Information about Extreme Championship Wrestling (wwe)

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ECW
ECW logo
Also known as	ECW on Sci Fi
Created by	Paul Heyman Vince McMahon
Starring	ECW'' Brand
Opening theme	"Don't Question My Heart"<ref name="theme" /> by Kyle Morrison
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	72 (as of October 16, 2007)
Production
Camera setup	Multicamera setup
Running time	45 minutes (60-65 including commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	Sci Fi Channel
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	June 13, 2006 – Present
External links
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!.

This version can be seen on Sci Fi Channel in the United States, X-Treme Sports and Global in Canada, Sky Sports 3 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, SKY Sport 2 in Italy, Premiere in Germany, FX in Latin America, Ten Sports in India, Astro Supersport in Malaysia, Solar Sports and Jack TV in the Philippines, FOX8 in Australia, SKY 1 in New Zealand, e.tv in South Africa, SIC Radical in Portugal and AFN Xtra .

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" — complementing the already established RAW and SmackDown! — with its own show 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 stated that she believed ECW would fit the channel's theme of "stretching the imagination".^[3] Sci Fi Channel is owned by NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network and exclusive cable broadcaster of WWE programming.

The ECW brand initially attempted to differentiate itself from WWE's other brands. The hard cameras were placed in a different location and the ring mat had an "ECW" logo on it. The male performers were also referred to as "Extremists" as opposed to Superstars, and female performers were called "Vixens" instead of Divas. Eventually, all of these features were dropped. It was also initially headlined by original ECW performers such as Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney, Al Snow and The Sandman, and new ECW "rebels" like Kurt Angle and the Big Show, 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. Following the 2006 December to Dismember pay-per-view event Heyman was relieved from both his on and off air duties with World Wrestling Entertainment. The WWE website cited "slumping television ratings and a disgruntled talent roster" as the reasons for his dismissal.^[4]

Behind the scenes, Dave Lagana, former head booker of SmackDown! replaced Heyman as head booker of the ECW brand. After Heyman left, there was no on air authority figure until August 14 2007, when Armando Estrada was announced as the General Manager.

Changes were made to the brand that differentiated it from the original ECW promotion, making it more like the other brands, including changing the original promotion's rules - where weapons were legal in all matches and there were almost never count outs or disqualifications. WWE 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 rules unless specified otherwise.

The only pay-per-view event hosted exclusively by the ECW brand since its launch was December to Dismember in December 2006. On March 14 2007, before another one could be scheduled, WWE announced that all future pay-per-views would feature all three brands.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

While the show started out a ratings success for both Sci Fi Channel and WWE, it began drawing criticism from fans of the original ECW early on. This was most evident 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.^[8][9]

To complement 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.

Starting with the October 16 2007 edition of ECW, full episodes of the show became available for streaming on WWE.com the day after they air.^[10]

Recurring segments

In addition to wrestling matches and backstage vignettes, ECW, like RAW and SmackDown!, has had recurring weekly segments.

Segment	Segment Type	Host	Years Active	Notes	Sourcs
Kelly's Exposé	Strip Tease	Kelly Kelly	2006	The first segment in ECW	[11]
Extreme Exposé	Dance Performance	Kelly Kelly Brooke Layla El	2007-present	When Kelly Kelly returned in January, she was joined by fellow divas Layla, and Brooke, forming a three woman dance troupe. The new group took over the Kelly's Exposé spot, dancing in costume to a different song nearly every week.	[12]
Striker's Classroom	Interview/Other	Matt Striker	2006-present	A segment where Matt Striker, acts as a pompous teacher (his former real-life profession) and insults the audience and his fellow wrestler's intellectual capacity. The segment is used as a promo or an interview segment.
15 Minutes Of Fame	Wrestling Challenge	John Morrison	2007	If a challenger—either a "hometown wrestler" or someone from the roster—could defeat him, or last a full 15 minutes without being defeated by him, they would earn a future championship match.	[13]

On-air personalities

Champion

Championship	Current champion	Date won	Date aired
ECW Champion	CM Punk	September 1 2007	September 4 2007

Authority figures

	Title	Date started	Date finished
Paul Heyman	Representative	June 7 2006	December 4 2006
Armando Estrada	General Manager	August 14 2007[1]	Present

^ Announced by Jonathan Coachman as an order from Mr. McMahon.

Commentators

• Joey Styles (June 7 2006 - present)
• Tazz (June 7 2006 - present)

Announcers

• Justin Roberts (June 7 2006 - September 2007)
• Tony Chimel (September 2007 - Present)

Production

ECW brand shows are held in large arenas as a part of the SmackDown! brand's Tuesday taping schedule. This is in sharp contrast to the original Extreme Championship Wrestling which ran most of its events in smaller venues.^[14] The show generally airs live on Tuesdays directly before — when touring the west coast — or after SmackDown! has taped^[15][16], though it has been recorded and placed on a tape delay until later in the night depending on what circumstances dictate.^[17]

ECW on Sci Fi has gone through a number of theme songs. "Bodies" by Drowning Pool (June 13 2006 - June 26 2007), "Famous" by Puddle of Mudd (June 19), "This Is the New Hit" by Marilyn Manson (June 26 - July 24, August 7, 14), "" by Harry Slash & The Slashtones (July 31), and "Don't Question My Heart"^[18] by Kyle Morrison (August 28 - current).

References

See also

• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• List of ECW pay-per-view events
• World Wrestling Entertainment roster (ECW brand)

External links

• ECW at SciFi.com