Rumor: WWE to Reopen ECW Fulltime in September

[Andy Mancini]

From Pro Wrestling Insider (http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=17629&p=1):


WWE has made the decision to bring back Extreme Championship Wrestling as a full time entity and has begun talking with former ECW talent about returning to work for the new version of the legendary promotion. As of right now, WWE is targeting a September return for the promotion. No decision has been made as to exactly how the company will be brought back yet. It's possible that it will take over the present OVW territory, that it will be a promotion that gets matches on the Raw and/or Smackdown promotions or possibly in some other manner. Sources have told us that Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer will be booking ECW when it starts up.

WWE has already contacted a number of ECW wrestlers and contracts will be sent out to them this week. The talents are being offered three year deals which consist of a series of one year contracts, with rollover clauses. A number of wrestlers have been contacts so far. We can confirm that WWE has talked with The Sandman, Francine and Balls Mahoney and will be sending contracts out to them this week.

We will have more information on this story later today or tomorrow.
Wow. Just wow. If this is true (and that's still a big if), this is huge.

[The Penguin]

If it does turn out to be true, I don't see how running shows in Kentucky is going to be a great move. They need a TV show and a home in Philly or New York.

[Moto Pete]

I agree as good as this would be. A Large T.V. contract is needed and fanbase also

[The Penguin]

I agree as good as this would be. A Large T.V. contract is needed and fanbase alsoIf there wasn't a fan base, there wouldn't even be a rumor.

[Matthew Williams]

WWE should attempt to buy or lease the New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Center in Philadelphia (ECW Arena to you and me). Agreed with the TV show thing, too. Raw's the only wrestling show USA carries right now, right?

[The Penguin]

WWE should attempt to buy or lease the New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Center in Philadelphia (ECW Arena to you and me). Agreed with the TV show thing, too. Raw's the only wrestling show USA carries right now, right?That and A.M. RAW (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=151652) which is pretty worthless. Just a recap show with no host and a scroll. It airs Saturday morning and late night on I think Saturday. They should take this hour, make it into ECW and reschedule it.

[Matthew Williams]

well, there you go. WWE can see about taking that hour of airtime, get USA to move it to a late night slot (which it seems to have already) and turn it into the ECW show. So it could work.

Hopeful that this works, although I'm not sure with the amount of good ECW talent that's gone to TNA (Sabu, Dudleys)

[VCXZX]

Here's an additional update by Dave Meltzer:


Quote:

In a story reported on earlier today by Pro Wrestling Insider, WWE is indeed bringing back the ECW brand name for merchandising purposes as well as some form of weekly television and house shows.

The decision appears to have been finalized in the past week as several former stars were offered three-year contracts.

Paul Heyman will be in charge of the brand. It is believed this will be a mix of both former ECW wrestlers and new WWE developmental wrestlers.

It is expected this will lead to some significant changes in the WWE television product as well. The company is not looking to add a third day of television taping. It would likely be handled similar to the Superastros deal in the late 90s, with weekly matches taped before either the Raw or Smackdown tapings.

THis sounds good, that hopefully won't backfire, or be mismanaged by WWE.

I guess this may also mean the OVW territory could be finished as Heyman is currently in charge of that. This may mean that CM PUNK, if not called up by September, will be a core member of the "new" ECW.

I bet that this revival will start at ONSII in June.

[Djm912]

I'm hoping this means the American return of 2 Cold Scorpio. I watch him in NOAH, but...eh.

[hobbyfan]

I was introduced to ECW in 1995 when it began airing on MSG cable. Because it was on so late, I would tape it, then play it later in the week.

I would've figured that WWE would've pulled the trigger on a revival last year after the success of 1 Night Stand. However, if they do bring it back, then there will be some changes across the board:

Raw: Joey Styles would leave his role as play-by-play man, clearing the way for Jim Ross, currently doing what I would consider to be a special correspondent gig, to return to the broadcast booth. If Chavo Guerrero, currently doing an angle where he's supposedly retired, hasn't finished that arc by September, then he could return, with the idea being that he's retracing his late uncle's career path (but w/o WCW in the middle). And if anyone asks, I don't see Jon Coachman on Raw by this point. The only current WWE talent with any semblance of ECW experience on his/her resume on the current Raw roster is Lita (formerly Ms. Congeniality), but because she's gained her greatest fame in WWE/F the last 6 years, I don't see her as part of ECW.

