ECW could be going??

D2D

From http://www.sescoops.com/wwe-news/report-ecw-brand-to-be-shut-down-in-early-2010

According to a reliable source, World Wrestling Entertainment plans to put the ECW brand to rest once and for all in the near future. WWE officials have had several meetings with the Syfy network about re-branding WWE’s Tuesday night show.


Both sides are in agreement that WWE’s version of ECW has been a bust and plans are already being made for a new weekly series. While several ideas have been tossed around (including a magazine-style recap show), right now it appears that WWE wants to make the new Tuesday night brand a “WWE minor league” and feature young up-and-coming stars.


WWE relaunched the ECW brand back in 2006 after the undeniable success of the “Rise and Fall of ECW” DVD set and later the ECW One Night Stand Pay-Per-View events. After ECW was relaunched as a brand, it quickly became apparent that WWE had no intention of keeping the elements that made the original ECW special and turned ECW into a watered-down, generic “C” show.


While it may be bittersweet to see the ECW letters go, ECW has been dead for a long time and a brand featuring primarily young stars sounds like it has potential.


Stay tuned for the latest.

Penn

Thats essentially what it is already, a minor league show which features young new talent, mixed with some veterans to help elevate them. The only difference would be the name change really, and lets face it, a lot of people say it shouldn't be called ECW anyway

Nody

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Thats essentially what it is already, a minor league show which features young new talent, mixed with some veterans to help elevate them. The only difference would be the name change really, and lets face it, a lot of people say it shouldn't be called ECW anyway

I read their new description and went exactly as paddyirishman "What's the difference from today beyond the name?".

Rjd2

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Thats essentially what it is already, a minor league show which features young new talent, mixed with some veterans to help elevate them. The only difference would be the name change really, and lets face it, a lot of people say it shouldn't be called ECW anyway

Yep they can do what they want with the name, just keep the same format so it should be fine.
Folks lets not forget this is normally the best WWE show every week.

Rjd2

Oh and if it and finally shuts up all the "ITS NOT EXTREME!!! VINCE IS PISSING ON Da LEGaCY OF THE OLD ECW BOOOOOOOOOOOO! idiots up then go for it. :pac:

Penn

Rjd2 wrote: »

Oh and if it and finally shuts up all the "ITS NOT EXTREME!!! VINCE IS PISSING ON Da LEGaCY OF THE OLD ECW BOOOOOOOOOOOO! idiots up then go for it. :pac:

Then again, we might get some "ITS EVEN LESS EXTREME!!! VINCE IS P*SSING ON Da LEGaCY OF THE OLD NEW ECW BOOOOOOOOOO!"

I think it's a good move though. Lets face it, the ECW title was never going to be as prestigious as the other World Titles, and they rarely get matches on PPV. But it is the best place for new stars rather than being thrown to the lions in Raw and SD. Acknowledging this can only be a good thing

Rjd2

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Then again, we might get some "ITS EVEN LESS EXTREME!!! VINCE IS P*SSING ON Da LEGaCY OF THE OLD NEW ECW BOOOOOOOOOO!"

I think it's a good move though. Lets face it, the ECW title was never going to be as prestigious as the other World Titles, and they rarely get matches on PPV. But it is the best place for new stars rather than being thrown to the lions in Raw and SD. Acknowledging this can only be a good thing

The only downside is if they are planning to turn the show into another Heat or Velocity.
We have superstars which gives us random matches which can be fun, but its hard to invest in them if they have little story, plus those shows wont have the direction that ECW has and will merely be filler like Superstars which is a massive no-no considering how much filler their is on the two main shows these days. :pac:
That last line had terrible punctuation as well, EXTREME ~~! :mad:

bevan619

Lol do you remember December to Dismember?

Bubs101

Would they consider shipping Smackdown to the Sci Fi network then.

Tricity Bendix

bevan619 wrote: »

Lol do you remember December to Dismember?

