Mass Transit incident (professional wrestling): Difference between revisions
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{{short description|Professional wrestling controversy}} |
{{short description|Professional wrestling controversy}} |
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[[Image:New Jack in the ECW, 1998.jpg|thumb|220px|[[New Jack]], photographed here in 1998]] |
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⚫ | The '''Mass Transit incident''' was a [[professional wrestling]] controversy that took place during an [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW) [[house show]] on November 23, 1996, at the Wonderland Ballroom in [[Revere, Massachusetts|Revere]], [[Massachusetts]], United States.<ref name=Hardcore>{{cite book|title=Hardcore History|last=Williams|first=Scott|pages=106–111|publisher=Sports Publishing LLC|date=2006|isbn=978-1-59670-021-5}}</ref><ref name=RiseAndFall>{{cite book|title=The Rise and Fall of ECW|last=Loverro|first=Thom|pages=[https://archive.org/details/risefallofecw00thom/page/175 175–180]|publisher=[[Pocket Books]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4165-1058-1|url=https://archive.org/details/risefallofecw00thom/page/175}}</ref><ref name=Headlocks>{{cite book|title=Sex, Lies, and Headlocks|last1=Assael|first1=Shaun|last2=Mooneyham|first2=Mike|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sexliesheadlocks00shau/page/199 199–200]|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=2002|isbn=978-0-609-60690-2|url=https://archive.org/details/sexliesheadlocks00shau/page/199}}</ref> 17-year-old Erich Kulas, an aspiring professional wrestler who used the ring name "Mass Transit", was seriously injured in a [[tag team]] match against [[The Gangstas]]; the most severe injury occurred when Kulas was [[Blading (professional wrestling)|bladed]] too deeply by [[New Jack|Jerome "New Jack" Young]], severing two of his [[artery|arteries]]. Further controversy arose when it came to light that Kulas had lied to ECW owner and booker [[Paul Heyman]] about his age and professional wrestling training. |
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⚫ | The '''Mass Transit incident''' was a [[professional wrestling]] |
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{{Professional wrestling sidebar|controversies}} |
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==Match== |
==Match== |
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[[Axl Rotten]] had been scheduled to work a [[tag |
[[Axl Rotten]] had been scheduled to work a [[tag team]] match with [[D-Von Dudley]] against [[The Gangstas]] ([[New Jack]] and [[Mustafa Saed]]),<ref name=RiseAndFall/> but could not make the show due to a family emergency.<ref name="LaMotta">{{cite web|url=http://www.pwmania.com/looking-at-the-mass-transit-incident-twenty-years-later|title=Looking At "The Mass Transit Incident" Twenty Years Later|last=LaMotta|first=Jim|date=November 27, 2016|work=PW Mania|access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> The show was also scheduled to feature dwarf wrestlers [[Tiny the Terrible]] and Half Nelson against 17-year-old Erich Kulas, who performed as Mass Transit, a [[The Honeymooners#Ralph Kramden|Ralph Kramden]]-esque [[bus driver]].<ref name=RiseAndFall/><ref name=Headlocks/> Kulas convinced [[Extreme Championship Wrestling]] (ECW) owner and [[Booker (professional wrestling)|booker]] [[Paul Heyman]] to have him fill in for Rotten by claiming he was 19 and had wrestled for [[Killer Kowalski]], a retired star wrestler who ran a notable wrestling school in the [[Boston metropolitan area|Boston area]].<ref name=RiseAndFall/><ref name=Headlocks/> Heyman said later he did not know Kulas' age. |
