The Hammerstein Ballroom has long been associated with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, while WWE and WCW were battling for ratings dominance during the Monday Night Wars, ECW was seen as the gritty, rebellious alternative to the mainstream fair of Hulk Hogan or The Rock. Guys like Mike Awesome, Sabu, Sandman, RVD, Jazz, Justin Credible, New Jack, Taz, Raven, and Tommy Dreamer would tear it up in insane creative match-ups, along with drawing in influences from Japanese and Lucha Libre style wrestling. Their shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom are still discussed throughout their vast history. The stadium became so synonymous with ECW that even after getting bought out by WWE, they knew they had to host their ECW tribute shows, One Night Stand, at the Ballroom.
Since WWE’s declining influence as a wrestling monopoly, the rise of AEW, and the independent wrestling boom of the 2010s, only one company today feels like it captured ECW’s essence while still building its own identity. That promotion is GCW. Combining deathmatches, a more progressive accessibility with diverse wrestlers, and just delivering great stories and matches, GCW cultivated a loyal fanbase as one of the most popular independent promotions today. You could hear “GCW” chants outside the Hammerstein; everyone was hyped for this show.
