The ECW Originals was a professional wrestling stable that made appearances in various wrestling promotions , such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
70-562: The name of the stable derives from their affiliation with the original independent Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, with "ECW Originals" being wrestlers who first came to prominence during the first ECW's run. Members of the ECW Originals faction have held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship , World Television Championship , or World Tag Team Championship during their tenure with
140-457: A Falls Count Anywhere match and Dreamer was defeated by A.J. Styles in an "I Quit" match . On the following edition of Impact! , Dreamer appeared on the Impact! Zone alone, admitted EV 2.0's defeat and attempted to reach a truce with Fourtune, but was beaten down. The following week he returned with Raven, Stevie Richards, Sabu and Rhino and announced that Dixie Carter had given the five of them
210-486: A Lethal Lockdown match against Fourtune at Bound for Glory . Later that same night Sabu lost to A.J. Styles in a ladder match contested for the advantage at Bound for Glory. On the October 7 live edition of Impact! Mick Foley defeated Fourtune leader Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing match . At Bound for Glory Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Richards and Sabu defeated Fourtune members Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm in
280-720: A Steel Cage match . Both men escaped the steel cage at the same time, and The Undertaker was therefore declared still the champion. After the match, Mark Henry returned and attacked The Undertaker. Edge, who defeated Mr. Kennedy on the May 7 episode of Raw to win the Money in the Bank contract , cashed in his opportunity and defeated The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Team McMahon's feud with Bobby Lashley continued as Mr. McMahon gave Lashley
350-509: A handicap match for the ECW World Championship . Vince won the title and the match for his team after pinning Lashley. Backlash is a pay-per-view (PPV) event that was established by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1999. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania . The 2007 event was the ninth Backlash and featured the backlash from WrestleMania 23 . It
420-698: A minor league or farm system for the larger national promotions, as wrestlers in "indie" companies (especially young wrestlers just starting their careers) are usually honing their craft with the goal of being noticed and signed by a major national promotion such as WWE , All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (which also owns Ring of Honor (ROH)), or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the United States, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico, or New Japan Pro-Wrestling , Dragongate , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Wonder Ring Stardom or
490-454: A Five-Star Frog splash to Sandman, but it was later announced that his championship match would be a three-on-one handicap match with Mr. McMahon, his son Shane McMahon and Umaga , which Van Dam lost. On May 15, 2007, Sabu was released by the WWE. At One Night Stand , Dreamer and Sandman teamed up with CM Punk to defeat the remaining New Breed members in a Tables Match. The same night, Van Dam
560-472: A Lethal Lockdown match. On the October 21 edition of Impact! Eric Bischoff claimed that someone from EV 2.0 had been calling him, trying to get to be a part of his new Immortal stable. Rob Van Dam, whose friend Jeff Hardy had turned on him two weeks earlier to join Immortal, wanted to find out who had been talking to Bischoff and first accused Raven of being the one. Later, he and Sabu were defeated in
630-410: A champion there. Independent Mexican wrestlers may use a lot of gimmicks, including some that may be based on copyrighted characters from American television shows, such as Thundercats and X-Men . (These gimmicks are often changed if the wrestler playing them makes it into AAA or CMLL; the most prominent example of non-compliance with this method is midget wrestler Chucky from AAA, whose gimmick
700-474: A dark match, defeating The Most Professional Wrestling Gods ( Brian Myers and Moose ). (as "The ECW Originals") (as "EV 2.0") Independent circuit In professional wrestling , the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies ) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. Independent promotions are essentially viewed as
770-520: A fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship. During the match, Michaels performed a moonsault onto Cena, Edge, and Orton on the floor. Edge performed a spear on Orton. Cena then performed an FU to Edge. Michaels executed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, who fell on Orton for the pinfall victory, retaining the title. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch continued their rivalry with The Hardys until
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#1732787353629840-574: A feud which saw all four members target Punk exclusively (and unsuccessfully). With the common enemy defeated, the ECW Originals seemed to have quietly disbanded, with all members concentrating on their singles careers. Following Mr. McMahon winning the ECW World Championship at Backlash , the Originals were shown to still be a stable when McMahon teased them with the title. The quartet later made comments about Vince McMahon becoming
910-527: A five-year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986. However, by the mid-1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the Big Daddy -orientated direction of Joint. Eventually this culminated in All Star gaining a TV show on satellite channel Screensport and later, a slice of ITV's coverage from 1987 until the end of ITV wrestling in 1988. By
