What If ECW Had Survived?

[HBK89Bill]

What if ECW survived? Imagine that ECW is still in business today and try to tell me how wrestling looks today. It is the most interesting “what if” wrestling scenario I’ve thought about in some time. Because everyone has thought about WCW surviving, or WWF finding a way to keep the WCW brand alive after buying it from Time Warner, but ECW just gets overlooked a little bit and I’ve never really heard this conversation before. Let’s try to imagine what wrestling would look like today if ECW was still an active promotion.

I’ve seen Heyman’s DVD and heard in multiple interviews that ECW died because of distribution. According to Heyman, ECW was a hot product in it’s final days. The problems were they were owed a lot of money by PPV distributors who thought it was cheaper to pay off the dollar for ECW rather than throw the money onto a ship that might sink in six months. At the same time, ECW could not get distribution to get television. USA Network decided that if they couldn’t have WWF, they had no interest in wrestling. Turner had no interest in wrestling after WCW. Fox offered ECW an afternoon strip that apparently didn’t make sense financially. ECW just couldn’t catch a break and just didn’t have enough money to sustain itself. That is how ECW died.

In this fantastical world we’re creating, maybe WWF buys ECW and keeps the product alive as a second brand. Maybe, USA Network has a change of heart. For all we know, Turner could buy ECW and mix it with some of the contracts from WCW. That could have gotten guys like Hulk Hogan on ECW TV. In this fantastical world, maybe Gatorade sponsors ECW and it survives. The financial and business elements of how and why ECW survives is a great conversation, but let’s focus on how it would affect the talent roster of the wrestling industry since that is a more direct way to talk about this world.

It seems to me that in 2001 when WCW went down, the talent pool was wide open. You’ve got good talents like Booker T, Mysterio and so many others up for grabs. If ECW survives, you essentially have your options of ECW or WWF. The question of who goes where is very up in the air. There is no way to predict it. There are so many interesting scenarios to the next few years as well. In 2002, when Stone Cold took his ball and went home, what if he took his ball to ECW?

Of course, that is so unlikely given his connection with WWF, but was Austin burnt out with the business, or just his position in the company? The whole 2001 Mania heel turn from him was simply an attempt to give him new life as a character. Austin moving to ECW would been the most fresh move I can think of. Again, a very unlikely scenario, but these are the kinds of situations that would come up in the industry. As some time goes on and we’re pushing into the middle of the decade in wrestling, where does Ring of Honor fit in? Does ROH even exist at all? Because if it doesn’t, guys like CM Punk would have been in ECW. Even if ROH goes exactly as planned, Punk still worked for Gabe Sopolsky at ROH and it would make sense to go work for Paul Heyman next. Punk ends up in ECW no matter what. Punk ends up being the superstar of ECW no matter what. That is a world I would have loved to live in. Guys like Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries and so many more would have all honed their craft there too. Can you imagine Punk vs. Joe, or Nigel McGuinness vs. Danielson in ECW? That really would have been something to see. There are so many possibilities for feuds and matches that simply depended on the current state of that world. Things would have changed so much for everyone. TNA would be so different. Just sit and think for awhile about the possibilities. It is the most fun I’ve had thinking about wrestling in quite some time.

The most interesting dynamic for me is how WWF and ECW would have collaborated and competed with one another. It seems to me that WCW would split between the two. Over the 00’s, the ROH and TNA audience would do the same. Since ECW would have the more ultra violent environment mixed with wrestling instead of sports entertainment, you have to wonder how the industry would change during the transition of the “Attitude Era” to what is known now as the “Ruthless Aggression Era”. I think it would have been the World War II of the wrestling industry. ECW would have thrived because it was the competition the industry needed at the absolutely perfect time. The world saw pro wrestling as a real form of entertainment. This kind of development could have kept the industry hot. IF only ECW had gotten television, or one thing had changed. We’d be living in a very different world. I’ll go out on a limb and say it, a better world.

