10 ECW Storylines So Bad They Embarrassed Fans

ECW has a legacy in wrestling for its groundbreaking, hardcore style that grew a cult following in the 1990s and had a significant impact on more mainstream wrestling endeavors. The company had limited resources and a mix of veterans who were past their prime, up and comers who hadn’t made their names yet, and talents in between tenures with WWE and WCW and who didn’t stick around long.

Paul Heyman and his associates had to think outside the box and hit more than a few home-runs when it came to creativity, including ideas that have aged very well. They had some big hits, but also some big misses that complicate fans’ memories of ECW because, frankly, those bad storylines could become embarrassing. And when ECW returned in 2006, The Land of Extreme was forced to live even more humiliating moments.

9 The Tommy-Beulah-Kimona Love Triangle

Beulah McGillicutty was one of ECW's most iconic female performers. She found her fate in ECW intertwined with Tommy Dreamer, ranging from rivals to an on-screen couple. Things got complicated when Shane Douglas revealed McGillicutty had been cheating on Dreamer; the big reveal was even more surprising, that she’d had a female partner in Kimona Wanalaya. Dreamer then proclaimed himself as “hardcore” and made out with both women simultaneously.

In its immediate context, this moment came across all right and fit the shock TV aesthetic of the day. In retrospect, though, in a more “woke” culture, the story comes across as exploitative and demeaning to the female talent involved.

8 Shane Douglas Attacks Pitbull #1’s Legitimately Broken Neck

In a different time, when performers were more willing to work hurt, and management tended to offer a longer leash, there were times when things got out of hand in ECW. Shane Douglas feuded with The Pitbulls, and their issue included Pitbull #1 accidentally breaking his neck for real.

Though Pitbull was out of the ring hurt, he stayed involved in ECW’s storylines, including an infamous incident in which Douglas attacked him while he was legitimately in a halo. There was a high risk for a life-altering injury, and as the people involved have spoken openly about it, it has become an uncomfortable line to think that ECW crossed.

7 ECW Champion Vince McMahon

For all of the goodwill that the original ECW built up among its faithful fan base, WWE’s relaunch was pretty widely panned. One of the most embarrassing moments for the third brand of the day was a period that Mr. McMahon himself spent as its champion.

The idea of programming up-and-coming star Bobby Lashley opposite McMahon made some sense in the effort to get him over. However, when Umaga helped put the title in McMahon’s hands, it was memorably terrible. The reign saw McMahon crossing the line from humorous to cringeworthy.

6 Raven Has Stevie Richards Wrestle For Him

Mainstream wrestling fans may remember Stevie Richards best for his role as the leader of the cultish Right to Censor faction late in the Attitude Era. Long before, however, he played a supporting role for a different charismatic leader as a key member of Raven’s Nest in ECW.

That Raven would have Richards wrestle in his place, which on occasion made reasonable sense, both as a way of collecting heat as the Raven character protected himself and because Richards was capable of putting on a comparable show with his in-ring ability. However, in reality, having Richards replace Raven for key advertised matches—in particular for Raven’s feud with The Sandman—felt like a bait and switch. This sort of false advertising was a black eye on the company.

5 An Unhinged Rhino Attacks Women

ECW didn’t shy away from man-on-woman violence. Indeed, the provocative upstart company leaned into taboo spectacles, in many ways foreshadowing the intergender violence that WWE and WCW would come to engage in as the Monday Night War escalated.

The Sandman’s family became part of the show, and that memorably included rival Rhino putting his hands on the man’s wife, Lori Fullington, and piledrove her through a table and onto the concrete floor. This included a number of spots that arguably crossed a line, like putting her head in a toilet or goring her through a table. A piledriver was perhaps the most brutal spot. Rhino also piledrove Jasmin St. Claire off the turnbuckle at Guilty As Charged 2001. Particularly looking back, these attacks feel representative of true recklessness and ugly messaging to the audience.

4 The New Dangerous Alliance

Prior to leading ECW, Paul Heyman’s greatest claim to fame was quite arguably his stint as WCW’s top heel manager, masterminding The Dangerous Alliance faction. They were an elite heel group with top wrestling talents like Steve Austin, Rick Rude, and Madusa, backed by Heyman as he emerged as one of wrestling’s best talkers.

It makes some sense that Heyman would revisit the concept in his own promotion. The first reboot, with Heyman reprising his role, was okay as a shell of the original. A reimagining that came later, featuring Lou E. Dangerously at the helm, was downright embarrassing.

3 Axl vs Ian Rotten Getting Too Violent: The Taipei Death Match

ECW was known for its hardcore style, but the Taipei Death Match quickly joined the ranks of the most ridiculous gimmick match concepts in the business. The combatants dipped their taped hands in super glue, and then in shards of broken glass. The match was most infamously executed by kayfabe brothers Axl and Ian Rotten as a climax to their feud.

From big bumps to unprotected chair shots to the liberal use of barbed wire, a number of instances of over-the-top violence from ECW have not aged well. The principle of a match designed to draw real blood in the most gruesome fashion like this goes down as an embarrassing moment that crosses the line from wrestling as entertainment to wrestling genuinely turning stomachs.

2 Raven Crucifies The Sandman

The feud between Raven and The Sandman was between two of the biggest stars from ECW who never got to headline in WWE or WCW. Their issue with each other had a personal edge, and things took a particularly memorable turn when Raven went so far as to crucify The Sandman.

ECW wasn’t a promotion to shy away from provocative images. This one left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, though, and as WWE has chronicled in its documentaries, Kurt Angle even cites this spectacle as the reason he decided firmly not to sign with ECW.

1 The Big Show Vs. The World

WWE’s ECW relaunch had some promise early on, if only in the casting of Rob Van Dam as the first champion. RVD had been underappreciated on the WWE roster but was still around his prime, and positioning him as the face of the brand made sense to bridge the gap between the original ECW and a new version of it launching over five years later.

However, after RVD got demoted for legal issues, WWE chose to change directions. As a result, The Big Show became the new champion ECW Champion. This storyline led to one of the least appealing versions of The Big Show. He went on to defend the title against WWE Superstars visiting from other brands like Batista, Ric Flair, and Kane. The concept of the champion further establishing a new title by defending it against top names had some merit, but Show was hardly the in-ring virtuoso, nor a fan favorite, to get over with that gimmick. A significant bit of the goodwill the ECW name had with its original fans vanished during this run.

NEXT: 5 Ways Big Show's Career Should End (& 5 Ways It Shouldn't)