980-525: A good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract. The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach
1050-581: A large enough crowd to fill such a venue were they able to do so. Instead, they make use of any almost open space (such as fields, ballrooms, or gymnasiums) to put on their performances. Some independent promotions are attached to professional wrestling schools , serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes
1120-549: A larger audience outside of their local areas. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions , Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories, that being the Northern Territory . Tours from
1190-541: A major promoter with shows featuring himself as headline heel. In 1958, when Bert Assirati was stripped of the British Heavyweight Championship , Lincoln formed the BWF alliance of promoters to support Assirati's claim, later recognising Shirley Crabtree as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970. Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from
1260-469: A near-fall. Vince then tagged in Umaga, who executed a second diving splash on Lashley. After being tagged in again, Vince pinned Lashley to win the ECW World Championship and the match for his team. The next match was The Undertaker against Batista in a Last Man Standing Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. At one spot , Undertaker executed a leg drop through an announce table on Batista. Towards
1330-610: A new incarnation of the ECW Originals. On December 2, 2015, the group introduced the returning Rhyno on Raw to help in their feud with the Wyatts. On December 13 in the TLC pay per view, the ECW Originals lost to the Wyatt Family in an 8-man tables elimination match, and again the next night on Raw in an Extreme Rules match. The group disappeared from WWE TV by 2016. On April 12, 2016, Balls Mahoney, an ECW Originals member, died. On
1400-532: A region and maintain a consistent schedule. After Vince McMahon , seeking regulatory relief, gave in 1989 testimony in front of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission where he publicly admitted pro wrestling was in fact a sports-based entertainment, rather than a true athletic competition, many state athletic commissions stopped regulating wrestling. This obviated the need for complying with many expensive requirements, such as
1470-512: A tag team match by Beer Money, Inc., after Sabu accidentally hit him with a chair. After the match Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other and had to be separated from each other by the rest of EV 2.0. After two more weeks of dissension between Van Dam and the rest of EV 2.0, Tommy Dreamer challenged Van Dam to a match at Turning Point . At the pay–per–view Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him. Also at Turning Point, Brian Kendrick, Raven, Richards, Rhino and Sabu faced Fortune in
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#17327873536291540-405: A ten-man tag team match, where each member of EV 2.0 put their TNA careers on the line. Fortune won the match and afterwards Flair fired Sabu. His release from TNA was legitimate. On the following edition of Impact! , Rhino revealed himself as the traitor Bischoff had been talking about by costing Van Dam his match against Kazarian and afterwards hitting Dreamer with a chair. The following week Raven
1610-490: A valet instead of an actual team member. While he openly supported Cor Von, Thorn and Stryker, he openly disrespected Burke, constantly questioning Burke's ability to lead the stable or win matches alone. A few weeks after joining, however, Punk turned on the New Breed, and joined the Originals to defeat them in an 8-man elimination tag team match . This marked the end of the feud as the New Breed started to fall apart during
1680-482: A week or once a month in local towns. Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are much more dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to work for free due to the fact most promoters can only afford to pay well-known talent). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract
1750-640: Is based on the Child's Play movies.) Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling . ( International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative. From 1986 to 1988
1820-573: Is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to the big regional territories. The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF , went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW . Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within
1890-556: The 2022 Bound for Glory event , Tommy Dreamer inducted Raven into the Impact Hall of Fame . Later during the event, Dreamer, Rhino, Johnny Swinger , and Bully Ray reunited, and were referred to by commentators as EV 2.0, during the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, with Ray winning the match by last eliminating Steve Maclin . During Impact 1000 , Impact Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer and Rhino reunited during
1960-547: The CyberFight promotions in Japan. It is also not uncommon for veteran wrestlers who have had past tenures with major promotions to appear on independent shows, either as special attractions or as a way to prolong their careers. The "indie" scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This
2030-652: The Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia . It was WWE's first monthly PPV held to feature all three brands after the company discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. The concept of the pay-per-view was based around the backlash from WrestleMania 23 . The main match on the Raw brand was a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship involving champion John Cena , Randy Orton , Edge , and Shawn Michaels . Cena won
2100-472: The Sci Fi Channel . One of the first feuds on the brand pitted Mike Knox and Test against The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer . On January 30, 2007, when Vince McMahon appeared on ECW on Sci Fi to, in storyline , take a more hands-on role in running the brand, he started by taking stock of the roster. In doing so he degraded the "ECW Originals", he ran into backstage while calling newcomers
2170-458: The " New Breed ". He lavished praise on Elijah Burke at the end of the night, prompting Dreamer, Sabu , Balls Mahoney , and The Sandman to rush to the ring and attack Burke, leaving him lying in the ring as they taunted McMahon. Over the next weeks, the war continued with Burke and a number of other "new" stars becoming "the New Breed" and promptly starting a feud with the Originals, who lost Balls Mahoney but were joined by Rob Van Dam (Mahoney
ECW Originals - Misplaced Pages Continue
2240-596: The "hardcore originals" did not deserve to be in TNA. The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave the ECW alumni TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with Fourtune, united as a group under the name "EV 2.0". Team 3D's contracts with TNA expired shortly thereafter and they have made no more appearances as members of EV 2, nor has Bill Alfonso or Sandman, who no-showed an Impact! taping on August 23. Guido Maritato and Tony Luke made their final appearance for TNA on
2310-461: The 1990s there have also been numerous American-style "New School" promotions. Note: Minimum attendance of 5,000. General Specific Backlash (2007) The 2007 Backlash was the ninth Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw , SmackDown! , and ECW brand divisions . The event took place on April 29, 2007, at
2380-479: The April 9 episode of Raw , Shane challenged Lashley to a Hair vs. Title match for the ECW World Championship. Shane got himself intentionally disqualified, but did not get his head shaved. After the match, Umaga and Vince and Shane attacked Lashley. After the beating, Vince announced that Lashley would have to defend the ECW World Championship against Team McMahon at Backlash in a three-on-one handicap match . Before
2450-604: The August 26 edition of Impact! , in a squash match, where they were defeated by Beer Money, Inc. On the September 2 edition of Impact! EV 2 was joined by Brian Kendrick , making him the first TNA member of the group with no past with Extreme Championship Wrestling. At No Surrender EV 2.0 lost all three of their matches, when Sabu unsuccessfully challenged Douglas Williams for the TNA X Division Championship , Rhino lost to Abyss in
2520-400: The ECW Originals costing him multiple wins. On the April 10 episode of ECW , after a match between Van Dam and Burke, Punk came down to ringside, looking like he was about to check on Sabu. Instead, however, he shook hands with Burke and the rest of the New Breed, showing his allegiance to them. Over the next few weeks, Punk showed his loyalty to the members of the New Breed, playing the role of
2590-557: The ECW World Championship. The rivalry started on the February 26 episode of Raw , when Lashley was selected by Donald Trump to compete at WrestleMania 23. Lashley was selected to compete against Vince's representative, Umaga, in Hair vs. Hair match , a match in which the loser's representative would have to get his head shaved bald. At WrestleMania, Lashley defeated Umaga, and after the match, Trump and Lashley shaved Vince's head bald. On
2660-723: The Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal mores which implied that a wrestler was a lifelong employee of a company and thus identified with it wherever he went, neither AJPW nor NJPW made an effort to acquire wrestlers trained in other promotions; wrestlers from the major promotions who left, such as Genichiro Tenryu , Gran Hamada , Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Akira Maeda , Atsushi Onita , and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in
2730-460: The July 15, 2010, edition of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact! television show, former ECW wrestlers Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley , Raven , Stevie Richards , Rhino , Brother Devon , Pat Kenney and Al Snow came together to form the stable "EV 2.0" and assaulted the TNA locker room. Though TNA is legally prohibited from using the ECW name due to WWE's ownership, the association
2800-477: The New Breed on house shows, replacing Sandman in the ECW Originals. As commentating teams announced Elijah Burke as the "former" leader of the New Breed, it signaled the end of the New Breed and the ECW Originals, and their feud. After the releases of Rob Van Dam in June 2007, Balls Mahoney in April 2008 and Stevie Richards in August 2008, Dreamer was the last remaining member of ECW Originals in WWE, until his release
2870-595: The North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne , Sydney , Perth and Brisbane . Lucha libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion to the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as its emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either AAA or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be
ECW Originals - Misplaced Pages Continue
2940-521: The Raw brand was a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship , a standard match involving four wrestlers between John Cena , Edge , Shawn Michaels , and Randy Orton . At the Royal Rumble in January, Michaels was one of the final two participants in the Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by The Undertaker . On the February 5 episode of Raw , Michaels earned the right to become
3010-812: The SmackDown! brand was between The Undertaker and Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship . At the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match. As a result, he was given the right to a world title match at WrestleMania for any of WWE's three major championships ( ECW World , World Heavyweight, or WWE) at WrestleMania 23. On the February 5 episode of Raw , The Undertaker teased all three respective World Champions (Bobby Lashley, Batista, and John Cena) before choosing Batista as his opponent to face at WrestleMania. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Batista to win
3080-476: The World Heavyweight Championship to extend his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 15–0. Their rivalry, however, did not end, as SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match between The Undertaker and Batista at Backlash. The main rivalry on the ECW brand was between Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon ( Umaga , Vince and Shane McMahon ), in which Lashley and Vince were feuding over
3150-461: The death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki , which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent. In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS , took place; soon after NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse , Tiger Mask , Gedo , and Jado . On
3220-553: The end of this period, All Star had effectively replaced Joint (by now owned by Max Crabtree , brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK. Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since
3290-538: The end, Benoit pinned MVP with a small package to retain the WWE United States Championship. The three-on-one handicap ECW World Championship match between champion Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon) was next. Shane struck Lashley with the ECW World Championship belt and Umaga executed a diving splash on Lashley. Umaga then tagged in Vince, who scored
3360-428: The end, the two fought up the entrance ramp, where Batista executed a spear to The Undertaker off the stage. Neither man could get to their feet before the referee's count of ten; in result, the match ended in a draw. Due to WWE regulations, titles can't change hands in a Last Man Standing match by a draw, so The Undertaker remained champion. The main event was John Cena against Edge, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels in
3430-525: The event aired live on pay-per-view, Carlito defeated Johnny Nitro in a dark match . The first match of the event was The Hardys ( Matt and Jeff ) versus Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch for the World Tag Team Championship . Cade and Murdoch controlled a majority of the match; however, The Hardys won the bout when Matt pinned Murdoch after a Twist Of Fate , which was followed by Jeff's Swanton Bomb . The match that followed
3500-533: The independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito , Takahiro Suwa , and Taiji Ishimori ). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability. For most of the years of ITV 's coverage of British Wrestling, the dominant promoter in the United Kingdom was the Joint Promotions cartel, which
3570-416: The late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling c. 1984 . An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining
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#17327873536293640-405: The limelight ( Wrestling Association "R" , Universal Lucha Libre , Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , Fighting Network Rings , Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling , and Hustle respectively) . As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With
3710-516: The mat while they were pinning one another. Later that night, during Edge's talk show, "The Cutting Edge" , Edge claimed that Raw General Manager Jonathan Coachman had named him the number-one contender to the WWE title. Honorary General Manager Michael Pena, from the Make-a-Wish Foundation , however, announced that Michaels, Orton, and Edge would face Cena for the title at Backlash in a fatal four-way match. The main rivalry on
3780-438: The match and retained the championship after pinning Orton. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship between The Undertaker and Batista , which ended in a no-contest after both men failed get to their feet before the referee counted to ten. The featured match on the ECW brand was Bobby Lashley versus Team McMahon ( Umaga , Vince and Shane McMahon ) in
3850-426: The need for an on-site ambulance and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once
3920-453: The new ECW Champion and killing the ECW spirit on WWE's official website. (Mr. McMahon won the title while teaming with Shane McMahon and Umaga, and every title defence saw the trio compete as a team, however, Mr. McMahon is the only one recognised as the title holder). This led to an "Extreme Rules" Four Way Dance between the Originals, with the winner getting a chance to face Mr. McMahon for the ECW World Championship. Van Dam won this match with
3990-475: The number-one contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23 after defeating Orton and Edge in a triple threat match . At WrestleMania, Cena defeated Michaels to retain the WWE Championship after forcing Michaels to submit to the STFU . On the April 9 episode of Raw , a number one contender's match between Michaels and Orton for the WWE Championship ended in a no contest after both men's shoulders were on
4060-416: The original company. In 2006, WWE relaunched ECW as their third brand , with wrestlers from the original promotions being dubbed the ECW Originals and feuding with wrestlers with no association with the original ECW, dubbed " The New Breed ". In July 2010, the group debuted in TNA under the name EV 2.0 (EV being an abbreviation for "Extreme Violence" or "Extreme Version"). However, the ECW Originals reunion
4130-534: The same year, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split, AJPW was forced to fill its ranks with independent talent; Nobutaka Araya , Shigeo Okumura and Mitsuya Nagai signed up (Araya is the only one who remains, but other signings since then have been Kaz Hayashi , Tomoaki Honma , Hideki Hosaka , and Ryuji Hijikata .) Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda , to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from
4200-499: The two teams had a rematch at Judgment Day for the World Tag Team Championship, which The Hardys won. Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter also continued their rivalry for the WWE United States Championship, which led to a two out of three falls match at Judgment Day, which MVP won. On the May 11 episode of SmackDown! , The Undertaker defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista in
4270-478: The weekly ECW show. The Originals won a standard-rules four-on-four match at WrestleMania 23 , but lost an extreme-rules rematch on the next Tuesday's show. CM Punk had been brought into the storyline as a coveted free agent, with both the Originals and the New Breed attempting to recruit him. Punk made it clear to both sides that he was not interested. Members of both stables would interfere in Punk's matches, with
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#17327873536294340-607: Was Melina versus Mickie James for the WWE Women's Championship . The match was short lived, as Melina performed an Inverted DDT on Mickie James and pinned her to retain the WWE Women's Championship. The third match was between Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter for the WWE United States Championship . Benoit and MVP struggled throughout the match, attempting to gain the upper hand. In
4410-533: Was announced in January 2010, ending the ECW Original blood line. Eventually, ECW was cancelled on February 16, 2010, and replaced with NXT . However, Rob Van Dam would return to the company for a short time in early 2013, at the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and competed at Money in the Bank on July 14, 2013. On November 30, 2015, The Dudley Boyz – who had been feuding with The Wyatt Family – brought back Tommy Dreamer on Raw , establishing
4480-601: Was forced to put his TNA future on the line in a match against the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy. Hardy won the match and as a result Raven was released from TNA. His release from the company was also legitimate. On December 5 at Final Resolution Rhino wrestled his final match for the promotion, when he faced Van Dam in a First Blood match in a losing effort. The stable has not made an appearance since. On January 11, 2011, Stevie Richards announced that he had quit TNA. During
4550-579: Was indirectly referenced. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice , which took place on August 8, 2010. On the following edition of Impact! , Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Team 3D , Mick Foley, Sandman, Sabu, Bill Alfonso , Rhino, Raven, Stevie Richards, Guido Maritato and Tony Luke were assaulted by Abyss and A.J. Styles , Kazarian , Beer Money, Inc. ( Robert Roode , James Storm ), Douglas Williams , and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair 's Fourtune stable, who thought
4620-529: Was involved in a match versus Randy Orton and, in storyline, suffered a concussion which removed him from television. This would be Van Dam's last match under a WWE contract. On June 5, 2007, Bobby Lashley defeated another ECW Originals incarnation of Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney and Sandman in a 3-on-1 handicap hardcore match. The stable was fractured even further when Sandman was drafted to Raw on June 17, 2007, and released on September 11, 2007. In mid-2007, Stevie Richards teamed with Tommy Dreamer against
4690-501: Was only implied and never billed under that name, due to WWE owning all ECW trademarks and properties. When World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) revived ECW as a third brand, they did so by having a number of wrestlers from the original promotion appear on the June 5, 2006 Raw to attack WWE Champion John Cena . From there, the new ECW was given its own weekly show, with the tagline "A New Breed Unleashed" appearing in TV advertising, on
4760-464: Was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows. Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory, Atholl Oakley 's BWA. By the time of its demise, wrestler/promoter Paul Lincoln had established himself as
4830-456: Was scheduled to take place on April 29, 2007, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia . From 2004 to 2006, Backlash was held exclusively for the Raw brand , but following WrestleMania 23, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. The 2007 Backlash was the first PPV held following this change and thus featured wrestlers from Raw, SmackDown! , and ECW . The main event scripted into Backlash on
4900-476: Was still an active performer and still recognised as a member of the stable, however, he would never become involved in any match related to the stable). The New Breed got off to a hot start in the feud, picking up win after win with no ECW Originals pinning New Breed members until three weeks into the feud, when Rob Van Dam pinned Kevin Thorn . The teams continued to clash in singles and tag matches, trading wins on
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