ECW return? (possible spoilers)

[Fox]

- There are continuing talks about bring Extreme Championship Wrestling back following WrestleMania XX. The current idea is to get Paul Heyman fired from the Smackdown brand and work for ECW as a rebel brand. It is possible that most of the ex-ECW wrestlers will be on the ECW brand. WWE would promote ECW as competition and not one of their official brands. If this does indeed happen, Shane McMahon may get involved in the story and help Heyman start the ECW brand. WWE would keep the budget low for the brand, run one PPV per quarter, and possibly give it a one-hour slot on Saturday nights each week.

Credit: Rajahwwf.com

_________________________________________________________________

So what do you all think about this idea? I don't really like it because I know that the "ECW" superstars will be treated like crap, and the new ECW brand will be a joke. Not to mention the fact that Vince probably won't let them wrestle the ECW style, and it'll be a 1-hour show of people hitting each other with trash cans and cookie sheets.

Opinions?

[Kane Knight]

Wasn't ths rumour posted last week?

[Kane Knight]

And uh...The week before?

[Kane Knight]

And pretty much ocne a week since Heyman came to Smackdown!?

[Savio]

If they can wrestle ECW style then :y:

[Innovator]

If it means they do something with the Whole F'n Show maybe its good

But if it is under Vince and the WWE's watch, it won't have the same rebel feeling to it. I think ECW's legacy would get hurt by doing this, which means Vince is seriously gonna consider it.

By itself, ECW hasn't died, the feeling/tremors/aftershocks of ECW will never die

[Seabass]

And even before ECW folded knowing wwe would purchase it

[Loose Cannon]

WTF with Shane McMahon. Didn't they learn anything from The Invasion angle. We don't need to have McMahons against each other all the time. Heyman can do it alone for god sakes.

[Ricky]

Well if they wanted to use a Mcmahon they could at least show some continuity and have it be with Stephanie instead. You could say that Vince has forced them both away from running Smackdown and use that as the reason for them forming a "rebel" brand. At least it would make sense that way.

[Ricky]

And then of course Vince will just say that he beat them before before when they tried to form their own brand to defeat the WWE, and he will do it again.

Basically this is just gonna be Invasion 2.

[loopydate]

But...Shane's hardcore!

JK

Anyway, as has been said before, if they really DO it, then I'm all for it. None of this 24/7-style crap, it has to be real hardcore wrestling. I'm talking triple-jump moonsaults, I'm talking metal barricades close enough to the ring that the wrestlers can do suicide dives into the audience, I'm talking Stairway to Hell and Double Jeopardy, but most of all, I'm talking...

THREE-WAY DANCE!

If all of those criteria are met, and WW--er--ECW uses Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, the Dudleys, Rhyno, Lance Storm, and the rest like ECW used to use them and bring in guys like Raven, Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn, Super Crazy, and Sabu (no need to bother with New Jack or Sandman, IMO), then this can work.

Otherwise, don't bother with it.

[Mister Sinister]

and they also, got to lift the whole Ban on moves as well, None of this, No Piledriver, Tombstones, Vertebreakers etc crap that the WWE like's doing....

[Funky Fly]

Oh God, InVasion part 2. :nono:

[Mr. JL]

Speaking of ECW.... Rhyno just got a pretty big ECW chant going on Velocity.

[Loose Cannon]

I actually just something on another site that the WWE is going to be realeasing a DVD entitles "The Rise and Fall of ECW." The site said it would be similar to "The Monday Night Wars" video. Cool

[Kane Knight]

But...Shane's hardcore!

Sad thing is, with all the neutering in the WWE, he's prolly the most hardcore thing still around...:|

[Savio]

But...Shane's hardcore!

JK
He does jump from high places.

[Kane Knight]

He does jump from high places.

Same thing. :shifty:

[The Forgotten One]

I actually just something on another site that the WWE is going to be realeasing a DVD entitles "The Rise and Fall of ECW." The site said it would be similar to "The Monday Night Wars" video. Cool

I saw a rumour a while back before "The Monday Night Wars" DVD came out that they were gonna change it to just "The Rise and Fall of WCW".

