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There were initially some high hopes when WWE restarted the ECW brand in 2006 following the overwhelming success of the One Night Stand PPV, though due to the changing times of WWE’s content, along with sponsorships and the professional wrestling philosophy of Vince McMahon, there was no way that the brand would be anything like it was back in its pomp. ECW received its own show and roster for a few years before WWE finally gave up in 2010. The final episode of ECW was an example of how far the brand had fallen over the years, and it was certainly a sad sight to behold.
ECW’s Last Episode Kicked Off With A Whimper
WWE had announced the final ever episode of ECW ahead of time, so fans were fully in the know that this was the last time the brand would be seen. WWE could have really made this a big celebration of what ECW was in the past, bringing back former names and just going fully ‘extreme’ and wild with matches. Any fans asked to book this show would have done something like that, but not WWE, who simply did not care for the history and importance of ECW in the professional wrestling world. WWE lured fans in initially with a small highlight package of some classic ECW moments, with a dramatic voice over telling fans that after 20 years, ECW was over.
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After this brief highlight package (and by brief we mean 10 seconds at most) the opening titles played. The featured names showed just how poor this brand was, with the likes of Vladimir Kozlov, Rosa Mendes, Yoshi Tatsu, The Dudebusters, and Abraham Washington being among the vocal points. The show kicked off with a rare appearance for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, with Show-Miz putting the belts on the line against ECW’s top duo… Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu. The champions won the match in under 10 minutes without much of an issue.
WWE Lured Fans In With A Heartwarming ECW Promo From Christian
Next up was an unwatchable segment. Abraham Washington had a segment of his show, which was interrupted by a sea of wrestlers including Shelton Benjamin, Vance Archer, The Dudebusters, and Vladimir Kozlov. After a brawl, Benjamin and Kozlov stood tall in an unlikely partnership. For some reason, Tony Atlas was in the corner of the ring laughing uncontrollably into a microphone the entire time, which was off-putting to say the least.
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And just like that, it was time for the main event. The ECW Champion Christian emerged, and prior to his main event bout, he cut a heart-warming promo. It could be argued that Christian was one of, if not the only highlight of the ECW brand within its last year or so, and despite not quite representing the heart and soul of what the brand was, he was still entertaining and brought a level of star power to the show. He gave a nice speech, stating that he was fighting for every ECW original who fought to make the letters mean something. Seeing him standing tall would have no doubt given ECW a nice final image to end on.
ECW Ended With A Slap In The Face To Fans (And Advertisements For NXT)
The match between Ezekiel Jackson and Christian in an Extreme Rules bout was fine for what it was, though in the end, interference from the likes of Zack Ryder and William Regal was simply too much to overcome, as Christian was put through a table and pinned for a three-count, much to the complete shock of the audience.
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This felt like a complete slap in the face to ECW’s fans, especially following the heartfelt promo cut by Christian before the match. One can only imagine the cackling image of McMahon backstage at seeing a bland powerhouse with no ties to ECW standing tall with the ECW Title to end the show. Perhaps if Jackson carried forth a gimmick of being the last ever ECW Champion and the man to kill off the brand, he could have built up some heat. However, the belt was simply not seen again and mentions of ECW were quickly swept away.
When watching this episode it is clear what WWE’s priority was - NXT. This new game-show type of program was replacing ECW’s spot on TV, and the majority of this night was hyping up a new show rather than celebrating ECW. Throughout the night, the Pros and Rookies were announced, with a shot of R-Truth and David Otunga being one of the final images that fans saw on the night, which is quite surreal in truth. This was a sad night and a sad end to what was overall a sad reboot.
