The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.
History
The Network was a professional wrestling stable that was formed in 1999 when ECW began to broadcast nationally on TNN.
TNN did not give ECW much money to produce their program, yet expected ECW to have high-quality production values like WCW Monday Nitro and Monday Night Raw. Also, TNN poorly advertised and promoted ECW, producing barely any press releases or TV ads, even though ECW was TNN's highest rated weekly program at that point. The only real time that TNN actually advertised ECW was during the ECW program itself, as well during NASCAR on TNN coverage. Heyman decided to recruit Don Callis, who played the part of Cyrus, to serve as a metaphor, so to speak, for the real problems between ECW and TNN at that point. Callis played a representative for TNN/The Network, who constantly criticized the violent nature of ECW programming, and commentator Joel Gertner in particular for his sexually loaded commentary and ring introductions. Callis would threaten to replace ECW's programming with episodes of