by Brett Schwan
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
East Coast Wrestling
Association
by Brett Schwan
Having been founded in August 1967, the East Coast Wrestling Association
(ECWA) turned 35 this year. To celebrate this milestone, the ECWA will
be holding an anniversary party, at their home arena, St Matthew’s
parish, in Wilmington, DE on Saturday, October 12. Hosting the celebration
will be ECWA longtime manager extraordinaire, The Master. There will be
special tributes to Jeff Peterson, Boogie Woogie Brown, Barry Casino and
Kevin Kelly. In addition evening will also include: Dinner Buffet, Music,
Dancing, Trivia Contests, Karaoke,
ECWA Video Clips & Bloopers Prizes & more. (For more information
visit their website at ecwaprowrestling.com)
The ECWA is considered one of THE premier independent wrestling promotions in the United States. The ECWA features the top names in the independent wrestling world. The Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels was never seen on the East Coast indy circuit, until Jim Kettner brought him in for a Super 8 Tournament. Now Daniels works for the ECWA on a semi regular basis and he is also booked on other indy cards in the northeast. Other examples of talent you didn’t see very often in this area before Jim Kettner brought them in include Slyk Wagner Brown, April Hunter, Bobby Rude, American Dragon, Spanky, Billy Fives, Scoot Andrews, AJ Styles, and the list goes on and on. If these great wrestlers hadn’t been brought in to the ECWA for other promoters to get a look at them, would they be working on so many other indy shows in the area now?
In addition to bringing in the best up and coming talent, the ECWA has quite a reputation as being a proving ground for talent that has moved on to the “big leagues”. Some of the names that started out in the ECWA include Crowbar, Simon Diamond, Kidman, Christian, Shawn Stasiak, and Test.
Jim Kettner also has a talent for developing phenomenal characters with guys like Mr. Ooh La La, Cheetah Master, Japanese Pool Boy, Mozart Fontaine, JJ The Ring Crew Guy (who actually worked ring crew, and more.
The ECWA Annual Super 8 Tournament (which will have be in it’s 7th
year in 2003.) is THE INDEPENDENT TOURNAMENT for young light heavyweight
competition. The names that have appeared in past Super 8s show just how
prestigious this tournament is.
Reckless Youth, Cheetah Master, Ace Darling, Kidman, Matt Hardy, Jeff
Hardy, Scott Taylor, Crowbar, Simon Diamond, Inferno Kid, Christian York,
Mark Shrader, Steve Bradley, Scoot Andrews, Trent Acid, Vic Capri, Shark
Boy, Jeff Peterson, Chad Collyer, Jet Jaguar, Christopher Daniels, Jayson
Reign, Tony Kozina, Mike Sullivan, Billy Fives, American Dragon, Spanky,
Low Ki, Bobby Rude, Red, Pepper Parks, Matt Stryker, Xavier, A.J. Styles,
Jamie Knoble, and Donovan Morgan.
Last, but not least, the ECWA has also brought in many major stars over
the years, including:
Ricky "The Dragon” Steamboat, Goldust, Mick Foley, Bob Holly,
Headbangers, Luna, Kidman, Jacqueline, George Steele, Mideon, Steve Williams,
Dory Funk, Jr., Giant Silva, Teri Runnels, Mean Street Posse, Kurt Angle,
King Kong Bundy, Honky Tonk Man, Tito Santana, Bushwhackers, Hacksaw Duggan,
Ivan Koloff, Gillberg, Kevin Kelly, Jim Cornette, Capt. Lou Albano, Mae
Young, Fabulous Moolah, The Dudley Boyz, Edge, The Hardy Boyz, Bob Backlund,
Tom Pritchard, Afa the Samoan, Molly Holly, Steve Corino, D-Lo Brown,
and Michael Cole.
My first ECWA show was in March of 1997. After months of wrestlinglcothesline.com columnist, Jim Brambilla, prodding and pushing me to make the trip to DE, I finally caved in and decided to go. I drove the 4 hours (one way) swearing that this better be the greatest indy card I have ever seen or I was going to have to hurt someone. When we got to the show, all of the “faces” were sitting at a table in the back of the building, signing autographs for the fans. An announcement came over the PA telling Glen Osbourne he had a phone call in the back. Glen left to take the call.
The scheduled belltime was 7:00. At 7:00 sharp, the show began. I was already impressed because I had NEVER been to an indy show that actually started within 15 minutes of belltime, let alone AT belltime.
The first match began and the crowd was already popping. Who pops for
the guys in the opening match? WOW. Then it happened, the match began
and suddenly, we had live play by play over the PA. Brambilla neglected
to mention this aspect of the show. While it seemed annoying at first,
after the 4th or 5th match, I really didn’t notice it anymore. In
fact, it helped get the crowd behind the face and helped get them into
the matches more.
It was then announced that Glen Osbourne had a family emergency and had to leave the building. He would not be able to wrestle in his match later in the evening. What?? Are you kidding me?? Hey actually planned this whole thing out SO WELL that they had a phone call come in during the autograph session?? How awesome is that? What other promoter would actually do that? None.
