When do you think the ECW World lost its top tier status?
 

I'd have to say with Johnny Nitro, If he was as good as he is now then I'd reconsider. But he wasn't that good back then so...yea

Your thoughts?

Yeah I agree, because before that when Lashley had it, it was still the ECW World title.

I also agree. When Nitro won the title, he was nowhere near where he is now. He was not seen as a legit threat, he was seen as purely a midcarder. What he has done since then has certainly launched him to the top, but he merely used the ECW title as a stepping stone (as others have done/will do).

Also, I totally misread the thread title. For some reason, I saw it as: "When will the ECW Title regain top-tier status."

Don't know how I managed that one.

Have to go with Morrison. Even with his great abs :(

I am a huge Morrison fan, but when he won the ECW Title it became a mid card title. He was not ready at the time. It never recovered from that moment, even though the title made Morrison.

I didn't see "It never had top-tier status." as an option.

For shame!

fuck yeah I meant to put that and "It never lost its top tier status"....even tho it has

I think it lost its status when Lashley had it and somewhere in between his feud with Mr. McMahon.

truth is they stopped announcing it as the ECW World Title during Morrison's reign.

Lashley for me, I couldnt buy him as the man of any show tbh.

When they came back in 2006 and Heyman was fired then it quickly became shit.

Lashley for me as well. When Big Show won the belt, it made sense because he had some credibility. He came across as this big, mean badass. Lashley on the other hand was just a charismaless mess.

lashley/mcmahon fued, vince holding a belt doesnt piss me off because he deserve it, but come on at most he should've grabbed a mid card belt.

The title lost its status when Triple H beat Tazz in the champion vs champion match.

Yeah, because the WWF Champion having to cheat to beat the ECW Champion completely buried the title.

I don't think it ever had it. As far as mainstream wrestling went, it was always the third in line.

When it was re-activated by WWE, it remained so.

I will say, at the beginning of it's run in WWE it was far closer in status to the other world belts, but still it was really not top tier.
I think that was more and more evident by the day, but it was clear way earlier than Morrison like some are saying.
When Undertaker won the royal rumble, they marched Lashley out there as though he was going to challenge him and nobody bought him. They may have made more of an effort to treat it like an equal title, but them and the crowd never bought it.

I think McMahon's "reign" went on way too long. Lashley was billed as a monster, but for some reason he couldn't ever catch Vince when back in the day Austin could Stun a younger, more spry (relatively) Vince week after week. He got that second reign, but I think his momentum died at that point because Vince isn't a guy that a face should really have to chase for the title.

I think Lashley lost a lot of steam the moment he picked up a microphone

Lashley: (in little girl voice)"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I think the WWE title, the World Heavyweight Title, and the ECW title are in the same descending order of status as they always have been.
WWF title, WCW title (WHC), ECW title.

I suppose the WWE incarnation of the WHC has had stints as the belt, due to the importance of who's holding it, but that's only because it's under the WWE banner and can be construed as the main title if you choose to do so.

I believe that the Chris Benoit incident seriously damaged the ECW Title. If you look at how the brand was set at the time of that incident, we were getting ready for a rivalry between Benoit and CM Punk over the ECW Title. Sure, it may be more for the smarks than the marks, but that feud had so much potential.

I understand why they put the belt on Johnny Nitro (he was the most decorated man in ECW at that time, and they wanted Punk to chase), and I don't blame Nitro/Morrison himself. He was still good at this time, but it was just like the JBL rush job. I think the Benoit stuff sort of put a carny curse on the belt, and it's never really recovered from that incident. To be honest, I don't even think the WWE have really tried to recover the belt. Chavo Guerrero as World Champion? I love the man, but come on.

Also, I think the "ECW Title" made sense as a name for the belt, even if it had retained its worth. You had the WWE Title, and the World Heavyweight Title -- calling a third the "ECW World Title" makes it sound better than both, as it had a brand name in front of it, and the "World Title" label. If the WWE can't be called the "WWE World Title," then the ECW Title should not get that treatment.

I'd love to see the WWE try and turn the ECW Title into a legitimate World Title belt. Even if it is a failed experiment. Shawn Michaels holding the ECW Title, for example, could be the most amazing thing to happen to the title ever.

Yeah benoit seriously fucked over the ECW title, selfish asshole.

Yeah, what a dick.

Also, I'm going with McMahon. I think when he put it on himself and did that storyline with Lashely, he was basically sending us a message that the belt was NOT a top-tier belt.

When Rhyno won it.

I think that John Morrison's ring style was better back then than it is now. his sig moves were more exciting and unique. tbh I think the wwe is holding him back right now from his moveset bc he is a heel.Swagger needs to bring the belt to other shows and boast about it. hell, even beat a former world champ of some sort to show that "his show is the real show" or some shit

I think at least once a year they should promote a Champions match. I think it would have helped Swagger and that belt a ton if he was even placed in the same match as Cena and Edge, or whoever the other two champions were, at some PPV. Even a Raw.

I feel as though a Saturday Night's Main Event is a good platform for that match.

He was a heel when he won the belt, too.

His moveset is more limited now because when he won the ECW belt he was still feeling out his style and the flow of his matches. After the WWE agent see what he does, what they like, they limit him to a certain number of moves. All of the mid/upper card wrestlers are like this; even vets like Rey Mysterio. I don't know why they limit their wrestlers on the number of moves they can do. It may have to do with "branding" each wrestler with a particular number of signature moves and spots, but it's pretty ridiculous.

The only good thing about TNA is they have some of the best matches, and they let their wrestlers just go. The problem is that Don West is calling the fucking action.

Lashley. I mean, it's creation as a WWE product wasn't great, like when Rob spawned the title from his being and just started defending it like it had always been there. But Rob was great for that bit and the story with Big Show was extremely enjoyable. Lashley ended it with no build, no precedent and then fueded with Vince over it starting the complete downward spiral.

If Benoit hadn't gone nuts, maybe it wouldn't have gone to shit.

RVD.... its lost its status as soon as the brand was recreated... no offense to RVD, but anyone could have won the title and it still would not have been top-tier

especially considering that he was filling in for Benoit. If Nitro's reign ended up being Benoit's it would have been great. He would have been able to carry the load.

Yes, it would have been great. Benoit would have made the title and the show mean something to fans and WWE itself. But if Morrison hadn't won it, do we still get the same Morrison we see today? Would his rise not have happened at all? Or would it have just taken longer, and another route?

I will not vote for Morrison, or his adbominals! He was good in his run. He had great matches with Punk. He had the 15 minutes of fame schtick. He was good. But it was damaged by McMahon shitting all over it in a way that only he can.

Yea, i don't know why they limit either...then again, yes i do. Because they will outshine the main-eventers. Morrison's older moveset alone would get him WAY over now. I can't WAIT for him and HBK to have a long lasting fued. Hopefully, by that time, JM will be WAY more comfortable and his matches will be more fast-paced. I honestly think he will be the next mold of HBK. I just think with his unique moveset and his look and his style can actually go different ways: Brawler, High-Flyer, Submission, etc. He is going to go over very big, you heard me first...well probably not first, but i did say it before a bandwagon was formed.