Founder of ECW, Tod Gordon, Hospitalized

Tod Gordon is a name synonymous with ECW.

Extreme Championship Wrestling was one of WWE’s closest competitors in the 1990s. Gordon owned it till early 1995, before selling it to his head booker, Paul Heyman.

One of the most iconic moments that occurred under his regime was on the night when Shane Douglas beat 2 Cold Scorpio to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Known at the time as Eastern Championship Wrestling, the promotion sought to establish itself as a separate entity by distancing itself from the NWA.

As a result, Gordon and Heyman wrote a scathing promo for Douglas, wherein he would berate the NWA title and throw it, thus declaring himself as the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion.

It was later confirmed that the brand was remodeled and renamed to ECW, with Tod Gordon as its head honcho.

He left the promotion in 1997 amid controversy over “moles” leaking information to rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

Gordon’s family explained on X that he was hospitalized a while back, while clarifying that he was not ignoring anyone who had tried reaching out to him.

From the Family of Tod Gordon: We wanted to share that, Tod Gordon, is currently in the hospital and has been for some time. If you’ve reached out and haven’t heard back, please know he’s not ignoring anyone — he’s just focusing on his health right now.

While he is unable to receive visitors, we appreciate all your love, support, and prayers during this time. Please keep him in your thoughts. Thank you,” read the X post on Tod Gordon’s page.

WWE Honored ECW By Reviving It

ECW began enduring financial issues in the late 90s and officially went out of business in 2001.

Paul Heyman subsequently jumped ship to WWE, replacing Jerry Lawler as the commentator on RAW in March that year.

The Stamford promotion acquired its trademarks and video library in 2003.

In 2005, it temporarily honored the now-defunct promotion by reviving it through 2005 One Night Stand, an ECW reunion pay-per-view.

The brand continued till 2010 alongside RAW and SmackDown and was replaced by NXT in 2012.