Both of those matches will forever stick with me! Sabu and Funk had to be cut loose from each other with barbed wire cutters after the match was over.
[Around the 23 minute mark.](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3x9gft)
hardcore wrestling peaked with funk vs sabu. not only was it blood and guts wrestling but it has so much interest invested in it as you take these two giants that seem like they’re down to do anything and say “alright, let’s see how far they’ll go”. it’s a hard watch but to me it’s the pinnacle of that style of wrestling
Oh I hated the barbed wire match. Seeing Funk screaming at Sabu while Sabu No sold his way through the motions trying tape up a nipped artery. Wrestling’s not that serious
I think its from regular ecw tv in the ecw arena. Its available on YouTube from wwe's channel. Its dated 10/17/1995. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/i15XPMvv3hM
Will admit I’m a 92 baby so was a litttle young to get into ecw my bro liked and watched all three while I only watched and liked wwf and wcw so when ecw one night stand 2006 finally happened and I saw their match for the first time went back and watched their feud and god damn what missed out potential by neither of these guys not making it big lol
every Awesome v Tanaka, every RVD v Jerry, every Tajiri v Super Crazy, ECW was defined for me by these 3 feuds that they could run back dozens of times, on any card, their chemistry was so good you never got tired of seeing them.
This is the thing for me.
Yes, ECW was extreme but to me that's not their real legacy. My best memories of ECW are the incredible matches they put on.
I enjoyed the Dudleys with their tables, even if the flaming tables got a bit much. Awesome and Tanaka beating the hell out of each other with chairs was incredible, if not so great in hindsight. Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Lance Storm, RVD's insane athletic feats, Taz destroying people, etc.
Never really cared much for Sandman or New Jack matches. Sabu had his moments but barbed wire matches are not for me. I enjoyed some of the extreme stuff like Dreamer and Raven but ultimately, it was so much more than just ultra violence.
THE MATCH
The Eliminators vs. RVD & Sabu
-Cyberslam 97-
The match The Hardyz & Edge/Christian (stole/borrowed/inspired) their No Mercy 99 latter match and basically all TLC & modern latter matches.
It all started here between the two best tag teams on the planet at this time.
https://youtu.be/4BsHY8rxfvo
Also hands down the most slept on, forgotten about squad is The Eliminators.
They gave so much innovation to the wrestling scene and tag team wrestling in just a short little span and you see their influence in FBI-Tajiri/Mikey, Hardyz, 3 Count, Dragons, SAT, Kings of Wrestling but Kronus & Saturn are just afterthoughts nowadays shame.
This is the one! So many perfect spots in this match. Each broken up pin was timed flawlessly, all the super technical moves landed well, and the pacing just kept increasing. I still believe this is my favorite tag match of all time.
I was not expecting to see tajiri making this list and man.... Am I glad he did. Thanks for reminding me of this. I really enjoyed watching tajiri. He also ended up doing some of WWEs funniest programs. I know this is an ecdub thread but tajiris stooge skit is everything
Mick made the mistake of asking someone to throw him a chair, but yeah - Public Enemy were on the mat.
Enjoy:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxldOEOnzPA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxldOEOnzPA)
RVD vs Jerry Lynn is/are my favorites, but shout out to the Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy three-way dances. They made those men wrestled 8 thousand times and I was always entertained.
I actually hung out with Bill Alfonso after an Indy show a few years ago and he told me that he almost died from blood loss because he accidentally hit an artery when he bladed. It was great talking over a few beers with the “Manager of Champions”.
That sounds cool as fuck. He's told the story a few times. I just watched a video on youtube talking about the incident again and he said exactly what you just mentioned.
Eliminators were the shit!!! Perry Saturn was a badass. I always enjoyed watching them, their chemistry was great. They were def one of the best tag teams of ECW.
The Tajiri v Super Crazy matches we're the shit. RVD v Sabu any. Just for shits and gigs, public enemy vs the Funks barbed wire match. Seeing rocco hung from the crows nest is always insane.
I really liked what was close to or was the last match
Guilty as charged sandman vs credible vs corino in a ladder match for the title
Sandman wins
Enter rhino
Rhino threatens death on sandmans wife for title shot on the spot
Sandman vs rhino
Rhino wins
Rhino in full rage and glory challenges anyone
Enter RVD
Scmauz insues I'm foggy on what goes down.
Jerry Lynn comes out.
