Is ECW living up to its reputation?

[slimmshady]

Is ECW truly living up to its reputation? I mean, each time I watch the matches, I don't really seem to be seeing any extreme matches like they use to show when ECW was first bought by the wwe. Don't get me wrong as I loved the idea of the recent One night stand ppv, where every match must have some sort of hardcore/extreme condition. But other than one night stand (the only ppv to represent ecw in the whole calender year), ecw is just filled with high fliers and cruiser weights. Maybe they need to bring back some old ppv's, such as bad blood, where all the matches are with extreme rules and maybe have an inferno match between kane and big show. Also, they need to bring back the hardcore title and more importantly, the cruiser weight title, as ecw is full with them.

 

[MisterRob]

Is ECW truly living up to its reputation? I mean, each time I watch the matches, I don't really seem to be seeing any extreme matches like they use to show when ECW was first bought by the wwe. Don't get me wrong as I loved the idea of the recent One night stand ppv, where every match must have some sort of hardcore/extreme condition. Other than one night stand (just one ppv to represent ecw in the whole calender year), ecw is just filled with high fliers and cruiser weights. Maybe they need to bring some old ppv's, such as bad blood, where all the matches are with extreme rules and maybe have an inferno match between kane and big show. Also, they need to bring back the hardcore title and more importantly, the cruiser weight title, as ecw is full with them.

The hardcore style can be reckless and dangerous and I really don't think WWE is wanting to risk their roster being injured on a regular basis. ECW is no longer the old ECW, so of course it's not living up to it's reputation nor is it TRYING to. Sure, ECW could be more "extreme" but I certainly don't think they want to go down the hardcore matches path. After all, they just had a whole ppv One Night Stand of that style and what happened? Big Show got injured and it certainly messed up plans going into the Night of Champions, even if it isn't going to stop Big Show from being on the ppv itself. That's why they've gotten away from that style, and I think it's far more meaningful and impactful when done on occassion rather then consistantly, otherwise it becomes the "norm" and doesnt hold the same interest to those types of matches. That's why gimmick matches shouldn't be used in every match.

 

[Big Daddy Fool]

i agree about the cruiserweight title. it should be brought back and made an ecw title as ecw was the first org to bring high flying luchador action to the united states. plus it gives the cruisweights something besides just being jobbers

 

[justinsayne]

You guys need to forget about ECW living up to the original ECW, Paul Heymans ECW is dead and gone, the ECW you have today is WWE's ECW, it's not some wrestling show that is being held is a bingo hall, with crazy hardcore spots in every match, instead it is just another WWE show, basically a watered down version of SD!, I rarely watch ECW anymore, mostly cause I'm either at work or completely forget about the show, but on the rare occasion that I do catch it I don't watch cause i think I'm gonna see the same crazy hardcore shit I saw in the original, I expect to see the typical mid-card matches that you I don't see on SD! or RAW, people need to stop expecting the old ECW when tuning in on Tuesday nights, those days are long gone now

 

[MisterRob]

Yes, the old ECW is certainly pushing up daisies. Good thing or bad?

I think it's definitely a bad, in a lot of ways. For one, I enjoyed ECW and so I don't get to enjoy it anymore. Two; it was another wrestling promotion to get behind and watch, which was successful and unique compared to the WWE. Third; it would be another avenue, along with TNA, for wrestlers to make a living and showcase their talents on a bigger stage, if they aren't in the monopoly that is WWE. I don't think there's any reasons, in terms of the wrestling business, that it's "good" the original ECW is dead.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

ECW is no longer "Extreme Championship Wrestling". Its currently being used as Developmental +. They use it for people that are too old and/or meaningless (Kane, Chavo) who won't receive pushes on the two major shows, new talent (Kofi, Sydal), or to test-run people to move up to the next level in the hierarchy (Shelton, Morrison).

