ECW Championship - Shane Douglas

In the summer of 1994, Shane Douglas was the NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling Champion. When a tournament was held on August 27 to crown a new NWA World Champion, Douglas was entered into a field that included future World Champion Tazz among others.

That night, Douglas defeated Tazz, Dean Malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio to become the new NWA Champion. It seemed like a lofty honor ... but it was one Douglas never wanted. Because when he was presented with the NWA Championship, Douglas promptly threw it down.

"I am not the man who accepts a torch to be handed down to me from an organization that died seven years ago," he exclaimed. "Shane Douglas is a man who ignites the new flame of professional wrestling."

That day, NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling ceased to exist; Extreme Championship Wrestling was born, and Shane Douglas was recognized as the first ECW World Champion.