Even though the company went out of business years ago the ECW brand is still considered iconic among many wrestling fans. The promotion had such a rabid fanbase that WWE decided to revive ECW in 2006 with a weekly television show. However, everyone quickly noticed that the new ECW had little in common with the old ECW.
Recently Paul Heyman spoke to VGC about his history with ECW, and he held nothing back while sharing his honest thoughts on WWE’s version of Extreme Championship Wrestling.
“I don’t think anybody chanting ECW in 2026 is thinking about the WWE-ized version of 2006, which was one absolutely abhorrent, miserable experience for everybody involved. When people chant ECW, they’re talking about the period from September 1993 to January 2001.
To have Hardcore Heaven ‘94 as part of the WWE 2K26 is an honor for anyone who was involved in that—and I certainly was—anybody who was there, and there are many who were, and anyone who wants a genuine, authentic portrayal of ECW when it was revolutionizing the entire industry.”
Recently Paul Heyman has been featured in multiple roles on WWE programming as he’s been working as The Advocate for Brock Lesnar, and as The Oracle for The Vision. During this week’s episode of Raw, Heyman had Seth Rollins arrested and you can get more details on that here.