No. After much therapy, I have managed to expunge it completely from my memory. Some things are too painful to be remembered.

jaykhunter

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Thats essentially what it is already, a minor league show which features young new talent, mixed with some veterans to help elevate them. The only difference would be the name change really, and lets face it, a lot of people say it shouldn't be called ECW anyway

I agree. Vince never had any intentions of actually bringing back ECW, with Heyman in charge and a proper roster. 'The Tuesday Show' was only called "ECW" because Vince knew there was name recognition/value in it. So it was to get people to start watching it, as opposed to the shamefully low uptake of "Superstars"; which has a completely generic (but oldschool) name.

Definitely, "WWECW" has never been "ECW" (except the two one night stand events in 05 and 06 were both outstandingly awesome) so everyone's gotta be happy with the name change.

When I saw the ECW news, I thought they were going to lose the deal with Sci-Fi, which is a big reason Superstars is around. In case the SciFi deal goes south, they can simply switch channels +/- timeslot.

I should also mention that if ECW becomes another "nothing" show, there's no point in having BOTH Superstars AND ECW. That said, there's no reason to have either show anyway, that's what the mid-card and below spots on RAW and SD! are for.

flahavaj

WWE Presents ROH Wrestling Live on Tuesday Nights.

You heard it here first.:pac:

michael.etc...

flahavaj wrote: »

WWE Presents ROH Wrestling Live on Tuesday Nights.

You heard it here first.:pac:

That would be far more entertaining if Gabe still booked.. he'd be the new Cornette.

Agree with Rjd2... anything to stop the out-of-date rants.

flahavaj

michael.etc... wrote: »

That would be far more entertaining if Gabe still booked.. he'd be the new Cornette.

They could do Ki/Dragon and Gibson/Dragon again as well.

Its all starting to make sense now........:pac:

geeky

Guess it's the end of an unloved brand. (and Tommy Dreamer surely, now the old 'ECW original' line can't be milked endlessly). Makes sense to have a show where they can fling younger guys at the wall and see who sticks but, without even mid-card draws like Christian etc, who'll actually tune in?

Rjd2

More info from PW Insider....

WWE LOOKING TO MAKE MAJOR CHANGES TO THEIR LANDSCAPE IN 2010
By Mike Johnson on 2009-12-02 15:44:25
As I broke Monday in the PWInsider.com Elite section, World Wrestling Entertainment is working on major changes to the company's landscape for 2010. There have been preliminary meetings with SyFy over changing and rebranding the ECW series, including dropping the entire ECW brand and letters.
The ECW brand was launched in 2006, a year after the successful ECW One Night Stand PPV. Over time, the idea of bringing back ECW as a separate entity was diluted and the show eventually evolved into a secondary series utilizing veterans who wouldn't be pushed on Raw or Smackdown and younger talents getting their feet wet.

According to sources in the company, SyFy has noticed the fading ratings for the series since its debut and with the current TV deal expiring shortly, WWE is making moves to "freshen" the show up and work with the network to improve the ratings. There was talk of a magazine style show that went nowhere and the most recent pitch I've heard is taking the entire hour and focusing it all on brand new talents exclusively.

One person in the company noted that SyFy was very gung ho behind the ECW series when it debuted as a spin-off entity, since it debuted doing well over a 2.0, but with the rating hovering around a 1.0, it's lost its appeal.

There have also been preliminary discussions about changing the Smackdown brand, since the feeling is that the Raw Guest Hosts have added depth and uniqueness to Raw. What those potential changes might be, I haven't yet heard.

The current plan is to not make any major decisions until after the first of the year.

