ECW- Final Thoughts, General Comments, and RIP

[Schizophrenic]

Watching the last episode two thoughts really ran through my mind.

1) It left almost a bitter taste in my mouth. Watching the promo by Christian dedicating the match to the originals and guys who busted their ass for ECW like Dreamer, Van Dam, Sabu, Sandman and others like them was fantastic and got you to really root for Christian to leave with the belt as you could tell (as he has admitted) that he was a fan of the original ECW and that it would be held by someone who seemingly wanted the best for it. I was hoping for that feel good moment at the end with Christian keeping the belt and letting ECW fans go out happy that the guy fighting for the originals won and that in some minds that "good triumphed over evil". I know Jackson winning is to give him momentum when he goes to RAW or SmackDown but I can't help but feel a littel sickened that the last guy who held it was someone who almost repesented the total opposite of what ECW was about. Jackson was never really a hardcore guy, wasn't really a technical artists nor a high flyer all of which ECW was famous for having. So I can't help but feel kind of cheated by it.

2) It made me a bit sad in that the letters are finally gone. I think the difference with this ECW being over being more sad to me than when the original ECW or even WCW ending was that while I was a huge fan of both of these I wasn't there in the beggining. I didn't watch WCW at the very start nor did I see ECW in the beggining so I never fealt like it was "mine". With this incarnation, I have never missed an episode so to see it fade away upsets me a bit in that something I have been involved with as a fan since the start is coming to a close. Almost like a child leaving the home to go to college. NXT will take it's place and there will be WWE on at the same time but it won't be the same. I know it's kinda weird to some but this ECW was something that still had me invested every week and had me care about their guys whether it be the "Originals", the "New Breed" or the "New Talent Initiative" guys. I can almost relate it to if SmackDown goes off the air. It will be upsetting because I have beenthere since the beggining and in a way it is "my" tv show

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I don't see the ECW Forum around anymore, so I guess this can go here.

But the reason why I think it's a shame they killed ECW was because it was usually the best television show, or second best television show the WWE offered on any given week. Each week, from the very first episode, to last night, the brand always offered SOMETHING that was worth tuning in for. It was very rare for a bad episode of ECW to take place. The show was always entertaining. We had RVD's tremendous main events. The New Breed vs. The Originals was a great angle, and it culminated in an Extreme Rules 8 Man Tag which was a CLASSIC. It was absolutely surreal for The Big Show and Batista to square off in the Hammerstein Ballroom with all of the fans shitting on what they were watching. CM Punk debuted on that same show, and the amount of support he had that night is a huge reason why he rose so quickly through the WWE. We had the evolution of CM Punk and John Morrison. There was never a bad match between the two, and they've become bonafide stars. Marcus Cor Von was always a treat to watch, and it's still a shame that personal matters forced him to leave the WWE. The Colin Delaney angle was tremendous. Mark Henry, after all these years, found a way to get over and connect with the crowd. Zack Ryder showed he was more than a generic Edgehead. Tommy Dreamer had one last deserved hurrah, and Christian brought a real touch of class to ECW, becoming the face of the brand and putting on great matches with just about everybody.

And there were so many great moments. Lashley crashing through the steel cage on Umaga. CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero's Gulf of Mexico match. Seeing RVD and Sabu go at it one last time. Kurt Angle chasing Heyman through a corridor. The joy we felt when CM Punk finally managed to defeat John Morrison and become ECW Champion. Yoshi Tatsu getting over with just one kick to the head of Shelton Benjamin. Goldust showing that he still has something left in the gas tank. The first time Evan Bourne busted out the Shooting Star Press, and how amazed the crowd was.

ECW was great, because it was a spot for guys like Zack Ryder, Yoshi Tatsu, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, and CM Punk to get a place to launch from. Without ECW, Zack Ryder would either be back in FCW or future endeavored right now. Yoshi Tatsu never would have debuted. Who knows where Morrison would be? Sheamus' dominance on ECW allowed him to get over quickly and show the WWE that he was deserving of their trust. Kofi Kingston and CM Punk would have eventually found a way to get over, but it would have taken them much longer to do so.

