Thoughts From ECW Insiders Shortly After The April 2001 Bankruptcy Filing

Shortly after ECW filed bankruptcy in April 2001, the company's official website (https://ecwwrestling.com) redirected to 1wrestling.com. The above photo is a snapshot from the Wayback/Archive.org with stories & memories from ECW insiders at the time:

https://web.archive.org/web/20010606091418/http://www.1wrestling.com/columns/topstory/default.asp?B1=View+Column&articleid=4047

It lists the names who contributed stories as follows:

Page 2 - Dave Scherer's thoughts on ECW.
Page 3 - Ron Lemieux's thoughts on ECW
Page 4 - Tony Lewis' thoughts on ECW.
Page 5 - Chris Palacios' thoughts on ECW.
Page 6 - Tim Whitehead's thoughts on ECW.
Page 7 - Bill Pancoast's thoughts on ECW.
Page 8 - Bill Brown's thoughts on ECW.
Page 9 - Paul Herzog's thoughts on ECW.
Page 10 - Mike Johnson's thoughts on ECW.
Page 11 - Bob Ryder's thoughts on ECW.
Page 12 - Dave Whitaker's thoughts on ECW.
Page 13 - Jim Quigley's thoughts on ECW.
Page 14 - Brent Strassburg's thoughts on ECW.
Page 15 - Georgiann Makropoulos' thoughts on ECW.
Page 16 - Greg "The Rat" Angelucci's thoughts on ECW.
Page 17 - Scrap Dog's thoughts on ECW.
Page 19 - David Jakielo's thoughts on ECW.
Page 20 - Bill Yanney's thoughts on ECW.
Page 21 - Joey Styles' thoughts on ECW.
Page 22 - Jeff Hannon's thoughts on ECW.
Page 23 - Lou DiBello's thoughts on ECW.
Page 24 - Harry Slash's thoughts on ECW.

This quote is from part of the memories of Joey Styles' page:

Everything changed for me on April 13, 1997. After 12 years of everyone telling me my dream was a "silly waste of time" and that I should concentrate on my "real job", it was time for me to prove them all wrong. It was put up or shut up time. I was being handed the ball and my destiny was in my own hands.

Not only was I going to be on live television for the first time in my life (excluding Romper Room...true story), but I was going to be the first announcer ever to call a live pay-per-view broadcast on my own, with no color commentator. I would succeed or fail on my own. I would have no excuses if I failed and nobody could claim they carried me if I succeeded.

By the middle of the first match (Eliminators over the Dudleys), I was on auto pilot. The words flowed from me without thought. I was as good as I have ever been. Nearly three hours felt like three minutes.

When it was all over I made my way from the Eagle's Nest to the production stage and the strangest thing happened. I actually started tearing up. I was crying out of relief and happiness. It had never happened to me before. I had seen it on TV and in movies but I was never so moved by anything that made me shed tears of happiness. My fiance' (now my wife of almost four years) and Paul were crying as well. I felt validated. I felt as if 12 years of planning and hard work had finally paid off. I made it. I was a professional wrestling television announcer.

Whether or not my career is over, nobody can ever take that memory away from me.

Thank you fans for everything.

The snapshot to the Wayback/Archive for his specific memories can be found here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20010610092651/http://www.1wrestling.com/columns/topstory/default.asp?articleid=4047&page=21

The stories you will see on this archive from on/before June 6, 2001 (at most two months after ECW's parent company HHG Corp filed for bankruptcy in April 2001) are emotional and convey just how special ECW was to those who worked for/with the company -- and not just the fans.