12 Misconceptions About ECW You Probably Believe

12. Paul Heyman Started The Company

Paul Heyman and ECW go together like steel chairs and concussions, but despite what countless documentaries and promos would have you believe, Heyman didn’t create the company from scratch.

The original ECW — Eastern Championship Wrestling — was launched in 1992 by Philadelphia pawn shop owner Tod Gordon. At the time, it was just another regional indie trying to ride the post-territory wave, running traditional shows and working with the National Wrestling Alliance to give it a bit of legitimacy. Paul E? Nowhere in sight.

Heyman didn’t enter the picture until later, first offering creative input before taking over as head booker. From 1993 onward, that’s when things started getting extreme. Out went the old-school NWA trappings, in came barbed wire, edgy promos, and the kind of chaotic energy that would make a Turner executive sweat.

It all culminated in 1994, when Shane Douglas famously won the NWA Title… then threw it down and cut a scorched-earth promo, unofficially birthing Extreme Championship Wrestling. That’s when Heyman took the reins completely.

So yes, Paul Heyman shaped ECW into the anarchic cult phenomenon we remember — but he didn’t build the house. He just burned it down and built something far crazier on top.