ECW Goes Out With a Whimper

Since the WWE acquired ECW, I hadn't expected much out of the brand.  What made the original ECW great was it wasn't the WWE or the WCW, it was the outsider.

They did insane stuff and turned outcasts and so-called "Never Will Bes" into household names.

This new ECW was neither Extreme (as the "E" implies) nor was it that outsider brand we all loved.  It was Smackdown Light.

With that said, I shouldn't have been disappointed with last night's finale. I should have expected it to disappoint, but something inside me said "No, the WWE will do right by ECW and give it the grand send off it deserves".

That my loyal readers is not what happened.

We got the same old WWE version of ECW we always got that had a decent but finale wise lack-luster main event.

Christian and Jackson put on a pretty good extreme rules match (pretty good by the WWE's new TV-PG standards), but not up to the quality or excitement we would have seen from the original ECW's main event or even a mid-card.

I had hoped that Christian (who dedicated the match to all of the ECW originals) would emerge victorious and a celebration with many ECW originals (making a one night return) would ensue in the ring.

I would have found this a fitting end for the brand. 

Instead Jackson won (thanks to a run-in by Regal) and the program just ended.  No pomp, no circumstance, just credits. 

It made me feel a bit sad. 

Some may say ECW died when the WWE acquired it (and I wouldn't really argue that point), but I felt that the least Vince could do was throw one big ECW party for the fans.  After all they did their part, E-C-W chants rang through the arena, especially during the Christian-Jackson match.

ECW, you will be missed.  Until next time loyal reader, head over to YouTube and remember what ECW once was and what should have been in its final episode.