Posted on by bdamage1
Griffin Kaye
Up to 1994 when Shane Douglas’s famously threw down the NWA belt, Eastern Championship Wrestling was little more than a regional independent promotion who happened to have a TV deal. Bankrolled by Tod Gordon, he was still able to get some notable names on programming such as Terry Funk, Kevin Sullivan, and Jimmy Snuka, although elsewhere, the card was propped up by little-known, unproven talents who did not quite leave as much of a legacy on the sport.
These are 10 of those early Eastern Championship Wrestling performers who, whilst playing a role in the promotion, got lost in the shuffle and have today slipped from the mind of many fans.
1. Salvatore Bellomo
Fans of his tenure in the WWF may not recognising the former enhancement talent star in ECW. The wrestler who graced early ECW fans presented a far different image, exemplified by his unkempt beard, straggly hair, and mammoth 300-pound frame.
Now with a penchant for donning a Roman centurion attire and clutching cuddly toys in his arms, the “Wildman” was clearly a favourite of ECW top brass. In the tournament crowning the inaugural ECW World Heavyweight champion, Bellomo was a finalist, narrowly losing out on becoming champion to Jimmy Snuka.
He also made the finals of the tournament for the first ECW World Tag Team champions, teaming alongside a more notable ECW alumni: The Sandman.
Other highlights include his appearance on the first edition of ECW Hardcore TV and wrestling Kerry Von Erich to a double disqualification at the Battle of the Belts event.
He would return several years later to join the Full Blooded Italians faction.
2. Rockin’ Rebel
A big part of ECW precursor Tri-State Wrestling, Rebel had form coming into the promotion and thus was a featured player upon arrival.
A mid-card and lower card performer, Rebel was a consistent face on early PPVs. He was also in the Television title scene when not making the occasional world title foray against old TSW rival The Sandman. On different supercards, he had high-profile performances against JT Smith, Mikey Whipwreck, and Tommy Dreamer.
He also reportedly had a significant impact backstage in ECW, allegedly being the person to suggest to Tod Gordon to bring in Paul E. Dangerously as a booker.
Today, Rebel’s legacy has been further hidden by the WWE, who have refused to recognise him on their Network. This is as in 2018, Rebel killed his wife before turning the gun on himself, leaving their bodies to be found by their 10-year-old children.
3. Johnny Hotbody
The truth is, Hotbody may be remembered, in part due to his ECW title reign. That said, he is one of just four original ECW triple crown champions and not spoken of much at all today.
Defeating inaugural champion Jimmy Snuka, Hotbody would be the promotion’s top champion for nearly three months before losing it back to the “Superfly”.
Shortly thereafter, he would become the first Television champion; a title reign cut short by injury.
He also molded out a successful tag team career, leading the Suicides Blonde faction. In this group – under the Freebird Rule – Hotbody was a three-time ECW World Tag Team champion.
They won their first, defeating the team of Tony Stetson and Larry Winters. They would hold the belt for a number of months, briefly interrupted by a title switch with the Super Destroyers, before winning their third after the Gilbert brothers departed the promotion.
4. Tommy Cairo
“Ironman” Tommy Cairo today is best remembered for his 1994 feud with The Sandman.
Once allies, the two became bitter enemies after The Sandman perceived a love interest between Cairo and his wife Peaches. In an early demonstration of the increasing brutality of the ECW brand, the two fought in Singapore cane matches, inspired by the caning of American citizen Michael Fay in the Asian nation.
When The Sandman was kayfabe blinded, Cairo’s disrespect lead him into a rivalry with Tommy Dreamer, culminating at ECW’s flagship supercard November To Remember.
Other notable moments from his ECW career include wrestling Kevin Sullivan at November To Remember 1993 and being the inaugural titleholder of the NWA Pennsylvania Heavyweight champion after winning a battle royal. He too made unsuccessful high-profile challenges for both the Television and World Tag title belts.
Additionally, he wrestled on the first edition of Hardcore TV, beating Salvatore Bellomo.
5. Larry Winters
A wrestler who featured on both the first ECW card and TV show was former Tri-State Wrestling top star Larry Winters.
Having already proved his hardcore credentials in ECW’s predecessor, “The Living Legend” made a quick impact as a reliable headliner.
Winters made it to the finals of the tournament to crown the first Television champion, coming up short against Johnny Hotbody, his old tag partner and the man he helped to win the ECW World Heavyweight title from Jimmy Snuka.
That said, perhaps Winters’s greatest contribution was away from the TV screen.