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/43378/wwe-looking-to-make-major-changes-to-their-landscape-in-2010.html?p=1

gerrybbadd

Rjd2 wrote: »

More info from PW Insider....


http://www.pwinsider.com/article/43378/wwe-looking-to-make-major-changes-to-their-landscape-in-2010.html?p=1

I really don't think it'd be any harm if it went tbh. It's just Sunday Night Heat or Shotgun Saturday Night repackaged. Although, i do think they should keep the actual show / tv slot. It does have a proven history as a kind of Feeder show, where wrestlers can hone their craft and go onto bigger things - i.e. John Morrison, CM Punk, Chavo, Sheamus, Lashley, Finlay etc.

Jolt2007

I hope they don't change things up too much. ECW has been the only show I care somewhat about these days. I actually look forward to it, whereas the rest I just tend to watch if I'm doing nothing much at the time.

Red Sleeping Beauty

flahavaj wrote: »

WWE Presents ROH Wrestling Live on Tuesday Nights.

You heard it here first.:pac:

Black Tuesday ?


There were some decent ECW matches on the SciFi show weren't there? Even Hardcore Holly gashing his back was worth watching.

Rud3Bwoy

I am glad this is going to happen living in nyc and being able to see ecw when it was around just disgust me to watch tuesday nights,why call it ecw when it has no true meaning to it.

Anyway ecw should of died after its great ecw one night stand 1 or even 2,after the sci fi show ecw was never the same again,why?because paul heyman had no control over any more decisions as he did at ons 1 and 2

you know the saying you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig,you can call it ecw but it is not ecw.

if heyman was still around and had full control it would of taken off

Paulegend

there is one simple answer that WWE wont take on board but it would save ECW and get ALOT more veiwers


bring back the real ECW through WWE

just have a 2 hour hardcore show every week. bring in hardcore tag titles. the hardcore championship and the ECW championship and let them defend against Raw and Smackdown aswell.

its that simple we would all wanna see it

Bounty Hunter

Paulegend wrote: »

there is one simple answer that WWE wont take on board but it would save ECW and get ALOT more veiwers


bring back the real ECW through WWE

just have a 2 hour hardcore show every week. bring in hardcore tag titles. the hardcore championship and the ECW championship and let them defend against Raw and Smackdown aswell.

its that simple we would all wanna see it

wouldent exactley work in the PG WWE though would it.

Degag

gerrybbadd wrote: »

I really don't think it'd be any harm if it went tbh. It's just Sunday Night Heat or Shotgun Saturday Night repackaged. Although, i do think they should keep the actual show / tv slot. It does have a proven history as a kind of Feeder show, where wrestlers can hone their craft and go onto bigger things - i.e. John Morrison, CM Punk, Chavo, Sheamus, Lashley, Finlay etc.

You do know that Finlay is there to do almost the exact opposite of what you said?

TheCandystripes

Paulegend wrote: »

there is one simple answer that WWE wont take on board but it would save ECW and get ALOT more veiwers


bring back the real ECW through WWE

just have a 2 hour hardcore show every week. bring in hardcore tag titles. the hardcore championship and the ECW championship and let them defend against Raw and Smackdown aswell.

its that simple we would all wanna see it

you cant have too many gimmick matches. having too many gimmick matches mean it becomes increasingly hard to please the fans.

Paulegend

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

wouldent exactley work in the PG WWE though would it.

would it really hurt WWE to have 1 non-pg show??

TheCandystripes wrote: »

you cant have too many gimmick matches. having too many gimmick matches mean it becomes increasingly hard to please the fans.

all im saying is just turn it back into the real ECW(just owned by WWE). if they had their hardcore tag titles aswell it would mean they wouldnt just be having all the wrestlers after 1 title

Bounty Hunter

Paulegend wrote: »

would it really hurt WWE to have 1 non-pg show??

the show quality it would most likely not hurt (it could improve it) but things like Linda's political run or potential tv money, revenue through advertiser for example who would want to market towards the younger audience etc

Paulegend

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

the show quality it would most likely not hurt (it could improve it) but things like Linda's political run or potential tv money, revenue through advertiser for example who would want to market towards the younger audience etc

yea i guess. ah at least we can dream:D i hate linda shes ruining everything:D

D2D

NoDQ.com > WWE > ECW on SyFy does its lowest rating ever

Posted by Chris Kaufman on 12/09/2009 at 09:20 PM

In yet another scary piece of news regarding the ECW brand, Tuesday's episode dropped to an all-time low 0.8 rating.

