Extreme Championship Wrestling (the old ECW, not the WWE Expansion that would later be replaced with NXT) did not start out as the wrestling league that was all barbed wire and steel chairs. At one time, it was known as Eastern Championship Wrestling, and it was a part of the National Wrestling Alliance, being the only promotion in the NWA after World Championship Wrestling split. However, the owners of ECW would plan to split from the NWA after some behind-the-scenes grievances and even beliefs that NWA will do to ECW like they did with WCW, and therefore, this episode would be the one to cause change, and cause the promotion to go from Eastern to Extreme.
Basically, if you never watched this show (better known after this as ECW Hardcore TV), I would not blame you, as it aired in late night hours due to its extreme content (as well as being in syndication, which means not a lot of networks carried this show) that featured matches from house shows and even the ECW Arena. This episode features matches from the tournament, which features professional wrestlers like Doink the Clown, Dean Malenko,2 Cold Scorpio, and Shane Douglas. In the end, Shane Douglas wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and in a promo he planned with the ECW big wigs, he throws it to the groud, and holds the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, declaring the NWA having been dead for years, and afterwards, and after a threat from NWA board member Dennis Corraluzo to force ECW to strip him of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, ECW commissioner Tod Gordon fires back by folding NWA ECW and announcing Extreme Championship Wrestling.
This is a neat episode for the Douglas Vs. 2 Cool Scorpio match only, as the only other match shown in full, Doink the Clown Vs. 9-1-1, was a squash match, and the other fights only get clips of them played.
Basically, if you never watched this show (better known after this as ECW Hardcore TV), I would not blame you, as it aired in late night hours due to its extreme content (as well as being in syndication, which means not a lot of networks carried this show) that featured matches from house shows and even the ECW Arena. This episode features matches from the tournament, which features professional wrestlers like Doink the Clown, Dean Malenko,2 Cold Scorpio, and Shane Douglas. In the end, Shane Douglas wins the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and in a promo he planned with the ECW big wigs, he throws it to the groud, and holds the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, declaring the NWA having been dead for years, and afterwards, and after a threat from NWA board member Dennis Corraluzo to force ECW to strip him of the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, ECW commissioner Tod Gordon fires back by folding NWA ECW and announcing Extreme Championship Wrestling.
This is a neat episode for the Douglas Vs. 2 Cool Scorpio match only, as the only other match shown in full, Doink the Clown Vs. 9-1-1, was a squash match, and the other fights only get clips of them played.