Paul Heyman on 2006 ECW relaunch: ‘Abhorrent, miserable experience’
Paul Heyman believes that the WWE version of ECW that was launched in 2006 was a “miserable experience for everybody involved.”
Heyman was part of the ECW relaunch from its beginning at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view on June 11, 2006, up until he departed the company shortly after the ECW December to Dismember pay-per-view, which won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Worst Show of the Year award.
During a recent interview with VGC, Heyman spoke about the ECW re-launch and ECW being included in the WWE 2K26 video game.
Heyman said:
“I don’t think anybody that chants ECW in 2026 ever is thinking about the WWE-ized version of 2006, which was one absolutely abhorrent, miserable experience for everybody involved.”
“When people chant ECW, they chant from the period of September 1993 to January 2001.“
A new addition to the WWE 2K26 video game this year is the Hardcore Heaven 94 venue. As part of the CM Punk showcase mode in the game, players can play as Punk against Cactus Jack in the venue. Heyman said it’s an honor for it to be in the game.
“To have Hardcore Heaven 94 as part of the WWE 2K26 video game is an honor for anyone that was involved in that, and I certainly was, anybody that was there, and there are many who were, and anyone who wants a genuine authentic portrayal of ECW when it was revolutionizing, indeed, evolution-izing the entire industry.”
Heyman was also asked about The Sandman and New Jack being playable characters in the most recent WWE 2K video games. Heyman said he was asked his opinion about the two wrestlers appearing in the game and said that they both embodied the spirit of ECW.
“I was asked my opinion and most likely after the decision was already made and I concurred with their astute assessment that if we’re going to have ECW representation within this game, here are two people that truly embodied the spirit of ECW at its height because there was no greater entrance in the history of professional wrestling than the Sandman’s and there was no more authentic personality in the history of professional wrestling than the original gangsta New Jack.”
Heyman’s full interview with VGC is available below. The video is queued to his comments about WWE’s relaunch of ECW in 2006.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.