Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1998) Training and debut (1993–1994) Before becoming a professional wrestler, Watson joined
Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) as a part of their ring crew, who would usually work for free as long as they could have fun in the ring themselves before and after shows had finished.
Joey Styles suggested to ECW
booker Paul Heyman to check him after watching Watson practice a variety of aerial maneuvers before a live show began. He was hired in ECW after being asked by Heyman to wrestle in the company. Watson was trained by future
tag team partner
Cactus Jack and made his debut under the
ring name "Mikey Whipwreck" on the February 1, 1994 episode of
NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling, where he teamed with Keith Shearer in a
tag team match against
Kevin Sullivan and
The Tazmaniac. Whipwreck continued to make appearances as an
enhancement talent for the next three months on
Eastern Championship Wrestling. Whipwreck was heavily
pushed upon his debut as a
fan favorite underdog
character. He made his first televised title defense against
Kevin Sullivan on the May 24 episode of
Eastern Championship Wrestling, where Whipwreck won by
disqualification. Whipwreck soon entered a
feud with
Jason after Jason interfered in Whipwreck's title defenses against
Rockin' Rebel at
Hostile City Showdown and
Chad Austin at
Heat Wave and assaulted him during his matches. Two weeks later, at the
NWA World Title Tournament, Whipwreck substituted for
Terry Funk and won the
World Tag Team Championship with
Cactus Jack by defeating
The Public Enemy (
Johnny Grunge and
Rocco Rock). The duo held the titles until
November to Remember, where they lost the titles back to Public Enemy. Whipwreck closed the year with a win over
Don E. Allen at
Holiday Hell in December. He was named the
Rookie of the Year by
Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 1994. Whipwreck continued his rivalry with Jason in early 1995 and formed a tag team with
Hack Meyers. Whipwreck and Meyers lost to Jason and Paul Lauria in a
tag team match at
Return of the Funker on February 25. The duo soon began a feud with
Raven's Nest after Whipwreck defeated
Stevie Richards at
Hostile City Showdown. Whipwreck joined forces with Raven's Nest rival
Tommy Dreamer to take on
Raven and Stevie Richards in a tag team match at
Enter the Sandman, which Whipwreck's team lost. Whipwreck began to ascend the ranks, while also expanding his moveset in the meantime. He received his first major
main event push on the August 1 episode of
Hardcore TV when he won a
battle royal by lastly eliminating
Marty Jannetty to become the #1 contender for the
World Heavyweight Championship. Later that night, he was unsuccessful in his title shot against
The Sandman. At
Gangstas Paradise, Whipwreck teamed with Public Enemy against Sandman,
New Jack and
2 Cold Scorpio in a
Gangstas Paradise match, which Whipwreck's team won. On the October 31 episode of
Hardcore TV, Whipwreck defeated Sandman in a
ladder match to win the World Heavyweight Championship, Whipwreck successfully defended the title against
Steve Austin at
November to Remember. At
December to Dismember on December 9, Whipwreck defended the title against Sandman and Austin in a
three-way dance, where Whipwreck was the first to be eliminated by Austin. Sandman won the title. Watson continued his championship success at
Holiday Hell 1995 on December 29, when he defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in a
Winner Takes All match to win Scorpio's World Television Championship and the World Tag Team Championship (which Scorpio held with Sandman), with assistance by former tag team partner Cactus Jack, who delivered a
double underhook DDT to Scorpio and put Whipwreck on top of him for the pinfall. Whipwreck was dissatisfied with the title win but Jack chose himself as Whipwreck's other half of the World Tag Team Champions. Whipwreck and Cactus were unable to maintain a successful partnership due to Cactus's dirty tactics. The duo dropped the World Tag Team Championship to
The Eliminators (
Perry Saturn and
John Kronus) in February 1996 at
Big Apple Blizzard Blast. After the match, Cactus
turned on Whipwreck with the aid of Raven and Whipwreck began feuding with Cactus.
