ECWA Cancels Shows, Goes On Hiatus
Owner Mike Tartaglia explains what went wrong.
The longest-running independent wrestling promotion in the United States is officially on hiatus.
Mike Tartaglia, owner of East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), announced last week that the company’s next show (initially scheduled for this Saturday) is cancelled. He also announced that all future ECWA events are postponed indefinitely. A variety of factors has led to his decision, such as declining attendance, an oversaturated market and a new venture that commands 90% of his time.
“There is no money in independent wrestling,” Tartaglia told The Wrestling Estate. “Most people involved do it because they love it. As long as I don’t lose money, it’s okay.”
A South Jersey businessman, Tartaglia has dabbled in various industries over the past 20 years. Last November, he went full-time with his juice bar Fruiggie Juice And Bowls in Sewell, New Jersey. Since then, he says he has been working well over 12 hours a day, having only taken off on Christmas, Easter and Memorial Day. Squeezing in time for his family, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to juggle the responsibilities that come with running ECWA.
“A lot of times I get frustrated because a lot of these guys say they want to help, but then when the time comes, they don’t,” Tartaglia says. “When we run shows in Delaware, it’s an hour from my house. I don’t have time to drive there and put up posters before the event. Some of our own guys live around there and still don’t put up posters or hand out fliers. Then when something happens, they’re the first to complain.”
It’s not just the wrestlers’ lack of commitment that has bothered Tartaglia. Before every ECWA event, dozens of fans comment in the company’s Facebook group about upcoming matches. Then when it’s the day of the show, those seats are empty.
“I don’t think they have the right to comment if they’re not going to go and support it,” Tartaglia says. “It’s only $20 for a ticket. Never in 10 years have we had a fan say the show sucked. They’re just not consistent. We need more fans to come to the shows.”
Tartaglia says his breaking point came at the Super 8 in April, the company’s biggest event of the year. For almost a quarter century, the tournament has become a launching pad for undiscovered, up-and-coming talents to get noticed throughout the industry. Previous winners include Tommaso Ciampa, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, Xavier Woods and many other notable names.
This year, the tournament consisted of all second- and third-generation wrestlers. Tartaglia brought in talent from all over the country, big names like Brian Pillman Jr., Wes Brisco and Marshall and Ross Von Erich. He expected the bleachers of South Philadelphia High School to be packed as many of these young studs rarely, if ever, came to the Tri-State Area.
However, only 125 people showed up.
“The Super 8 should have drew over 500 fans, maybe 1,000,” Tartaglia says. “That show cost a lot of money. We put a lot of effort in and it was a great show. But we’ve drawn way bigger crowds.”
Too Much Competition
ECWA was founded by Jim Kettner in 1967, when he promoted his first show in his backyard. He would grow the company into a breeding ground, helping develop future stars such as Christian, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Billy Kidman and more. After 43 years of promoting, Kettner retired in 2010 and sold the company to Tartaglia.
A lifelong fan, Tartaglia broke into the sport in 1990 under the alias Mike Bruno. He started in Joel Goodhart’s Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, and even competed on the first ECW card before it was Extreme. After TWA folded, Tartaglia left pro wrestling, returning for a few matches in 1995 and 1998. In 2009, he became a promoter, resurrecting the TWA with a reunion show. After taking over for Kettner, Tartaglia merged both promotions under the ECWA banner.
The transfer of daily operations was arranged by Joe Zanolle, a former referee and photographer for Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Booking for TWA at the time, Zanolle was very familiar with ECWA, regularly attending shows and even serving as a photographer. He has remained in Tartaglia’s inner circle ever since, acting as matchmaker both in the ring and behind the curtain.
Zanolle says he wasn’t shocked by Tartaglia’s decision to put the company on hiatus. Running the promotion had been a struggle for quite some time. In the past, Tartaglia could hire people to run the day-to-day operations of his other businesses, but the juice bar currently requires a lot of his time and attention.
“I am a bit down about it,” Zanolle says. “I’ve been there 20 years, almost half my life. My kids grew up at the shows. But I’m happy with what we did and how I was able to be a small part of what I love.”
The landscape of independent wrestling has certainly changed since Zanolle began attending ECWA shows. Both he and Tartaglia blame oversaturation of the market, especially in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “We have a great roster – I don’t think it has anything to do with the wrestling,” Tartaglia says. “There is just too much competition. In South Jersey alone, there are probably 15 promotions all running every month. Sometimes they run the same night, splitting the fan base.”
In November of 2017, ECWA expanded its territory to Atlantic City, running events at The Showboat. The hope was to establish a new fan base in a less crowded market, but that didn’t pan out. Over the past year, the promotion’s home became the Asbury United Methodist Church in New Castle, Delaware, which usually attracted 50 people at most to the monthly events. Those attendance figures are a far cry from what the company used to draw, especially for the Super 8. Tartaglia estimates that when he took over nearly a decade ago, the high-profile tournament used to draw 250 people, sometimes even 300.
“Honestly, I don’t know what we could have done differently,” Zanolle says. “We did the best we could with the resources we had in the area we live. I would have loved to find areas that don’t have a lot of shows or get the capital to get a few names more often, using those names to give our guys a rub like when we had Austin Aries put over Adam Cole.”
Bringing in a familiar face is a staple of independent wrestling; the theory being that folks will come to the show for the legend or former WWE Superstar and get hooked by the action and characters of the full-time roster. ECWA certainly has a history of following the formula, bringing in Tony Atlas and Tito Santana for its debut at The Showboat, followed up by Booker T for its return in March of 2018. Chase Owens of The Bullet Club entered the 22nd annual Super 8, and Scarlett Bordeaux competed in this year’s Super 8 Chickfight.
