April 13, 1997: #ECW's very first PPV, BarelyLegal. Sigh. I suck at being nostalgic. I'm still too ambitious, looking for new things to accomplish. Yet I would be remiss if I didn't say SOMETHING about this anniversary. ECW Barely Legal did not take place at a time where there was 1 brand so dominant, it was easy for companies to call themselves alternative or revolutionary. We took on two billion-dollar companies during the most hyper-competitive environment in the history of the industry. ECW's fight to get on PPV has been covered in books, documentaries, et al. From ppv distributors' confusion w/ MMA; our competitors doing everything to keep us off PPV; our uncompromising insistence on doing the show w/ our directors, a one-man announce booth, from the world's most infamous bingo hall on literally the wrong side of the tracks in South Phily; we were willing to die before we'd sell out our vision. As much credit as we get for being outlaws, true to our cause ... we weren't ...