Your thoughts on ECW

[BillyBlood]

Quaker, what was your thoughts on ECW? Did you think it was a very brutal federation or nothing more than guys hitting each other with chairs and with things only previously seen in Japan? And how did you feel about established guys like Terry Funk and Superfly Jimmy Snuka in the promotion?

[Earthquake-GEAUX LSU TIGERS]

I didn't see a lot of ECW. I thought of course it was really "hardcore". I think the wrestler's abilities got a bit lost with all the hardcore stuff going on. That's really all I cansay based on my lack of knowledge of ecw.
'Quake

[Van Hagar]

I heard you wanted to go into ECW sometime in 1999. To be honest I don't think it would have worked then, and you probably would have been setup to be squashed by Tazz. Plus, the whole philosophy of the company was different, as they weren't working against the machine, they were part of it as the WWF had started their "attitude."

HOWEVER, I would have loved to have seen you in ECW in 1995 or 1996. That would have been perfect timing as you were part of the "WWF circus" when you went up against Hogan. Plus you had the shark gimmick. ECW fans would have HATED you, because a lot of the time they're just a bunch of pod people, and just hated someone for the hell of it. Plus you had talent so you wouldn't have just been squashed like Jungle Jim Steel had to be.

[Earthquake-GEAUX LSU TIGERS]

Yeah, I wanted to work for ECW. I felt and still do there is always a place for a big, ugly heel to beat up the pretty boys.
'Quake

[Hemmeorrhage]

I would have loved to have seen you in ECW as you would have been able to do more things in the ring than you were probably allowed to in the WWF given that ECW was more freelance.

[BrianTKessler]

Actually, I read in one of Foley's books that when he was in ECW, in order to get some heat with the fans, he passed himself off as almost a representative of WCW, and he wore a shirt featuring airbrushed faces of some of WCW's Faces of Fear members, including John Tenta. He wrote that personally Tenta was a very nice man, but that ECW fans hated WCW so much that Tenta and the others = instant heat. I don't know about you, 'Quake, but I'd take it as a compliment.

So I have no doubt that 'Quake could have been a monster heel there.

[JKCrap]

BrianTKessler said:

Actually, I read in one of Foley's books that when he was in ECW, in order to get some heat with the fans, he passed himself off as almost a representative of WCW, and he wore a shirt featuring airbrushed faces of some of WCW's Faces of Fear members, including John Tenta. He wrote that personally Tenta was a very nice man, but that ECW fans hated WCW so much that Tenta and the others = instant heat. I don't know about you, 'Quake, but I'd take it as a compliment.

So I have no doubt that 'Quake could have been a monster heel there.

Here's the story. Raven/Stevie Richards/Little Snot Dudley/Big Dick Dudley [RIP] d. Tommy Dreamer/Cactus Jack/The Pit Bulls [RIP Anthony Durante] at ECW Wrestlepalooza 95, August 5, 1995 when Cactus turned heel on Dreamer. Cactus explained his heel turn in the classic "Cane Dewey" promo, where he condemned the fans for being selfish and uncaring and said that Tommy Dreamer should listen to him and go to WCW. The interview was praised and Cactus realized that while he chose the perfect heel (Bischoff), he needed to start doing things to really get the fans against him. This meant constant praise for WCW, bashing hardcore wrestling and putting on the worst and most boring matches he could. Fast forward to November To Remember, November 18, 1995. Dreamer and Terry Funk took on Raven and Cactus. Cactus took off his standard "WANTED: DEAD" t-shirt to reveal a self-drawn shirt with Kamala, Shark and Zodiac on the front and the words "Dungeon of Doom" on the back with a heart drawn around the words. You can see Cactus's turn on Dreamer on the DVD The Best of Cactus Jack in ECW, the "Cane Dewey" promo on Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses, and the N2R match on both.