ECW November To Remember 2000

Extreme Championship Wrestling had expanded and flourished so rapidly for a number of different reasons- it was original and vibrant at a time when most mainstream US wrestling was not; it took chances and pushed the envelope shocking wrestling fans whose idea of professional wrestling came only from the cartoon world of WWE; its storylines and characters were engrossing, eschewing the one-dimensional heroes and villains of the main promotions at the time. It also created star, lots of them- from The Sandman to Tommy Dreamer, Taz, Rob Van Dam, Shane Douglas, The Dudley Boys, Sabu and others- Paul Heyman had a way of getting everybody on his roster over, to the point where he was even able to put the ECW World Heavyweight Title on Mikey Whipwreck. When Heyman was able to give his undivided attention to the product, ECW would thrive from a creative perspective and new stars were being born at an unheard of rate. As such, when the big boys came calling on a regular basis between 1995 and 1998, and the likes of The Public Enemy, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Juventud Guerrera, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, Terry Funk, Raven, Stevie Richards and others left the company, there was always someone ready to step up into the position they filled.

WWE Survivor Series 2015

When WWE learned that Seth Rollins was injured and would be out for an estimated 9 months, it would undoubtedly have been a blow to their future plans. Rollins was after all, set to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Title against Roman Reigns at the Survivor Series, and no doubt, having held the belt since Wrestlemania 31, would be a factor in their thinking for one of the top spots at Wrestlemania next year. Given the length of time the injury was going to sideline Rollins for, WWE would have to have him vacate the title, rather than deliver it to his successor. On the flip side, while WWE fans were also disappointed that one of the company’s most consistent performers over the last 2 years would now be out for an extended period, there was hope that it might prompt a creative rethink and force WWE out of its slumber. With Rollins joining Randy Orton on the shelf, John Cena taking a reported 6 week break and Brock Lesnar not expected on television again until December, it appeared as if WWE would have to do something to shake up its roster, give a chance to somebody new and deliver something with a little extra imagination when it came to deciding who would be their new champion.

WWE Survivor Series 1996

Survivor Series 1996 was supposed to be the beginning of a new dawn for the WWE following a year of losses brought on by the defections of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to WCW and the subsequent rise of the NWO. WWE had claimed what has to be considered its first real victory in the war with their competitors since WCW had debuted Monday Nitro in direct competition to Raw, when they managed to secure the re-signing of Bret Hart after months of negotiations. Despite his dissatisfaction with Shawn Michaels’ positioning as the top star in WWE and the money that was on offer to him at WCW, Bret had elected to stay loyal to the company that had made him famous and chose the long term security of a reported $20million dollar, 20 year deal with Vince McMahon, over an eye watering $3million dollar per year, 3 year deal in Atlanta. At the time, Vince McMahon breathed a huge sigh of relief- WCW wouldn’t be getting hold of another one of his biggest stars and he now had a massive extra selling point for the Survivor Series event- the return of ‘The Hitman’. It made Bret Hart the highest paid wrestler in the company, by a long way, and seemed to suggest that things might start going in WWE’s favour for once.