Unlike other moments, it started out rather mundane. The story was completed before the Kulases launched their lawsuit, so key details of how Kulas actually got himself into the match had not been made public at that point.

In this process, he insults, disrespects and disregards countering opinions.

Kulas and his family later did an interview with Inside Edition that featured footage from the incident, including New Jack cutting him and berating him after the match. As for New Jack, he had a very complicated career, as some speak about his generosity as a person and a performer, while others claim he was dangerous in the ring. The match was booked as a squash and Dudley was quickly isolated outside the ring. The Rock, who is now one of the co-owners of the XFL, announced that the football league will be returning in the Spring of... During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Edge talked about his recovery from surgery: At the time, the firestorm of negative press prompted the cancellation of the company’s debut on pay-per-view the following year before owner Paul Heyman persuaded providers to distribute the event. [1][2][3], The event was a house show and thus not televised; however, camcorder footage was available, which was eventually used as evidence in legal proceedings. Where the controversy starts is that when planning the match, Kulas stated that he wanted to bleed during the bout, but didn’t know how to blade, or cut himself in a safe manner, a common practice in the business for decades. Comment below with your thoughts, opinions, feedback and anything else that was raised. According to The Blue Meanie in the “Forever Hardcore” documentary, Kulas was extremely arrogant backstage and even tried to light a cigarette while sitting next to Taz, one of the veterans on the roster. Advertisement: The Mass Transit Incident is one of the most infamous moments in ECW history. Kulas would later pass away on May 12, 2002 at just 22 years old due to complications from gastric bypass surgery. He asked New Jack, one of the most notorious figures in the history of the business, if he would make the cut for him. Brie Bella Total Divas Teaser, WWE Announcer Responds To Fake Tattoo Concern, Fans On WWE TLC, Fans On Goldberg Vs. Brock Lesnar III, WWE Looks At Starrcade 1986 Scaffold Match (Video), Bulldog, New Documentary Unwraps Mystery of Vampiro, The Power Of Persistence:The Wes Fetty Story, New Piper Documentary Details Rowdy Career, Several WWE Superstars Allegedly Want To Join Impact Wrestling, Adam Cole And Kyle O’Reilly Turning Babyface From The Other Undisputed Era Members, The Rock Makes An Announcement Regarding The XFL, Latest News Regarding Edge’s Recovery From Surgery, Video: New Promo For Unknown NXT Superstar Airs. Eric Kulas, a seventeen-year-old kid with zero experience, showed up, lying about his age and about having been "trained" by Killer Kowalski, and offered to take Axl's place. [3] He's white. In the years that followed, Eric Kulas passed away in 2002 after complications from gastric bypass surgery. In 2003, Jack worked a match with veteran Gypsy Joe, who had a reputation for carelessly stiffing opponents. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. The incident led to a future ECW pay-per-view being temporarily cancelled and a lawsuit from Kulas' family. New Jack was arrested at the time, but was ultimately let off when the court found out that Kulas had lied to Paul Heyman about his age and experience level. New Jack took offense to the jobber's impudence and took liberties that included slicing open his forehead with a scalpel and generally beating the hell out of him, prompting the quote above. The Other Wiki has more information on this incident. Axl Rotten had been scheduled to work a tag team match with D-Von Dudley against The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa Saed),[2] but could not make the show due to a family emergency and then getting traveling issues.

When the time came for New Jack to blade Kulas as he requested, the ECW tag champion sliced deeply into the teenager’s forehead, opening a geyser that squirted a continuous stream of blood onto the canvas. The incident was discussed in a variety of documentaries and interviews, with seemingly everyone expressing varying opinions about the validity of the responsibility of what happened to Kulas. Next, The Gangstas proceeded to work Kulas over even more with elbow drops and various objects, prompting Kulas' father to scream, "Ring the fucking bell. If the Barely Legal pay-per-view had remained cancelled, who knows if Extreme Championship Wrestling would’ve made it off the ground to revolutionize the business in the United States? There are conflicting stories about the incident, leading to a lot of contradictory facts coming from different sources (most notably, what age Kulas had lied about actually being, as well as what kind of blade New Jack used to cut him. He was billed as Mass Transit, a wrestling bus driver based on Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners. What the court case came down to was Kulas asked to be cut and then knowing what was going to happen, waited to get bladed. New Jack agreed, and it was determined that the contest would be one-sided since The Gangstas were an established team. He was on a group, with the stand that a 26 or 34 year old man can be beaten by his father. The following year when wrestling in Florida, New Jack legitimately stabbed an William Lane nine times after the independent wrestler tried to actually fight him during the bout. From insane dives from the balcony that were staples of the opening of the ECW TV show to falling twenty feet from a scaffold, New Jack would probably receive more notoriety if he wasn’t involved in various infamous events. [1] During the match, Dudley and New Jack brawled outside the ring, while Saed and Transit fought inside the ring. I'm the wrong nigga to fuck with. He's 17!" Step forward, Eric Kulas. Subscribe to WWE Network to get your 1st month FREE & instant access to all special events! The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) were supposed to face D-Von Dudley and Axl Rotten, but Axl no-showed. The very real situation continued when New Jack pummeled Joe with various objects until the promoter stopped the match.

