Is the ECW Title a poisoned chalice?

[Tastycles]

Since ECW returned in 2006, there have been 11 different champions in total, but every single one of them has ended up in a very negative situation following the end of their reign. Lets start from the top...

Rob Van Dam

RVD was given the title, but lost it only three weeks later. This was because of his arrest which led to a suspension. Following his suspension, he ended up in the ECW originals feuding with the new blood. Eventually he was put back into the championship picture, but he never won it, and then he left the company, never again reaching his WWE title high point.

Big Show

The Big Show beat RVD with the help of Heyman, and then embarked on the longest reign of the WWE era of ECW. Following his defeat to Lashley in the Extreme Elimination Chamber, he was given time off, but in fact left the WWE for a year before returning to fight Mayweather. Although he came back, Show missed over a year of his career following his loss of the title.

Bobby Lashley

Lashley seemed for a hell of a long time like he was going to be the next big thing. His first reign ended with Umaga and the McMahon's beating him, but following the end of his second reign he was drafted to Raw. Once there, he had one main event shot, before being injured and then ultimately released, seemingly against his will.

Vince McMahon

Vince held the title between Lashley's two reigns. Obviously, Vince remained with the company after losing the title, but he was hit with problems. His death angle had to be ended thanks to Benoit's murder-suicide. The replacement angle of the illegitimate son was then ruined by Kennedy's suspension, so McMahon was forced to appear with Hornswoggle for several months. After that was the resounding failure of Million Dollar Mania, and then he was "injured" for several months, and has just returned.

It should probably be noted that Benoit was due to win this title, but he never made it to the PPV for reasons everyone is aware of.

Johnny Nitro

Nitro won the title at Vengance, and then quickly changed his name. The victory was a continuation of the progression he had made since the break up of MNM, where he had already won the IC title twice. Following his reign, he was put back into the tag team division, and while this isn't as big a step back as some of the others, but it has pretty much put his singles push on the back burner.

CM Punk

On the face of it, Punk is the exception to the rule. He won the fastest triple crown ever, don't you know? But while it's true that in terms of successes, he had a fantastic 2008, but in terms of being pushed? Not really. I can scarcely remember him winning a match that was not for a title after Wrestlemania until the IC title tournament, and had one of the weakest multiple month reigns ever with the WHC.

Chavo Guerrero

Guerrero beat punk with the help of Edge, and managed to beat him cleanly at No Way Out. After losing the title to Kane in a matter of seconds he spent the rest of the year being lumbered with Bam Neely and being Edge and Vickie's bitch. He is now a bona fide jobber, and if it wasn't for McMahon "looking after" the Guerrero's, I think Chavo would be out of the company.

Kane

Kane beat Chavo in super quick time at Wrestlemania, and was hailed as the man who could bring back some credibility to the title. However, once he lost the title to Mark Henry, he turned heel, and had what was considered by most to be the worst feud of the year, and ending up jobbing to Rey Mysterio. He recently had another bizarre angle with Kelly Kelly and Orton and never really went anywhere, and he's now left without a true place on Raw, and it's as if creative don't know what to do with him.

Mark Henry and Matt Hardy

I've put these under one heading, because it is too soon to say what the long term future holds for them. Essentially, they have nowhere to go except feud with each other. Again. This is because ECW now has 4 people in its main event Henry, Hardy, Finlay and Swagger, the multi-branded Miz and Morrison, and an assortment of low carders, most of whom will be ending 2009 in the dole queue. It's hard to see where either of them will go, but I'm witholding judgement for the time being.

My question is, why do you think this happened? Is this a bizarre coincidence, or is there some backstage factor on ECW that causes wrestlers to lose their mojo? If you were Swagger, would you be worrying that you might end up stuck in a rut like the others?

 

[klunderbunker]

I think it's simply because the ECW title isn't a high level title. It's on equal footing with the IC or US belt. As for all those people that left, a good many of them are on Raw or SD. They dominated ECW and then moved up to the next level. Guys like Punk and Show are big name stars and simply don't belong on a minor league show that gets no where near the levels of viewers that the big two shows do. The same is true for Henry. He was given a title run more or less to appease him, so they gave him the weakest of the three, knowing he had nothing to offer on the main shows anymore. If I were Swagger, the only thing I'd be worried about is whether he needs to get blue or red attire for whatever show he's going to next, because he's the minor league champion now, meaning the A shows are up next for him.

 

[Jane]

People who are given the ECW title are destined for nothing anyway. When a wrestler has nothing to do, oh, lets send them to ECW and giv'em a title. It wasn't so much the case for the originals like RVD, Big Show and Lashley, but guys like CM Punk(Only made it big because of Jeff being stupid), Johnny Nitro(Well, it was a step up then, but he's only doing OK now), Kane(This was kinda a waste), Mark Henry(Nothing to do with him) and Matt Hardy(Once again a step up for him, but he amounted to nothing great, cept his current fued). The belt is nothing, and makes the holders lose lots of respectability, which is a sad case.

 

[Mr. TM]

For the most part, the WWE has just choose guys to lead the ECW who were doomed from the beginning, or at the edge of their career, or at the beginning. Rob Van Dam was an obvious choice to lead the new ECW, but he was never what the WWE wanted the new ECW to be. Big Show got the belt as a way to up the belt, giving in to a former champion. but he was at the edge of his career. Lashley it seems was not ready for a life in the WWE. That was his choice, and I believe the WWE would have wanted him to stay around, but his time on ECW was coming to an end anyways. Vince got the belt for bragging rights, and the other older guys, such as Kane and Mark Henry were given the belts for their hard work. Chavo was given the belt because he is a long serving employee, and it just made sense at the time, for a reign. The other guys are young, and needed the belt to get over for a while.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I think most of you have this all wrong, and you aren't giving the chance to look at the positive. Allow me to shed some light on the subject.

Rob Van Dam: Van Dam was given, literally handed, this Championship when he became the W.W.E. Champion. While I don't agree with just "handing" anyone a Championship, it was a true pinnacle in R.V.D.'s career.

Sure, becoming W.W.E. Champion is the greatest honor a Wrestler could ever hope to accomplish. But for the E.C.W. originals, the E.C.W. faithful, and namely R.V.D.. this was a Heavyweight Championship that was on the same level (to them) as the W.W.E. title, and even higher in some respects. It was also a title that eluded R.V.D. in the original E.C.W.

So for R.V.D., becoming the leader of the newly reformed E.C.W. Brand and as such, becoming it's Heavyweight Championship with that original title, was probably an honor, a dream come true, and a huge accomplishment to him.

Big Show: While it might not seem like much at the time, the Big Show remade himself in E.C.W. Before this run, he was just a big silly guy that was only in the company because basically put.. he was tall and fat.

Yet when he won this Championship, he made Wrestling history, by becoming the first Wrestler to have won the W.C.W. Heavyweight Championship, the W.W.F/E. Championship(s) and then the E.C.W. Championship. To this day, and to my knowledge, noone else has even done that since. So this accomplishment truly more or less may have pushed the Big Show into the Hall of Fame one day. All because of this title victory.

Bobby Lashley: Where was Bobby Lashley before becoming E.C.W. Champion? Wrestling Finlay and William Regal on Smackdown. Doing nothing for months at a time, wasting his career away in meaningless feuds.. and not getting title opportunities. (outside of a United States Championship run, that ultimately is forgettable)

Yet when he became the E.C.W. Champion, what happened? He was a Main Event attraction in the WrestleMania 23 line-up. He was involved in one of the biggest blockbuster matches in WrestleMania history, the Hair vs. Hair match-up.

They could've given that spot to anyone, but they picked Bobby Lashley, who at the time was holding the E.C.W. Championship. That not only gave Lashley a huge boost in his career, but it also put great spotlight on the E.C.W. Brand, which may have been the hidden purpose.

Vince McMahon: This is the only passable option in the list of Champions. Mr. McMahon winning the title did nothing for him, other than unofficially crowned him the "owner" of Hardcore. This was more of a moral issue than an accomplishment. If nothing more, this was a direct slap in the fact to Paul Heyman as well.

Johnny Nitro: Are you seriously kidding me? Winning this Championship single-handedly remade and arguably saved his career. Sure, he's only still involved in the mid-card and Tag Team division's today.. but by winning this Championship, it was a huge accomplishment and it gave Nitro the ability to break away from being Melina's Wrestler.

John Morrison was one of the most highly watched Superstars in this Brand's history. He carried the title with pride, as if it were a Heavyweight Championship the likes of the W.W.E. title. And that's what made watching his matches as Champion worth everything.

Becoming E.C.W. Champion arguably saved Morrison's W.W.E. career, and gave him new life. (sadly all because another's life was taken)

CM Punk: You can't tell me C.M. Punk isn't where he is today, without becoming what he did in E.C.W. Punk, for as much as I dislike him, helped to carry the E.C.W. Championship and that Brand for about roughly 3 monthes.

While "I" don't consider it much, they're currently pushing Punk as being a Triple Crown winner, but they're adding in that he began by winning the E.C.W. Championship as well. So arguably, the E.C.W. Championship truly gave birth to the career that Punk is now trying to have outside of it.

Without becoming this Champion, he likely wouldn't of even been thought of to be a possible Champion for anything else, other than a mid-card, if even that.

Chavo Guerrero: While Chavo Guerrero holding this Championship did nothing for the brand.. the Championship itself did everything for Chavo. And noone can argue that it didn't.

Chavo Guerrero has long since been forgotten and discarded as just a mid-card jobber. But when he became the E.C.W. Champion, while most still tried discarding it.. everyone, like it or not, had to accept him as a "Heavyweight" Champion.

So similar to John Morrison & C.M. Punk, the E.C.W. Championship helped give a re-birth, and re-energize Chavo Guerrero.

Kane: Kane was a one-hit wonder in becoming W.W.F. Champion, only to drop it a single night later. By giving Kane a couple month-long reign as E.C.W. Champion, they showed us that he could indeed be a Heavyweight Champion and carry a brand.

Let's not forget that once again, it was this very Championship that was apart of history at a WrestleMania. Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero in some 8 seconds I believe, marking the quickest match, or Championship match, in Mania history. That's something no other Championship could say. Bad or not, it's still historical.

Mark Henry: Similar to Kane, Mark Henry's Championship reign was to prove that he could be a Champion in the business, and carry a brand. Hell, Mark Henry arguably had one of the better reigns in this company. While that may be looked at as bad, it's still a remarkable feat.

Outside of the European Championship, to my knowledge this is the only other single's Championship Mark Henry has won. So it's definately did something for Henry, and it's made him a true Heavyweight contender to be taken seriously.. not just discarded as a random big-man jobber.

Matt Hardy: While whining and bitching about his ex-girlfriend cheating on him ultimately got his career back, it was the E.C.W. Championship that helped to save it.

Matt Hardy has been, without a doubt, the most average and plain Wrestler you could ever watch. He has no charisma, no personality, his greatest gimmick was Mattitude, which I could only hope they might go back to.. and his only saving grace once Edge quick carrying him.. was becoming a legit. Champion, by carrying this title and helping to lead the E.C.W. Brand.

Jack Swagger: Noone knows for sure what the future will hold for Jack Swagger and his Championship reign, but one thing is for sure. He's technically still undefeated in single's matches.. so that may unofficially make him the greatest E.C.W. Champion out of this entire list. Again, noone knows what'll happen from here.. but from where I sit, it looks more bright than dark.

Overall: So maybe E.C.W. is like the Island of Misfit Toys. Maybe it'll never gain or earn anyone's respect, because it isn't the original E.C.W. Maybe people won't even attempt giving this Championship a chance, because it's unique and silver, instead of unoriginal and gold. Who truly knows.

But one thing is definately for sure. Noone, and I mean NO ONE.. can argue, that this Championship hasn't single handedly made, re-made, helped, and carried careers. So.. poisoned chalice? I definately think not.

 

[Crush1]

No I dont think this has anything to do with a backstage factor. It's just a weird coincidence. Besides the ECW title is nothing more than a mid-card title at its best. So out of the people you mentioned, most of them needed a title and others were just simple rookies. Staying at ECW is nothing horrible, its a way to get more screen time, in ring action and the schedule is less of a hassle than Raw. Which wrestler wouldn't want that? And I agree with Will, the ECW title helped a LOT of wrestlers who were burned out or just didn't have what it took on Smackdown or Raw. Wrestlers should be lucky the ECW title is around to save their asses, and for the rookies to make a name for themselves.