Will There Be an ECW-Smackdown Merger?

This past Tuesday on ECW, there was a prior meeting between Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero and ECW General Manager, Armando Estrada. Apparently the behind closed doors meeting involved bringing Smackdown stars onto the ECW show and vice versa. It was evidenced that same night, as Kane appeared in a 3 on 2 handicap match. Kane was the chosen partner of CM Punk to face their 3 opponents, The Miz, John Morrison and Big Daddy V. Punk and Kane were victorious due to a Kane chokeslam. Later on, the new Smackdown tag team of Jesse and Festus were put into a match on the show, as they faced the ECW team of Nunzio and Elijah Burke, and made them look silly in the ring. A few weeks ago Burke was facing Punk for the ECW title at a Pay Per View and then was basically humiliated in this match. The overall point is that the two brands seem to be sharing stars and possibly combining rosters.

According to Bryan Alvarez at F4WOnline.com:

"WWE announced that they'll be streaming ECW on their website starting this week. I believe they've done something similar to this in the past but it's now official. The entire story of what's going down is in the new issue of Figure Four Weekly that was published last night for members, but long story short, there is a chance ECW will not be renewed on Sci-Fi at the end of the year and they're preparing for the future. Probably also a way to explain low ratings if stockholders ask about it."

So does this mean ECW and Smackdown are merging into one show? The move would make sense, as both brands have been in need of a boost. Raw has always been the top brand of the 3, pulling in the best ratings and usually have the most popular of stars. Even though John Cena is injured, Raw still has the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H, as well as bright superstar Mr. Kennedy and the classic heel, Randy Orton. ECW has seemed to lack the luster of stars, despite CM Punk's popularity. Usually when watching the show, you can tell who will face who, before the second wrestler is introduced for the match due to a very, very limited roster. There's usually an 8-10 man rotation for matches, whereas Raw and Smackdown have a handful of additional wrestlers to make matches from.

The move will make the WWE product stronger as it may bring the two brands together into one superb Smackdown show. It would make ECW similar to Heat, where the matches are taped for the internet prior to the live Raw show. The only title to worry about is the ECW title, which may unfortunately be left by the wayside with the merger. The Cruiserweight title may be re-introduced in the coming weeks, or may not make its return until the merger occurs. Three shows a week can be a lot to keep up with, and merging two of the weaker brands should leave WWE with 2 solid shows each week.