ECW's Invasion of WWF in 1997

In 2022, the biggest buzzword in professional wrestling was “The Forbidden Door.” We are seeing an unprecedented level of cooperation between companies, with stars bouncing around between any and every company for appearances and dream matches. Even WWE is getting in on the action, albeit a little late, by including IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James in the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble. However, many modern wrestling fans may not know or realize that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Look back to the late 1980s when a group of faltering companies such as the AWA, WCCW and CWA joined forces for the dreaded Super Clash III PPV. 

But perhaps the most notable situation similar to what we are seeing today occurred in early 1997, one of the most noteworthy years in the history of wrestling. On a personal note, my absolute favorite year ever as a wrestling fan. As the World Wrestling Federation was being pummeled by World Championship Wrestling on the back of the New World Order storyline, Vince McMahon would lean on the other ‘Big 3’ promotion, Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling, which was building a cult-like fanbase and reputation as they prepared to air their first PPV ever in April of that year. McMahon would invite ECW and its stars to make a few special appearances on the flagship show, Monday Night RAW, as both an attempt to boost sagging ratings and allow ECW some more mainstream exposure leading into their big PPV. And today, we look at the what and how of this ‘invasion.’ But first, the stage needed to be set.

Philadelphia had always been a great wrestling city. Still, with the advent of ECW and its explosion in popularity, it had turned the crowd bloodthirsty and wanting a more mature and realistic wrestling product. When the 1995 King Of The Ring rolled into Philly, the fans were ready to let Vince McMahon and the WWF know this. When the finals came down to Savio Vega and Mabel, the crowd expectedly turned on the match, chanting the letters “ECW” at the top of their lungs. As the legend goes, this was the first time that Vince McMahon himself had learned about Extreme Championship Wrestling, which seems onerous at best. Whatever the case, upon the next significant return for the World Wrestling Federation the following year for In Your House: Mind Games, an angle was struck up. 

During the show's opening match, Savio Vega would face off against the future JBL, then known as Justin ‘Hawk’ Bradshaw. As the show went on air, the arena was filled with chants of ECW before Bradshaw made his way to the ring, accompanied by Uncle Zebekiah, better known as Zeb Colter or Dirty Dutch Mantell. As the match began, fans at home would notice some potentially familiar faces in the corner of the screen, as Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, and The Sandman sat in the front row at ringside. Masterfully done, with no real focus put on them except for the moment that we would later find out was a planned stunt, as The Sandman would spit his beer in the face of Savio Vega as he battled on the outside. The match would return to the ring as WWF officials removed the ECW invaders, and the rest of the show would go off without a hitch.

“We didn't know what we were getting into,” Tommy Dreamer later explained. “We all met up in the parking lot. We had The Eliminators in the crowd as backup in case we got into a fight. I found out later that Savio Vega was the only one who knew. Bradshaw didn’t even know about it. He was ready to fight and Savio cut him off.” – WWE.com

The rumor has also persisted for years that Gerald Brisco, well known for his ability to stretch anyone and everyone, was ready to lose his mind until Prichard finally gave it away backstage, to which Brisco was visibly agitated for not being in on the stunt.

The following night on RAW, during a WWF Tag Team Title match between the Bodydonnas against Owen Hart and The British Bulldog, Taz would appear in the crowd carrying a bright orange sign saying “Sabu Fears Taz” sign, accompanied by Bill Alfonso. Taz would famously jump the guardrail and in the ensuing chaos, would end up breaking the shoulder of one of the ringside photographers who attempted to stop him. This again shows the close-guarded secret at the time of the relationship. ECW would receive a moderate boost from the one-two punch of these events, but for now, this would seemingly be the end of the partnership....until February 1997.

After the residual controversy from the infamous Mass Transit incident that resulted in ECW’s first pay-per-view being cancelled, Paul Heyman was able to strike up a deal that would see the company makes its long-overdue PPV debut in April of 1997. Ahead of this feat, the ECW and WWF partnership would be rekindled, beginning on the February 17th, 1997, episode of RAW, one night after the In Your House: Final Four PPV. During a match between Owen Hart and Flash Funk, the man once known as 2 Cold Scorpio, Paul Heyman, would be put on the air via telephone with Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, accepting his kayfabe challenge to show up the following week at New York’s Manhattan Center. 

