Hardcore History by Scott E. Williams

Author:Scott E. Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2011-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

POWER STRUGGLE

The big companies had ways to keep their talent in place. More than one person close to the wrestlers said Vince McMahon had friends in the Tampa-area real-estate market. When wrestlers signed with the WWF, McMahon would put them in touch with those realtors, who would often sell wrestlers homes in the area. With the wrestlers now locked into making house payments, they could not afford to leave or defy the boss and risk getting fired. Bills have a way of making even the most ornery wrestlers compliant.

Heyman had no such contacts, and ECW was anything but the home of high-dollar, long-term guaranteed contracts. In 1997, Gordon tried to take advantage of that fact by attempting a coup that would have devastated ECW.

In 1997 Gordon was trying to sell WCW’s Terry Taylor on the idea of Gordon coming to work for WCW, doing an “ECW invasion,” similar to the New World Order concept as a force of wrestlers invading WCW. Taylor loved the idea and asked Gordon what Heyman thought.

In one of the most telling moments of the Forever Hardcore documentary DVD that came out in 2004, Taylor said that Gordon told him that Heyman could not know what was going on under any circumstances.

Heyman’s discovery of Gordon’s plan was the end of not only the plan, but of Tod Gordon in ECW.

The group Gordon was looking to take was to be The Sandman, Perry Saturn, and Bill Alphonso. Gordons crucial mistake was including two men who proved more loyal to Heyman than Gordon had anticipated. Not long after Sabu and Rob Van Dam were approached about Gordons plan, both of them, independent of one another, called Heyman to tell him what was happening.

Sabu evidently smelled a rat, while Van Dam simply seemed to be happy with his spot as a top villain who was on his way to becoming ECW’s top babyface in an environment where he would not have to tone down his act or his style. He also likely remembered that Heyman had stood up for him in the face of Vince McMahon, the most powerful wrestling promoter in the country. Displays of loyalty to that degree were rare in wrestling, and Van Dam reciprocated.

Heyman received a couple of other calls from wrestlers who seemed eager to flip on Gordon, which gave him all the proof he needed.

A few days later, Sabu got a telephone call. It was Heyman, who informed Sabu that he was on speaker and that Sabu did “not want to know” who was in the room with Heyman. According to various accounts that audience consisted of Heyman, Dreamer, Taz, and Buh Buh Ray Dudley, among others.

Heyman asked who approached Sabu.

Sabu replied, “Tod Gordon.”

And who was Gordon talking to in WCW?

“Terry Taylor.”

Heyman then called Van Dam with his audience of wrestlers still intact. Van Dam gave the exact same answers. Some still did not want to believe Gordon was planning to sell ECW down the river, but the next bit of evidence left no room for doubt.

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