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New Jack later claimed that he had attempted to dissuade Kulas from going through with the match.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4xWTZogfXc|title = New Jack "I Did Not Stab Mass Transit"|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref> Instead, Kulas asked New Jack to [[blading (professional wrestling)|blade]] him since he never had done it himself, to which New Jack agreed.<ref name=Hardcore/> During the match, Dudley and New Jack brawled outside the ring, while Saed and Transit fought inside the ring. The match was booked as a [[Squash (professional wrestling)|squash]], with Dudley quickly isolated outside the ring and told not to return by the Gangstas. The Gangstas then double-teamed Kulas inside the ring, with New Jack pummeling him with [[crutch]]es, [[toaster]]s and various other objects in the [[Hardcore wrestling|hardcore style]] ECW was known for.<ref name=Hardcore/><ref name=Headlocks/> At the end of the match, New Jack bladed Kulas with a surgical [[scalpel]],<ref name=HardcoreVideo>{{cite video|date=2005|title=[[Hardcore Homecoming#Forever Hardcore|Forever Hardcore]]|medium=DVD|publisher=Big Vision Entertainment}}</ref> as the two had agreed, but cut too deeply and severed two arteries in Kulas' forehead. He screamed in pain, then lost consciousness as blood poured from his head.<ref name=Hardcore/><ref name=RiseAndFall/><ref name=Headlocks/> |
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The event was a house show and thus not televised, but fan [[camcorder]]s caught footage which was eventually used as evidence in legal proceedings. The video showed New Jack quietly asking Kulas, after the blading, "You all right?" Next, The Gangstas proceeded to work Kulas over even more with elbow drops and various objects, prompting Kulas' father to scream, "Ring the fucking bell |
The event was a [[house show]] and thus not televised, but fan [[camcorder]]s caught footage which was eventually used as evidence in legal proceedings. The video showed New Jack quietly asking Kulas, after the blading, "You all right?" Which Kulas replies "Yeah, I'm fine." Next, The Gangstas proceeded to work Kulas over even more with elbow drops and various objects, prompting Kulas' father to scream, "Ring the fucking bell! He's 17!" As medics rushed into the ring to aid Kulas, New Jack grabbed the house microphone and, in an attempt to garner [[Heat (professional wrestling)|heat]], shouted, "I don't care if the motherfucker dies!<ref name=Headlocks/> He's white! I don't like white people! I don't like people from [[Boston]]! I'm the wrong nigga to fuck with!"<ref name=RiseAndFall/> |
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According to New Jack in an interview with RF Video, he told Kulas, "This is not a good idea," prior to the match.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4xWTZogfXc</ref> |
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==Repercussions== |
==Repercussions== |
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===Pay-per-view cancellation=== |
===Pay-per-view cancellation=== |
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The incident led to the cancellation of ECW's first ever [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) event, ''[[ECW Barely Legal|Barely Legal]]'', by pay-per-view provider [[Request TV]]<ref name=Hardcore/> on [[Christmas Eve]] |
The incident led to the cancellation of ECW's first ever [[pay-per-view]] (PPV) event, ''[[ECW Barely Legal|Barely Legal]]'', by pay-per-view provider [[Request TV]]<ref name=Hardcore/> on [[Christmas Eve]] 1996. Heyman, by his own admission in ''[[The Rise and Fall of ECW]]'', "begged and pleaded" with Request and finally convinced the company that ECW had been misled about Kulas' age. The PPV event was placed back on the schedule on Sunday, April 13, 1997, at 9:00 pm. |
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===''Inside Edition'' interview=== |
===''Inside Edition'' interview=== |
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Kulas and his family later |
Kulas and his family later gave an interview to the syndicated tabloid program ''[[Inside Edition]]'', which featured footage from the incident. The segment depicted Kulas as an innocent, unprepared victim while vilifying ECW, even going as far as showing that Heyman had not asked for any state identification. The story was completed before the Kulases launched their lawsuit, so the key details of how Kulas actually got himself into the match had not been made public at that point. |
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===Legal action=== |
===Legal action=== |
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Three years after the incident, Jack was tried on charges of [[assault]] and [[Battery (crime)|battery]] with a dangerous weapon, and was later sued by the Kulas family. After hearing Kulas asked to be cut, a jury [[acquittal|acquitted]] |
