ECW is known by many fans as the first "hardcore" promotion. This encompassed many topics ranging from: the match types, the moves not seen in North America at the time, use of weapons, adult language & humor, violence with and towards women, use of adult film actresses, and more.
However during its start in February 1992, then-called Eastern Championship Wrestling wasn't very hardcore by those standards. Other promotions during that time (Memphis, later on Smoky Mountain, and others) had various aspects of the hardcore style. However, by May 1993, ECW's weekly TV show was called "Hardcore TV".
On September 18, 1993, ECW was operating in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia; and it ran a show called Ultra-Clash '93. This was the first show booked by Paul Heyman (then called Paul E. Dangerously) as the booking era of Eddie Gilbert had come to an end after his falling out with company owner Tod Gordon. A feud leading up to the show was The Dark Patriot (Doug Gilbert, brother of Eddie Gilbert) against local Philadelphia fan favorite JT Smith. This culminated in a scaffold match at the Ultra-Clash show.
Prior to this there was a match at the Arena between the two wrestlers. This match saw JT Smith being thrown off the "Eagles Nest" (section of the Arena) and then The Dark Patriot dove off of the balcony onto JT Smith who was on the floor (no tables). This is considered by most ECW fans to be the first "balcony dive" which preceded New Jack's better-known dives off balconies at the ECW Arena and other ECW venues.
Here is that match:
Here is the recap from the Ultra-Clash event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UltraClash_(1993)
Remember that this was the ECW Arena show which was the one before Sabu, Taz, and Tommy Dreamer first appeared during the two shows on the first weekend of October 1993.
The scaffold match was the first in ECW history as well. By the time this match ended, ECW had cemented itself as the pioneer in the new "hardcore" era of pro wrestling. Doug's departure with his brother after that night led to this match not being discussed much; but both wrestlers (JT Smith and Dark Patriot) helped make ECW into the promotion which fans wanted to follow versus the competition at the time.
It’s amazing how that feud played such a big role in shaping ECW’s hardcore identity. Those early matches really showed the passion and intensity that made ECW so unique in wrestling history.
Also, all of this was roughly two years before JT Smith became an "Italian" after getting a concussion hitting his head on the floor after his foot caught the top rope on a dive outside. He was with Val Puccio at the time and started the Full Blooded Italians when he returned. Puccio left soon thereafter, but Damien Stone had joined (being an actual Italian) to form the first version of the F.B.I. Here is JT Smith becoming "Italian"!!: