10 Wrestlers Who Had Just One ECW Match

The wrestlers who became stars in ECW during the 1990s became synonymous with the cult-like promotion, even if they went on to wrestle in other places, including WWE, after ECW closed. 

While some are still cashing in on their ECW infamy and getting those three letters chanted at them decades later, some big-name wrestlers only got a taste of the ECW experience before they were out the door. 

These are 10 Wrestlers Who Had Just One ECW Match. 

10. King Kong Bundy

When ECW was still an NWA affiliate as Eastern Championship Wrestling, the promotion was a place you would often see WWE stars from yesteryear show up. The likes of Don Muraco and Jimmy Snuka, for example, were tremendously important in those early days and added a much-needed dose of credibility and star power. 

The main event of the first-ever November to Remember in 1993 was also a star-studded affair. Advertised as a dream partner winner-take-all tag team match with Sabu’s ECW World Heavyweight Title and Funk’s ECW World Television Title on the line, the two competitors chose partners for the contest.

Sabu chose Road Warrior Hawk, while Funk selected King Kong Bundy in somewhat of a shocker since Bundy hadn’t wrestled since exiting WWE in 1988. The shocks then continued as Bundy turned on Funk during the match, hitting the Funker with an Avalanche Splash. This allowed Sabu to pin Funk with a small package and become a double champion in the process. 

While there was never a blow-off match between Funk and Bundy, the WrestleMania II main eventer became a regular on the indies before re-signing with WWE in 1994 and having a short run until late 1995. Bundy remained active until 2007. 

9. Mabel

Nelson Frazier had something of a late-career renaissance on WWE’s rebooted ECW as Big Daddy V, where he feuded with CM Punk over the ECW World Heavyweight Title. What people may not remember, though, is Frazier - as Mabel - appeared for the original Extreme Championship Wrestling.

After a brawl broke out between the Full Blooded Italians and Tommy Rogers & Chris Chetti at the 1998 November to Remember pay-per-view, Mabel and Ulf Hermann came out to turn the tide for the FBI. Just as Mabel was about to splash Chetti through a table, however, Little Spike Dudley came to the rescue, resulting in an impromptu handicap match. 

Spike had been on a giant-killing tear in recent times and made quick work of his two much larger opponents, with Mabel missing a splash through a table as both he and Hermann took Acid Drops before Spike pinned the pair of them. 

This was just a one-off to continue Spike’s giant-killer gimmick and Frazier was back in WWE soon after as Ministry of Darkness member Viscera. 

8. Bobby Eaton & Arn Anderson

Paul Heyman was able to bring in former Dangerous Alliance members Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton for ECW’s When Worlds Collide event. 

ECW and WCW had agreed to a title exchange, with ECW helping to promote WCW’s upcoming Slamboree pay-per-view (which was taking place in Philadelphia) in exchange for Anderson and Eaton showing up here. WCW also offered to use ECW talent on their television show for a few weeks, but Heyman nixed that idea.

WCW talents being on the show certainly helped as When Worlds Collide drew over 1,500 fans, the highest attendance in the promotion’s history to that point. 

In the main event, Arn Anderson teamed with Terry Funk against Bobby Eaton and Sabu in a continuation of the programme between the Funker and Sabu. The match was ultimately very good but Anderson and Funker dissolved as a team after Terry accidentally struck Arn with a steel chair. Anderson then retaliated with a steel chair shot to Funk’s leg which provided the opening for Sabu to lock in a Single-Leg Crab on Funk for the submission win.

There wouldn't be another ECW/WCW When Worlds Collide show as ECW sued WCW for copyright infringement when WCW announced their own When Worlds Collide for later in the year as part of a relationship with AAA. The case was settled out of court and WCW wrestlers in Kevin Sullivan, Sherri Martel, and Brian Pillman all appeared at an ECW event on November 18, 1994 as part of the settlement. 

7. Jinsei Shinzaki & Hayabusa

ECW didn’t just have a talent exchange agreement with WCW during the 1990s. They also had one with WWE, as well as kindred Japanese outfit FMW. The relationship led to Masato Tanaka joining ECW for an extended run and it was actually Tanaka who was originally supposed to team with masked high-flying sensation Hayabusa at Heat Wave 1998, before Heyman was able to bring in his regular partner Jinsei Shinzaki (formerly known as WWE’s Hakushi) instead. 

Hayabusa and Shinzaki challenged Rob Van Dam and Sabu for the ECW World Tag Team Titles at the pay-per-view in a match that really divided fans and critics. For some, it was a breathtaking display of athleticism and innovation that just about stole the show. For others, it was a messy collection of high spots that lacked psychology and featured far too many botches.

This being their only ECW appearance, Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki lost to the champions, with RVD and Sabu picking up the win following simultaneous diving leg drops a table.

Hayabusa did tangle with RVD and Sabu once more before the year was over as he teamed with Tommy Dreamer in another losing effort on an FMW show featuring ECW talent that December. 

6. Papi Chulo

One thing ECW deserves a tonne of credit for is giving an American platform to the stars of lucha libre, as they brought in several AAA talents in the mid-1990s. The likes of Rey Mysterio, Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera tore the house down when they showed up at the ECW Arena, opening the door for them to join WCW later on. 

