Credible
• ECW World Television Championship: Taz (c) def. Pitbull #2 to retain the title
• 4-Way Dance for ECW World Tag Team Championship: The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido and Tracy Smothers) (c) def. The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley), The Hardcore Chair Swingin' Freaks (Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney) and The Gangstanators (New Jack and John Kronus) to retain the titles
• Flag Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer ended in a no contest
• Tables and Ladders Match: Sabu def. The Sandman
• ECW World Heavyweight Championship: Shane Douglas def. Bam Bam Bigelow (c) to win the title 
•