Mikey Whipwreck On Wrestling Fans Being Excited Again, Still Hearing "ECW" Chants
Many christened 2019 as a new era in pro wrestling as interest seemed to be rejuvenated close to what it was during the Monday Night Wars. Mikey Whipwreck was competing during that time, albeit with ECW, but he still has a great perspective on if we're experiencing another wrestling boom.
Whipwreck was asked about the current pro wrestling landscape when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily.
"People seem to be excited again. You have AEW. NWA is doing well. Ring of Honor is doing well as is WWE. When wrestling overall is doing well on a bigger scale, it helps the little guys too. You can see it here as the place is packed," Whipwreck said of an indie show in Bighamton, New York.
"The guys have more places to work and there's more alternatives for the fan. There's plenty of stuff out there. If you're a wrestling fan and you say you can't find something you wanna watch, you're not looking hard enough."
It's been 19 years since ECW closed its doors but you will still hear chants of "E-C-W" from time-to-time. Whipwreck talked about still hearing those chants almost 20 years later.
"It's crazy. I can figure 2002-03 as it's still fresh. But 2020 and they're still doing it? You never think about – as you're doing it ? the legacy you're leaving and the impact you have on people. This has stood the test of time even though Vince tried to kill it. You still get it so it's pretty cool," stated Whipwreck.
Ever since ECW and WCW closed up shop in 2001, there hasn't been a true competitor to WWE. That seemed to change with the formation of AEW in 2019 and Whipwreck discussed why they can be around for a long time to come.
"They have a lot of kids that are new and not used to doing television, and you can kinda tell. But their fans are behind the product. It's kinda like they have WCW money and ECW fans," said Whipwreck. "With the talent they have, there is no reason they can't blow up. I'm not saying that because it's the cool thing to say. It's true.
"The Khans are behind it 100 percent. Cody is a smart guy and The Bucks are smart. They know what works. If things are hitting on all cylinders and they strike on something, they've got it."
Whipwreck's full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon: by clicking here. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below, or viewed via the video player at the top: