I think ECW (as we knew and loved it) is pretty much gone forever. (Particularly after they finish burying the "originals".) So, eventually, I see them having as few "extreme rules" matches as Raw and SD! have.
I think ECW never should have been brought back (as the name of a new brand) if they were just going to bastardize the name. But, it brought instant name recognition/credibility. Vince figured better sales/ratings.
Now that there is a mess to clean up, Vince needs to do a few things before he uses ECW as a viable ratings grabber. (Which is in almost direct opposition to the idea that ECW would be a higher profile OVW-type development federation, in my opinion.)
1. Vince needs to do something with what's on ECW: Punk is in need of a real push SOOOO bad, regardless of how long he's been with Vince. He deserves it and the knowledgeable fans want it.
2. They need to do something more than creating momentary heels: Test was brought back with all this fanfare and they did **** with him. Hardcore Holly is one of the toughest competitors in the E's history. He's losing to everyone! Now it's Snitsky. The hairless freak is beating everyone up. But, he's got no credibilty.
How do you build even the least amount of credibilty? Look at Umaga. He may not have talent (in-ring/mic), but he's got a mouthpiece and they wrote him as a monster and programmed it correctly. While maybe too rushed, he was a fairly viable challenger to Cena's title. The other three guys mentioned above can possibly be salvaged (or at least one of them can), but they need to be careful with Monte. Don't ruin him like you did the other guys. (And they started out with a pretty stupid name. Who knows? Maybe it'll just take some getting used to.) Elijah Burke could be something too. Just develop him correctly.
3. Rather than try to fix everything on one show, bring back the lottery. This time, there are 3 picks each round, not two. Leave some of ECW on ECW (the viable pieces). Take on or two big names away (PUNK you goobs......... get him to Raw!). Bring in some bigger names (Matt Hardy, Rey Mysterio, Chris Masters, types.) and one or two huge names (Finley, Benoit, or Orton types). Develop other names that you hope to be big on Raw or SD!. Then they're viable on either of the "big shows" or back in ECW. Plus, the other bigger names on ECW will give that brand more credibility for a later date in case they start infusing the "newer" people and get ECW into that "training ground" mode.
