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On Syfy, wrestlers
not from Mars

'WWE NXT' features wannabes learning the ropes

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 23, 2010

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After four years, the often-maligned "ECW" came to a quiet close on Syfy last week, making way for a new WWE show launching tonight at 10 p.m., "WWE NXT."

"NXT" features eight rookie wrestlers being mentored by veterans from "Raw" and "Smackdown" in a hybrid reality and competition show.

It is different in theme to "ECW," which was originally envisioned as a supernaturally tinged show where zombies, tarot card readers and vampires would mingle with human wrestlers, in an apparent attempt to justify its placement on the science fiction network's schedule.

"ECW" debuted in 2006 to solid numbers, rising immediately to the top show among adults 18-49 on Sci Fi, as it was then called. But "ECW's" numbers dropped by roughly half since then, and it has been derided on the WWE messageboards.

Noted one poster on a thread meant to pay tribute to "ECW" before its last episode, "ECW sucked." Said another poster, "No One Likes You, Glad ECW Is Gone."

The marriage of the WWE and Syfy has always seemed odd. It's not hard to recognize the corporate synergy behind it; "Monday Night Raw" airs on NBC Universal sister network USA.

When "ECW" launched, Sci Fi touted internal research finding that 44 percent of its viewers also watched WWE shows.

By eliminating the distracting and somewhat forced supernatural elements, which had become less and less prominent on "ECW," the WWE could draw some non-Syfy viewers to the network to check out "NXT." The hope is that those people will then stick around to check out other Syfy content, but that seems like a longer shot.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Performances get underway with the 12 female semifinalists.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Live coverage of the women’s figure skating short program.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	A key SEC matchup between Tennessee and Florida.
9 p.m.	National Geographic Channel	“Paranatural” (N)	Series premiere. Examining the mythical chupacabra, which supposedly hunts pets and livestock.
9 p.m.	VH1	“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (R)	The contestants perform celebrity impersonations on a game show.
10 p.m.	Syfy	“WWE NXT” (R)	Series premiere. Wrestling stars show newcomers what it takes in the ring.
10 p.m.	USA	“White Collar” (D)	Neal tries to remake an old bottle of wine once owned by Benjamin Franklin.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Tonight the 12 male semifinalists take the stage.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Lindsey Vonn skis live in the women’s giant-slalom final.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	A good Western Conference game between the Lakers and Mavericks.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“Shear Genius” (R)	This week the stylists work flowers into their styles.
10 p.m.	FX	“Nip/Tuck” (D)	Julia pays a visit to Sean and Christian, and Liz reveals that she’s pregnant.
10 p.m.	MTV	“The Real World” (R)	Tension boils over when play fighting escalates to the real thing.
10 p.m.	USA	“Psych” (D)	A think tank is formed to prevent a businessman from being assassinated, but it turns out one of its members may actually be plotting to kill.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	CBS	“The Early Show” (N)	Johnny Depp and Tim Burton guest and talk about “Alice in Wonderland.”
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Two guys and two gals are cut in the season’s first elimination episode.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Tonight’s highlight is coverage of the women’s figure skating free skate.
9 p.m.	TLC	“Police Women of Maricopa County” (R)	Season premiere. This round of officers deal with perps in the Phoenix area.
10 p.m.	USA	“Burn Notice” (D)	A kidnapper is hiding a secret and is also kinda paranoid.
10:30 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	If you like run-and-gun basketball, tonight’s Denver-Golden State game is for you.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Apolo Ohno and Lindsey Vonn are back competing for more medals.
8 p.m.	Fox	“NAACP Image Awards” (A)	Live coverage of the 41st annual awards show.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Blades of Glory” (M)	Perhaps the best figure skating parody movie ever. Also maybe the only figure skating parody movie ever.
9 p.m.	VH1	“Famous Crime Scene” (N)	Another look at the circumstances surrounding Michael Jackson’s death.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Caprica” (D)	Tamara becomes friends with gamers in a virtual world.
10 p.m.	Starz	“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (D)	Spartacus thinks of a backup plan in case he’s not able to reunite with his wife.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	National power Kentucky faces a tough test at Tennessee.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Cops in Texas find out a drunk driving suspect has more than one identity.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Medal winners in figure skating perform at the Champions Gala.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Villanova faces Syracuse in a game that could end up deciding the Big East regular-season title.
11 p.m.	Fox	“The Wanda Sykes Show” (C)	Ray Romano, Roland Martin and Kevin Hart all guest.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (S)	Jennifer Lopez serves as guest host.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	The gold medal game in men’s hockey is featured.
2 p.m.	Fox	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	A Sprint Cup race from Las Vegas.
7 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	It’s all over: the closing ceremonies bring an end to this year’s Games.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Undercover Boss” (R)	The co-owner of White Castle serves up sliders himself.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Desperate Housewives” (D)	Celia comes down with chicken pox, so Gaby stays with Bob and Lee.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Big Love” (D)	Marilyn comes up with a plan that could affect Bill’s political aspirations.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.