If Tommy Dreamer was the heart & soul of ECW who was the backbone?

[Savion83]

In the original Extreme Championship Wrestling back in the 90's. Paul E. Heymen (Dangerously) was the brains behind ECW. Tommy Dreamer was the heart & soul of ECW. So who was the backbone of ECW then? Because without a backbone a person or company can't stand. Ecw had a good seven year run before shutting it's doors.

So who tryly was the backbone of the company? Let's look at these facts...

The Dudley Boyz: Had signed with the WWF/E in the summer of 1999 before the Dudleys had even left ECW TV. They were going to take their ECW tag team belts and place them on WWF/E chairman's Vince McMahon's desk at his headquaters. But lost the belts to Tommy Dreamer & Raven at a ECW show in Queens, New York the night where Raven returned to ECW from WCW and aliened with former rival Dreamer.

Taz(z): Had to sign with the WWF/E due to money reasons, he had to support his family! And debuted in the WWF/E at the 2000 Royal Rumble in NYC at MSG in a match against Kurt Angle.

So it's hard to pick which one of these three guys it is. What do you believe?

 

[Tenta]

There really wasn't one backbone, man; ECW can't be measured by one person, realistically. I mean, the closest you could say to being a backbone is RVD, because he was always there, the company relied on him to always have great matches, and no matter what, he stayed loyal to the company.

Or, you could say that the backbone gives structure to a company, to which I'd say Shane Douglas. He was, like it or not, the guy that put ECW on the map. Without him throwing down the NWA Title, there probably would be no ECW.

Still, the thing about ECW is, there was no one person that stands out as the backbone. Everyone worked to making sure everyone got the show they needed. You can't just call one person a backbone, because in ECW, everyone was the backbone, really. There's really no single one

 

[wrestling fan 666]

Like it or not, I think it was the duo of Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman. It was their baby from concept to execution. Things started falling apart after Tod left; but the backbone was their influence, talent, sweat, and hard work that brought the concept of ECW to what it was. Who knows where it would have ended up if Tod never left. Say what you want about Heyman; the guy is a genius in pro wrestling.

 

[JJ15776]

Tenta hit the nail on the head. You see, a person has one brain. A person has one heart and soul. But there are 33 vertebrae in a person's backbone. ECW's roster was the backbone. Every person that ever stepped in the ring and sacrificed their body to entertain the fans was the backbone. RVD, Sabu, Sandman, Shane Douglas, Tazz, the Dudleys...they're all the backbone.

 

[mrbrownstone]

Id say Tenta got right there is no real backbone. However if I had to choose one it would be RVD he was always there and he could always be relied on to put on great matches but realistically the backbone of ECW was there whole roster guys like Dreamer, RVS, Sandman, Sabu, Tazz, The Dudleyz, Shane Douglas, Terry Funk etc those are the real backbone of ECW.

 

[Cookie14]

If I had to pick individuals, then I would NOT say RVD. I know he was probably their biggest attraction and the most well known wrestler they had at the end.

If I had my picks, I would choose Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer (yes, I know, he was the heart and soul, but still).

Paul effectivley created the company, built it from scratch to become something HUGE. Dreamer was all about boosting ECW. He was never a champion, until everyone else left anyway lol. He did everything he could to make ECW look like an amazing product.

I guess you could also say Terry Funk at the beginning, because he used his legacy to boost them to a point where people started to notice them

 

[GameOver]

There really wasn't one backbone, man; ECW can't be measured by one person, realistically. I mean, the closest you could say to being a backbone is RVD, because he was always there, the company relied on him to always have great matches, and no matter what, he stayed loyal to the company.

Or, you could say that the backbone gives structure to a company, to which I'd say Shane Douglas. He was, like it or not, the guy that put ECW on the map. Without him throwing down the NWA Title, there probably would be no ECW.

Still, the thing about ECW is, there was no one person that stands out as the backbone. Everyone worked to making sure everyone got the show they needed. You can't just call one person a backbone, because in ECW, everyone was the backbone, really. There's really no single one

Well said. ECW was a total package, everyone got spotlight and even the worst gave it there all, without everyone else RVD would've had to be elsewhere

If we can seperate, Joey Styles was the voice of ECW so doesn't that constitute some mention?

