justcoz

I've mentioned this before but at the very least, I think they should tape Raw and Smackdown on the same night and use the additional taping night to give ECW it's own taping in a smaller venue with the ECW sized ring. They should use SD like they used Sunday night Heat prior to SD's debut. Raw is the main show and that's obvious. There is really no need for the SD brand. When people criticize ending the brand split they seem to indicate that you'd see HHH on both shows each week and while it's likely, it's not necessarily the case. You can have part of the roster wrestle SD matches and part wrestle on Raw. If anything, it would give Raw a more big time feel because you wouldn't be seeing the same ten guys in the same slots each week. You can throw a Kurt Angle, Finlay, Lashley, Batista or Rey Mysterio on Raw and use HBK, HHH, Spirit Squad, etc. on SD for several weeks to build storylines leading into a PPV and then mix the rosters back up after the PPV to keep things fresh. A lot of the undecard guys, specifically the cruisers and old ECW names, could be used in the ECW brand. I just think it's the logical step. ECW needs their own tapings in their own setting with their own fans to work. There is no need for SD to have it's own taping because they aren't serious about pushing the brand, it's the same creative team and the same 'feel' as Raw (okay, with a bit more wrestling) and could easily be taped on the same night and sell out arenas as the one 'super taping night' where fans can see all of their favorites.

It's too bad FOX had to do That 80's Show because it would have been the logical spin-off of That 70's Show. Hyde could have spoken out against Regeanomics and been into heavy metal, Jackie could have big hair, we'd have new wave Fez. It could have easily worked but instead they made that crappy 80's show.

I think this would be possible with Heyman booking him like he did in OVW. He would know enough to not put Boogeyman in long matches where he's exposed. I was thinking of someone from WWE to plug into a 911-type role. My first thought was Snitsky (who I think has actually improved in the ring since losing muscle mass) but maybe they could do that with Boogeyman since he's injury prone anyway.

I'm sure there will be some wrestling or old ECW fans that will bug their cable operators to carry Sci-Fi Channel if it's not available to them already. And if ECW averages even just a 1.5, which shouldn't be a problem if they air some commercials during Raw, I'm sure it will improve Sci-Fi's ratings as a whole.

It isn't really that big of a deal. It's just as strange as WWE being on NBC earlier this year. Did you see Kane show up on Will & Grace? It is simply the channel that will carry the program, it won't have any effect on the actual product or influence on the presentation. Right, it makes as much sense as ECW and WWF airing on The Nashville Network or when WWE was airing on a station that didn't even have a name (remember the Network for Men?). A television deal is a television deal. I'll be happy just to see some form of ECW on television again. Besides, back in its heyday, ECW was on very weird stations in syndication and people still found it.

Cool. I'm all for Kennedy getting any kind of push. I agree too, but wasn't Kennedy somewhat lined up to be a top Smackdown heel already? Either way I'll enjoy it, but this is the first ECW news that has caught me a little off-guard since the initial announcement. I think Heyman worked on the Kennedy ring announcing shtick in OVW although I'm not sure. I personally think he would be better off on Smackdown. The only people that I'd move to ECW are those who have been severely damaged in WWE and need new starts. For instance, I'd put someone like Matt Hardy in a heel role for ECW. Others would be Steve Regal, Eugene, the Bashams, maybe a repackaged Val Venis? I'd like to see every cruiser there but that won't happen, I'm hoping they put Jamie Noble there however. Maybe Snitsky in a 911 type role, or better yet, Matt Morgan? I also think they really need to re-sign Daniel Puder.

Thanks so much for posting all of this!

I can understand why they would be hesitant to end the brand seperation but it's time to be realistic. They aren't seperate brands. They are driven by much of the same creative teams. Steph and Vince see Raw as the premiere 'A' show and Smackdown is treated as second rate because of that. If that's going to be the attitude of the company they should just make Smackdown the true 'B' show to Raw. Have it be sort of what Heat was to Raw before Smackdown existed. By combining the WWE rosters, there would be plenty of names that don't make RAW on a given week, enough for some intriguing matches on Smackdown. With ECW they have an opportunity right now to create and grow a true 2nd brand with it's own fan base, look, creative team and focus. In order for this to work however they really need their own television tapings. ECW can't very well come across as the "alternative product" when they are curtain jerking for the product they are shooting on and you see the same fans sitting in the front row that you see on Smackdown. Maybe the can cleverly book it and play off of the sports entertainment fans vs. the ECW fans at the arena (something the end of the Styles promo seemed to indicate) but I just don't see it working. It's going to create a mess behind the scenes and the end result will be us getting an ECW that does little to resemble the one people hold dear to their hearts. People talk about another wrestling boom generating and in order for that to happen things have to be shaken up. The Smackdown/Raw duel brands concept has not been successful. RAW is never going to achieve 5.0+ ratings again with the same names every week. It's like paint by numbers week to week. It would be nice to have a Batista, Mysterio, JBL, MNM, Finlay, etc. thrown into the mix. They would have more guys, fresher programs for PPV buyrates, more spots to rest up people that are injured, etc. They can still have monthly PPV's and more than one house show group. Yes, much too logical for Vince.

