The 10 Most Memorable Botches In ECW History

The original ECW promotion is renowned for its violence as well as for its innovation. Many of its practices like importing luchadors and showcasing technical wrestling masterclasses with wrestlers like Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko were later replicated by the WWE and WCW and the influence of the promotion can be felt to this very day.

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That isn't to say that there aren't blemishes in ECW's history, however. Checks bouncing and financial mismanagement aside, ECW also had its fair share of botched angles, matches, and moves in the ring. Though it may be no surprise to know a promotion so devoted to hardcore could result in mishaps, below are 10 of ECW's most memorable botches.

10 The Danbury Fall

At ECW's Living Dangerously event in 2000, New Jack faced off in a singles match against Vic Grimes which culminated in them scaling a scaffolding near the entrance of the arena. What followed is one of the more gruesome descents in wrestling history, as both men toppled from the structure together, New Jack twisting in mid-air and landing flat on the concrete with Vic's flipping body landing right on top of his face. New Jack suffered legitimate brain damage from this botch and lost sight in his right eye, proving that spots this dangerous should never be attempted again.

9 Sabu In The Stairway To Hell Match

At ECW House Party in 1998, two of their hottest stars in the form of Sabu and Sandman faced off in what was known as a Stairway to Hell match. This match was a variation on a ladder match, but instead of a title hanging above the ring, the wrestlers could claim barbed wire to use against their opponent. Several hardcore spots were botched including a springboard leg drop to the outside where Sabu's head swung and caused him to smash his jaw into the ladder. This may have been the spot that breaks Sabu's jaw, though in typical homicidal, suicidal, genocidal, death-defying fashion, Sabu TAPED UP HIS BROKEN JAW and finished the match.

8 JT Smith Faceplant

JT Smith wrestled for ECW as a part of the FBI, The Full Blooded Italians. He is perhaps most remembered however for a failed dive spot that caused him to faceplant on the concrete floor. In a match on ECW programming, JT Smith tossed his opponent out of the ring, then readied himself for a dive.

For a moment it looked as if he'd succeed, but then his legs hooked the edge of the top rope and his body swung like a pendulum, crashing down hard on the unprotected floor below. It's hard to say whether this or Taka's famous Royal Rumble faceplant is the worst.

7 Lance Storm's Chair Shots To RVD

Often, botches occur accidentally as a natural product of professional wrestling and how challenging it can be to perform successfully. In this case, however, a wrestler chose to actively botch for the safety of his opponent and created an infamous moment in ECW history. At Barely Legal 1997, RVD faced Lance Storm in a singles match, though since this was ECW, hardcore elements were involved. Storm's chair shots to RVD are perhaps the weakest swings you'll ever see, causing the ECW faithful to erupt into thunderous boos every time he hit them. Storm is on the right side of history in this case with continued concerns on chair shots to the head in wrestling, but this nevertheless proved to be a memorable occasion where the fans hated what they perceived to be botched maneuvers.

6 Tony Mamaluke's Head Meets The Guardrail

Tony Mamaluke is a retired wrestler who worked for both WCW and ECW. Similar to JT Smith above, he is also performed as a part of the FBI, making the group's members seem ill-fated in regards to dives outside of the ring. In Mamaluke's case, during a match with Mikey Whipwreck, he attempted an impressive corkscrew springboard to the outside of the ring. However, he overshot and the back of his neck smashed awkwardly into the steel guardrail. This is one of the ugliest botches in ECW history and its a miracle Mamaluke wasn't seriously injured by the incident.

5 The Crucifix Angle

ECW was renowned for its controversial presentation, but one time they maybe went a step too far. During the rivalry between The Sandman and Raven, the latter decided the best way to send a message to the former's son was to bring a wooden cross to the wrestling ring and literally crucify him.

Even for ECW, this was a bit much, with Kurt Angle famously being in the building at the time to assess where he would make his in-ring debut as a professional wrestler. Needless to say, he wasn't particularly pleased with the incident and decided to head to Vince's neck of the woods instead. With their current success, it would be wise for AEW to not follow in such footsteps.

4 Sabu's Barbed Wire Botch

Another botch entry, another mention of Sabu. This time, Sabu participated in a Barbed Wire Match with legendary hardcore wrestler and former ECW World Champion Terry Funk. During the match, Sabu thought it was a good idea to attempt a top-rope move in a ring where the ropes were replaced with barbed wire. This turned out to not be a good idea, as he botched the move and ended up slicing his arm open. In typical Sabu fashion, instead of calling the match off or rushing to the finish like any normal human, he TAPED UP HIS LACERATED ARM with duct tape and wrestled a full 20 minute match.

3 Taz And 2 Cold Scorpio's Piledriver

Another unfortunate ECW botch that resulted in a legitimate long-term injury. In 1995 Taz, then known as The Tazmanian Devil, performed in a tag match with Eddie Guerrero against Dean Malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio. In the match, Scorpio went for a spike piledriver, but Taz wasn't given enough time to protect himself and landed awkwardly on the mat, breaking his neck. In a testament to his strength, Taz walked to the hospital unaided and later returned to become one of ECW's headline performers, though unfortunately, this botch will be forever remembered by the ECW faithful.

2 December to Dismember

All the above entrants on this line pertain to the original ECW, but a special mention has to go to WWE ECW's December to Dismember event for how it managed to botch an entire promotion's rebirth in a single night. From 'injuring' ECW's most beloved performer in Sabu to remove him from the main event to pushing an unwanted (at the time) Bobby Lashley and Big Show over stars like CM Punk, this ended up being the only solely ECW pay per view produced by WWE due to how badly it was received.

December to Dismember reminded everyone that the days of One Night Stand were over, and ECW would never reach the heights it experienced again under the WWE banner.

1 Sabu Breaks His Neck, Twice

It would be wrong to conclude this list with anything other than a final Sabu entry, though these botches weren't quite his fault. Sabu was on the receiving end of two botches that broke his neck during his time at ECW. The first of these was caused by a horrendous-looking suplex at the hands of Christ Benoit, whilst the second was caused in a long-awaited match with Taz where he was suplexed through a table. Though he is now renowned as the patron saint of botching, Sabu gave a lot of his body to ECW, and for that, he should be remembered fondly as an unforgettable part of wrestling history.

NEXT: The 10 Worst Things RVD Has Done In An ECW Match