How Did Shane Douglas Help Create The New ECW?
Let’s take a look at the events leading up to this (in)famous promo. Let’s hop back in our time machine, which hopefully works better than a TARDIS, and go back to just before this famous night.
Paul Heyman was frustrated with the restrictions of the NWA. This would not be the last time a federation was birthed from the frustration of a then “dead” organization, according to Douglas’ promo. At the time, the NWA was only alive through other federations’ TV time. WCW and ECW both were holding NWA championship matches. The NWA itself did not have a TV deal at the time and really hadn’t had a TV deal in a very long time.
Without youtube and the internet, as we know it today, the NWA was reliant on other promotions and TV deals. Sure, now we have Fite where NWA Powerr airs weekly, but back then, the internet was in its infancy still. However, to have the NWA title or the NWA name, you must adhere to strict guidelines. These included rules that have long been forgotten, like no over-the-top-rope or you get disqualified. Heyman was obviously frustrated with this. The guidelines did not allow him to do what HE wanted, and we all know how Paul Heyman is, what Paul wants Paul gets.
At the time NWA: ECW was selling out local arenas, and was the only territory under the NWA banner at the time doing so. The NWA saw this and wanted the tournament held in what later became known as the ECW Arena. They pitched the idea of Shane winning the NWA title and dropping the Eastern Championship Wrestling title. It’s hard to get information on this exactly, even reading and watching videos I was sort of confused. My impression here was that Shane Douglas was the current Eastern Championship Wrestling champion, and the NWA wanted him to become the NWA champion to carry the legacy. Information is sketchy on this exactly.
So a couple of weeks before the actual tournament, Paul called up Shane and told him the plan, which Shane at first was sort of opposed to. Paul had laid out a couple of options, laying out the good and bad of the scenarios. Shane was not forced into this decision at all. During the weeks leading up to it, Shane was struggling with the idea of doing this, because he had a lot of respect for the NWA. The problem here was Shane could not call his friends, or ask for advice because obviously, this was all very hush-hush.
I can’t imagine having a huge moment like that and wrestling with it for two weeks before making a decision. Do you blast the oldest company in the US? Or do you not do it and continue running the NWA: Eastern Championship Wrestling?
The nail in the coffin came a week before the show when Dennis Coralluzzo did a podcast (Radio Show they were still called then) with Mike Tenay and told people never to hire Shane Douglas, he was a thief and would take from your organization. Keep in mind Shane had never, ever met this man before in his life. Needless to say, Shane was not happy with this. Shane at that point, according to a show he did in I believe 2018 (No date was given, it’s on YouTube, “Shane Douglas on National Wrestling Alliance Title Incident,” from The Hannibal TV), was like, his words, “Fuck it. I’m throwing the title down.”
It came down to the actual moment. In his match with 2 Cold, Shane had still not committed to this, despite his earlier thoughts. Shane was still wrestling (no pun intended) with the decision. Throw down the belt or not? No one by this point knew which way this was going to go. Not Paul, not Todd Gordon, not even Shane himself.
Shane Douglas said in the interview that it came down to the promo, and as he started talking, he still had no idea if he was going to go through with it. In the interview I cited on YouTube, Shane said “Growing up my dad was a Super Hero, he was a WW2 vet…” and continued to talk about how his father was a superhero to him, and said, “Son always remember you can walk with your feet on the ground, or you can soar with the eagles.” Shane had no idea what he meant, until that night. When he stopped and said “Here we go Dad.” it was because he felt his father’s presence, the man who had just weeks before sadly passed away.
Shane said it was that moment, as he said “Here we go Dad.” That he knew what his father meant. He could continue to be a sheep and do what the NWA told him (“Walk with your feet on the ground”), or take off on his own, take a risk, and throw it all in. He knew it was time to soar with the eagles. The only thing scripted in that promo was the names. Shane said he was struggling to remember, but thanks to the audience throwing out names, he was able to get through it. It was a hot August day, he had done 3 matches prior, and it was boiling hot in the arena, and he was about to make a major, major change in the wrestling world.
Shane at this moment said he was STILL struggling with whether to do it or not. In a world today where everything is written months in advance, I can just see Paul Heyman and Todd Gordon in the back, sweating bullets, not knowing what was about to happen. Shane said the reason he kept dragging the promo out was he was still wrestling with the idea of throwing down the NWA title. Again, I can’t imagine a decision like this, the stress he had to be under.
The biggest hesitation on the promo was him worrying about these legends being angry at him for disrespecting their legacy. As he’s talking, during the promo, you see Shane turn to his left, and who’s sitting out there? Dennis Coralluzzo. The man that shit all over Douglas just days before, was sitting out there with the ring announcer. Shane said he made eye contact with Coralluzzo, and despite popular belief, he did not just throw the belt down.
He threw it right at Dennis Coralluzzo, the man that just cost the NWA the ECW for calling Shane Douglas a thief. If you watch the promo, the poor guy in orange behind Shane looks like he’s about to have a heart attack.
The fans, mostly, shockingly, embraced it. In the full promo, not the edited WWE one, the fans are chanting “E C W! E C W!” and “Flair is dead!” Afterward, in the video I linked above, the interview with Corluzzo, was NOT scripted. It was a moment of shock for the entire wrestling world, and it’s still one of the most talked-about moments of history.
Todd Gordan, former Eastern Championship Wrestling, now ECW commissioner, later said, “As of now, I have folded NWA: Eastern Championship Wrestling.” This was one of, no, this was THE most revolutionary moment of all of professional wrestling today.
In an interview later, Dennis Corraluzzo said that Shane “threw the NWA belt down”. No, Dennis, He threw it at you. Not on the mat like it’s widely believed, but right at you. Karen, sorry, Corraluzzo, went on to say how disrespectful it was, and how he was going to speak to his manager. I’m sorry, the NWA Board of Directors.
He oddly continued to say Shane was the NWA champion, but in the same interview would continue to berate Shane saying how it was a disgrace, which I agree with. But I see Shane’s reasoning. Corraluzzo proclaimed he was the rightful champion, which was strange. You would think he would have proclaimed he was stripped of the belt for doing that. But I imagine tensions and emotions were running very high at the time.
One interesting bit was “Remember, Eastern Championship Wrestling is under the NWA Jurisdiction.” Hence why they folded, and like a phoenix, were reborn into the OG ECW. Something I caught at the tail end, which I could not make out, was after Karen/Corraluzzo said they were going to take care of the “Eastern Championship Wrestling Belt situation”, it sounds like he said something about “We’re going to see about having a third belt stripped off him.” Not sure what that’s about. Third belt? I couldn’t find a transcript, and CC for youtube didn’t exist then. Needless to say, we all know what happened after that.
What about you? What’s your most shocking UNSCRIPTED moment? Maybe I’ll write about it next. Hit me up on Twitter, @its_riley02, and let me know! Special thanks to The Hannibal TV and Wrestling Bios for some of the information used in this column.
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