Photo by Craig Prendergast

The NEW ERA for the East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) kicked off in a violent way last Saturday, September 18th, as both new owner Mike Tartaglia and ECWA champion Mega were each laid out in a pair of vicious assaults: the former a gangland style attack against ECWA’s new owner by a new disgruntled minority, and the latter an act of unforgivable betrayal by a man considered by Mega to be the closest of friends.  All that, plus former WWE star Shane “Hurricane” Helms was announced as part of ECWA’s upcoming show on Saturday, October 16th in Newark, Delaware.
 
The first night of the New Era in the ECWA turned out to being nothing like Tartaglia expected.  While Tartaglia, the new heir to ECWA following Jim Kettner’s retirement last August, was welcoming the fans in attendance at the Greater Newark Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Newark, Delaware to kick off the show, he found himself cornered by a group of ECWA wrestlers who felt slighted by the new owner.  The group – which was seemingly led by nefarious manager (and ECWA Hall of Famer) Sebastian Knight – were incensed that they were left off the card in favor of several wrestlers from Tartaglia’s Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA).  Despite Tartaglia’s promises to make things right and provide the wrestlers with opportunities to compete on future ECWA shows, the group took matters into its own hands and laid out the new owner before being saved by Mega and “The Beast” Glen Osbourne.  What does the future hold for Sebastian Knight and his tribe of apparent misfits?  Will there be a place on future ECWA cards for men such as JJ The Crew Guy, Mozart Fontaine, Timothy Richards, Ron Godwin and Jason XXXL?  Or has the group crossed the line to no return?
 
However, the biggest surprise of the night was yet to come.  For the 400+ pound Mega – a crowd-favorite ECWA veteran who was quietly enjoying his first run with the heavyweight championship – betrayal came from a man he thought was one of his best friends in the industry in “The Beast” Glen Osbourne.  Osbourne had been appointed to serve as special guest enforcer referee by ECWA Commissioner Richard Naegele for Mega’s title defense against “A-List” Andrew Ryker to ensure Mega would have a fair fight after Sebastian Night and his new gang threatened Mega would not leave the building with his title after interrupting his group’s beat down of Tartaglia.  Unfortunately, just under ten minutes into the matchup, The Beast would unexpectedly crack Mega over the head with the chain he usually wears around his neck, bringing to an end Mega’s dream of holding onto his first ECWA title.
 
Backstage, Mega was absolutely incensed over the fact that the ECWA championship – his first after a long career – was essentially stolen from him because of the actions of a man that he trusted.  When pressed about whether he would channel his rage toward winning back the title, Mega could only offer, “Osbourne…Osbourne…OSBOURNE!!!   All I can think about right now is getting my hands on The Beast!”
 
Could Osbourne’s attack on ally Mega be motivated purely by his own frustration with being left off the first card under ECWA’s new regime?  While it may seem like a strange, out-of-nowhere turn from the Glen Osbourne that ECWA fans have come to know and love over the years, the fact remains that Osbourne has gone through a lot of changes in recent months.  Just ask “The Hitman” Tony Stetson of ECWA’s now-sister promotion, the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA), who was also the victim of a surprising assault by The Beast several months back.  Is it the new era in ECWA that is bringing out the aggressiveness in Glen Osbourne?  Or can it be that this “new” personality is something The Beast has been burying in the ECWA for a long time?
 
Meanwhile, ECWA’s resident superhero Courageous Cruz will be enlisting the help of his own Justice League of sorts, as he contends with newcomers Cujo The Hellbound, Nicky Benz, and “The Living Legend” Larry Winters, as well as ECWA mainstays Mr. Scott Wright, Jason Leigh and Mr. Ooh La La, on Saturday, October 16th. Cruz, who went down in defeat to Cujo in a matchup marred by interference, was only saved when newcomers The Blue Meanie, Kid America, and Shockwave the Robot came to his aid. Because this four-star group leaves Cruz’s alliance one short, the courageous one vowed to reach out to a fellow superhero – and former WWE star – in The Hurricane.
 
Will the addition of Shane “Hurricane” Helms give Cruz’s Justice League the boost it needs when the men clash in a huge 10-man tag team match in October?! Or will the new dastardly alliance put an end to Cruz and his fellow super friends!
 