But with this they got all bases covered.

[VonErich Lives]

I dunno, not sure it's a great idea, not sure you have enough ECW'ers to carry the brand.

Although, I can see the WWE doing it, just to take away from the other small feds. Plus it thins what might be a crowded herd in the WWE right now.

[Rob]

I actually have heard that they are thinking about bringing in ECW as a 3rd brand and put them late on Saturday nights (no news on PPV) but I haven't heard a thing about TV yet so it's all a rumour. To be fair, they could get another show on Spike TV whenever they wanted now.

[Lamuella]

for the last time...

ECW is dead
WCW is dead
DX is dead
the Four Horsemen are dead
NWO is dead

these things decrease with each new incarnation. WWE should try thinking up some new angles for a change. To be honest the only angle I'd like to see Paul E bring back is the Dangerous Alliance. And that's dead too.

[Kane Knight]

I actually have heard that they are thinking about bringing in ECW as a 3rd brand and put them late on Saturday nights (no news on PPV) but I haven't heard a thing about TV yet so it's all a rumour. To be fair, they could get another show on Spike TV whenever they wanted now.

Spike TV would welcome it...Most of their shows are filler anyways.

[Kane Knight]

for the last time...

ECW is dead
WCW is dead
DX is dead
the Four Horsemen are dead
NWO is dead

these things decrease with each new incarnation. WWE should try thinking up some new angles for a change. To be honest the only angle I'd like to see Paul E bring back is the Dangerous Alliance. And that's dead too.

*Copies and pastes this response for the benefit of future morons*

[Mister Sinister]

And Honestly, Would we want a ECW ran within McMahon company? Not Really, The Only thing that would get me excited if, Paul E himself, Quits WWE and restarts ECW...Of course, He'll need to make sure to get some serious Fiancial backing before hand...and I don't see that happened...:(

[Hired Hitman]

He does jump from high places.
He's practising for when he's in control of the WWE


... no no no, I think Shane will do a good job :D

[The Forgotten One]

He's practising for when he's in control of the WWE


... no no no, I think Shane will do a good job :D

Doesn't Stephanie have more backstage power than Shane?

I'd figure she'd be running the "wrestling" aspect of the business after Vince and Linda step down and Shane would be running the rest.

Or HHH and Steph would buy out Shane's part and HHH wouldn't have to give Vince anymore blowjobs. :shifty:

[Kane Knight]

And Honestly, Would we want a ECW ran within McMahon company? Not Really, The Only thing that would get me excited if, Paul E himself, Quits WWE and restarts ECW...Of course, He'll need to make sure to get some serious Fiancial backing before hand...and I don't see that happened...:(

...And a couple of business managers...

Anyways, no. I don't want a watered down, WWE version of ECW. IF and only IF they could recapture the ECW spirit and style of wrestling, it'd be cool. The WWE's incapable of winning with other people's ideas, though, so it won't happen.

[Kane Knight]

Doesn't Stephanie have more backstage power than Shane?

I'd figure she'd be running the "wrestling" aspect of the business after Vince and Linda step down and Shane would be running the rest.

Or HHH and Steph would buy out Shane's part and HHH wouldn't have to give Vince anymore blowjobs. :shifty:

Wasn't that already a wrestling angle?

[Shaggy]

Its a good idea to bring it back. More wrestling on tv. But if they bring it back and ruin it like everyone says that they will then they are just wasting there time. I dont think ECW will ever be the same again. Even though ECW is gone it was still one of the better organizations. It was wild and fun and kick ass. The only thing about bringing it back is that all the wrestlers that complain about not getting enough time on tv and not having a story line might finally have one. With a third show going on they can move some of the stars. (It will probably be the lower class one or they might try moving big ones first just to get it all hyped up) Then we might have to see another invasion angle again. Maybe if they do another one, they can pull it off right.

[Savio]

the Four Horsemen are dead

I think of evolution as the 4 Horsemen

[Kane Knight]

More wrestling would only be a good idea if it could be quality wrestling without any expense to the current wrestling.

the new ECW's staff would likely come from the other two shows, and while it may not be too much of a strain on the other cards, it also might be. The likelihood that all the talent would come from OVW or another non-established WWE site would be slim to none.

