40 Greatest Stories Wrestling Ever Told
37. The WWF Invades ECW (ECW, 1997)
Even Jerry Lawler's harshest critics (mainly those who tired of his horny colour commentary during the 'Attitude Era' or his washed out contributions behind the desk after the fact) would have to admit that he knew how to get heat. The 'King' recognised which buttons to press and when early on. He was an outstanding heel.
During the 90s, Lawler realised how much steam the original ECW was building. That's why he targeted it. Put it this way: If Paul Heyman's hardcore, niche outfit was as useless as Jerry claimed it was on WWF screens, then he wouldn't have given it the time of day. He certainly wouldn't have shown up for a match vs. ECW icon Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Heaven 1997.
Vince McMahon, who was privately funding Heyman's organisation on the side during its early pay-per-view days, gave Lawler the green light to bash ECW as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling" on Raw, and he let the federation heel go down and have a blast on Heyman's shows as bloodthirsty audiences begged Dreamer to shut him down. It was a wonderful, easily-wrapped story anyone could enjoy.
After all, Jerry should've been pro-ECW. He'd been anti-WWF (or so it seemed) in the late-80s and early-90s before joining McMahon's operation, and his own Memphis territory was a fellow 'little engine that could'. It was old school though, whilst Paul E favoured the future and a grittier, less-polished take on pro wrestling.
Dreamer's win at Hardcore Heaven sent ECW fans wild, and that wouldn't have been possible without Lawler's antagonistic promos, commentary and behaviour for months leading into it.