Three years after the incident, New Jack was tried on charges of [[assault]] and [[Battery (crime)|battery]] with a dangerous weapon, and was later sued by the Kulas family. After hearing Kulas asked to be cut, a jury [[acquittal|acquitted]] New Jack,<ref name=Headlocks/> and he was later found not liable in [[civil law (common law)|civil court]]. |
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The book ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' also states that as the medic crew carried Kulas out, he was escorted by [[Tommy Dreamer]], who held his hand to comfort him. Passing by the audience, Kulas began giving them [[finger (gesture)|the finger]] in an attempt to continue "playing the [[Heel (professional wrestling)|bad guy]]".<ref name=RiseAndFall/> |
Wrestlers testified that Kulas was extremely arrogant and demanding backstage prior to the match and, when told that he would have to bleed as part of the match, Kulas had asked New Jack to blade him, since he had never done it. The book ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' also states that as the medic crew carried Kulas out, he was escorted by [[Tommy Dreamer]], who held his hand to comfort him. Passing by the audience, Kulas began giving them [[finger (gesture)|the finger]] in an attempt to continue "playing the [[Heel (professional wrestling)|bad guy]]".<ref name=RiseAndFall/> |
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Authorities later determined that Kulas had lied to Heyman about his age and experience; Kulas claimed to be 21 years of age, but he was actually 17 years old.<ref name=Hardcore/> He also claimed to have been trained by Killer Kowalski, and his father vouched for him, but Kulas was never trained to wrestle. In ''The Rise and Fall of ECW,'' Heyman says Kulas' dubious credentials as a student of |
Authorities later determined that Kulas had lied to Heyman about his age and experience; Kulas claimed to be 21 years of age, but he was actually 17 years old.<ref name=Hardcore/> He also claimed to have been trained by Killer Kowalski, and his father vouched for him, but Kulas was never trained to wrestle. In ''The Rise and Fall of ECW,'' Heyman says Kulas' dubious credentials as a student of Kowalski were endorsed by Tiny the Terrible. |
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==Later events== |
==Later events== |
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The incident was featured in a 2020 episode of ''[[Dark Side of the Ring]]'' centered on New Jack.<ref>{{cite web| first= Robert| last= Leighty Jr.| date= April 1, 2020| accessdate= October 13, 2020| work=[[411Mania]]| title= 411's Dark Side of the Ring – 'The Life and Crimes of New Jack' Report| url= https://411mania.com/wrestling/411s-dark-side-of-the-ring-life-crimes-new-jack-report/| archive-date= April 4, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200404061721/https://411mania.com/wrestling/411s-dark-side-of-the-ring-life-crimes-new-jack-report/| url-status= live}}</ref> Kulas' family declined to participate in the episode.<ref name="mass">{{cite news |last1=Nason |first1=Josh |title=Vice's 'New Jack' doc a bizarre tale of revulsion, not redemption |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/vices-new-jack-doc-bizarre-tale-revulsion-not-redemption-308711 |accessdate=October 12, 2020 |work=[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]] |date=April 12, 2020 |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416203522/https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/vices-new-jack-doc-bizarre-tale-revulsion-not-redemption-308711 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
