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In 2006, ECW invaded WWE in a storyline that saw the ECW roster take over WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw. The angle was a huge success and led to the resurgence of ECW.
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The History of ECW
The history of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) is a complex and often controversial one. ECW was founded in 1992 by promoter Tod Gordon, and quickly became known for its hardcore wrestling style, as well as its willingness to push the envelope in terms of on-screen violence and sexually explicit content.
In 1995, ECW caught the attention of the Vince McMahon-owned World Wrestling Federation (WWF), who began to raid ECW’s roster in an attempt to sign away its top stars. This led to a legal battle between the two companies, which was eventually settled out of court.
In early 2001, ECW was purchased by Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) company, and subsequently ceased operations. Many former ECW wrestlers went on to have successful careers in WWE, including Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Edge.
ECW’s Influence on WWE
ECW’s influence on WWE began in the mid-1990s when WWE started to incorporate hardcore wrestling elements into its programming. Hardcore wrestling was a style of professional wrestling that was popularized by ECW and featured hardcore weapon shots and bloody brawling. WWE’s incorporation of hardcore wrestling elements was in response to the growing popularity of ECW at the time.
In 1997, WWE signed ECW wrestlers Mick Foley, Raven, and Sandman to contracts. These signings signaled WWE’s interest in incorporating ECW’s style of wrestling into its own product. In 1999, WWE invested more heavily in ECW by purchasing its chief competitor, Extreme Championship Wrestling. This purchase allowed WWE to gain control of ECW’s television program and wrestlers.
Since acquiring ECW, WWE has continued to use hardcore wrestling elements in its programming. In recent years, however, WWE has toned down the amount of violence and blood featured in its shows.
The ECW Invasion of WWE
In 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) merged with their chief competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), creatingč the largest wrestling organization in the world. The change brought about the “ECW Invasion” of WWE. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
ECW was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in 1992. It was known for its hardcore style of wrestling, which was often filled with bloody matches and intense brawling. The promotion also had a strong focus on entertaining storylines and characters.
ECW gained a large following throughout the 1990s, but it was unable to keep up with the WWF and WCW in terms of popularity and success. In 2001, the WWF merged with WCW, leaving ECW as the only major competitor to the new wrestling monopoly.
In an attempt to take down the WWF, ECW began an invasion of WWE programming. ECW wrestlers would interfere in matches, attack WWE wrestlers backstage, and generally cause havoc wherever they went. The storyline reached its peak at Survivor Series 2001, where an “ECW vs. WWE” match took place. The ECW team won the match, but the invasion fizzled out soon after.
While the ECW invasion did not have a lasting impact on WWE, it did introduce some of ECW’s most popular wrestlers to a wider audience. These wrestlers included Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Rhyno, and Spike Dudley.
The ECW One Night Stand
On June 12, 2005, WWE presented the long-anticipated ECW One Night Stand. This event featured some of ECW’s most notable alumni competing in matches against WWE Superstars. The show was a huge success, and was seen as a triumphant return for ECW.
The ECW Reunion
In 2006, WWE revived ECW through a series of reunion shows,angle immortalizations, and a new ECW television program. The events were successful in drawing old and new fans alike, spurring WWE to produce a new ECW brand. This lasted until 2010 when the original incarnation of ECW was finally discontinued.
The ECW Roster
The ECW Roster was a professional wrestling stable that originally consisted of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) alumni. The group invaded and took over World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming in 2006.
The stable was founded by ECW founder and former WWE commentator Paul Heyman. The group’s original members were Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, Rhyno, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, and Tommy Dreamer. The ECW Roster feuded with various WWE wrestlers and groups until its dissolution in 2010.
The ECW Championship
ECW was a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001. It was originally founded by Tod Gordon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company gained a cult following in the mid-1990s, due to its wild, hardcore style of wrestling.
In 2006, WWE revived the ECW name and brand with a one-off show called ECW One Night Stand. The show was so successful that WWE decided to launch a new television program called ECW on Sci Fi, which debuted in June 2006.
The new ECW TV show featured many former ECW wrestlers, as well as some new faces. One of the most prominent new stars was CM Punk, who went on to become a major player in the WWE Universe.
In 2007, the ECW brand was merged into the SmackDown brand, and the ECW Championship was created. The inaugural ECW Champion was Mr. Kennedy, who won a tournament to crown the first champion.
The ECW Tag Team Championship
The ECW Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1992 to 2001. It was introduced at a TV taping in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 27, 1992, and was won by Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas. The ECW Tag Team Championship was originally known as the NWA Tag Team Championship of the World, due to ECW being part of the National Wrestling Alliance at the time. When ECW left the NWA in 1994, the title was renamed.
ECW stopped being part of the NWA in 1994 and became its own promotion. At this point, the title was renamed the ECW Tag Team Championship. The championship was deactivated in 2001 when ECW closed down. The final champions were Justin Credible and Lance Storm.
The ECW Television Championship
The ECW Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced on August 27, 1992, and ceased to be defended when ECW went out of business in early 2001. The title was contested in hardcore professional wrestling matches, in which competitors used whatever means necessary to win the match.
The ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of ECW and remained active until 2010. The final holder of the title was Big Show, who retired the title on February 16, 2010, after holding it for less than one week.
The title was created in 1992 by ECW founder Tod Gordon. It was originally known as the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship and belonged to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). When Gordon left the NWA in 1994, he took the championship with him and renamed it the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
ECW began to gain popularity in 1995, after WWE’s then-parent company, Vince McMahon’s World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), ceased operations. In June 1996, at Barely Legal, ECW’s first pay-per-view event, Terry Funk defeated Raven to win the vacant ECW World Heavyweight Championship. The title continued to be defended in ECW through various means until April 2001 when WWE purchased WCW. At that point, all WCW titles were later phased out by WWE and replaced withkm their own championships during The Invasion storyline. The only WCW title that was not replaced became defunct when Diamond Dallas Page defeated Scotty Riggs for it on an episode of Monday Night Raw in 2001.
On May 6, 2006, at ECW One Night Stand, Rob Van Dam defeated John Cena in a fight for Van Dam’s WWE Undisputed Championship which resulted in both men becoming co-champions as each held one version of the title. The next night on Raw, Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Van Dam to become WWE Champion; as a result of this victory he also became undisputed champion due to holding both titles at once. Following this change both titles were defended together until June 2007 when they were unified into one championship at Vengeance: Night of Champions while retaining the name WWE Championship; Edge retained his position as champion after defeating Batista to unify both titles.