THE MIZ would be dead in the water if he didn't have a place like ECW to continue to develop. That was the great thing about the ECW brand. If a guy's having a tough time getting over and connecting with the crowd, needing a little something extra to get over, they got sent to ECW, and it worked. The fact that they'll no longer have this outlet available for struggling guys and veterans who would otherwise be future endeavored, it worries me. It upsets me that we're going to be losing what was always a great hour of wrestling action that wasn't too storyline heavy.

So long ECW, it was great while it lasted.

 

[Mr. 619]

I did not watch the show, as I live in canada and will not get the show till Sunday night(...go figure) but when I read that Christian lost the title to Jackson, I also was upset. Awhile ago I was all for Jackson winning the title, but when I knew ECW was coming to an end, having Christian as the last champ just felt right.

Alot of people did not like ECW, but I always had. It felt different than the other shows and I liked watching guys like Punk, Morrison, Miz and Kofi all make a name for themselves in ECW, only to go on and be succeses on the big brands.

ECW, you shall be missed, and I will still hold on to Christian being the last, GREAT ECW Champ.

 

[klunderbunker]

This thread is about 9 years too late. ECW died for good at the end of ONS 2005. That was the last time that it felt like ECW. Other than that, this was nothing more than Vince being able to say it was ECW while he just made it look weak. Even when the originals were there it never was ECW. Seriously, the ZOMBIE? The Miz? How are these guys related to ECW? ECW didn't die last night. It died in 2005 after being brought back for one night only. This show wasn't ECW and you're kidding yourselves if you think otherwise.

 

[GenMe]

Thank God that WWE's ECW is over.Like every body in this thread have said,The Original ECW was dead along time ago.

WWE just killed the whole ECW concept,The extrem rules,Table matches,chair matches everything.

Yeah i wont lie i did watch ECW here and then,But it just wasnt the same for me.

But hey still got some good WWECW matches or Feuds that i wont forget,Like Christian and swaggers feud,ECW Originals vs The New Breed, I know this matches wasnt on the show but the TLC match between Christian and Shelton.

Well now lets wait and see if NXT makes it to atleast one year..

 

[billm75]

I was never a huge fan of the ECW show, though I did like some of their matchups and feuds. The big thing missing for me was the lack of promos to help further fueds and develop their characters. There was a lot of talent on that show overall, and had they made it a completely separate entity from the other 2 shows, it may have succeeded or at least done better as a stand-alone product.

I thought it was a cop-out when they had homecoming week, bringing back all of the guys who had moved "up" from ECW over the years. Had they really worked to develop the young talent they had, and given them proper exposure both in and out of the ring, it could have been something special. But, it seemed they were content to just fill an hour of TV time by rehashing alot of the same old stuff, week in and week out.

I'm sad to see it go, because I think alot of the wrestlers who will be moved up to Smackdown and Raw will get lost in the crowd and never get a fair chance to get themselves over with the fans.

Either way, it was a flawed product, but not entirely a failure. Some things done differently would have made a tremendous difference. Why should an established WWE star hold the title belt for so long? That tells me that he was truly the only Main Event wrestler they had, and everyone else was mid-card. Nobody could beat him and take that title. That gets stale, especially when you have monsters like Zeke, Kozlov, or high energy performers like Ryder and Tatsu. Hell, I would have been happy to see Burchill get that title and defend it. He was a brawler who could move around that ring.

No, none of those guys are truly at Christian's level, but, they never will be if they get one title shot then lose and get pushed back off TV for weeks at a time either.

Ah well, farewell ECW....here's hoping your new incarnation will be better thought out and executed!

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

Just before ECW started last night my friends and I joked about Ezekiel Jackson possibly winning the title and then a universal simultaneous moment of realization hit us: Oh my god, of course he is! He hates ECW!

I don't want to offend any of the die-hard E fans out there, but really, can anybody defend Vince MacMahon stripping the very last remaining bit of pride from the former competitor's main belt? Is there anybody who honestly thinks Vince MacMahon isn't being intentionally vindictive here? He had one night to let Christian retain the title and have it at least mean something under his watch: for the consistently underrated, career-long underdog, the icon of the minority "smarky" fanbase WWE has always resented, to retire the title with an ounce of pride. But instead, like always to Vince, he has to laugh at us and let us down again, and what better way than to give the title over to Ahmed Johnson pt. 2 on its last night.

