November 15, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: ECW November to Remember review, Dynamite Kid book, more
After what is billed as its showcase event of the year, Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling seems to have settled into a niche where it looks less likely than ever to achieve status as a truly competitive No. 3 office. In the same breath, it also appears to have survived the financial problems early in the year that threatened to put it out of business.
It is a very distant third national promotion. Its TV ratings on its best day come reasonably close to WCW’s lowest rated show on its worst day. Its PPV on its best day come close to WCW’s lowest rated PPV in its history. In its best cities, it can draw close to, on a good day what WCW, when it recently hit rock bottom, did at its lowest. It has some good wrestlers, but for whatever reason, with the exception of a few, they are people that the big two don’t seem to want. It has changed wrestling and pioneered the more sex-driven presentation that has put WWF’s popularity through the roof. But someone else is deriving the gold from its concepts.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.