 

[andrewp488]

if ecw had survived it wouldnt have changed much same wrestlers same matches same titles just maybe a few younger wrestlers who can do hardcore such as bram possibly instead of him going to tna when wwe got rid of him. now i think of it ecw still exists its just called house of hardcore as most wrestlers from ecw are there

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

ECW for a time was indeed the hottest promotion in North America, and arguably is the inspiration behind both the nWo and the Attitude Era. Before that, both WWE and WCW focused on fantastical storylines and characters (the top story in WCW throughout 1995 involved the Dungeon of Doom, for example, whilst WWE between 1993 and 1995 presented such characters as Mantaur, Doink the Clown and Bastion Booger, to name but a few); ECW was a much more 'real' promotion (even when using 'comic book' characters) and Paul E. ensured that the wrestlers had an edge. Take for example his use of Matt Borne, the original (and best) Doink in WWE. He gave him a 'split personality', a violent streak and a public hatred for the clown gimmick, despite still wearing the costume, as 'Borne Again'.

Other wrestlers previously booked as typical mid carders in the 'big two' were turned into stars in ECW, such as Shane Douglas, Raven, Al Snow, Cactus Jack, Too Cold Scorpio, Bam Bam Bigelow and Steve Austin, each of whom were allowed to display hitherto unseen personalities.

Combine that with a progressive style of wrestling, far removed from the popular WWE style, involving high spots, high impact moves, weapons and tables at various different times, and as a place for young and foreign acts to break through (Chris Candido, the various Dudleys, the Pitbulls, Jericho, Storm, Malenko, Benoit, Mysterio, Psicosis and more came through ECW) and you had all the ingredients for the new shining beacon in professional wrestling.

However, ECW never really 'broke' America. They just didn't have the resources. A steady stream of talent raids from 1995 onwards, some to WWE but mainly to Ted Turner's millions in WCW, meant ECW constantly were forced to rotate many of their roster, and their lack of money meant production values never really improved: despite the rowdy crowds in the likes of the South Philly bingo hall and Asbury Park, NJ, these were small venues and the promotion never stopped feeling small-time (as much as I loved it).

Its lack of a decent tv deal, and Heyman being forced to overpay for many stars (to keep them as well as to sign new ones), partially because the success of both WWE and WCW in the late 90s drove up the market value, but with lack of sufficient income streams to support it, meant the company went bankrupt in January 2001, actually 2 months before WWE acquired WCW, so unfortunately there was never a chance of ECW surviving post-WCW or taking WCW's time slot (which was on TNT and was part of the reason WCW was sold, as the new owners didn't want wrestling on their channel).

You are right to speculate that there would be no Ring of Honor, as that promotion was founded as a successor to ECW, by a former ECW employee (Sapolski) and distributor (Feinstein), and ran shows initially in the same tri-state area that ECW called home, so it is arguably correct to say that if ECW continued, there would be no ROH.

Given the facts being its closure, ultimately it would have been almost impossible for ECW to stay afloat without a significant income injection, and that was not likely to happen, at least not soon enough for Heyman to appease his creditors. ECW has a very important place in wrestling history, but ultimately it died for a reason.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

If WWE would have kept ECW going, John Cena would have become the new Tommy Dreamer and Punk would have become the new Raven, they would have feuded through 2002-2004 in what would have went down as the greatest feud of all time.

Interesting subject though. After watching through the Sopranos for the first time recently I can say with great confidence that ECW would have fit perfectly on HBO in the 2000's. If that would have somehow happened, ECW would have exploded similarly to how the UFC boomed in 2005-2006.

I was a fan of ECW back in the day and I gave up on wrestling altogether when it died. I was already into MMA but I got deeper into it after I lost interest in pro wrestling, by 2001-2002 I was heavy into the Pride FC stuff. I think it would have just been a natural evolution for ECW, at least in my image of it, to have incorporated more elements of the classic shoot style of wrestling, the style that fans today call fake MMA, a style that actually goes back to before MMA existed in Japan in UWF/UWFI/Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi/Rings etc. I think the hardcore stuff would have run it's course in ECW by 2002-2003, you would have had a pretty big turnover in the roster with a new crop of guys coming up and taking over by 2003, with another wave of talent coming up through 2004-2005. The meaning of extreme would have evolved. More shooting/worked shoots in the ring because that was what ECW was all about out of the ring, blurring the lines of reality and kayfabe, using broken kayfabe and twisting it into an angle that turns it back around into it's own little universe of kayfabe.