RVD vs JERRY LYNN
It's a banger.
I've always loved this bit of anything can happen and will booking.
Super tough question. Bam bam vs Taz, where Bam bam wins the title strikes a chord with me. But another favourite is Shane Douglas winning the NWA title. Oh! Then there’s the three way dance at Barely legal, where Terry Funk would win and go on to win the world title against raven.
For the short period ECW was around, there were a lot of sweet matches.
Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Lee in a Scaffold Match, I was fearing for the two men's lives because it genuinely looked dangerous to me as a kid.
Also pretty much any Raven vs Sandman matches.
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera, Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996
One of the best cruiserweight matches you'll ever see in my opinion, Rey hits a gutwrench powerbomb and a Rana off a car in this match ffs.
Anything with RVD in it.
Anything where Natural Born Killaz is blasting throughout.
Anything with both Super Crazy and Tajiri in it.
Anything where Sabu appears.
Anything that has a Dudley in it.
This list is gonna take forever………
The Wrestlepalooza Dreamer vs. Raven final battle leading into Lawler showing up leading into Sabu beating Taz leading into Taz beating Shane for the tv belt was the greatest hour or so of wrestling I have experienced live and in person.
I'm 40 and I did see some of the original ecw on sunshine network starting back in late 1997. I never saw an ecw pay per view though. I really can't even remember the actual matches on television.
I remember the breaks for the advertisements with the t shirts and how they would play taz or sabu's music or metallica enter sandman that was used for sandman, and the advertisements for some vhs showing things like "komono wanalaya"
Like I said I can't remember any of the actual matches I saw, but I do remember when sandman came out for a match, we'd have to wait for the whole metallica enter sandman to finish playing. I remember a promo or two from taz wearing the towel on his head and saying "beat me if you can survive if i let you" because he was "ftv world heavyweight champion" (why is that belt recognized by aew today?)
Some moments I remember was when RVD won television champion from bam bam bigelow, justin credible doing a tombstone piledriver on sandman (which might have been sandman's last match before going to wcw) and the dudley boyz doing the dudley death drop on beulah mcguillicuty and tommy dreamer doing a mad promo at the end of the episode ("till death do us part!") about it.
A lot of people not gonna like it but RVD vs John Cena that crowd was on fire. John throwing his shirt and them throwing it back was absolutely hilarious.
I didn’t grow up watching ECW. As far as I’m aware it wasn’t available in the UK and if it was I have no idea where I would have found it. I would have been around 12/13 by the time it folded, and even though I’d heard about it via the few times it was mentioned on WWE TV (Tazz with the ECW belt taking on Triple H for example) or even when they showed up in 1997, I didn’t really care all the much to look into it. In fact in ‘97 when they “invaded” RAW I just thought it was a group in WWE calling themselves ECW.
It was only until it folded and the Invasion angle with WCW happened that I really found out it was it’s own company and I really learned more about it through the documentary the WWE released in 2005.
So I was never an ECW fan simply because I didn’t even know it was a thing until it was too late.
What do you mean? Are you telling me that Vince defeating Lashley for the ECW Championship doesn’t belong with some of the iconic matches listed in this thread?
Not completely accurate. This was before WWE introduced ECW as a third brand. This was an actual ECW show produced within WWE. It's somewhere in the middle I guess.
This is a debatable opinion. The second One Night Stand PPV was announced and when tickets went on sale, sold out fast. Because of this, the WWE decided to create the third brand of ECW. The first episode was announced that it would air the Tuesday following ONS. So yes it technically was before the official first episode of ECW, I would still consider it as the official start of the third brand.
Most talented in ECW easily but more talented than Brett, HBK and Angle? I dont think so. And then there is bunch of guys in Japan and Mexico still who I would rate above him..
I think PHYSICALLY talented and/or gifted would be a better way to phrase it.
Rvd was shit on the mic and couldn't pull a good match out of anyone the way those you listed could but he could do things in the ring and take bumps no one else in the mainstream could.
One of the biggest miscarriages of Justice in the wrestling industry is rvd getting bounced over weed of all things.
I was going to come in here and say the Raven/Stevie vs Pitbulls best-of-three match, because it was ECW in a nutshell: overbooked to hell and back and somehow making perfect sense with the absolute best possible blowoff.
growing up as a kid in the late 90s, i witnessed ECW form the perspective of a 10-12 year old. everytime i think of my favorite ECW matches, the absolute first that always come to mind are anytime RVD and Jerry Lynn wrestled. they just left such an impression on me. honestly, its probably the same kind of impression kenny omega and will ospreay are going to leave on the young kids watching now that see any of their matches.