With an average viewership of just 1.06 million, according to PWTorch.com data, the show was the least-viewed timeslot airing in the show's history, including any airings that coincided with a holiday.

Talk on the Internet in recent weeks has concerned plans to overhaul the brand, and if the show keeps posting ratings like this, such an aggressive effort would appear to be an absolute necessity.

Rjd2

The ratings have been dismal rectnyl can't blame the network for not been keen, shame because it was a great show.

Paulegend

Rjd2 wrote: »

The ratings have been dismal rectnyl can't blame the network for not been keen, shame because it was a great show.

isnt that the problem though???? its not a great show.......................


its basically velocity or heat

Rjd2

To be fair Velocity was a good wrestling show. Free of stale main eventers and heavily wrestling orientated whats not to like?
ECW on the other hand was very entertaining till the last draft (the one where Swagger, Bourne and Henry were drafted)
It did not have the star power of the grusome twosme but what we got was good matches between talented up and comers and mid carders who had lost directiion. It done a lot of good for the likes of Punk,Kofi and others.

Paulegend

i loved velocity and heat. but they where never considered a branch off from raw or smackdown the way ecw is. i do watch ecw and i hope it doesnt get cut. i just think the fact they are calling it steak when really its just meatloaf is making things seem worse than they are.

wwe need to stop calling ecw a brand if they want it to survive. while its considered a brand it will be compared to raw and smackdown in terms of ratings and it will always lose.

if they change the name and just have it as a seperate show that doesnt try to compete(by stop calling it a brand) they could survive. but they gotta change the name aswell

i think its safe to say most of us watched ecw and loved it(pre wwe buying it)

while ecw is been shown we will all keep thinking of the way it use to be. they have to bring back old ecw or lay ecw to rest and start a new show in its place.

how about something like "WWE:the new era" something with that kind of concept would be a hit

D2D

*blows off dust*

ECW is going in 3 weeks times. It was officially announced last night by Vince McMahon that WWE's ECW brand will be going off the air in three weeks and a new show will instead debut in its place on SyFy. The final episode of ECW will be taped on February 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ending a run that began in June of 2006.

PWInsider is reporting that WWE has registered the trademark "NXT" to use for "the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through the media of television." So the assumption is that this will be the name of the new Tuesday show which is set to debut on March 2 (being taped in Wichita, Kansas).

Penn

NXT is a terrible name.

My worry is, if they're bringing in more younger talent, most of the current talent will be split between Raw and Smackdown. And they're pretty jam-packed as it is. People like Bourne and Primo could really suffer as a result of this

Gerard.C

****ing txt tlk.... It'll still probably be better than impact though!

Rjd2

Well at least people (Heyman, RVD) can stop bitching about Vince pissing on the legacy of ECW now. :pac:

D2D

- Vince McMahon's comments tonight on ECW were as follows:

"I would like to proudly announce in three weeks' time that ECW will be going off the air. I would like to thank all the technicians, cameramen, directors, producers, everyone, and certainly all the Superstars who made ECW the success that it truly was. But, I'd also like to thank in advance all of you who will be responsible for the success in bringing a new, innovative, never before seen program broadcast at the very same time here on SyFy. This will be the next, next evolution of the WWE. This will be the next evolution of television history. Thank you very much."

- Sources in WWE just confirmed the ECW on SyFy series will indeed go forward under the name WWE NXT, with NXT standing for "Next Generation."

As we initially broke back in November 2009 in the PWInsider.com Elite section, one of the concepts pitched to SyFy was to build the series around an entirely new cast of characters with the tease being viewers could watch them debut and develop nowhere but on SyFy. One would think a lot of talents will be coming up from WWE developmental soon.

