ECW: Doomed to the Extreme?

The latest speculation around the wrestling newsroom is that the ECW brand is on the verge of being put to pasture. The story going around is that SyFy isn't happy with the ratings, so the one hour program that currently takes up the Tuesday night 10:00 slot is going to be completely retooled.

While this news -- which is more or less unsubstantiated -- isn't necessarily shocking, I do think it's a tad unfair. The fact of the matter is, ECW is treated like the red headed stepchild of the WWE world. And as I've said in the past, it's difficult for your audience to become invested in a show when it doesn't even seem like the company that owns it cares. The roster has been severely depleted, with several Superstars being prematurely removed and "promoted" to one of the big two. Can you honestly tell me that Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger have been better off on Raw than they were on ECW?

ECW has become entirely too polarized. In the past there was a nice mix of no-names, young guys trying to find their niche, upper midcard guys who are lost in the shuffle on Raw and Smackdown, and veterans. Now it's basically guys straight out of the minors, guys going no where, and Christian.

Then there's the schizophrenic ECW Championship. Is it a World Title? Is it at the level of the Intercontinental or United States Championship? I don't even know, and I don't think WWE does either. Several months ago WWE Magazine claimed that Matt Hardy was the first Hardy brother to capture a World title, as he had won the ECW Championship. This past Monday on Raw, Big Show commented on how he held all three World titles -- the WWE, WCW, and ECW Championships. But by that same token, former ECW Champions Jack Swagger, Chavo Guerrero, and Mark Henry participated in the Break Through #1 Contenders Tournament, which stipulated that you never held a World title. Likewise, WWE Magazine includes former champions like John Morrison and Jack Swagger as "Tomorrow's Champions."

And it's sad. A couple of years ago the ECW Championship was a legitimate option for the winner of the Royal Rumble (remember when Undertaker stood in the ring with WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion Batista, and ECW Champion Lashley?) Could you imagine the same when Chavo Guerrero was the ECW Champ?

What's even sadder is that the ECW Championship wasn't even defended on the past few PPVs. It only received 8 seconds at SummerSlam. And at Survivor Series, the ECW Champion played second fiddle to Raw's pet project. And the ECW Championship match has been left out in the cold at all of these concept PPVs, which promise a specialty match for the "main events." So I guess the ECW Title isn't even main event worthy? Hell, they were completely ignored during Bragging Rights -- an event entirely devoted to proving brand supremacy!

The long and short of it: If ECW is deemed a failure, WWE has nobody to blame but themselves. When the brand doesn't even feature a Pay-Per-View match, what's the theoretical point of watching? Is the brand salveable? Probably -- just throw them a bone!

Here's what I'd do: First off, I'd move Evan Bourne back to ECW. After completely losing steam on Raw, I'd also give them MVP. I'd even go as far as suggesting that he turn heel and capture the Champioship. I'd also move Charlie Haas over to ECW, where he can form a loose alliance with Shelton Benjamin. I think R-Truth would fit nicely there as well. And since the brand needs a legitimate main event-level Superstar, I'd offer them Kane. Yeah, not the best option, but probably the most realistic one.

Moral of the story: I kinda like the belt. It's grown on me. So I'd hate to see the brand die.