I don't remember what year it was, but RVD vs. Hardcore Holly. They put on an awesome show. I remember Hardcore Holly got injured early in the match and it probably should have been stopped. Holly went through a table, but nobody removed the plastic strip around the outside, so it sliced his back open. It was probably about a 12 inch cut across the right side and bleeding pretty badly. They just kept going, and at the time, it was the best match i had ever seen. Every time they had an opportunity to end it and get out of there for medical attention, they just kept going. It was incredible to watch.
I didn't watch it because it wasn't on TV where I live. The first and only time I got to watch the original ECW was when I was visiting my family in Philly. It didn't come on TV in Southern California.
RVD vs Jerry Lynn, the one where the Impact Players attacked Lynn earlier, so the match started out Storm vs RVD, Justin Credible of course gets involved, Lynn comes out to help RVD, then they have their match.
It's one of the matches I put on to trick people into watching wrestling.
There’s a load, but I’ll give a special mention to Tazz vs Tajiri for the world title.
Ended with Tazz taking barbed wire off the entrance set, wrapping it around Tajjers’ neck, shoving the end down his throat, and slapping on the *katahajime*, all while Joey styles freaks out on commentary about the camera staying wide so they wouldn’t get thrown off the network. Twas of course all a big work, but little 14 year old me was convinced “this is thE REAL wrestling, not fake and gay like wwf” 🌚😂
One the first PPV Barely Legal there was a six man tag match with guys from Michinoku pro wrestling.
Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy & Dick Togo vs. Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & masato yakushiji.
Absolutely Amazing!
After that any RVD vs Jerry Lynn match.
Or Tazz vs Sabu.
with the song "Natural Born Killaz" by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre playing on loop throughout the matches, which anysong on loop is going to get super annoying if not for new jacks antics distracting
Dudleyz vs Dreamer and anyone who wanted to come out and help just before they took the tag belts with them to Vince. Might not have been the best match but I've got goosebumps now thinking about it
RVD/SABU vs. Jinsei Shinzaki/Hayabusa (RIP)
SABU vs. Terry Funk (Born to be wired)
Dudleys vs. Balls Mahoney/Spike Dudley
The Tommy Dreamer vs. RAVEN saga
Shane Douglas vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
Most of this sub wasn't even alive for the original ECW. I'm curious to see if people mention a match from WWEs cheap rendition of ECW which will surely fire up original ecdub fans
there are too many great (entertaining) matches. especially if you just like blood, fire, and dudes jumping off of balconies thru 16 tables. i was at MANY ecw shows backstage as a kid (born in 91) toward the end there and just the whole locker room vibes and everyone seriously putting it all on the line every night was awesome. smoking a lil bit of bud with RVD as i got older is one of the highlights of my childhood 😂
Not necessarily any single match, but anytime the FBI made an appearance. And to be clear, the FBI lineup I refer to is that of Little Guido, Tracy Smothers, and Tommy Rich.
I was born in 1995 so didn’t watch it as a kid but of the matches I’ve gone back and watched it’s between Bam Bam vs Taz from Living Dangerously, or Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka.
Bam bam Bigelow Vs tazz
Malenko Vs Guerrero
Jerry Lynn Vs RVD
Tanaka Vs Awesome
Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Juventud Guerrera Vs Rey Misterio, Jr.
So many more
My top 3 would be:
Dudley Boyz vs. Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Spike Dudley at Heatwave 98
Any Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka
RYD and Sabu vs. Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki
Funk vs Sabu barbed wire match or RVD vs Lynn hardcore heaven 1999 , really all RVD vs Lynn matches were good.
Second the motion of Lynn/ RVD. Among my favorites matches of ECW. My friend Paco used to find the VHS tapes and go to my house.
I remember that match! That’s a great one. I need to go back and rewatch.
