Extreme Championship Wrestling - Legacy and Resurface

Legacy and Resurface

Crowds at ECW events were well known for their rowdiness and distinctive chants that either supported or demeaned what was transpiring in the ring. ECW chants such as "You fucked up!" (which would be chanted when a wrestler botched a move) and "Holy shit!" (which would be chanted if something outrageous happened such as a wrestler leaping from a high surface into a wrestler who would be lying on a stack of tables) became infamous during those shows, and are still used by fans in other promotions. ECW crowds would sing along to a multitude of wrestler's theme songs, as all wrestlers used popular music as entrance themes.

In ECW, there were virtually no rules. The role of referees only included counting pinfalls and acknowledging submissions, and upholding rope breaks. ECW was known for making popular several types of matches, including the 3-Way Dance, Barbed wire match, Flaming Tables match, Singapore Cane match among others.

The "Big Two" (World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation) began hiring away their talent. ECW, according to Heyman, was the first victim of the "Monday Night Wars" between WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw. The WWF had a working relationship with ECW, going so far as to participate in cross-promotional angles, providing talent on loan in exchange for developed young talent and marketable gimmicks (Al Snow's "head" gimmick among them), and even providing financial aid to Heyman for a considerable period of time. WCW on the other hand, refused to even mention ECW by name (with a few notable exceptions; including a passing remark by Raven in late 1997 and Kevin Nash and Scott Hall mentioning it as a viable second option in American wrestling in a slight on their main competition, the World Wrestling Federation), referring to it as "barbed wire city" and "a major independent promotion that wrestled in bingo halls" during a segment directed at Diamond Dallas Page.