Angron

I wonder what will happen to Christian and his ECW title. As was pointed out on WWE.com, he's the longest reigning current champ, so I wonder will they just change the name of the title, or keep the name of it.

Tribesmen7

Great news this.

I didn't like the new name when I heard it first, but its supposed to stand for 'Next Generation' and its better than some generic name so I don't mind it too much.

As one who liked the ECW show that WWE had (probably more so than the old ECW) I think its a great idea to get rid of the ECW name. Then give the show to the young up and comers and have a few veterans on the brand too to help them develop and we could have a really good show on our hands.

However WWE have a habit of building up your expectations only to cruelly crush them so I hope my expectations are not too high.

D2D

Tribesmen7 wrote: »

Great news this.

I didn't like the new name when I heard it first, but its supposed to stand for 'Next Generation' and its better than some generic name so I don't mind it too much.

As one who liked the ECW show that WWE had (probably more so than the old ECW) I think its a great idea to get rid of the ECW name. Then give the show to the young up and comers and have a few veterans on the brand too to help them develop and we could have a really good show on our hands.

However WWE have a habit of building up your expectations only to cruelly crush them so I hope my expectations are not too high.

I don't like that name. WWE NXT - sounds pretty horrible to me.

I really like to watch WWE/ECW. When I saw in 06 that WWE were bringing back back ECW as a 3rd brand, I was skeptical but it's actually a good show (minus the Abraham Washington segments). I like how ECW has provided people like Kofi, Swagger, Bourne, Jo Mo etc....

geeky

If they bring back Abraham Washington (how in the hell does that guy still have a job) I'm switching off for good.

D2D

geeky wrote: »

If they bring back Abraham Washington (how in the hell does that guy still have a job) I'm switching off for good.

He's an absolute f'n pity and is the only thing I won't watch on ECW.

Tribesmen7

I can agree with ye when it comes to Abraham Washington, cant stand his talk show on ECW.

Cactus Colm

I'm glad they're getting rid of the ECW brand. Not because it wasn't good (because it certainly was), but because now people can hopefully shut up about the original ecw, which was a joke of a promotion in the end. People liked it for the same reasons we like mcdonalds, it was cheap, easy, and greasy.

Jolt2007

I'm still not sold that all this is going to be about new guys. If the reason ECW is dying is ratings I don't think more FCW guys and less established names will help with that. Guest host Superstars every week probably.

D2D

From PWInsider

- Here's a " Did You Know" fact for the WWE : There is already a NXT wrestling company, which also stands for NXT Generation.
Their website can be viewed via http://www.nxtwrestling.com/.
According to their site they have been around since 2008. The indy fed is based in Rutherglen, Scotland. They have their own wrestling school, produce DVDs and run shows on a fairly regular basis. The next show is scheduled to be this Saturday February 6th.

Wow, could WWE be headed back to court in the UK? Last time that happened, they lost their name to the World Wildlife Fund!

- Former ECW Champion, WWE broadcaster and current TNA color man Taz posted the following tweet on his Twitter page last night:

So,WWE ending their "vision" of ECW (thank god).ANY ORIG ECW wrestlers get a thanks? How about Paul Heyman did he get a thanks? Classy move!

JP Liz V1

Denny M wrote: »

I wonder what will happen to Christian and his ECW title. As was pointed out on WWE.com, he's the longest reigning current champ, so I wonder will they just change the name of the title, or keep the name of it.

Bring him to SD

Change the ECW title to Extreme Hardcore Title or something like that

Penn

Jolt2007 wrote: »

I'm still not sold that all this is going to be about new guys. If the reason ECW is dying is ratings I don't think more FCW guys and less established names will help with that. Guest host Superstars every week probably.