The incident was featured in a 2020 episode of ''[[Dark Side of the Ring]]'' centered on New Jack.<ref>{{cite web| first= Robert| last= Leighty Jr.| date= April 1, 2020| accessdate= October 13, 2020| work=[[411Mania]]| title= 411's Dark Side of the Ring – 'The Life and Crimes of New Jack' Report| url= https://411mania.com/wrestling/411s-dark-side-of-the-ring-life-crimes-new-jack-report/| archive-date= April 4, 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200404061721/https://411mania.com/wrestling/411s-dark-side-of-the-ring-life-crimes-new-jack-report/| url-status= live}}</ref> Kulas' family declined to participate in the episode.<ref name="mass">{{cite news |last1=Nason |first1=Josh |title=Vice's 'New Jack' doc a bizarre tale of revulsion, not redemption |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/vices-new-jack-doc-bizarre-tale-revulsion-not-redemption-308711 |accessdate=October 12, 2020 |work=[[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]] |date=April 12, 2020 |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416203522/https://www.f4wonline.com/other-wrestling/vices-new-jack-doc-bizarre-tale-revulsion-not-redemption-308711 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Up to his own death in May 2021, New Jack did not express remorse for the incident; his final tweet |
Up to his own death in May 2021, New Jack did not express remorse for the incident; his final tweet on his [[Twitter]] account reiterated Kulas requested the blading.<ref name="Twitter">{{cite web |title=I don't feel bad at all. He died years later because he ate himself to death. He also asked me to cut him so I did. |url=https://twitter.com/theOnlyNewJack/status/1392718169756913664 |website=[[Twitter]] |access-date=May 19, 2021 |date=May 13, 2021}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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[[Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling]] |
[[Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling]] |
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[[Category:Revere, Massachusetts]] |
[[Category:Revere, Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Events in Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:1996 in professional wrestling]] |
[[Category:1996 in professional wrestling]] |
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[[Category:Professional wrestling controversies]] |
[[Category:Professional wrestling controversies]] |
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[[Category:1996 in Massachusetts]] |
[[Category:1996 in Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:Professional wrestling matches]] |
[[Category:Professional wrestling matches]] |
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[[Category:Professional wrestling in Massachusetts]] |
[[Category:Professional wrestling shows in Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:November 1996 events in the United States]] |
[[Category:November 1996 events in the United States]] |
Latest revision as of 08:10, 9 September 2024
The Mass Transit incident was a professional wrestling controversy that took place during an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) house show on November 23, 1996, at the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere, Massachusetts, United States.[1][2][3] 17-year-old Erich Kulas, an aspiring professional wrestler who used the ring name "Mass Transit", was seriously injured in a tag team match against The Gangstas; the most severe injury occurred when Kulas was bladed too deeply by Jerome "New Jack" Young, severing two of his arteries. Further controversy arose when it came to light that Kulas had lied to ECW owner and booker Paul Heyman about his age and professional wrestling training.
The incident led to the temporary cancellation of the inaugural ECW pay-per-view Barely Legal and legal action against Young. Due to Kulas' deception, however, Barely Legal was reinstated and the legal action ended in Young's favor.
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Professional wrestling |
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Match
[edit]Axl Rotten had been scheduled to work a tag team match with D-Von Dudley against The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed),[2] but could not make the show due to a family emergency.[4] The show was also scheduled to feature dwarf wrestlers Tiny the Terrible and Half Nelson against 17-year-old Erich Kulas, who performed as Mass Transit, a Ralph Kramden-esque bus driver.[2][3] Kulas convinced Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) owner and booker Paul Heyman to have him fill in for Rotten by claiming he was 19 and had wrestled for Killer Kowalski, a retired star wrestler who ran a notable wrestling school in the Boston area.[2][3] Heyman said later he did not know Kulas' age.
New Jack later claimed that he had attempted to dissuade Kulas from going through with the match.[5] Instead, Kulas asked New Jack to blade him since he never had done it himself, to which New Jack agreed.[1] During the match, Dudley and New Jack brawled outside the ring, while Saed and Transit fought inside the ring. The match was booked as a squash, with Dudley quickly isolated outside the ring and told not to return by the Gangstas. The Gangstas then double-teamed Kulas inside the ring, with New Jack pummeling him with crutches, toasters and various other objects in the hardcore style ECW was known for.[1][3] At the end of the match, New Jack bladed Kulas with a surgical scalpel,[6] as the two had agreed, but cut too deeply and severed two arteries in Kulas' forehead. He screamed in pain, then lost consciousness as blood poured from his head.[1][2][3]
The event was a house show and thus not televised, but fan camcorders caught footage which was eventually used as evidence in legal proceedings. The video showed New Jack quietly asking Kulas, after the blading, "You all right?" Which Kulas replies "Yeah, I'm fine." Next, The Gangstas proceeded to work Kulas over even more with elbow drops and various objects, prompting Kulas' father to scream, "Ring the fucking bell! He's 17!" As medics rushed into the ring to aid Kulas, New Jack grabbed the house microphone and, in an attempt to garner heat, shouted, "I don't care if the motherfucker dies![3] He's white! I don't like white people! I don't like people from Boston! I'm the wrong nigga to fuck with!"[2]
Repercussions
[edit]Pay-per-view cancellation
[edit]The incident led to the cancellation of ECW's first ever pay-per-view (PPV) event, Barely Legal, by pay-per-view provider Request TV[1] on Christmas Eve 1996. Heyman, by his own admission in The Rise and Fall of ECW, "begged and pleaded" with Request and finally convinced the company that ECW had been misled about Kulas' age. The PPV event was placed back on the schedule on Sunday, April 13, 1997, at 9:00 pm.
Inside Edition interview
[edit]Kulas and his family later gave an interview to the syndicated tabloid program Inside Edition, which featured footage from the incident. The segment depicted Kulas as an innocent, unprepared victim while vilifying ECW, even going as far as showing that Heyman had not asked for any state identification. The story was completed before the Kulases launched their lawsuit, so the key details of how Kulas actually got himself into the match had not been made public at that point.
Legal action
[edit]Three years after the incident, New Jack was tried on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and was later sued by the Kulas family. After hearing Kulas asked to be cut, a jury acquitted New Jack,[3] and he was later found not liable in civil court.
Wrestlers testified that Kulas was extremely arrogant and demanding backstage prior to the match and, when told that he would have to bleed as part of the match, Kulas had asked New Jack to blade him, since he had never done it. The book The Rise and Fall of ECW also states that as the medic crew carried Kulas out, he was escorted by Tommy Dreamer, who held his hand to comfort him. Passing by the audience, Kulas began giving them the finger in an attempt to continue "playing the bad guy".[2]
Authorities later determined that Kulas had lied to Heyman about his age and experience; Kulas claimed to be 21 years of age, but he was actually 17 years old.[1] He also claimed to have been trained by Killer Kowalski, and his father vouched for him, but Kulas was never trained to wrestle. In The Rise and Fall of ECW, Heyman says Kulas' dubious credentials as a student of Kowalski were endorsed by Tiny the Terrible.
Later events
[edit]Erich Kulas died on May 12, 2002, at the age of 22,[2] due to complications from gastric bypass surgery.[1]
The incident was featured in a 2020 episode of Dark Side of the Ring centered on New Jack.[7] Kulas' family declined to participate in the episode.[8]
Up to his own death in May 2021, New Jack did not express remorse for the incident; his final tweet on his Twitter account reiterated Kulas requested the blading.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Williams, Scott (2006). Hardcore History. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 106–111. ISBN 978-1-59670-021-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Loverro, Thom (2006). The Rise and Fall of ECW. Pocket Books. pp. 175–180. ISBN 978-1-4165-1058-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g Assael, Shaun; Mooneyham, Mike (2002). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks. Crown Publishers. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-0-609-60690-2.
- ^ LaMotta, Jim (November 27, 2016). "Looking At "The Mass Transit Incident" Twenty Years Later". PW Mania. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ "New Jack "I Did Not Stab Mass Transit"". YouTube.
- ^ Forever Hardcore (DVD). Big Vision Entertainment. 2005.
- ^ Leighty Jr., Robert (April 1, 2020). "411's Dark Side of the Ring – 'The Life and Crimes of New Jack' Report". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- ^ Nason, Josh (April 12, 2020). "Vice's 'New Jack' doc a bizarre tale of revulsion, not redemption". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ "I don't feel bad at all. He died years later because he ate himself to death. He also asked me to cut him so I did". Twitter. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.