Saying that I'd go with a real Triangle of Terror (pun intended for the WWE fans) these 3 were the epitomy of the word EXTREME!!!!!!!
Sabu, Mick Foley and Terry Funk even if Foley and Funk weren't around for a long time in an ECW ring they sure as hell did there best to promote ECW and continued to do so long after they went elsewhere

 

[Vintage]

If Dreamer was the heart and soul then by comparison Joey Styles was the backbone. You can make an argument that it was a team effort but that man did an amazing job putting everything over from the angles to the wrestlers SOLO. No color man, just amazing commentary but the Joey ' The whole f'n broadcast' Styles. If I was going to limit myself wrestlers though, I'd have to give the nod The Dudley Boyz. They personified what ECW was all about

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I would vote for the Sandman, he epitomised the mentality of ECW. He was there from the start, and was always there putting his body on the line for the company. He was an idol to the fans, who could see themselves in him. Sandman for me

 

[TheBWO]

Wow...great thread, and I'm replying because ironically enough, I was watching the Rise and Fall of ECW this weekend for the 9th time (hey, I was bored, and there was nothing on), and got up to the part where they were negotiating a deal with TNN (aka Spike). .....and up to that point, really....I would have to say, from a charismatic role, it would be Raven.....but let me explain:-- the fued with Dreamer, the crucifixion of Sandman, the deal with Stevie and Beulah.....and even though he had the grunge look---nothing special--- look at the storylines---the one with Sandman and Tyler Fullington, turning on his dad and aligning himself with Raven.....and yes, please understand---I understand that ECW first brought in Luche Libre, brought in the most technical wrestlers (Guerrerro, Benoit, Malenko), and the most Hardcore (Dudleys, New Jack), but something about seeing Raven's presence on TV, and creating storylines for himself, advice to others (i.e. he advised Stevie and Meanie to parody other factions, like KISS, Baron Von Rashke, etc), and can do wonders with character development....just my opinion

 

[Savion83]

I would have to say Taz(z)! Because Taz put that company on his shoulders after ECW was doing good business after their first pay per view "Barely Legal". Taz held the ECW championship many times in his ECW career.

And when he left for the WWF/E, so did ECW's chance's of survival in professional wrestling. Because behind Tommy Dreamer, it was Taz who brought that big fight atittude to the ECW ring everytime. If ECW had a hall of fame, Taz would be inducted in the first year of it.

 

[Tastycles]

It didn't have a backbone, that's why it fell apart. ECW was all about heart and soul, of the audience, and of a few key members, but truth be told how many wrestlers stayed when they had the chance to leave? Exactly. Everyone "loved" ECW, but truth be told, every cunt under the sun, and particularly those who are now bumming the promotion- Raven, Dudleys, Douglas, Taz all left before the end. ECW was never profitable. It was never solvent. Did it make a splash? Yes. Did wrestling change because of it? Probably not. Is there any way anyone could embody its solidity? No, because it didn't have any.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I know Tommy has been called the heart and soul of ECW and guys like RVD, Sabu, the Dudley family, the Impact Playerz, Joey Styles, Shane Douglas, Taz, Francine, the Sandman and many many more gave their heart and souls to the cause.

These are nice descriptively but we can't avoid the inevitable - Paul Heyman was ECW, it stood and fell on him. He was the guy who created an organisation that changed wrestling, got the best outta the guys above, replaced them as they departed for pastures new and (despite his best efforts) ultimately could not prevent the ship from sinking.

It's nice that Tommy has this moniker but look at WWe, TNA or even WCW - no one in these organisations have been given such a title. Why? Simple, what happens if they leave or retire? Have you lost your heart and soul? Example, Jim Ross has been called the voice of WWe (just like Joey was the voice of ECW); since WWe have (in my opinion, callously) put him out to pasture after his last bell's palsey attack in October last year they still has a voice, whether we like his replacement or not .

Paul was the brains, heart, soul, balls, voice and backbone of ECW and the biggest compliment I can offer him is that given the crap WWe and TNA are spewing out regularly - ECW rarely needed an asshole