Smackdown: Most of the ECW alums are on this roster. Would Tazz give up being the best color analyst on the planet and come out of retirement to claim what might be a vacant ECW title? Maybe. And, then, you have people like Stevie Richards to consider. Richards has been on the sidelines for a while now, with no storyline, and it's assumed he's going to return at 1 Night Stand. The Mexicools have been held back for some reason. Chris Benoit keeps getting screwed out of the US title. Rey Mysterio won't be world champ all summer. It's very tempting for those four to make a jump.

Amish Roadkill is currently 1/2 of the OVW tag team champs with Kasey James. Would Danny Doring finally sign on and rejoin his old partner? Will Dreamer come out of retirement? Will Lance Storm come back? Lots of questions, lots of hope. Man, did Palmer Canon bail at the wrong time or what?

[Tapout]

This is going to stink without co-promotion with TNA, which is not going to happen. As I said regarding ONS2, everyone (not named RVD or Chris Benoit) from the good ol' days is either old and/or fat, dead, or working for TNA. I'm all for WWE starting a "new" promotion to develop up and coming talent, especially if Paul Heyman is in charge, but please don't call it ECW. It's not right.

And if there is a title awarded/defened with the letters ECW on it and Rhino is not involved I give up on it immediatly.

[EinBebop]

Well as far as TNA goes... if Rhino and the Dudleys only signed year contracts, and Paul Heyman has free reign to hire who he wants.... :)

[Jin Kazama]

As I said regarding ONS2, everyone (not named RVD or Chris Benoit) from the good ol' days is either old and/or fat, dead, or working for TNA. I'm all for WWE starting a "new" promotion to develop up and coming talent, especially if Paul Heyman is in charge, but please don't call it ECW. It's not right.

See, that's the thing. Everyone is looking at this as an old brand. As something that was.

ECW wasn't about names. ECW was about making names. Aside from their work in Japan and/or Mexico, did anyone know of Benoit, Eddie, Jericho, ect. before ECW? Did anyone know or care about Taz, Raven, Sabu or anyone like that before ECW? Not really.

ECW was a style. That's why people liked them so much. It wasn't about top names. It was about the best talent going in there and doing what they do.

If they do it right (which I'm not saying they will, because this is the WWE, and we all know how they work), ECW could be just as good, if not better (since they now have a steady financial income), than it was. With or Without Raven, Sabu, The Dudleys or Rhino.

[and2]

Sabu isn't under contract, he could work ECW. Not having Rhyno isn't a big blow. If only they could bring Tazz back to wresling.

[PTurkey]

As a nostalgia brand, new ECW would never work out, with practically everyone fat, dead, or TNA'd, as Dirtbag said. It wouldn't be something I'd want to watch weekly, nor I would think most other people would. If it were OVW + ECW's "Hardcore" attitude and occasional old star + Heyman booking + National TV deal, Hell yes. CM Punk would be ideal as a major player here. Bring in some guys from RoH or Japan or Mexico or Canada... *drools*. If Vince keeps a loose leash on Heyman and Dreamer, let them do whatever they want with few restrictions, this might make TNA obsolete.

And yea to killing off AM RAW for ECW TV space. What the heck's that supposed to be, anyway? Sanitized wrestling fun for the whole family or something? I'm pretty sure no one watches that. Get rid of it.

If they're thinking of moving OVW to Philly, I hope WWECW doesn't buy out the New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Center/ECW Arena. CHIKARA Pro runs shows and its school out of there sometimes and they're like the 2nd greatest indy fed ever, among several others. It's too much of an important landmark to the Philly indy scene to end up in corporate hands.

[MGFanJay]

Nothing could bring Tazz back to wrestling, he's too banged up. I'd like this to happen if it meant we'd see older ECW guys put over new guys to usher in a new generation of ECW. It's certainly better than just doing ECW reunion shows.

