 Logo for the brand and theECW television program | |
| Product type | Hardcore wrestling Sports entertainment |
|---|---|
| Owner | World Wrestling Entertainment |
| Produced by | Paul Heyman (2006) Vince McMahon (2006–2010) |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | May 25, 2006 |
| Discontinued | February 16, 2010 |
| Related brands | Raw SmackDown NXT Evolve 205 Live NXT UK |
| Tagline | A new breed unleashed[1] The Tribe of Extreme has risen again! |
| Predecessor: Extreme Championship Wrestling | |
ECW (often pejoratively nicknamedWWECW to distinguish from its original 90s predecessor) was abrand of the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that was established in May 2006 and discontinued in February 2010. Wrestlers that were assigned to ECW primarily appeared on the brand's weekly television program,ECW. The brand was established as a relaunch of the formerExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, the assets of which WWE acquired in 2003.
The brand operated during the second half of WWE's first brand extension period (2002–2011), and was one of WWE's three main brands, along withRaw andSmackDown. In addition to the brand's television program, ECW wrestlers competed on the branded and co-brandedpay-per-view events. From 2007 to 2009, ECW wrestlers also occasionally appeared on theRaw andSmackDown television programs due to talent exchange agreements between the brands. The brand was dissolved in February 2010, and its show was replaced by the reality seriesNXT, which was rebranded as WWE'sdevelopmental territory,NXT, in 2012.
In early-to-mid-2002, then World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) underwent a process they called the "brand extension".[2] The WWF divided itself into twode facto wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines andauthority figures.[2]Raw andSmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split came about as a result of the WWF purchasing its biggest competitor,World Championship Wrestling (WCW); and the subsequent doubling of its roster andchampionships. The brand extension was publicly announced byLinda McMahon during a telecast ofRaw on March 25 and became official the next day. WWE acquired the rights toExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)'s trademarks andvideo library in 2003.[3]
The enormous popularity ofThe Rise and Fall of ECW and other ECW merchandise prompted WWE to organizeOne Night Stand, an ECW reunion pay-per-view in 2005.[3] The financial and critical success of the event motivated WWE to organize a secondOne Night Stand the following year. With rejuvenated interest in the ECW product, WWE began exploring the possibility of reviving the promotion full-time. On May 25, 2006, WWE announced the launch of ECW as a stand-alone brand, congruous toRaw andSmackDown!, with its own show on Sci Fi (nowSyfy).[4] On May 29, the WWE held their2006 brand extension draft. Thedraft featured ECW founderPaul Heyman receiving two total draft picks from the existing Raw and SmackDown! rosters for the newly created ECW brand.[5][6] During the draft,Rob Van Dam was drafted from Raw andKurt Angle from SmackDown! as the marquee signings.
The ECW brand was initially produced differently from WWE's other brands. For televised events, the main ring-facing cameras were placed on a different location in the arena while thewrestling ring 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 thanDivas. However, the brand steadily began being produced following the same format of the other brands and as opposed to the original promotion match rules, such ascount outs anddisqualifications, 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 ownerPaul Heyman served as the on-air ECW Representative untilDecember to Dismember, when Heyman was relieved from both his on and off-air duties with WWE.[7] After Heyman left in late 2006, there was noECW authority figure until August 14, 2007, whenArmando Estrada was announced as the General Manager. On June 3, 2008, Estrada was replaced byTheodore Long. On the April 7, 2009 edition ofECW, it was announced that Long was returning to SmackDown to fulfill the role of General Manager. From this point, the Interim General Manager was named asTiffany, who took over as full-time General Manager on the June 30 episode.
On October 16, 2007, a "talent exchange" was started between the SmackDown! and ECW brands, allowing their respective talent to appear on either brand.[8][9] On the September 8, 2008 episode ofRaw, it was announced a "talent exchange" was started also for the Raw brand with ECW, allowing their respective talent to appear on either brand whenever they feel like. Following the2009 WWE draft, both of these talent exchanges were quietly dropped.
On February 2, 2010, WWE ChairmanVince McMahon announced thatECW would be going off the air and would air its final episode on February 16.[10] The final match on the show was anextreme rules match whereEzekiel Jackson defeatedECW ChampionChristian.[11]
With the ECW brand permanently disbanded, the ECW roster were assigned to other brands.[12] TheECW show was replaced by the reality seriesNXT,[10] which was rebranded as WWE'sdevelopmental territory,NXT, in 2012.[13]
When ECW was revived in 2006 as a third brand, theECW World Heavyweight Championship was reactivated and was intended to be the brand's only championship.[14] The brand would later gain championships through the yearlyWWE draft, but the ECW Championship was deactivated along with the ECW brand on February 16, 2010.[15]
| Championship | Time on brand |
|---|---|
| ECW Championship | June 13, 2006 – January 22, 2008; March 30, 2008 – June 23, 2008; June 29, 2008 – February 16, 2010 |
| WWE Championship | June 13, 2006 – July 3, 2006 |
| WWE United States Championship | June 23, 2008 – July 20, 2008 |
| WWE Tag Team Championship | November 13, 2007 – July 20, 2008 |
| World Tag Team Championship | December 13, 2008 – April 5, 2009 |
| Date | Event | Venue | Location | Main event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 11, 2006 | One Night Stand | Hammerstein Ballroom | New York, New York | John Cena vs.Rob Van Dam for theWWE Championship |
| December 3, 2006 | December to Dismember | James Brown Arena | Augusta, Georgia | Big Show vs.Bobby Lashley vs.CM Punk vs.Hardcore Holly vs.Rob Van Dam vs.Test in a six-manextreme Elimination Chamber match for theECW Championship |