Heyman would continue to book Mexican stars, such as Super Crazy, for the remainder of the decade, including a wrestler who was under contract to WWE at the time. At Cyberslam 1999, Papi Chulo made his first and last appearance for ECW as the opponent for fellow WWE star TAKA Michinoku, who was making his own surprise return to ECW. 

Chulo was more popularly known as Essa Rios, the flame-haired former WWE Light Heavyweight Champion who introduced the wider wrestling world to Lita. At Cyberslam, Chulo and Michinoku had a decent, fast-paced match that had a tough task in following the similar but better matches of Jerry Lynn vs. Tajiri and Super Crazy vs. Mosco de la Merced. Michinoku ultimately won the match with a Michinoku Driver. 

5. Dick Murdoch

During the 1970s and 80s, Dick Murdoch was a big star and a major draw who worked in the main event and helped attract large crowds for various territories in the US, as well as overseas in Japan. During the 1990s, however, it was evident that Murdoch's best days were behind him and, save for a run alongside Dick Slater as ‘The Hardliners’ in WCW in 1991, he primarily wrestled for smaller promotions. 

These smaller promotions included Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the Japanese company WAR, who both gave him somewhat regular bookings. The former NWA International Heavyweight Champion also popped up in Eastern Championship Wrestling for their Summer Sizzler Spectacular on June 19, 1993. 

Murdoch beat Dark Patriot #2 (Doug Gilbert under a mask) in a short and unexceptional mid-card bout when he countered a bodyslam into an inside cradle. Dick Murdoch in his prime would have fit like a glove in ECW, as he was noted for his wild and heated brawls, but at this point in his career, he was just picking up a paycheque and duly disappeared into the night. 

ECW did pay tribute to Murdoch when he passed away in 1996, with The Sandman toasting him on their TV show. 

4. The Sheik

The Original Sheik was another wrestler whose wildman style laid the foundation for what ECW would become, as he became legendary for his bloody, arena-wide brawls during his prime. 

Ed Farhat was well past that prime when he wrestled his one and only ECW match at 1994’s The Night the Line was Crossed. Sheik teamed with Pat Tanaka to defeat Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac when he threw a fireball in Taz’s face. 

According to reports, Heyman was against bringing The Sheik in, as he believed ECW needed to focus on youth and, if veterans were to be used, it should be to put younger talent over, something the 67-year-old likely wouldn’t be able to do effectively. 

Then-ECW owner Tod Gordon, however, was a huge fan of The Sheik and remembered him tearing the house down (and drawing an impressive crowd) for another Philadelphia-based indie a few years earlier and insisted on bringing him in. 

Sheik’s influence would continue to be felt after his one and only ECW match, of course, as his nephew/student Sabu remained one of the company’s top stars for the rest of the decade.

3. Lenny Lane

Lenny Lane had only been wrestling a couple of years when he got the opportunity to work for ECW on Valentine’s Day 1997. 

Lane - who had a WWE dark and squash match and a couple of tours with Michinoku Pro under his belt at this point - performed at a non-televised ECW live event in Webster, Massachusetts, taking on and losing to Beef Wellington in front of 300 fans. 

Lane joined WCW soon after and had a multi-year run in the company, during which he held the WCW Cruiserweight Title, until he was released in 2000. 

Lane then resurfaced on WWE’s version of ECW, putting over Jack Swagger in September 2008. 

2. Kerry Von Erich

10 days after being busted for possession of cocaine, which violated his probation, Kerry Von Erich made a surprise appearance at ECW’s 1993 Battle of the Belts on January 23. Kerry’s appearance was not only a surprise to the fans at the show, but to the man himself. 

Von Erich had been signing at a wrestling convention that was being held at the Radisson Hotel in Philadelphia that weekend when he was asked to fill in for Kevin Sullivan, who wasn’t able to make the ECW show. 

Brought in as Woman’s ‘secret weapon’, Kerry went to a double DQ with Salvatore Bellomo in what turned out to be the former WWE Intercontinental Champion’s third-last match. In a funny moment, Kerry (who was meant to be a surprise and thus came out wearing a mask) had to be stopped backstage before going through the curtain as he was wearing a ring jacket with ‘KERRY’ in big letters on the back. 

He removed the jacket, walked about 10 yards, and put the jacket back on, completely blowing the surprise. According to Tod Gordon, Von Erich had to be constantly reminded about why he was wearing a mask. 

Von Erich was indicted on the possession of cocaine charges on February 17, 1993. He likely would have received significant jail time, having violated his probation, and Kerry ended his own life on February 18, 1993. 

1. Gary Albright

While ECW provided American wrestlers with an alternative during the 1990s, the strength of both New Japan and All Japan gave those lucky enough to get full-time work with either company a very good way to make a living in the business. 

Gary Albright was one of the top gaijin for All Japan and spent much of 1996, which was something of a breakout year for the amateur standout, teaming up with the likes of Stan Hansen, Rob Van Dam and Sabu. 

Fresh off an 18-hour flight following his last tour of the year, Albright wrestled at ECW’s Holiday Hell show on December 7, demolishing jobber Rick Rage. Sadly, Albright wasn’t over with the fans inside the ECW Arena and the fans, if anything, appeared to be bored during the squash match. 

Albright never returned to ECW as AJPW remained his priority. He remained a regular for the promotion until his tragic passing from a heart attack in 2000.