Much like the WWE Attitude Era, the era of ECW is something fans love to talk about but often through rose-colored glasses. Yes, its fans at the time loved it over almost anything else, but when looking back, there was a lot that happened that wasn't as great as many people might remember. Some things might embarrass some people for cheering so loudly in the past.

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However, at the same time, ECW was something special. It holds its place in time as one of the most inventive and exciting professional wrestling promotions of all-time. While it is a product of its time, ECW had something that keeps it an iconic time in wrestling history. Here are five reasons ECW has aged well when looking back on it and five reasons it hasn't.

10 AGED WELL: CROWD INTERACTION

When looking at the fans in the audience at wrestling shows, it is clear they can make or break a show. The fans at WWE main roster events will often try to put themselves over with chants at inappropriate moments, mostly because they are bored with the show. However, look at NXT or AEW to find fans who make those shows exciting.

That comes from ECW. It was one of the first times that fans would openly chant the company's name because they loved what was happening so much. They loved everything, from the bWo and Tommy Dreamer to anytime Paul E. Dangerously stepped into the ring. ECW fans were part of the show, and that made it that much better.

9 AGED POORLY: R-RATED ENTERTAINMENT

There are a lot of fans who hate the PG-era of WWE television. However, what they want was the PG-13 actions of the Attitude Era. The one thing that WWE never did was go straight R-rated, although it pushed the boundaries many times and might have slipped over a few before pulling itself back.

However, ECW was pure, unembarrassed R-rated entertainment. Maybe there is a place for that in some areas of today's society, but not for a nationally broadcast wrestling show. The violence to women, the excess violence for the sake of violence, the almost X-rated sexual innuendo — that has not aged well.

8 AGED WELL: HIGHLIGHTED CRUISERWEIGHTS

Before WCW made the cruiserweights some of the most exciting wrestling action in the world, ECW did it first. Rey Mysterio came to America and worked for ECW before WCW paid him more to leave. There were Luchadores from Mexico showing up in ECW all the time, from Super Crazy to Psychosis.

Guys like Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero were in ECW before WCW paid them enough to jump ship. What is interesting is that, even after WCW stole everyone, ECW still did it better.

7 AGED POORLY: SKILL-FREE MATCHES

There was an excess of violence in ECW, and that led to way too many anything goes hardcore matches. Sometimes it worked, such as when Cactus Jack worked there and showed how hardcore wrestling could be an art. However, Paul Heyman knew how to use untalented wrestlers and make them look good.

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Sandman just used his kendo stick over and over. New Jack and the Gangstas straight-up tried to massacre people. Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten smashed everyone with chairs. Barbed wire, steel stop signs, kendo sticks, baseball bats, and flaming tables were common and used so much they lost their ability to draw a response over time.

6 AGED WELL: A TRUE ALTERNATIVE

The reason that fans loved ECW so much is the fact that they hated what was going on everywhere else in professional wrestling. WWE was presenting ridiculous cartoon characters as professional wrestling, from trashmen and dentists to scary clowns. WCW was spending lots of money and putting out a boring product.

ECW came along and gave fans hardcore wrestling. It gave fans some of the best promos in the business, with men and women saying what they really felt. It had wrestlers actually care about what the fans thought. It was the alternative that forced WCW to up their game with the nWo and WWE to start the Attitude Era just to survive.

5 AGED POORLY: THE WAY THEY TREATED WOMEN

If there is one thing that is almost embarrassing to watch now, it is the treatment of women in ECW. Francine was walking around in a truly revealing costume while the audience was encouraged to shout truly awful things at her. Kimona even did a striptease as part of her act.

Tommy Dreamer piledrove a woman. Other women took kendo shots and even more took beatings harsher than that. Fans were utterly out of control when it came to insulting the women, and ECW pushed them to yell more. Even WWE ECW used a stripper act when Kelly Kelly showed up on television.

4 AGED WELL: GREAT TECHNICAL WRESTLERS

While ECW was known for some of the most violent matches in wrestling history, they also had the cruiserweights that excited fans, and then they had some of the best technical wrestlers on the planet. Honestly, ECW had something for every wrestling fan on almost every show.

Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero fought in ECW before making their way to WCW. The matches involving Rob Van Dam, Lance Storm, and Jerry Lynn were some of the most technically sound matches in wrestling at that time. ECW knew what wrestling was supposed to look like and could do it better than anyone when it put its mind to it.

3 AGED POORLY: CRASH TELEVISION

When watching professional wrestling, whether it is WWE, NXT, AEW, Ring of Honor, or New Japan, there is a structure to it. There are matches spread out on the show with some promos breaking things up. It gives the show a chance to flow well and tell a story for one night.

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ECW television, more often than not, did not do that. There were promos here and there, but mostly, the show started with a match or a promo. One thing would lead to another. An angle would lead to another moment and not stop until the show ended. By the end, fans could be forgiven for forgetting what happened, and it was often exhausting to watch.

2 AGED WELL: JOEY STYLES

These days, there is a lot of talk about the announcers of wrestling shows. That is because fans got used to a duo that connected and could play off each other. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were perfectly matched, as were Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. However, ECW only needed one man.

In a scripted work-shoot promo in WWE, Joey Styles insulted Jerry Lawler and other WWE announcers when he said that he could handle an ECW PPV all by himself, and he is 100% right. Joey Styles was the Voice of ECW, he was perfect in his role, and there will never be anyone else like him.

1 AGED POORLY: THEY TRIED TOO HARD

Honestly, the biggest problem with ECW is that they tried too hard. Paul Heyman wanted too much and shot for the moon, falling way short. He knew that fans wanted something different, so he gave them matches where a wrestler would get slammed through a flaming table.

He would push out women so fans could insult them. He would throw everything at the wall and hope that something stuck. When it did, ECW was the best of all-time. When it didn't, Kurt Angle would walk out on contract negotiations due to Raven hanging someone on a cross. ECW was hardcore, but many times it was too much.

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