"E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub! E-C-Dub!" Even though the promotion has been dead for 13 years, those chants still are heard in arenas around the country. ECW was more than just a wrestling promotion for some people, it was a way of life and an attitude. Forget, the WWF's "Attitude Era", ECW blew that completely out of the water. The man at the helm of the hardcore revolution was Paul Heyman. One of the most innovative and creative bookers of all-time, Heyman created an environment where wrestlers weren't judged by their physiques or scripted promos, they were measured by their ability to wrestle and take a beating. However, for as many fond memories that we have of ECW, there has to be a downside to the promotion. If the promotion was perfect, then it wouldn't have went out of business. As Lance Storm said on Jim Cornette's podcast, "We broke all of the rules in ECW, then we realized why there were rules in the first place." ECW became an underground sensation because they were willing to push the envelope and change the wrestling industry. However, that very change proved to be what killed promotion once and for all.
