ECW (WWE brand) in the context of "ECW World Heavyweight Championship"

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⭐ Core Definition: ECW (WWE brand)

ECW (often pejoratively nicknamed WWECW to distinguish from its original 90s predecessor) was a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that was established in May 2006 and discontinued in February 2010. Wrestlers that were assigned to ECW primarily appeared on the brand's weekly television program, ECW. The brand was established as a relaunch of the former Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, the assets of which WWE acquired in 2003.

The brand operated during the second half of WWE's first brand extension period (2002–2011), and was one of WWE's three main brands, along with Raw and SmackDown. In addition to the brand's television program, ECW wrestlers competed on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view events. From 2007 to 2009, ECW wrestlers also occasionally appeared on the Raw and SmackDown television programs due to talent exchange agreements between the brands. The brand was dissolved in February 2010, and its show was replaced by the reality series NXT, which was rebranded as WWE's developmental territory, NXT, in 2012.

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👉 ECW (WWE brand) in the context of ECW World Heavyweight Championship

The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW promotion, spun off from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. It was established under ECW in 1994 but was originally introduced in 1992 by the promotion's precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestling, a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka in 1992; however, WWE considers the inaugural world heavyweight champion to be Shane Douglas, with his reign beginning on August 27, 1994, when Eastern Championship Wrestling split from the NWA to become Extreme Championship Wrestling.

The title was deactivated in 2001 when ECW ceased all of its operations. The assets of ECW were then purchased by WWE in 2003. In 2006, WWE reactivated the championship as the world title of their newly established ECW brand. It was the third concurrently active world championship in the promotion, complementing the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship of the other two brands, Raw and SmackDown. The ECW Championship then briefly appeared as the sole world title of the Raw brand in 2008 as a result of that year's draft. When WWE disbanded the ECW brand in 2010, the championship was subsequently retired following the final episode of ECW with Ezekiel Jackson as the final titleholder, who consequently had the shortest reign at 2 minutes, 25 seconds as he won it during the episode.

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ECW (WWE brand) in the context of Royal Rumble (2009)

The 2009 Royal Rumble was the 22nd annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions. The event took place on January 25, 2009, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2009 event, the winner received their choice to challenge for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship, SmackDown's WWE Championship, or the ECW Championship at WrestleMania 25.

Five professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main event was the 2009 Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from all three brands. Raw's Randy Orton, the eighth entrant, won the match by last eliminating SmackDown's Triple H, the seventh entrant. The primary match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Cena won to retain the title. The primary match on the SmackDown brand was a No Disqualification match between Jeff Hardy and Edge for the WWE Championship, which Edge won to win his fourth and last WWE Championship. The predominant match on the ECW brand was between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship, which Swagger won to retain. This event also marked the first appearance of Rob Van Dam in WWE since One Night Stand in June 2007.

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ECW (WWE brand) in the context of WrestleMania 25

WrestleMania 25, also promoted as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, was a 2009 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 25th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 5, 2009, at NRG Stadium (previously known as Reliant Stadium) in Houston, Texas, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brand divisions. This was the second WrestleMania held in Houston, after WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome. This would also be the last WrestleMania to feature the ECW brand, as it was dissolved in February 2010, and it was the first WrestleMania of the PG Era.

Eight matches were held on the event's card, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The final match of the night, which was the main match of the Raw brand, was a singles match in which Triple H defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship. The main match of the SmackDown brand was a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which saw John Cena defeat defending champion Edge and Big Show to win the championship. The main match of the ECW brand saw WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) from SmackDown defeat the World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz from ECW in a lumberjack match to unify the two championships; the match took place on the event's pre-show. Another marquee match saw The Undertaker defeat Shawn Michaels to extend his undefeated WrestleMania streak to 17–0. Featured matches on the undercard included Matt Hardy defeating Jeff Hardy in an Extreme Rules match, Chris Jericho defeated the team of Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka, and the annual Money in the Bank ladder match which was won by CM Punk over Christian, Finlay, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter and Shelton Benjamin.

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ECW (WWE brand) in the context of Raw (WWE brand)

Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to Raw primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Monday Night Raw, which began in 1993, also referred to simply as Raw. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with SmackDown, which was made in 2002 after absorbing the WCW. They are collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.

In addition to Raw's main television program, less-utilized wrestlers also appear on the brand's supplementary show, Main Event. Raw's wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events and the quarterly Saturday Night's Main Event special. During the first brand split (2002–2011), Raw wrestlers also competed on the former supplementary show, Heat, and on ECW under a talent exchange program with the former ECW brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand Worlds Collide, Mixed Match Challenge, and annual Tribute to the Troops events. Additionally during the second split, Raw's cruiserweight wrestlers competed on 205 Live when WWE's revived cruiserweight division was exclusive to Raw from 2016 to 2018 before 205 Live became its own brand.

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ECW (WWE brand) in the context of SmackDown (WWE brand)

SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown, also referred to simply as SmackDown. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.

In addition to the television program, SmackDown wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events as well as the quarterly Saturday Night's Main Event special. During the first brand split (2002–2011), SmackDown wrestlers also competed on an exclusive supplementary show, Velocity, and on ECW under a talent exchange program with the former ECW brand, while during the second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand Mixed Match Challenge, Worlds Collide, and annual Tribute to the Troops events.

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ECW (WWE brand) in the context of One Night Stand (2007)

The 2007 One Night Stand (marketed as One Night Stand: Extreme Rules) was the third annual One Night Stand professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event took place on June 3, 2007, at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. While the previous two years' events were held primarily as reunion shows for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) alumni, the 2007 event was promoted as a WWE event with wrestlers from all three brands participating as following WrestleMania 23, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued.

The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus The Great Khali in a Pinfalls Count Anywhere match for the WWE Championship. Cena won the match and retained the WWE Championship after pinning Khali following an FU off a crane onto the arena floor. The featured match on the SmackDown! brand was Edge versus Batista in a Steel Cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Edge won after escaping the cage.

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