10 Times WWE Got Buyer's Remorse
5. ECW
Everything truly great about ECW's brief mid-2000s revival happened before Vince McMahon took total control of a product that was, admittedly, his to do with as he pleased.
The Chairman had allowed Paul Heyman near-total autonomy in crafting the magnificent throwback One Night Stand pay-per-view in 2005, but had a number of differing methods of making the Extreme brand a viable third television venture when the opportunity was presented a year later.
It was as though everything he'd theoretically invested in became old news before the weekly show had even launched. At 2006's Hammerstein Ballroom relaunch, Paul Heyman was instructed to utter the very WWE "Tribe Of Extreme" and "New Breed Unleashed" catchphrases ahead of a card that featured The Big Show, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, John Cena and Edge all in prominent roles.
His enthusiasm was as false as the dawn. The hand of the author could be felt, but Heyman didn't have the pencil.
Stubbornly forcing through his vision until the letters literally no longer stood for anything by the end of ECW's run years later, McMahon eventually chased away the former Philly gaffer and put the brand's title on himself, as if to kill it and force through its aggressive reimagining.