The Mass Transit incident was a professional wrestling controversy that took place during an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) house show on November 23, 1996, at the Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere, Massachusetts, United States.[1][2][3] 17-year-old Erich Kulas, an aspiring professional wrestler who used the ring name "Mass Transit", was seriously injured in a tag team match against The Gangstas; the most severe injury occurred when Kulas was bladed too deeply by New Jack (Jerome Young), severing two of his arteries. Further controversy arose when it came to light that Kulas had lied to ECW owner and booker Paul Heyman about his age and professional wrestling training.
The incident led to the temporary cancellation of the inaugural ECW pay-per-view Barely Legal and legal action against Young. Due to Kulas's deception, however, Barely Legal was reinstated and the legal action ended in Young's favor.
Match
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;[4] Dudley later stated that it was the death of Rotten's grandmother.[5] The show was also scheduled to feature dwarf wrestlers Tiny the Terrible and Half Nelson against 17-year-old Erich Kulas, who performed as Mass Transit, a Ralph Kramden-esque bus driver.[2][3] Kulas convinced Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) owner and
Repercussions
Pay-per-view cancellation
The incident led to the cancellation of ECW's first ever pay-per-view (PPV) event, Barely Legal, by pay-per-view provider Request TV[1] on Christmas Eve 1996. Heyman, by his own admission in The Rise and Fall of ECW, "begged and pleaded" with Request and finally convinced the company that ECW had been misled about Kulas's age. The PPV event was placed back on the schedule on Sunday, April 13, 1997, at 9:00 pm.
Inside Edition interview
Kulas and his family later gave an interview to the syndicated tabloid program Inside Edition, which featured footage from the incident. 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. The story was completed before the Kulases launched their lawsuit, so the key details of how Kulas actually got himself into the match had not been made public at that point.
Legal action
Later events
Erich Kulas died on May 12, 2002, at the age of 22,[2] due to complications from gastric bypass surgery.[1]
The incident was featured in a 2020 episode of Dark Side of the Ring centered on New Jack.[8] Kulas's family declined to participate in the episode.[9]
Up to his own death in May 2021, New Jack did not express remorse for the incident: the final tweet on his Twitter account, posted just a day before his death from a heart attack, reiterated that Kulas requested the blading.[10]
One positive that came out of the incident was that it made promoters, particularly on the independent circuit do more vetting on making sure wrestlers are of legal age.
See also
- Chuck Austin
- Syko Stu
External links
References
- Scott Williams. Hardcore History Sports Publishing LLC, 2006^
- Thom Loverro. The Rise and Fall of ECW Pocket Books, 2006^
- Shaun Assael, Mike Mooneyham. Sex, Lies, and Headlocks Crown Publishers, 2002^