With all due respect to ECW and everything they did to make the wrestling business more fun, they really had no part being involved in the Invasion angle. ECW wasn't the company that threatened the future of WWE by going head to head with them on Monday nights. That was WCW. The story would have been just fine if it was WWE vs. WCW without the inclusion of all the ECW talent. Part of the reason they included ECW in things was because the WCW roster that they brought in wasn't that deep. That's because WWE didn't bring in all the big names from WCW (more on that later), but adding ECW names to the mix was a bad move. Fans didn't see the Dudley Boys or Tazz as ECW performers. To WWE fans, they were WWE guys because they had been on WWE shows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2hKTuU5hMA It's not like every WWE fan even watched ECW. They might have heard of the ECW guys, but to put that company on the same level as WWE or WCW was a mistake. The ECW on TNN was the only time ECW was on a national stage and it didn't garner a huge audience. The casual fan didn't relate to the ECW performers. The reason this isn't higher up on the list is because ECW's inclusion meant the great Paul Heyman was used as an on screen performer. He was great as an announcer for most of 2001, but he also brought credibility to the angle because he was the head of ECW. He's also one of the best talkers ever. Any time you can add somebody like that it can be considered a good thing.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