I don't think its because ECW is dying, or the ratings. I think that, while ECW has done a great job of making new stars, they want to continue and improve that. The way ECW is now, they can only really have a few new guys at a time, and try their best to push them. With NXT, the majority of their talent will be new guys and they can let their pushes happen more naturally. See who the audience responds to more without having to kinda force them down our throats

D2D

Credit: F4WOnline.com

While details remain vague on the rebranded ECW, which will reportedly go under the name WWE NXT, sources have shed light on some of the ideas that were tossed around in the weeks prior to the announcement.

In addition to the much-reported talk of incorporating alternative/science-fiction elements to the weekly SyFy wrestling broadcast, an idea emerged to incorporate reality show elements into the program. The idea of building the show around interactive viewership participation also came up, although it is not known how seriously WWE took that idea given the relative failure of concepts like Taboo Tuesday and Cyber Sunday.

Penn

From Taz(z)'s Facebook page:

Yo,

So, WWE version of ECW is not alive anymore and VKM didn't acknowledge the past accomplishments of the true pioneers of the brand name. Ok, so Taz is angry about this? Taz is surprised about this? Taz is losing sleep because of this? No, no & no.

So Taz is a little confused because...
--I know for a FACT how proud Vince is of the WWE HOF! And he should be!
--I know for a FACT how proud Vince is that his highly successful company is in a position to ACKNOWLEDGE the past success of those who have paved the way for the industry!
--I know for a FACT that Vince feels its his (and his company) responsibility to recognize the successes of the wrestlers of the past...even if they never wrestled for the WWF/WWE!

I know all this as fact because I have heard Vince say these things! Every time (behind the scenes) Vince would speak on these topics it made me very proud to work under the WWE! I would bet the FARM that VKM STILL feels that(about WWE HOF) way!

In my tweet from last night, I closed it by saying "Classy Move". I think that that was a little extreme. See, saying that VKM's promo was a little vague when he mentioned "all the Superstars" that made ECW a success would have captured how i actually felt!

Point is, why not acknowledge the Paul Heymens contributions to the industry? Or, saying thanks to all the ECW original wrestlers? A lot of blood, sweat and tears were dropped during the original ECW's life! If you are going to thank cameramen & directors (etc) than acknowledge the past history because its well deserved.

If you utilized the letters ECW to make a lot of $$$ over the past several years I would assume that your respect the history of ECW? If you would produce and sell a successful DVD documenting the companies history...I would assume you feel that the original ECW history has value....than why not give it a proper send off?

Now, am I a little sensitive when it comes to the legacy of the original ECW? Well yes. Can some say that, "hey Taz... you sold out and left ECW to go to the WWE".....well yes. Unfortunately, this is a business and I did what I needed to do (at the time) for my family and have ZERO regrets!

Now, when WWE gave Tommy Dreamer his send off, they were 1st Class all the way and I went public and acknowledged that WWE did the right thing! So, do you think that WWE will build a 1 or 2 minute video package in next weeks show with shots of ECW's past? Hmmm.

Bottom line, I'm very happy the letters ECW will finally get to rest in peace....THAT'S well deserved!

flahavaj

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Credit: F4WOnline.com

While details remain vague on the rebranded ECW, which will reportedly go under the name WWE NXT, sources have shed light on some of the ideas that were tossed around in the weeks prior to the announcement.

In addition to the much-reported talk of incorporating alternative/science-fiction elements to the weekly SyFy wrestling broadcast, an idea emerged to incorporate reality show elements into the program. The idea of building the show around interactive viewership participation also came up, although it is not known how seriously WWE took that idea given the relative failure of concepts like Taboo Tuesday and Cyber Sunday.

If this WWE NXT has the likes of Low Ki and Danielson wrestling consider me an avid fan from the start.

Will miss the ECW show in its current reeincarnation. Pretty much from the start it has been favourite WWE show of the week and demonstrates that simply-booked one hour TV shows that make the most of the talent available can still be done well.