Extreme Championship Wrestling was never able to reach the same financial success as WWE or WCW, but it certainly cemented their legacy as a force to be reckoned with in professional wrestling. The hardcore style of wrestling was loved by many fans, but not every wrestler in the world was cut out for the Land of Extreme. In fact, only select few wrestlers were able to succeed in ECW, and not everyone made an appearance for the promotion.
Wrestlers like Rob Van Dam and The Sandman were synonymous with ECW, but others only came for a brief period. There are many legends of wrestling who did make their way through ECW's doors who fans do not associate with the extreme promotion. None of them stayed for a long time, but still can say that they lasted during ECW's hey day.
10 Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Following a storied career in WWE which made him a legend in the eyes of fans, Roberts made a brief appearance in the Land of Extreme, and received a big reaction from fans. Despite not having "hardcore" in his veins, Roberts' legendary career made him a big deal to the ECW faithful. He only wrestled one PPV tag team match alongside Tommy Dreamer and another house show for the promotion before disappearing into a dark point of his life. But he has thankfully emerged in AEW, where is looking healthier than ever. In total, Roberts has made three appearances in ECW, with one appearance in 1993, 1997, and 1998 respectively. His most famous appearance for the promotion was at ECW November to Remember '98 where he teamed with Dreamer to defeat Jack Victory and Justin Credible.
9 Scott Hall
Despite being synonymous with WWE as Razor Ramon, and being a founding member of the nWo, Scott Hall was not automatically picked up for a WWE contract around the Invasion. In fact, he was let go by WCW prior to the company folding, and wound up in ECW for a short stint doing house shows, but did not accomplish very much in the promotion.
Hall was certainly a recognizable name for the smaller company to acquire, but unfortunately substance abuse had turned him in to a shell of his former self. It would take a long time for Hall to pull himself together, and unfortunately ECW did not get the best of him.
8 Brian Pillman
As one of the most entertaining yet misunderstood wrestlers of the '90s, Brian Pillman was an enigma who was ahead of his time. On one hand, Pillman was a wrestler who no one ever understood if he was playing a character or not, which made him unpredictable to both fans and other wrestlers. On the other hand, Pillman was a wrestler who understood the business on a different level, which essentially led to him tricking WCW in to letting him defect to ECW. He appeared for the promotion on two occasions, with one tag team match in 1994, and an in-ring promo in 1996 which is still considered one of his best. Pillman departed for WWE after his stint in the Land of Extreme.
7 Scott D'Amore
Despite most fans knowing him today as either the manager of Team Canada or the Executive Vice President of Impact Wrestling, Scott D'Amore did have a well-traveled wrestling career before joining the office. As an independent wrestler, he worked for all three major promotions in his career, including two matches in ECW, which included one against ECW legend Sabu. D'Amore is not known for his in-ring career today, but it is one he should be proud of.
6 Sycho Sid
As the only former WWE Champion to work in ECW after his title reign, Sycho Sid appeared randomly for ECW during 1999. As a big name through his wrestling career, it was very surprising for ECW fans to see him appear for several matches on television, including where he would enter the ring and absolutely destroy current ECW wrestlers, like John Kronus and Skull Von Krush.
As one of ECW's last big surprises, Sid appeared for ECW in between stints for WWE and WCW, and it would only be a short pit stop for him in his career. Sid certainly filled the role of a legend looking to make a splash, and left as quickly as he arrived.
5 Christopher Daniels
Despite not having a contract with any of the three major promotions, Christopher Daniels has the feather in his cap that he did work for each of them in his career. As the flag bearer for independent wrestling, Daniels is a well-traveled machine who has wrestled for four decades, and even did a stint in ECW. With losses to Rhino and Sabu to his record, he may not be mentioned in the history books for these promotions, but he should be proud of his accomplishments.
4 Lita
Prior to becoming famous in WWE as Lita, she was known as Miss Congeniality in ECW for a very brief period. ECW did not have a women's division or championship in their time, so female wrestlers had little to compete for. Her ECW career was made up mainly of mixed-tag matches, and one singles match against Jazz, who she would feud with later in her WWE career.
However, Lita made enough of an impression during her time to help create opportunities for the future. Lita's pre-WWE legacy is not mentioned often, so few fans are aware of her extreme past.
3 Doink the Clown
Known as Matt Borne without the makeup on, Doink the Clown may have been a goofy character on the exterior, but fans today recognize that an "evil clown" was a gimmick ahead of its time. In fact, it is something that fit right in during the era of extreme. While his stint in ECW was short, Doink turned into "Borne Again" and tried to show fans how talented he was, despite wearing clown makeup during his WWE stint. Despite not being listed as one of the most "extreme alumni" in the promotion, Borne tried hard to separate himself from his WWE persona, and ECW was the place to do so.
2 Arn Anderson
As a legend from the NWA, WCW and WWE, and now manager in AEW, Arn Anderson has solidified his legacy as one of the best in-ring competitors in history. Usually leading the tag team division, Anderson has applied his trade to ECW for one match during 1994, which he was under contract with WCW. Terry Funk was also working for WCW at the time, but he was a pioneer for ECW and was able to create a scenario where they both appeared outside of WCW this one time.
1 Jerry Lawler
As one of the leading detractors of ECW - which he referred to as Extremely Crappy Wrestling many times - Jerry Lawler was a WWE invader who was looking to destroy ECW. Lawler has been a long-time WWE employee and semi-active wrestler and has had the ability to be one of the biggest bad guys when he wants to turn it on. This was no more evident than when he appeared for his two recorded matches in ECW in 1997, and was booed out of the building by ECW faithful each time.
For the WWE-produced ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view in 2006, Lawler returned to the Land of Extreme for one more match but was quickly submitted by Tazz via Tazzmission.