[bigddan11]

I see this move being the WWE rubbing their success in the face of TNA. By starting a rival brand that they own, they can only pull viewers away from TNA and possibly pursuade some of their old superstars to come bak. I see this being more of a replacement for Heat/ Velocity though since it appears the ECW matches will take place before the RAW and SmackDown! tapings. Is this a mere coincidence when that's where Heat and Velocity do their tapings currently? I don't think so. It could also have something to do with OVW since they said it'll be used as a developmental league.

[BlackoutCreature]

There are so many problems with this i dont even know where to begin, but ill try anyways -

1. While ECW has a loyal and vocal following, if that following was large enough to make this venture worthwhile then ECW would still be in business today.

2. Paul Heyman hasnt booked a coherent storyline in 10 years.

3. ECW's top talents during there peak years (1995-1997) are either dead, hate Vince McMahon, or are beaten up to the point where they can barely move.

4. ECW's top talents during there later years (1997-2001) are, for the most part, far from cream of the crop, and never really showed the skill or personality that ECW peak years stars had.

Honestly, nobody can deny ECW's influence and greatness. ECW in 1995 through 1997 was possibly the greatest wrestling and sports entertainment (and dont listen to Heyman's propoganda, ECW was plenty sports entertainment) ever. But there later years were as bad as anything WWE and WCW put out at there worst. Too much time and too many things have happened for ECW to get back to those peak years. Unless this venture is centered around Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer taking Edge and Christian's old time machine back to 1996, this will be a colossal failure on par with the XFL and the WCW "invasion".

[VCXZX]

Here's some followup from dave Meltzer.


One note is that WWE's arena booking department today started calling smaller arenas to run "ECW" brand house shows for July, so that is the timetable. TV will be taped similar to how WWE did the Superastros show in the 90s, as prelim matches similar to or replacing Heat/Velocity on the Raw and/or Smackdown nights. They are right now attempting to put together a roster. Many of the wrestlers brought in for One Night Stand, but not all, will be offered a series of three one-year contracts (basically WWE offers one year, but if WWE wants or keeps it going, it has the option for two more years).

I find the news about ECW house shows very interesting. I just hope they have enough wrestlers to wrestle these house shows by July.

[Sigma]

WWE would almost have to create an entirely new ECW with talent like CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Brisco's, etc. Recreating ECW is impossible now because like dirtbag said, everyone who really represented ECW are either dead, won't come in to WWE due to personal issues, out of shape, or are signed with TNA. RVD is really the only major ECW player WWE has left. It's not ECW without The Dudleyz, Rhino, Sabu, Justin Credible, etc. Sabu and Credible are possibilities, but after WWE screwed Justin Credible out of using that name for the past 6 months he may not want to have anything to do with the ECW rebirth and Sabu is somewhat of a mystery, I don't see him signing any contracts with anyone though.

[Jude Santos]

Where in the world did we get the idea that only PAST ecw wrestlers are the only wrestlers eligible to rebuild ECW? Like someone else said above, ECW was about creating stars. They can totally have a new breed of hardcore wrestlers, with the help of some (emphasis on some) past ecw stars. It'll work as long as Heyman has that desire to make it work. If this thing fails, it'll be becuase of Heyman and his booking, not becuase it didn't have Raven, Rhyno, or whoever.

BTW, the major sites are reporting that Sabu has signed a contract with WWE (or the new ECW.)

I'm actually pretty excited for this.

[Jeff Harris]

Feh.

Would rather see a return of WCW than ECW, but that's just me. Maybe it's because I have a lot of fond memories going to the Scope every month or so with my aunt seeing those matches back in the day. Guess Vince McMahon must've really despised that organization so much to bury it in a lame gimmick like the Invasion (without any of the marquee names).

Don't get me wrong. I LIKE ECW, but it doesn't have the fond memories WCW has given me, before the NWO storyline went overboard and it became more about the storyline than the wrestling. ECW was, at least in my opinion, about
rudeness, anarchy, and bloody chaos. At least WCW had some sort of history. While the later years of WCW were abysmal, the formulative years as well as the characters behind it were excellent.

