• How EC3 Managed To Keep His Name In WWE
After coming up in FCW & NXT under the name Derrick Bateman from February 2009 until May 2013, he joined Total Nonstop Action! (TNA, now IMPACT Wrestling) in September 2013 as Ethan Carter III (or short, EC3), the kayfabe nephew of promoter Dixie Carter.
He won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on 2 occasions and wrestled for them until January 2018 with his pre-taped appearances airing until March that year.
EC3 then returned to NXT right away and even made it to the main roster by the end of 2018, before being fired due to COVID-19 pandemic related budget cuts in April 2020.
During an interview with The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 revealed how he was able to keep his IMPACT Wrestling name in WWE, something that very rarely happens, with only a few exceptions like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe managing to do that.
Here’s what the former 24/7 Champion said:
“So I trademarked EC3, and when I went to NXT, they asked if they wanted to change the name or can we change the name.
I was like ‘I don’t really want to, it’s three characters, it’s easy to chant, and it has recognition’.
So they said ‘We’ll just throw some names on the list’.
I said okay. So to avoid changing the name, I put some of the worst possible names on this list.
Like they all had E, and they all had C. So at the top of the list was something like Edgar Crushington.
They were just like, ‘Whatever, just go ahead’.”
WATCH: Former WWE Diva Christy Hemme Without Clothes (Part 2):
• ON THIS DAY IN WWF HISTORY (April 24, 1988) – WWF Wrestling Challenge
On this day in 1988, the World Wrestling Federation aired an episode of their weekly TV show ‘WWF Wrestling Challenge’.
It was broadcasted from the Prairie Capital Convention Centre in Springfield, Illinois and featured pre-taped matches, promos & storyline segments on the road to the ‘WWF SummerSlam 1988’ PPV.
The card can be found right here:
The Junkyard Dog vs. Barry Horowitz
Bad News Brown vs. Keith Watkins
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. El Conquistador #2
Dino Bravo vs. Omar Atlas
The Islanders vs. Van Van Horne & Scott Casey
The Ultimate Warrior vs. Dick Donovan
