ECW Revived on NXT?
Last night, instead of NXT premiering on your typical Tuesday Night, NXT premiered on Wednesday, showcasing in the 2300 Arena, the same building where the legendary tapings of ECW were held. They certainly did not disappoint at all during this two-hour show. We saw the likes of many ECW/WWE alumni and legends, which added to the loud, insane pops coming from the crowd. This regular old NXT show will be remembered for the faces that appeared and what the future could hold for many of our NXT Superstars and ECW/WWE legends. While the future remains uncertain with some of these wrestling superstars, one of the biggest questions that popped into my mind, at least when watching the show, was:z will the WWE eventually revive the ECW brand?
The first match of the evening was the first-ever women’s hardcore match between Lola Vice and Jaida Parker. Both of these women did not disappoint and showcased their craft, whether that’s Vice stuffing Parker inside a garbage can and then using her powerful fists to throw off her opponent or Parker smashing her rival in between the two parts of a ladder. These women tore the roof off the arena, and with Dawn Marie as the special guest referee, it really felt like the mid to late 90s on an episode of ECW. Parker ultimately won the match after smashing a brick over Vice and then brutalizing her with a nasty hip attack.
After the first match, Wes Lee would go out of his way to ambush WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam. The ECW alumni was supposed to play a role in Lee’s match with Je’Von Evans. While it seemed like Van Damn went to the hospital, by the time the end of the match was coming around, he came back to support and give guidance to Evans, who then picked up a win with his bouncy move set. Evans even paid homage to Van Dam by performing a Frog Splash. Dawn Marie and Van Dam wouldn’t be the only ECW alumni we saw, as when general manager Ava was giving an announcement about NXT’s next premium live event Deadline in December, Mr. Stevens was hit by a gore by Rhyno.
NXT Champion Trick Williams and one-half of The Dudley Boyz; Bubba Ray Dudley paired up against former NXT Champion Ethan Page and Ridge Holland. The arena was shocked when Holland pinned up Williams with a roll-up to gain the pinfall victory. While it was shocking to see Trick lose, the aftermath of this match made it all the more suspenseful. Bubba Ray and Trick performed the classic Dudley Boyz “WASSUP.” Then, Bubba Ray asked the NXT Champion to “get the tables.” However, Williams could not find a table. The crowd would immediately pop off for The Dudley Boyz music when Bubba’s half-brother, D-Von Dudley, came out to the ring with a table. There, they put both Page and Holland through a table.
Nunzio, a member of the FBI or Full-Blooded Italians, had some beef with family member, the Don of NXT Tony D’Angelo. The ECW alumni challenge D’Angelo for his NXT North American Championship. Nunzio was quickly dispersed of after the Don hit Nunzio with a choke slam. Both would shake hands and hug in the ring. While our last match of the night did not feature anyone from ECW, it was still a phenomenal 10-women tag team match, which saw Zaria get the pin on Roxanne Perez. This was the second time Perez has been pinned all year; the first was just a little less than two weeks ago at Halloween Havoc when the NXT Women’s Champion was pinned by Stephanie Vaquer. Giulia has still not pinned Perez even after debuting before Vaquer, or Zaria.
That event went to show not only the WWE Universe but also the higher-ups at WWE that ECW is still running thick within people’s blood. There are a ton of wrestling fans who want to see that type of hardcore action take place again. While we get little pieces of hardcore matches here and there, ECW always brought on the extreme in wrestling fanatics. If this WWE roster grows significantly, they should seriously consider adding a fourth brand, such as ECW.