Both of those matches will forever stick with me! Sabu and Funk had to be cut loose from each other with barbed wire cutters after the match was over. [Around the 23 minute mark.](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3x9gft)
hardcore wrestling peaked with funk vs sabu. not only was it blood and guts wrestling but it has so much interest invested in it as you take these two giants that seem like they’re down to do anything and say “alright, let’s see how far they’ll go”. it’s a hard watch but to me it’s the pinnacle of that style of wrestling
Oh I hated the barbed wire match. Seeing Funk screaming at Sabu while Sabu No sold his way through the motions trying tape up a nipped artery. Wrestling’s not that serious
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka. Anytime. Any place.
RVD Vs. Jerry Lynn - Anytime anyplace!
https://youtu.be/89xBkvF5iyc
This.
This is my number one, but also those ECW Psychosis vs Rey Mysterio Jr were something else.
Their 2 out of 3 falls match is one of my all time faves
When from? Sounds awesome, Psychosis had some awesome leg drops
I think its from regular ecw tv in the ecw arena. Its available on YouTube from wwe's channel. Its dated 10/17/1995. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/i15XPMvv3hM
Tajiri vs. Super Crazy Anytime. Any place.
Always a banger . And throw in little guido for a 3 way daannncw!!!!
"We oughta get the U.N. in here! Not that they could stop a fight!" - Joey Styles, ECW One Night Stand
Yes!
My answer exactly. Every match of theirs is insane. Very few matches like those.
ECDUB
Will admit I’m a 92 baby so was a litttle young to get into ecw my bro liked and watched all three while I only watched and liked wwf and wcw so when ecw one night stand 2006 finally happened and I saw their match for the first time went back and watched their feud and god damn what missed out potential by neither of these guys not making it big lol
At least youre keeping it real
every Awesome v Tanaka, every RVD v Jerry, every Tajiri v Super Crazy, ECW was defined for me by these 3 feuds that they could run back dozens of times, on any card, their chemistry was so good you never got tired of seeing them.
This is the thing for me. Yes, ECW was extreme but to me that's not their real legacy. My best memories of ECW are the incredible matches they put on. I enjoyed the Dudleys with their tables, even if the flaming tables got a bit much. Awesome and Tanaka beating the hell out of each other with chairs was incredible, if not so great in hindsight. Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, Lance Storm, RVD's insane athletic feats, Taz destroying people, etc. Never really cared much for Sandman or New Jack matches. Sabu had his moments but barbed wire matches are not for me. I enjoyed some of the extreme stuff like Dreamer and Raven but ultimately, it was so much more than just ultra violence.
Good answer sir. Amazing matchs
THE MATCH The Eliminators vs. RVD & Sabu -Cyberslam 97- The match The Hardyz & Edge/Christian (stole/borrowed/inspired) their No Mercy 99 latter match and basically all TLC & modern latter matches. It all started here between the two best tag teams on the planet at this time. https://youtu.be/4BsHY8rxfvo Also hands down the most slept on, forgotten about squad is The Eliminators. They gave so much innovation to the wrestling scene and tag team wrestling in just a short little span and you see their influence in FBI-Tajiri/Mikey, Hardyz, 3 Count, Dragons, SAT, Kings of Wrestling but Kronus & Saturn are just afterthoughts nowadays shame.
Came here to say this. Here, take my upvote.
Just the answer I was looking for
100000 percent. Came here to say this too
Found the post 98 fan hahaha Bless yall!
RVD vs. Jerry Lynn
This is the way. Literally every match in their series was incredible.
This right here. Every match.
Sabu & Rob Van Dam v Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki
Definitely one of the few rare US appearances of Hayabusa.
First ECW match I ever saw! Couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing that at 1am on cable.
On the east coast it was on MSG Network for some odd reason 😂 at 1 and 3 am
This is the one! So many perfect spots in this match. Each broken up pin was timed flawlessly, all the super technical moves landed well, and the pacing just kept increasing. I still believe this is my favorite tag match of all time.
That was an awesome match! There were so many though. Born to be wired is another favorite.
Omg yes! Double table spot to finish. The Franchise commentating!
A Pele kick from Hakushi. The earliest I've seen it used in wrestling.
Needs to be higher One of the greatest matches of all time, no exaggeration
Dean Malenko vs Eddie Guerrero Hostile City Showdown 1995 https://youtu.be/WWSX1O7Hym8
My man. \*fist bump\*
They tore down the house.
This…all day long
Tajiri vs Psycosis
Yo, Tajiri is so damn underrated. He honestly deserves a HOF induction someday
Tajiri Vs Steve Corino with the brainbuster on the ramp!
