5 Best ECW World Champions of All Time

#1 Shane Douglas (4 reigns, 874 days as champion)

Shane Douglas: Chose ECW over the NWA

Shane Douglas called himself the "Franchise" but in truth the only company in which he was ever a true player was ECW. Make no mistake, in the small arenas of Philadelphia, Douglas was the "Man". Douglas had briefly reigned as ECW Champion when the promotion was still known as Eastern Championship Wrestling. However, he fully established himself as the franchise player of the company during his second reign as champion, when he double crossed ECW's parent promotion, the NWA.

The NWA had once controlled pro-wrestling in the United States. WWE in it's previous life as World Wide Wrestling Federation was a member, as was Memphis, WCW and other well known companies. However, by 1994, the governing body was a shadow of it's former self. WWE and WCW had both gone solo and there were very few companies left under it's control.

On August 27, 1994, ECW split from the NWA as well. Douglas won a tournament final for the then vacant NWA World Title but double crossed the alliance and declared the NWA "dead" and rechristened the strap, the ECW World Title instead and the ECW title he already held, became a World Championship.

Douglas won his third title by besting Sabu, at Hardcore Heaven in August 1997 and his fourth and final reign commenced when he overcame Bam Bam Bigelow at November To Remember that same year.

He held onto the gold for an epic 406 days before succumbing to Taz at Guilty As Charged in January 1999. Douglas soon left ECW for good a few months later, signing for WCW, ending the ECW career of the greatest ECW World Champion of them all.