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Given the anniversary of ECW Barely Legal is coming up, I have some questions:
Were there any dark matches before the show?
Yes. JT Smith and Chris Chetti defeated the FBI while Louie Spicoli defeated Balls Mahoney.
On the show, Brian Lee turned on the Triple Threat but then disappeared. What happened here?
What happened is Lee left the company and later popped up in WWF. Originally, he wasn't even supposed to be part of that segment. He was slated to attack Tommy Dreamer in the balcony during Terry Funk vs. Raven and be chokeslammed off through several tables. Unfortunately, he broke his collarbone a few weeks before, so the show was rewritten to where Big Dick Dudley took his spot and he was under the mask and turned on The Triple Threat, kissing Francine.
Why was Reggie Bennett on this show and never used again?
Remember everything I wrote about Brian Lee above? The original plan was for Bennett to be in the mask and Rick Rude's robe and to kiss Francine, so ECW would slip a lesbian kiss onto the show with the idea that Francine liked it to further have Rude screw with Shane Douglas. Where the story would go from there, I have no idea as the story never happened, but that was the original idea. No idea why Bennett was never brought back, but given she was from the West Coast at the time, it probably wasn't cost-effective for ECW.
Is there any footage from after the show?
No, because as has been famously discussed and written about, the generators blew out seconds after the PPV went off the air. Nothing worked, so nothing was documented, which is a shame as it really was one of the best moments in the history of the building. Everyone was celebrating. Joey Styles was jumping up and down from where he announced the show and then ran through the building to his wife. Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman hugged on the stage. Heyman came out and without a mic, addressed the crowd, who all stood quietly and listened. Then, all the babyfaces came out and celebrated in the ring. It was a cool moment. I think that because it's preserved in my memory and not on tape, it's probably my favorite moment ever in the building.
Why did ECW never do another PPV there?
The generator was a one factor. Another factor was that at the time, the PPV companies wanted the shows to be from major venues. ECW fought to have the first one at the Arena, feeling the audience deserved it because of their loyaltly. I don't believe there was ever another PPV live in the venue until ROH did one a few years ago.
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