Another horrific booking decision was the idea of making the very first match of ECW's rabidly-awaited premiere a bout between Sandman and The Zombie. Admittedly, Sandman does fit the bill of an old original favourite guaranteed to excite a partisan crowd. However, he should definitely have faced an actual established wrestler - even one from Raw or Smackdown - rather than an indie guy dressed in rags and facepaint. The match was utterly pointless too, as Sandman defeated his opponent within seconds. Again, this is supposedly an example of Syfy stamping their authority on the content of the show. Rumour has it that The Zombie was actually a second-choice gimmick. The Sandman was originally supposed to beat up a martian, but Syfy nixed the idea, not liking the idea of a professional wrestler beating up an alien - a staple of much of their programming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UaY4idyLww
