An event that occured on November 23, 1996 during an Extreme Championship Wrestling (
ECW)
house show.
A 17-year old minor, who had provided false adult ID and claimed to have been trained in pro wrestling school, was booked into a tag team match as a replacement, under the guise of a bus driver named
Mass Transit, teaming with D-Von Dudley, against The Gangstas:
New Jack and Mustafa
Saed. The Gangstas were booked to squash the opposing team in a hardcore setting. Using various objects from the ring and the crowd, New Jack tried to work with Mass Transit, who was untrained, and injured himself. As part of the match, New Jack bladed Mass Transit on the forehead, causing substantial bleeding. When the truth of
Mass Transit's age reached the press and the law, ECW faced scrutiny, and had their
inaugral PPV "Barely Legal" cancelled.
Mass Transit's family filed assault charges and a lawsuit against New Jack and ECW, however through testimony of all the wrestlers and Mass Transit himself, it was revealed that he had indeed lied about his age and ability, and had requested himself that he be cut in the match. All charges were dismissed, and the Barely Legal PPV was rescheduled a month later.
Mass Transit died at age 22 from obesity.
The Mass Transit Incident is one of the most
infamous nights in
professional wrestling