Later, during the match Osbourne was supposed to be in (against Viper), Osbourne ran through the side door of the building, wielding a baseball bat, and cleared the ring. Not only did he have an emergency BUT he was smart enough to run in from the side and not the locker room!!! I was hooked. Any promoter that puts that much thought into and angle was great in my book.
Let's take a look at some of the current roster in the ECWA:
Champion: Red. While I am personally not a huge fan of his, many others are. When he won the title by defeating Prince Nana the crowd popped. He is a great high flier and when put in the ring with the right opponent, he can have one hell of a match.
Tag Team Champions: Jose and Joel Maximo, The SAT. One of the best tag teams on the indy scene right now. The crowd loves them and they put on phenomenal matches against almost anyone.
Mid Atlantic Champion: Japanese Poolboy. Born in the ECWA. One of the best gimmicks in the ECWA. Every Poolboy match begins with a unique entrance, unlike any he has done before. From Britney, to Madonna, to Toni Basil, Poolboy doesn't dissapoint with his entrances (although he refuses to use Shakira). In addition to his entrance, Poolboy can actually wrestle!!
Mr. Ooh La La - The one character that never seems to get old. Also born in the ECWA. The crowd loves to hate him and love to chant Barney at him. Ooh La La seems to fall on his face after his striptease, prior to every match. The question is, how is he going to fall next time?
Cheetah Master- The Hulk Hogan of the ECWA. His entrance to "Welcome to the Jungle" is seemingly endless. His chants of "Yeah Yeah" seem to be all he knows how to say. His running from one side of the ring to the other encouraging the fans to scream so he can throw them his torn, wet, t-shirt even has caused Simon Diamond to nap on the ropes. However, the girls (and a few scary guys) seem to love him. What more do you need?
Prince Nana- A phenomenal heel whom the crowd hates. His mic work is phenomenal (although sometimes hard to hear over the chorus of boos) and his in ring ability has steadily improved. ECWA needed a good heel and they found one in Nana.
Christopher Daniels - The Fallen Angel has wrestled everywhere from WWE to WCW to Japan. I have yet to see him have a bad match, against anybody. ECWA brought him to the area first and for that I am grateful.
Low Ki - Another one of the most talked about wrestlers on the indy scene. Low Ki recently had the opportunity to wrestle in Japan. Low Ki's matches with American Dragon, Xavier, and his tag matches with both men have been match of the year candidates.
Xavier - Another one of the indys shining stars. Great wrestling ability means you will never see a bad match from him.
The J Crew - JJ and JR Ryder, on his own JJ is not the most impressive wrestler in the world (my opinion). When he first started, he was JJ The Ring Crew Guy, a member of the ECWA Ring Crew who, due to circumstances beyond his control, became a wrestler. He was a face and seemed to be on his way to being the next Cheetah Master. Until he turned heel and the crowd turned on him. Enter JR Ryder who, if nothing else, looks like he should be a wrestler. Together, they make a pretty good tag team. They are managed by Sebastian Knight. Knight has improved but still needs a little help in the "how to act while at ringside during a match" department.
ES Easton - manager of Mozart Fontaine. When he first arrived, he sported a clipboard, megaphone, and bad hat. Luckilly, he dropped that and has become one of the ECWA's premier managers. He's good on the mic and feeds off the crowd very well. In addition, he doesn't distract from the actual match in the ring.
Mozart Fontaine - another ECWA grown talent. Has developed into a very good wrestler. Shades of a young Bobby Eaton.
In addition to the above mentioned (and I mean NO disrespect to anyone I may have left or or may not mention in the next few sentences, but you try naming EVERYONE in a promotion) ECWA has talent like Rob Eckos (a newcomer to the ECWA who seems to have potential), Inferno, Ruffhouse Rivera, Ryan Wing (who, as a threesome, could be a phenomenal heel stable. Plus the dice are SO over), Hightower (a new manager who is quickly becoming one of my favorites), Xero(we're still trying to figure this one out), and Johnny Maxx (another one I will reserve commenting on).
Overall, no other indy promotion has given so many stars their start as the ECWA has. No other indy promotion has brought in west coast and mid west talent (first) as the ECWA has. No other indy promotion came up with a tournament that allowed the best light heavyweights in the business a chance to shine. No other indy promotion has had their champion working in the WWF (at the time) and has had their promoter, Jim Kettner, actually go into the WWF locker room to talk to the champion (and get a bloodbath) and find out when he was going to return to defend the title. No other indy promotion gets me to drive 8 hours, round trip, every month to see their show NO MATTER what matches are announced.
If anyone can deny the fact that Jim Kettner's ECWA is one of, if not the best, independent promotion in the US today, then tell me how they have been in business for 35 years and how they continue to draw crowds and find the best talent out there, on a regular basis.
----
Previous
column on MLW
NWA
Jersey
USA Pro
Contact Brett Schwan at WresClothesline@aol.com
