Not to be confused with the WWE Pay Per View Extreme Rules, the Philadelphia based promotion Extreme Rising run by Steve O’Neill recently deleted their Twitter account and Facebook page. O’Neill then made a statement on PWInsider.com telling fans to request refunds:
ALL EXTREME RISING LIVE EVENTS FOR PHILADELPHIA AND PITTSBURGH -FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH, -SATURDAY, APRIL 26TH, -SATURDAY, MAY 3RD ARE ALL CANCELLED.
FOR FULL REFUNDS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY OR BANK DIRECTLY, OR STORE PURCHASED AT.
Founded in 2012 by “The 5 Guys of 5 Guys Wrestling Inc”, including former Extreme Championship Wrestling Heavyweight champion Shane Douglas, the purpose of Extreme Rising seemed to be about running an ECW style promotion in the modern day with ECW legends and independent wrestling talent that would fit the style of the company back in the mid 90s. The idea faced immediate trouble when Douglas tried to promote it as an Extreme Reunion, unmasking in the audience during a WWE Monday Night Raw to a tepid “ECW!” chant before being escorted out. The Extreme Reunion was a failure, soon rebranded as Extreme Rising.
Since 2012 there have been cancelled shows, the Extreme Rising champion Stevie Richards having his title vacated for calling the promotion defunct (he was given the belt back) and a few successes like announcing a television deal in October of 2013 for local Philadelphia markets. After the March 1 cancellation, the technical final match for Extreme Rising happened on March 8 as Stevie Richards defended the title against Chachi for the Warriors of Wrestling promotion. The April 25 cancelled show was to feature Richards against Sabu, Rhino vs. Devon Storm, Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten as well as an appearance by The Sandman.
According to Axl Rotten on Twitter, he was notified via text message:
I was just notified via text msg that @extremerising has called off ALL shows this wkend! WTF! #PROWRESTLING This is a joke!
— AXL ROTTEN (@AxlRottenECW) April 22, 2014
#ExtremeRising has advertised all of us for months & cost ME & all others $ ! Cancelled via Text. Unprofessional! pic.twitter.com/S0XSMFloSa — AXL ROTTEN (@AxlRottenECW) April 22, 2014
There’s no denying that the promotion had a doomed beginning due to Shane Douglas’ antics and nothing but trouble throughout, starting with Sabu and Justin Credible’s health issues from Extreme Reunion to the constant venue switching that lead to shows being completely cancelled. What I wonder is if Extreme Reunion/Rising was run competently, would there be a place for it in pro wrestling?
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In hockey or other sports, it’s very common for there to be Oldtimers games. Even during the NHL Winter Classic game it’s a big part of it to see the legends of two teams come to battle each other outdoors. Nobody scoffs at the veterans looking to wear their old colours one more time, though a lot of those games are for charity. I don’t think anyone would really hate to see them try to make a quick buck out of it too.
But the ECW reunion shows, including Hardcore RoadTrip in Canada get a certain eye roll from a lot of pro wrestling fans because they are trying to cash in on nostalgia. By using Shane Douglas or Sandman, it’s all about making you forget the guts and take you back to a time and place when this was cutting edge and counter culture. The problem comes from pro wrestling being about theatrics and atmosphere. It’s easy to re-create the oldtimers. All they have to do is wear the skates and the sweater. But for ECW oldtimers? People pay and expect Balls Mahoney to still be playing with barbwire and for New Jack to be stapling foreheads. They want the headshots and table breaks. They want blood. ECW was for the most part about garbage hardcore wrestling, and people want this because they cannot get it anymore with the WWE. But these guys are all broken down, battered, bruised and full of pain. It becomes less of a nostalgia trip and more embarrassing. Like watching a lame horse try to prove it could still gallop the track and avoid a slug to the head. It would be better to just sit them down at a table and have them sign autographs, but these guys didn’t make much money when they were pros. No way will they say no to abusing their bodies for another shot.
It’s odd we never saw WCW reunion shows pop up or even a bunch of WWE guys get together to do a nostalgia tour. Instead it’s always ECW. It’s always that promotion made far more popular in its death than when it was around. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter the wrestlers involved because both Hardcore RoadTrip and Extreme Rising have been leaning on the younger wrestlers to make sure the matches are not an embarrassing slugfest. A big part of this is because the goal really isn’t about the oldtimers like it is for hockey, but it’s about cashing in on ECW’s historical significance. Eventually these ECW guys will be too old and too worn down to get out of bed for the paycheque, so someone has to pick up the slack. That’s where the likes of Luke Hawx and PD Flex come in.
There’s clearly money to be made on the ashes of 90s style hardcore wrestling. There’s clearly people out there who still want to see it and still want to think it’s 1998 and live in a magical world where chairshots to the head are no more dangerous for a worker than a hip toss. That’s why even though Extreme Rising failed, Hardcore RoadTrip and others like it will continue to exist. It isn’t about the Oldtimer. It’s about the Old Times. It’s about selling past concepts to the present, and maybe the legends will get paid out of it. Just not for Extreme Rising anymore.
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