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ECW (WWE)

WWE television program
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ECW (which at one time stood for Extreme Championship Wrestling) was a professional wrestling brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), based on the independent Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion that lasted from 1992 to 2001. It started on June 13, 2006 with a weekly television series. The ECW brand was one of WWE's three brands, the other two being RAW and SmackDown.

ECW
ECW's version of the universal WWE HD set has been used since January 21, 2008.
Created by
StarringECW roster
Opening theme"Bodies" by Drowning Pool (2006-2007)
"Don't Question My Heart" by Saliva & Brent Smith (2008-2010)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes193
Production
Camera setupMulticamera setup
Running time46 minutes
Original release
NetworkSci-Fi/Syfy
ReleaseJune 13, 2006 (2006-06-13) –
February 16, 2010 (2010-02-16)[1]

Show history

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Original format

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WWE got Extreme Championship Wrestling and its video library in 2003 and later began reintroducing ECW through a series of DVDs and books. The big popularity of ECW merchandise made WWE organize ECW One Night Stand, an ECW reunion pay-per-view, in 2005. The financial and critical success of the event encourages WWE to start a second One Night Stand the next year. With new interest in the ECW product, WWE began exploring the possibility of restarting the promotion full-time. On May 26, 2006, WWE announced the start of ECW as a stand-alone brand, alongside Raw and SmackDown!, with its own show on the Sci Fi Channel.[2] Despite worries that professional wrestling would not be accepted by the Sci Fi Channel's demographic, network President Bonnie Hammer said that she believed ECW would fit the channel's theme of "stretching the imagination".[3] Sci Fi Channel is owned by NBCUniversal, parent company of USA Network and exclusive cable broadcaster of WWE programming at that time.

The ECW brand directly tried to make itself feel different from WWE's other brands. The hard cameras were placed in a different location and the ring mat had an ECW logo on it. The male performers were also called "Extremists" instead of "Superstars", and female performers were called "Vixens" instead of" Divas". It also had the first ECW talent. Later however, changes were made to make it different from the original ECW promotion, including changing the original promotion's rules where weapons were legal in all matches and there were rarely any count outs or disqualifications. WWE had such matches fought under "Extreme Rules", and they were only fought when announced. The only pay-per-view event hosted exclusively by the ECW brand was December to Dismember in December 2006. On March 14, 2007, before another one could be scheduled, WWE announced that all future pay-per-views would feature all three brands.[4]

Former ECW owner Paul Heyman was the on-air "ECW Representative". According to an interview in the UK newspaper The Sun, Heyman wrote the brand's weekly scripts and gave them to writers for possible changes, and then Vince McMahon for final approval. After the December to Dismember event, Heyman was removed from both his on and off-air work with WWE.[5] After Heyman left, there was no authority figure on ECW until August 14, 2007, when Armando Estrada was announced as the General Manager.

ECW on Sci Fi

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ECW's weekly series was first given a thirteen episode run as a "summer series" on the Sci Fi Channel. The first episode got a 2.79 rating, making it the highest rated show on cable in its time slot.[6] Because of its good ratings it was given an extended run through the end of 2007.[7] On October 23, 2007, the network renewed the series through 2008.[8]

While the show started out a ratings success, fans of the original ECW criticised it early on. This was most evident by the negative crowd reaction "old school" fans gave the main event of Batista vs. Big Show at the August 1, 2006 episode from Hammerstein Ballroom.[9][10]

On October 16, 2007 a "talent exchange" was started between the SmackDown! and ECW brands, allowing their respective talent to appear on either brand.[11][12]

In February 2010, McMahon announced that ECW would be replaced by NXT.[1]

Online presence

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At ECW's launch, WWE.com introduced Hardcore Hangover, a video feature which allowed fans only in the United States to stream or download video footage from the weekly show.[13] 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 were shown. After making a list of names from fans and conducting an online poll, the feature was named ECW X-Stream on October 31, 2007.[14]

Production

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ECW brand shows were held in big arenas as a part of the SmackDown! brand's tuesday taping schedule. This was unlike the original Extreme Championship Wrestling, which held most of its events in smaller venues.[15] The show usually aired live on Tuesdays, directly before – when touring the west coast – or after SmackDown! was taped,[16][17] although it has been recorded and placed on a broadcast delay until later in the night depending on the circumstances.[18]

