Ask 411 Wrestling: How Much Did ECW Underpay Wrestlers?

Welcome guys, gals, and gender non-binary pals, to Ask 411 Wrestling. I am your party host, Ryan Byers, and I am here to answer some of your burning inquiries about professional wrestling.

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Tyler from Winnipeg has been left holding the bag:

No offense to Paul Heyman, an all time great, but with public records perhaps being available, how much money did he screw talent out of?

Yes and no. Probably the public record that comes closest to answering this question is the petition that ECW filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York when it pursued bankruptcy in early 2001.

As part of a bankruptcy petition, the company seeking bankruptcy must list all of the individuals or entities that it owes money to. So, ECW’s petition in fact contains the names of everybody who the company felt it was indebted to as it was going out of business.

Of course, this does not necessarily list everybody who ECW may have failed to pay throughout its existence, only those to whom it felt it actively owed money to at the end. For example, Lance Storm has regularly told a story about how he left the promotion over missed payoffs in 2000, but he is nowhere to be found among the names on the petition.

Below is a listing of the wrestlers who were named on ECDub’s initial bankruptcy petition and the amounts that ECW felt that they were owed. Keep in mind that this is data that ECW itself submitted, and it may or may not match the wrestlers’ claims of what they were owed. Also, there is a possibility that a portion of these sums were paid out when the WWF purchased ECW assets out of bankruptcy, though chances are good that they did not get paid anything in light of the substantial claims of other non-wrestler creditors or, if they did get paid, it was pennies on the dollar.

That said, here is the list, ranked from highest claim to lowest claim:

Robert Szatkowski (Rob Van Dam) – $150,000
Paul Heyman – $128,000
Thomas Laughlin (Tommy Dreamer) – $100,000
Joseph Bonsignore (Joey Styles) – $50,480
Terry Gerin (Rhyno) – $50,000
Troy Martin (Shane Douglas) – $48,000
Francine Fournier – $47,275
James Maritato (Little Guido) – $25,000
Michael DePoli (Roadkill) – $21,250
Don Callis – $12,000
John Watson (Mikey Whipwreck) – $12,000
Patrick Kenney (Simon Diamond) – $9,000
Dawn Marie Psalpis – $9,000
Peter Polaco (Justin Credible) – $7,990
Lou D’Angeli (Sign Guy Dudley/Lou E. Dangerously) – $7,000
William Alfonso – $5,000
Francisco Islas (Super Crazy) – $5,000
Yoshihiro Tajiri – $5,000
Michael Bucci (Nova) – $4,000
John Rechner (Balls Mahoney) – $4,000
Dan Morrison (Danny Doring) – $2,100
Donna Adamo (Elektra) – $1,800
William Wiles – $1,000
Carlene Moore (Jazz) – $1,000
Charles Spencer (Tony Mamaluke) – $600
Anthony DeVito – $500
Will Jones (Chilly Willy) – $500
Thomas Marquez (Prodigy) – $500
Angel Medina – $500
Christopher Wright (C.W. Anderson) – $500
Salvatore Valente (Sal E. Graziano) – $400
Chris Hamrick – $300
Jason Broyles (EZ Money) – $300
Matt Knowles (Referee HC Loc) – $300

That would be a grand total of $710,295 in unpaid compensation to wrestling personalities, but that still might not be everything. In addition to what is listed above, ECW’s bankruptcy petition stated that Terry Brunk (Sabu) and Steve Corino each had claims for $0 – presumably meaning that Brunk and Corino claimed that they were owed something but ECW disagreed – while several more wrestlers were listed as having “unknown” claims, those being Scott Antol (Scotty Riggs/Scotty Anton), Joseph Dorgan (Johnny Swinger), James Fullington (Sandman), Matt Hyson (Spike Dudley), Jerry Lynn, James Mitchell, and Jerome Young (New Jack).

Referees John Finnegan, Mike Kehner, and Jim Molineaux were also listed as having “unknown” claims against the company.

