Dear WWE UNIVERSE,
WELCOME TO THE ERA OF EXTREME!!!!!!
I was your typical nine-year old whose father loved wrestling so much he hoped one day his son would follow in the same passion, and what would you know he was successful in accomplishing that goal. Every Wednesday night in a run down gym Shawn Michaels or his assistant would train hungry, young, and dedicated talent, don’t believe me here is a fun fact, before Brian Kendrick was training Eva Marie he was a young high flyer named Spanky and another young potential star in Bryan Danielson Mr. Yes Yes himself were wrestling in our local YMCA gymnasium. We did not have to pay extra for meet and greets or autographs which was the best part of it for example The Headbangers, Taka & Funaki, & The Smoking Guns (hey this was the 90’s wwf) were just a few we were able to converse with. I apologize seems I am delving away from the topic of discussion, it all makes sense and comes together perfectly, I remember my dad showing me on tv WWE’S first ever episode of Shotgun Saturday Night they were fighting in bars causing pandemonium, no disqualification matches the crowd was even closer to the action it was a dream come true finally nothing but pure hardcore wrestling. That is until my dad told me “its good not great” I replied “but it’s hardcore” his final response “it’s hardcore but not extreme”, I was astonished, confused, yet more curious as to why he was not feeling the same excitement as I.
Approximately two hours after Shotgun Saturday Night my father changed it to this weird channel which was thirty-five percent static (he did not have cable) and I hear this exhilarating voice (Joey Styles) this man sounded like every match was the main event, screaming off the top of his lungs during the preview intro of matches, then I hear “THIS IS EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING”. My father says “I somehow stumbled on this channel and it was on and here is the reason why WWF is not Extreme” it was a different scene, a lot smaller but the crowd was insane and were definitely loving the action this was beyond hardcore. My first match I ever watched was between Tommy Dreamer, and Raven all I thought was HOLY SHIT (pardon my french) the audience had kitchen sinks, barbed wired bats, and yes the lonely old chairs my only thought was this can’t be a typical ECW match. Tommy Dreamer was destroying Raven with the barbed-wire bat and piledriving him into a table and pinning him 1-2-3, Joey Styles voice halfway gone from the yelling and this was just the first match, Paul E Dangerously comes out next and throws a viscous tirade WWE’S way the word Fuck came out of his mouth quite a bit and this channel was uncensored no edits whatsoever. The rest of the episode consisted of Tazz with manager Bill Alphonso, Sabu, Stevie Richards, The Dudley Boys, & Sandman this was the night I fell in love with Extreme Championship Wrestling, WWE was definitely an afterthought in my mind there was no way Hardcore would ever compete with Extreme.
The WWE and its talent hated ECW so much it garnered the attention of Vince Mcmahon himself yet his mentality was much different, if you can’t beat them then join them and that is the reason we saw a crossover show where Jerry Lawler ended up on their show and ECW invaded WWE. ECW was filled with so much talent even WCW and WWE were quick to sign them to long to long-term deals.
The reason I brought up Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy, the young talent, and local shows was because they were always cutting on ECW, I kept hearing that is trash wrestling and they have to bleed to be relevant yet I never knew what in the world they were talking about. I recall Billy Gunn telling another fan in attendance “I would never watch that shit, it is an embarrassment to the sport and is nothing but trash”, after watching ECW Wrestling for the first time I see why these WWE stars were so upset it is due to the attention Paul Heyman’s small company was receiving and it was a hit.
Which brings me to last night’s Raw when The Dudley Boyz announced the third member of their family, Extreme King Of The Piledriver Tommy Dreamer, walking through the crowd with a garbage can full of weapons which brought back the memories of my first encounter with ECW. In closing, it is time I hit you with The Spear Effect….
I may have been all over the place in this column, however please understand my passion, and excitement for ECW all who have never been introduced to extreme or never had the pleasure of looking at throwback matches online please do that now. Also appreciate the creative writers, and Vince Mcmahon for allowing the Dudley Boyz to make a decision that would be beneficial for all involved, this will definitely be a once in a lifetime moment for the upcoming TLC PPV. Tommy Dreamer is a legend in this business, he has played a major role in ECW’S growth and has helped train talent in ring and out, this man has longevity in this business because he works the right way. Tommy Dreamer, and the Dudleys were also the reason I stayed watching Raw and am very excited for TLC and I hope the WWE Universe understands this will probably be a top match of the PPV.
This storyline is not expected to last long and Dreamer has yet to sign a long-term WWE deal, I am asking all who enjoy WWE please appreciate Extreme because it is on the verge of extinction yet hoping it’s a resurrection instead. The Dudley Boyz made a monumental statement by re-introducing the world to Dreamer, and come TLC the world will finally get to see what Extreme is all about. The three men might be older but they are wiser, their primes might be behind them but their crowning moment has yet to be displayed there is a lot more to the story that will be added. Extreme might be extinct but it is not dead, because we have guys like The Dudleys, and Tommy Dreamer to make sure that will never happen.
Alex Spears
The Spear Effect
SLTD Wrestling
Be sure to follow me on twitter @orilex8, also I’ll be posting a bonus top 5 TLC moments in honor of the upcoming WWE PPV, again thank you all for taking the time to read another column inside The Spear Effect……
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