ECW's Booking Of Rhino Was Absolutely Perfect
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The ECW career of Rhino helped him become a major star in the wrestling business in a relatively fast time. Paul Heyman had a different mindset than Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff when it came to introducing new stars. Rhino proved that by getting a chance to move into the main event picture and work with major names faster than the average star.
Heyman always tried to commit to the right talent by putting a lot of time and building into the new stars he pushed. Rhino winning titles and building credibility with victories over top names fast-tracked him to the top spot. ECW wanted Rhino to be viewed as the most unstoppable and dominant force in the company. Rhino lived up to the hype to make his booking in ECW worth it.
Rhino Got Off To A Hot Start
Paul Heyman deserves a lot of credit for discovering talented young wrestlers working all over the world before getting their big break. Names like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero saw Heyman calling them before WWE or WCW realized their star power. Rhino became one of the later year additions to the ECW roster after a few years of working internationally.
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The Canadian independent circuit saw Rhino coming up with Edge and Christian before he made a German promotion his home. Rhino started to gain momentum in Germany and received the attention of Heyman. WCW and WWE signing away most of the top ECW stars by 1999 when bringing in Rhino and a few other young rising stars.
Rhino was the name and gimmick given to the performer by Heyman to represent what he wanted out of the act. The strength of Rhino was his biggest asset with the psychotic and violent layers to his character. ECW instantly placed Rhino in top matches by teaming up with heels Steve Corino and Jack Victory. Rhino was the secret weapon getting the better of respected names like Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Raven.
He Was ECW’s Last Great Champ
The rise of Rhyno lasted for over the final year of ECW when getting pushed up the card. Rhino joining The Network faction led by Don Callis aka Cyrus made him a valued commodity moving forward. The TV Championship was the first title won by Rhino by defeating Tajiri in a violent match. The ability to have great matches with smaller wrestlers like Tajiri, Spike Dudley and Super Crazy showed he could work in the ring, while showing off his strength in bigger ways.
Paul Heyman found the biggest storyline of Rhino’s time in ECW when The Sandman was the ECW World Champion. Rhino not only targeted Sandman, but he went after the ECW legend’s family to make things more personal. The brutal spot of Rhino putting Sandman’s wife Lori through a table led to Sandman accepting his challenge.
Rhino won the ECW Championship at the company’s final PPV Guilty as Charged 2001 when Sandman fought him right after winning the belt. Heyman ended ECW later that month, but the booking already made Rhino a star. ECW was nearing the end of the road with Rhino having the final big title win to create a new top name.
ECW Set Him Up For Success
Even though ECW closed shortly after Rhino’s biggest matches and best work, Paul Heyman set him up for a bright future down the road. Rhino joined the WWE roster quickly as the company viewed him as a valuable name on the free agent market. Edge and Christian used their success to get Rhino as their third in a three-man faction to play into their pasts.
The ECW run made sure that Rhino would have success going forward. Heyman joining the WWE commentary team even made it sweeter for Rhino’s character to get across well. The first year of Rhino in WWE was his best work there, not coincidentally while Heyman was calling his matches. Rhino’s gore finisher was viewed as one of the most intimidating in the business after getting it over in ECW and bringing it to WWE.
WWE primarily found success with Rhino in the mid-card and tag team division. TNA would have him once again become a main event act in the company’s earlier years to help keep their momentum building. It all started in ECW where Heyman was set on making Rhino a respected entity in the wrestling business. Rhino may not have ever matched that success, but it created a legacy early in his career. ECW witnessed Rhino becoming another all-time great figure and a tremendous choice for the final champ.