There were three other quick notes from the bankruptcy petition that I thought fans might be interested in. First, Atlas Security was listed as being owed $14,068. Second, a claim for Erich Kulas – a.k.a. Mass Transit – was listed, though it was not a claim for pay as was the case with the other wrestlers above. Instead, it was a claim of unknown value for “alleged personal injuries,” meaning that at the time of the filing he was still seeking financial compensation for the infamous Mass Transit Incident. Finally, there is a section of the petition in which ECW is required to list any co-debtors on any monies owed. In that section, they listed Thomas Laughlin (again, Tommy Dreamer) as being a co-debtor on a $14,455.14 loan from Ford. In other words, ECW bought a vehicle and had Tommy Dreamer co-sign on the loan – or, I suppose, vice versa.

And there you have it. It’s not a perfect record, but it’s probably the best estimation possible of how much money ECW owed to wrestlers when it went under.

Alex is death-positive:

Can you do a complete history of . . . the Urn! It’s made it’s way through many different eras, been associated with several legends, and had many moments. If you can do a chronological timeline and hit upon all of the significant points like its debut, times it played into matches, did anything supernatural, had moments besides just being carried to and from the ring without incident, changes in appearance, changes of possession / wrestler association, final time it was used, and any other fun facts!

I don’t mean to cop out on your question, but, as I started to do research to come up with any answer, I came across a pre-existing article that essentially does everything that you’re asking me to . . . so why bother re-writing something that has already been written?

Instead, I’ll direct you over to a blog entry from a gentleman by the name of Nick Graffis. Thanks for the assist, Nick, wherever you may be.

Night Wolf the Wise knows that this is not a democracy, it’s a cheer-ocracy:

What are your thoughts of the NWA system of voting on who the Heavyweight Champion was?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DjeTmFnTeg

It was the only rational way to do it. During the time period you’re talking about, the NWA was not one unified company as the modern version is but rather a confederation of separate companies. All of them had the ability to book dates for the NWA Champion, and, in that era, having the right NWA Champion come through could significantly bump up the attendance and therefore profits for a show. As a result, every one of these separate companies who were NWA members had an interest in making sure that the best possible champion was selected. Given that determining whether a given wrestler will be a draw is more of an art than a science, reasonable individuals can have differing opinions on who will do best in the role. When you’re dealing with numerous wrestling promoters from throughout the country (and to a lesser extent the world) who are all likely to have strong opinions on the matter, putting a selection like this to a vote is the most reasonable means of making a selection.

The only other option that I could think of would be to have the singular NWA president make a selection, but that just seems like an invitation to all sorts of in-fighting and folderol.

Memphis B-Rad is all sunshine and rainbows:

You just ran the 10 worst decisions in WWE history. Let’s give the devil his due. What are the 10 best decisions the company has ever made? And it doesn’t matter why they made the decision. For example, shooting Austin to the top probably was an act of desperation, but they still did it.

For the sake of reference, the column B-Rad is B-Asing his question on is here.

That said, here is what I would consider the promotion’s ten best decisions, listed in no particular order:

1. Instituting the Wellness Policy
2. Providing drug rehab to former wrestlers
3. Establishing and maintaining a longstanding partnership with the Mike A Wish Foundation
4. Platforming the New Day during their commentary on the BLM movement
5. Running the “Headlock on Hunger” campaign for Somali famine relief
6. Regularly going out of their way to provide special experiences for developmentally disabled fans
7. Providing a locker room where multiple LGBT wrestlers felt comfortable – as far back as the 1970s
8. Pushing Latin American stars as far backs the 1950s
9. Firing Jack Gallagher, Travis Banks, and Ligero
10. Employing retired wrestlers after their primes

This was a much harder list to come up with than the worst decisions list, but that’s probably because I’m a cynic at heart.

HBK’s Smile has two tickets to Rio:

Your last column referenced the Wrestlemania IV title tournament. Was this this first non-phantom tournament in WWE history? If so, why was the WWE only willing to have phantom tournaments and not real ones up to this point?

