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Heat Wave (1998)
Heat Wave (1998) was the fifth Heat Wave professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The event took place on August 2, 1998 from the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio. This was the first edition of Heat Wave to be broadcast on pay-per-view. The event also featured talent from Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) due to partnership between ECW and FMW. Six professional wrestling matches were contested at the event. The main event was a Street Fight in which Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Spike Dudley defeated The Dudleys (Buh Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley and Big Dick Dudley). On the undercard, Taz successfully defended the FTW Heavyweight Championship against Bam Bam Bigelow in a Falls Count Anywhere match and Masato Tanaka defeated Mike Awesome. The event also featured FMW's Ace Hayabusa's first and only major wrestling appearance in the United States as he teamed with Jinsei Shinzaki to take on Rob Van Dam and Sabu for the W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hara Arena
Hara Arena was a 5,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Trotwood, Ohio suburb of Dayton. The facility began as a ballroom in 1956, added an arena in 1964 and grew to a six-building complex which closed in August 2016. At various times, it hosted the Dayton Jets basketball team and Dayton Gems ( 1964–1977, 1979–1980 and 2009–2012), Dayton Blue Hawks, Dayton Owls, Dayton Bombers, Dayton Ice Bandits, Dayton Demonz, Megacity Hockey Club, Dayton Dynamo, Dayton Demolition ice hockey teams and the Marshals indoor football team. History The site was originally the family-owned fruit orchard of Harold and Ralph Wampler. The name stems from HA from Harold and RA from Ralph. In 1956, the Wampler Ballroom was erected, the arena itself opened in 1964. Both of the arena's founders were Shriners, and originally founded the venue after realizing that there was nowhere suitable in the area to hold the Shrine Circus. The original plans did not include an ice rink, but were change ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spike Dudley
Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); the Spike Dudley character being a member of The Dudley Brothers. As part of a storyline, fellow members Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley betrayed the faction to form a separate Dudley Boyz tag team; resulting in Hyson and members being involved in a subsequent feud with the duo. The Dudley Boyz would eventually leave ECW for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1999. Meanwhile, Hyson remained in ECW, and during his time held two reigns as ECW World Tag Team Champion alongside Balls Mahoney. The promotion fell into bankruptcy in 2001, which led Hyson to join the WWF, where he reconciled with Ray and D-Von. Hyson would appear with his kayfabe brothers on-and-off, as well as capturing the WWF Tag Tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling. Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the latter half of the 1990s, where he became one of the most famous wrestlers in the industry. During his time in ECW, he was managed by Bill Alfonso and had feuds with Jerry Lynn and Sabu, also forming a tag team with the latter. They would win the ECW World Tag Team Championship twice. On April 4, 1998, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the ECW Television Championship, a title he held for 700 days until he vacated the championship due to an injury on March 4, 2000. When ECW closed in 2001, Van Dam signed a contract with the World Wrestl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinsei Shinzaki
Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎 健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎 人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is currently signed to the Michinoku Pro Wrestling promotion where he is the promotion's president. He also performs for Michinoku Pro as a wrestler, serving as the sole heavyweight wrestler on the roster. Shinzaki is also known for his appearances with other Japanese promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). To American fans, Shinzaki is perhaps most known for his stint in the United States based World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 1996 under the ring name Hakushi. Professional wrestling career Universal Lucha Libre (1992–1993) A former soccer player, Shinzaki trained in amateur wrestling in high school. He firstly started working a career as an ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayabusa (wrestler)
was a Japanese professional wrestler, stage actor, musician and professional wrestling promoter, better known under the ring name . He was best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily wrestled throughout his career and was the franchise player of the company between 1995 and 2001. Ezaki initially competed for FMW as a low-carder between 1991 and 1993 before travelling to Mexico where he developed the "Hayabusa" character and his signature wrestling style during his time with lucha libre organizations. He returned to FMW in 1995 and received a significant push as the face of the company, winning his first Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship later that year. He spent much of 1996 on the sidelines due to injury and lost the majority of his high-profile matches upon his return. He started gaining popularity and championship success in 1997 and won the Double Championship in 1998 and held the title for most of the year. He developed alter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franchise Player
In professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their "franchise" around for the foreseeable future. Overview In the United States, outstanding players were referred to as "franchises" at least as far back as the 1950s."franchise, n. I. 2. c. (b)" OED Online. June 2003. Oxford University Press. June 2010. By the 1970s, the concept of a "franchise" player who single-handedly generates success was commonly understood in the sporting trade. The term ''franchise player'' was in widespread use by the early 1980s to describe both star rookies like John Elway and Kelvin Bryant and veterans like George Brett. While the term is primarily associated with North American and English sports, it is sometimes used in reference to athletes in sports outside the United States, such as rugby league and association football (soccer) players. See also *Designated player *Franchise tag In the National Football Leag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the American professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment under the ring name Mike Awesome and for his appearances in Japan with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling as The Gladiator. Alfonso achieved the biggest success of his career in FMW as The Gladiator, where he became a three-time world champion, with two reigns as Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and one reign as Independent Heavyweight Champion. His second Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship reign from 1996–1997 was the longest reign in the title's history, lasting for 489 days. During this reign, he defeated W*ING Kanemura to unify the title with the Independent Heavyweight Championship at the 1996 Year End Spectacular. He would then tour wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masato Tanaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in the United States where he was a one-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He is currently splitting his time wrestling for both Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) and Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is overall a ten-time world champion in major professional wrestling promotions. Professional wrestling career Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1993–1999) Originally a trainee for George and Shunji Takano's Pro Wrestling Crusaders (Crusaders), Tanaka transferred to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he trained under Atsushi Onita. Tanaka debuted on July 23, 1993 in Saga City, facing Ricky Fuji. He quickly began moving up the card in FMW, widely regarded as the top hardcore professional wrestling promot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bam Bam Bigelow
Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most of his bald head, Bigelow was hailed by Ryan Murphy (a writer for Bigelow's former employer WWE) as "the most natural, agile and physically remarkable big man of the past quarter century", while former co-worker Bret Hart described him as "possibly the best working big man in the business." Bigelow is best known for his appearances with promotions New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1987 and 2001. Over the course of his career, he held championships including the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship, the IWGP Tag Team Championship, the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, and the WCW Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ECW FTW Heavyweight Championship
The FTW ("Fuck the World") Championship (also referred to as the FTW World Championship) is a professional wrestling championship created by Taz in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 1998. The championship was retired in 1999 after being unified with the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, and remained inactive for 21 years until being re-established by Taz in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020. In both ECW and AEW, the FTW Championship has been presented as an "outlaw" or "renegade" title which is unsanctioned by officials in-storyline. The current champion is Hook, the son of Taz, who is in his first reign. History Extreme Championship Wrestling (1998–1999) The FTW Heavyweight Championship was designed, created, and conceived by Taz who also owns the rights to the design of the title. The title was used to compensate for storylines that had to be dropped due to injuries. ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas had a serious sinus infection and an elbow injury. Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tazz
Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manager. He is known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he was a two-time World Heavyweight Champion, a two-time World Television Champion, a three-time World Tag Team Champion, a two-time (and the inaugural) FTW Heavyweight Champion, and the fourth ECW Triple Crown Champion. His World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) career as an in-ring performer came to an early end in 2002 and subsequently saw him transition into a color-commentary role, which he continued to do until his contract with WWE expired in April 2009. Two months later, Senerchia debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at their Victory Road pay-per-view under his previous Taz ring name and eventually reprised his role as a color comme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Dick Dudley
Alexander Rizzo (January 12, 1968 – May 16, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Big Dick Dudley. Rizzo was best known for his appearances with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1994 to 1999 as a member of The Dudley Brothers. Professional wrestling career Early career (1986–1994) Rizzo began training with Johnny Rodz alongside the likes of Taz, Phil Theis and the Santiago Twins and became one of the first students to graduate from the now infamous school in Brooklyn. He claimed his first professional matches came in late 1986 in Puerto Rico alongside fellow Rodz students and future ECW alumni Rocco Rock and Abdullah the Butcher. He returned to the U.S. after his tour of Puerto Rico and began wrestling on the East Coast independent scene under the name of Alexander the Great. While being a monster wrestler with a great physique, Rizzo rarely became the star attractio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
