Good Topic Viva La Luke ---- Rep Added ---
ECW was just an experiment and it didn't work so now to put things back in order before anything worse happens Wwe needs to shut off ECW.
Wrestling fans who have been chanting “ECW” for the last 10 years are thrilled that World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has revived Extreme Championship Wrestling. The “ECW One Night Stand” pay-per-view in June 2005 was a success, and so were the WWE-produced DVDs of old ECW matches.
In order for ECW to succeed in 2007 on the Sci-Fi Channel, WWE will have to do a lot of things right. Here are some tips:
1. Make the show look different. The old ECW show had a gritty, underground look to it. Joey Styles hosted the program while standing in front of a black ECW banner. The show had no fireworks, a simple set and familiar entrance music. The WWE needs to make sure ECW does not have the glossy look and fancy production values of its Raw and Smackdown shows.
2. Make the wrestling different. ECW lost its niche in the Nineties when the WWE and WCW copied its weapons-oriented style. If ECW can provide one insane hardcore match per show, along with some solid wrestling and high flying, the fans will stick with it.
3. Make the storylines simple. The WWE has trotted out every soap-opera storyline imaginable in the past five years. ECW wrestlers should fight over championships, women, and improving their won-loss records. That’s it.
4. Let the wrestlers do interviews anywhere they want. Raven gave some of ECW’s best interviews on tape from a local playground. Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie acted goofy everywhere they went. Fans connected with the realism of the wrestlers when they weren’t confined to the arena for interviews.
5. Give younger wrestlers the chance to shine. ECW launched many stars into WCW and the WWE such as Tazz, The Dudley Boyz, Rhyno, Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera. Now, WWE can use ECW to give its developmental wrestlers experience in front of larger crowds. In particular. C.M. Punk could become a big star in the new ECW. ECW was a part of the WCW Invasion storyline in 2001, but the WWE buried both brands after eight months. This time around, the WWE should stick with ECW, even if ratings get off to a slow start. With a little patience, the WWE could create a new generation of fans who will chant “ECW” for another 10 years.
ECW did something in 90's that no one ever thought possible. They became a third giant in a two company wrestling business. Paul Heyman wrote stories that related to the general audience, not a select few. He didn't create superheroes, he created the average joe. It worked for eight years, until he couldn't afford it no more in 2001.
Now, under WWE financial backing, ECW is once again the third brand in a two brand company. Vince McMahon, after buying the rights to ECW in 2001, has unleashed the new breed of ECW. However, even though Paul Heyman is the supposed ECW representative, it is obvious that WWE is running the show. Not just the wrestlers who defected over to ECW, nor those who continue to "invade" the brand. New storylines and character are written with a WWE feel.
The formula is not something that will be solved overnight. If they are going to regain some of the ECW glory, they will need fix a few mistakes they haven't as of now. The first being Paul Heyman. From the beginning, Paul Heyman was brought back as the ECW Representative, the nice face of ECW past brought in to make ECW what it was, that is one camera. Behind the scenes, he is the lackey making up storylines only to be shot down by the big man above, Vinny Mac. In order to make ECW what it was, you need to make Paul Heyman the man making the stories and characters. After reading the ECW book The Rise and Fall of ECW, the quote that stuck out at me the most, sums up what the WWE needs to do: "If you could take ECW back then, when it was at its peak, and just give the creative part to Paul E., and give the financial part of it to WWE, the ECW would still be around." - D-Von Dudley.
The second thing WWE needs to do is give ECW its own show. Now, you are going to look at me and say, "But, they already have a show." That statement is a lie. ECW follows Smackdown! tapings on Tuesday nights, in front of WWE fans. They are WWE fans, coming to a nice family WWE show, getting shoved into an ECW taping. It isn't the same feel as a ECW show, even though it has the name.
The third thing WWE need to do is bring in the ECW fans. Now, I know it's a stretch, after watching One Night Stand on Pay Per View, listening to the kind of chants they had for wrestlers. However, ECW fans are smart. If they know that in order for ECW to succeed, they need to cut down on the vulgarities, they will. Most of the chants they have are not vulgar and even some can be changed to have the same feel but not be vulgar. But the fans of ECW are essential to the success of the brand that made wrestling what it is today. The fans were the entire atmosphere of the show and without them, ECW is nothing.
This Tuesday may change the direction ECW is heading, possibly for the better. This Tuesday, ECW is being taped alone in front of fans who truly wanted to see an ECW show, not as an after thought to Smackdown!. If the show works, McMahon might finally take his head out of his ass and give ECW back to Paul Heyman, while paying the bills to keep the lights on. It is then, that maybe, just maybe, more people will finally see what the fuss behind ECW was, and more people will actually enjoy putting ECW on Tuesday nights; they won't have the reason to go online and chant online that "That show sucked".
Kelly is the best example of this. Kelly is a new character that was introduced on the debut show a couple of weeks ago. She is a beautiful, young, exhibitionist. If you are unsure of what an exhibitionist is, then my point has already valid. An exhibitionist is a person who is turned on by showing what they got to everybody they can show. How many people do you know that are exhibitionists? I, personally, do not know many. Therefore, WWE has thrown in a WWE diva, tried giving her an ECW character style, and failed miserably at it.
