This month, given the season and the fact that we’re about to complete the six-part ECW on TNN series on our Patreon page, we’ve decided to gift everyone the first episode in the series, posted for Patrons back in July. This one covers everything up through the week before the show premiered, also documenting the genesis of ECW’s video game deal with Acclaim, which was reportedly more intertwined with the TNN deal than you may realize. It’s one of the best shows we’ve ever done, both in general and because we spontaneously do a journalism in the middle of the show and discover some information that completely changes how we look at ECW from 1999-on. So it’s finally time to stop being coy on the free shows and social media, as now, you can all learn about the massive plot twist that is the existence of ECW Management Group, which looms over the rest of the series.

For dozens more deep dives like this, including the rest of the six-part ECW on TNN series—which will conclude in the coming days—and other entries in the Paul Heyman Expanded Universe, all you need to do is sign up for our Patreon at just the $5/month level or higher by going to Patreon.com/BetweenTheSheets.

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To commemorate 20 years since the show's cancellation, our newest Patreon series takes a look at the life of ECW on TNN and how the seemingly lifesaving national TV deal played a major role in killing ECW off. We made a point of tracking down every relevant mainstream article we could for this one, too, so the Observer and Torch coverage is joined by articles from the New York Daily News, Electronic Media, and Multichannel News. Topics include just how intertwined the TNN deal was with licensing video game rights to Acclaim, ECW competing with the former producer of Paul Alperstein's AWF(!) for the time slot, the many starts and stops in negotiating the deal, ECW's trail of bounced checks that mysteriously stops when someone else starts signing them instead of Paul Heyman, the messed up ways that Shane Douglas, Chris Candido, and Tammy Sytch got screwed financially, the Dudleys seemingly trying to sabotage the TNN deal with their promo at the Heatwave pay-per-view with TV executives in the crowd, just how financially disadvantageous the TNN deal was for ECW, TNN's unrealistic ratings goals, just how easily Heyman was able to work newsletter writers, and much more.

Also: While recording the July 1999 segment, we discover some incredible information about the last two years of ECW that's never been reported on before and seemingly explains a lot while also leading to a bunch of new questions.

Trust us, you do not want to miss this show. This series is on its way to being some of the best work we've ever done.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 April-May 1999

0:59:59 June 1999

1:54:28 July 1999 & that previously unreported ECW scoop we found

3:23:30 August 1999

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