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On Rise and Fall, former ECW producer Ron Buffone stated that TNN provided ECW with a very small budget to produce the program while simultaneously asking for high-quality production on par with WCW Monday Nitro and WWF Raw.
On Rise and Fall, Buffone stated that TNN provided ECW with a very small budget to produce the program while simultaneously asking for high-quality production on par with WCW Monday Nitro and WWF Monday Night RAW. This irritated Heyman, due not only to the difficulty of meeting the standards, but also because he felt the more barebones ECW ...
On Rise and Fall, Buffone stated that TNN provided ECW with a very small budget to produce the program while simultaneously asking for high-quality production on par with WCW Nitro and WWF Raw.
Despite very limited advertising, a minimal budget, and disputes with the broadcaster (reflected in The Network stable), ECW became TNN's highest rated show and bolstered the network's Friday night slot, both in ratings and line-up.
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- Lack Of A TV Deal. After being canceled just 13 months into a three-year deal with TNN, Paul Heyman and ECW scrambled to find a new television distributor.
- Bankruptcy. Financially speaking, the final nail in ECW's coffin came on April 4, 2001, when the company officially filed for bankruptcy. At the time of their closing, ECW owed more than $500,000 to at least 40 performers.
- Paul Heyman Jumping Ship. On March 5, 2001, Paul Heyman shocked the wrestling world by appearing next to Jim Ross as the color commentator on Raw Is War.
- The Attitude Era. All great art is derivative. In the case of WWE's Attitude Era, truer words have never been spoken. Most mainstream fans consider Vince McMahon the visionary who introduced "attitude" into professional wrestling.
WrestleMania 23 allowed ECW originals Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Sandman, and Rob Van Dam a last hurrah, but the brand would begin to phase them out; RVD, Sandman, and Sabu would all leave WWE in 2007. CM Punk would win the ECW Championship that fall, but ECW would no longer be a brand of equal importance to Raw and SmackDown.
The fans were well behind the promotion and the brand was red-hot. Paul Heyman had something truly special in his hands but there was one major…
