The 90s produced some of the most eccentric and memorable acts in the history of the business. One of those acts is a pair that still hasn’t seem to been given nearly enough credit, even in a modern era that looks back fondly on that era. Rocco Rock was a high-flyer as Cheetah Kid, but went until the radar until he was paired with Johnny Grunge to form The Public Enemy in ECW in 1993.
One of the biggest reasons that the 90s were so memorable, and also one of the reasons that there was such a down period in the time frame that followed was that the business often moved at a rapid pace, sometimes out of necessity. For what they brought to the table, “The Fly Boy” and Grunge were tailored for the hip hop culture of the decade and the brawling in-ring style that allowed ECW to get noticed at a time when the business was still in a slump from the negative press of the WWE steroid trial of the early-90s.
It shouldn’t be overlooked or understated how important that notoriety was for the upstart league based in South Philadelphia, as video tape sales were one of the reasons that the promotion was able to stay afloat, especially in its early years. Along with Sabu, who was a cult phenom at the time, The Public Enemy’s wild brawls were a major selling point for those VHS tapes that provided a key revenue stream for the organization.
As far as the business moving at such a fast pace during that era, The Public Enemy spent just under two and a half years in the extreme organization, starting there in September of 1993 as a team that the newly-anointed booker, Paul Heyman spotlighted as a representation for the brand that he was trying to build to spark a stagnant industry.
Make no mistake about it, Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge were notable stars by the time they left ECW.
This week actual marks thirty years since the House Party event in 1996, a show that was built around the final appearance of the duo at the ECW arena. It’s ironic that as blood thirsty and unforgiving as the crowd was known for being, specifically when talent left for the bigger money in the major leagues during the next few years, the crowd seemed to want to celebrate The Public Enemy when they defeated The Gangstas in the main event segment thirty years ago.
It should be noted that while the under card was mostly undistinguished, with the exception of Too Cold Scorpio vs. Mikey Whipwreck and Sabu vs. Stevie Richards, this event saw the debut of Rob Van Dam in a six-minute showcase match against Axl Rotten. The reason that House Party 1996 was such a key event in the history of Public Enemy as a team was that it provided the opportunity to make the best money of their careers, which is something not every notable talent from ECW had a chance to do in their careers. At the same time, the exit from Philadelphia was more or less the peak of their careers.
Regardless of if it was politics, the shifts in the industry, or simply unavoidable circumstances, The Public Enemy were never able to eclipse or maintain the status they had in either of the bigger organizations. As we know, they left for WCW in early-1996 and all things considered, the first two years of their run in the Turner organization was mostly good stuff. Rocco and Grunge had fun matches with The Nasty Boys because of the sloppy brawls, an observation that is meant in the most positive way possible. Public Enemy also had entertaining matches with Harlem Heat and a slew of other teams in the promotion at the time. They actual won the WCW Tag Team titles in late-1996, but it’s quite literally forgettable as they only held the belts for a week. If I had to guess, the reason that their run stalled as much as it did in their final year in the promotion was probably at least partial because of how the wheels started to come off across the board by mid-1998. The Turner group rode the wave of an electric run by Bill Goldberg through the end of the year, but there’s no question that the cracks in the foundation that eventually led to the collapse started as early as 1998 before the company started to veer off course in 1999.
I’m not sure if WCW didn’t know what to do with Public Enemy beyond the easy booking of the brawling matches with The Nasty Boys, or if Rocco and Grunge were too one-dimensional of an act at that point to bring something new to the table, but one thing is for sure, they didn’t get the opportunity to try it. The Public Enemy got lost in the shuffle similar to dozens of other wrestlers so if they could’ve been more adaptable is probably a moot point. They left the Turner organization at the end of 1998.
This is where the business decisions, at least in retrospect seemed to have done a lot to minimize the careers of the team.
Three years after they made an exit, The Public Enemy were back in ECW with House Party 1999, an event specifically named to promote their return. The smaller group more or less was always struggling to maintain its talent roster from the time that it truly became a national commodity through pay-per-view in 1997 so it was a nice addition to the company to have a signature team back into the fold, particularly because The Sandman and Raven had also left for WCW since The Public Enemy had been gone. At the end of the show, Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge returned to a wild reaction and confronted The Dudley Boys, the top team in the company the past few years. Public Enemy had a triumphant moment to celebrate their return. A week later at a house show in Detroit, where a spot was planned to allow The Dudleys to get a measure of revenge against Public Enemy to set up for a showdown at Cyber Slam 1999 at the ECW arena two weeks later, Rocco and Grudge decided to no-sell the attack from The Dudleys. Instead of being left in the ring to sell, The Public Enemy got on the mic, prompting The Dudleys to hit the ring again to repeat the beat down. Again, Public Enemy was back on the mic, and The Dudleys had to repeat the same spot to get the team to sell the attack.
They signed with the WWF for an ill-fated run that lasted six weeks. Infamously, they tried to change the finish of a match with The Acolytes on Sunday Night Heat, which led to them getting legitimately pummeled in the ring. They spent two weeks back in WCW before they finished up on the national promotion.
Sadly, Rocco Rock passed away of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of just 49. I actually had a chance to meet Johnny Grunge at a Hardcore Homecoming event in Pittsburgh in 2005. There was an in-ring segment where Grunge and Pitbull Gary Wolfe honored their respective fallen tag partners. Unfortunately, even as Grunge waved his arms around as “Here comes the hotstepper” blared in the building, there was a sadness in his eyes. When I met him at intermission, he was a very nice guy. Grunge less than six months later at the age of 39.
If I had to guess, I’d say the main reason that Public Enemy gets overlooked today is that their runs in the major leagues were either under the radar, underwhelming, or both. Furthermore, the fact that the work they did in ECW was before the company became a national entity probably skews the perspective. Obviously, it doesn’t help that arguably the moment that they are most well known for, at least by fans that aren’t familiar with the early portion of their career, is when they were beat up by The Acolytes. Maybe one of the other reasons that Public Enemy doesn’t get the credit they deserve is that they were very much a product of time and place. The entire act was based on the 90s era and was so tailored to ECW that it just didn’t translate to the bigger stage.
However, as I said, the impact of Public Enemy, especially toward the early days of ECW that helped get the promotion off the ground, should definitely be recognized. The brawls they had with The Gangstas, The Funks, and other teams were important highlights to the overall presentation of the promotion. Furthermore, the argument could be made that ECW wouldn’t have propelled to the national stage as much as it did without the early contributions of The Public Enemy in the company.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
