List of ECW World Television Champions
The ECW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship contested for in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was the secondary title of ECW and currently remains inactive.
Originally, ECW was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an organization with many member promotions. ECW withdrew as an NWA member in 1994.[1] The championship remained active until April 2001, when ECW filed for bankruptcy. All of ECW's assets were later purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in mid-2003, including the copyrights to ECW's championships.[2] In May 2006, WWE extended its promotion by adding ECW as a third additional brand, the others being Raw and SmackDown, in a brand extension.[3] The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was the only former ECW title to be recommissioned by WWE for the new brand.[4] While this championship remains decommissioned, its records are under the name "ECW Television Championship" on the official WWE website.[5]
Title reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches, often contested under hardcore wrestling regulations, with wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a match or series of matches for the championship.[6]
As implied by its name, the championship could only be won on television or on pay-per-view events. The title was won in one Canadian municipality and in five American states. The inaugural champion was Johnny Hotbody, who defeated Larry Winters at a live event to win the title in August 1992. Rhino, who won the title in September 2000, was the final wrestler to hold the title before ECW filed for bankruptcy. 2 Cold Scorpio had the most reigns as champion, with four. At 700 days, Rob Van Dam's reign from 1998 to 2000 was the longest in the title's history. The Tazmaniac and 2 Cold Scorpio's reigns in 1994 were the shortest title reigns at less than one day. Overall, there were 31 title reigns.
Title history
Names
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| NWA-ECW Television Championship | August 12, 1992 – August 27, 1994 |
| ECW World Television Championship | August 27, 1994 – April 11, 2001 |
Key
| Reigns | The number of times a specific set of wrestlers have won the titles |
|---|---|
| Event | The event promoted by the respective promotion in which the titles were won |
| N/A | The information is not available or is unknown |
| — | Used for vacated reigns in order to not count it as an official reign |
Reigns
| No. | Wrestler | Reigns | Date | Days held | Location | Successful defenses | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Hotbody, JohnnyJohnny Hotbody | 1 |
August 12, 1992 | 31 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Live event | |
| — |
Vacated | — |
September 12, 1992 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Hotbody legitimately injured his ankle, and as a result, ECW forced him to relinquish the title. |
| 2 |
Osbourne, GlenGlen Osbourne | 1 |
September 30, 1992 | 143 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Live event | |
| — |
Vacated | — |
February 1993 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | ECW forced Osbourne to vacate the title for unknown reasons. |
| 3 |
Snuka, JimmyJimmy Snuka | 1 |
March 12, 1993 | 203 | Radnor, PA | — | Hardcore TV #3 | Defeated Glenn Osbourne in a tournament final.Aired April 19, 1993 on TV |
| 4 |
Funk, TerryTerry Funk | 1 |
October 1, 1993 | 43 | Philadelphia, PA | — | NWA Bloodfest: Part 1 | Aired October 5, 1993 on Hardcore TV #26 |
| 5 |
, SabuSabu | 1 |
November 13, 1993 | 113 | Philadelphia, PA | — | November to Remember | Pinned Funk in a tag team match (Sabu & Hawk vs. Funk & King Kong Bundy). |
| 6 |
Tazmaniac, TheThe Tazmaniac | 1 |
March 6, 1994 | 0 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore TV #48 | Aired on March 15, 1994 on TV |
| 7 |
Smith, J.T.J.T. Smith | 1 |
March 6, 1994 | 41 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore TV #49 | Aired 3-22-94 on TV |
| 8 |
Pitbull, TheThe Pitbull | 1 |
April 16, 1994 | 27 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Live event | |
| 9 |
Whipwreck, MikeyMikey Whipwreck | 1 |
May 13, 1994 | 92 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore TV #57 | Aired on May 17, 1994 on TV |
| 10 |
, JasonJason | 1 |
August 13, 1994 | 83 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore Heaven | Aired on August 16th 1994 on Hardcore TV #70 |
| 11 |
Scorpio, 2 Cold2 Cold Scorpio | 1 |
November 4, 1994 | 0 | Hamburg, PA | — | Hardcore TV #83 | Aired on November 22, 1994 on TV |
| 12 |
Malenko, DeanDean Malenko | 1 |
November 4, 1994 | 134 | Hamburg, PA | — | Hardcore TV #84 | Aired on November 29, 1994 on TV |
| 13 |
Scorpio, 2 Cold2 Cold Scorpio | 2 |
March 18, 1995 | 21 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore TV #100 | Aired on March 21, 1995 on TV |
| 14 |
Guerrero, EddieEddie Guerrero | 1 |
April 8, 1995 | 104 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Three Way Dance | Aired on Hardcore TV #103 April 11th 1995 |
| 15 |
Malenko, DeanDean Malenko | 2 |
