Is the ECW legend bigger than the true story?

[Next Big Thing]

"ECW was around on TNN for 12 months…that’s it. I know it’s grown in mythology and in the minds of people, but it lasted on TNN for 12 or 13 months. It found a home because it found a niche... TNA, or WWE, or anyone that has to make money with a brand isn’t going to be able to resort to the level of violence & the presentation that they got used back on TNN. It’s just not possible... People that are getting so hung up on this ECW comparison are getting lost in their own mythology.” - Eric Bischoff

Do you guys agree that the memories of ECW are greatly exaggerated compared to what the company actually was? Does the mainstream success of a few stars like RVD, Raven, Dudleyz, and Taz make the entire company's legacy seem bigger than it is?

[thedamndest]

ECW's best days were well before TNN. Most of their top guys had left or were leaving at that point. That said, the company wasn't going to grow beyond a certain point because it was inherently the alternative brand.

The legend is kind of exaggerated, but only in the perspective that it's placed now because it's used as a measuring stick for how terrible the PG era is. ECW had its share of misses too.

[IC Champion]

Yeah Ive seen some Hardcore TV from back in the day, and ECW was never as great as it is made out to be today. pretty much agree with Thed.

[The Gold Standard]

I was never a big fan of ECW, but I do the the legend is bigger than the story

[#BROKEN Hasney]

It will probably always be my fave promotion. From the moment I was flicking through the channels late one night and seen Hardcore TV with Taz, about to come back from his neck break talking into the camera.

If someone gave me a pile of WWF, WCW and ECW PPV DVDs from the whole period ECW was around and said I could only watch one pile for any time I wanted to watch wrestling, I'd take the ECW one because proportionally, I would have more hours of great in-ring product for me.

It doesn't deserve the god-like staus it recieves from some people, but I do believe it was the quality of the product and it's implosion while still putting on a good show (rather than WCW's slow death) that made it like that in some minds.

[bigslimjj]

considering we're not having a wcw,awa,or nwa one last stand...I'd say the legacy is kind of justified.

[Mooияakeя™]

Being in England, I'm actually not sure when we got it here, but I remember it coming on randomly and when I caught it I loved it. Wrestling was fucking awesome back then. Gah I misses it. But I'd say the reason it has the legend status is because of what they did. When you think of the stories they tell of how close they came to not having PPV, Bill Alfonso's match with Beulah "saving him", Douglas' throwing of the belt, the table matches, Mass Transit, New Jack getting his eye fucked, the crucifiction by Raven on sandman, the fact the guys used to send the merch out... it all does have an aura of just legendary happenings.

Look at it not legend like someone who saves a nation, just legend in the way that amazes. Like will prob never happen again. It was gritty and they showed that, but for a girtty promotion, they sure did good things with it.

and btw... ECW Anarchy Rulz > WWF Attitdue / WWF War Zone on PSX.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

and btw... ECW Anarchy Rulz > WWF Attitdue / WWF War Zone on PSX.

It should be, it was a sequel when they lost the WWF license and got the ECW one.

WWF No Mercy > WCW/nWo Revenge > *

[Gertner]

ECW in the 95-97 was amazing. Every match was interesting.

[BigCrippyZ]

I wouldn't say the legend is exaggerated. I loved it for what it was then and I still love it for what it was now. It sounds more like Eric is bitter and pissed that WCW didn't/couldn't capitalize off Heyman and ECW like Vince and the WWF did.

[Hanso Amore]

Are the Rolling Stones over rated?

Some would say yes.

But not in the eyes of their Fans.

ECW was truly great. Its fans will always think it was just as amazing as they say it is.

[thedamndest]

Keep in mind Eric is looking at it more from a business perspective than a smark perspective. His comment is really focused more on the monetary end of things, so in that sense, yes ECW wasn't very good. They didn't make it on TNN and they are a defunct organization.

[Innovator]

Thats just a case of Bischoff being a doucher.

[BigDaddyCool]

I would like to point out that ECW's top stars were nothing more than big fish in a small pond. Once they made it to WCW and WW(F)E, none of them really made it past upper midcard. Sure some of them held major titles, but they weren't the main-event with those titles.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Yup Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and that Stone Cold guy never amounted to anything.

[Snowden]

It depends how you look at the question.

Are we talking influence, and the impact it had on the business? Well, if you simply factor in that the ECW brand had at least something to do with the birth of the attitude era, then no, ECW is as important as its cracked up to be.

But if we're talking the product itself, then yes. Good wrestling and writing? Yes. The best thing ever to be put in a squared circle? No.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Yup Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and that Stone Cold guy never amounted to anything.

And neither did Rey Mysterio. :shifty:

[whiteyford]

I think the WWECW was so shitty at times it kinda made everyone think the original ECW was better than it was. I loved the original ECW but i think its taken on a larger cult status since it folded, from a business standpoint it makes TNA look like a success story, but in-ring wise and angle wise it deserves the credit it gets. Maybe if it stopped getting dragged out for one last show every year too...

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I dunno what some of you are talking about, because ECW was fucking incredible.

[Droford]

During the mid 90's I used to sit up to 2 am on saturday nights to watch ECW TV which was like a month behind (the promos would always advertise shows at the ECW arena that had already happened, and the Hotline would be old news too lol)

[McLegend]

ECW was the greatest wrestling promotion ever.

No one did more with less then Paul Heyman.

[XL]

Yup Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and that Stone Cold guy never amounted to anything.
TBF, Eddie & Jericho were there less that 8 months. Benoit and Austin less than a year. These guys "passed through" ECW, they weren't made into stars in ECW.

ECW Stars are RVD, Sandman, Dreamer, Raven (arguable), etc.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I'm not sure how you can really say that. ECW gave them a platform and the only reason they "passed through" was because richer companies jumped on their obvious talent. Especially Austin, he was given so much TV time to rant.

ECW still made them in terms of exposure in the US and I'm not sure how Raven would even be arguably a star of ECW.

[XL]

Also, I think the legency is "played up" becaue of the underdog factor and because they didn't have chance to fade out with a dismal whimper (like WCW) but instead ended in their "prime".

I'd liken it to how people "absolutely love" guys that died before their time (Eddie, Owen, etc) despite never showing that much love for them when they were alive.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I don't think you'd find many negative threads about Eddie prior to his death. Hell, I think post-comeback Eddie was probably the most loved active performer on these forums.

[XL]

I'm not sure how you can really say that. ECW gave them a platform and the only reason they "passed through" was because richer companies jumped on their obvious talent. Especially Austin, he was given so much TV time to rant.

ECW still made them in terms of exposure in the US and I'm not sure how Raven would even be arguably a star of ECW.
Yeah, ECW put them in the shop window...WCW/WWF/E gave them worldwide exposure and ultimately made them into stars.

[Schlomey]

Watch the Rise and Fall DVD. By the time ECW got on TNN it had already lost all of its big stars and was getting absolutely zero support from the network.

ECW deserves its place in history and the true story is well documented so I don't believe it is embellished.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

ECW put on the best wrestling I've ever seen. There's no nostalgia involved.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

ECW put on the best wrestling I've ever seen. There's no nostalgia involved.

1 million times in agreement.

I still watch it now so there is definatly no rose-tinted glasses.

[Triple A]

ECW was the greatest thing of all time.

Also what @ acting as if it only existed on TNN and talking about the things it was "allowed to do on TNN." There was constantly "talk" about how much ECW was being censored and toned down on TNN.

[Schlomey]

Nah


ECW was great and brutal and had the most unique fans though.

[Mooияakeя™]

It should be, it was a sequel when they lost the WWF license and got the ECW one.

WWF No Mercy > WCW/nWo Revenge > *

They only added a few extra things, but those extra things owned.

