ECW Returns Again

I think we can all agree it was a fantastic idea to bring back the old ECW brand for the One Night Stand PPVs and an even better idea to bring it back as a separate brand with a weekly show. Unfortunately, we can all agree that the execution of this idea fell very short of the original brand. The Sy-Fy network version of ECW with its zombies etc was not the ECW that fans remembered and longed to see again. 

So let’s imagine that WWE announced today that they were bringing back the old ECW brand one more time, only this time they were going to do it the right way, the way it always should have been… 

Paul Heyman should be the one to announce its return. Only this time it would not be a weekly show on a network. With all the streaming services available today, plus WWE’s deal with Netflix, it would be easy to stream the content. However, I think the more fitting platform for this brand would be to stream the show directly on YouTube, the same way WWE does with Saturday Night’s Main Event now. 

What if Paul Heyman simply put out a post on X that said… tune in on YouTube this Friday night at 8pm to see an all new episode of ECW? How quickly would that start trending online? How many wrestler fans do you think would tune in to see that show? That’s literally all the promotion it would take I think. 

Of course, Paul Heyman is too busy already within the WWE to take over running a separate brand putting on a show streaming on YouTube, so he would need to appoint someone else to take over running the brand. I think the obvious choice for this role would be Tommy Dreamer. Heyman could announce him as the new commissioner of the ECW brand. Behind the scenes this could be the case as well, as Dreamer is currently working behind the scenes in TNA and as part of their creative team, and could do that role here. 

Next, I would like to incorporate Shane Douglas as the man that was the original ECW Champion in some way or another, special guest referee for the main event, commentator etc. Douglas has recently returned to in-ring action and has even been involved with Crossfire Wrestling. 

Obviously, we would need to bring back the final ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson in order to bring back the original championship. I would have a short mini tournament on the first episode of ECW with the winner challenging Ezekiel Jackson for the ECW Championship in the main event. Apparently Jackson has also recently returned to in-ring action as well, so the timing is perfect. 

I think the obvious winner of the tournament and the one that should win the ECW Championship on this inaugural episode needs to be none other than Rob Van Dam. He was in my opinion the greatest star to ever come out of the ECW brand. It was such a sin that he was stripped of the ECW and WWE titles after a stupid arrest shortly after he defeated John Cena, that is a wrong that needs to be corrected. RVD would dedicate his victory to his best friend Sabu who passed away. 

Another wrestler that needs to be brought in and made a part of this would be Taz. He is currently an announcer with AEW and could be the announcer for the new ECW brand. I would love to see Joey Styles return as his announce partner. 

I would also like to bring in Lance Storm. He was a producer for WWE before, I believe he currently works backstage for TNA. So it would be nice if he could come in to help run things in ECW now. Another one I’d like to bring in would be Jerry Lynn who is a producer for AEW currently, he could come in to work with Storm to help produce the shows and matches. 

The Sandman would take part in the tournament. Raven, I would love to see Raven take part in the tournament but it seems like he is having health issues and isn’t wrestling anymore, so I would have him there in another way, ideal as someone’s manager. If Tommy Dreamer and/or Shane Douglas can still wrestle they could take part in the tournament as well. 

I would love to see Tajiri come back and compete for the ECW brand as he still wrestles in Japan. Another wrestler we would need for sure is Rhyno, especially since he was the last wrestler to ever hold the ECW Television Championship. 

Apparently, Danny Doring & Roadkill were the last wrestlers to hold the ECW Tag-Team Championships. I think if nothing else, just to correct the history books, The Dudleys should return and defeat those two and win the titles. 

Instead of a weekly YouTube show, it could be a monthly show, or a special occasion, similar to Saturday Night’s Main Event. This would make each episode feel more like the PLE than just a weekly show. 

Ok so in the opening match of the first ECW YouTube show, The Dudleys return to challenge Danny Doring & Roadkill for the ECW Tag-Team Championships. Of course, The Dudleys would win the titles.

Then in the next match, Rhyno would announce an open challenge for his ECW Television Championship and Tajiri would shock the crowd by returning to accept the challenge. Tajiri would win the title. 

Then we would have the tournament to crown the number one contender for ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson. In the first round, Rob Van Dam would defeat Shane Douglas. Meanwhile, Tommy Dreamer would defeat The Sandman with the help of Raven. Then in the finals Rob Van Dam would defeat Tommy Dream with Raven in his corner. RVD would go on to defeat Jackson to become the new ECW Champion. 

On the subsequent show, Paul Heyman would announce that he will no longer be available to run the ECW brand so in his place he would like to find a general manager capable of filling his shoes. So he will announce a match between Shane Douglas and Tommy Dreamer, the winner gets to run ECW. Dreamer would win the match with the help of Raven to take over running ECW. 

Meanwhile, RVD would defend his new ECW Championship against The Sandman. 

And Rhyno would have a rematch with Tajiri and regain his ECW Television Championship. 

Therefore, by the end of the second show, you’d have a new ECW general manager with Tommy Dreamer. A new ECW World Champion with Rob Van Dam. Television Champion Rhyno. And Tag-Team Champions with The Dudleys. I think the show and brand would be off to an incredible start. 

From there it's hard to say where the brand could go. Most of those wrestlers should be retired. I think Dreamer would be a great GM. I think Raven could manage a new flock. Something could be done with Douglas as well. Taz and Styles at the announce table. Storm and Lynn producing backstage. The main talent going forward would need some new competition. It would be nice to see some familiar faces return here and there, but some new talent would be needed as well if you wanted to keep the brand going. 

I would have RVD and Rhyno feud title for title trading the belts back and forth. I would also like to see guys come in like Karrion Kross with Scarlett, or maybe guys like EC3 and Matt Cardona who have had some pretty cool death matches.