Wrestlemania IV took place on March 27, 1988, and by my count there are at least six tournaments that legitimately took place in WWE history prior to that. Three of them were King of the Ring tournaments, which took place on July 8, 1985 with Don Muraco winning, July 14, 1986 with Harley Race winning, and September 4, 1987 with Randy Savage winning a couple of years before he officially became the “Macho King.”

The WWF also ran a tournament to honor legendary St. Louis territory promoter Sam Muchnik at the Kiel Auditorium on August 29, 1986. Harley Race won the sixteen-man affair, which was fitting because he was one of the top stars to be booked by Muchnik prior to joining the World Wrestling Federation.

Also – and you’ll probably kick yourself for not remembering this one, the WWF’s first real foray into pay per view was based around a tournament. I’m talking about the November 7, 1985 Wrestling Classic show, in which sixteen men battled it out in a single elimination affair with the winner being promised a new Rolls Royce. The Junkyard Dog emerged victorious, though I never heard any follow-up on whether he actually received the car.

“But wait!” I can hear somebody in the comment section preemptively screaming. “Even though he didn’t expressly say it, HBK’s Smile was clearing referring to tournaments for a championship belt!”

Well, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered there too.

On August 9, 1980, WWWF Champion Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales defeated the Wild Samoans in Shea Stadium to become the WWWF Tag Team Champions. However, Backlund’s time as “Bobby Two Belts” was short-lived, as Federation rules stated that nobody was allowed to hold more than one championship. Backlund and Morales thus vacated the Tag Titles, and new champions were crowned in a tournament held between August 20 and September 9, 1980.

Six teams entered the competition, with the first round seeing Dominic DeNucci & Rick Martel defeat Johnny Rodz & Mikel Scicluna in addition to Tony Garea & Rene Goulet besting Johnny Rodz & Jose Estrada. Yes, you read that right. Johnny Rodz was somehow on two teams in the same tournament. I am not sure whether there was any kayfabe explanation for that or if it was just one of those moments where they hoped fans would not be paying too close of attention. Two teams also received byes to the second round, those being the Wild Samoans and the duo of Black Demon & Sylvano Sousa. (I’m investigating whether Black Demon was just Johnny Rodz under a mask.) The Samoans were successful against DeNucci & Martel, but Demon & Sousa fell to Garea & Goulet. Then, in the finals, the Samoans beat Garea & Goulet to once again become the WWWF Tag Team Champions and bring us back to exactly where we were before Backlund & Morales won the titles.

From tournaments to battles royale! It seems like a logical progression to me, and it’s all thanks to Mark J.:

I was recently browsing cagematch.de and stumbled upon a massive 159-man battle royal. Surely this has to be some sort of record for largest Battle Royal of all time. Also, what is the largest WWE battle royal? Thank you!

