Stevie Richards was the in the first-ever match in ECW history, then Eastern Championship Wrestling. He stayed with the company through 1997 before leaving for WCW. He returned briefly and then left quickly for then-WWF (now WWE).
On his YouTube channel this past month, he dedicated time to discussing his thoughts on the situation of how ECW lost as much money as it did. He also discusses some names on the business side of the company with which many fans are not very familiar.
He discusses the business side of ECW - during his time with the company - and that there was good money coming in such as:
- Tickets
- VHS tapes of the main shows and fan cams
- Merchandise
- Cyberslam convention packages and more
He also credits Tommy Dreamer for keeping the company running in ECW's last months - from both the operations side as well as paying for the ring truck and other hard costs. Stevie's insights on the economic side of wrestling at the time offer a good glimpse into the business and possible reasons why ECW stopped running shows.