But that hasn’t been enough to attract more customers on a consistent basis. In addition to the oversaturated market, Zanolle suggests that ECWA’s product isn’t as popular in the former ECW territory. Since Paul Heyman’s hardcore promotion shuttered its doors nearly 20 years ago, several companies have emerged to quench the region’s bloodthirsty fans, such as CZW, Game Changer Wrestling and H20 Wrestling.
“That’s not a style we are interested in promoting,” Zanolle says. “We’re family friendly with no cursing, blood or weapons. But the Philly area is very different.”
Digital Disruption
Tartaglia broke the news on Facebook at around 11:30 on a Wednesday night.
AJ Pan, manager of the company’s top heel group PCA, told The Wrestling Estate that the roster was informed 15-20 minutes before the Facebook post. Scheduled to manage new ECWA Heavyweight Champion Joey Ace in a triple threat main event at the next show, Pan was understandably caught off guard.
“While I am hoping that it’s just an extended ‘hiatus,’ I do want to say that ECWA has been my home for the past four years,” Pan wrote on Facebook. “Through good times and bad, I loved showing up every month, performing for the fans and getting to interact with a fantastic roster, many who have become great friends. I do have to thank John Finegan, Joe Zanolle and Michael Tartaglia for tossing me the ball and letting me show what myself and The PCA could do. I’m proud and humbled by the fact that we’ve centered the main event picture for most of our time there. ECWA was a bucket list goal and I made it. Hopefully, we’ll be back in time for me to make it five years.”
Over the next few days, many involved in the promotion, from wrestlers to referees to the production crew, shared their gratitude and memories. All have been appreciative of ECWA giving them the platform to chase their dream. And they’re all hopeful that the promotion will return in the near future.
“I have hope and faith that this isn’t the true end,” says Ty Awesome, the promotion’s breakout star over the past year. “I’m very blessed and privileged to be a part of the ECWA family. While there may be a break or hiatus, I’m still in that family. I hope for the best and that we come back stronger than ever.”
Awesome’s popularity soared after a tremendous showing in the 22nd annual Super 8, which ignited his pursuit of the ECWA Heavyweight Championship, finally culminating in the main event of the promotion’s annual Toys For Tots event in December. “It sucks that independent wrestling goes through these things,” Awesome says. “ECWA has given me a home to display my abilities without any limitations. This news saddens me, but when we’re down, we can’t give up.”
Perhaps no one is as optimistic as Mr. Ooh La La, who has been with ECWA since 1990. The longest-tenured member of the roster has witnessed the evolution of the business first hand, weathering the storm of management shifts, talent departures, venue changes and diminishing crowds. In the current climate of 5-star work rate over colorful characters, his presence is an anachronism, yet he remains one of the most popular figures in the company.
“Sometimes, these are necessary breaks to make the brand stronger,” Mr. Ooh La La says. “It’s possible that ECWA would have gone away 10 years ago if Mike didn’t step in. He bought it to keep it going. To a degree, he has elevated the status of the ECWA. I just don’t know if it’s getting the recognition that it once had.”
Mr. Ooh La La credits PWI and its sister publications with not only shining a spotlight on him during the 1990s and early 2000s, but the entire promotion. Being in such close proximity to PWI’s office benefited ECWA – it gave the independent promotion some much needed publicity throughout the country. Although PWI still provides coverage – Awesome is profiled as “One To Watch” in the August 2019 issue available now – its influence has dwindled in the digital age. Fewer people are purchasing magazines than ever before, rendering such articles and clippings as merely keepsakes for fans of nostalgia.
ECWA’s presence in the digital age has also suffered. Although the promotion maintains a very active Facebook group, in which wrestlers such as the PCA post promos they’ve filmed in their spare time to hype upcoming events, the company’s overall social media presence is lacking. The company’s last Tweet is from May 7 and the company’s Instagram is nonexistent. Thanks to Awesome’s father, some matches and promos are uploaded to YouTube under Poppa Scott Productions. Commentators Brady Hicks and Phillip Slivinski produce a recap video after every event, which is sometimes posted on the company’s website.
Despite a hungry, talented roster and logical, compelling storylines, ECWA has failed to attract the same online following that has boosted other promotions in the digital age. Of course, it takes time and effort to maintain a vibrant online presence, and Tartaglia’s plate is already full. Maybe the outpouring of support that has followed the hiatus announcement will stir renewed interest in the company. After all, there is still value in the ECWA brand more than 50 years after it spawned in Kettner’s backyard. According to Tartaglia, a group has already messaged him about offering to keep the ECWA name alive and subsequently take over the Super 8.
“I guarantee ECWA will be back,” Tartaglia says. “I could be back in a month, six months, back in a year. Maybe it won’t even by under my leadership. But I guarantee ECWA will be back.”
Until then, the wrestlers will be looking to fill future dates and continue to hone their craft in local indie promotions. Tartaglia will be recharging his batteries and focusing 100% on the juice bar, of which he’s considering opening another store. As for Zanolle, he’ll be keeping up with the indie scene to offer his insights to the boss whenever he resumes.
“There is a lot to choose from, but fans should go out and support the shows with guys who take what they do seriously and professionally,” Zanolle says. “They put a lot of time and effort into becoming the best they can be. Don’t take things for granted. If you like something, you have to support it.”
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