101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened

62. Mike Awesome Trashes The ECW Title On Nitro

Mike Awesome Taz ECW Championship
WWE.com

Fans watching in 2000 were treated to the highly unique visual of WWF star Tazz beating WCW's Mike Awesome for the ECW Title on Paul Heyman's show. How on earth did that even come about at all?! Well, it all started when WCW top brass threatened to have Awesome trash the belt on Monday Nitro shortly after signing him.

Heyman reportedly threatened 'Dubya-C-Dubya' back with some hefty legal action, and talks between all parties resulted in the WCW vs. WWF title switch on an ECW event. Had Paul E not wagged a finger in the faces of those calling the shots at Turner, then this would've been Madusa with the WWF Women's strap in 1995 all over again.

Back then, the former Alundra Blayze dropped Vinnie Mac's unwanted gold into a trash can and fired a shot in the 'Monday Night Wars' that no-one would soon forget. Would Awesome trashing the ECW Title have been as impactful? Higher profile given the importance of Heyman's belt, sure, but WCW was cooked by 2000 so it wouldn't have clawed back any momentum for them.

If anything, Awesome putting a middle finger up at the title he'd won from Masato Tanaka in December 1999 would've reeked of desperation from a company that was running out of ideas after the nWo boom faded. Before long, Awesome was playing rotten roles like 'That 70s Guy' and the even more awful 'Fat Chick Thrilla' on Nitro and Thunder.

ECW didn't exactly get the last laugh (they folded in 2001 too), but Paul at least avoided seeing his title torched on WCW TV.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.