Gah, good times. Doubt we'll ever see this time again with 2 major promotions and a 3rd one that had the right set of fans and did the right thing with what they could. Heyman is a guru.

[Destro 2.0]

ECW will live on forever I mean it became more of big deal when it died then came back. Then its resurgence in 2005 and 2006. Really boosted it into the big time. ECW was great way before TNN decided to fuck up a good thing. As for Bitchoff he should lay off the blow/ Because, his incoherent ramblings are not good for him at all.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Bischoff also didn't think Steve Austin had "it"

[Destro 2.0]

Bischoff also didn't think Steve Austin had "it"

Wait didn't Bitchoff fire Steven over the Phone? Didn't he also send a 0.00 check to Christopher Jericho?

[SaskatchewanChamp]

ECW has a legacy?

[Gertner]

Yeah, ECW put them in the shop window...WCW/WWF/E gave them worldwide exposure and ultimately made them into stars.

You could argue that those listed would have never become stars if it weren't for ECW. ECW became the breeding ground for a lot of the stars during the Monday Night Wars.

[Destro 2.0]

You could argue that those listed would have never become stars if it weren't for ECW. ECW became the breeding ground for a lot of the stars during the Monday Night Wars.

Yeah thats true but at the end of the Day ECW was just an INDY fed. Noone has ever said all the money I made in ECW I retired on. It was just the best Indy Fed that alot of places model themselves after today.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Who gives a shit what level they were? Their product was better than everyone else's with 1/100th the budget of the big boys.

[DrCrawford]

well since i live right out side of philly i saw ECW before they were even on TNN, so their legacy is large to me

[Fox]

One thing about ECW's legend that hasn't been blown out of proportion over time is the quality of the fans at each and every one of their shows.

There is, has been, and probably never will be anything like the ECW fans in the Hammerstein Ballroom. No other fans are so into the match, so vocal, such die hard maniacs as the old ECW fans. They turned shitty WWE matches like John Cena vs. RVD, Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton and Big Show vs. Batista into everlasting memories, simply by their reactions. I wish any company had fans like this, but instead we have the Kool-Aid drinkers in Orlando who can't figure out who's heel and who's face in TNA.

[Emperor Smeat]

Paul Heyman's rant/shoot on TNN near the end of ECW's tv deal and on the Rise and Fall of ECW basically explained how being on TNN sped up their downfall since TNN only used ECW as a test on hosting a wrestling show on their network.

TNN made ECW spend more than they could afford on production without helping out on the bills and constant censoring that ended up "watering" down part of what made ECW different.

ECW was a great company and was the best non-big company (WCW and WWF) in the US at the time. It does deserve praise for being influential in WCW getting lucha style wrestlers since ECW proved it could be popular and adding an edgier style to wrestling in WCW and WWF. Compared to WCW and WWF, ECW actually paid attention and listened to their fans as a way of giving them feuds and storylines they were interested instead of forcing the crowd to accept whatever the boss wanted to do for a storyline or give a push.

[Gertner]

Yeah thats true but at the end of the Day ECW was just an INDY fed. Noone has ever said all the money I made in ECW I retired on. It was just the best Indy Fed that alot of places model themselves after today.

They did have guys under some decent contracts. I know for a fact Mike Awesome made 6 figures towards the end of his run. When ECW went bankrupt they did owe some guys over 100 grand like Dreamer and Styles. Christ, the owed Francine 47000.

[RiX1024]

ECW was awesome, wish WWE didn't kill it when they re-launched it.

[BizarroKing]

I bought Barely Legal on DVD with ONS 06, and it's great.

WWECW debut was good for only one thing:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3x13p8DsVQ0/SzhV-BwVXHI/AAAAAAAAASk/rX9N6FZdEHw/s320/zombie+ecw.png

Had it been WWECWCW, THEN they probably would have been onto something...I kid.