The Secret History Of ECW | Wrestling Timelines

August 2, 1998 - Heat Wave ‘98

With Heat Wave, arguably the best bell-to-bell show in the U.S. all year, Paul Heyman proves he’s still got it. His promotion has been ruthlessly scavenged - the talent, the philosophy, hell, even the colour of the ring ropes has been taken by the majors - but he’s not burned out just yet.

Justin Credible announces himself as a loathsome, douchebag heel in a strong win over Jerry Lynn, where Chris Candido is a cocky über-stooge in his defeat of Lance Storm.

The sequel isn’t as iconic as their Living Dangerously match, in which Bam Bam Bigelow and Taz crash through the ring - the WWF will take this, and even use it as inspiration to break the entire thing four years later - but their hellish Falls Count Anywhere brawl is awesome. Rob Van Dam and Sabu take much too long to beat Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki, but the ECW/FMW crossover novelty is undeniably cool. The main event - Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Spike Dudley Vs. Big Dick, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley - encapsulates the theme of the show. It’s a quintessentially ECW match, a garbage bonanza, but the love is still there for it.

Heyman finally begins to solve one of his worst and most boring flaws as a booker: the disappointing, overlong World title match. The Awesome Vs. Tanaka series, ported to the U.S. for the second time at Heat Wave, becomes the best in-ring fare in ECW history when Heyman builds the World title scene around it in late ‘99.

It’s a white-knuckle death race in which each man takes it in turns to kill one another. The fat-free brevity of escalating terror is phenomenal. They share the magic chemistry reserved for only the best wrestling pairings ever. It’s such a shame that it happens long after the true wider creative peak, and guess where Awesome ends up.