ECW WORLD TITLE WIN (18th Anniversary)
I woke up this morning with multiple texts and tweets (@WWECorino) reminding me that it is the 18th anniversary of me winning the ECW World championship at November 2 Remember 2000.
18 years have gone fast. Too fast. And although winning the ECW title was a huge individual achievement, it couldn’t have happened if Paul Heyman didn’t believe in me. It couldn’t have happened if Jack Victory wasn’t such a great mentor and friend. It couldn’t have happened without the unselfishness of Jerry, PJ, Hak, and Frannie. It was teamwork.
Thank you to everyone that was a part of that special day. It’s a day that Mike Kehner and I remind each other about every year. We went from two kids working for Liberty All-Star Wrestling in Media, PA to on top of Extreme Championship Wrestling.
To me, life is about moments. I am so fortunate that I got to spend that moment with those special people. I can’t thank them enough.
But, do you know the story of the match??? Well, here it is.
It was the first “Double Jeopardy” match. It was two singles matches in one, and then it is supposed to break down to a third match involving the winners. An innovative way to have a 4-way match…on paper. The rules were that once you beat your opponent (Jerry Lynn vs. Justin Credible and me vs. Sandman), you waited until there another fall.
We all got together that afternoon and put ideas out there. I was up for anything. Heck, I didn’t know I was winning until about 3:30pm that day until Sandman told me. I was always under the impression that Justin Credible would be regaining the title, but that is for another story. PJ (Justin) was also up for anything. Jerry was the brains and the workhorse. Sandman was Sandman. Haha. Actually, Sandman was always full of ideas. Some were nuts, but they were always great starting points. And Sandman was never selfish. He always wanted to help his opponent. He knew he was over and wanted you to get that rub too.
I think it was Sandman that came up with the notion to do both finishes at the same time so that Justin and I would be at the same strength. But the timing of the first finish had to be perfect. We worried about that all day. What we left out was the finish for Justin and me! We knew Dawn Marie had to turn against me, and we knew where we were putting it, but somehow we forgot it! How do you forget a turn?? Well, we did. We had it planned that Dawn would turn, leave, I would fight from underneath, trade false finishes (aka near falls), and then go to the finish. But we never came up with a finish. Jack Victory had to remind me about the turn, so we went backwards for a bit to make sure she got her turn in. Then it was off to the false finishes, but we already did them. Oh no, WE DON’T HAVE A FINISH!
People have wondered for 18 years why I took three Singapore cane shots to the noggin before hitting a weak looking Superkick for the win. Truth: We had to call the finish on the fly. I remember saying to Kehner “Tell PJ, Three cane shots, Superkick, home.” Ref told Justin.
First cane shot rocked me. Second one rocked me more. Third one…I don’t remember. I just remember pinning him and PJ saying “Holy shi*t, we forgot the finish.”
At that moment, so many emotions went through my mind. I wanted to laugh at PJ’s comment. I wanted to cry at PJ’s comment. My head hurt. I wanted to get up and show my son, Colby (who was four years old at the time and watching on PPV) that I was thinking of him. I was in shock when Kehner gave me the title. I remember thinking “Jeez, the belt is heavy.” I was embarrassed when someone through a cup in the ring and it bounced off my chest (I didn’t sell it!). I was in pain when Jerry Lynn slapped me in the face without telling me. Well, he did, but my brain was about four seconds behind. He said “Watch the slap.” Wait. What? SLAP. Ohhhh, watch the slap. Just a huge range of emotions.
I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
Pro-Wrestling is the greatest.
05November
2018
2018
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