WWE’s version of the ECW brand was viewed as a huge failure, but the wrestlers at the top of the title picture tried their best to make an impact. ECW was its own show that essentially served as a branch between developmental and the main roster. Young rising talents could join the show looking to make a name for their careers. Veterans and established stars in need of a reboot would also get their chance on the program.
We will look at the best and worst of the ECW Champions during WWE’s run with the title. Every wrestler on the show hoped to have a strong world title reign that could move them to Raw or Smackdown with a bigger push. Find out just what caused the championship runs to be remembered positively or negatively. These are the five best and five worst ECW Champions in WWE’s history.
10 Best: Matt Hardy
The run of Matt Hardy in ECW allowed him to finally gain some experience in a main event situation. WWE moved Matt to the ECW brand to get his first opportunity as a world champion. Matt defeated Mark Henry to win the ECW Championship and have a noteworthy reign.
The title reign lasted about four months helping gain more credibility for Hardy as a main eventer. Matt eventually lost the title to Jack Swagger and moved to Smackdown for a feud with his brother Jeff. The ECW Championship reign helped him find a bigger profile.
9 Worst: Ezekiel Jackson
WWE tried to make Ezekiel Jackson a bigger star for the future of the company. The physique and persona of Jackson made him an interesting prospect that WWE was behind. Jackson defeated Christian on the final episode of ECW to have the honor of being the last ECW Champion.
The hope was that Jackson retiring the title would give him momentum to become a bigger star on Smackdown. Jackson struggled on the bigger show and failed to make an impact. The ECW Championship reign itself barely existed as he retired the title as an underwhelming final champ.
8 Best: Rob Van Dam
The first ECW Champion under the WWE banner was Rob Van Dam following his WWE Championship win over John Cena. Paul Heyman awarded Van Dam the ECW Title with the role as the face of the brand in its early stages.
RVD had fun matches with John Cena and Edge during this time. Unfortunately, his run ended early due to the controversial moment of getting pulled over with possession of marijuana. The title reign ended faster than expected, but Van Dam still made a rare positive impact.
7 Worst: Vince McMahon
WWE tried to improve the viewership for ECW by having Vince McMahon appear. McMahon blamed Bobby Lashley for the loss of his hair as part of the stipulation for Lashley defeating Umaga at WrestleMania 23.
The first ECW Championship run of Lashley ended at the hands of McMahon following outside interference. Lashley eventually on it back, but the negative impact of Vince’s title reign hurt the show and the brand itself. McMahon winning the title was the final straw in many fans giving up on the show.
6 Best: John Morrison
The character change from Johnny Nitro to John Morrison saw him achieve more success on the ECW brand. Morrison replaced Chris Benoit in a match for the vacated ECW Championship against CM Punk. The new push allowed Morrison to win his first world title.
Morrison played a huge role in the remaining audience giving ECW a chance. The title reign saw Morrison and Punk have quite a few great matches. Many fans still view it as the best feud from the entire run of ECW in WWE.
5 Worst: Kane
WWE tried moving over a few established top names like Kane for a bigger opportunity on the ECW brand. Kane won a battle royal at WrestleMania 24 to earn a title match against Chavo Guerrero. The match would see Kane win the title in a record-setting 11 seconds.
Kane’s title reign left a lot to be desired with lackluster matches against the likes of Chavo and Mark Henry. The ECW Championship run of Kane didn’t make him any bigger of a star. In fact, it came off even more disappointing with Kane losing momentum during his time on the forgotten brand.
4 Best: CM Punk
The outstanding ECW run for CM Punk helped him break out in the WWE landscape. Punk was one of the first noteworthy call-ups from developmental that had huge potential. Fans gravitated towards Punk right away due to his impressive matches and entertaining promos.
Punk won the ECW Championship from John Morrison after a long series of matches. The win for Punk helped him stand out before getting moved to the bigger shows. Punk lost the title to Chavo Guerrero ahead of WrestleMania 24 since he was planned to win the Money in the Bank ladder match.
3 Worst: Bobby Lashley
The hope for Bobby Lashley was essentially to play out the same way things did for CM Punk. Lashley was moved from Smackdown to ECW shortly in his WWE career due to the bigger opportunities for a rising young talent.
The huge win of Lashley ended Big Show’s ECW Championship reign to make him the new face of the brand. Lashley didn’t create much interest in ECW and delivered disappointing matches during the stint. Fans viewed Lashley as less beloved due to the two ECW Championship reigns.
2 Best: Christian
The return of Christian from his TNA run surprised the WWE audience when he appeared on ECW. Christian was placed on the smaller brand to add some excitement and get introduced back to the WWE environment with more in-ring freedom.
The time in ECW saw Christian win the ECW Championship from Jack Swagger to become the face of the show. Christian had a total of two ECW Championship reigns with outstanding matches. Even the fans that didn’t care about ECW would occasionally tune in to see Christian’s defenses.
1 Worst: Chavo Guerrero
Chavo Guerrero was the worst of the WWE choices for the ECW Champion. The win for Guerrero over CM Punk essentially doomed the brand for good as someone in the lower card of the main roster was now the biggest star for ECW.
Fans were underwhelmed from the few matches to come from Chavo’s time on top of the show. The title reign even ended in embarrassing fashion when Guerrero lost the belt to Kane in 11 seconds. Chavo never came off like a main eventer in the slightest and that made his reign a disaster.