Do you miss ECW?

[Da Big Champ]

I recently started thinking about ECW while watching NXT and then i started wondering if anyone missed it.

I miss ECW because it was a show that had a mixture of young and old and there wasn't any main eventers unlike smackdown and raw.

IMO i would rather watch ECW than NXT and think ECW shouldn't have been stoppped.

I want to know if you miss it and why.

 

[Ferbian]

I don't miss it no, I didn't exactly watch the 2006-2008 version of it, but I can understand that it had better talent back then with Kurt Angle actually being on there, we saw RAW and Smackdown people appearing there, the last couple of months / the last year's time of ECW was absolutely awful.

Sure it had some decent matches, some decent feuds, but it wasn't what ECW should be about, especially due to the introduction of the PG era, which caused ECW to loose some of it's innovative brutality.

Sure we saw hardcore matches every now and then, but it still wasn't what ECW was truly supposed to be, it was a shadow of it's former self, and a disgrace to the legacy of the original ECW.

So no I do not miss it.

 

[dvayne]

I was never a huge fan of them using the ECW name but as a show it focused on the underutilized talent in the WWE. It was good for making veterans relevent again (Kane, Chavo, Matt Hardy) pushing younger talent (CM Punk, John Morrison, The Miz, Kofi)

I like NXT as a way to breakout the FCW talent and give them air time. Do I miss ECW not really if I had to choose I like NXT better because you still have Superstars to focus on the lowercard talent that needs airtime. They never really treated ECW like a third brand so it was pretty pointless. Might as well just have 2 brands and use Superstars for the lower talent and NXT to push the future stars

 

[klunderbunker]

No.

ECW and its title were midcard level stuff during the last two years or so. NXT came in, had what I thought was a good show, and then got into the biggest angle in forever on Raw. ECW NEVER meant as much as what happened a few weeks ago. NXT was something different rather than the third brand. Three shows are just too many, so slimming it down like this was a great idea. It also gives the feeling of an actual invasion which is actually the point. I don't miss it at all.

 

[Money Inc.]

No

With the addition of Superstars there was no need for a C and D show. With this we get NXT which besides the stupid competitions they compete in is a good show.

Plus it brought us the hottest news getting talked about since Hogan signed with TNA

 

[Bobby B]

Not really. The main event was usually quite good, (as has been said you usually had a good mixture of young and old). It was a great way for younger talent to get some time on a separate show.

The rest though was very forgettable. Usually one or two really poor storylines followed by a divas skit.

I prefer NXT alot. Sure its a more forced way to bring through talent, but I like the format. A great way to bring through a lot of talent and giving them a chance to shine on their own show.

Does anyone know if there is going to be a season 3 of NXT straight after Season 2? Surely they can keep doing it like this or they will run out of talent in FCW.

 

[closet_fan]

there is only one ECW and that's the one that Paul Heyman made into an underground sensation. i would threw up in my mouth if i was one of the main guys during ecw's big years and saw what garbage vince turned it into.

 

[vanderhevel]

The new one, i could never get into, and i felt it using the ecw name was an insult, since it was nothing at all like it. i like nxt better, even if some of the challenges are hard to watch.

 

[Coco]

I definitely miss WWECW.

I hate that name, but I'm using it to make sure people don't think I'm speaking about the original.

The new one had become the ideal breeding ground for future main eventers and had the best midcard title in the WWE. It got Punk, Lashley, Matt Hardy, Morrison, Miz, and Kane ready for immediate pushes once they switched brands. It made Big Show more relevant than he had ever been in the WWE. Despite not being used correctly, Swagger, Henry, and Christain were all ready for main event pushes once they were finished with ECW (Not title runs, but pushes). Bourne was also ready for a significant midcard push once he was done with ECW. Instead of these people being lost in the shuffle because booking on the major brands is fucked, ECW made them important (again, or for the first time). And when ECW got screwed over every year in the draft, they kepty going and generated more ready-made prospects. Everything on ECW felt significant, and it never got a chance to lose it's steam like Raw or SmackDown do. It came off very well and was a great way to introduce call-ups to television, get them over, and test them in main event matches. It really is too bad there're a handful of loons out there who couldn't get over the name.

NXT, on the other hand, has floundered outside of a couple Danielson-Cole segments. Of course the invasion has blinded everyone, so I'm fighting an uphill battle on that one.

 

[Vintage]

No sorry.

They should have just aired FCW at that time slot, that's essentially what it was.
I do miss Tony Atlas and Rosa though. Rosa more.

 

[Sting's Bat]

The old ECW sure it was pretty different when compared to what else was on at the time.

