ECW s a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was introduced on March 9th, 2023 as the 4th brand of WWE, confirming that NXT is the official 3rd brand of WWE after years of being labeled as the Developmental brand of the promotion. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to NXT primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, ECW Hardcore Hotline. Hardcore Hotline serves as a more mature and violent alternative to WWE's RAW and SmackDown brands, though both have seen major changes with the product following the firing of Vince McMahon.
WWE has previously brought back ECW back in 2006 following the massive success of Both ECW One Night Stand 2005 and ECW One Night Stand 2006, however, many of the former promotions fans and former wrestlers despised the WWE's version of the brand, which includes the former owner of ECW, Paul Heyman who openly quit the company due to the failure of ECW December to Dismember 2006. Following the event, ECW would slowly and silently become the company's on-screen developmental brand until it was ended in 2010 due to poor ratings.
Hardcore Hotline is currently a main-stay on the Peacock version of the WWE Network, airing on Saturdays from 7:00-8:30 P.M on the streaming app, however, rumors have spread that it might makes it's way to MTV following the news of RAW going to Netlix in early 2025 and NXT going to the CW around the same time.
Similar to NXT, ECW has a minor program available on YouTube called ECW: Quick Heat where 3 matches are shown showcasing a handful of wrestlers within the brand.
ECW and NXT have a relationship similar to RAW and SmackDown's relationship with each other as both brands would have wrestlers and the brand's general managers appear on each other's programming including sharing a PLE in June of this year called ECW/NXT: Worlds Collide.
History[]
Championships and Accomplishments[]
Current Championships[]
| Championship | Current Champion(s) | Reign | Event Won | Date Won | Location | Previous Champions | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECW World Heavyweight Championship | Calvin Tankman | 1 | ECW Barely Legal 2024 | April 20th, 2024 | Amalie Arena; Tampa, Florida | Apollo Crews | Defeated Braun Strowman via pinfall in a Tampa Brawl Match | |
| ECW Women's World Championship | Tegan Nox | 1 | ECW Barely Legal 2024 | April 20th, 2024 | Candice LeRae | |||
| ECW World Television Championship | Cedric Alexander | 2 | ECW Living Dangerously 2024 | March 9th, 2024 | Akira Tozawa | |||
| ECW Franchise Championship | Miyu Yamashita | 1 | ECW House Party 2024 | February 17th, 2024 | Shotzi | |||
| ECW World Tag Team Championships | ABC (Chris Bey and Ace Austin) | 1 | ECW Guilty as Charged 2024 | April 20th, 2024 | Tian Shen (Boa and Dante Chen) | |||
| ECW Hardcore Championship | Lexis King | 1 | ECW Barely Legal 2024 | April 20th, 2024 | Dexter Lumis |
Tournaments[]
Broadcasting History[]
| Broadcast | Years Active | Original Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECW TV | December 5th, 2024-Present | Netflix | |
| Hardcore Hotline | May 18th, 2023-November 28th, 2024 | Peacock/WWE Network | |
| Hardcore Hotline: Redial | March 9th, 2024-Present | Peacock/WWE Network & YouTube |
Pay-Per-Views and WWE Network events[]
| Event | Recent Date | Venue | Location | Main Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilty as Charged | January 13th, 2024 | |||
| House Party | February 17th, 2024 | |||
| Living Dangerously | March 9th, 2024 | |||
| Barely Legal | April 20th, 2024 | |||
| ECW/NXT: Worlds Collide | May 13th, 2024 | |||
| One Night Stand | June 16th, 2024 | |||
| Ultimate Jeopardy | July 18th, 2024 | |||
| Hardcore Heaven | August 8th, 2024 | |||
| WrestlePalooza | September 22nd, 2024 | |||
| Anarchy Rulz | October 26th, 2024 | |||
| November to Remember | November 16th, 2024 | |||
| December to Dismember | December 26th, 2024 |
Notes[]
Trivia[]
- Hardcore Hotline is based and inspired by Phoenix Nitro's Series on YouTube of the same name
- Hardcore Hotline: Redial is inspired by Phoenix Nitro's Hardcore Hotline Bonus Feature
- In this universe, this replaced NXT UK after the brand was ended following NXT/NXT UK: When Worlds Collide
- This version of ECW is heavily inspired by Game Changer Wrestling and Deadlock Pro Wrestling
Roster[]
- To see the Current contracted and drafted Roster of ECW, view this link here.