World War III 159 Man Battle Royal: Scorpio Sky defeats Adam Ryder and Aiden Riley and Amanda and Andre Machievski and Andrew Hellman and Angel el Exotico and Ann Arkiss and Axe Hammer and Babi Slymm and Bart Kapitzke and Billy Blade and Black Sawyer and Blood Eagle and Bobby Ramos and Brandon Parker and Buggy and C-Love and C. Edward Vander Pyle and Cedric Barr and Charles Mercury and Chimaera and Chris Kadillak and Chris Lyonz and Cincinnati Red and Claudia del Solis and Crayz and Cyanide and D-Unit and David E. Jones and David Frazier and Davis King and Devan Lynch and Diablo and Diamond Azul and DK Murphy and Dr. Maldad and Dragon Mask and Drew Gabrial and Drunken Uncle Ronnie and Eddie Mattson and Edgar Von Hammersmark and El Delicioso and El Moblin and Enigma de Oro and Ethan Reed and Evan Jelik and Extreme Loco and Famous B and Foob Dogg and Freddy Bravo and Harry Murkin and Hawk Jones and Hector Canales and Human Tornado and Hunter Matthews and Incendio Calavera and Jacob Diez and Jalen Wu and James Morgan and Jarek Matthews and Jason Watts and Jenna Lynne and Jeremy Jaeger and Jesse Nahara and Jezabel and Joey Dynamite and Joey Ryan and John Hudson and Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Paradise and Johnny Yuma and Jon Ian and Josh Worthy and Kadin Anthony and Kaos and Kayam and Kid Caramba and King Jakal and Kitana Vera and Krystal Van Voorhis and Kyle Haystacks and Leo Blaze and Leroy and Lex Lucco and Lil Cholo and Lil Nate and Little Gino and Logan X and Lucha Machine and Mad MacIntosh and Maldad Loco and Matt Collins and Matt Sinister and Mikey Callahan and Mondo Vega and Monte Maldito and Mr. Impact and Nelson Creed and Nick Lovin and Nick Madrid and Night Shadow and Omar Duncan and Orion and Oso Loco and Peter Avalon and Piloto Suicida and Pinky Santino and Randy Van Stone and Ray Murillo and Ray Rosas and Ricky Mandel and Ridiculoso Blanco and Rising Son and Roadhouse and Roger Ruiz and Ronin and Ronnie Thrash and Ron Rivera and Ruben Iglesias and Ryan Kidd and Ryan Ramos and Ryan Stone and Ryan Taylor and Sam Knight and Sexy Chino and Shamu Jr. and Shane Ballard and Shannon Ballard and Sindarin and Sinner and Skymon and SoCal Crazy and Sunami and T-Rent and Tab Jackson and Tank Alvarado and TARO and Terex and The Amazing Web and The Awesome Plague and The BC Killer and The Stepfather and Thomas Quentin and ThunderKitty and Tim Allen and Todd Chandler and Tommy Kim and Tommy Misfit and Tommy Wilson and Ultra Taro and Van Acid and Vance Lamborghini and Vintage Dragon and Viper Valentine and Washington Wayne and Willie Mack and Yyan Nakano and Zokre

For what it’s worth, the battle royale that Mark is referencing took place on June 19, 2010 in Rowland Heights, California for a promotion called “Alternative Wrestling Show” or AWS. The show was called “Bart’s Birthday Bash” in reference to promoter Bart Kaptizke. AWS was a staple of the SoCal independent scene for over fifteen years, but they haven’t run a show since late 2019 – and that’s not just a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. AWS announced in November 2019 that its show that month would be its last for the foreseeable future.

Though I’m open to any corrections, I’ve been unable to find a larger battle royale in wrestling history. I did learn that, on September 2, 2018, West Virginia indy promotion Black Diamond Wrestling partnered with Ohio indy promotion Mega Championship Wrestling to promote what they referred to as a “Guinness World Records Largest Battle Royale” with 109 competitors, though that’s still a fair amount smaller than the 159-person match. (Also, I was unable to find any reference on Guinness’s website to this bout holding any sort of official world record.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ZpcLjiOcc

Similarly, beginning on December 31, 2009 and bleeding over into January 1, 2010, Japanese independent promotions Big Japan Wrestling, DDT, and Kaientai Dojo teamed up for a traditional New Years Eve show that the some combination of indy companies have held in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. That year’s installment of the show was headlined by a 108-wrestler battle royal, which I actually reviewed for this site not long after it happened.

Moving to the WWE aspect of the question, they have really not gotten on to the bandwagon of obscenely large battles royale. What the company billed as its largest battle royale in history involved just 41 men and occurred on a random episode of Smackdown that was taped on October 11, 2011 and aired the following October 14. Randy Orton won the match, with the stipulation being that he earned a title shot of his choosing in the show’s main event. He used that to challenge World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry, a match that he won via disqualification due to interference from Cody Rhodes.

Interestingly, on December 5, 2011, WWE had another 41-man battle royale, which was a post-show dark match following an episode of Monday Night Raw, with the winner getting an immediate title shot against then-WWE Champion CM Punk. Dolph Ziggler was the winner of that battle royale, though obviously Punk got the better of him in the subsequent match.

That will do it for this week’s installment of the column. We’ll return in seven-ish days, and, as always, you can contribute your questions by emailing [email protected]. You can also leave questions in the comments below, but please note that I do not monitor the comments as closely as I do the email account, so emailing is the better way to get things answered.