The new ECW not really the last months with that faux talk show taking up 15 min of a 60 min show, plus being on a shitty network really turned me off of it.

 

[American Steamboat]

Yes, I do miss ECW. Once Christian debuted, it really began to get good again in my opinion. Other than the god awful Abraham Washington show, I really enjoyed it every week. More than anything though, I miss the early days of WWECW. After seeing this thread, I watched Kurt Angle vs. Rob Van Dam, which was just an awesome match. Other than the stupid sci-fi gimmicks and extreme expose (though quite hot), WWECW really had a lot of momentum going. I really wish RVD could've kept his smoking on the down low and Angle could've avoided pain killers...who knows what the show could've been had those guys stayed around.

 

[brighamosity]

I don't miss ECW at all. It was a B-rate show that tried to act like it wasn't. I remember when John Morrison won the ECW title and how they kept trying to make it sound like the ECW title was equivelent to the other two world titles. It was laughable.

I was a fan of NXT even before the invasion angle. I don't necessarily like everything about it (i.e. the weekly challenges) but overall, I think it's an interesting show. I'm not sure how they'd be able to debut 8 stars every season though. I don't know how many wrestlers are just sitting around in development waiting to debut, but if they bring in too many people, I see a lot of "future endeavors" in the future.

 

[TheHammerMan]

Not one bit. Like other people have stated, it shouldn't use the ecw name. There was nothing extreme about ecw for the past few years. It had some moments but they weren't ecw. The wwe quite frankly ruined ecw. The only thing good about ecw was Tommy Dreamer.

 

[Adam08]

I miss it

It would great to watch imo I got to see Christian be the face of the brand. Some decent feuds with Burchill and Helms. Regal used somewhat good it was great for me anyway.

If ecw had a extra hour and more talent I think it would be good show to watch. But nxt is pretty good I wouldn't want to replace it with ecw.

 

[T2KFreeker]

I miss the real ECW, not the WWE version. It really needed it's own thing. It started out well enough for like the first few months, then it fell into the crapper. It's like that to me whenever anyone tries to suggest that Vince bring back WCW as a brand. Yeah, just look at what he did to ECW. It was almost as if they wanted it to fail so they could poke fun at how ECW is just another failed brand that WWE killed. Yeah . . .

 

[ECDublegend]

Yes

I do miss WWECW to an extent because I really enjoyed watching wrestlers that I didn't think would have a future in the business to size or lack of crowd response(i.e. Zack Ryder, Chavo, Shelton) actually do something and make a name for themselves. I also loved seeing Kane as the champ because he looked damn good with the bel around his waist and i seemed like he could give credibility to the title. THen, the new era of wrestlers would come in (i.e. Swagger, Bourne) and I also think that they did great things for the brand and really shoed that they could make something out of themselves on ECw, which was something they wouldn't be able to do immediately on the Raw/Smackdown rosters. I think it was just a great environment for newbies and veterans to prove their worth in the wrestling business. Thats not to say that i dont prefer the original ECW, the house that Heyman built, because I loved the extreme era, but i knew that was done when ECW resurrected so i accepted it and enjoyed the new ECW for what it was

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The original ECW? Yes. The absolute abomination it had become as it closed? Fuck no.

While I'm hardly a fan of what became of the NXT program – thought I do admit I had high expectations when I first heard of the concept – it is substantially better than what ECW became, which was nothing more than a C-rated program designed to force characters on their last legs and the "ECW Original" Tommy Dreamer to create new stars for the WWE.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

I miss it for several reasons, which I'll explain in a second. As far as the name change goes, if you read my review of ECW One Night Stand 2006 on the Old School PPV Forum (cheap plug), I state that ECW really disintegrated from the product that was introduced to wrestling fans around 2006. In all honesty, after Heyman left, ECW should have morphed into a different name since it didn't live up to the namesake's style of wrestling or presentation.

That being said, ECW's positives outshined its negatives. For one, it developed new stars. Case in point: CM Punk. Here's a guy who probably would have been squashed like a bug debuting on Raw or Smackdown. Yet, he was given the time to gain exposure on ECW and grab an audience through that. He already had the fans who loved Punk's work in ROH and other companies, but this allowed him the time to get the audience truly on his side. Jack Swagger is a similar story. Someone that needed the exposure on ECW before getting promoted to a top-tier brand. Sheamus... do I really need to explain here? No matter how bush league ECW seemed, it helped new talent get prepared for the other two brands.

