10 Worst ECW Matches

ECW is still well and truly beloved today and there is plenty of nostalgia for the Philadelphia-based promotion, which captured the zeitgeist during the mid-to-late 1990s and offered a genuine alternative to WWE and WCW. 

There were a lot of great characters, moments, and matches that made ECW stand out and linger so long in the memory but there were also plenty of awful matches too. 

These are the 10 Worst ECW Matches. 

10. The Triple Threat Vs. New Triple Threat - November To Remember 1998

There was no shortage of talent in the main event of the 1998 November to Remember as the New Triple Threat of Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Taz teamed together to take on The Triple Threat of Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido. Despite all of that talent, it didn’t translate into a great main event. 

The match kicked off with the heels isolating Sabu and working over his injured neck, but the action quickly degenerated into a disjointed mess where it looked as if nobody had a clue what they were supposed to be doing. There are a couple of spectacular moments to savour, such as RVD’s big flip dive from the top rope into the crowd, but there was no rhyme or reason to 85 per cent of what the wrestlers did and it very obviously fell apart, never to recover.

The final moments saw Taz lock in the Tazmission on Shane Douglas before Sabu hit both men with an Arabian Facebuster and pinned ‘The Franchise’ for the win. Bam Bam Bigelow left ECW following the match, while Chris Candido abandoned Shane Douglas to disband The Triple Threat. 

There was reportedly a confrontation that almost turned physical backstage after the wrestlers got back through the curtain, and Douglas (who was hampered by elbow issues) ended up storming out of the building. 

9. Justin Credible & Jack Victory Vs. Jake Roberts & Tommy Dreamer - November To Remember 1998

Since ECW were in New Orleans for the 1998 November to Remember pay-per-view, they felt it was only right to bring in some legends from the old Mid-South promotion. This is why Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts teamed up with Tommy Dreamer in a tag team match that looked bad on paper, yet was somehow so much worse in execution. 

The match didn’t start well as Jack Victory badly broke his leg only one minute into the match. This caused Jason, who was part of Justin Credible’s ringside entourage, to fill in for Victory. 

Jake Roberts, who has suffered from drug and alcohol abuse for long portions of his life, wrestled the match in jogging bottoms and a Wigan Warriors jersey. Roberts has been a fan of the Rugby League side for decades and wore a custom-made Warriors shirt in 2024. 

The match was competent enough despite all of the issues but quickly descended into a farcical, nonsensical brawl, with One Man Gang, Rod Price, and The Gangstanators of New Jack and John Kronus doing run-ins before Roberts put the match out of its misery with a DDT on a ladder to Credible.

Post-match, Terry Funk confronted Dreamer for selecting Roberts as his partner and attacked the ‘Innovator of Violence.’ 

8. Shane Douglas Vs. Al Snow - Wrestlepalooza 1998

ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998 on May 3 is regarded as one of the worst pay-per-views in the promotion’s history and a bad night of matches was capped off by a bad main event as Al Snow challenged Shane Douglas for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.  

Snow, who had been loaned back to ECW from WWE as part of their talent-trading agreement, became a true cult hero thanks to the popularity of Head, his mannequin head. The main event peaked with Snow’s entrance, though, which featured thousands of polystyrene heads being waved by the fans in attendance as they shouted “Head!” while ‘Breathe’ by The Prodigy filled the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia. 

Once the excitement of the entrance had worn off, those same enthusiastic fans had to watch the two wrestlers walk their way through a sloppy, disjointed match that ended with a resounding thud when The Franchise retained following interference from The Triple Threat. 

The match was such a disaster because Douglas was dealing with an injury that would keep him out of the ring until September with the exception of one tag match, ultimately limiting what he could do in the ring. 

Post-match in a hilarious moment, the ECW locker room paraded both men around the ring on their shoulders like Lex Luger at SummerSlam 1993.

7. New Jack Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - Wrestlepalooza 1998

Also from Wrestlepalooza 1998 was a match that may not have been as disappointing as the main event, but one which was even more amateurish in its execution. 

