The Hardcore Spirit of ECW Is Still Going Strong in MLW
A New Era of Extreme
When ECW closed in 2001, it was like a punch in the gut. Sure, over the years it had grown in popularity and had become something different from what I had secretly watched in my bedroom in 1995. At its core, though, it still represented the same defiant attitude of a generation who wanted something different. Something with which they could connect and become a part of – and something they could use to build something new in the future.
After the doors closed for good on ECW, the string of events and promotions looking to cash in on the allure of “extreme” were plentiful and ran the gamut as far as in-ring styles were concerned. Some promotions went full hardcore in an attempt to appeal to a demographic thirsty for blood and violence while others focused less on gore and more on highlighting a level of in-ring acumen not always pushed to the forefront of mainstream wrestling. Others still banked on the name value of former ECW wrestlers to give themselves a head up with diehard fans.
As things go, most of these promotions fizzled and faded out with few exceptions. Ring of Honor carries on today and is a promotion directly born out of the void left by ECW. ROH never, in my view, tried to be a direct clone of Extreme Championship Wrestling, though, which is why I think it has found the success and longevity it has.
When, as a wrestling promotion, you were trying to be a direct copy of ECW, you were always going to fall short. The ECW faithful would have picked apart anything that didn’t quite jive with the original or written it off completely as a cheap imitation.
ROH, though, simply appealed to the same fanbase without trying to force a specific attitude or aesthetic. What it did was provided a stage for professional wrestlers to have the types of wrestling matches you wouldn’t see anywhere else on a national level at the time, all while laying the groundwork for something new rather than clanging a bell and yelling, “Hey, remember ECW!?” every five minutes.
The early 2000s in independent wrestling were a tumultuous time with promotions coming and going like the wind. Just as something new and shiny would crop up with high production value or pay-per-view (like the short-lived WWA) that seemed like it could become a viable competitor to the monopolizing WWE, it, too, would shutter its doors.
We weren’t yet at a time period where every indie wrestling promotion was at the fingertips of fans, either. The internet was a lot more accessible and usable in 2000 than it was in the 90s, but the advent of streaming video was still yet to come. For me, most of my exposure to new wrestlers came in the way of fan-made highlight videos set to alt-rock anthems and shared across forums and file-sharing apps.