In all fairness, the CW division was only around for a month or two before Mysterio came into WCW. As a complete mark in 1996, I saw the CW Title as something very special when Malenko was attempting to hold off Mysterio over the summer of 1996. It's certainly possible that WWE is throwing ECW a bone, but I personally doubt that was the intention.
I don't even know why I care about the line.