However, they're still not doing their job. The only true people to receive a great boost from being on ECW are CM Punk (who could've done it in the midcard of Raw or Smackdown anyway, probably, and now most people dislike him), Morrison, and perhaps the guy who's been helped the most...The Miz. Half the roster is just filled with jobbers like Nunzio, Delaney, Richards, and Dreamer, so they have nowhere to go. Others seem to be able to make it on ECW but lose their steam when they move elsewhere (or if you're Elijah Burke, you lose your steam while you're still on ECW). They need to do a better job at making it so ECW means something, but not at the expense of anything on Raw or Smackdown (who are also in need of help)...but there's really no way in doing that unless you hire much more wrestlers.

 

[Italian MVP]

ECW isnt trying to leave up to its reputation, its a totally new ball game to the "Original" ECW. ECW now is simply a place where all the wrestlers that seem to go nowhere on RAW and Smackdown go to try to get a push or some steem so they can go back to RAW and Smackdown as built up. Its for basic wrestling action which you wouldnt see on RAW or Smackdown. Its basically another development territory for the WWE to test stars out like Shelton Benjamin and push him to see if he is big enough to main event one of the other brand one day. Its also for guys who dont do nothing on RAW or Smackdown and need one last go like Kane and Chavo.

But i do agree that there not ultizing the brand properly. While some wrestlers havent gotten regonised (Morrison, Punk, Miz) There are still wrestlers who should be given a go on ECW like Elijah Burke. They need other wrestlers who would benefit from moving to ECW to help build wrestlers that are going nowhere and so ECw has a meaning to it and has a capable roster, because at the moment half their roster are jobers.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Everyone else has already said the main point. E.C.W. of today, is not what E.C.W. of yesteryear used to be. Its just a name, something thats "remembered" so it grabs your attention more so than "HeAT" or "Velocity." Hell, they could've even went with Nitro, or Thunder.. but the fact is, the E.C.W. name alone (believe it or not) has more value and use than those W.C.W. names.

As far as the rep of today's E.C.W., what exactly was it suppose to live up to? To the best of my knowledge it was merely suppose to be a 3rd rate brand show, and its gaining ratings.. not a lot, but its one of the highest rated (or was) shows on Sci-Fi.. so to the best of my knowledge, it truly IS living up to what they wanted it to be. The ratings might be the lowest outta all 3 television shows, but they're still higher than whats normally on Sci-Fi.. thats a plus and a negative all in one.

 

[Sparky]

Ever since the WWE brought ECW it hasnt been the same, it will never be becouse Vince feels there is so many dangers in an Extreme match. when they brought E.C.W back they only brought it back for the 3rd brand extension, it saved them thinking of another word that had to become famously associated with the WWE. So E.C.W it was. ECW has sure improved since they brought it back, and as people have already stated it is getting great ratings on Sci-Fi. if you dont like ECW dont watch it. dont think it will be good to watch just to point out what sucks about it becouse if the ratings are good production will think what they are doing is good enough and wont need to improve it.

 

[slimmshady]

This is exactly what I'm trying to say, ECW can't continue calling itself extreme as there are rarely any extreme matches. Now, I thoroughly understand that the ECW writers cannot keep fixing up extreme matches as, eventually, there will probably be about only 5 wrestlers left. But the only true title going for ECW is the ECW heavyweight title. What I'm trying to say is, most of all the storylines are based around the ECW champ, which is currently kane, because of the fact that there is only one true title on ECW (the smackdown tag team titles really need to be given back to the smackdown show and some ECW tag team titles need to be made to replace that spot on ECW). Furthermore, the inclusion of another title such as the cruiser weight or hardcore title will allow some of the talent on ECW to fight for those titles instead of having the cruiser weights vs the heavy weights all the time.

 

[chasingamy]

This is exactly what I'm trying to say, ECW can't continue calling itself extreme as there are rarely any extreme matches. Now, I thoroughly understand that the ECW writers cannot keep fixing up extreme matches as, eventually, there will probably be about only 5 wrestlers left.

