ECW History Part 3: The ECW Arena

To this day, “E-C-W!” chants have echoed in arenas across the globe. Where did these three revolutionary letters first come into play?

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was home to the legendary ECW Arena. The majority of Extreme Championship Wrestling events took place in this building, called the birthplace of Extreme.

What started out as a bingo hall turned into the base of hardcore wrestling.

This building was known for ECW, of course. But the ECW Arena was also special because of one specific aspect: fan involvement.

Paul Heyman stated numerous times that ECW would not reached great heights if it wasn’t for the rowdy, but dedicated fans.

At the beginning times of the promotion, some fans would bring their own weapons for the wrestlers to use. So it was no surprise when someone would bust their opponent open with a cheese grater.

In addition to the audience, the ECW Arena made wrestlers the stars they would become. There was no other place where wrestlers would scramble across the building with a flaming branding iron, and pin their foe on concrete.

One member of ECW, Joey Styles, knew the building better than anyone. Dubbed “The Voice of ECW”, Styles did commentary for each event.

No one was more familiar with the sounds of “E-C-W!” chants than the legendary Joey Styles.

Tommy Dreamer was nicknamed “The Heart and Soul of ECW”, rightfully so, but the Arena itself was surely a runner up for that title.

Extreme Championship Wrestling would become a global phenomenon, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the infamous ECW Arena.