List of ECW World Television Champions

The ECW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship contested for in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was the secondary title of ECW.

Rob Van Dam is the longest reigning champion at 700 days.

Originally, ECW was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an organization with many member promotions. ECW withdrew as an NWA member in 1994.[1] The championship remained active until April 2001, when ECW filed for bankruptcy. All of ECW's assets were later purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in mid-2003, including the copyrights to ECW's championships.[2] In May 2006, WWE extended its promotion by adding ECW as a third additional brand, the others being Raw and SmackDown, in a brand extension.[3] The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was the only former ECW title to be recommissioned by WWE for the new brand.[4] While this championship remains decommissioned, its records are under the name "ECW Television Championship" on the official WWE website.[5]

Title reigns were determined by professional wrestling matches, often contested under hardcore wrestling regulations, with wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines or were awarded the title due to scripted circumstances. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a match or series of matches for the championship.[6]

As implied by its name, the championship could only be won on television or on pay-per-view events. The title was won in one Canadian municipality and in five American states. The inaugural champion was Johnny Hotbody, who defeated Larry Winters at a live event to win the title in August 1992. Rhino, who won the title in September 2000, was the final wrestler to hold the title before ECW filed for bankruptcy. 2 Cold Scorpio had the most reigns as champion, with four. At 700 days, Rob Van Dam's reign from 1998 to 2000 was the longest in the title's history. The Tazmaniac and 2 Cold Scorpio's reigns in 1994 were the shortest title reigns at less than one day. Overall, there were 31 title reigns.

Reigns

Names

NameYears
ECW Television ChampionshipAugust 12, 1992 – September 18, 1993
NWA-ECW Television ChampionshipSeptember 18, 1993 - August 27, 1994
ECW World Television ChampionshipAugust 27, 1994 – April 11, 2001