Smackdown and Raw have to unite. If ECW evolves from a title dispute at One Night Stand, assuming it's the WWE Title and John Cena, the World Champion on Smackdown can start proclaiming that they are the Undisputed Champion of the world. This causes some heat between the two brands but Vince McMahon declares that he needs unity between the two brands to combat ECW. No more seperation of 'WWE Superstars'. They set up unification matches at Summerslam to unify the Raw and Smackdown titles heavyweight and tag titles. Keeping the I-C Champion and U.S. Champion. The cruisers by this time can mostly all be with ECW. Cut Smackdown to one hour or ninety minutes. Tape it before Raw airs live. Then do a seperate ECW television taping.

I don't want ECW taped during Raw or Smackdown tapings. They need the small venues mentioned to have the same feel. They need an ECW sized ring. I really don't see the big deal in taping somewhere like Hammerstein Ballroom every three weeks. I don't see how that is going to drain WWE's production team. They don't need high production values for ECW. If they are already going to be booking shows at Viking Hall, etc. - just stick a camera crew there and tape? ECW needs to have a different feel to work. They need their rabid audience. They don't need people in Rey Mysterio masks and John Cena t-shirts. They can tour intimate venues around the country even. I'm hoping that pressing for ECW to be taped prior to SD is only because they don't have a tv slot. I still feel they should just tape Smackdown and Raw together, make money from the "Super Tapings", combine the rosters so Raw isn't victim to the same six guys week in and week out and have seperate ECW tapings. But I work for an insurance office, what do I know?

One of the guys on pwinsider.com suggested taping ECW after the Smackdown tapings (since SD isn't live), dimming the lights, announcing to fans to stay seated for an hour of Extreme wrestling and to move up if there are available seats. Warn the parents that this presentation will be violent, etc. He seemed to be under the impression that WWE fans would leave, allowing fans to move up and create a more intimate feel at the arena. I don't know if I necessarily agree with that but I do like the idea of taping ECW AFTER SMACKDOWN so it doesn't become an issue with WWE talent complaining because the ECW ring style (assuming they don't make these guys work WWE style) overshadows their own prior to Smackdown.

Cue Public Enemy's music to start? Or the Gangsta's. I don't know. Are you high?

What was so bad about Sexual Chocolate??? That gimmick ruled...

As much as I'd prefer to see them do a seperate taping, once or twice a month, at a small venue like Hammerstein Ballroom, to capture the original ECW vibe, without a tv slot, I can see them just taping at Smackdown tapings. There are several problems with this however. A lot of these have already been mentioned by the guys at pwinsider.com. They have an ECW-sized ring already. They can't very well switch rings in the middle of a tv taping so it's going to suck to see ECW guys in a WWE ring. Second, I really doubt that the main guys on the WWE roster are going to like following up a more aggressive and non-restrictive ECW ring style and it's only a matter of time before the main roster is telling management that the ECW guys are making them look inferior because they have to work a safer style and request that the ECW ring-style be altered. I also think that if they allow the ECW guys to go all out in the opening matches and then WWE guys are locking on rest holds or people have to sit through a Boogieman match - the audiences are going to crap on WWE's product. I still stand by my original theory. End the Smackdown brand. Send some talent to ECW and the others can just be WWE talent period, working Raw or Smackdown any given week. Cut Smackdown to an hour. The network can use the SD lead-in to strengthen new shows in their lineup. Tape SD prior to Raw with guys not booked for Raw, pretty much making it what Heat was before Smackdown debuted. They can promote SD matches every Monday on Raw. Do the seperate ECW taping at smaller venues once or twice a month. Try to convince either CW or USA for a one hour late night slot for ECW. Hell, they'd actually be saving money this way. If they are going to treat the SD brand as second-rate, just kill it already, why have waste production costs for a show that they don't care about anyway?

And this would be good for the company and business in general. We all know that there are plenty of talents that WWE creative have absolutely no idea how to sell. Take guys like Jamie Noble, Super Crazy, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Charlie Haas or even someone like Lance Cade for instance. Or guys that have been buried beyond the point of return like William Regal, Val Venis, Eugene or Matt Hardy. Short stints in ECW, working within a different creative environment with Heyman and Dreamer, could totally enable these guys to reinvent themselves and respark their careers, possibly even becoming money players for WWE. There is nothing wrong with ECW being a feeder promotion to WWE, in fact, it should be expected given that they are under the same umbrella.

