3 controversial finishes you may know about, and 2 you may not in pro wrestling

#1 Controversial Finishes May Know About: NWA Title Tournament Finals 1994

After this match, the result was the beginning of what became Extreme Championship Wrestling

Fans will recall that during the 1990s three separate promotions dominated wrestling. One of the controversial finishes in these matches involved the creation of one of those promotions. Tod Gordon who wanted to resurrect the NWA at the time owned Eastern Championship Wrestling was operated by Paul Heyman (Paul E. Dangerously). At the end of the tournament, a new champion was to be crowned.

Statement from Domenic DeNucci’s family contained below. I’d also like to thank everyone for your thoughts & prayers & outpouring of concern for Dom. Happily, he’s resting well 2nite and thankful for his drs, his health, and his friends & fans. 🤟🙏👌👌👌https://t.co/Ix0YoJGch1

— Shane Douglas (@TheFranchiseSD) June 9, 2020

Watching Eddie Guerrero and the steiners vs cactus jack dean malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio .... sweet mother of god

— Mance Warner (@ManceWarner) July 3, 2020

The final match was between Shane Douglas and 2 Cold Scorpio for the championship. However, the decision was controversial because Gordon and Heyman threw down the NWA title and picked up the newly christened Extreme Championship Wrestling title while then NWA President Dennis Coraluzzo watched on in disbelief.

One of wrestling's controversial finishes was typical of ECW and seemed only fitting that they were borne out of a set of circumstances that were neither agreed upon nor predetermined before the event. It set the stage for what some have called a wrestling revolution.

ECW ushered in a more radical means of competition that became tied to an entire wrestling generation. Below are Paul Heyman's thoughts of one of wrestling's most controversial finishes ever.

"As all of this was happening, there was all of this petty bickering going on, involving the NWA-affiliated promotion in New Jersey. The time came to crown Shane Douglas as our “Franchise player” and our Extreme World Heavyweight Champion. With the New Jersey promotion kicking and screaming around every turn regarding the way we were going to crown a champion, the decision was made on our end to do everything in one fell swoop: smack down the NWA promotion in New Jersey because of the games they were playing with us; throw down the past – both physically and metaphorically – by having Shane Douglas toss the NWA Title to the mat; and most importantly, brand ECW under the name of “Extreme” and launch ourselves into the position to claim that there was WWE, WCW and now there’s ECW". - Paul Heyman on the birth of ECW

This still stands as one of wrestling's most controversial finishes to date.