LKP
Guest
In a wrestling sense, the Benoit tragedy has really hit ECW hard. Obviously morale will be low after the shocking events of last week, many people are bound to be confused and feel somebit lost. Emotions will be running high and will be hard for people to move on but once the confussion passes and people begin to live their lives as normal again ECW is going to be caught in a very awkward position. Just pull up the ECW roster and you will see where I am coming from. The ECW roster has always been small but it had a guy like Rob Van Dam there to beef it up and maintain the position of active veteran. The draft lottery took away from the ECW roster but now ECW is left without a locker room leader that the WWE can put trust in to nurture the next generation of superstars which is what ECW has been all about. Benoit was to fill that roll but with his passing WWE is left with a gap. Now the brand could go on regardless IMO however it doesn't have the depth either way. Here is a breakdown of the ECW faces and heels.
Faces:
CM Punk
Balls Mahoney
Tommy Dreamer
Boogeyman
Nunzio
Heels:
Johnny Nitro
Elijah Burke
Marcus Cor Von
Kevin Thorn
Viscera(Is he a heel?)
The Miz
Matt Striker
Mike Know(Inactive)
Stevie Richards(Unused)
That roster doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Who on that roster can you book the likes of CM Punk with over a long period in order to further his WWE growth? Who can you face Johnny Nitro against in order to make him look like a legitimate champion? The only thing I see happening is Punk and Nitro feuding continuely with Punk coming out at the losing end and losing momentum because the the WWE moved Nitro to ECW to see just how he would cope in the top position. In order to push Nitro the heel WWE will have to hurt Punk because outside of him there really isn't anyone else for him to feud with. Heel versus Heel feuds only work if there is strong feud running alongside it but even then fans attention isn't drawn in as people want someone to pull behind. The WWE look to be interested in pushing both Punk and Nitro but the ECW rosters lack of depth and Pay Per View quality superstars means that these two will have to be pushed against eachother which can work but which I fear could lead to Punk losing out in the end. The problem lies on the face side. Tommy Dreamer will never get legitimate one on one billing on a PPV. Boogeyman probably will but that will just be the same Boogeyshit we have been given all along. Balls...... Nope. Nunzio..... Nope. ECW, CM Punk and Johnny Nitro require someone with experience, someone then can feed off and build off. Looking over WWEs roster there are very few that fit the bill. Also there is the problem of hurting Raw and Smackdown! by taking away a key component to their show, or a potential key component at least.
The possibilities are few but here are those I can think of off the top of my head:
Finlay: Obviously from a player/coach point of view Finlay fits the ticket perfectly. He has done wonders on Smackdown! and has been an incredible breath of fresh air. On ECW I can see Finlay walking the tweener line but in truth being a face. When dealing with Punk his pure vicous heel side will come out but when locking up with Nitro his thirst for championship gold would be apparent. Finlay could walk that line where people can love him one week and despise him the next even though his character doesn't change much. Finlay/Punk could have a great series of matches and he could really help Nitro develop. On the downside Smackdown! would lose a key player, and Smackdown! was already riddled during the draft so losing Finlay at this stage would be a brutal blow to the Friday night show.
Matt Hardy: I think he is coming to that stage of being the new RVD, in other words being one of the best wrestlers to never hold a World title. I would be reluctant to move Hardy from Smackdown! because I think with Edge being champion this is quite possibly the best oppertunity Matt has of getting a Main Event feud, however Mysterio is on the way back so that could be scuppered. So outside of that I see ECW as being the best oppertunity for Matt Hardy to finally become a serious singles star. He would already have natural heat with Nitro and the two play off eachother well. Himself and CM Punk could have an epic face vs face series where the ECW World title is constantly the target both men are aiming for. Matt has enough experience to help the newer guys but he also has the ability to be a breath of fresh air to the Main Event scene. Matt Hardy as ECW champion is something I could definitely live with.
William Regal: Much the same of Finlay to be honest even though I think it would be very hard for Regal to walk that line of being a tweener because WWE fans have formed such an opinion of him at this stage. You think of Finlay you think of a street fighter, you think of Regal you think of a snob, a tough fucker but none the less a snob. Regal could really only work with Punk, maybe do a Triple Threat series for the title but his aiding Nitro would be much more limited then the aid Finlay or Hardy could lend.