Indeed, he served as ECW’s first booker. The book Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW notes that in this capacity, Winters was “perfectly competent but his old-school attitude contrasted sharply with [owner Tod] Gordon’s radical ideas.”
He too is a significant figure in the early story of Eastern Championship Wrestling as a trainer, helping train the likes of ECW royalty The Sandman.
6. Tony Stetson
alking of Larry Winters, “Hitman” Tony Stetson was an ECW World Tag champion alongside him before turning on his friend and becoming a memorable foe.
He would also hold tag gold with Johnny Hotbody in The Suicide Blondes. After retentions over Badd Company and the Bad Breed, they lost the straps to Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Gunn in just nine seconds at November To Remember.
Elsewhere, in August 1993, Stetson defeated Tommy Cairo to become the Pennsylvania champion, being the final titleholder before the belt was deactivated.
Stetson was a fixture from the very start, defeating former WWWF champion Ivan Koloff on the promotion’s first ever card. On the inaugural episode of Hardcore TV, Stetson was in the first singles match ever aired by the promotion on weekly TV.
Later on, Stetson would reinvent himself as The Broad Street Bully, briefly a member of Raven’s Nest. In this role, he stayed with the company until 1996.
7. Chris Michaels
During the first months of ECW, Chris Michaels bounced around tag partners, finding minimal success with Nikolai Volkoff and the future Little Guido.
He nonetheless bounced back, rechristening himself as Sir Richard Michaels and joining the Suicide Blondes faction alongside Chris Candido and Johnny Hotbody.
As a part of this team, he was a two-time ECW tag team champion, with the group contesting their belts under the Freebird Rule – allowing any stable member to be eligible defenders.
The first time came after defeating new champions Tony Stetson and Larry Winters, holding the titles for 42 days before briefly losing their to the Super Destroyers, winning them back and putting their careers on the line to do so.
When Chris Candido left the company, the group were stripped of their belts.
One of his final major appearances was at Ultra Clash 1993, losing a strap match to Sal Bellomo.
8. JT Smith
Few wrestlers played the agile babyface and lovable underdog as well as JT Smith.
Fans may have somewhat of a recollection for his work due to his willingness to take outrageous bumps, including falling from the ECW Arena balcony. The most serious was a botched dive that led to a concussion. The brutal impact and the crowd’s ambivalence served as inspiration for Cactus Jack’s ECW heel run.
Afterwards, an injured Smith would claim Italian heritage, joining the aforementioned FBI stable.
During his formative years in ECW, Smith was thrust into major storylines, sharing the screen with Shane Douglas, Public Enemy, and Terry Funk.
Smith’s first title win would be the long-forgotten Maryland championship belt, having won a battle royal to claim the prize.
A month after beating Mike Awesome at The Night The Line Was Crossed in one of the company’s biggest upsets, he defeated the future Taz to gain the Television title in a career highlight.
9. Glenn Osbourne
In September 1992, Glenn Osbourne became the second individual to hold the Television title after besting inaugural champion Mr. Sandman.
He would hold the belt for a few months before Eastern Championship Wrestling stripped him of the title once they had a TV contract. In the subsequent eight-man tournament, Osbourne got to the finals – having obtained victories over Johnny Hotbody and Eddie Gilbert – before losing to Jimmy Snuka.
Otherwise, his closest brush with title gold was with Night Breeders tag partner Max Thrasher, with whom he reached the finals of the inaugural ECW World Tag Team titles tournament. After losing to the Super Destroyers, the two fell out with Thrasher gaining the managerial services of Hunter Q. Robbins III.
Osbourne also wrestled on the very first ECW card.
By the end, despite makeshift alliances with JT Smith and Tommy Cairo, ECW seemed more in favor of teams such as the Suicide Blondes and Hot Stuff International.
10. 911
The success of 911 is really a testament to the abilities of ECW booker Paul Heyman. Indeed, although 911 was not a good wrestler by any stretch of the imagination, he had a brilliant look and managed to become ultra popular with one move: the chokeslam.
Brought in as Sabu’s handler, the 6’7, 300-pounder would be rung by Paul E. Dangerously on his phone and do his handy work, decimating all opponents in sight.
His character was so popular, he was crowned Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Rookie of the Year 1994.
Despite being limited as a performer, he did have some highlights, among them his semi-finalist placement in the 1994 NWA title tournament and a pinfall victory over former WCW World champion Ron Simmons at Hostile City Showdown.
Reportedly fired for his reckless treatment of the ring crew, he made one final return in 1998, defeated in seconds by “Giant Killer” Spike Dudley in his only decisive loss broadcast on ECW programming.