![]() ![]() ![]() Following a match between Rhino and The Sandman, Rhino took a can of beer, chugged it and then whipped it in the direction of the invaders, essentially firing the first shot. Throughout the event, there were no disturbances caused beyond a few fans of the other promotion asking the wrestlers and valets for autographs and pictures. XPW talent that would be present at the show included stars The Messiah, Supreme, Homeless Jimmy, Kid Kaos, announcer Kris Kloss, and valet/porn star Kristi Myst. ECW instructed building security to ensure that any XPW signs or shirts were to be confiscated or turned inside out as they entered the arena, with the wrestlers being escorted to their seats, which happened to be on the ‘hard cam’ side, so they were not immediately on camera. Black had promised that none of his contracted wrestlers would cause any disturbance, and seeing as they bought their tickets like any other fan, they couldn’t simply be turned away. Claire had previously worked with XPW but was now on the ECW roster as she was dating The Blue Meanie. Claire to help point out XPW invaders as fans began to enter the arena. Knowing that XPW was planning to invade the Pay-Per-View, ECW enlisted the help of former porn star, Jasmine St. ![]() In an interesting twist, the tickets themselves were purchased by XPW producer Kevin Kleinrock, who would go on to be the creator of the doomed Wrestling Society X (read more about WSX here). Heat Wave 2000Īhead of the show, which took place at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, rumours began to abound that wrestlers from Xtreme Pro Wrestling were planning on attending the event, which was being held in their ‘backyard’ of Los Angeles. Following the controversial departure of ECW Champion Mike Awesome to WCW, ECW was in a rough spot, and the events that would unfold at Heat Wave 2000 put them in the headlines, and it was a crazy event. More than ever, ECW was truly the island of misfit toys they always referred to themselves as. Many established stars had already departed for greener pastures, with both The Dudley Boyz and Tazz having made their WWF debuts. As for ECW, they were unfortunately in a similar position going down the drain fast. Ongoing management and creative changes were sadly dooming the company to a point where Vince McMahon could buy them a year later for pennies on the dollar. WCW was heavily on its way down the drain, especially following the departure of the men who became known as The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko) early in the year. The same cannot be said for their competition. The year 2000 was a banner year for the World Wrestling Federation, despite their biggest star, Stone Cold Steve Austin, being on the shelf for most of the year. So, what would happen when a renegade promotion run by a porn mogul decided it was a good idea to invade and attempt a takeover of an ECW pay-per-view? In the summer of 2000, Rob Black’s XPW, a knock-off ECW at best, attempted to invade Heat Wave 2000, resulting in one of the strangest wrestling tales of the time. While we had the previous worked “invasion” by ECW on WWF programming, at this point in the history of the business, things were relatively set in their ways. At the time, three major promotions existed, ECW, WCW, and the WWF. Then we have the wrestling boom of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Robert Parker in WCW), territories would be taken over at gunpoint. ![]() If you go far enough back, territories used to work together by exchanging talent, but would also, famously in the words of Robert Fuller (better known as Col. In 2021, the “Forbidden Door” has been opened with relationships formed between different companies, most notably at the moment is that of AEW, IMPACT Wrestling, and even New Japan. As wrestling fans, an unspoken idea we all have is that of the ‘fantasy booker.’ We all want to see our favourite wrestlers battle against those in other promotions. ![]()
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