Message To TNA: ECW Is Dead and Long Gone

TNA has been taking a lot from WWE over the past few years—namely, its washed-up talent—but there's one lesson the second-class pro wrestling organization needs to take from WWE.

ECW is dead. It has been for nearly a decade. Any angle attempting to tap into ECW's appeal and fan base simply won't work.

As a massive original ECW mark, I wish I didn't have to write those words. The truth isn't always pretty, however, and the truth is, ECW will only live on through home videos, Internet clips, and interviews with the men and women who made the promotion what it was.

The first problem? Broadcast limitations.

While Paul Heyman managed to wrangle a cable TV deal in the twilight of ECW's years, they were handcuffed by cable television limitations—that is, no racy angles, little blood, and even less harsh language.

Restrictions may have loosened since then, but limitations still remain. While TNA is pushing the envelope much more than WWE nowadays, there will be no angles involving the brainwashing of a rival superstar's children, no flaming tables, and no scaffold matches emanating from the Impact Zone any time soon.

The very thing that made ECW popular—the hardcore, violent nature of the wrestlers and storylines—is something broadcast television execs don't overtly encourage.

There's an equally present problem TNA has had with all its storylines: The age of the wrestlers.

Any superstar who might be involved in an ECW angle of any sort isn't short in the tooth. The youngest of any may be 38-year-old Stevie Richards, but guys like Raven (45) and potentially, The Sandman (47) probably won't be jumping off ladders or getting cracked over the head with a Singapore cane anymore.

While the appeal for an ECW revival is there, the storyline would never thrive. The rules employed in the original promotion aren't cable-friendly, and the original stars that made ECW so special are well past their wrestling primes.

Expect a sad end to the latest attempt to revive ECW. If the company thinks 50-something year old wrestlers can carry a company to competition with WWE, what's stopping them from going ahead with this angle?