Reigns

Key
No.Overall reign number
ReignReign number for the specific champion
DaysNumber of days held
DefensesNumber of successful defenses
N/AUnknown information
<1Reign lasted less than a day
No.ChampionChampionship changeReign statisticsNotesRef.
DateEventLocationReignDaysDefenses
1Johnny HotbodyAugust 12, 1992Live eventPhiladelphia, PA131N/ADefeated Larry Winters for the vacant championship. Following outside interference; Hot Body originally won the match via disqualification after Winters hit referee John Finnegan but Tod Gordon ordered the match to continue; due to pre-match stipulations.[7]
VacatedSeptember 12, 1992Johnny Hotbody legitimately injured his ankle, and as a result, ECW forced him to relinquish the title.
Glen Osbourne[a]September 30, 1992Live eventPhiladelphia, PA[b]N/ADefeated Mr. Sandman for the vacant Championship.[8]
VacatedFebruary 1993ECW forced Glen Osbourne to vacate the title to set it up to be defended in a tournament after beginning its television show Hardcore TV.
2Jimmy SnukaMarch 12, 1993Hardcore TVRadnor, PA1203N/ADefeated Glen Osbourne in a tournament final. Aired on April 19, 1993, via broadcast delay.[9][10]
3Terry FunkOctober 1, 1993NWA Bloodfest: Part 1Philadelphia, PA143N/AAired on October 5, 1993, episode of Hardcore TV via broadcast delay.[11]
4Sabu November 13, 1993November to RememberPhiladelphia, PA1113N/AThis was a tag team match featuring Sabu and Road Warrior Hawk against Terry Funk and King Kong Bundy, with Sabu's ECW Heavyweight Championship also on the line.[12]
5The TazmaniacMarch 6, 1994Hardcore TVPhiladelphia, PA1<1N/AAired on March 15, 1994, via broadcast delay.[13]
6J.T. SmithMarch 6, 1994Hardcore TVPhiladelphia, PA141N/AAired on March 22, 1994, via broadcast delay.[14]
7The PitbullApril 16, 1994Live eventPhiladelphia, PA127N/A[15]
8Mikey WhipwreckMay 13, 1994Hardcore TVPhiladelphia, PA192N/AAired on May 17, 1994, via broadcast delay.[16]
9Jason August 13, 1994Hardcore HeavenPhiladelphia, PA183N/AAired on August 16, 1994, episode of Hardcore TV via broadcast delay.[17]
102 Cold ScorpioNovember 4, 1994Hardcore TVHamburg, PA1<1N/AAired on November 22, 1994, via broadcast delay.[18]
11Dean MalenkoNovember 4, 1994Hardcore TVHamburg, PA1134N/AAired on November 29, 1994, via broadcast delay.[19]
122 Cold ScorpioMarch 18, 1995Extreme WarfarePhiladelphia, PA221N/AAired on March 21, 1995, via broadcast delay.[20]
13Eddie GuerreroApril 8, 1995Three Way DancePhiladelphia, PA1104N/AAired on April 11, 1995, episode of Hardcore TV via broadcast delay.[21]
14Dean MalenkoJuly 21, 1995Hardcore TVTampa, FL27N/AAired on August 1, 1995, via broadcast delay.[22]
15Eddie GuerreroJuly 28, 1995Hardcore TVMiddletown, NY228N/AAired on August 8, 1995, via broadcast delay.[23][24]
162 Cold ScorpioAugust 25, 1995Live eventJim Thorpe, PA3126N/A[25]
17Mikey WhipwreckDecember 29, 1995Holiday HellNew York, NY27N/AThis was a match where Scorpio put both his World Television Championship and the ECW World Tag Team Championship held by Scorpio and The Sandman on the line.[26]
182 Cold ScorpioJanuary 5, 1996House PartyPhiladelphia, PA4127N/A[27]
19Shane DouglasMay 11, 1996A Matter of RespectPhiladelphia, PA121N/A[28]
20Pitbull #2 June 1, 1996Fight the PowerPhiladelphia, PA121N/A[29][30]
21Chris JerichoJune 22, 1996Hardcore HeavenPhiladelphia, PA121N/A[31][32]
22Shane DouglasJuly 13, 1996Heat WavePhiladelphia, PA232930This was a four-way dance also involving Pitbull #2 and 2 Cold Scorpio. Aired on July 23, 1996, episode of Hardcore TV via broadcast delay.[33]
23Taz June 7, 1997WrestlepaloozaPhiladelphia, PA226743[34]
24Bam Bam BigelowMarch 1, 1998Living DangerouslyAsbury Park, NJ1345[35]
25Rob Van DamApril 4, 1998Hardcore TVBuffalo, NY1700121Aired on April 8, 1998, via broadcast delay.[36]
VacatedMarch 4, 2000Philadelphia, PARob Van Dam was legitimately injured, and as a result, The Network forced him to relinquish the title.
26Super CrazyMarch 12, 2000Living DangerouslyDanbury, CT1278Defeated Rhino in a tournament final.[37][38]
27Yoshihiro TajiriApril 8, 2000ECW on TNNBuffalo, NY1141Aired on April 14, 2000, via broadcast delay.[39]
28Rhino April 22, 2000CyberSlamPhiladelphia, PA112611[40]
29Kid KashAugust 26, 2000Midtown MassacreNew York, NY1142Aired on September 8, 2000 on ECW on TNN, via broadcast delay.[41]
30Rhino September 9, 2000ECW on TNNMississauga, ON221410Rhino was the final wrestler to hold the title. Aired on September 21, 2000, via broadcast delay.[42]
DeactivatedApril 11, 2001ECW closed on April 4, 2001, and World Wrestling Entertainment purchased its assets in 2003.
Matt Cardona[c]January 14, 2022GCW Most Notorious111Cardona defeated Rhino for the championship. The next day he threw the title into a garbage can. This reign is not recognized since WWE owns the rights to the title.[43]

Combined reigns

Two-time and final champion Rhyno
Record four-time champion 2 Cold Scorpio
RankWrestlerNo. of
reigns
Combined
days
Combined days
rec. by WWE
1Rob Van Dam1700700
2Shane Douglas2350348
3Rhino2340338
42 Cold Scorpio4274271
5Taz2267266
6Jimmy Snuka1203202
7Dean Malenko2141139
8Eddie Guerrero2132130
Glen Osbourne124 - 151
9Sabu1113
10Mikey Whipwreck29997
11Jason18382
12Terry Funk14342
13J.T. Smith1419
14Bam Bam Bigelow13433
15Johnny Hotbody13130
16The Pitbull12726
Super Crazy12726
18Pitbull #212120
Chris Jericho12120
20Kid Kash11413
Yoshihiro Tajiri11413
Matt Cardona1

Notes

References

External links