"ECW!, ECW!, ECW!" Fans have been chanting those three letters since 1992. Extreme Championship Wrestling was taken off television in 2001, and now it's back! The series started on June 13, 2006 as a weekly television series. ECW is a wrestling show, but not just any ordinary wrestling show, because there are no rules. Currently, the show can be seen on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States, Sky Sports 3 in the United Kingdom, FOX8 in Australia, and SKY 1 in New Zealand.
On May 26, 2006, WWE announced the shocking return of ECW. Many fans were surprised to hear that ECW was turning into a stand-alone franchise (just like WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown!). It was decided that ECW would replace WWE Velocity from the WWE. It was also decided that ECW would be shown directly after WWE SmackDown! tapings (which are shown on Friday night).
ECW was in need of superstars, so General Manager of ECW, Paul Heyman was given two draft picks (one from RAW, one from SmackDown!). Without surprise, Heyman chose Rob Van Dam from RAW. Suddenly, Heyman announced Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle as his draft pick from SmackDown!. Because Angle is a mat-wrestler, he declared that ECW would be a new beginning to his career.
On June 7, 2006, the WWE announced a TV special, WWE vs. ECW: Head to Head. In one of the big matches, the 20-Man Interpromotional Battle Royal (featuring twenty superstars from WWE, and twenty superstars from ECW), the two last men standing were WWE's Randy Orton and WWE's Big Show. It was announced that Team WWE had won the event, but then suddenly, WWE's Big Show tore his WWE shirt in half, and behind his WWE shirt, was an ECW shirt. Many fans around the world were shocked, they knew this meant Big Show was a part of the new ECW. Quickly, Big Show choke-slammed Randy Orton and viciously threw him out of the ring. Within seconds, Team ECW had won the big, Interpromotional Battle Royal.
June 11, 2006 marked another huge day for ECW. WWE and ECW would go head to head once more at ECW: One Night Stand II. Many former ECW superstars such as Tajiri, Super Crazy, and Masato Tanaka were at the event (supporting ECW). The main event featured WWE Champion John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam. John Cena was supporting WWE, and Rob Van Dam was supporting ECW. The end was brutal, as WWE superstar Edge nailed WWE Champion John Cena with a Spear through a table. Seconds later, Rob Van Dam climbed up the turnbuckle and hit WWE Champion John Cena with a Five Star Frog Splash. Rob Van Dam pinned John Cena to become the new champion. ECW is ready to go, and the way things are looking, things are about to get better for this new brand.
On Tuesday night, 29 April 2008, ECW celebrated what they claim to be their 100th Episode that aired on the SciFi channel.