I have four letters for WWE and Christian: M-I-T and B. Make it up to us, Vince. I'm sure you won't.

 

[GenMe]

Well Ezekiel Jackson being the Last ECW really didnt accomplish nothing,Actually wait he didnt accomplish shit at all in ECW.

Really i dont know why Jackson won that match.I didnt watch ECW yesterday but i seen the results.I dont know if both of these wrestlers are going to the same brand and maybe feud there.But what the heck that belt wasnt going to mean anything no more.

And yes Christian does deserve to win the MITB thats what we the fans think,But not what vince think..

 

[Turd Ferguson]

This thread is about 9 years too late. ECW died for good at the end of ONS 2005. That was the last time that it felt like ECW. Other than that, this was nothing more than Vince being able to say it was ECW while he just made it look weak. Even when the originals were there it never was ECW. Seriously, the ZOMBIE? The Miz? How are these guys related to ECW? ECW didn't die last night. It died in 2005 after being brought back for one night only. This show wasn't ECW and you're kidding yourselves if you think otherwise.

We're eulogizing the WWE incarnation of ECW. A lot of us found it entertaining every week. Of course, the actual ECW died long ago. Luckily, I knew from the start that it wasn't going to be all hardcore matches all the time. ECW, more than anything else, just became the name of the developmental brand for guys to get a better launching point and a second chance that they otherwise would not have gotten. So what if The Miz has nothing to do with the "old" ECW? I liked everything it was about. It was a great change of pace from the bullshit we would get on Raw the night before. I was thoroughly entertained week in and week out. Also, it's unfair to bring up The Zombie, that was a one week deal.

If you ever thought that the WWE would be bringing back everything that the old ECW was about, YOU'RE kidding yourself.

 

[Planty]

Just before ECW started last night my friends and I joked about Ezekiel Jackson possibly winning the title and then a universal simultaneous moment of realization hit us: Oh my god, of course he is! He hates ECW!

Where did this common idea that Vince hates ECW come from? Okay, so he may have shitted on the legacy of ECW. Though he couldn't exactly employ ALL of ECW and rob younger stars the chance of debuting on WWE. He still had some originals there to begin with then slowly phased them out. I don't think the product should have been called ECW because it's against the original legacy but I don't know whether it should be described that Vince hated ECW. They were a rival business, but I don't think that necessarily proved he had divine hate. It's just like when rumours go around that Triple H doesn't like somebody and then people pass on the message with no source.

I don't want to offend any of the die-hard E fans out there, but really, can anybody defend Vince MacMahon stripping the very last remaining bit of pride from the former competitor's main belt? Is there anybody who honestly thinks Vince MacMahon isn't being intentionally vindictive here? He had one night to let Christian retain the title and have it at least mean something under his watch: for the consistently underrated, career-long underdog, the icon of the minority "smarky" fanbase WWE has always resented, to retire the title with an ounce of pride. But instead, like always to Vince, he has to laugh at us and let us down again, and what better way than to give the title over to Ahmed Johnson pt. 2 on its last night.

I see why you're angry about it. If you consider the old ECW in all of this then it made no sense for Zeke to win the title. Christian was doing a fine job and kept referring to the legacy of the belt such as Tommy Dreamer. Though if Christian retained, what would that have achieved? Let's take away the thought of the original ECW from all of this. When Christian gets drafted to a brand he can already say he was the longest reigning ECW Champion in WWE history. He already achieved that.

Now you can also have a man who will have the nickname "The Last ECW Champion In History" with a manager like William Regal beside him on another brand. I'm a fan of Zeke but I don't think this should have been him. I would have preferred Zack Ryder because it would fit so much with his current trend of adding more nickname's. Though Zeke has earned that too. If you think of the old ECW, you would be disgusted perhaps that Zeke was the last champion. But that died ages ago. If you think of WWECW and a man that could have a huge push due to what essentially became a prop before he has to move to another brand, you can see why that decision was made.

