RWR ECW Podcast Ep. 2: (ECW TV 4/13/93) Getting Better!

***WATCHALONG AT THE LINK***https://rumble.com/v7bk3di-rwr-ecw-podcast-ep.-2-ecw-tv-41393-getting-better.htmlEpisode #2 of the RWR ECW Podcast takes Gene Jackson and Brandon Wheeler back to April 13, 1993, as Eastern Championship Wrestling continues its earliest run on SportsChannel Philadelphia from the same “snakebit” Cabrini College Fieldhouse taping. The first episode was rough around the edges, but this week, things already start to feel a little more focused, with Terry Funk, Jay Sulli, and Stevie Wonderful back on commentary and Eddie Gilbert’s fingerprints as booker becoming more obvious.Gene and Brandon open by talking about the early reaction to the show, Producer Smokey’s ECW intro video, the bonus interview with Bay Ragni, and the fact that this version of ECW is still a long way from the blood soaked, beer can to the head version most fans remember. This is still Eastern Championship Wrestling: strange local ads, oddball gimmicks, early-90s haircuts, rough production, and a roster trying to figure out what this company is going to become.This week’s show features the first ECW Heavyweight Title match on television, as surfer-era Sandman defends against The Kodiak Bear. The match gives Gene and Brandon plenty to work with, from Sandman’s questionable gear to Peaches, Terry Funk’s commentary, Kodiak Bear’s look, and the sight of Sandman hitting a top rope missile dropkick long before anyone would associate him with Metallica, kendo sticks, and cigarettes.A major thread this week is the contrast between what ECW would become and what it still is here. The building blocks are present: Terry Funk, Eddie Gilbert, J.T. Smith, Sandman, Johnny Hotbody, and the idea of something rougher and more local than the big national wrestling products. But the presentation is still part territory show, part public-access fever dream, and part Philly independent wrestling experiment.By the end of the episode, Gene and Brandon agree that this is already a step up from the debut. It is still messy, still weird, and still full of things that make you ask, “How did this become ECW?” — but that’s also what makes the journey fun.If Episode #1 was ECW trying to get on the air, Episode #2 is ECW starting to find its feet. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★