9 Times ECW Was Better Than Literally EVERYTHING
7. The Sandman Returns From WCW
Back where he belonged but having never looked better for the time he spent where he didn't, The Sandman's 1999 return to ECW found the Philadelphia organisation long, long past its creative peak and in dire need of a reminder of the good old days. An extreme icon that just happened to be in Nitro shape was exactly that.
His partly-polished reinvention as "Hardcore Hak" was unexpectedly half-decent in contrast to some of the lesser runs for the likes of Stevie Richards and Mikey Whipwreck during their time in Atlanta, and with the "You Sold Out" chants getting quieter the more it became apparent how little ECW could afford to pay its wrestlers, there was little in the way of a backlash when - a month removed from a cost-cutting WCW release - he returned home to help fellow originals Tommy Dreamer and Raven fend off vicious new heels Justin Credible, Lance Storm and Rhino.
It looked, for a night, as if happy days were here again for a company that was running low concepts and cash thanks to the excesses of both majors in the Monday Night Wars, and - thanks to the gift of a great fancam - exists today as an even more authentic version of his spellbinding One Night Stand 2005 arrival.