During the … It was also testified that Kulas' father shouted "He's only 17!" Showing up to an ECW house show where they were short a wrestler, Kulas told promoter Paul Heyman that he was twenty-three years old, and had been trained by Killer Kowalski. Given that Kulas hadn’t endeared himself to the rest of the crew, The Gangstas made a point to keep D-Von outside of the ring and focused on not letting Mass Transit get any offense. I don't like white people. Eric Kulas, a 17-year-old attired in a bus driver outfit, showed up at the non-televised event in hopes he could get a spot on the card that night. [2][3] Heyman stated afterward that he was unaware of Kulas' real age. The video showed New Jack quietly asking Kulas, after the blading, "You alright?" As mentioned, the negative press almost costs ECW their chance on pay-per-view, and New Jack, the real-life Jerome Young, was eventually charged with assault and battery. The former bounty hunter claimed to have four justifiable homicides during his time pursing bail jumpers, but it was later revealed during Kayfabe Commentaries’ “Breaking Kayfabe” series that it was one justifiable homicide and the numbers were exaggerated as a part of Young’s wrestling persona.

Considering his promo skills, New Jack could’ve landed work with either TNA or ROH on an extended basis, but some of his choices in the years after ECW closed made it difficult for those companies to invest into the character. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Wrestling/MassTransitIncident. Rotten was scheduled to work a tag team match with D-Von Dudley against The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustapha Saed) at a house show in the city, but was unable to compete due to travel issues. Despite displaying a limited range of skills during most of his career, New Jack is actually an underrated performer, mostly because he presented a believable character and he cut promos that could sell an event. —Stephen Kulas, Eric Kulas' father, ECW, November 23, 1996. However, it’s interesting to consider how serious the consequences of The Mass Transit incident could’ve been at the time and the ripple effect it would’ve had if Barely Legal remained cancelled. [4] Erich Kulas, a wrestling fan who had just turned 17, told ECW owner and booker Paul Heyman that he was 21 and convinced Heyman to allow him to fill in for Rotten by lying that he had been trained by Killer Kowalski, a retired star wrestler who ran a notable wrestling school in the Boston area. It’s tragic that Eric Kulas passed away at a young age, but he clearly had no business attempting to be a wrestler in 1996. Furthermore, he claimed to have performed on … [1][3] At the end of the match, New Jack bladed Kulas with a surgical scalpel,[5] as the two had agreed, but cut too deeply and severed two arteries in Kulas' forehead. and "Take it easy on him, he's just a kid!"

Two of Kulas' arteries were severed; he bled profusely and passed out, and needed to be escorted out of the arena with medical attention.

Like a lot of aspiring wrestlers, ... Kulas–with his father, Stephen, vouching for him–volunteered to take Rotten’s place. The key to determining this was at the trial when the video tape was played that showed Kulas waiting for and then allowing Young to cut him. Kulas lied about his age, his experience, the details of the events, and got himself into a situation that he wasn’t prepared for at the event.

Erich Kulas died on May 12, 2002 at the age of 22,[2] due to complications from gastric bypass surgery.

Aspiring 350-pound (158.7 kg) wrestler Eric Kulas, who performed as a Ralph Kramden-esque bus driver gimmick named "Mass Transit", convinced Extreme Championship Wrestling president and booker Paul Heyman to allow him to fill in for Axl Rotten by lying that he had been trained by Killer Kowalski. NXT UK Updates For This Week: Video Highlights, Heritage Cup Opening... Former WWE & NXT Wrestler Lio Rush Starts OnlyFans Account. Axl Rotten had been scheduled to work a tag team match with D-Von Dudley against The Gangstas, but could not make the show due to a family emergency and then getting traveling issues. The book The Rise and Fall of ECW also states that as the medic crew carried Kulas out, he was escorted by Tommy Dreamer, who held his hand to comfort him. Realizing that his son was injured, Kulas’ father, who vouched for him prior to the show, can be heard on the video tape yelling that Mass Transit was only 17.

In The Rise and Fall of ECW, Paul Heyman states that Kulas' dubious credentials as a student of Killer Kowalski were endorsed by a then-known midget wrestler, who was with Kulas when he and his father approached the staff about getting Erich in the match. when they isolated his son from D-Von Dudley during the match and double-teamed him. The segment depicted Kulas as an innocent, unprepared victim while vilifying ECW, even going as far as showing that Heyman had not asked for any state identification.