Every ECW Wrestlepalooza, Ranked

In 1995, ECW created the “Wrestlepalooza” event, prompting four shows in total over the next several years – with one of those even being held as a PPV as ECW attempted to expand and extend its reach across the professional wrestling world in the late 1990s. With reports suggesting that WWE are set to give a rebirth to this 30 year old name for a premium live event, the history and quality of Wrestlepalooza should be explored. From worst to best, every Wrestlepalooza event will be assessed and analysed, determining which of ECW’s classic shows stood out the most, and which fans would rather forget.

ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998

The worst Wrestlepalooza was the one in which ECW took the name to PPV, and it absolutely flopped. There was pretty much nothing redeemable about this show. Even RVD vs. Sabu, which was arguably the best match on the show, got mixed reactions with some enjoying their 30-minute showcase, whereas others thought it dragged.

When looking up and down the rest of the card, matches such as Shane Douglas vs. Al Snow, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer vs. The Dudley Boys, and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. New Jack, despite sounding promising on paper, were all disastrously poor. Aside from New Jack taking a fall from a balcony, all of these matches were messy, disjointed, and lacked any semblance of psychology or structure.

ECW Wrestlepalooza 2000

The final Wrestlepalooza in 2000 wasn’t anything special. It was taped during a live event and split into different nights on ECW television, taking away any sort of special feeling from the show. The only real match worth noting was the star-studded main event, which saw Dusty Rhodes, The Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, and New Jack take on Rhino, Steve Corino, Jack Victory, and Tajiri in an eight-man tag team match.

The only reason this show gets ranked a little higher than the 1998 edition was due to it not being downright horrible, but it wasn’t anything special and had few redeeming qualities.

ECW Wrestlepalooza 1995

The inaugural Wrestlepalooza in 1995 kicked off the legacy of this show in a strong way. The biggest talking point came when Cactus Jack shockingly turned heel in an eight-man tag team match, turning against Tommy Dreamer just as he was set to close in on his first big victory over sworn rival Raven. This angle was followed by a six-man tag team match that also involved Cactus Jack, who teamed with Dean Malenko and Too Cold Scorpio to battle Eddie Guerrero and The Steiner Brothers in arguably the best match in Wrestlepalooza history.

The rest of the show wasn’t anything overly special, but these standout moments and matches helped to elevate the event to one that fans look back on fondly.

ECW Wrestlepalooza 1997

The best Wrestlepalooza was undeniably the 1997 edition. The first half of the show was fairly decent, though not overly special (aside from a strong Terry Funk and Chris Candido bout), but things really kicked into gear when Tommy Dreamer and Raven went to war in a Loser Leaves Town match to end their violent, personal rivalry. It was an enjoyable walk-and-brawl bout that was wild and chaotic, representing ECW in the best way.

Things then got pretty chaotic as RVD and Sabu showed up to attack Dreammer, followed by an appearance from Jerry Lawler, who ran down ECW. The heels beat up several ECW stars until Taz appeared, although he lost an impromptu match to Sabu, which was fantastic. Taz would then battle Shane Douglas straight after, and Taz won in under three minutes in a hot sprint. It was silly, overbooked, and chaotic, but it was a lot of fun and made this show memorable.