Those are the big three for me. Other considerations would be Shelton Benjamin and Jamie Noble but the problem there would be WWE would have to do a rush job to build up those two. Now Punk and Nitro could very well get an Austin/Rock feeling going, the way Rock and Austin helped bring eachother to the Main Event but that only happens every now and again and it tends to require solid booking. There are a host of guys in OVW capable of stepping up, Burchill, Albright and Cabana but again that requires building. ECW is in a little bit of trouble, there is a fixable solution.
Thoughts?:music_serenade:
Faces:
CM Punk
Balls Mahoney
Tommy Dreamer
Boogeyman
Nunzio
Heels:
Johnny Nitro
Elijah Burke
Marcus Cor Von
Kevin Thorn
Viscera(Is he a heel?)
The Miz
Matt Striker
Mike Know(Inactive)
Stevie Richards(Unused)
That roster doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Who on that roster can you book the likes of CM Punk with over a long period in order to further his WWE growth? Who can you face Johnny Nitro against in order to make him look like a legitimate champion? The only thing I see happening is Punk and Nitro feuding continuely with Punk coming out at the losing end and losing momentum because the the WWE moved Nitro to ECW to see just how he would cope in the top position. In order to push Nitro the heel WWE will have to hurt Punk because outside of him there really isn't anyone else for him to feud with. Heel versus Heel feuds only work if there is strong feud running alongside it but even then fans attention isn't drawn in as people want someone to pull behind. The WWE look to be interested in pushing both Punk and Nitro but the ECW rosters lack of depth and Pay Per View quality superstars means that these two will have to be pushed against eachother which can work but which I fear could lead to Punk losing out in the end. The problem lies on the face side. Tommy Dreamer will never get legitimate one on one billing on a PPV. Boogeyman probably will but that will just be the same Boogeyshit we have been given all along. Balls...... Nope. Nunzio..... Nope. ECW, CM Punk and Johnny Nitro require someone with experience, someone then can feed off and build off. Looking over WWEs roster there are very few that fit the bill. Also there is the problem of hurting Raw and Smackdown! by taking away a key component to their show, or a potential key component at least.
The possibilities are few but here are those I can think of off the top of my head:
Finlay: Obviously from a player/coach point of view Finlay fits the ticket perfectly. He has done wonders on Smackdown! and has been an incredible breath of fresh air. On ECW I can see Finlay walking the tweener line but in truth being a face. When dealing with Punk his pure vicous heel side will come out but when locking up with Nitro his thirst for championship gold would be apparent. Finlay could walk that line where people can love him one week and despise him the next even though his character doesn't change much. Finlay/Punk could have a great series of matches and he could really help Nitro develop. On the downside Smackdown! would lose a key player, and Smackdown! was already riddled during the draft so losing Finlay at this stage would be a brutal blow to the Friday night show.
Matt Hardy: I think he is coming to that stage of being the new RVD, in other words being one of the best wrestlers to never hold a World title. I would be reluctant to move Hardy from Smackdown! because I think with Edge being champion this is quite possibly the best oppertunity Matt has of getting a Main Event feud, however Mysterio is on the way back so that could be scuppered. So outside of that I see ECW as being the best oppertunity for Matt Hardy to finally become a serious singles star. He would already have natural heat with Nitro and the two play off eachother well. Himself and CM Punk could have an epic face vs face series where the ECW World title is constantly the target both men are aiming for. Matt has enough experience to help the newer guys but he also has the ability to be a breath of fresh air to the Main Event scene. Matt Hardy as ECW champion is something I could definitely live with.
William Regal: Much the same of Finlay to be honest even though I think it would be very hard for Regal to walk that line of being a tweener because WWE fans have formed such an opinion of him at this stage. You think of Finlay you think of a street fighter, you think of Regal you think of a snob, a tough fucker but none the less a snob. Regal could really only work with Punk, maybe do a Triple Threat series for the title but his aiding Nitro would be much more limited then the aid Finlay or Hardy could lend.
Those are the big three for me. Other considerations would be Shelton Benjamin and Jamie Noble but the problem there would be WWE would have to do a rush job to build up those two. Now Punk and Nitro could very well get an Austin/Rock feeling going, the way Rock and Austin helped bring eachother to the Main Event but that only happens every now and again and it tends to require solid booking. There are a host of guys in OVW capable of stepping up, Burchill, Albright and Cabana but again that requires building. ECW is in a little bit of trouble, there is a fixable solution.
Thoughts?:music_serenade:
