Justin Credible Thinks ECW Would Have Survived If Streaming Existed In The Early 2000s
A major factor in ECW's downfall was its TV show situation
Jun 2, 2023
Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Justin Credible believes Paul Heyman's promotion could have survived in the early 2000s - had streaming services existed back then.
Speaking about the company's downfall during a recent appearance on the Hitting The Turnbuckle podcast, Credible agreed with host Adam Cousins that ECW would have had better chances with a 2023-style model, saying:
"That's the thing that was killing ECW: Paul was trying to keep guys like myself, guys like Sabu, guys like Rob Van Dam, so [the wrestlers] were making a lot of money for a small promotion.
"We had to buy our [only] TV time after we lost our TV show with...TNN, that turned into Spike. And then it just became that we were paying out of pockets to run in these markets. Just a lot of money going out and it wasn't coming in fast enough."
ECW had to pay for its syndicated Hardcore TV show on various stations across the United States, while TNN/Spike (which hosted ECW's nationally-broadcast cable show) lost interest in the brand after negotiating to secure the rights to WWE Raw from September of 2000.
ECW folded in January of 2001, owing millions of dollars to various creditors, companies and most of its roster.
H/T Wrestling Inc.