Various feuds (1996–1998) At
CyberSlam, Whipwreck began a new
angle with
Taz by picking up a fight with him after Taz continued to assault his defeated opponent Joel Hartgood after the match, but Whipwreck was taken down with a
Tazmission. At
Heat Wave, Whipwreck attempted to regain the
ECW World Tag Team Championship from
The Eliminators with
Sabu as his partner but failed to win the titles. He captured the European Wrestling Association (EWA) European Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 2 by defeating The Dirt Bike Kid and appeared with the belt on ECW television until losing it to Sabu in
London,
England in December. Whipwreck appeared on the February 24, 1997 episode of
Monday Night Raw, taking place at ECW's home arena
Manhattan Center where he lost to Taz as part of an
angle between ECW and the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF). This would be his only
WWE match. He took a hiatus from ECW for the next few months until returning to television on the May 29 episode of
Hardcore TV, where he and
Spike Dudley lost to
Big Dick Dudley and
D-Von Dudley. Whipwreck and Dudley began teaming together and got involved in a feud with
PG-13. Whipwreck and Dudley lost to PG-13 at
Orgy of Violence but defeated PG-13 and Whipwreck's longtime rival
Jason in a
handicap match at July's
Heat Wave pay-per-view. Whipwreck was next placed in a rivalry with the undefeated newcomer
Justin Credible, who was being
managed by Jason. Whipwreck faced Credible in a match at
November to Remember, which Whipwreck won by pinning him after a
Whipper-Snapper, ending Credible's televised winning streak. Whipwreck disappeared from television and returned at the
Living Dangerously pay-per-view on March 1, 1998, where he helped
Tommy Dreamer in beating Credible. Whipwreck lost to Credible in a rematch at May's
Wrestlepalooza. He competed against
Rob Van Dam for the
ECW World Television Championship at
It Ain't Seinfeld, where the match ended in a no contest after Sabu interfered and attacked Van Dam. Whipwreck would then compete against Sabu in a series of matches throughout the year. His last rivalry in the company was against
Jerry Lynn. He defeated Lynn in the opening match of
UltraClash on September 19. His last televised match in ECW was a loss to Lynn on the December 17 episode of
Hardcore TV. He made only three more pay-per-view appearances. He would lose to
Scotty Riggs at
Spring Stampede and
Van Hammer at
The Great American Bash. His final WCW pay-per-view match was a
Junkyard Invitational at
Bash at the Beach. He left WCW after several months, disillusioned by his lack of a
push. While in WCW, he generally wrestled in the
cruiserweight division or competed against fellow ECW alumni in the
hardcore division, which made him have second thoughts about staying in WCW. His last match was a
draw against
Chase Tatum on the August 23 episode of
Monday Nitro.
Return to Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999–2001) Watson returned to the ECW in October 1999 at
Re-enter the Sandman (televised on the October 31 episode of
ECW Hardcore TV). He was brought back to the company by
Lou E. Dangerously and faced
Mike Awesome for the
World Heavyweight Championship but lost. Whipwreck unsuccessfully challenged
Rob Van Dam for the
ECW World Television Championship on the December 26
Hardcore TV. Whipwreck competed as a mid-carder, aligning himself with the
Sinister Minister, during which his
character was changed from a
lovable loser to a
pyromaniac. During this time, he began competing against lighter wrestlers in the
cruiserweight division. He competed in
elimination matches at May's
Hardcore Heaven and July's
Heat Wave pay-per-views. During this time, he frequently
feuded with
Little Guido and joined forces with
Yoshihiro Tajiri. The duo got another opportunity for the titles at
November to Remember, where Whipwreck was injured in the match and was replaced by
Super Crazy. This marked the beginning of a brief alliance between Super Crazy and the Unholy Alliance, which ended after the trio lost to Hot Commodity (E. Z. Money, Julio Dinero, and
Chris Hamrick) in a
six-man tag team match on the November 19 episode of
Hardcore TV. Unholy Alliance
turned on Crazy when Whipwreck helped Tajiri defeat Crazy in a match by delivering a
Whipper-Snapper to Crazy, allowing Tajiri to get the win. The duo became
villains in the process. The Unholy Alliance defeated Crazy and Kash and Full Blooded Italians in a three-way dance at ECW's final pay-per-view
Guilty as Charged on January 7, 2001. This was Whipwreck's final match in ECW as the company folded down due to bankruptcy shortly after holding its final event on January 13, 2001.