Not sure if you noticed but they haven’t referred to it as ‘Extreme’ Championship Wrestling in awhile now. It's just ECW. Also they stopped calling it the ECW 'Heavyweight' Championship during Morrison's reign, instead calling it simply the ECW Championship. Not that it's a 'good' thing but by dropping the 'Heavyweight' from the title name it makes it a championship that anyone, including cruisers like Chavo, can win.

As others have stated, the ECW that we knew and loved is dead and gone. For me, the final straw, so to speak, was Joey Styles being replaced by The Adamle. About the only thing leftover from the ‘Original’ ECW is Tommy Dreamer. Granted he isn’t what he once was, it still frustrates me the way he’s used (glorified jobber). Seriously, if Chavo can get a title run, why not Dreamer? One thing you can count on though is that when there is an ‘extreme’ match, which is only about once every 3 months or so, Dreamer is usually involved in it.

One thing to remember is that the original ECW aimed to create something new and different in opposition to the WWF/E product, and for a time they succeeded. ECW is now just a small cog of the very big established WWE machine. Thus, there’s no incentive to strive for anything radical or different. Also there’s no incentive for the guys on the ECW roster to put themselves in ‘extreme’ matches if they can work a regular match without the risks and collect the same paycheck.

But the only true title going for ECW is the ECW heavyweight title. What I'm trying to say is, most of all the storylines are based around the ECW champ, which is currently kane, because of the fact that there is only one true title on ECW (the smackdown tag team titles really need to be given back to the smackdown show and some ECW tag team titles need to be made to replace that spot on ECW). Furthermore, the inclusion of another title such as the cruiser weight or hardcore title will allow some of the talent on ECW to fight for those titles instead of having the cruiser weights vs the heavy weights all the time.

They need more titles like we all need holes in the head. At the moment, there simply isn’t enough time nor a large and talented enough roster for ECW to add a mid-card title and tag titles.

 

[justinsayne]

This is exactly what I'm trying to say, ECW can't continue calling itself extreme as there are rarely any extreme matches. Now, I thoroughly understand that the ECW writers cannot keep fixing up extreme matches as, eventually, there will probably be about only 5 wrestlers left.

Sure they can, they own the name they can do what ever they want with it, I really don't see what you and other fans are throwing such a shit fit about ECW's name, it's just a fucking name get over it already, and just watch the show, or don't it you don't like it

But the only true title going for ECW is the ECW heavyweight title. What I'm trying to say is, most of all the storylines are based around the ECW champ, which is currently kane, because of the fact that there is only one
true title on ECW

Umm...not sure if you've been paying much attention latley but RAW, SD!, and even iMPACT! all surround their shows around there world/heavyweight titles, it's the top spot on that show, so why would everybody be trying to get a shot at it, if the ECW title was the main focus of the show, than what would be the point of even having it at all

(the smackdown tag team titles really need to be given back to the smackdown show and some ECW tag team titles need to be made to replace that spot on ECW). Furthermore, the inclusion of another title such as the cruiser weight or hardcore title will allow some of the talent on ECW to fight for those titles instead of having the cruiser weights vs the heavy weights all the time.

ECW only has an hour long show, and barely enough time to fit all there crap into that, they really don't need another title, but if they were to bring one in then another tag title would be about the worst title for them to introduce to the brand, they can't even get the tag title picture to look half way decent on RAW and SD! and both those shows have far more tag teams and talent to work with, if they wanted to introduce a new belt than the only one that I could see making any sense at all would be the CW title, no Hardcore title, those matches just degenerated down to who could hit somebody with a trash can the most anyways, the hardcore title was the single most pointless title I think WWE has ever had, and never once provided a decent match, not once

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I love how easily people are worked, seriously.

Do any of you truly belive ECW was EVER meant to be anything besides what it is now??? Its fairly obvious to me that Vince started this with the ideal of it simply becoming a third rate developmental show, just as it has. If not, then he wouldve never brought any WWE guys to it, wouldve never put Angle there, wouldve never had Lashley win it. All he was doing with the initial ONS shows, and the Heyman bullshit, was drawing initial interest. Thats how these things work. You use the old fame and notoritiy, and then transition it into what you want. So stop bitching about "ecw" and what it should be. It should be whatever the fuck Vince wants it to be.

 

[Slyfox696]

Let's see...

ECW is getting poor ratings, drew poor PPV buyrate, is considered to be the worst of the three brands of wrestling, consists mostly of guys who have never been considered anything more than career midcarders and guys who couldn't get over in the bigger brands, and has terrible wrestling with piss bucket commentary.

I'd say the current ECW is living up to the reputation of the original quite nicely.

 

[Deus1138]

I remember the first time I saw ECW late one night when I was channel surfing around a decade ago.

ECW had great wrestlers working great angles and doing incredible maneuvers! They didn't have a huge budget, so they had to make up for that with hard work and creativity.

The current incarnation of ECW is just the broadcasting of what used to be dark matches. They try to make it look like the old ECW by turning down the house lights. ECW was great because they had to make up for a low budget. Pretending like you are a low budget production isn't cutting the mustard.

 

[Golden Standard]

ECW has not lived up to its reputation and i'am surprised that ecw is still even around. Plus why is ecw having the name Extreme Championship Wrestling and its not even Extreme anymore. The old ecw is gone and this is the new and improve if you think it improved, ECW. Now it would be cool if Undertaker was drafted to ECW to bring some crediability to the show along with stars like Rey Mysterio, MVP, and Mr. Kennedy. Pluis ecw needs more extreme rules matches once in awhile and add more titles and another hour to the show.

 

[Deus1138]

ECW was never about big wrestlers. And I don't mean big in name. I mean big in size. That was ECW's niche: they had nimble, crazy, high flying, risk taking, talented wrestlers. The biggest guy they had back in the day was Mike Awesome!? Compared to guys in WWE or WCW at the time, he's average to slightly below average in size.

ECW of today is sad. All they do is try to make it look low budget by turning down the house lights. Like we're all going to think this is some small bingo hall, or small, personal venue.

 

[Golden Standard]

I know right why not just make ECW better then ever instead of lower then ever. Why did Vince bring back ECW he could have brought in a new show instead of brought back ecw and spit into the legacy of ecw. But i think if they bring in big name stars like Taker, Mysterio, Kennedy, Jericho, Umaga, MVP, Batista, people will watch ecw and it will have some crediability to the show and the matches and storylines will improve a little bit.

See what wwe should have done with ecw when they brought it back is keep the ecw originals and combined them with some of the wwe superstars. And have extreme rules matches happen alot and not once every blue moon. Plus have more then one title and a 2 hour show instead of a 1 hour show. That way ecw would have been better then it was before and bigger and would have credibilty. But no Vince doesn't want no show to be up to a standard as Raw.

 

[Miko]

the best way to describe todays ECW is as the child of old ECW (dad) and Velocity (mum), but sadly it seems old ECW spent too much time in bars and hitting people with kendo sticks than raise its son, leaving new ECW to be raised by Velocity and therefore being influenced by mother rather than father, and then when old ECW eventually choked on its own vomit in a backalley that was the final straw and new ECW decided it didnt want to follow in its dad's footsteps, but more in its mum's who didnt die in a backalley but was gracefully retired.
Long story short, new ECW, new expectations I am afraid

 

[AnthonyM4]

Ok it's fine that they bring in a third brand that is like a development league, but why do they have to call it "ECW"? Wasn't the reason they brought back ecw is because the One Night Stand ppvs were a financial success and they realized people wanted that kind of product back??? When the original ecw died in 2001, it didn't get boring and between then and 2006 people were begging for it to come back and when it did, Vince Mcmahon watered it down because he was afraid if he let it be like it was before, it would outshine raw and smackdown. Hey the ratings have went from a 2.8 in June 2006 all the way down to a 1.1 that they're doing today!

So to answer the OP's question, NO it's not living up to its reputation. It shouldn't even be called "ECW". If they had at just ONE hardcore match every week, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but they did away with that because they're stupid!

 

[buddy_z34]

ECW will never be the Heyman ECW. just look at the ONS PPV. how many injuries occured during the PPV. Orton is out for months. Big Show got tattooed by those stairs nicely.

the old style ECw is what caused big Show to leave the WWE. his body couldnt take anymore damage than what is was taking. i also remember when Rey got injuried a few years back after him and the other wrestlers, name slipped my mind, fell from the table and landed wrong.

it's a business. we need to remember that. the wrestlers are Vince's prize. if they go out of commission for awhile vince is left with nothing.

a hardcore match is good every once in awhile but not every week like some want it to be on ECW.

 

[Golden Standard]

ECW will never be the Heyman ECW. just look at the ONS PPV. how many injuries occured during the PPV. Orton is out for months. Big Show got tattooed by those stairs nicely.

the old style ECw is what caused big Show to leave the WWE. his body couldnt take anymore damage than what is was taking. i also remember when Rey got injuried a few years back after him and the other wrestlers, name slipped my mind, fell from the table and landed wrong.

it's a business. we need to remember that. the wrestlers are Vince's prize. if they go out of commission for awhile vince is left with nothing.

a hardcore match is good every once in awhile but not every week like some want it to be on ECW.

I agree the old ecw is dead and its not coming back. But ecw can atleast be like tna, total nonstop action wrestling. Have some stuff that tna does well used to have you know what i mean. Also have hardcore matches every now and then and a bigger roster with more titles and a 2 hour timeslot.

 

[Adz]

I know what you're saying but like Buddy said, injuries can cost the company in the long run.

I enjoy watching the current ECW, it's fresh, fast, young and gives you a decent match now and again.

It's main purpose in my opinion is to groom young Superstars to eventally main event SD! and RAW.

Take for example The Miz, when he was on SD! he was just some dude amongst the roster and constantly got shafted by JBL (which was HILARIOUS).

Then he was sent to ECW, got the Chick Magnet Gimmick, was teamed up with John Morrison (who also received the Rock Star Gimmick) and BAM!! Tag Team Champions, website segment and main event status on the show (when he's on)

His skills have improved and is on his way.

You're right in saying it will never be the same but the current product does serve it purpose for the WWE.

 

[bunnyman1985]

ecw has turned into a show for the next upcoming stars but as jerry lawler used to say it stands for extreme crappy wrestling that what it is today they need a hardcore title just to keep the memory of the old ecw alive or let dreamer be champ instead of vince dancing all over the grave of the old ecw

or y doesnt vince just bring back WCW or as i used to call it (Wheel Chair Wrestling) but make it the wwe style an like have a tv title tag titles hardcore title an a world title that way the stars that we dont see or dont get any tv time can get the shot the need

 

[danny4493]

ecw should simply change its name, reasons- 1) its not extreme 2) WWE owns it and before it was a company not a brand
ALSO-ECW is not living up to its reputation not at all, they have a long way to go if they want to be better than they were before, and their roster is like what showed up on sunday night heat and thats the quality of it too, except for people like evan bourne, matt hardy, kofi, shelton, and hate to say it but mark henry...maybe if he didnt get so fat and clumsy people would acutally like him......anyway ECW should either change its name to something that suits it or actually get back to how they were before, which is good. plus wwe screwed up on the draft they could have drafted so many people to and from ecw to make it a good show but instead they chose to give them what 2 picks wow what an improvement....ECW IS DEAD and as long as WWE owns it it will be, unless they get the clue that it sucks and shape up