''WWE ECW'' (also known as ''ECW on Sci-Fi'' and later ''ECW on Syfy'', or simply ''ECW'') is an American
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
that was produced by
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
, based on the independent
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) promotion that lasted from 1992 to 2001. The show's name also referred to the
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform, complementary to WWE's other brands,
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
.
''ECW'' debuted on June 13, 2006, on
Sci Fi
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
in the United States and
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
in Canada on Saturday mornings and ran until its final episode on February 16, 2010, on the rebranded Syfy. It was replaced the following week with ''
WWE NXT
''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currently ...
''.
Every episode is available for on-demand viewing via the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
.
Throughout the shows existence, ''ECW'' had been broadcast from over 120 arenas, over 80 cities and towns, and four countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 2007.
Show history
Launch on Sci Fi
WWE acquired the rights to
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW)'s trademarks and
video library in 2003 and later began reintroducing ECW through content from the ECW library and a series of books, which included the release of ''
The Rise and Fall of ECW
''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' is a 2004 direct-to-video documentary produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It chronicles the history of Philadelphia-based professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling. The documentary ...
'' documentary.
The enormous popularity of ECW merchandise prompted WWE to organize
ECW One Night Stand, an ECW reunion pay-per-view in 2005.
The financial and critical success of the event motivated WWE to organize a second
One Night Stand
A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...
the following year. With rejuvenated interest in the ECW product, WWE began exploring the possibility of reviving the promotion full-time. The news that WWE was planning to bring back ECW was leaked in the middle of April as
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
decided to revive ECW as a full-time
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
.
Reports beforehand stated that WWE was prepared to bring back ECW immediately after
WrestleMania 22
WrestleMania 22 was the 22nd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took ...
.
On May 25, 2006, WWE announced the launch of ECW as a stand-alone
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, congruous to
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and
SmackDown!, with its own show on Sci Fi (now
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
).
Despite initial concerns that professional wrestling would not be accepted by Sci Fi's demographic, network President
Bonnie Hammer
Bonnie Hammer (born 1950) is an American network and studio executive. , her title is vice-chairman, NBCUniversal.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family stated that she believed ECW would fit the channel's theme of "stretching the imagination". Sci Fi (now known as Syfy) is owned by
NBC Universal
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, parent company of
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
and exclusive cable broadcaster of Raw and Smackdown. ECW's weekly series was originally given a thirteen episode run as a "summer series" on
Sci Fi
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
. The premiere received a 2.79
rating
A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both.
Rating or ratings may also refer to:
Business and economics
* Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...
, making it the highest rated show on cable in its time slot.
Because of its good ratings it was granted an extended run through the end of 2007.
On October 23, 2007, the network renewed the series through 2008.
Prior to the show's launch, WWE opted to cancel its
webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
''
Velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity is a ...
'' and replace it with the new ''ECW'' program.
Original format (2006)
''ECW'' was initially produced differently from WWE's other shows. For televised events, the main ring-facing cameras were placed on a different location in the arena while the
wrestling ring
A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped.
Configuration and construction
The configuration and construction of the trad ...
itself featured an ECW logo on the mat and blank turnbuckle covers. The male performers were referred to "Extremists" instead of "Superstars" while female performers were called "Vixens" rather than
Divas
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...
. However, the show steadily began being produced following the same format of the other shows. As opposed to the original promotion, match rules, such as
count outs and
disqualifications, were now standard. Matches featuring the rule set of the original promotion were then classified as being contested under "
Extreme Rules" and were only fought when specified.
Former ECW owner
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...
served as the on-air "ECW Representative" (a reference to how Heyman had been identified on ''Monday Night Raw'' back in 1997). According to an interview in the UK newspaper ''
The Sun'', Heyman wrote the show's weekly scripts and submitted them to writers for possible changes, and then
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
for final approval. Following December to Dismember, Heyman was relieved from both his on and off-air duties with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Change in format (2007–2010)
![Ecwset](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Ecwset.jpg)
While the show started out a ratings success, it began drawing criticism from fans of the original ECW early on. This was most evident by the
negative crowd reaction "old school" fans gave the main event of
Batista
Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include:
* Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player
* Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...
vs.
Big Show
Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...
at the August 1, 2006 show from
Hammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,500 people for theat ...
, which often held original ECW events while it was a company. After Heyman left in late 2006, there was no ECW authority figure until August 14, 2007, when
Armando Estrada was announced as the General Manager.
On May 6, 2008, ''ECW'' celebrated its 100th episode on Sci Fi. On June 3, 2008 Estrada was replaced by
Theodore Long
Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance ...
as General Manager of ECW. ''ECW'' moved to 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on September 30, 2008. ''ECW'' moved back to 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central on May 5, 2009. On the April 7 edition of ''ECW'' it was announced that Theodore Long was returning to SmackDown to fulfill the role of General Manager. From this point the Interim General Manager was named as
Tiffany who took over as full-time General Manager on the June 30, 2009 episode.