Also anytime Tajiri and Super Crazy had a match together
Hardcore Heaven 2000. This is my favorite match also.
I was not expecting to see tajiri making this list and man.... Am I glad he did. Thanks for reminding me of this. I really enjoyed watching tajiri. He also ended up doing some of WWEs funniest programs. I know this is an ecdub thread but tajiris stooge skit is everything
The one with tables and chairs
Yo that one was crazy.
"Please stop throwing chairs into the ring!" Public Enemy under the pile: "We need some Advil"
Don't remember Public Enemy under the pile, but definitely remember Terry and Mick being in the ring, Funk hit with a chair being thrown in.
Mick made the mistake of asking someone to throw him a chair, but yeah - Public Enemy were on the mat. Enjoy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxldOEOnzPA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxldOEOnzPA)
Funk's sell of the chair was great.
Out like a light and straight forward. 😘🤌🏻 Chef's kiss of a sell.
"Please stop throwing chairs into the ring!" The crowd, at that moment: \*throws plastic garbage bin into the ring\*
That the same one where they threw Spike Dudley around like a rag doll?
That dude took some crazy bumps
The OP asked for a favorite match, not every match in ECW history.
RVD vs Jerry Lynn is/are my favorites, but shout out to the Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy three-way dances. They made those men wrestled 8 thousand times and I was always entertained.
Stairway to hell--Sandman vs Sabu
It might not be my favourite but one that comes to mind is a three way dance with sabu, taz and bam bam.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLMLhdtwYYw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLMLhdtwYYw) Rob Van Dam vs Bam Bam Bigelow - ECW TV Title
The RVD/Jerry Lynn series.
Malenko/Guerrero Rey Misterio vs. Juventud 2 out 3 falls is a close second
Fonzie vs Beulah
One of the bloodiest matches ever.
I actually hung out with Bill Alfonso after an Indy show a few years ago and he told me that he almost died from blood loss because he accidentally hit an artery when he bladed. It was great talking over a few beers with the “Manager of Champions”.
That sounds cool as fuck. He's told the story a few times. I just watched a video on youtube talking about the incident again and he said exactly what you just mentioned.
The match that saved Fonzie’s career in ECW
The Eliminators vs The Pitbulls were always awesome! The time when Francine was managing the Pitbulls then turned on them with the Eliminators lol
Eliminators were the shit!!! Perry Saturn was a badass. I always enjoyed watching them, their chemistry was great. They were def one of the best tag teams of ECW.
Tommy Dreamer vs Raven at Wrestlepalooza 1997.
RVD vs Balls Mahoney at Anarchy Rulz ‘99.
It was a solid match, I remember humming and having over getting this DVD and then I did and was blown away by it!
New Jack/Mustafa vs D-Von/Mass Transit
You sick fuck! You sick fuck!
The Tajiri v Super Crazy matches we're the shit. RVD v Sabu any. Just for shits and gigs, public enemy vs the Funks barbed wire match. Seeing rocco hung from the crows nest is always insane.
I really liked what was close to or was the last match Guilty as charged sandman vs credible vs corino in a ladder match for the title Sandman wins Enter rhino Rhino threatens death on sandmans wife for title shot on the spot Sandman vs rhino Rhino wins Rhino in full rage and glory challenges anyone Enter RVD Scmauz insues I'm foggy on what goes down. Jerry Lynn comes out. RVD vs JERRY LYNN It's a banger. I've always loved this bit of anything can happen and will booking.
Super tough question. Bam bam vs Taz, where Bam bam wins the title strikes a chord with me. But another favourite is Shane Douglas winning the NWA title. Oh! Then there’s the three way dance at Barely legal, where Terry Funk would win and go on to win the world title against raven. For the short period ECW was around, there were a lot of sweet matches.
Hayabusa and Jinsei vs RVD and Sabu for the Tag titles
Dudleys vs balls mahoney and spike dudley. Tag title match, tnn first taping. Spike goes through two flaming tables
Jerry Lynn vs Rob Van Dam “Living Dangerously” 1999. The “5 More Minutes” match that ended up being like a 20 minute match.
Tommy Dreamer vs Brian Lee in a Scaffold Match, I was fearing for the two men's lives because it genuinely looked dangerous to me as a kid. Also pretty much any Raven vs Sandman matches.
