We’re switching gears by looking at an episode of WWE’s rebooted ECW show. Extreme Championship Wrestling was a promotion that gained a cult following until its closure in 2001. WWE would later release a DVD on ECW in 2004 that sold big numbers, prompting them to book a reunion PPV the following year that would also prove successful. This resulted in WWE deciding to revive ECW as a third brand.
“Hooray!” everyone thought, “ECW is back, baby!”
Except it really wasn’t. Oh, sure, it started off on the right foot with another One Night Stand that saw Rob Van Dam defeat John Cena in ECW territory to win the WWE World title, and later getting the revived ECW title. But then that first episode hit and it took place after a Smackdown taping. It was largely poorly received. WWE’s third brand was off to a bad start. Then RVD got busted for weed and he’d lose the the ECW title to the Big Show before getting suspended.
Eventually, ECW would hold a live show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York; one of the old ECW strongholds that held a strong ECW following. So what does WWE book as a main event for this return to New York? The reigning ECW World Heavyweight Champion BIG SHOW would defend the title against Dave Batista… the furthest thing from an ECW main event that you could get.
What could possibly go right?
Continue reading “ECW on SyFy (August 1st, 2006): The Show That Killed ECW”
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