In other news, for more than a month, ECWA fans were wondering what … or more specifically WHO … had gotten into Jason Leigh. This past August, the promising young star renounced his home country – the good ol’ US of A – and pledged his allegiance to Canada’s Great White North, a declaration that would baffle Leigh’s fans and fellow wrestlers alike.  In spite of the sudden and surprising change, nobody could have ever predicted just what Leigh would soon have in store for the ECWA.  When Leigh introduced his new mentor, a true “Living Legend” of an inspiration in Larry Winters, so many at the Newark, Delaware’s Greater Boys’ and Girls’ Club had no idea just what they would be in for.  Just ask fans of the TWA. Winters is a seasoned veteran who has almost never seen eye to eye with the fans, and is much more apt to try to incite a crowd for his own personal jollies.  Make no mistake about it, however: the calculating Larry Winters always has a plan for everything he does.
 
When asked to comment on his plans for Jason Leigh, Winters would lash out, saying, “It is absolutely ridiculous that I am being criticized for trying to take a guy like Jason Leigh under my wing. He has all of the potential in the world, but he needed to stop pandering to those idiots in Newark and start looking at the bigger picture.”
 
Does Larry Winters see something special – a bigger picture – in the young Leigh, a longtime trainee under Jim Kettner?  Or could Leigh just be a pawn, perhaps part of a greater Winters’ plan to make a huge splash in the ECWA?  Either way, the seemingly naive young “Canadian” would be wise to watch his back.
 
Saturday was a rough night for two of ECWA’s most popular tandems, as The Heavyweights and Logans were each brutalized in an attack by the invading TWA tag team champions, The Best Around.  Of course, the rivalry between TBA and the Logans is well documented, and has been going on for months in the TWA, as the duos have battled several times over the TWA’s tag team championship.
 
Slightly more baffling is why Bruce Maxwell and TJ Cannon would choose to target the likeable team of Dan Eckos and Sean Royal.  According to Cannon, “There are two kinds of people we hate more than anything else: liars and thieves.”  To justify their actions in leaving The Heavyweights laid out TWICE in one evening, TBA claimed to be incensed that Dan Eckos and Sean Royal would use their theme music – “The Best” – for so long!  The also claimed that the Logans have been lying to the ECWA fans in Delaware for years, saying that they were the best tag team in wrestling.  The match – and subsequent attack also took its’ toll on ECWA Tag champions, with Bryan Logan actually suffering a broken hand that required immediate surgery.  Our wishes for a speedy recovery to Bryan Logan!
 
In other news from the show…Magnum with Press Agent Gus Grand named the first member of Magnum’s Modeling Agency (MMA), Travis Blake, following Blake’s loss to talented ECWA newcomer “Heart Killer” Chris Wylde.  Magnum glossed over Blake’s loss saying “the crowd was so ugly” that it distracted Blake, but promises he will help the first member of MMA (now being billed as “Simply Irresistible” Travis Blake) focus and start to show his true potential…”ECWA’s Grand Slam Champion” Aden Chambers scored an important win over the immensely popular Chase Del Monte in the first ever meeting between the two in the ECWA…SHOCKWAVE the Robot showed Mr. Scott Wright that you can’t judge a book by its cover, as the World’s Only Breakdancing, Wrestling Robot displayed enough wrestling skill to beat the former “2 time- 2 time’ ECWA Heavyweight Champion…and Nick Logan, still suffering from some necks problems, defeated the former ECWA Heavyweight Champion, strongman Bazooka Joe to successfully defend his Mid-
Atlantic Championship.
 
Full card was as follows:
 
ECWA, Newark, DE–ECWA newcomers The Red, White and Blue Express (The Blue Meanie and Kid America) defeated Mr. Ooh La La and a debuting “The Midnight Idol” Nicky Benz, pinning Benz [10:59] … Jason Leigh (with “The Living Legend” Larry Winters) pinned Corey Blaze [5:10] … Chris Wylde defeated Travis Blake [10:52] … newcomer Shockwave The Robot pinned Mr. Scott Wright following a top-rope legdrop [7:09] … a debuting Cujo the Hellbound defeated Courageous Cruz after interference by Benz and Ooh La La [6:22] … Aden Chambers pinned Chase Del Monte [7:25] … Mid-Atlantic champion Nick Logan retained his championship, defeating Bazooka Joe [6:18] … ECWA Tag champions Bryan and Matt Logan wrestled The Heavyweights (Dan Eckos and Sean Royal) to a no-contest, following interference from TWA Tag champions The Best Around [5:54] … “The A-Lister” Andrew Ryker pinned ECWA Heavyweight champion Mega to win the title, after guest referee Glen Osbourne hit Mega with a chain [8:59].(09/18/2010)