[Burgundy Ranger]

Looks like WWE is looking into arranging an ECW show for June 24 at the New Alhambra (a k a ECW) Arena in South Philly.

TNA already has a show there about two weeks earlier.

[VCXZX]

Here's some very important news regarding which show ECW will be replacing according to Dave Meltzer:


As of the end of meetings today, Vince McMahon decided that ECW would take the place of Velocity.

In other words, the show would be taped prior to Smackdown every Tuesday and until a new time slot is secured in the U.S., would remain an internet property show. Velocity, at least for the present, would cease to exist. Negotiations are going on to attempt to get it on U.S. television.

That's a shame actually. Velocity at times, was the best pure WWE wrestling show out of the big 4. At least if there's no TV clearances, then we get ECW on our computers. And that would be very cool.

[The Penguin]

I think it competely sucks that the answer is taking away one of the brands 'B' shows. SmackDown! doesn't get enough respect the way it is and now they lose Velocity. "ECW" is going to look stupid just taking place in the SmackDown! arena. If you're going to launch a brand Vinnie, you gotta do it all the way.

[EinBebop]

vECW-locity?

Actually, it should be interesting. I'm sure the emphasis is to get this product on TV, but maybe that's not the best move. Do we really want ECW on television, where it will be subject to censorship pressures?

Think about this from another angle: ECW established it's fanbase in the mid-nineties through the very non-traditional outlet of tape trading. Perhaps they could succeed again, only this time be pioneers. As opposed to Velocity and Heat, ECW will be a standalone promotion. Granted, NWA Cyberspace tried it first, but they haven't exactly put out a consistent show, and almost folded a few months ago, but it looks like they're about to give it another go, with two more tapings in May.

Can an Internet wrestling show be profitable? Would you pay $2-$5 a pop to see a weekly internet wrestling show on a computer or your ipod? Or would the companies make their money through advertising? Could it start a new trend for indy promotions?

And for all it's disadvantages, ECW has the benefit of fullblown WWE productions values for its tapings. Hopefully, they'll cover up the Smackdown fist with a big curtain or something.

[bigddan11]

Apparently the WWE has already arranged for the first ECW special to air on USA (according to a number of wrestling websites). It'll take place on a Wednesday night with RAW, SmackDown, and ECW stars all being present and will begin leading into One Night Stand 2. the name ECW should get it on TV, but which network would be best? I'm kind of hoping USA or Bravo picks up the new ECW.

[RAINMAN]

Why bring back ECW when you could have bougth back WCW instead? WCW was around for years while ECW was a 5 year fad. Don`t get me wrong I like ECW but I knew it would never be around long enough. Besides, most ECW stars are out of their prime nor no longer in shape to do those crazy stunts like they did in the 90`s. This is just a bad idea.:sad:

[eJm]

Why bring back ECW when you could have bougth back WCW instead? WCW was around for years while ECW was a 5 year fad. Don`t get me wrong I like ECW but I knew it would never be around long enough. Besides, most ECW stars are out of their prime nor no longer in shape to do those crazy stunts like they did in the 90`s. This is just a bad idea.:sad:

I'll make this as simple of an answer as possible.

Vince hated WCW. Vince adored ECW.

You do the math :p

[EinBebop]

While I do think they really blew it with WCW five years ago, I do think there's more value in restarting the ECW promotion at this point in time. The WCW fanbase has moved on, whereas the legend of ECW gets bigger every time they tell it.

[eJm]

While I do think they really blew it with WCW five years ago, I do think there's more value in restarting the ECW promotion at this point in time. The WCW fanbase has moved on, whereas the legend of ECW gets bigger every time they tell it.
More Forcefully because of the Invasion, IMO. WCW were made to look like idiots and thus the average wrestling fan probably thinking WCW was a horrible place. Yes, some of it was bad, but it did last long for a very good reason.

