10 Biggest Wrestling Scandals Of The 1990s

5. The Mass Transit Incident

To its fans, ECW's chaotic sense of anarchy was one of its greatest strengths. However, this lax approach could lead to dire consequences. After Axl Rotten pulled out of a tag team match at a November 23rd 1998 house show, Paul Heyman was left scrambling for a replacement. He landed on Erich Kulas, a 21-year-old grappler who had been trained by Killer Kowalski. At least, that's what Kulas had told him. 

In reality, the wrestler, who competed under the name Mass Transit, wasn't trained at all. He was also just 17 years old, which made what happened next even worse. 

Alongside his partner D-Von Dudley, Kulas battled the fearsome duo of Mustafa Saed and New Jack, known as The Gangstas. They went hard on the poor kid. New Jack infamously severed two of his arteries during a blade job gone wrong. 

In the resulting legal action, Heyman argued that Kulas had lied him about his age, while New Jack claimed the blade job was Kulas' idea. ECW was determined not to be liable for the incident, but its reputation had taken a huge hit.