ECW’s revival in 2006 has serious potential
By Scott Keith on 16 July 2024
Both the 2005 and 2006 ECW One Night Stand ppv's did very well business wise. The 2004 ECW dvd did extremely well. And guess what that infamous first ECW on SyFy show in 2006? Did a fuckin' 2.9 rating. A rating that today either Raw or Smackdown or certainly Dynamite would fucking KILL for. It was an impressive rating for a promotion that previously had never had serious mainstream appeal.
Now let us speculate here for a moment That first episode was an abomination. Nobody disputes that. It had McMahon DNA all over it. And it was filmed in front of some Smackdown crowd in like fuckin South Dakota or something. Lets say McMahon actually took this project seriously? Lets say he actually let Heyman have REAL creative control? And the first show was in front of a Hammerstein Ballroom audience?
That 2.9 showed there was interest. Not just from the ECW faithful but from the WWE curious. And what they got was a show that was an insult to BOTH fanbases. No wonder the ratings quickly plummeted into the fuckin 1.0 – 0.6 territory. But I betcha if the show had been as Paul Heyman booked it and in front of an entusiastic ECW crowd then the ECW brand MIGHT have grown and little by little been able to book bigger and bigger arenas and grow organically. But of course Vince McMahon wouldnt ever allow that even though it would have MADE HIM MONEY.
Do you agree that ECW 2006 had a chance if McMahon actually gave the creative reigns to Heyman and maybe booked those first few shows a little smarter arena wise?
The actual ECW, doing all the things you’re saying, never made money and died in a pauper’s grave in 2001 with Vince doing the meme pose over the rented headstone that had to be returned for store credit by the next day. It’s just nostalgia bait that pops a number for a week or two at best and then retreats to the past where it belongs.