Also, I don't think TNA, Ring of Honor, or CZW would have existed if ECW would not have died. TNA wouldn't have lasted long if it did exist. A big reason why TNA was able to catch breaks early on was because PPV providers were hungry for content from what I understand. CZW never became anything until they started running shows in the ECW Arena, and Ring of Honor guys were working in ECW/selling ECW tapes.

 

[rmp0012002]

ECW was popular at its end but companies were unsure if Paul could sustain the product before paying them and that created a strained relationship with the wrestlers. I don't know if a huge influx of money would have cured all the ills because those guys couldn't continue to take that kind of damage and they needed new stars to continue that sport. I loved ECW but still think Paul is the king bullshitter.

 

[MrTDG]

If WWE would have kept ECW going, John Cena would have become the new Tommy Dreamer and Punk would have become the new Raven, they would have feuded through 2002-2004 in what would have went down as the greatest feud of all time.

Interesting subject though. After watching through the Sopranos for the first time recently I can say with great confidence that ECW would have fit perfectly on HBO in the 2000's. If that would have somehow happened, ECW would have exploded similarly to how the UFC boomed in 2005-2006.

I was a fan of ECW back in the day and I gave up on wrestling altogether when it died. I was already into MMA but I got deeper into it after I lost interest in pro wrestling, by 2001-2002 I was heavy into the Pride FC stuff. I think it would have just been a natural evolution for ECW, at least in my image of it, to have incorporated more elements of the classic shoot style of wrestling, the style that fans today call fake MMA, a style that actually goes back to before MMA existed in Japan in UWF/UWFI/Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi/Rings etc. I think the hardcore stuff would have run it's course in ECW by 2002-2003, you would have had a pretty big turnover in the roster with a new crop of guys coming up and taking over by 2003, with another wave of talent coming up through 2004-2005. The meaning of extreme would have evolved. More shooting/worked shoots in the ring because that was what ECW was all about out of the ring, blurring the lines of reality and kayfabe, using broken kayfabe and twisting it into an angle that turns it back around into it's own little universe of kayfabe.

Also, I don't think TNA, Ring of Honor, or CZW would have existed if ECW would not have died. TNA wouldn't have lasted long if it did exist. A big reason why TNA was able to catch breaks early on was because PPV providers were hungry for content from what I understand. CZW never became anything until they started running shows in the ECW Arena, and Ring of Honor guys were working in ECW/selling ECW tapes.

The funny thing is Paul Heyman stated on the ECW special on the WWE Network that ECW would've involved into a more MMA-style of wrestling by 2002-2003. He acknowledged that the hardcore style had run its course and that he would've been bringing in guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Cesaro to carry the banner of ECW into the mid-2000s. I think that would've gone very well and would have allowed ECW to have a chance to truly become a national brand.

I also feel that too often ECW gets looked at for the hardcore stuff, when in reality, at one point in time, they had the best pure wrestling product in America. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford to pay those guys (the Benoits, Malenko's, and Guerero's, etc), and the constant drain of talent left them relying on the New Jack's and Vic Grimes's of the world for star power.

I just need another promotion that to get on television in a decent time slot (is before midnight asking to much) on a network that is accessible to give us some alternatives. And when I say us, I don't mean the hardcore wrestling fan. Until another promotion can capture the attention of some of those "others", the WWE will never get back on it's A-game.

But back to the original point, I think if ECW had survived, I suspect they would have made an even greater impact in the 2000s than they had in the 1990s, because Paul Heyman has always demonstrated he is ahead of the curve. For further proof, take a look at Smackdown when he was in charge of the show.

 

[Seosa]

Heyman wanted it to evolve. It probably would have become a hybrid of hardcore wrestling, technical wrestling & MMA.

 

[goalieman31]

I believe if ecw was able to survive they would have transitioned from hardcore and into mma style and big spots much like roh is doing. I think had ecw been able to get revenue they could have had the chance to really make an impact on the wrestling business. They could have taken the indy style and made it a more mainstream product.