Plus, it'd still be WWE. That means it'd still be the WWE creative staff, and they barely seem to be able to handle two "promotions" a lot of the time. This'll stretch WWE resources at a time they should worry about shoring up what they have...

And that's IF it even happens at all...

[Lamuella]

I think of evolution as the 4 Horsemen

That's nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Kane Knight]

I think

Liar.

[Joe Kerr]

:lol:

kk you kill me


seriously though I marked out when ECW stormed in on the WWE for invasion. I dont see how this could work and it sounds like a lot of bullshit just floating around to see who would pick up on it and start a thread about it. ECW coming back would be like WCW coming back...not gonna happen. ECW's return might last like the XFL and once people realise how differnt it is...itll be another bore fest. I wish TNA NWA would come to spike tv 2 hours every like wendsday or something.

[Gertner]

...And a couple of business managers...

Anyways, no. I don't want a watered down, WWE version of ECW. IF and only IF they could recapture the ECW spirit and style of wrestling, it'd be cool. The WWE's incapable of winning with other people's ideas, though, so it won't happen.

Which would be impossible. ECW was based on "F*ck the big two", and being everything that WCW and WWF weren't. By having the WWE tied to the ECW label, that would be like a punk band that keeps saying "screw the establishment," but meanwhile they are signed to a major record label. The legitimacy of ECW would be tarnished, and nobody would by into it. I know I wouldn't, and I was as big an ECW mark as there ever was.

[Kane Knight]

Which would be impossible. ECW was based on "F*ck the big two", and being everything that WCW and WWF weren't. By having the WWE tied to the ECW label, that would be like a punk band that keeps saying "screw the establishment," but meanwhile they are signed to a major record label. The legitimacy of ECW would be tarnished, and nobody would by into it. I know I wouldn't, and I was as big an ECW mark as there ever was.

Uhhhh...How to put this...

There's a lot of money to be made in saying "Fu</>ck the establishment."

It's trendy. Ever wonder why you can buy an anarchy T-Shirt in a chain store in a mall, paying with a credit card? Why you can buy anti-establishment and anti-corporation music at Wal-Mart?

The corporations know this teenage compulsion to rebellion is pretty impotent, and yet, a potent source of revenue. They pander to the people who claim to hate them, and cash in.

Now, it'd seem I'm getting off topic, but this is going somewhere.

Vince could do the same thing. The thing is, it's unlikely. That would require swallowing pride and allowing ECW to take an actual anti-WWE stance, even though it's all a ruse. They couldn't seem to do that with wCw, and I doubt they would do it with Ec-Dub, but they could.

Corporate anti-corporate products. It works everywhere else, and it could work here, except for egos.

[The CyNick]

Which would be impossible. ECW was based on "F*ck the big two", and being everything that WCW and WWF weren't. By having the WWE tied to the ECW label, that would be like a punk band that keeps saying "screw the establishment," but meanwhile they are signed to a major record label. The legitimacy of ECW would be tarnished, and nobody would by into it. I know I wouldn't, and I was as big an ECW mark as there ever was.

100% agree

I think what people have to understand about the ECW fanbase is that they majority of them are people like us here on this board who follow every last detail of the wrestling business. Therefore, those fans would know that ECW is a WWE entity, and as a result, I dont think they would be as likely to support the product. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

If they were to do an ECW brand, I dont see how they would be able to run PPVs, assuming they use the Saturday 11PM time slot on Spike. They are unlikely to draw a huge number at that time, no matter who's on the show, therefore I dont see how you can expect to do decent numbers on PPV.

Obviously the best way to do it would be to add another prime time slot on Spike (ie Wednesdays), and then maybe you can hope to get in the 2s or something. But if they were to stay on Saturdays I would not run PPVs and just keep ECW as a TV only property.

It might work in the sense of it being a minor league promotion that has TV with some recognizable stars, and it would be a step above OVW because people would get a chance to be on National TV, but in terms of reviving the passion that ECW had, I just dont see it working out.