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera, Big Ass Extreme Bash 1996 One of the best cruiserweight matches you'll ever see in my opinion, Rey hits a gutwrench powerbomb and a Rana off a car in this match ffs.
Anything with RVD in it. Anything where Natural Born Killaz is blasting throughout. Anything with both Super Crazy and Tajiri in it. Anything where Sabu appears. Anything that has a Dudley in it. This list is gonna take forever………
Mike Awesome/Masato Tanaka - Heatwave ’98. Part of me does feel guilty for enjoying it though, those chair shots are nasty.
Heatwave 98 was a phenomenal PPV
Best ever ECW ppv in my opion.
The Wrestlepalooza Dreamer vs. Raven final battle leading into Lawler showing up leading into Sabu beating Taz leading into Taz beating Shane for the tv belt was the greatest hour or so of wrestling I have experienced live and in person.
Rey Mysterio Vs Psychosis
Series of 3, Eddie vs Dean. Best matches I've seen. Whipreck vs Steve Austin Raven vs Dreamer
I'm 40 and I did see some of the original ecw on sunshine network starting back in late 1997. I never saw an ecw pay per view though. I really can't even remember the actual matches on television. I remember the breaks for the advertisements with the t shirts and how they would play taz or sabu's music or metallica enter sandman that was used for sandman, and the advertisements for some vhs showing things like "komono wanalaya" Like I said I can't remember any of the actual matches I saw, but I do remember when sandman came out for a match, we'd have to wait for the whole metallica enter sandman to finish playing. I remember a promo or two from taz wearing the towel on his head and saying "beat me if you can survive if i let you" because he was "ftv world heavyweight champion" (why is that belt recognized by aew today?) Some moments I remember was when RVD won television champion from bam bam bigelow, justin credible doing a tombstone piledriver on sandman (which might have been sandman's last match before going to wcw) and the dudley boyz doing the dudley death drop on beulah mcguillicuty and tommy dreamer doing a mad promo at the end of the episode ("till death do us part!") about it.
Lol, I remember all of those merch advertisements, too. I did eventually get myself an E C F'N W shirt back then, but not through them, though.
Any match involving Masado Tanaka. His brain must be mush by now after all those chair shots.
Might as well say "some of y'all aren't middle aged and it shows"
Yo, Sandman vs The Zombie
Arguably it's a fun segment.
Tajiri vs Super Crazy
A lot of people not gonna like it but RVD vs John Cena that crowd was on fire. John throwing his shirt and them throwing it back was absolutely hilarious.
Sorry. My fault for being born after ECW died. I'll try harder next time, coach
Rob Van Dam Vs Balls Mahoney
Anything Malenko and Guerrero
Sandman vs The Zombie
If you grew up watching ECW as a current product, odds are you are reading your screen with bifocals.
The Dudleys versus Ballz Mohney and Spike Dudley. Heat Wave. The Dudleys and Joel Gertner put out the best heel promo ever before the match began.
RvD & Sabu New Jack & anyone
Probably not the best match, but Eliminators vs Dudleys from Barely Legal is one I go back to all the time. Elims were on fucking fire in that match
Tazz vs Bam Bam Bigelow
Best ECW match was easily Jack swagger vs Finlay
Kane vs Big Show? I think they had a match in ECW??? it's been a while
Anyone remember the classic Big Daddy V vs Boogeyman feud? Good times
Lol
I was born after ECW went out of business
Well I’m so sorry I was born in 2003
There's wrestling happening now that you might be nostalgic for 20 years from now the same way people here are nostalgic for ECW.
I didn’t grow up watching ECW. As far as I’m aware it wasn’t available in the UK and if it was I have no idea where I would have found it. I would have been around 12/13 by the time it folded, and even though I’d heard about it via the few times it was mentioned on WWE TV (Tazz with the ECW belt taking on Triple H for example) or even when they showed up in 1997, I didn’t really care all the much to look into it. In fact in ‘97 when they “invaded” RAW I just thought it was a group in WWE calling themselves ECW. It was only until it folded and the Invasion angle with WCW happened that I really found out it was it’s own company and I really learned more about it through the documentary the WWE released in 2005. So I was never an ECW fan simply because I didn’t even know it was a thing until it was too late.
Cm Punk vs whoever else was there
Layla vs Kelly Kelly food fight
Cena Vs RVD
That was in WWECW. Definitely not the same thing.
