A bonafide revolutionaryAh ECW – the brainchild of Paul Heyman.Also read: WWE News: ECW Original Balls Mahoney passes away at age 44For anyone who saw it, ECW hammering the final nail into the NWA's coffin with Shane Douglas' throwing the title down was an unforgettable moment. The Hardcore promotion had a loyal fanbase, largely in Philly and New York and to this day, it is still remembered vicariously through 'E-C-DUB' chants ringing at WWE events and on the independent scene.ECW launched many careers- the likes of Mike Awesome, The Sandman, the Public Enemy and Balls Mahoney were all discovered and made stars, largely because Paul Heyman was a master booker and knew how to hide faults.This article will focus on the five ECW stars who have been the most successful outside of extreme championship wrestling and will be limited to ECW alumnus, not including the pathetic excuse WWE ran on SYFY. Also, I really wanted to include Sabu on this list but his lack of gold in major promotions made it difficult. Let it be known that I am a big fan and truly believe he revolutionised hardcore wrestling.
#5 Raven
Raven is recognized as the most decorated wrestler in WWE history with 32 singles title reigns.
27 of those were Hardcore title reigns under the 24/7 rule which undervalues it somewhat, but it is a great achievement nonetheless. Raven also won the WCW light heavyweight (predecessor to the cruiserweight title), the United States title and the Tag Team championships with Perry Saturn.
Raven built on his ECW legacy (ECW World and tag team champion) by winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship under the TNA banner in a King of the Mountain Match (weird match, occasionally awesome), being one of seven people to win the title.
He also had a USWA title reign with Brian Christopher (later known as Grandmaster Sexay) and is a legend of the Indie Circuit, even today.
#4 Rhino
GORE! GORE! GOOOORRRREEEE!
Armed with one of the most convincing finishers in history, Rhino/Rhyno won the ECW world and television titles in his stint there. His career outside included a stint as an ally of E and C (Edge and Christian).
Okay, he was far more successful when he was winning titles in Canada, Europe and all over the United States, but his accomplishments in the WWE and beyond cannot be left out He was a 3 time Hardcore Champion in WWE and won the WCW United States title as part of the Invasion angle as a member of the Alliance.
Rhino is also a former TNA World Champion, winner of the Gauntlet for Gold and the Turkey Bowl (TNA had some weird ideas). Also, the GORE is awesome and better than Goldberg’s spear (in my opinion).
#3 Paul Heyman
Okay, Paul Heyman is not a wrestler, but he deserves a place on this list. As manager or advocate of Brock Lesnar, he lead his client to the WWE championship – both in 2002 and in his recent return to WWE.
Add to this that he is such an amazing promo man and everything he says turns to gold, makes it difficult to exclude him. He also steered his client to be the one to break the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak.
He was also immensely successful as Paul E Dangerously, managing the Dangerous Alliance in WCW and wreaking havoc throughout 1992. Rick Rude was the star of his stable who won the United States title and he managed Anderson-Eaton, leading them to the tag title.
Heyman won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 1992 manager of the year award (back when there were many of those) and was conferred the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) best booker 5 times, the best on-air interviews award twice and the best non-wrestler award six times – showing his amazing talent in the business.
#2 Bubba Ray Dudley/Bully Ray
Bubba Ray Dudley alone could have warranted a place on this list for his amazing accomplishments as part of the Dudley Boyz/Team 3D tag team with Devon, but his singles run with TNA was also amazing.
His heel work as Bully Ray was the best in the industry and despite some poor booking ( Aces and Eights), he did well for himself, being a TNA Hall of Famer, two-time former World Champion and also a tag team champion.
One of the lesser known facts about Bubba’s tag team career is that he was actually the IWGP tag team champion under the NJPW banner, twice! He also won the Worlds Strongest Tag Determination League in 2005 under the AJPW banner.
As the commentary team never fails to remind us, Bubba, as part of the Dudley Boyz is a nine-time Tag Champion in WWE (8 World and 1 WWE). His only singles championship in the company came as hardcore champion, a title he won 8 separate times.
He has also won two PWI match of the year awards, in 2000 for the Triple Therat ladder match against the Hardy’s and E and C and in 2001, for a TLC match against the same.
#1 Rob Van Dam
Mr. Monday Night needs no introduction here.
A former WWE champion as well as the first person to hold the WWE and ECW world titles at the same time, RVD is a wrestler with almost unparalleled popularity. His returns get him the most deafening pops.
He was successful in WWE, but his potential was never truly realized. He could’ve gone on to win many more world titles but it wasn’t meant to be. Regardless, RVD is a former European Champion, a six-time Intercontinental Champion and a 4-time hardcore champion.
He is also a former TNA World Heavyweight and X-division champion.
RVD also has 3 tag title reigns in WWE with 3 different partners. His TV title reign in the original ECW is the stuff of legend, but he was so much more. RVD was a money in the bank winner, and his efforts as the 8th Grand slam champion and 15th Triple crown champion in WWE is what sees him grab no 1 spot on this list.
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