5 months ago
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Vince McMahon ran WWE for several decades and he never particularly cared about the competition. WWE would revive ECW but it would ultimately fail without accomplishing much. In light of ECW’s demise, McMahon has been accused of intentionally sabotaging the rebooted version of ECW.
Under Paul Heyman’s guidance in the 1990s, ECW emerged as a credible alternative to WCW and WWE. McMahon eventually acquired the company, reintroducing ECW as a WWE show in 2006.
While speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, ECW legend Sabu claimed that Vince McMahon deliberately reduced the use of weapons in ECW because he wanted the show to fail.
“Most people who were used to ECW, we had almost every match an extreme match-up,” Sabu said. “I don’t agree with that, but you need at least one no-rules match on the show. We’d do [WWE] shows with no hardcore matches, no tables, no chairs. Not even one match. And that’s because of Vince trying to kill it on purpose.”
The original ECW gained fame for its devoted fanbase, with some audience members actively providing weapons for wrestlers to use in matches. Sabu stated that Paul Heyman’s ECW placed a greater emphasis on engaging with fans, in contrast to Vince McMahon’s desire for the show to resemble RAW and SmackDown.
“We acknowledged them [fans]. We didn’t ignore them. When they gave us a chair, we took that chair and used it. We made them part of the show. We didn’t ignore them. They know what wrestling is, but WWE chooses to kayfabe. That was back then.”
Many fans were ultimately disappointed that WWE’s reboot of ECW simply couldn’t live up to expectations and carry forward the legacy that the original ECW. Regardless, promotions such as GCW and others are carrying on ECW’s legacy now and fans couldn’t be happier about that fact.
What’s your view on what Sabu had to say? Do you feel Vince McMahon was the reason why the ECW reboot failed? Let us know in the comments section below!
