WWE

The birth of Extreme - Aug. 27, 1994: photos

On Aug. 27, 1994 at the ECW Arena, the landscape of sports-entertainment changed forever when Shane Douglas threw down his newly won NWA World Heavyweight Title and proclaimed himself the first-ever ECW Champion, ushering in the era of Extreme.

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After winning a tournament to be crowned the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Shane Douglas delivered a scathing diatribe both honoring and criticizing the history of the title.

Upon reaching the conclusion of his speech, Douglas threw down the title and picked up the ECW Championship instead.

The Franchise proclaimed himself the new ECW Champion, but the "E" no longer stood for Eastern. ECW was now Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Douglas faced off with 2 Cold Scorpio in the finals of the tournament.