10 Best Image Changes In ECW History
Jock straps to kendo sticks and cartoons giving way to grit...
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If there's one thing Paul Heyman knows how to do, it's bring the best out in those around him. One of the greatest talent-spotters in pro wrestling history, Heyman's time in charge of the original Extreme Championship Wrestling confirmed him as a mastermind when it comes to accentuating positives in his wrestlers.
As colourful as the ECW roster was, Heyman knew he didn't have the muscled physiques of the WWF or the production budget of WCW. Therefore, he had to work with what was available and create miracles with the talent on offer.
Often, all these men and women needed was a push in the right direction. Craving the chance to perform, ECW regularly took these misfits from other companies, repackaged them as new characters and turned the directionless into those capable of sheer magic.
Aesthetic had much to do with that newfound appeal, Heyman's strategy relied on ignoring negatives in favour of pushing positives.
Here are the 10 best image changes in ECW history. Once Paul Heyman gave many of these performers a platform, their careers were never the same again...
10. Bill Alfonso
Before signing on to work in the original ECW, Bill Alfonso was little more than a referee. It's true that he did work for virtually every major promotion, most notably the WWF in the early-1990's. Infamously, Alfonso was the official for the ill-fated Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez match at WrestleMania IX.
If that was a low point in his career, ECW was about to rescue things and give Alfonso much more creative satisfaction. Recast in 1995 as a heel referee, Bill was eventually stripped of his ref shirt by company management and repackaged completely as a manager.
From there, Alfonso became ECW's most memorable ringside nuisance. Armed with his trusty whistle, Bill would send shrill peeps through each building when managing the likes of Taz, Rob Van Dam and Sabu in the promotion.
Recognising that Alfonso had a grating voice and generally irritating presence as a heel was a stroke of genius from Paul Heyman. Changing Bill from regular referee to manager of champions in ECW worked a treat.