ECW was Overrated and Minor League

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

ECW, I give it all the credit in the world. The company proved that while it had a good but in the context of wrestling history, eye-blink of a run, that's not to discredit what it was. To say ECW was overrated, I don't necessarily agree with that. I wasn't the biggest fan of the promotion, I would watch some stuff time to time, but it was never the most accessible programming for wrestling in my area. However, I give them my praise just the same. They were a promotion that did as much of what they could with what little they had. Were they minor league though? That sentiment I'll agree to. Of course I attribute most of this due to things like their presentation and modus operandi for what they were looking to market in the wrestling world. Even with a bigger revenue stream or budget, their style was palatable only for a niche audience. But again, that's not to say that's a bad thing. If anything, that's why I think we remember ECW so well today.

So in closing, I don't see anything overrated about what they were. They presented themselves as an alternatively, rather successfully. But I don't think any of their key figures in all seriousness would ever tout that they were. ECW definitely was not the caliber of WWF or WCW, as far as being a "major league" presentation of wrestling. That's what gave them their charm. Had they tried to bludgeon the audience with that mindset, I don't think they'd have ever made the memorable impact they did. Just my opinion though.

 

[Matty~!]

First off, I want to say that I believe Benoit left ECW when he realized that Heyman wasn't able to (or was procrastinating) get him the proper paperwork needed for him to work in the United States. Benoit said that he was told by someone at customs something like "we know who we are, we know what you're doing, and one day you're going to get caught here and you won't be allowed back in the country for a long time." So Benoit told Heyman he didn't do that anymore, so he left for WCW.

Anyhow, I believe the "dirty, underground, shady" feeling was part of the appeal of ECW.

Now personally, I wasn't someone who watched ECW religiously, but I did watch it on occasion in 2000 when it was on TNN. While I did feel it was a distant third behind the WWF and WCW, I do feel that it was still a nice alternative to the big two promotions. While there were plenty of guys in ECW who wouldn't have cut it in the big two promotions, but there were guys such as Rob Van Dam and Taz would would have and did ultimately fit in nicely.

Ultimately, I think what's going on with ECW is that fans are looking back on it now and finding it more appealing than the product that is available nowadays. Personally, I'd rather watch old ECW highlights right now than most of what's on nowadays, but I'd prefer to watch WCW and the WWF from 1998-2001 instead.

Benoit had persistent interest from both WWF and WCW in early 1995 after he had appeared on the AAA When Worlds Collide PPV in 1994. He had dark matches for the WWF and then when WCW decided to launch Nitro they needed to bring in new talent for the extra TV, so got Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko and Sabu.

Benoit wrestled all over the world and had wrestled in the US prior to ECW so any paperwork issue would have been his personal business and not Heyman's area.

 

[Stinger]

Benoit wrestled all over the world and had wrestled in the US prior to ECW so any paperwork issue would have been his personal business and not Heyman's area.

I was just going by what Benoit said on his DVD. It sounded as if the paperwork issue was the final straw for Benoit.

To add to what I said earlier, I do have to agree with the original poster about ECW being minor league. I think that there were a lot of guys in ECW who wouldn't have been able to get very far in the big two promotions. Look at Raven and Shane Douglas for example; they were champions in ECW but were only mid-carders in WCW and the WWF. There were a lot of guys in ECW who had excellent careers both in ECW and when they moved onto the big two promotions, but look at how far they got in WCW or the WWF. Rob Van Dam is pretty much the only guy who ever really hit the big time in the WWE.

 

[Matty~!]

Hmmm that seems weird Benoit I know was in Heyman's long term planning during 1995. The original main event plans when the PPV was still a pipe dream was Benoit and Guerrero. However, just due to how the business was changing in 1995 it was never going to be a viable plan to be able to keep Benoit.

Raven and Douglas were definitely big fish in the small pond in ECW. Raven was a huge catalyst of what made ECW so special in 95 and 96 in my opinion probably the promotions two most creative years.

ECW made Rob Van Dam a superstar regardless of how big the promotion was or wasn't. Van Dam coming into the WWF in 2001 was huge at the time and he was over without WWE having to put any work into him at all. I remember thinking during the No Mercy 2001 main event he was far more over than both Austin and Angle that night, he would have been made for life if they had given him the title, he never really reached those heights again.