For as much as the "Strictly ECW" fan-led campaign to gain ECW PPV clearance worked insofar as clearing the initially balking Premiere service, ECW on PPV as a fan-led movement failed when 1997's Barely Legal was under consideration for both Viewer's Choice and Request TV. Viewer's Choice ultimately decided against airing ECW's initial PPV, and after Heyman met with the group, Request TV decided to air ECW's inaugural PPV offering. For the purposes of creating an engaged indie-to-mainstream fanbase, telling the fans that "they" got the company on pay-per-view is an amazing carrot to dangle. It kept the fans working hard and spreading the gospel through viral channels and creating a strong independent buzz. In a case of the truth being stretched into a lie, this may ultimately be one of wrestling's best examples thereof.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