The following week would be the big event, and following the opening match, the room would be stormed by Perry Saturn and John Kronus, The Eliminators, accompanied by Paul E. himself. The duo would deliver a Total Elimination to a cameraman as Heyman squawked that ECW was in the house. The next segment would see Heyman introduce the Full Blooded Italians Little Guido, who would be facing off against Big Stevie Cool of the Blue World Order, accompanied by his cohorts The Blue Meanie, Hollywood Nova and 7-11 (the future Ring Of Honor founder, Rob Feinstein). Paul E. would join the commentary booth, while Raven would also appear during the match. Later in the show, following the first WWF appearance of Ken Shamrock, ECW would be back in the ring as Heyman introduced Mikey Whipwreck, who would be nothing more than a lamb to slaughter, as he would face off against ‘The Human Suplex Machine’ Taz. As expected, Taz would win with the Tazmission, and during the commercial break would be the infamous moment where Sabu would attempt to jump off the R of the RAW staging but slip and thankfully be saved by the members of Team Taz waiting below. To think that such an iconic moment actually took place during a commercial break and was only briefly shown upon returning is insane in today’s day and age.

Fun fact: The next segment also saw the WWF return of the Legion of Doom!

The final ECW match would see D-Von Dudley face off against Tommy Dreamer, accompanied by Beulah McGillicutty. This match would take it to the extreme of what was ‘expected’ from the company, with the use of a cane, a steel chair and the ring steps. Things would also be heavily contested on commentary, with Vince McMahon having to play peacekeeper between Heyman and Lawler. In the ring, Dreamer would pick up the victory, only to be attacked by Buh Buh Ray Dudley, but The Sandman would show up to make the save, guzzling beer on RAW long before Steve Austin would. Heyman would finally have enough, attacking Lawler but hilariously pulling Vince up to him to hold him back before the ECW stars would show up to take Heyman away.

ECW would be absent the next week as RAW would emanate from Germany, in the show widely regarded as a changing of the guard due to its horrendous production quality and horrific ratings, despite containing a banger of a match between Owen Hart and The British Bulldog for the new European Championship. The following week, however, would see the return of Paul E. and his talent for the big ECW vs. WWF debate. 

Early in the show, Taz and Lawler would get in each other’s faces, grabbing one another by the throat. Sabu would appear in the ring, attempting to jump off a chair to the top rope and onto his rival Taz, but both Lawler and Taz would separate, leaving Sabu to fall through a table. Later in the night, the debate occurred between Heyman and Lawler, which is best to be watched by any fan of either man’s work.

For the time being, this would seemingly be the end, as ECW continued to build up to April 13th and their PPV debut. ECW’s Barely Legal may not have been the most excellent wrestling show on paper, but the atmosphere and passion of the competitors, alongside Paul Heyman’s infamous pep talk before the show as seen in Beyond The Ring, are second to none.

Things would again heat up in the coming months as one of ECW’s stalwart stars began appearing on WWF programming. Rob Van Dam, who would begin calling himself ‘Mr. Monday Night’ would even begin a partnership with The King, turning his back on his ECW family. RVD would appear on RAW battling the likes of Jeff Hardy and Flash Funk over the coming weeks, leading into ECW’s second big PPV, Heatwave, taped on July 19th. In the main event, a steel cage match would take place, pitting Rob Van Dam, Sabu and Jerry Lawler against the team of The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and former WWF star Rick Rude. As Rude was retired and unable to compete, he would immediately turn on his teammates, making it a handicap match, which Lawler and co-won. Interestingly, one could also see this as the first step in Rude’s future WWF return as Shawn Michaels’ “insurance policy.”

Unfortunately, the ECW and WWF partnership would fizzle out immediately after this. During a RAW taping in Detroit, Sabu would face Flash Funk in a scheduled match, but backstage disagreements or politics would kibosh a match that was to see Road Dogg face off against RVD. 

“We had some problems in Detroit, Mich.,” Dreamer admitted. “It was Sabu vs. Flash Funk and they also wanted to do Rob Van Dam vs. Road Dogg.” - WWE.com

This would also end any chance of a speculated SummerSlam bout featuring Dreamer and Sandman against RVD and Sabu. While this would mark the end of ECW stars appearing on WWF television, some WWF stars, most notably Jerry Lawler, would continue to work with Heyman and ECW. Lawler would return to the ECW ranks to face off against Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Heaven in a ridiculously overbooked match that saw interference from the likes of Rick Rude, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and Tammy Lynn Sytch.

In our current world, where anything is seemingly possible, it’s good to look back on what may have been the true formation of the “Forbidden Door.” Yes, ECW was being helped by the WWF, but it also helped the WWF, and the cooperation between the two companies stands out. In a business as cutthroat and untrusting as professional wrestling, sometimes it’s best to remember that looking to others for help may be the best thing possible.