An Example Of The Connection Between ECW Arena Fans And The Wrestlers
https://x.com/HistoryOfECW/status/1983262493565755608
In October 1995, Cactus Jack antagonized ECW fans after several months of being a fan favorite. He had teamed up with Raven to go against Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer, culminating in their tag team match at the November to Remember 1995 event at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia.
Cactus was pushing the envelope in pro wrestling at the time, going against everything he had done in the prior months. This was his "anti-hardcore" gimmick, delivering some intense promos on ECW Hardcore TV both with Raven and solo promos. He endeared himself to the fans with his hardcore actions in the months prior during feuds with The Sandman, Sabu, Terry Funk and in tag team matches (teaming with Mikey Whipwreck) against The Public Enemy and other ECW tag teams.
During his anti-hardcore period in late 1995, he was in a match at the ECW Arena against Ubaz (El Puerto Ricano) where, instead of delivering his trademark elbow drop to the floor from the ring apron, he teased it instead. Then he simply pulled El Puerto Ricano into a side headlock on the mat for over a minute.
The ECW fans, to their credit, got riled up during a simple side headlock on the mat and ultimately started doing "The Wave" around the crowd -- generating fan emotion and contributing to Cactus' anit-hardcore character. This was an unexpected action by the crowd, and it worked to further the angle as Cactus continued to "invite" Tommy Dreamer to the non-hardcore ways. The crowd, loving ECW's hardcore style by that point, further rallied behind Dreamer leading up to the annual November to Remember's main event that year.
That was such an interesting time in ECW. Cactus Jack really knew how to play with the crowd’s emotions. His “anti-hardcore” phase made the story even more intense and fun to watch.
Agreed 100%. Some of his promos from that era are still unmatched today in terms of a simple "above the neck", no camera movement promo going at least 2-3 minutes and getting the fans at home emotionally connected. This 8- minute promo is still incredible 30 years later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrpQhMai5k
It’s amazing how the fans and wrestlers in ECW were so connected. Cactus Jack’s change in 1995 really showed how the crowd could shape a whole storyline. His feud with Tommy Dreamer felt so real because the fans were part of it. This is what made ECW special.
Great way to articulate it! His "Cane Dewey", "anti-hardcore" and similar promos (solo as well as with Raven) were terrific, I wish that today's wrestling could get that much emotion from the TV fans by blurring the line of story & reality, That crowd, however, was incredible as so many regular fans had some small role with the company: setting up chairs, promoting locally, driving wrestlers to/from the airport, helping with the annual fan Q&A sessions, fan-run websites, and more. It really was a family and not just with some of the wrestlers running the business side of things like the Dudley Boyz (correct spelling - !!) booking venues, Taz & Saturn running the wrestling school, Stevie Richards filling t-shirt & VHS orders, etc.