July 21, 1995 | 7 | Tampa, FL | — | Live event | Aired on Hardcore TV #119 August 1st 1995 |
| 16 |
Guerrero, EddieEddie Guerrero | 2 |
July 28, 1995 | 28 | Middletown, NY | — | Hardcore TV #120 | Aired on August 8, 1995 on TV[7] |
| 17 |
Scorpio, 2 Cold2 Cold Scorpio | 3 |
August 25, 1995 | 126 | Jim Thorpe, PA | — | Live Event | |
| 18 |
Whipwreck, MikeyMikey Whipwreck | 2 |
December 29, 1995 | 7 | New York, NY | — | Holiday Hell 1995 | This was a match where Scorpio put both his World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship held by Scorpio and The Sandman on the line. |
| 19 |
Scorpio, 2 Cold2 Cold Scorpio | 4 |
January 5, 1996 | 127 | Philadelphia, PA | — | House Party | |
| 20 |
Douglas, ShaneShane Douglas | 1 |
May 11, 1996 | 21 | Philadelphia, PA | — | A Matter of Respect | |
| 21 |
, Pitbull #2Pitbull #2 | 1 |
June 1, 1996 | 21 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Fight the Power | [8] |
| 22 |
Jericho, ChrisChris Jericho | 1 |
June 22, 1996 | 21 | Philadelphia, PA | — | Hardcore Heaven | [9] |
| 23 |
Douglas, ShaneShane Douglas | 2 |
July 13, 1996 | 329 | Philadelphia, PA | 30 | Heat Wave | Defeated Jericho, Pit Bull #2, and 2 Cold Scorpio in a Four Corners match. |
| 24 |
, TazzTazz | 2 |
June 7, 1997 | 267 | Philadelphia, PA | 43 | Wrestlepalooza | |
| 25 |
Bigelow, Bam BamBam Bam Bigelow | 1 |
March 1, 1998 | 34 | Asbury Park, NJ | 5 | Living Dangerously | |
| 26 |
Van Dam, RobRob Van Dam | 1 |
April 4, 1998 | 700 | Buffalo, NY | 121 | Hardcore TV #259 | Aired April 8, 1998 on TV |
| — |
Vacated | — |
March 4, 2000 | 0 | Philadelphia, PA | N/A | N/A | Van Dam was legitimately injured, and as a result, The Network forced him to relinquish the title. |
| 27 |
Crazy, SuperSuper Crazy | 1 |
March 12, 2000 | 27 | Danbury, CT | 8 | Living Dangerously | Defeated Rhino in a tournament final |
| 28 |
Tajiri, YoshihiroYoshihiro Tajiri | 1 |
April 8, 2000 | 14 | Buffalo, NY | 1 | ECW on TNN#34 | Aired on April 14, 2000 on TV |
| 29 |
, RhinoRhino | 1 |
April 22, 2000 | 126 | Philadelphia, PA | 11 | CyberSlam | |
| 30 |
Kash, KidKid Kash | 1 |
August 26, 2000 | 14 | New York, NY | 2 | ECW on TNN#56 | Aired on September 8, 2000 on TV |
| 31 |
, RhinoRhino | 2 |
September 9, 2000 | 214 | Mississauga, ON | 10 | ECW on TNN#58 | Rhino was the final wrestler to hold the title. Aired on September 21, 2000 on TV |
| — |
Deactivated | — |
April 11, 2001 | — | N/A | N/A | N/A | ECW closed on April 4, 2001, and World Wrestling Entertainment purchased its assets in 2003. |
List of combined reigns
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns | Combined Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Van Dam | 1 | 700 |
| 2 | Shane Douglas | 2 | 350 |
| 3 | Rhino | 2 | 340 |
| 4 | 2 Cold Scorpio | 4 | 275 |
| 5 | Taz | 2 | 267 |
| 6 | Jimmy Snuka | 1 | 203 |
| 7 | Dean Malenko | 2 | 141 |
| 8 | Eddie Guerrero | 2 | 132 |
| 9 | Sabu | 1 | 113 |
| 10 | Mikey Whipwreck | 2 | 99 |
| 11 | Jason | 1 | 83 |
| 12 | Terry Funk | 1 | 43 |
| 13 | J.T. Smith | 1 | 41 |
| 14 | Bam Bam Bigelow | 1 | 34 |
| 15 | Johnny Hotbody | 1 | 31 |
| 16 | The Pitbull | 1 | 27 |
| 17 | Super Crazy | 1 | 27 |
| 18 | Pitbull #2 | 1 | 21 |
| 19 | Chris Jericho | 1 | 21 |
| 20 | Yoshihiro Tajiri | 1 | 14 |
| 21 | Kid Kash | 1 | 14 |
Footnotes
- ^ This title change was excluded from the title history published by World Wrestling Entertainment.[5]
References
- General
- "ECW Television Championship reigns by Wrestling Title Histories". Wrestling Title Histories by Royal Duncan and Gary Will. Solie.org. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- "ECW Television Champions reigns at WWE.com". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- Specific
- ↑ Loverro, Thorm (2006). The Rise and Fall of ECW. Paul Heyman, Tazz Dreamer, Tazz, Tommy Dreamer. Simon and Schuster. pp. 5–24. ISBN 1-4165-1058-3. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ "United States Bankruptcy Court: Case No. 01-B-11982 (ASH)" (PDF). United States Bankruptcy Court. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ "WWE Launches ECW As Third Brand". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2006-05-26. Archived from the original on 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ Hoffman, Brett. "An Extreme Debut". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- 1 2 "ECW Television Championship History on WWE.com". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (July 28, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 28): Lou Thesz wrestles the husband of the world's greatest all-time female athlete". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (June 1, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (June 1): Rogers beats Gomez, Gordman & Goliath, Baba loses PWF Title, Flair Vs. KVE, Lawler Vs. Son, Undertaker Vs. Edge". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
- ↑ Hoops, Brian (June 22, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (June 22): Ric Flair vs. Wahoo, Stan Hansen vs. Nick Bockwinkel cage match, Chris Jericho wins ECW gold". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved February 19, 2017.