To be the Man. You have to Beat the Man!: E.C.W!

This video below of chairs being thrown endlessly into a wrestling ring prompted me to do something that is long over due. Honor my adolescent heros from Extreme Championship Wrestling a.k.a. E.C.W. Plus our website is down at work and I'm bored.

glumbert - Wrestlers Ask For A Chair - Get 300!

Now I was raised on the WWF's Hulkster, Andre the Giant, and The Macho Man "Ohhhhhhhh Yeah!" as a youth. My penchant for wrestling was taken to another level once I laid eyes apon E.C.W. Now mind you watching E.C.W. tapings wasn't easy living in Maine. The only stations it was on were in the New York Philly area and you had to order the tapes through the mail. My buddy Fish was the first to turn my attention to the brutally raw E.C.W. style and I was hooked from the begining. Seeing wrestlers like Taz, Sabu, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer leave it all in the ring was something special. I guess I'm a dork for liking wrestling or maybe it was just something that I related to as a teen. Unfortunately E.C.W. was poorly run into the ground by Paul E. Dangerously and has been bastardized by Vince McMahon ever since.

So I will now honor the E.C.W. with a top ten of E.C.W wrestlers and tag teams along with some side commentary.

#10 - Public Enemy
They had some success in WCW but they were a staple of E.C.W. tag competition. They were not very skilled but thrived on being able to take punishment and entertain the E.C.W. faithful.

Side Note:
"Holy Sh*t" moments. The E.C.W. arena crowds were the best with the chants and "Holy Sh*t" was a classic one. Great New Jack moments at 2:40 & 2:53. Great chant at the end.

#9 - Terry Funk
The Funker had a legendary wrestling career before he stepped into the world of hardcore wrestling, but he was made for two things ECW and Barbed Wire matches.

#8 - The Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus)
Saturn and Kronus were a solid tag team with a devastating finisher "Total Elimination".

#7 - The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and Devon)
While they enjoyed great success in the WWF or whatever they call it now the Dudleys were an ECW brainchild. A traveling sales man fathered this brood of illegitimate children and the world was better for it. "My name is Buh Buh Buhhh"
Flaming tables

#6 - Sandman
Chain smoking beer drinking ass kicking. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Drink

Smoke

Side Note: 911 evey now and then a match would be so awful that 911, a roadie who helped assemble the ring for ECW, would have to lay down the law with a nasty choke slam. He would choke slam anyone in his way.
Here comes 9-1-1!

#5 - Tommy Dreamer
Dreamer was the Hulk Hogan of ECW the fans loved him even though he wasn't a great wrestler. He was there from day one and was part of some of the biggest matches in ECW history. This match explains it all "The Scaffold Match".

#4 - TAZ
Taz was the "human suplex machine" didn't have the size to make it in the big leagues but found his nitch in ECW. Easily one of the most fundamentaly sound wrestlers in ECW he didn't excel with chair shots, but he was a buzz saw and had a great career as a heal to Sabu, Dreamer, and Rob Van Dam. Nobody gave a suplex with the viciousness of Taz.
Beat me if you can. Survive if I let you!

#3 - Rob Van Dam
From the later generation of ECW. Was the best wrestler around when ECW hit it big. Had some legendary matches with Sabu and Jerry Lyn. Easily the most athletic wrestler I've seen.
RVD vs. Jerry Lynn vol. 1

Van Daminator!

RVD tribute

#2 The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa)
New Jack epitomized hard core. New Jack always had a trash can of goodies and an appitite for destroying his opponent. Mustafa was always good for going through a table or for getting chair shot.

Great Styles OMG!

#1 - SABU!
This guy was the craziest thing to ever hit the wrestling world. I still don't think he is human. There is no way a human could survive the punishment Sabu delt out, received, or self inflicted.