ECW's first theme song was "Bodies" by Drowning Pool, which had been used by WWE for ECW since before the brand was created. Since then the theme song has changed between a number of different songs before "Don't Question My Heart", sung by Saliva and Brent Smith was chosen. This was the show's last theme song.[19]

Starting with the January 22, 2008 version, ECW began broadcasting in HD, along with a new HD set, which was shared among all three WWE brands.[20]

Television Finale

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On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that ECW would be going off the air and would be replaced with a new weekly program in its slot in what McMahon announced as "the next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history." It was later announced that the show would air its final episode on February 16, 2010.[1] On the February 4, 2010 episode of WWE Superstars, the new show's name was announced as WWE NXT.[21] The ECW brand no longer existed, with every ECW wrestler becoming a free agent after the show ended.[22]

Special episodes

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Episode Title Date Rating Note
Best of ECW 2006 December 26, 2006 1.4[23]
Best of ECW 2007 December 25, 2007 0.9[24]
ECW on SciFi 100th Episode Spectacular May 6, 2008 1.08[source?]

On-air personalities

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Champions

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Championship Last champion Date won
ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson July 26, 2009

Authority figures

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See also: Professional wrestling authority figures
Authority figures Position Date started Date finished Notes
Vince McMahon Owner, Chairman, and CEO May 22, 2006 February 16, 2010
Paul Heyman Representative May 22, 2006 December 5, 2006 Resigned after Big Show lost the ECW World Championship
Armando Estrada General Manager August 14, 2007 June 3, 2008 Lost the position when Theodore Long was announced as his successor
Theodore Long General Manager June 3, 2008 April 7, 2009 Appointed as General Manager by the WWE Board of Directors. Tiffany served as "Assistant General Manager" from June 3, 2008 – April 7, 2009
Tiffany General Manager April 14, 2009 February 16, 2010 Served as "Interim General Manager" from April 14, 2009 – June 23, 2009, after Long returned to SmackDown to become General Manager again. Opted to fully take over the position on ECW until the show's ending

Commentators

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Commentators Date started Date finished
Joey Styles, Tazz, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler June 7, 2006
Joey Styles and Elijah Burke November 14, 2006
Joey Styles and Tazz June 13, 2006 April 8, 2008
Mike Adamle and Tazz April 15, 2008 July 22, 2008
Todd Grisham and Tazz July 29, 2008
Todd Grisham and Matt Striker August 5, 2008 September 16, 2008
September 30, 2008 March 31, 2009
Jim Ross and Matt Striker September 23, 2008[25]
Josh Mathews and Matt Striker April 7, 2009 October 20, 2009
Josh Mathews and Byron Saxton October 27, 2009 February 16, 2010

Ring announcers

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Ring announcers Date started Date finished
Lilian Garcia June 7, 2006
Justin Roberts June 13, 2006 September 4, 2007
September 29, 2009
Tony Chimel September 11, 2007 September 22, 2009
November 24, 2009 December 8, 2009
Lauren Mayhew October 6, 2009 November 17, 2009
Savannah December 15, 2009 February 16, 2010

Recurring segments

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Segments Hosts Year(s) Notes
Kelly's Exposé Kelly Kelly 2006 Striptease segment.
Discontinued and replaced by Extreme Exposé[26]
Striker's Classroom Matt Striker 2006–2007 In-ring "educational" segment
Extreme Exposé Kelly Kelly, Layla, and Brooke Adams 2007 In-ring dance segment.[27]
Discontinued following Brooke's release from WWE[28][29]
15 Minutes of Fame John Morrison 2007 Fifteen-minute match challenge for a future ECW Championship match against Morrison.
Discontinued following Morrison's defeat by CM Punk[30]
The Dirt Sheet John Morrison and The Miz 2008–2009 In-ring interview segment.
Discontinued after Miz and Morrison were drafted to Raw and SmackDown respectively
The Peep Show Christian 2009–2010 In-ring interview segment.[31]
Discontinued when the brand closed
The Abraham Washington Show Abraham Washington 2009–2010 On-stage interview segment.
Discontinued when the brand closed

International broadcasters

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In addition to being broadcast on Syfy in the United States, ECW was broadcast on a number of channels in many different countries.