On July 7, 2009, the Sci Fi Channel renamed itself to "Syfy", prompting WWE to rename the show ''ECW on Syfy'' to reflect the changes.
In 2009 a "superstar initiative" was established for the purpose of introducing new talent to WWE programming, mainly those from WWE's developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
to ECW's roster.
Cancellation and aftermath
On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
announced that ''ECW'' would be going off the air and would be replaced with a new weekly program in its slot in which McMahon announced as "groundbreaking, original show." It was later announced that the show would air its final episode on February 16, 2010. On the February 9, 2010 episode of ''ECW'', the new show's name was announced as ''
WWE NXT
''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show currently ...
''.
Online presence
At ECW's launch, WWE.com introduced ''Hardcore Hangover'', a video feature which allowed fans in the United States and Canada to stream or download video footage from the weekly show. On October 16, 2007, it was replaced by a new feature which made full episodes of the show available for streaming on WWE.com the day after they aired. After gathering a list of names from fans and conducting an online poll, the feature was named ''ECW X-Stream'' on October 31, 2007. Past episodes of ECW were previously viewable on the video streaming website
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, which are available on the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
.
Production
![WWECWHD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/WWECWHD.jpg)
ECW shows were held in large arenas as a part of the taping schedules of WWE's other shows. This was in sharp contrast to the original
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
which ran most of its events in smaller venues. The show generally aired live on Tuesdays directly before — when touring the west coast — or after ''SmackDown'' was taped, though it was also recorded and placed on a
broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay is an intentional delay when broadcasting live material, technically referred to as a deferred live. Such a delay may be to prevent mistakes or unacceptable content from being broadcast. Longer delays las ...
until later in the night depending on what circumstances dictated.
ECW had originally separated itself from WWE, featuring ECW's old black ring ropes, the ECW logo in the middle of the ring and no WWE logo to be seen on the turnbuckles or on the ring apron. However, they slowly began to become more of a WWE show than prior, when they made the ring ropes silver instead of the black ones and when they went HD, put the WWE logo on the turnbuckles, and the WWE.COM advertising on the left and right side of the ring aprons and removed the ECW logo from the ring.
ECW's initial theme song was "
Bodies
Bodies may refer to:
* The plural of body
* ''Bodies'' (2004 TV series), BBC television programme
* Bodies (upcoming TV series), an upcoming British crime thriller limited series
* "Bodies" (''Law & Order''), 2003 episode of ''Law & Order''
* ...
" by
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film ''The Drowning Pool (film), The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, ...
, which had been used by WWE for Extreme Championship Wrestling before the establishment of the brand. "
Don't Question My Heart" by
Saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
featuring
Brent Smith
Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Shinedown.
Early life
Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and is an only child.
Career
Prior to fronting the rock band S ...
was later used to
open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' (YF ...
''ECW'' for the rest of the program's run. The songs "
Famous" by
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' Co ...
was used for one week, and a censored version of "
This Is The New Shit" by
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
was used for a few weeks. On January 22, 2008, ''ECW'' began broadcasting in
HD, along with a new HD set, which is shared among all three WWE brands.
Special episodes
On-air personalities
Authority figures
Commentators
Ring announcers
Recurring segments
International broadcasters
In addition to being broadcast on
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
,
Mun2
Universo is an American pay television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises subsidiary of NBCUniversal. The network serves as a companion cable channel to the NBCUniversal's flagship broadcast television network NBC and, to som ...
, and
Universal HD
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
in the United States, ''ECW'' was broadcast on a number of channels in many different countries.
See also
*
List of ECW (WWE) alumni
WWE is an American professional wrestling promotion and entertainment company based in Stamford, Connecticut. Former employees in WWE consist of professional wrestling, professional wrestlers, Manager (professional wrestling), managers, Manager ( ...
*
ECW Hardcore TV
''ECW Hardcore TV'' is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the Philadelphia based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) composed of footage from live shows and recorded interviews. It ran in syndi ...
*
ECW on TNN
''ECW on TNN'', also known as '' ECW Wrestling'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and aired on The Nashville Network (TNN, now Paramount Network). Created by P ...
Arena Video Game
*
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008'' (sometimes subtitled with ''featuring ECW'') is a professional wrestling video game published by THQ in November 2007, and developed by Yuke's for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation P ...
First WWE video game Arena appearance
*
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009'' (sometimes subtitled with ''featuring ECW'') is a professional wrestling video game Video game developer, developed by Yuke's and video game publisher, published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStat ...
*
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010
*
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011'' (also shortened to ''WWE SvR 2011'' or ''SVR 11'') is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP), Xbox 360 ...
(Last video game to be released while Arena ECW)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecw
2006 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
ECW (WWE brand)
English-language television shows
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling reunions and revivals
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
Syfy original programming
Television series by WWE