10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Dec 2)
9. The Sandman Used WCW As Leverage For ECW
In the early months of 1999, one of the original ECW's most memorable characters started working for World Championship Wrestling. Renamed 'Hardcore Hak', The Sandman played a similar beer-drinking gimmick on WCW programming as he had done under the guidance of Paul Heyman in ECW. By the end of the year, Sandman was back where he arguably belonged.
Speaking with The Whig for a fresh interview this week, The Sandman said there was method behind the madness of signing a deal to work for WCW. Furious over the fact Sabu was paid $15,000 for a pay-per-view when he received $14,000, Sandman decided to chew out Heyman before leaving ECW.
Largely, his stint with Ted Turner's promotion was a chance for The Sandman to create leverage for himself. During the interview, he says he knew WCW wouldn't last too much longer. Seeing the writing on the wall for the company, Sandman jumped back to ECW in late-1999 and slotted right back into a top babyface position.
Ironically, ECW would go out of business at around the same time as WCW in the Spring of 2001.