ECWA brings the heat with Shane Douglas on June 25th

The oldest active independent professional wrestling company returns to the Jersey Dugout on June 25th and it feels…different.

ECWA, during the Jim Kettner years had an active working agreement with the then-WWF which allowed a number of competitors to grace their squared circle. Names like Mankind, Goldust, Michael PS Hayes and many others worked ECWA events while under their WWE deals, something unheard of in today’s climate.

After the switch to Mike Tartaglia in 2010, ECWA typically relied on homegrown and local talent to bring in fans, which worked to varying degrees of success. Exceptions would be made for big events such as the Super 8 tournament, but outside of Tony Atlas and Tito Santana, big name legends were often not on the menu for the northeast based promotion.

That all changes on June 25th when “The Franchise” Shane Douglas enters an ECWA ring for the very first time. Douglas is no stranger to shrugging off history to start a revolution, which is ironic considering how knowledgable and respectful he is of the sports’ history. By every indication, it seems that Shane Douglas is coming to the oldest active independent promotion to take the WORLD-1 title from current champion and fan favorite, Clutch Rockwell and toss it to the side.

There are so many layers to this story, from Clutch Rockwell being placed under the wing of former ECW champion Steve Corino (and even being presented the current championship by Corino) to Shane Douglas appearing over a dozen times for WORLD-1 Wrestling and only ever earning one title shot, in a 3 Way Dance. These two have never been inside the ring together. This match…just feels…different.