They did accomplish one feat that seemed impossible; they brought back some ECW alumni to kick off the new breed. Old favorites like Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Balls Mahoney, and the Sandman. However, they have Tommy Dreamer jobbing to the Big Show; they have the Sandman just caning poor pathetic characters WWE sends out to be caned; and Balls Mahoney hasn't been on the show since the first one. Sabu, however, is the one exception, giving him the same platform to accomplish some of the same sick stuff he is known for. It still isn't enough to get the job done, though. But that is not WWE's fault. When they lost most of the ECW alums to TNA a few years back, they never expected to launch ECW again. Now, they have a handful of what made ECW popular, and still trying to find that niche that will make it popular again.
After watching the continued disaster that is ECW on the Sci-Fi Channel, it makes me wonder how dedicated Vince McMahon and WWE are into continuing the experiment. It seems like ECW is running on fumes and McMahon is just providing programming until its contract with ECW expires. After a promising 2.8 rating in its debut episode on June 12, 2006 the ratings have slippped into the 1.6 range. While this is better than a lot of cable programs, it can't be what WWE and Sci-Fi were hoping for when the program was launched. Most of the problem is due to the fact that you can't have the old ECW. It HAS to be toned down. Injuries would skyrocket if every match were presented under "Extreme Rules". Injuries in wrestling are bad enough. Plus many of the ECW "originals" that fans identify with ECW couldn't be singed, they are under contract to TNA Wrestling. Plus, that talent had to have a good idea that a WWE-owned ECW would ultimately fail. ECW fans liked ECW because it was an alternative to WWE.
The so-called success of the old ECW is vastly overrated. There was a loyal and often vocal fan base but the real truth is in the numbers. ECW rarely drew more than 1,000 fans it its live events, it's pay-per-views failed to generate enough buys to keep the company afloat, its wrestlers weren't making ends meet an more often than not their checks bounced and in the end the company's assets were only valued at barely over 1 million dollars. This is a far cry from WWE which has grossed of 460 million in a single year.
There is another brand the WWE owns which under its former ownership drew better in its dying days than ECW did at its peak: WCW, World Championship Wrestling.
McMahon gave WCW a half-hearted try in 2001 but launching the so-called "Invasion" storyline. It falied ultimately but if you take a look at the Invasion PPV which drew a 1.6 buy rate, the largest that year besides Wrestlemania, it proves there was a demand for the WCW product and fans wanted to see a true superbowl of wrestling card. Where WWE failed was not securing the contracts of those performers that were closely identified with WCW such as Ric Flair, Bill Goldberg, and Eric Bischoff. While WWE did eventually bring these men into the fold they were presented as nothing more than just another talent signed. By not associating them with the WCW brand the WWE threw away the potential for big money.
But WWE can now learn from it's previous mistake. With the talent currently in the fold, it could create a believable WCW roster. Let's take a look at what a potential WCW roster would look like:
Eric Bischoff: His WWE contract expires in September 2007 but if you launch WCW you HAVE to put him in as storyline president or general manager. He was the only executive to ever have the Ted Turner owned WCW turn a profit while in charge of the company. Bischoff put WCW on even ground with WWE in the years 1996-1998.
Ric Flair: Even in a limited wrestling role or a managerial role you have to have Flair. The original WCW was built around Flair for so long fans still identify him with the company.
Chris Benoit: Although he has been with WWE for several years now, it would make sense to put him on the WCW roster. One of the world's greatest technical wrestlers and former member of The Four Horsemen along with Ric Flair.Finlay: Former WCW TV champion before becoming a road agent and Smackdown performer.
Booker T: The last true WCW champion.
Chavo Guerrero: Former WCW performer whose contract was acquired during the buyout.Gregory/"Sugar Shane" Helms: The last true WCW cruiserweight champion.Arn Anderson: One of the original Horsemen and now a road agent for WWE. No longer able to perform in the ring but he could be a creative force in a new WCW.
Rey Mysterio, Jr.: A talented former WCW cruiserweight champion.
This would be my core group. I would mix in other talent from the other WWE rosters such as:
The New Breed: Marquis Von Con (the former Monty Brown), Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn w/ Ariel and Matt Striker. All are young and upcoming stars that could be groomed to be the future of the brand.
Randy Orton: Though pulling him off the Raw roster is a gamble, he has proven name value, potential and star power WCW needs.
CM Punk: I would resurrect the excellent cruiserweight division of the old WCW and have this guy in the title chase. He's getting a big fan reaction in ECW but needs a spark to really break through.
Bobby Lashley: Though not my favorite performer, exposure on Raw is helping him and every roster needs a powerhouse babyface.
I would send the ECW Originals to Smackdown except for Rob Van Dam whom deserves to be back on Raw. There are others such as Chris Jericho and The Big Show Paul Wight who if they wanted to make a comeback I would put on the WCW roster.
WCW could be a tremendous moneymaker for WWE, all they have to do is bring it back, get rid of ECW and let WCW fill the current time slot. The lack of a TV show was one thing that hurt the previous Invasion angle. With WWE back in the USA/Universal TV family, I'm sure they wouldn't mind picking up a potential money maker like WCW. I kept on writing and I didn't realise how much I can write on such a Topic my god it's a big post anyways do read it.
