In the mid-2000s, WWE saw a massive amount of interest in the defunct competitor Extreme Championship Wrestling — which WWE purchased in 2001 — and not only put on two reunion shows called One Night Stand, but also put on a full-on revival of the company as a third brand alongside Raw and SmackDown. Despite the hype, the execution was highly criticized thanks to WWE sensibilities not matching up with that of OG ECW devotees.

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In the years since, there’s been much talk of a handful of mistakes WWE made with ECW, like the disastrous December to Dismember pay-per-view in 2006 or the criminally misunderstood Zombie character. As a result, there are loads of things that have flown under the radar with the ECW revival -- both good and bad.

10 Paul Heyman’s Heel Turn

Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam in WWE's ECW

WWE loves an evil authority figure, even if it doesn’t make sense. As a result, Paul Heyman — basically a folk hero to ECW faithful, especially as nostalgia began to sit in — ended up turning heel with the fourth episode of ECW on Sci Fi, betraying Rob Van Dam and helping The Big Show become ECW Champion. There could have been a good story to it, like Heyman being so desperate to make sure the new ECW worked that he betrayed those most loyal to him, but no such reasoning was made clear in the angle. What’s worse is that it ended up not going anywhere due to WWE firing Heyman in the aftermath of December to Dismember.

9 CM Punk’s Debut

CM Punk's ECW debut against Justin Credible

The cool thing about the ECW revival is that it functioned as a proto-NXT by introducing fans to young wrestlers straight out of developmental. The eighth episode of ECW on Sci Fi brought the debut of future WWE Champion, pro wrestling iconoclast, and current AEW star CM Punk, squashing ECW veteran Justin Credible in a short but lively match. It was the ideal debut for Punk — not only was it in ECW’s old stomping ground of New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, but the vocal crowd knew Punk’s reputation from the indies, so he already felt like a star.

8 The Disastrous Hammerstein Ballroom Show

Big Show vs. Batista in WWE's ECW

Speaking of which, that Hammerstein Ballroom episode was otherwise an objective trainwreck. The rabid crowd had the same energy as the classic One Night Stand PPVs, but were otherwise being presented with something that was anathema to them. Not only was WWE (the enemy) offering them a substandard product, but a substandard imitation of their product.

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The nadir of this experience was the main event of the episode, which had WWE Superstar Batista challenging WWE Superstar Big Show for the ECW Championship. The crowd was united in their hatred for this match, chanting “change the channel” as well as some unprintable swears.

7 Sandman Meets Big Dick Johnson

Big Dick Johnson in WWE

For the most part, The Sandman’s time in the ECW revival can be boiled down to doing his incredibly long entrance, drinking beer, and flogging unwanted characters like the Zombie with his signature kendo stick. One time, he found himself sharing the ring with Big Dick Johnson, WWE writer and future Lucha Underground writer Chris DeJoseph portraying an overweight male stripper who randomly appeared to make everyone uncomfortable. His encounter with Sandman was sexually explicit yet strangely not couched in gay panic humor, as the wrestler seemed to be enthusiastic about the encounter — that is, until he spilled Sandman’s beer.

6 Chris Benoit’s Last Match

Chris Benoit wrestles his final match ever, against Elijah Burke in WWE's ECW

The Chris Benoit murder-suicide incident was one of the most shocking, dark times in the history of pro wrestling, one that shocked the industry and made headlines in the mainstream. Given everything that happened, it’s easy to forget that he was slated to be an anchor in ECW, where he took part in a tournament for the vacant championship. He’d wrestle his last match ever in the tournament, defeating Elijah Burke in the semifinals, but the final match — against CM Punk — was slated to happen on what would become the day of the incident.

5 Kurt Angle Was Part Of It

Kurt Angle in WWE's ECW

Perhaps even more forgotten than Benoit’s role in ECW was Kurt Angle’s, another mainstream WWE star who was set to anchor the new endeavor. He showed up at One Night Stand 2006, taking on Randy Orton, and stuck around through the first few months of the revival, putting on some strong matches against Rob Van Dam and Sabu. However, by August 2006, he would suddenly depart WWE for health reasons, and jump ship to the competition, Impact Wrestling, a couple months later

4 John Morrison Gets Squashed

ECW Champion John Morrison

The death of Benoit resulted in Johnny Nitro subbing in to defeat CM Punk in the finals of the ECW Championship tournament and eventually rebrand himself into a name more familiar to modern fans: John Morrison. Days after that win, however, he would go up against John Cena in a non-title match on ECW on Sci Fi.

RELATED: 10 Moments That Killed WWE's ECW

Cena’s presence on ECW certainly drew more eyes to the product, but it came at the expense of the ECW Champion himself, as Johnny Nitro was taking on John Cena in 2006, so there was no hope of victory against the face of WWE.

3 Colin Delaney’s Storyline

Colin Delaney in WWE's ECW

Indie workhorse Colin Delaney found himself working for ECW in late 2007, where he started off as a jobber but eventually worked his way into a storyline where he was fighting for a spot on the roster. By May 2008, he defeated ECW boss Armando Estrada to win his much-desired contract, but eventually turned heel and sided with Estrada in order to keep it. This would extend the “fighting for a contract” angle several months before budget cuts led to his sudden real-life release in 2008, making the whole story feel like a bit of a waste.

2 Debuting Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder and Rosa Mendes in WWE's ECW

Zack Ryder became a rising star with grassroots support in the early 2010s thanks to generating buzz on YouTube, but before that he was a part of ECW, where he debuted in late spring 2007 as Brett Major of The Major Brothers with Curt Hawkins (then working as Brian Major). He’d eventually get moved to SmackDown and renamed Zack Ryder, but the Ryder that fans know was born on ECW. In 2009, he was moved back to the brand, where he developed his signature Long Island bro persona, complete with the signature catchphrases.

1 Christian Returns

Christian with the ECW Championship

After departing WWE for a stint at the top of Impact Wrestling, Christian Cage returned to the company in 2009, dropping his last name yet again and debuting on ECW rather than on Raw or SmackDown. Unappreciated on the main roster for pretty much his whole run, Christian proved to be a boon for his new home, where he captured the ECW Championship and was a very entertaining fighting champion, putting on a great rivalry with William Regal before losing the belt to Ezekiel Jackson on the last episode.