Country Network Ref
Algeria and The Middle East Showtime [32]
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico FX Latin America [33][34][35]
Australia Fox8 [36]
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan TEN Sports [37][38][39]
Cambodia MyTV [40]
Canada Global TV [41]
France Action [42]
Germany Sky Deutschland [43]
Italy Sky Italia [44]
Malaysia Astro Super Sport [45]
New Zealand The Box [46]
Philippines Jack TV [47]
Portugal SportTV 3 [48]
South Africa e.tv [49]
Taiwan Videoland Max-TV [50]
United Kingdom and Ireland Sky Sports 3 [51][52]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Caldwell, James (February 5, 2010). "WWE Officially Announces NXT's Debut Date Replacing ECW, Only Two Episodes Remaining". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ "WWE brings ECW to Sci Fi Channel". WWE. Retrieved June 2, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Sci Fi grapples with summer wrestling series". Retrieved May 21, 2006. It will have a nice little twist that will fit in the brand[permanent dead link]
  4. ↑ "WWE Pay-Per-Views to follow WrestleMania format". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Heyman out". Retrieved December 23, 2006.
  6. ↑ "Sci Fi Channel pins the competition with ECW's triumphant return to television". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
  7. ↑ "Sci Fi Channel Extends ECW". Retrieved October 11, 2006.
  8. ↑ "SCI FI Channel Reups WWE®'S ECW Through 2008". WWE. October 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  9. ↑ "The New ECW? "End that Chanting, Now!"". Online Onslaught. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
  10. ↑ "ECW on SciFi Reax #1". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Partnership Forming?". WWE. October 16, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Setting the night on fire". ECW results. WWE. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Hardcore Hangover". WWE. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Watch it Again Exclusively on WWE.com". WWE. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  15. ↑ "The History of Extreme Championship Wrestling". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
  16. ↑ "WWE Makes Changes To Compete With WSX". Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  17. ↑ "ECW TV Staying Live". Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  18. ↑ "WWE Smackdown! & ECW Tapings (12/12/06)". Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  19. ↑ Medalis, Kara A. (February 21, 2008). "Saliva goes Extreme". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ "WWE Goes HD". WWE. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2008.
  21. ↑ Caldwell, James (February 4, 2010). "Caldwell's WWE Superstar TV Report 2/4: Complete coverage of Team Morrison vs. Team McIntyre six-man tag, awesome Bourne vs. Carlito match". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  22. ↑ Adkins, Greg (February 8, 2010). "Raw's pit stomp". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  23. ↑ "ECW on Sci-Fi 2006 Ratings". Pro-Wrestling Edge. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
  24. ↑ Ashish (December 28, 2007). "ECW Christams Rating". 411 Mania. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  25. ↑ "Résultats ECW du 23/09/2008". thetvstop.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  26. ↑ Hoffman, Brent. "An Extreme Debut". WWE. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  27. ↑ Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  28. ↑ "Kelly Kelly profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  29. ↑ "Brooke released". WWE. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
  30. ↑ Medalis, Kara A. "John Morrison Challenges All". WWE. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  31. ↑ Medalis, Kara A. (May 12, 2009). "'The Peep Show's' explosive return". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  32. ↑ "WWE's Algeria Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  33. ↑ "WWE's Argentina Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  34. ↑ "WWE's Brazil Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  35. ↑ "WWE's Mexico Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  36. ↑ "WWE's Australia Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  37. ↑ "WWE's Bangladesh Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  38. ↑ "WWE's India Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  39. ↑ "WWE's Pakistan Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  40. ↑ "WWE's Cambodia Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  41. ↑ "WWE's Cambodia Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  42. ↑ "WWE's France Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  43. ↑ "WWE's Germany Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  44. ↑ "WWE's Italy Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  45. ↑ "WWE's Malaysia Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  46. ↑ "WWE's New Zealand Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  47. ↑ "WWE's Philippines Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  48. ↑ "WWE's Portugal Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  49. ↑ "WWE's South Africa Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  50. ↑ "WWE's Taiwan Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  51. ↑ "WWE's United Kingdom Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  52. ↑ "WWE's Ireland Schedule". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
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