ECW History Part 1: First Eastern, Then Extreme

How did this phenomenon makes its way to great heights? Well, it all started with a group of people who simply loved wrestling.

In 1992, Eastern Championship Wrestling was founded by Tod Gordon, a professional wrestling promoter. The company was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance.

Eastern Championship Wrestling was located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, where both experienced and new stars wrestled.

A year after the company had started, Paul Heyman entered the picture. He was looking for a new job because he parted ways with World Championship Wrestling. Little did Heyman know that he would establish a truly successful company, while also shaping the entire pro wrestling industry.

1994 held one of the most significant occurrences in the company’s history. Young athlete Shane Douglas won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. However, he did not embrace the title’s importance. Douglas rather threw the belt down, indicating a folding from the NWA. On a later edition of NWA-ECW programming, Gordon officially declared the secession. He then announced the uprising of ECW – Extreme Championship Wrestling.

For years to come, the era of Extreme would spread its influence all over the world.