Episode Details

**WATCH THE SHOW AT THE LINK BELOW**
https://rumble.com/v7az03g-retro-wrestling-re-view-ecw-podcast-bonus-episode-bay-ragni-interview.html

Before the Retro Wrestling Re-View ECW Podcast fully dives into the early episodes of ECW Hardcore TV, Gene Jackson sits down with someone who was there when the whole thing was still being built: Bay Ragni, better known to ECW fans as Chubby Dudley, and to early Eastern Championship Wrestling fans as EZ Rider.

This special bonus episode is a deep dive into the roots of ECW, the shadow of Joel Goodhart’s Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, and what it was like to be around Philadelphia wrestling as it shifted from TWA into the early days of Eastern Championship Wrestling.

Bay talks about last year’s ‘One and Done’ Tri-State Wrestling Alliance Reunion Show, what it meant to bring so many people from that era back together, and the emotional weight of honoring a promotion that helped lay the groundwork for what ECW would eventually become. He opens up about working with Joel Goodhart on the event, the stress behind the scenes, the importance of giving Tri-State its due, and why that promotion deserves a much bigger place in the history of independent wrestling.

From there, the conversation goes back to the beginning of ECW, including the meeting after TWA shut down, Todd Gordon taking over, the creation of Eastern Championship Wrestling, and the early struggle to turn the promotion into something that could survive. Bay discusses the first TV tapings, the infamous snowstorm around the Cabrini College show, helping promote the early events, and what changed when “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert came in as booker.

This episode also covers:

• The legacy of Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
• Joel Goodhart’s influence on independent wrestling
• The One and Done reunion show and the upcoming TWA documentary
• Bay’s memories of the ECW Arena and Philadelphia wrestling fans
• The early ECW meeting after TWA closed
• Todd Gordon’s first steps running Eastern Championship Wrestling
• The difference between TWA and early ECW
• Bay and HD Rider working the first match in ECW TV history
• Terry Funk calling that first ECW television match
• Eddie Gilbert arriving and changing the direction of the company
• Why early ECW TV exposed how green some of the crew still was
• Jay Sulli, Stevie Wonderful, Hunter Q. Robbins, and the early ECW announce crew
• The Cosmic Commander and the wild personalities around early ECW
• Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, Ivan Koloff, Sal Bellomo, and the veteran names used in the beginning
• The importance of television in making ECW feel bigger than a local indie
• And why the road from TWA to ECW is more complicated than most quick histories make it sound

This is not just a bonus interview. It is a bridge between the end of Tri-State and the birth of ECW, told by someone who was actually in the room, in the locker room, and in the ring when the first pieces were coming together.

If you’re following the Retro Wrestling Re-View ECW Podcast, this episode is essential listening. Before ECW became extreme, before the revolution, before the legends were made, there was a small group of people in Philadelphia trying to figure out what came next. Bay Ragni was one of them, and this conversation helps set the table for everything that follows.