While New Jack was popular amongst the ECW faithful and often received a strong reaction from those in attendance, his matches were oftentimes torturous to watch from home as they weren’t really matches, but more of an excuse for lots of weapons before New Jack jumped from a great height. 

There was a faint hope that a great wrestler in Bam Bam Bigelow would be able to elevate New Jack to a higher level, but that wasn’t the case and New Jack instead brought Bam Bam down to his. 

In a match with precisely zero build, a disinterested Bam Bam had a lethargic brawl with New Jack in a match that featured two incredibly obvious blade jobs. The action eventually saw a woozy New Jack take forever to climb to a balcony before he leapt down with a guitar onto Bigelow.

New Jack - who was high on cocaine during the match - was knocked out following the spot so Bigelow scooped him up and placed him in the ring before hitting his Greetings from Asbury Park finisher for the win. 

6. The Sandman Vs. Justin Credible Vs. Steve Corino - Guilty As Charged 2001

The Hardy Boyz, The Dudleys, and Edge & Christian set a very high bar with the first-ever Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match at SummerSlam 2000. A Tables, Ladders, Chairs & Canes Match for the ECW World Heavyweight Title between Steve Corino, Justin Credible, and The Sandman at ECW’s last-ever pay-per-view did not reach those same heights. 

The three-way was uninspired, botchy and heatless as the three men just meandered around going from spot to spot, many of which didn’t make sense, such as when The Sandman got Irish Whipped towards the ropes and decided to jump over the top and dive straight through a ringside table.

They were also hampered by the flimsy ladders, one of which completely buckled under Sandman’s weight, underscoring the slipshod presentation. They finally brought a proper ladder into the ring, allowing Sandman to climb up and win the title after Steve Corino and Justin Credible fell through a table together, finally waking up a crowd that had been bored to silence by this underpar stunt show.

The win was then rendered meaningless as ECW World Television Champion Rhino ran down to the ring and challenged Sandman to an impromptu match. The new champion initially said no before Rhino threatened to attack Sandman’s family. One Gore and two brutal Piledrivers later and Rhino became the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. 

5. Shane Douglas Vs. Pitbull No. 2 - Barely Legal 1997

Barely Legal 1997 was the biggest night in ECW’s history to that point as the promotion presented their first-ever pay-per-view. The card was stuffed with matches for the fans to sink their teeth into, including Terry Funk’s quest for the ECW World Heavyweight Title, the long-awaited grudge match between Taz and Sabu, and Rob Van Dam vs. Lance Storm. 

Another match that had a ton of storyline behind it and stakes to make it interesting was Shane Douglas' ECW World Television Title defence against Pitbull No. 2 Anthony Durante. The Franchise had broken Pitbull No. 1’s neck and tormented him during the healing process leading up to Barely Legal, where the stipulation was that a masked man who had been stalking Douglas would have to unmask if Pitbull No. 2 didn’t win the title. 

Despite all of that intrigue, the match was a boring, 20-minute slog with a lack of heat and a terrible styles clash which resulted in mistimed or otherwise completely botched moves and sequences. Pitbull No. 2 was also noticeably winded down the stretch and the fans began to chant “boring” as the contest continued. The end was then an anticlimactic finish as after a whole host of weapons, Douglas retained with a belly-to-belly suplex. 

Post-match, the masked man, who was wearing a Rick Rude robe, kissed Francine and gyrated before Douglas hit him with the TV Title. It was then revealed the masked man was Brian Lee, only for a member of Douglas' entourage to remove their helmet and be revealed as Rick Rude, as the crowd fortunately woke up for the big moment. 

So, in conclusion, an awful snooze fest with a good post-match moment. The match was so awful, though, that Paul Heyman reportedly apologised for it. 

4. Shane Douglas Vs. Tully Blanchard - ECW Arena house show on January 7, 1995

Several years on from being a full-time wrestler, Tully Blanchard made his ECW in-ring debut in an ECW World Heavyweight Title feud against Shane Douglas. As opposed to having a spirited contest, though, Blanchard was asked to wrestle Douglas to a one-hour draw.