I have four letters for WWE and Christian: M-I-T and B. Make it up to us, Vince. I'm sure you won't.

I wouldn't like Christian to win MITB. I'm a huge Christian fan and there's no doubt that he deserves a World Title soon. Though does he need this? MITB has been used to elevate Edge, bring RVD to main event status in WWE, elevate Kennedy potentially and even CM Punk twice. I think with the fact Christian was the longest reigning champion ECW champion in WWE, it can easily be brought up from time to time to help push him. He did a great job as the face of ECW and surely people within the company saw that enough to just give him a push on either RAW/Smackdown! without the MITB which is used for those who need it.

I'd go as far as to say Christian is above MITB. You could easily get him into a feud with Edge over a title where Christian could claim all of Edge's reigns were short whilst he's had the longest with a different belt.

I like Zeke and I think by being the final ECW champion it will only help him to get over. It may not do wonders for the legacy of ECW though it hasn't been the same for a while. ECW became a decent product for WWE to focus on the actual ring skills of up-and-comers battling it out and with the help of veterans such as Golddust/Dreamer. The one hour was always used wisely, aside from a few Abraham Washington show segments (Although I enjoyed most which helped establish the characters on the show and I am a fan of Abe, there's been a few which bombed).

Jackson was one of the true forces of that brand and whilst I felt there was a better candidate in Ryder, this will do wonders for his career. When you picture the ECW Championship as just a WWE Belt, it all makes sense.

 

[WhyTravisFelt]

I think I like you, Planty. And I almost believe you.

I live in Tampa, and I think that's part of what causes my problems in anything I watch. Anyone of us who watches a Bucs/Rays/Lightning game where we're up by even the most absurd amount of points still wonders if we still have a chance to win. If everything were roses and I was sure Christian could just wander into a main event for one of the two main titles, I'd be pulling for Kofi at MITB instead.

I agree with most everybody else that this wasn't the "real ECW" and part of me even likes Zeke the same way part of me still liked Ahmed Johnson, I was just thinking that ending it with Christian would've been the best possible, and at the time an extremely likely, outcome to satisfy both worlds. I just can't kick the feeling that, with it so easy to make peace with the legacy of both ECWs, Vince didn't intentionally kick the leg out from under it by pushing somebody who is more overtly, in either aspect, a more traditional WWE-esque sort of guy.

 

[Schizophrenic]

Can I just say that we ALL know that ECW was officially dead after ONS but that doesn't matter. It seems a few people on here are almost saying that if we even called it ECW it was an abomination to the legacy. I know it wasn't "ECW" but what else was I gonna call it every week? "WWE's Tuesday Night FCW 2.0 show"? Nah I will stick with calling it ECW. I think everyone got over ECW being gone but Vince having a show called that a year after it debuted. The only people that still seemed to bring it up were people that needed something to complain about.

 

[Planty]

I think I like you, Planty. And I almost believe you.

I live in Tampa, and I think that's part of what causes my problems in anything I watch. Anyone of us who watches a Bucs/Rays/Lightning game where we're up by even the most absurd amount of points still wonders if we still have a chance to win. If everything were roses and I was sure Christian could just wander into a main event for one of the two main titles, I'd be pulling for Kofi at MITB instead.

I agree with most everybody else that this wasn't the "real ECW" and part of me even likes Zeke the same way part of me still liked Ahmed Johnson, I was just thinking that ending it with Christian would've been the best possible, and at the time an extremely likely, outcome to satisfy both worlds. I just can't kick the feeling that, with it so easy to make peace with the legacy of both ECWs, Vince didn't intentionally kick the leg out from under it by pushing somebody who is more overtly, in either aspect, a more traditional WWE-esque sort of guy.

Thanks man.
I'll totally give you that. It would have made a nice feel-good ending if not anything else, just to have Christian retain the belt.

But you can see the logic by giving it to Zeke.

Overall, I feel ECW was a success because it managed to revitalise Golddust (I can't remember what he was doing before ECW anymore), create stars like Ryder and Tatsu, and generally because it was the most INTENSE BRAND IN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY WITH VANCE ARCHER.

Okay, the last one was a joke.

