Wrestling legend makes bold comparison between AEW and ECW violence; says fans are like a cult (Exclusive)

ECW Originals invade WWE RAW, AEW fans attend All Out 2024
ECW Originals on RAW, AEW All Out 2024 (Photo credits: WWE.com, AEW Executive Kosha Irby on X/Twitter)

AEW is preparing for Grand Slam in eight days, and WrestleDream in less than three weeks, but All Out fallout rages on. Multiple violent moments from the event have been a hot topic of discussion among fans and people within the industry. A wrestling legend has just offered very interesting thoughts on All Elite Wrestling and ECW.

The sixth annual All Out saw World Champion Bryan Danielson retain over Jack Perry. In a post-match attack on his ex-stablemate, Jon Moxley used a plastic bag over the head to choke Danielson out. The violence was also turned up for the Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage main event, which saw Adam Page defeat Swerve Strickland. Weapons used include barbed wire, cinderblocks, tables, chairs, and a staple gun. In the finish, Hangman ripped Swerve's mouth grill out, jabbed him with a hypodermic needle, then smashed his head with a chair.

Bill Apter has seen a lot in his near-55-year career in the wrestling industry. Sportskeeda Wrestling's Senior Editor previously revealed that the needle spot ruined the entire pay-per-view for him. During the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, Apter pointed to how fans chanted "This is murder!" after Danielson was choked out by Moxley.

Apter then recalled a recent statement he made to the ECW Original Bubba Ray Dudley. The NWA Hall of Famer then compared the All Out moments to what he's seen from two of the most violent promotions in wrestling history: Extreme Championship Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling.

The latest on WWE Hall of Famer after his stroke HERE.

"I interviewed Bully Ray at WrestleCon on SummerSlam Weekend, [and told him] AEW has turned into what ECW was for the modern fan. Fans that watch AEW are looking for wrestling, but they're a cult of... and I'm not knocking everything, they're a cult of like, ECW-type of fans. They want to be like that, that's fine, but I think this was the most violent thing, with the hypodermic needle and the plastic bag I've seen on the indies and couldn't stand it, but this was most violent thinghthat I have seen on a pay-per-view, more so than any ECW or CZW show I've ever seen," Bill Apter said. [From 9:11 to 10:17]
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Several pro wrestlers have also issued statements on the controversies from AEW All Out. Matt Hardy made interesting remarks just this week, while Eddie Kingston had a unique reason for speaking out.

Updated lineup for this Wednesday's AEW Dynamite

The road to AEW WrestleDream and Grand Slam will continue tomorrow night as Dynamite airs live from Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Friday's Rampage episode will also be taped.

This week's Dynamite will be the go-home episode for next Wednesday's Grand Slam special in New York City. Below is the updated lineup:

  1. Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
  2. The Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, and Konosuke Takeshita
  3. Mariah May and Serena Deeb vs. Queen Aminata and Yuka Sakazaki
  4. The Grand Slam go-home build, the road to WrestleDream continues

AEW will be at MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA for Saturday's live Collision. The September 27 edition of Rampage will also be taped this Saturday.


Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the exclusive video when using quotes from this article.

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Edited by Jeevak Ambalgi
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