Paul E. in IWCCW

Paul E... You better lock your windows! by Ray Odyssey

While working with the Savoldi's ICW in the late 80's, early 90's, I was introduced to Paul Heyman, AKA Paul E Dangerously. Paul came in to book for the ICW around 1990 and things were looking up. Paul had some great ideas and he ran a TV show like no one else.

Before Paul E came in, ICW TV was kind of stale. This was a guy who was working for the AWA and had one of the best minds in the business before coming Northeast. He immediately turned the TV around. He made it fun to watch again. The word genius is thrown around too liberally nowadays. But believe me, Paul E was a genius in putting together great TV and storylines. He really had/has a knack for it.

If you were a big follower of ECW, you should go back and look at ICW/IWCCW in the late 80's early 90's when Paul E was in charge. All of his ECW characters were developed 5 years earlier in ICW. 911 was the Rochester Roadblock. The Dudley Boys were the Undertakers. Mikey Whipwreck was the Wrestling School Dropout. Tommy Dreamer and Taz were........well, Tommy Dreamer and Taz. The champ with the great 5 minute promos, Shane Douglas was Tony Atlas. And the giant killer Spike Dudley was yours truly, Surfer Ray Odyssey.

Like I said, things were going good. We had good TV and were getting booked in a lot of towns throughout the Northeast and drawing some nice houses. One Saturday night, we worked Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn NY. If you have never been to Gleason's Gym and are a wrestling fan or a boxing fan (Gleason's Gym is a BIG boxing place) you must go to Brooklyn to experience it. It sits right underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. You can see it out the window in the dressing rooms.

Gleason's is so great because its like you just stepped out of a time machine and transported yourself back to 1910. I could imagine sitting in the crowd and seeing Jack Johnson boxing 25 rounds or maybe Karl Gotch wrestling for 2 hours in this building. It is an old and charming place and one of my favorite places I've ever worked in. It's dark. Kind of dirty. The showers are cold. The dressing rooms are small. But the crowds are rabid and packed into a small arena. And Mr. Gleason is one of those guys that you will remember for the rest of your life after meeting him. It's like he owned that part of the city. Everyone knew him. And more importantly, everyone respected him. He would pull these tough, uncontrollable animals off the street and make them good disciplined boxers and respectable citizens. He's a quiet, but tough old man. And no one to mess with.

Anyway, we were having a good show here when all of a sudden during one of Paul E's promos, the mic went dead in the ring. Like I said, this was an old building so when the mic went out, people understood. It was part of the charm in the building. Maybe the mic would go out, maybe the heat would stop working in the middle of winter and when you were in the ring, you could see the breath coming out of your mouth. Maybe the lights would flicker. It didn't matter. People came to see good wrestling. They didn't care that the building wasn't the Taj Mahal. As long as two people were beating the hell out of each other in the ring, the fans were happy.

Well when the mic cut out during Paul E's promo, he wasn't happy. In fact, he started cussing. Using a lot of ECW acceptable words that weren't acceptable in ICW. Mr. Gleason came to the ring to calm him down and he started cussing him out and insulting his crappy building. Not smart Paul. Mr Gleason wasn't one to go along with the "work". Paul was disrespecting him in his town. He was disrespecting him in his own building. Mr. Gleason was not happy. He was not going to play fool to Paul who was trying to get himself over after his promo was cut short.

Paul came back to the locker room still cussing about the mic and why we had to be in a shithole like this. I was getting undressed (My day was done, I worked earlier in the show) and getting ready for a shower. Paul was still screaming about how his promo was ruined when Mr. Gleason busted into the room. Along with Mr. Gleason were 3 or 4 of the toughest looking guys I've ever seen. They were some of his boxers that were working security for the wrestling show.
Mr. Gleason pointed at me and said "get out of here right now". Now I was just getting into the shower so I was naked except for being wrapped in a towel. I acted like I didn't hear him and walked towards the showers. Now he yelled, "I said get out of this room now!!" His boys were looking as mad as he was and I just kind of stood there wondering if I should leave Paul alone with them. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't have fought even one of these bad asses off myself but Paul E was pushing me and if I left, it wouldn't have helped my career in ICW. So I stayed.

Mr. Gleason yelled to his boys "someone open that window, I'm going to hang him out of it". The locker room was on the second floor and it was a good 40 foot drop to the sidewalk. Paul E looked petrified. I was scared myself and I didn't even do anything. One of the guys started towards Paul E and Paul started apologizing and yelling that he was sorry. Didn't matter. Another one of the guys was opening the window. Mr. Gleason yelled at me again. "I told you to get out of this room NOW!!" I froze.

I didn't leave the room but didn't block the guy who grabbed Paul E. All of the sudden, the Rochester Roadblock busts into the room and starts cleaning house. Roadblock was a huge tough guy that was working in ICW at this time. (Lucky for Paul E.) Now these guys are pro boxers and Joe (Roadblock) is pushing them all away like flies. Roadblock is 6'10 and about 370 lbs. Roadblock actually broke into the business while at a WWF house show in Rochester. He was sitting ringside and decided to get into the ring to kick Hulk Hogan's ass after the match was over. Earlier that day, Roadblock approached Hogan about getting into the business at a gym they were both working out at and Hogan disrespected Roadblock and he was pissed. Security headed him off before he got to Hogan (Lucky for Hogan).

Anyway, Roadblock grabs Paul E and wraps his arms around him when Mario Savoldi runs into the room. Mario pleads with Mr. Gleason not to hang Paul E out the window. Roadblock is holding Paul E in one arm and fighting boxers off with the other. I am standing there in my towel. Mario finally gets through to Mr. Gleason and he calls his boxers off Paul. Mario makes Paul E apologize to Mr. Gleason who lets Paul E off the hook. Paul E looks like he has seen a ghost. Roadblock releases Paul E from the safety of his arms. The boxers are pissed, but they leave the room. Paul E leaves the room (probably to change his drawers).

And I close the window because its winter and the room is getting cold. And I'm only in a towel. Then I get in the shower and thank God that Roadblock is such a bad ass and it wasn't me going out the window. The shower was cold but it would have been a whole lot colder for Paul if he were to get hung out that window.