WWE Told This Wrestler Not To Mention ECW

An ex-WWE star was told to stop mentioning the original ECW during promos.

by Jamie Kennedy
rhyno 2001
WWE.com

Stephanie McMahon once told Rhyno to quit mentioning the original ECW during promos.

Rhyno told 'Talk'N'Shop' that the then-WWF didn't want Paul Heyman's promotion to get any airtime towards the end of the invasion angle back in 2001. One day, whilst chatting to Stephanie in between takes, Rhyno learned that he wasn't supposed to talk about Extreme Championship Wrestling at all.

That was news to him, especially because ECW had been part of the invasion idea alongside WCW. Apparently, according to Stephanie, Vince wanted to "move away from that" and onto a clear WWF-centric focus again. This, obviously, was another one of McMahon's well-known whims.

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Rhyno had been namedropping ECW for cheap pops during house show promos, but Steph warned him against continuing that. The pair had a decent relationship (stemming from the prior summer when they worked together) behind the scenes, so Rhyno appreciated the heads up.

He didn't get too salty about this polite warning either - Rhyno could see that Stephanie was only trying to help him out. He also knew he'd have no choice but to tow the party line anyway.

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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.