Another positive of this show was that it resuscitated many careers. The Miz is a GREAT GREAT GREAT example of this. When Miz was drafted to ECW in 2007, I expected him to be on the chopping block. However, they allowed his character to grow and mature on ECW, and then, the tag team of the late 00's in WWE is formed. Johnny Nitro is another example. I'm sorry, newer fans who may not remember this guy. He was a member of MNM and also served a stint as Eric Bischoff's lackey for a couple months. His career was flushing down the toilet, but ECW was the place where John Morrison was born. He became ECW Champion for a few months, and when he came back from suspension, he and The Miz formed a tag team that won tag team gold on the other two brands while being based in ECW. Matt Hardy, Finlay, Goldust, William Regal, Big Show, Mark Henry... all examples of guys whose careers were helped by being on ECW... even if that only meant they kept their jobs.

Bubba Ray Dudley (Brother Ray in TNA or just douchebag, either name will work) stated in The Rise and Fall of ECW that the original "ECW was the breeding ground for WWE." With all of its changes and the fact that it shouldn't have maintained the ECW name, the ECW show did do that purpose. And while I enjoy watching some of the young talent work in NXT, I do admit to missing the "abomination" that was ECW. I hate reality TV shows anyway, and I can't stand scripted wrestling shows trying to be revolutionary.

(And just a rant: Whoever thought it created heat to have Cody Rhodes send Matt Striker off the stage needs to be fired. Seriously, Cody isn't going to get heat for doing something the audience wanted to do themselves. And the younger fans won't remember next week if it isn't on Raw or Smackdown. In the words of this generation: epic fail.)

 

[SavageTaker]

I miss some aspects of WWECW but overall, I’d have to say no. It was a brand that no one cared about for the most part and that can be blamed partly on Vince (I’m assuming he didn’t care for it). I guess people thought that if the owner of the company didn’t care for it then why should they?

Throughout its existence it featured some quality matches and at time was an entertaining hour of wrestling. But that’s pretty much all it was good for. I think NXT could actually become a better show in the future once they fix all of the mistakes and perfect it.

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

I actually do miss ECW. However, I don't mean that as in I wished NXT didn't exist. I like both shows... differently. I was just started to like ECW when it got cancelled. I loved Christian as ECW Champion, The Abraham Washington Show, Tony Atlas's laugh, Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes's relationship, Gregory Helms denying being The Hurricane... I LOVED IT ALL. Now, with NXT, I like it also. New superstars, I know nothing about, getting recognized, given air time... I think it's great. So, I do miss ECW, and also NXT.

 

[wushady]

The only thing I miss about the WWE's ECW is Christian being the champion. I don't consider that title a real world title, but it was great to see Christian as the top guy. I miss the original ECW though I don't think it's style would survive in today's environment.

 

[Kid A]

i dont miss the reboot ECW, but i DO miss the old hardcore ECW with all the craziness like people getting thrown into the crowd or insane amounts of table action.

i dont think they ever should have rebooted ECW because they would never let it get to that level of extreme so theres no reason to bring that specific brand back

though i didnt get to see the beginning of ECW i saw a good portion of it in the middle and towards the end before it originally went out of business

 

[The Champ]

When I first heard about the NXT concept, I liked it and thought that it had a lot of potential. But Coco's right, aside from the Danielson-Cole segments and the invasion, the first season could have been better in a lot of ways. There's certainly room for improvement, but I'm not sure if it compares favorably to ECW right now, which was one of the most unsung wrestling shows in a long time in terms of giving younger guys airtime and putting on different and entertaining feuds and matches. Current main eventers such as Punk, Swagger, and Sheamus got their first major exposure over there. The Christian-Dreamer storyline was a highlight of last year, in fact everything Christian did made the brand infinitely better. The Punk-Chavo feud was loads of fun even if Chavo isn't exactly world title material, and the show gave Kane the chance to truly shine without bad booking to hinder him. And let's not forget Big Show's dominating ECW title reign in 2006, which helped to establish him as a dominant monster again. I know that plenty of people thought that it "pissed on the legacy of the original ECW" or whatever, but the thing is, WWE never intended for it to be exactly the same as the original. How could it be when it was no longer its own promotion? Sure, they could have kept more of the hardcore stuff in there, but it served a greater purpose in building new stars and giving everyone an alternative to the Cena-Edge-Triple H-Orton-Taker dominated Raw and SmackDown. I would even say it was almost like an independent show, only with wider exposure, and with stars who went on to achieve even bigger things on one of the main two brands.

 

[ABMorales787]

Not one bit. It was a storage closet for the talent that had nothing in the main roster. It was never given any credit or credibility. It could provide as many good matches as it want's but it doesn't change wants under the mask. As soon as there was talent that showed promise, it was immediately plucked out and placed on the main brands. It was a glorified Farm territory with an international TV deal and a belt with no continuity. It was a waste of time and money.