Heading into towards the one year anniversary of our first show it is time for some reflection as I sit down with Dean Guest.
Looking back
We have held 7 shows in our first full year of operation and at the end of show 7 our status elevated from low level regional to mid level regional. We actually made profit in two of the preceding 13 months and are in a great position to actually be making money by year’s end. Despite the fact that we are still the smallest ‘major’ company in the world, we are currently riding more momentum than anyone, including GAMMA.
Looking ahead
With our first card at Mid regional in the MMA hotbed of California and with the headline fight being announced as Dreck/Bogdonovich, we should break the 1000 mark in attendance and set a new gate record. We decide to add the Welterweight division in April and will now look to run 8 or 9 cards in 2002 as well, with the shows being monthly once we get the welters running full swing.
We add some fighters to replace recent retirements
Natural WW prospect Evan Pizzarro, who has somehow gone unsigned despite an 8-0 record, signs for a $1,400 per fight base and will compete as a MW for us. Once we expand to add the Welters later in the year, he will bump down and hopefully be the standard bearer of the division.
We add some additional talent, LH Joshua Hope at $1900 per fight for 6 fights and MW Julio Gutierrez for the same amount over 5 fights.
Two Weeks before the ECW 8 card, Nate MacReary suffers a major stomach injury and is out for his fight against Fatuma Roy. Gareth Grundy agrees to step in for MacReary on short notice for an extra inducement, though Roy should annihilate him. The worst part of this is that Big Mac will be out for 18 months!
Our latest rankings and the full card for ECW 8: My Bloody Valentine are released.
| | HW Rankings | LHW Rankings | MW Rankings |
| C | Sylvester Collins 9-0 | Rupert Dreck 10-0 | Isaiah Monroe 11-0 |
| 1 | Fatuma Roy 22-11 | Jerry Bogdonovich 11-0 | Ashley Ballard 13-3 |
| 2 | Sly Twinge 10-0 | Brody Howles 7-0 | Reed Howlett 7-0 |
| 3 | Nate McCreary 8-0 | Justin Brannagh 8-2 | Esteban Vega 8-1 |
| 4 | Damien Jones 8-1 | Gavin Marshall 6-0 | Wes Hersch 7-0 |
| 5 | Wilson Franklyn 11-2 | Adrian Pascal 7-1 | Bernard Blue 11-3 |
| 6 | Sam Hoynes 7-0 | Wink Deschanel 6-1 | Billy Russell 7-0 |
| 7 | Randall Donnelly 13-8 | Brayden Behrami 6-0 | Dwayne Alleyne 8-1 |
| 8 | Collins Lundie 12-7 | Samuel Russo 18-13 | Hunter Scribbins 7-0 |
| 9 | Gareth Grundy 10-6 | Jethro Munter 14-10 | Bradley Dixon 20-13 |
| 10 | Taye Burnett 7-1 | Titus Mostel 7-2 | Joey Valdez 8-1 |
| | | | | | |
| | ECW 8: My Bloody Valentine | Saturday, February 23, 2002 |
| | Main Event |
| | Green Machine' Rupert Dreck 10-0 © vs Jerry Bogdonovich 11-0 ECW LHW Title |
| | Undercard |
| | Wes Hersch 7-0 vs Bernard Blue 11-3 (MW) | Fatuma Roy 22-11 vs Gareth Grundy 10-6 (HW) |
| | Tom Essy 4-0 vs Kramer Mayweather 6-0-1 (MW) | Cal Hilson 5-0 vs Titus Mostel 7-2 (LH) |
| | Plus 3 exciting preliminary bouts featuring |
| | Tony Legg vs Chesney Brightman, Lachlan Bowen vs John Fitzwallace, Derren Barton vs Mateo Jane |