ECW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)

From The Lost Media Wiki
Revision as of 21:55, 24 January 2023 by SpaceManiac888 (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search
Merch
Discord
Patreon
Forums
Ecwe320001.jpg

Rhino delivering a piledriver to Roadkill.

Status: Partially Found

From 11th-13th May 2000, the 2000 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) convention occurred at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Among gaming organisations in attendance included Acclaim, who showcased a number of new titles including ECW Anarchy Rulz. To promote this game, professional wrestlers from Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) competed in matches on the first two days of the show.

Background

Acclaim's relationship with ECW solidified earlier in 2000 when the company released ECW's first game, ECW Hardcore Revolution, for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Colour and Dreamcast.[1] Selling over 600,000 units within a few weeks of release,[2] it inspired Acclaim to publish a sequel. This sequel was ECW Anarchy Rulz, which was released in mid-2000 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast to generally negative reception by critics.[3]

To promote this game among others it had in development, Acclaim attempted to make a strong presence at E3 2000, the largest annual computing game trade event. To do this, Acclaim enlisted the usage of various celebrities.[4] Among those included boxer George Foreman for HBO Boxing, and supercross bikers Jeremy McGrath and Pastrana for Jeremy McGrath Motocross 2000.[5] The main attraction throughout the first two days however would be various ECW matches taking place.[4]

Approximately ten ECW wrestlers competed in matches, while also gaining the opportunity to play the advertised game. Among those known to have attended included Roadkill, Tommy Dreamer, Cyrus, Steve Corino and Rhino.[6] According to IGN, matches occurred on an hourly basis.[7] Rhino notably defended his ECW World Heavyweight Championship against Roadkill, with ladders, garbage cans, cookie trays, a Nintendo 64 controller and even a standee of Chef from South Park.[6] Dreamer and Corino also competed in singles action, with Cyrus providing live commentary. Based on photos provided by Giant Bomb, Dreamer also fought Simon Diamond, while Corino defended a title against Kid Kash.[8]

Availability

Photos of both the wrestling action and the presentation itself have publicly resurfaced.[8]However, actual footage of the matches is scarce. Nevertheless, on 22nd August 2021, YouTuber Fumancheese uploaded over two-and-a-half hours of E3 2000 footage. Among the footage contains clips of the Dreamer-Corino match. Additionally, while attention was focused on Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, the entrances of Corino and Dreamer could be heard, with the former cutting a promo.

Analysis of the video also shows that official cameras were on hand to record footage of the matches. The whereabouts of this footage is unknown, with both Acclaim and ECW having ceased to exist by the early 2000s.[9][10] If the latter owned the footage, it is possible that it could still exist within the WWE's library, with WWE having acquired the ECW tape library in January 2003.[11]

Gallery

Video

Fumancheese's footage of E3 2000 (ECW audio begins at 32:30, with footage of the Dreamer-Corino match occurring from 38:14-40:33)

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Archived Acclaim page detailing the releases of ECW Hardcore Revolution. Retrieved 22 Dec '21
  2. ↑ Archived Acclaim press release detailing ECW Hardcore Revolution's commercial success. Retrieved 22 Dec '21
  3. ↑ Metacritic score for the PlayStation version of ECW Anarchy Rulz. Retrieved 22 Dec '21
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 IGN reporting on the celebrity line-up for Acclaim's E3 2000 presentation, including ECW exhibitions. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  5. ↑ IGN listing the games Acclaim were to showcase at E3 2000. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Archived Acclaim detailing the Rhino-Roadkill match. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  7. ↑ IGN noting matches occurred every hour. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Giant Bomb providing photos of the event. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  9. ↑ IGN reporting on Acclaim folding. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
  10. ↑ IGN reporting on ECW folding. Retrieved 22 Dec '21
  11. ↑ Pro Wrestling Stories noting WWE purchased ECW's tape library in January 2003. Retrieved 22nd Dec '21
Retrieved from "https://lostmediawiki.com/w/index.php?title=ECW_at_E3_2000_(partially_found_footage_of_professional_wrestling_at_gaming_trade_event;_2000)&oldid=206129"