12 Misconceptions About ECW You Probably Believe

There’s a feel-good myth that ECW was a brotherhood — a wild band of misfits grinding it out for the love of the game, happily sacrificing pay cheques just to keep the dream alive. Yes, there was passion and loyalty, but there was also a lot of aggravated talent wondering when the hell they were getting paid.

For years, ECW ran on shoestrings and IOUs. Wrestlers regularly dealt with bounced checks, delayed payments, and no safety nets — no health insurance, no retirement plan, nothing. Top names like Taz, Shane Douglas, and Tommy Dreamer have all admitted they stuck around out of belief in the product, but that belief was often tested by empty bank accounts.

The result? A locker room constantly teetering between camaraderie and collapse. Wrestlers would threaten walkouts, no-show bookings, or take outside work just to keep the lights on. Some stuck around out of loyalty to Paul Heyman. Others stayed because they had nowhere else to go.

So, while the ECW family narrative makes for a great documentary line, the real story is messier. Passion was real — but so was the frustration, and not everyone was happy bleeding for a company that couldn’t always cash the cheque.