Blanchard himself has described the match as “OK for the first 35 minutes, suspect for the next 10, and the last 15 sucked!” Blanchard would be lying, though, as the match went 43 minutes and featured a whole host of rest holds as he was said to be tired after 10 minutes. 

Fortunately, their other two outings, while still not good, were more well-received. 

3. Axl Rotten Vs. Ian Rotten - Hardcore Heaven 1995

The tag team of kayfabe siblings Axl and Ian – who were known as the Bad Breed – eventually broke up and feuded with one another, leading to an infamous match at Hardcore Heaven 1995. 

The Taipei Deathmatch saw the two men put superglue on their taped fists, which they then dipped into broken glass. Any pretence of actual wrestling was thrown right out of the window, not that anyone was expecting hip tosses and headlock takeovers, as they proceeded to use the sharp shards to maim one another. 

The match, however, was offputtingly gruesome and actually quite boring as the action primarily revolved around the Rotten brothers trying to punch each other. Bill Alfonso teased a premature finish after Ian was cut above the eye from a punch from Axl, which led to Alfonso stopping the match over Ian’s lost vision. Alfonso was then promptly distracted, though, as The Gangstas and Public Enemy brawled into the arena before their scheduled match later in the night. 

With Alfonso gone, Tod Gordon restarted the match and both Rotten brothers ended up gushing with blood after more glass-filled punches to the face. Axl then hit a Back Body Drop to Ian onto a pile of thumbtacks before he followed up with a Splash for the win. 

Watching two tired men try to punch each other was quickly tiresome and although the match has rightfully earned a degree of infamy due to the stipulation and the bloodletting, it doesn’t mean the action was actually any good. 

2. New Jack Vs. Mustafa - Living Dangerously 1999

The Gangstas tag team of New Jack and Mustafa were two brawlers who used plenty of weapon spots but didn’t do much actual wrestling. New Jack, especially, relied on hitting his colleagues with various bits of plunder in matches and the high point of Gangstas matches was the theme music that played while they dished out their version of street justice, which was often capped off with one of New Jack’s reckless balcony dives. 

The team split in 1997 when Mustafa left ECW but he returned to the promotion at Crossing The Line in February 1999, only to be on the Dudleys’ side in their feud with New Jack. This prompted New Jack to issue a vow to kill his former partner which led to their match at Living Dangerously one month later. 

Unsurprisingly, the match consisted of New Jack and Mustafa taking turns to hit each other with various weapons, including a toy lawn mower, a gold clutch, a baking tray, and a guitar, until New Jack unconvincingly taped Mustafa to a table for his big dive from the balcony, which he came up short on. ECW officials then dragged both men to the ring before New Jack covered Mustafa for the win. 

1. The Sandman Vs. Sabu - November To Remember 1997

The 1997 November to Remember was a night to forget for Sandman and Sabu, who had a botch-filled mess with their efforts in a Tables and Ladders Match. 

There was often a charm to the recklessness that both men displayed in their matches, which played into their characters as a mute wild man and a sloppy drunk, respectively, but absolutely nothing worked in this one, which was just a series of terribly executed high spots and stunts that got really old, really quickly. That was a problem when the match lasted 20 minutes, but the two competitors weren’t helped by the terrible equipment they were provided with.

Their first major spot of the night came up short as the table broke before they could use it. Sabu then climbed a ladder but changed his mind about what to do halfway down so it simply grazed Sandman, and a see-saw was botched soon after. Sabu won the match in the end with the Atomic Arabian Facebuster using the ladder. 

The complete lack of coherence makes a lot more sense when you know that Sandman was under the influence of some particularly potent LSD during the match to the point he thought he was fighting Godzilla. 

"Of course there was acid floating around the dressing room. He took a double dose, he thought he was seeing Godzilla in the ring. He kept going, ‘Here lizard, lizard, lizard…’ He was talking to me, he thought he was fighting a monster, and I was just trying to stay alive. [laughs] He was tripping big time," Sabu recalled years later.

H/T WrestleZone