Bruce Prichard on the ECW Invasion of WWE Not Being as Good as He Wanted

– On the latest edition of Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard discussed the ECW Invasion of WWE in 1997 and how it helped ECW more than WWE. Prichard stated on the invasion (vi aWrestlingInc.com), “Well I think it could’ve been a lot better than it was.”

The goal of the program was to start a feud between the promotions, but it never really got off the ground. Prichard and ECW’s Paul Heyman came up with the idea. Prichard continued, “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 on the attempt, “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. It wasn’t good for us, because it was a pain in the ass to deal with.”

Due to the obstacles, Vince McMahon reportedly put a stop to the angle before it really got started. The ECW brand was later purchased by WWE in early 2001.