That Doomed ECW Return

Ok, I'm willing to admit it.

When ECW first made it big...when Paul Heyman got the wrestling world to know about that Bingo Hall in Philadelphia...I wasn't into it.
I didn't "get" it.

Quite frankly, I was one of those mainstream fans who turned my nose up to it.

I was in my early/mid twenties, big fan of WWF/WCW, and wanted to see more of the Japanese and Mexican competitors.  But chairs? and Strippers? and a bunch of guys I never heard of who wrestle in jeans and t-shirts?
No thanks.

*Pause*  I'm not saying I was 'right'....I'm saying that back then that's what I was saying.

Over the years, and long after it's demise, I got learn more about all the people and parts that made up ECW. Remember, it wasn't until ECW was on it's last leg that the internet exploded, and soon after we had shoot interviews, biographies, compilation DVDs, etc.

I understood what Paul Heyman was trying to do. I understood Raven's appeal and how an ECW show tried to offer a little something to everyone.  Well, except for Hullk-a-maniacs and guys named "Bischoff".

So now, when I look back at WWE's effort to bring the brand back, I DON'T say "oh good, it failed" and I don't say "how could it fail with such a large machine behind it?".

I say "Man they went about that 100% the wrong way."

The ECW brand should have been brought back exactly as it left:  With all the originals in place. In a dingy Bingo hall somewhere.

Why?  Because 200 loyal, rabid fans is better than 1000 casual fans.

ECW fans tool the product to heart. They came to the arena every month. They bought T-Shirts. They sought autographs. They looked for the wrestlers in the restaurants after shows. They spoke with them, and felt like they were making friends.

They were loyal devoted fans who took every match and every character personally.

When Vince attempted to roll the brand back out, he stocked the roster with his own players and he took the shows to larger arenas. It didn't look like ECW, it didn't feel like ECW. Just because a guy got hit with a cane or Heyman showed up on camera...it wasn't ECW.

And since it wasn't the same look and feel, you brought your Smackdown fans to ECW and said "here, check this out,"   And the fans were apathetic. They had no vested interest in it. How was it different? What did it matter?

Casual fans "sometimes" buy merchandise and "sometimes" come to the shows. And over time...they go away.

So, in my analogy above, your 1000 casual fans come and go.
They don't talk up the product, they don't look for more merchandise and they don't tell their friends how amazing the brand is.

The ECW originals may not have been created in Titan Towers, but they had a legacy. They had history. And the fans felt like a part of that history.  Resurrecting it in it's original form would have not only brought back rabid fans, but those fans could have brought ratings to a small TV market.

Yes, I know TV is expensive.
So start small and local...and grow it.
Get those ratings up, and expand on it.

Loyal and rabid fans keep your base in place.
The product fans were given on Sci-Fi network could have been called ANYthing.
It wasn't ECW.

Vince tried to do it "bigger" and "better".
Instead, it failed.
With no reason to get behind it, casual fans ignored it and original fans scoffed at it.
You got less instead of more.

#Fail.

A true "return" of the original ECW product could have catered to a niche' market that wouldn't go away. A market that would not only tune in and buy merch, but would serve as brand ambassador. THEY would have been the grassroots movement ECW needed to go national.

Heyman's vision, Vince's resources.

The make-believe "Brand Split" that WWE fans are given these days might have looked completely different. The third brand would truly have been unique. The bastard son that fought to be bigger and better than it's rich siblings. It might have altogether changed how we looked at WWE rosters. Because when a WWE competitor DID elect to go to ECW...or when an ECW star got so big he HAD to be a part of RAW...it would have meant something. It would have given validity to the move.


For a guy who didnt care of ECW in it's original form, I yearn for what could have been. I feel bad for the loyal fans who's intelligence was insulted by the sequel...and for the "originals' who didn't get to be a part of the Big Stage effort.
    

Thoughts?



Twitter = @SheerWrestling