Why Did The Relationship Between ECW & TNN Fail?
In the 1990s, the WWE ushered in the Attitude Era to change the landscape of their company forever. Meanwhile, in the same decade, Paul Heyman ushered in Extreme Championship Wrestling to change the very dynamic of the sport. Before the emergence of ECW, athleticism was the focal point of a wrestling contest but as heads were busted open and people came crashing down tables, pro wrestling fans demanded more and more, and consequently, the industry changed and the bigger promotions of that time, WWE and WCW, began to incorporate hardcore wrestling into their own programming as wrestling had evolved.
WWE and WCW were the two leading the pro-wrestling industry while ECW trailed behind the two behemoths of entertainment. Despite that, the aforementioned companies copied a number of elements from the land of the extreme, as well brought over several ECW stars, and many of them would prosper into some of the greatest wrestlers of all time. As Heyman hissed out in his legendary shoot against Vince McMahon, Stone Cold drank his first beer in ECW. So when ECW finally landed a cable slot on TNN, it seemed like a slam dunk. But how did it go wrong?
A Rocky Start
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 problem, Heyman did not have the finances to take his company to the next level. The WWE and WCW aired on national television with millions of viewers but ECW shows were televised only through syndication and the future looked bleak.
Eventually, Paul Heyman struck a deal with The Nashville Network owned by Viacom. TNN was looking to partake in the wrestling boom by airing original content on their network in hopes of competing with USA and TBS and so ECW finally had a home on national television. Heyman was finally able to pay off his debts and compensate his stars, easing the disgruntled atmosphere of the company as prior to the deal; the wrestlers were due several months’ worth of salary.
The partnership seemed beneficial for both sides but the executives at TNN and Paul Heyman clashed from the get-go. The issues were twofold, money was a big talking point but the other issue was the vision that each side had in mind. Paul Heyman wanted to continue what had made his company popular, namely a lot of violence and brutality.
The big-wigs of the network wanted Heyman to tone down the violence on the show and even had issues with the theme music of the show, deeming it as "demonic". Moreover, TNN was promised that ECW would consistently manage a 2.0 rating but the premiere episode could only manage a 0.9 and while ECW was the highest-rated show on the network, the executives did not view it as a must-have commodity.
ECW's Relationship With TNN Had A Bad End
Heyman was not happy about the lack of promotion for ECW on the network, as well as the meager investment in comparison to the other shows on the network. Thereafter, as these issues continued to fester, Heyman repackaged future flunky for Kenny Omega Don Callis as Cyrus the Virus who was, in kayfabe, an employee of the network. Naturally, Cyrus was a heel, pushing all the wrong buttons in order to paint the TNN network as the villains to the fans watching the show.
The final nail in the coffin came in 2000 when TNN acquired the rights to air Monday Night RAW for 100 million dollars.
Paul Heyman saw the end to the already-sinking partnership and figured he had nothing to lose. Therefore, he grabbed a microphone on live television and went on a verbal rampage, expressing resentment and hatred for the TNN and even went as far as to dare the network to throw him off the air. In the end, Heyman said his goodbyes and promised that he would continue the war through a legal lawsuit.
That was the end of the ECW-TNN partnership and just 13 months into the deal, ECW was canceled and soon after, the company was sold to Vince McMahon who botched the acquired asset in his own way later down the road.
Money is always a talking point in a partnership gone wrong but beyond that, the irreconcilable ideologies of Paul Heyman and TNN in regards to ECW could never co-exist and therefore, ECW on TNN was a short-lived failure.
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