It gave a platform to those who wouldn't be able to benefit elsewhere just yet. And with that final statement, I think that best sums up Zeke winning the title. The momentum he will get off that could result in a great push on another brand.

 

[SirSqueak]

I don't understand! look ecw was never the same after they left the air. There was nothing hardcore about it anymore. the fans couldn't go ape shit crazy anymore at tapings. ECW was only given an hour time frame too. how can u build anything up in an hour. i went to a smackdown taping and ecw was on before the show. we litterly booed the matches until they left. it was just bad wrestling from mid-card guys. the only thing i would say 2 ecw at there funeral is, "You should've stayed in the 90's". Its a shame that WWE made them conform to raw and smackdown standards.

 

[zone3og]

Im glad to see this crap gone. It started out good. But after Bobby Lashely won it. It went downhill from there and I havent watched it since. I had some hope when Benoit was gonna go there but we all know how that turned out. Goodbye WWE/ECW. Thank God!

 

[Rizza]

Didn't really care for ECW, like most I thought it started out good enough. I even put it on par with the other two shows at the beginning, but it became something different. It was obvious that is was becoming like a televised developmental. Didn't really mind that, alot of guys got developed there, some even got over pretty well but I think NXT will serve thats purpose better then ECW will though. Now, I know none of us tuned into ECW each week to see hardcore matches, but isn't that kinda what the name implies? For me its just one logical reason to change it seeing how the words ECW don't exactly draw anymore. Instead of giving us rookies and old guys and calling it extreme, now they give us a show all about the rookies, and advertise it as such, you can't beat that. ECW was pretty dead, only benefiting a certain few guys currently, and only launched a few into the main event overall. I think that this is a good idea to let them sink or swim on the big brands, while showcasing all the rookies on NXT and let the fans decide who they like. I believe this show will create more stars then ECW, so IMO, good riddance, its about time to move past those three letters, and try something new that isn't completely god damn stupid sounding.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I think ECW died when Paul Heyman went to WWE after ECW bombed on their first national television show on TNN. Watching it on TNN you knew it wasn't the same and it was over, especially after Paul Heyman was shown on Raw. WWE tried to breathe some life into it with DVD's and PPV's but ultimately you can't catch lightning in the bottle twice.

WWE tried to recreate NWO in their vision too, and it wasn't the same. ECW on Sci Fi was horrible starting out with The Zombie and Nacho Libre not mention the other awful gimmicks week after week. The show became better with CM Punk, Swagger, and Christian, but it still wasn't the same. ECW should of been renamed a long time ago. It did allow certain stars to shine though so I don't think it was a total failure.

It was just the wrong time and the wrong place to try to bring back that ECW attitude. Paul Heyman and Todd Gordon are supposedly going to make a huge announcement next summer. Maybe it will be a reincarnation of ECW.

 

[The Doctor]

WWECW was my favorite brand for a long time now. It was often the best or second-best wrestling program on air, depending on how Impact and Smackdown were doing that week. I loved watching it every Saturday (when I lived in Italy) and Tuesday (when I moved here). Seeing a mix of brand new superstars and underrated veterans compete was thrilling to me. The matches were always solid, there was a good promo or storyline to enjoy, and the hour-long format was just long enough to give you enough yet make you want more.

The LDs on this site were also a great experience. There were always a lot fewer people in the ECW LDs than the other ones and so we became more like a group. I started recognizing names, like th3truthiness and others. So I will miss the social comfort that watching ECW gave to me. Sure, there's NXT, but it just won't be the same, no matter how awesome the show may be.

I know people are complaining about the use of the name. To that I say: Get over it. The show was entertaining and great, and if you would have gotten your feet out of your asses and looked past the name you would have seen it too.

I predict that we're going to be seeing a lot more releases thanks to the axing of ECW. And it's a real shame. Without ECW there would be no Miz, Yoshi Tatsu, Abraham Washington, and more. It was a great way to expose new superstars to the public and give them some experience in front of a TV audience.

However, I have to look to the future. NXT looks like it's going to be piles of fun. I am hopeful, and truly hope NXT doesn't fail.

Rest in peace, ECW. Here's to the future!