WWE ECW
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | WWE ECW |
| Original title | WWE ECW |
 | |
| Country of production |
 United States
|
| original language | English (AE) |
| Year (s) | 2006-2010 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Episodes | 193 in 4 seasons |
| genre | Sports - entertainment |
| Theme music | Saliva & Brent Smith - "Don't Question My Heart" |
| production | Vince McMahon |
| First broadcast | 2006 (USA) on Syfy |
WWE ECW is a former American wrestling show produced by WWE . It was based on the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion and was the third WWE brand alongside Raw and SmackDown . The show debuted on Sci Fi in the US on June 13, 2006 and ran for nearly four years until it was replaced by NXT on February 16, 2010 .
history
After the former ECW superstar Rob Van Dam was able to get Vince McMahon to organize a one-time wrestling show in which only former ECW members should compete against each other, the " ECW One Night Stand " took place on June 12, 2005 in New York . The actual main event was when the assembled ex-ECW members joined the ranks of the TV formats RAW and SmackDown! were allowed to defeat.
Just one year later, on June 11, 2006, a second “ECW One Night Stand” took place in New York, this time all cadres were allowed to compete against each other. Due to the wide fan base of the former ECW, World Wrestling Entertainment started a third show called “Extreme Championship Wrestling” with its own roster (“Brand”) just two days later.
The programs that the SciFi channel broadcast weekly were each broadcast directly before SmackDown! recorded. In the international markets, the ECW show replaced “ WWE Velocity ” in many countries . In Germany, the ECW could be seen on the Premiere Sport Portal. Initially, only 12 to 14 episodes were planned to test the new WWE product with wrestling fans. The first broadcast of “ECW on Sci-Fi” achieved an audience rating of 2.8 (over 3 million viewers) in the USA, which was considered a great success. As early as December 2006, the first major ECW event called December to Dismember was held, which was based on an earlier version of the original ECW. But due to the lack of TV ratings, this one-off attempt was made.
The shows were booked by Paul Heyman and David Lagana (former Smackdown Head Writer), among others, but it can be assumed that the executive WWE TV producer Kevin Dunn had a great influence on the production. In 2006 the roster consisted mainly of wrestlers from the former ECW such as Rob Van Dam , Sabu or The Sandman and a manageable number of ECW newbies such as Big Show , Kurt Angle and Test . In the course of time up to mid-2007 both the number of wrestlers in total and the number of wrestlers of the "old" ECW decreased. In mid-2008, Stevie Richards , Nunzio , and Balls Mahoney were fired from other "ECW veterans", so that, with Tommy Dreamer, only one active person remained in the WWE who was already employed by the ECW before 2001.
In summer 2007 the “ECW One Night Stand” was renamed “ ECW One Night Stand - Extreme Rules ” and in 2009 it was renamed “ WWE Extreme Rules ”.
However, since it was set up in the summer of 2006, the ECW roster had to accept various blows of fate, which significantly hampered constant development. These include, in particular, a drug scandal involving Rob Van Dam and Sabu , Paul Heyman's leave of absence , the temporary end of Big Show's career, the family tragedy over Chris Benoit , who has just been drafted into an ECW fire , as well as numerous layoffs of wrestlers due to disagreements with the WWE. The short-term and meaningless reconstruction phases of The Great Khali and Snitsky should also be mentioned at this point. In mid-2007 the ECW roster was able to gain consistency for the first time, with CM Punk , Boogeyman, Big Daddy V and John Morrison acting as top stars.
In order to strengthen ECW compared to the other WWE weekly shows, a general manager should act as a strong man in front of the cameras. This role was initially awarded to Armando Estrada, who had previously made a name for himself as manager of Umaga at RAW . On June 3, 2008, he was replaced by Theodore Long , who in turn was replaced by his “assistant” Tiffany in April 2009 to become General Manager at SmackDown! can be used.
First, the former SmackDown! Commentator and multiple ECW World Heavyweight Champion Tazz and Joey Styles formed the commentary team. In April 2008, Styles resigned from his position and was temporarily replaced by Mike Adamle . In mid-2008, Tazz switched back to SmackDown . Matt Striker and Todd Grisham then commented . However, since Tazz let his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment expire in April 2009 and then left the promotion, Todd Grisham switched to SmackDown. Josh Mathews took his place as commentator . Striker Grisham later joined SmackDown, and Byron Saxton started commenting with Mathews in November 2009.
On February 2, 2010, WWE President Vince McMahon announced that ECW would be replaced on February 23, 2010 by the new TV format WWE NXT . The last TV broadcast was on February 16, 2010 and the last ECW champion was Ezekiel Jackson. After the broadcast, the ECW brand and the corresponding title were discontinued on the same day.
Individual evidence
- ↑ WWE: First reactions to the new ECW concept, date apparently known for Steve Austin as RAW guest host
- ↑ Vince McMahon announces the end of ECW ( Memento from February 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- ECW Official Website