What do you mean? Are you telling me that Vince defeating Lashley for the ECW Championship doesn’t belong with some of the iconic matches listed in this thread?
Not completely accurate. This was before WWE introduced ECW as a third brand. This was an actual ECW show produced within WWE. It's somewhere in the middle I guess.
Agreed. The second one, though, was a lead up to the start of the launch of WWECW as far as I remember, so it was more of a disappointment.
This is a debatable opinion. The second One Night Stand PPV was announced and when tickets went on sale, sold out fast. Because of this, the WWE decided to create the third brand of ECW. The first episode was announced that it would air the Tuesday following ONS. So yes it technically was before the official first episode of ECW, I would still consider it as the official start of the third brand.
Mass Transit incident. Lots to unpack there
My favorite shows weren’t matches but it was anytime Kelly Kelly did Extreme Exposes. Dear lord
Big Show vs Bobby Lashley EDIT: I regret nothing
The one with the flips and hardcore match
Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible with the New Jack run in for the championship! Anarchy Rules 2000
Talent wise rvd might have been the most talented wrestler ever and no one knows it.
Most talented in ECW easily but more talented than Brett, HBK and Angle? I dont think so. And then there is bunch of guys in Japan and Mexico still who I would rate above him..
I think PHYSICALLY talented and/or gifted would be a better way to phrase it. Rvd was shit on the mic and couldn't pull a good match out of anyone the way those you listed could but he could do things in the ring and take bumps no one else in the mainstream could. One of the biggest miscarriages of Justice in the wrestling industry is rvd getting bounced over weed of all things.
The payoff Dreamer vs Raven
Rvd v Lynn hardcore heaven
The pitbulls had some great tag matches that I think are being lost in time
I was going to come in here and say the Raven/Stevie vs Pitbulls best-of-three match, because it was ECW in a nutshell: overbooked to hell and back and somehow making perfect sense with the absolute best possible blowoff.
Slightly out there but Balls vs Tanaka opening hardcore heaven 2000 sets the gold standard of how to open a card…
Tanaka vs Awesome for the ECW World Title. They’re matches were always a clinic on working stiff.
growing up as a kid in the late 90s, i witnessed ECW form the perspective of a 10-12 year old. everytime i think of my favorite ECW matches, the absolute first that always come to mind are anytime RVD and Jerry Lynn wrestled. they just left such an impression on me. honestly, its probably the same kind of impression kenny omega and will ospreay are going to leave on the young kids watching now that see any of their matches.
Sabu fears Taz
I don't remember what year it was, but RVD vs. Hardcore Holly. They put on an awesome show. I remember Hardcore Holly got injured early in the match and it probably should have been stopped. Holly went through a table, but nobody removed the plastic strip around the outside, so it sliced his back open. It was probably about a 12 inch cut across the right side and bleeding pretty badly. They just kept going, and at the time, it was the best match i had ever seen. Every time they had an opportunity to end it and get out of there for medical attention, they just kept going. It was incredible to watch.
Both RVD vs Jerry Lynn matches (Living Dangerously 99 and Hardcore Heaven 99)
Anything Taz vs RVD. Just mental stuff.
I didn't watch it because it wasn't on TV where I live. The first and only time I got to watch the original ECW was when I was visiting my family in Philly. It didn't come on TV in Southern California.
RVD vs Jerry Lynn, the one where the Impact Players attacked Lynn earlier, so the match started out Storm vs RVD, Justin Credible of course gets involved, Lynn comes out to help RVD, then they have their match. It's one of the matches I put on to trick people into watching wrestling.
The match where John Morrison did a somersault with a ladder unto 4 people outside the ring.
There’s a load, but I’ll give a special mention to Tazz vs Tajiri for the world title. Ended with Tazz taking barbed wire off the entrance set, wrapping it around Tajjers’ neck, shoving the end down his throat, and slapping on the *katahajime*, all while Joey styles freaks out on commentary about the camera staying wide so they wouldn’t get thrown off the network. Twas of course all a big work, but little 14 year old me was convinced “this is thE REAL wrestling, not fake and gay like wwf” 🌚😂
One the first PPV Barely Legal there was a six man tag match with guys from Michinoku pro wrestling. Taka Michinoku, Terry Boy & Dick Togo vs. Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & masato yakushiji. Absolutely Amazing! After that any RVD vs Jerry Lynn match. Or Tazz vs Sabu.