Late career (2001–2020) In early 2001, Whipwreck announced his intention to retire in May 2002 if he was not hired by the World Wrestling Federation or BRC in the interim, expressing an interest in pursuing a career in
pyrotechnics. By June 11 he had decided to retire by September of that year, as his wrestling style had begun resulting in several nagging injuries, including two herniated discs, damaged knees, a damaged right shoulder, and a jaw cracked to the point of not even being able to eat hard food. In tribute to Whipwreck,
Border City Wrestling hosted "The Mikey Whipwreck Retirement Bash" on August 29, 2001, at the Cicciaro Club in
Windsor, Ontario and featured several prominent ECW performers, such as
Tommy Dreamer and
Sabu. Whipwreck wrestled his American retirement match on October 20, 2001, defeating Little Guido. Whipwreck broke his retirement before long, returning in 2003. He wrestled in several different promotions, such as
Ring of Honor, where he would often team with or against some of the wrestlers he has trained. He also made a one-time appearance in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he teamed with The Sandman at one of TNA's weekly pay-per-views against
The Gathering (
CM Punk and
Julio Dinero) in a losing effort. He later appeared at
Hardcore Homecoming, an ECW reunion tour organized by fellow ECW alum
Shane Douglas, in mid-2005. On the
Extreme Reunion portion of the tour, he teamed with
Chris Chetti to defeat
Simon Diamond and
C. W. Anderson on June 10. Two days later at the first-ever
ECW One Night Stand, Whipwreck,
Yoshihiro Tajiri and
The Sinister Minister reunited for one night only as Whipwreck and The Minister stood in Tajiri's corner during his three-way dance against Little Guido and
Super Crazy. During April 2006, Whipwreck worked as an agent for Liberty States Wrestling. At the
second ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view on June 11, 2006, Whipwreck was seen on camera celebrating with other ECW wrestlers after
Rob Van Dam won the
WWE Championship. On February 21, 2008, in his final New England wrestling appearance, Whipwreck was set to team with
The Blue Meanie to challenge for the
NECW Tag Team Championship at
New England Championship Wrestling's Genesis 8 event in
Quincy, Massachusetts, but due to car troubles, Whipwreck was unable to attend the event, causing The Blue Meanie to pick a replacement. On September 11, 2010, Whipwreck and Scyther defeated Big Time Rush (Tony Burma and Ryan Rush) to win the New York Wrestling Connection Tag Team Championship. On May 24, 2012, Whipwreck made his debut for his former partner, Tajiri's new
Wrestling New Classic (WNC) promotion in
Tokyo. He teamed with Tajiri in a tag team hardcore match, where they defeated
Jado & Gedo. Two days later, Whipwreck and Tajiri defeated
Yo-Hey and
Yusuke Kodama in another tag team hardcore match in
Osaka. Whipwreck's tour of WNC concluded on May 27, when he, Tajiri and
Kana were defeated in a six-person main event by
Akira,
Dave Finlay and
Syuri. Whipwreck returned to WNC on August 30, when he, Kana and Tajiri were defeated in a
Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch by Akira,
StarBuck and Syuri, with Akira pinning Whipwreck for the win. Whipwreck, Kana, and Tajiri were also defeated in a rematch the following day in Osaka. On September 1, in the third and final Barbed Wire Board Deathmatch between the two teams, Whipwreck pinned StarBuck to win the match for his team. On March 12, 2015, Watson announced his intention to "let Mikey Whipwreck fade into the past". On September 14, 2015, it was announced that Mikey Whipwreck would be a playable character in the
WWE 2K16 video game. == Championships and accomplishments ==