Why Vince McMahon Made Himself ECW Champion Revealed

Even though the original ECW came to an end in 2001 the brand is still remembered fondly by fans who watched ECW during its heyday. In 2006, Vince McMahon decided to bring ECW back as a new third brand for WWE, but it was a far cry from the original Extreme Championship Wrestling.

ECW founder Todd Gordon recently spoke to Ten Count about watching Vince McMahon’s version of ECW, and he admitted that he wasn’t thrilled when he tuned in.

“I started to watch the first episode. I saw this zombie come out, and I said, ‘That’s it. I’m done. We’re back to cartoons.’ The first freakin’ match, are you kidding me? That’s exactly the anti-ECW.”

Vince McMahon has certainly made some controversial decisions throughout his career, and in 2007 he decided to make himself ECW World Champion when he defeated Bobby Lashley at Backlash. According to Todd Gordon, Vince made himself champion because he hated it when fans chanted “ECW” at WWE events.

“He hated, and I know that for a fact, and loathed the fact that people would yell ‘ECW, ECW’ during his live shows, and it came across on TV over and over again. So he put the belt on himself, called himself the ECW Champion, and tried to get as many people as possible to turn off the product.”

H/T Wrestling Inc.