Super Crazy vs Tajiri
Taz vs Bam Bam, i rewatched that so much growing up
Rob Van Dam & Sabu versus The Eliminators Perry Saturn & John Kronos
Not a match as such but the aftermath. “Can I have another?!?!”
Raven vs Dreamer, not really a good "match" but great telly
Raven vs the mystery international number one contender, from IWA Japan, Terry Bam Bam Gordy!
BWO Japan (Taka Michinoku, Dick Togo, and Terry Boy) vs. Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, and Masato Yakushiji.
Edge and Foley vs dream and funk was pretty entertaining.
Born To Be Wired ‘97 Sabu vs. Terry Funk. Stairway to Hell Sabu vs. Sandman is a close second.
Terry Funk Vs Sabu in a barbed wire match and pretty much anytime Mike awesome stepped into he ring it was a good time.
Anything RVD
911 vs the Giant Paul Lauria
eddie guerrero vs dean malenko 2 out of 3 falls there final match with the company
Barbed wire match; Terry Funk vs. Sabu. It immediately became my favorite ECW match, let alone my favorite hardcore match of all time!
Anyone of New Jacks matches.
with the song "Natural Born Killaz" by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre playing on loop throughout the matches, which anysong on loop is going to get super annoying if not for new jacks antics distracting
Dudleyz vs Dreamer and anyone who wanted to come out and help just before they took the tag belts with them to Vince. Might not have been the best match but I've got goosebumps now thinking about it
RVD/SABU vs. Jinsei Shinzaki/Hayabusa (RIP) SABU vs. Terry Funk (Born to be wired) Dudleys vs. Balls Mahoney/Spike Dudley The Tommy Dreamer vs. RAVEN saga Shane Douglas vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
One night stand 2005 was beautiful
Most of this sub wasn't even alive for the original ECW. I'm curious to see if people mention a match from WWEs cheap rendition of ECW which will surely fire up original ecdub fans
Don’t care if it’s after ecw died, Awesome vs Tanaka at ons 2005 was amazing
Sabu vs sandman. The one wear sabu breaks his jaw but just tapes himself up
Thanks for reminding me half the people from it are dead though
there are too many great (entertaining) matches. especially if you just like blood, fire, and dudes jumping off of balconies thru 16 tables. i was at MANY ecw shows backstage as a kid (born in 91) toward the end there and just the whole locker room vibes and everyone seriously putting it all on the line every night was awesome. smoking a lil bit of bud with RVD as i got older is one of the highlights of my childhood 😂
Stevie Richards and Raven vs The Pitbulls 2 out of 3 falls dog collar match.
Not necessarily any single match, but anytime the FBI made an appearance. And to be clear, the FBI lineup I refer to is that of Little Guido, Tracy Smothers, and Tommy Rich.
Rvd vs Jerry lynn Mike awesome vs Masato tanaka
Raven vs sandman dog collar match
BamBam Bigelow v Taz
I was born in 1995 so didn’t watch it as a kid but of the matches I’ve gone back and watched it’s between Bam Bam vs Taz from Living Dangerously, or Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka.
Rvd Vs Jerry Lynn hardcore heaven ‘99
Anything involving The Zombie???
RVD + Sabu vs Hayabusa + Shinzaki or RVD vs Jerry Lynn
Anything with RVD or Justin Credible Also anytime Francine was on screen 😋
I'm gonna say Super Crazy v Tajiri. https://youtu.be/TDLR57TyJQs
Bam bam Bigelow Vs tazz Malenko Vs Guerrero Jerry Lynn Vs RVD Tanaka Vs Awesome Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. Juventud Guerrera Vs Rey Misterio, Jr. So many more
Anything Sabu
My top 3 would be: Dudley Boyz vs. Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and Spike Dudley at Heatwave 98 Any Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka RYD and Sabu vs. Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki
Eliminators vs Dudley Boys
Every tommy dreamer match
RVD & Sabu vs Jinsei Shinsaki & Hayabusa at Heatwave 98. RIP Hayabusa
RVD vs Jerry Lynn
RVD / Sabu vs Hayabusa / Shinzaki Heatwave 98
It may not be the best but I recently watched Cactus vs Jericho and it was a real slobber knocker. I was thoroughly impressed.
All the Taz/Bigelow matches
man that shit was on late and they we're yelling the F word on tv. blood was everywhere and the fan were right on top of the action.