And for me, when it came to ONS, I was entralled in ECW. I brought the Magazine and the DVD (want to get Rise and Fall) and really wanted to be a part of that experience. As I will say until I die, it was the best PPV since WM 17. It would have been just as good apart from the whole WWE Invasion crap and that (now that I watched it again) lame shoot by Heyman.

But now that it's coming back and that WWE are going to bring back the whole fed in general, I'm getting rather tired of it. I despise how RVD is rumoured to win the WWE/World Heavyweight Title at ONS2 and I really don't like how they are going to bring back the fed. I want to remember ONS as one of the best PPVs ever and ECW as I read and experienced. I do not want to see a legacy of something like ECW go to crap.

[The Penguin]

The more I think about this, the more I think it is a bad idea. ECW was good for its time and it was ground-breaking, but I think if it would have gone on this long, it would have gotten stale.

My biggest concern is if ECW replaces OVW and is used as part of WWE's development system. OVW has regional TV, but it would not be good if it were nationwide. WWE uses it to develop gimmicks as well as wrestlers and sometimes things are very different upon a wrestler's WWE arrival. The Basham Brothers were rivals, Gunner Scott had a different name, the Spirit Squad were five guys with very different characters and attitudes, the Boogeyman's WWE debut wouldn't have meant anything if he was already known to everyone.

Some guys will just be ECW, but for the most part I would expect them to be the veteran ECW guys. If you put a young Superstar on the ECW roster and then eventually "call him up" he has the good or bad stigma of whatever his ECW character/role was. Either he'll be the same Paul Heyman-made character or they'll have to reinvent him after they themselves created another level of "oh, well that's just [this guy] with a different name." Only the hardest of the hardcore fans can do that right now, it seems foolish to put another rung on the ladder. Very few prospects if any, had dreams of working for ECW. They respect the legacy of course, but I doubt that is an ultimate goal of anyone.

[MGFanJay]

ECW is the better company to revive. ECW is still seen as hip, and still has a massive following. WCW does not. I don't want to see Velocity die out, but if it's killed to bring back ECW, it'll be for the greater good. As long as ECW is used to promote new talent (C.M. Punk is PERFECT for a new ECW), then it'll work. It might not look like ECW, but if the feel is retained, I'll like it.

[The Dork Knight]

I really hope that the new "ECW" is just like the original ECW as in showcasing up and coming indy talent. Personally I'd mark out if The Backseat Boyz, Josh Prohibition, Sick Nick Mondo (If he came out of retirement) and most of the PWG roster appeared on national TV.

[RAINMAN]

Vence is only doing this just to keep people from going to TNA. Which won`t stop them. I guess it makes sense that he don`t bring back WCW cause then people would see how much better WCW was then both WWE&ECW.

[Burgundy Ranger]

Am I missing something? They haven't officially introduced ECW into any WWE show or storyline (hinted, yes -- see Styles' tirade on Raw) but on WWE.com, they've posted an announcement:

As first reported by WWE’s new mobile alert system, ECW has signed the following:

Sabu
Jazz
Axl Rotten
Balls Mahoney
C.W. Anderson

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/ecwsignings

In WWE Storytelling World, ECW doesn't exist as a current company. It's all nostalgia and the like.

No?

[The Penguin]

In WWE Storytelling World, ECW doesn't exist as a current company. It's all nostalgia and the like.I suppose one could assume that ECW has signed them to appear at One Night Stand. Still, it's at least not phrased well. And then they're the hype of the Mobile Alert System. :shrug:

[VCXZX]

Sabu should be a risk based on his injuries recently, and his match with Joe was cut short due to them.

I'm surprised Jazz was contacted. She wasn't rumored to appear like the others.

[sdp]

though the speech Joey Styles did left me with some 'maybe' thoughts, i highly doubt ECW will ever be half of what it was, it just not the same.

besides why is ECW so popular now? it obviously wasn't that is why it faded away..I used to watch ECW every friday, and while it lacked a lot, it was entertaining. you did get a 'special' feeling from watching it, which can not be recreated, not with the wwe support it has.

[EinBebop]

Sabu should be a risk based on his injuries recently, and his match with Joe was cut short due to them.Sabu's been an injury risk for years. :)