WWE Making Major Changes To The ECW Brand Soon?

Rumors are flying around currently about WWE possibly putting the final burial on their third tier show ECW. I'm not sure if this will happen as everything is just on the rumor mill right now, and there's no confirmation nor denial about it, so at this time I'll write this article based on the rumor.

Everyone knows Vince McMahon is concentrating on his efforts on Raw, and Smackdown. We see this at the Pay-per-views. ECW might be involved in one out of every four, and mostly it's a dismal showing, with no hype behind the storylines like you'd see for a Cena/Orton feud.

The article from PWInsider regarding ECW's future goes as follows:

"It's being reported that WWE may be implementing some major changes to the ECW brand. More specifically, ECW may be done away with altogether.

WWE officials have had discussions with Syfy concerning the future of the third-tier brand. While WWE will keep its 10:00 p.m. time slot on Syfy, they are planning on re-branding ECW or introducing an all-new television show akin to WWE Superstars on WGN America."

ECW was a good starting point for those newer wrestlers that get signed to get their feet wet in front of a bigger audience, plus also gives Vince a chance to see who's going to make him money if he moves them to another brand.

We've seen newer stars such as Kofi, Shaemus, The Miz, JoMo, Swagger, and a few more all build momentum and get moved up to play with the big boys. We've also seen wrestlers re-build their careers (Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Kane, and more) and get bumped back into the big leagues.

Truthfully, I don't know if I would be saddened by ECW going, as it will give more of a roster to both Raw and Smackdown, the only unfortunate thing would be some of the roster the creative team couldn't use would probably be given their pink slips. With Smackdown hurting for faces at this time, and the lack of a tag team division for both brands, it would be a well needed shot, plus the possible Edge/Christian reunion a lot of people would like to see.

Where I live in Canada, ECW is on at a god-awful time, on a minor network, and if the show happens to run long, it gets cut for whatever show is slated at the top of the hour. I've heard stories about Shaemus, but never have I seen him until his Raw appearance, and even then I was like, "Who? Oh yeah the guy from ECW".

Maybe if they do a whole new show, it could just be of the newer wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves, and as they climb the ranks and gain momentum, they square off against a main event wrestler from one of the other shows to see if they're ready to play in the big time.

As I've said previously, it's all just rumor from the scuttle-butt now, the next few weeks and months we'll know what's going on regarding this possible demise of the third tier brand.

I'm curious, as always, of hearing any thoughts regarding this possibility, and any extra info you can supply that I may have missed out on.

Cheers