Bruce Prichard On How Initial ECW Invasion Of WWE Could Have Been Better

On February 24, 1997, ECW invaded WWE for the very first time in a cross-promotional attempt by Vince McMahon to boost ratings as his company struggled to compete with WCW. However, it was not without setbacks during the very early stages of the process. Longtime producer and booker Bruce Prichard recalled the angle recently on "Something to Wrestle," believing it was a boon for ECW but not so much WWE.

"Well I think it could've been a lot better than it was," Prichard said.

Prichard and ECW's Paul Heyman were said to be responsible for the idea, with the goal being to utilize the likes of Rob Van Dam and other ECW talent to begin something of a feud between promotions. Unfortunately, it never really could get off the ground.

"Having Van Dam come in the first time and Paul [Heyman] there, there was a lot of jockeying and people not wanting to do business," he added. These obstacles were apparent from the get-go and ultimately, McMahon didn't think these difficulties were worth the struggle every single week. Therefore, WWE put an end to things before they really got started. In 2001, following the collapse of ECW, they'd resurface in WWE once more as part of another invasion angle. McMahon relaunched the brand as part of his own promotion in 2006, but Prichard still thinks about what could've been.

"So while I think it could've been good, I think it was good for Van Dam and I think it was good for ECW," he admitted. "It wasn't good for us, because it was a pain in the ass to deal with."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Something to Wrestle" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.