[Stickman]

I would rather another actual promotion get on TV. Not a fake competitor. I'd like to see ECW again, I miss WCW alot even though I was a WWF fan, i still watched WCW saturday night on TBS and Thunder. We need stuff like that, not another WWE show.

[Rob]

I think the internet fans and whoever else watched ECW and knows it's an entity of WWE would actually support the product if it was at least booked as the renegade promotion and Paul Heyman was pulling a hell of a lot of stroke.

[Kane Knight]

I would rather another actual promotion get on TV. Not a fake competitor. I'd like to see ECW again, I miss WCW alot even though I was a WWF fan, i still watched WCW saturday night on TBS and Thunder. We need stuff like that, not another WWE show.

I agree with you. A real competitor would be better.

But where's that gonna come from?

NWA-TNA has similar booking problems to the WWE, and was starting to look like latter day WCW last couple times I watched. If nobody wanted to pick up the real WCW, why would they want a knockoff version?

[Kane Knight]

I think the internet fans and whoever else watched ECW and knows it's an entity of WWE would actually support the product if it was at least booked as the renegade promotion and Paul Heyman was pulling a hell of a lot of stroke.

I'd be tickled pink if the WWE could book a promotion properly.

Fu</>ck that, if Heyman was running a promotion backed by the WWE, I'd start humping vince's leg.

[Loose Cannon]

http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/pic/i/impactplayers/07.jpg

If they bring back an ECW, they need to reform these guys with Dawn. I wasn't a huge ECW fan back then, but I tuned in every week when it was on to see what these guys were up too. They were awesome.

[Rob]

Heyman's problem was that he didn't know how to control money. If that is taken out of his hands, it could work. One problem though is that Paul Heyman fu</>cked over many of the boys in ECW at the end and how many people could trust him again?

[darkpower]

I would be akin to at least seeing what they could do with it, though. From what I'm seeing, if they can remove some of the things saying that it is only a WWE ripoff (i.e. the WWE logo doesn't come up on the bottom left screen corner, or the WWE intros at the beginning and end of the show), and actually look like it was low budget, then I guess that it could work. It would actually take the place of Confidential (which is getting AWFUL numbers), so that would be a plus for them, and plus, they would have a decent lead-in in Velocity if that ends up happening (would help Velocity, as well). I'm interested in this myself, and hope it happens. Sorry that I had to disagree with the majority here, but I really am interested to see what happens here.

[Paranoid Rattlesnake]

Piss funny if it actually happened and the ECW show got better ratings than RAW and SMACKDOWN

[Evolution]

Probably would happen too. Plus, I'd like to see Taz wrestle instead of Tazz comentate. RVD, Dudleys, Rhyno, Lance would all have something to do, and like it was already suggested, bring back some of the ECW alumni that have escaped to NWA TNA. People like Raven, Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn. And just to make some of the guys here cream, imagine AJ Styles vs Rob Van Dam for the ECW Championship.

[Rob]

Piss funny if it actually happened and the ECW show got better ratings than RAW and SMACKDOWN

Would be but when ECW at it's best did lower ratings than WCW at it's worse then it certainly don't look too likely.

[tucsonspeed6]

Oh God, InVasion part 2. :nono:

I always thought "Invasion" would be a good gimmick PPV to bring back now that the brands are seperated. It'd be kinda like survivor series, only instead of having only Battle Royals and Triple Threats and the like, it'd only have interpromotional matches. It'd be cool to see who is the better tag team champs of the two brands or who is the better heavyweight champ. It'd make a big cluster**ck out of the two shows, with guys from each show showing up at both places all the time, but if it only lasted a month it'd be worth it. Plus it'd give more value to the PPV of the preceding months, with guys fighting that much harder to be the ones to represent their brands.

[The Ravishing One]

I would rather another actual promotion get on TV. Not a fake competitor. I'd like to see ECW again, I miss WCW alot even though I was a WWF fan, i still watched WCW saturday night on TBS and Thunder. We need stuff like that, not another WWE show.

:y: