Extreme Championship Wrestling (WWE)

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This article is about the WWE brand. For the promotion that operated from 1992–2001, see Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW logo
Genre Sports entertainment
Professional wrestling
Camera setup Multicamera setup
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Running time 45 minutes per episode
(60-65 including commercials)
Creator(s) Paul Heyman
Vince McMahon
Starring ECW Brand
Opening theme "Bodies" by Drowning Pool
Country of origin United States
Original channel Sci Fi Channel
Original run June 13, 2006–
No. of episodes 27 (as of December 16, 2006)
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

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

The ECW brand has sought to differentiate itself from WWE's other brands. For example, ECW's male performers are referred to as "Extremists", as opposed to the SmackDown! and RAW performers who are called "Superstars".[1] Also, instead of having a WWE logo in the bottom left corner of the screen, there is an ECW logo. And for a short period of time ECW's female performers were referred to as "Vixens", as opposed to RAW & SmackDown! "Divas," but this has recently changed and the females are now referred to as "Divas" as well.

This version can be seen on Sci Fi Channel in the United States, X-Treme Sports and Global in Canada, Lativi in Indonesia, Sky Sports 3 in the United Kingdom, FX in Latin America, Ten Sports in India, Astro Supersport in Malaysia, Solar Sports in Philippines, FOX8 in Australia, SKY 1 in New Zealand, e.tv in South Africa, and on AFN Xtra.

Contents

[edit] History

WWE acquired the Extreme Championship Wrestling name and video library in 2003 and later began reintroducing ECW through a series of DVDs and books. The most notable example is The Rise and Fall of ECW, a documentary (and later a book) of the promotion's history. The enormous popularity of this and other ECW merchandise prompted WWE to organize an ECW "reunion show" pay-per-view in 2005 dubbed ECW One Night Stand. The financial and critical success of the show motivated WWE to organize a second One Night Stand the following year. With rejuvenated interest in ECW, WWE began exploring the possibility of reviving the promotion full time.

On May 26, 2006, WWE announced the relaunch of ECW as a stand-alone brand that would complement WWE's RAW and SmackDown! brands and emanate weekly on the Sci Fi Channel. [2] Despite initial concerns that professional wrestling would not be accepted by Sci Fi Channel's demographic, network President Bonnie Hammer believed that ECW would fit the channel's theme of stretching the imagination. Sci Fi Channel is owned by NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network and exclusive cable broadcaster of WWE programming.

To boost success of the new brand, ECW was cross-promoted on WWE programming in the weeks leading up to the 2006 One Night Stand. A prime time special called WWE vs. ECW Head to Head was aired on USA Network as part of the promotion.

The ECW brand was initially headlined by original ECW performers such as Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, Al Snow and The Sandman, with former ECW owner Paul Heyman entrusted with booking the brand. However, following the second episode, Heyman's role was somewhat reduced. According to an interview in the UK newspaper The Sun, Heyman wrote the brand's weekly scripts and submitted them to writers for possible changes, and then Vince McMahon for final approval. As of December 2006, Heyman was relieved from both his on-air and off-air duties for World Wrestling Entertainment, with David Lagana replacing him as booker.

Changes were made to the brand that differentiated it from the original ECW promotion, including changing the original promotion's rules - where weapons were legal in all matches and there were almost never count outs or disqualifications. The WWE brand typically classifies such matches as "Extreme Rules" bouts, and they are only fought on occasion. By default, all matches on ECW cards are now fought under standard WWE rules unless specified otherwise.

The first pay-per-view event hosted by the ECW brand since its launch was December to Dismember. ECW also has had its talent appear at cross-branded pay-per-view events, such as WWE's "Big Four" pay-per-view productions: Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and WrestleMania.

[edit] ECW on Sci Fi

ECW's weekly series was originally given a run of a thirteen episode "summer series" by the Sci Fi Channel. Because of good ratings, it was granted an extended run through the end of 2007.[3] The premiere of ECW's weekly show on the Sci Fi Channel received a 2.79 rating, making it the highest rated show on cable in its time slot.[4]

Unlike the original promotion which primarily ran television tapings in smaller arenas, ECW shows are now held in larger arenas as a part of SmackDown!'s Tuesday taping schedule. ECW typically airs live on Tuesdays after SmackDown! has finished taping.

While the show has been a ratings success for both Sci Fi Channel and WWE, it has drawn criticism from some fans of the original ECW and critics in the internet wrestling community. This was evidenced by the negative crowd reaction "old school" fans gave the main event of Batista vs The Big Show at the August 1, 2006 show from Hammerstein Ballroom.[5][6]. The entire brand has been nominated for a Gooker Award; an award given to the worst of professional wrestling each year.

To compliment the weekly television program, WWE.com introduced an online streaming video site called Hardcore Hangover that allows fans to stream on-demand video footage of the weekly show. [1]

[edit] On-air personalities

[edit] Champions

[edit] Representatives

For a more descriptive list of authority figures from the ECW brand, see List of authority figures in professional wrestling

[edit] Commentators

[edit] References

  1. ^ ECW: Extremists. WWE.com. Retrieved on June 21, 2006.
  2. ^ WWE brings ECW to Sci Fi Channel. WWE.com. Retrieved on August 2, 2006.
  3. ^ Sci Fi Channel Extends ECW. Retrieved on October 11, 2006.
  4. ^ Sci Fi Channel pins the competition with ECW's triumphant return to television. www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved on July 8, 2006.
  5. ^ http://www.onlineonslaught.com/features/20060801.shtml
  6. ^ http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/exec/view.cgi/15/17507

[edit] See also

[edit] External Links

Current World Wrestling Entertainment programming
Primary television RAW | Friday Night SmackDown! | ECW
Secondary television A.M. RAW | Afterburn | Bottom Line | The WWE Experience
Television specials Pay-per-view | Saturday Night's Main Event
Webcasts HEAT | Byte This!
On-Demand 24/7
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