Story 2 - An Extreme Memory

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Every November a bit of sadness creeps into me. The changing weather and end of the baseball season are not the cause for this sadness. Inevitably there is a rainy November day and I am inclined to play Guns 'n' Roses' greatest song, "November Rain."

This amazing love ballad does not evoke memories of a lost love in the common sense. "November Rain" reminds me of Extreme Championship Wrestling. Every November, ECW held a big event entitled "November to Remember." Each year prior to the big show, ECW would compile a November Rain video montage. The video contained clips of current ECW events mixed in with actual footage from the November Rain music video.

When ECW ran it's last show in January 2001, a huge part of my interest in wrestling was gone forever. I loved every aspect of ECW (including the bad stuff...usually). So when I hear the emotion-filled raw vocals of Axl Rose, I recall one of the most amazing nights of my entire life.

November 5, 2000 - The Odeum in Villa Park, IL - ECW November to Remember 2000.

Three years ago today was the last ECW show I attended. I only remember two matches from the show. The first was a match with Nova (my second-favorite ECW wrestler at the time) against his former tag team partner Chris Chetti. Nova won, if my memory is accurate, with a Kryptonite Krunch from the middle rope. As a Nova fan, I was happy to see him win the match live.

The real amazing moment came at the end of the night. The match was a very interesting concept. It was essentially two matches at one time for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Jerry Lynn, Justin Credible, The Sandman, and Steve Corino competed in the match. Once each mini-match ended, the two winners would immediately face off for the title. The concept was innovative and the match itself was one of the better matches in ECW's final days.

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Steve Corino. For those of you who don't know, I got the "Old School" gimmick from Corino. There's speculation the bleach-blonde JD even had hair influences from Corino. I digress.

I let myself be a total mark during that match. It was a toss-up as to who would win the match. Corino was the only one that never held the ECW World title. The match came down to Corino and Credible. Then it happened... Corino hit Credible with a superkick and covered him for the three count. My favorite wrestler at the time (Raven will always be my favorite wrestler of all-time, but WWF was in the process of ruining him so I was more exposed to Corino) just won the biggest match of his life. As live events go, that was the single biggest mark out moment ever.

I can not describe the feeling as Corino stood there holding the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. He was hardly the most popular guy in that match. He got a decent reaction, but nobody was marking harder than I was. I did not care. The feeling is the same feeling I got in early February 2002 when the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. It was like a part of me won that match just like a part of me was a Super Bowl Champion. It is the same feeling Cubs fans would have felt if their team didn't choke. Oh, TAG!

I miss ECW. All that is left are tapes, DVDs, and the ruined careers of former ECW guys that Vince McMahon could not handle. I'll save Vince for another time, but let me tell you, the guy is clueless sometimes.

If I hadn't seen that November to Remember live, it would have been a regret I'd never forget. Thank you Paul E. Thank you Extreme Championship Wrestling. As Axl Rose sings, "So never mind the darkness/We still can find a way/'Cause nothin' lasts forever/Even cold November rain." EC-Dub, EC-Dub, EC-Dub....