It's official, Hell has finally frozen over. Extreme Championship Wrestling has a rebirth, if only for one or two nights, the extreme action, which caused an epidemic change in the history of wrestling, has another night in the spotlights. Slowly seeing the progression of the reforming of this once dead organization has been not only a step into the past, but something to think over. What exactly has this company done to make its name known in the history books of this great sport"

Where to begin. Let's start with something small, one is the women. Before ECW, the women didn't always come out looking like they were craving tips from a pole in the middle of the stage, they looked at least clothed, somewhat. But the one thing that these women did accomplish is that they showed how strong a personality that each one of these ladies possessed and the courage that they had to go out and give their all along with the men that they walked to the ring each match night.

Next is the caliber of wrestlers that graced the screen each Friday night on then TNN, now Spike TV, along with the pay-per-views that started with Barely Legal. In that night alone, ECW showed their hand when it came to the wrestling poker match. Not only did they bring forth new champions, but a new vision of what the future of wrestling would have to compete with. The caliber of wrestlers that entered the ring would show a new generation that wrestlers did not always have to be 6'10" tall, 300 pounds and be a blonde guitar playing politician. Wrestlers could actually wrestle or they could go out to the ring and show a match that none could compete with. That night, the mold was broken. The Rob Van Dam's, the Lance Storm's, the Shane Douglas's and the Sabu's of the wrestling world showed that they could actually put on a show without having a fifteen minute pose down for the Japanese photographers. The new generation was leaner, stronger and faster than the generation of the 80s where monsters wrestled for ten minutes and then were gasping for air, innovation was born.

The style of matches also decided to change. As some of the shows over the last couple of weeks have graced UPN and SpikeTV, the ECW buildup included some "ECW" style matches. The garbage cans, the kendo sticks, the tables; all of these instruments have shown the true meaning of an ECW style match, put everything inside your heart into the match, even if it includes props. These extra instruments of destruction added something to the match but it also took away from the pureness of the sport. This extra heart that came forth changed the outlook on the future of wrestling. From independent wrestling arenas to WCW to WWF/WWE, each company realized that when this company made it mainstream, change was in the makings and it wasn't going to go away easily. This company showed heart, but it lacked the one thing that most wrestling companies need to survive, the almighty dollar. While it has come to the surface that the McMahon family helped to fund ECW for a short period of time, the money didn't last long, but the talent that the company produced did.

With several of the ECW mainstream wrestlers still wrestling with WWE, that company showed that not every wrestler has to be the monster that needs to be ran from when a noise happens in the night. The ones to worry about is the one standing in the corner with a gleam in their eye and a fight in their heart. That's what to worry about, and if they happen to have the table pulled up from the floor, that doesn't hurt either.

So this Sunday, Extreme Championship Wrestling will once again hit the airwaves just over five years from its first pay-per-view. This time, not only with unlimited funds, the independent circuit will have some of ECW's alumni taking the spotlight. But not before one ECW alum has his chance to shine. Yes, ECW will have its pay-per-view, but Shane Douglas will have his Hardcore Homecoming. Douglas put on the show on June 10th, to prove that WWE isn't the only place to show ECW's prime. Tracy Smothers with Tommy Rich and J. T. Smith took on The Blue Meanie; CW Anderson & Simon Diamond took on Chris Chetti and Mikey Whipwreck; Kid Kash took on 2 Cold Scorpio; Justin Credible with Jason took on the returning Jerry Lynn (Welcome back Jerry!); Raven took on Sandman, Terry Funk vs. Shane Douglas w/ Francine vs. Sabu w/ Bill Alfonso topped the card. For more information, check online at www.hardcorehomecoming.com

WWE will have a hard act to follow with this lineup. So far, ECW's One Night Stand has released the following matches for Sunday night. Lance Storm with Dawn Marie will take on Chris Jericho. In Extreme Luchador Action, Rey Mysterio will be taking on Psicosis. Super Crazy will be in a triple threat luchador match against Tajiri with Sinister Minister and Little Guido. Eddie Guerrero will take on Chris Benoit. Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman will team up to take on The Dudley Boyz. Other ECW Stars will be in attendance including Paul Heyman, Tazz, Spike Dudley, Al Snow with Head, Sabu, Balls Mahoney, Danny Dorning, Roadkill, C. W. Anderson, Rhyno, Joel Gertner, Axl Rotten, Justin Credible, Kid Kash, Masato Tanaka, Mikey Whipwreck with Sinister Minister, The BWO (Big Stevie Cool, Hollywood Nova, and the Blue Guy) and the pay-per-view return of Rob Van Dam. For more information on the ECW pay-per-view, contact the local cable company or log on at www.ecw-onenightstand.com

This weekend is an extreme wrestling fans dream. Make sure to at least check out what company helped to change the face of wrestling. For any comments or feedback, feel free to email me at [email protected].

by Lekisha F. Oliver ------ http://www.belleofthebrawl.com..