It would be pretty funny if this video gets popular and arena crowds start responding to chops with UMAGA! in addition to WOOO. Doubtful but it would be funny.

I stand by my opinion here. "ECW" signing Danielson, Cabana and any other name mentioned here is such a horrible prospect it doesn't bare thinking about. The indipendent wrestling scene would be comatose and all for some half-assed marketing ploy for the WWE to have even MORE T.V time, as if the product isn't over-exposed enough already. It'll be WWE with a different, money friendly name. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a) kidding themselves or b) too blinded by ECW fandom to realise it. I'd take 80% of the indy feds who run the Alhambra now over this new "ECW". You also have to remember tht WWE would actually try and kill off the independant scene to get their product really out there. So even through it would fuck up the independant scene, WWE would have no problem doing that. Espically on the East Coast where the indy scene is the biggest in the US. Which is why I suggested at least having a working agreement with ROH which would allow talent used for WWECW to at least work work ROH dates if not conflicting with an ECW date. Of course, if WWE would do such a thing I'm sure they'd request some sort of clause that would prohibit TNA names from being used in ROH which may not be beneficial to ROH at all. I personally believe TNA could screw with ROH more than WWECW because they can easily just pull the plug on their contracted talent working ROH dates - when ROH in fact made most of TNA's talent. I'm sure you could put a Danielson or Cabana into an ECW mix but I also don't think raiding the indies is really necessary. There are enough free agents, young guys like Harry Smith or Teddy Hart, OVW talent, ex ECW names and underused WWE names to make a recreation of ECW work. But I do believe that they will be carefully watching the indies and make an attempt to get talent signed before TNA grabs them. There will always be young talent out there in need of exposure however and ROH and indies know this. If you lose someone to one of the major companies - there will be someone else working a local indie promotion that could be plugged into ROH and make a name for themselves.

RVD doesn't have to win. It could easily be a disputed title match to jumpstart the return of ECW. RVD getting screwed from winning could set off Paul Heyman and the old ECW guys. Some guys from the WWE roster could side with RVD, Heyman and ECW. Sort of like how some on the WWF roster protested the Montreal screwjob. This could lead to the full-time ECW return.

An ECW show must come from a small arena similar to the ECW Arena or Hammerstein Ballroom. I don't care if they want to avoid another night of tv tapings. Tape three weeks worth of shows on one night to reduce costs. Just don't tag an ECW banner to a Raw or Smackdown ring and expect it to have the vibe and rabid fan feedback as the original ECW. Personally, I think Vince should see getting New York wrestling fans back with a product tailor-made for them as incentive in keeping the show at a place like Hammerstein Ballroom. If he doesn't want the same fans week in and week out by taping at the same venue - fine, take it on the road - just keep the venues intimate. DO NOT MAKE THIS A NET ONLY SHOW. I have a feeling it's just the trend of the future and I'll have to deal with it but I think you are alienating a good portion of ECW's original fanbase who don't have high speed cable or DSL connections. My suggestion may be too much but here it is. Kill the Smackdown brand. Keep the show but cut it to one hour or ninety minutes. CW or whatever the network will be called would probably go for this because they could plug in a 30 or 60 minute network show and feed off of Smackdown's lead-in. A chunk of existing talent (mostly Smackdown cruisers) would be suited for ECW anyway. This way there can be one main WWE roster and neither show will fall victim to over exposing the same guys every week. It would enable Raw to have more star power to pull in ratings also. Convince USA for another hour of time in a late-night slot or press CW affiliates through syndication. If the idea of a net only show is to make money from ECW fans through the webcasts - since ECW obviously wouldn't have a monthly PPV - they could webcast internet PPV's of ECW house shows that the weekly tv shows could build to. Do a Byte This style show with Heyman and ECW talent maybe. They can do plenty on the net but don't limit it to just the net.

Actually ROH guys, if offered a TNA and WWE contract at the same time, can choose whoever they felt like signing with. ROH guys aren't under any kind of contract. They can leave to whoever. Now, a lot of ROH guys choose TNA before WWE because TNA isn't as restrictive in terms of style. Smaller guys also feel they have a better shot at getting over in the X Division, which is pushed as a bigger deal than WWE's cruiserweights. There really is not "dibs". If you're in ROH, you basically do it for exposure. There isn't anything really developmental about it. ROH is not OVW for TNA. Right, which is why I said that ROH weren't officially a developmental territory for TNA but you can't deny that they have become a feeder promotion. More comparable to what ECW was to WWF and WCW in the 90's vs. what OVW is to today's WWE. The 'innovation' that TNA talks about with their X Division and talent like Joe and AJ is really nothing more than putting names established in ROH and putting them on cable television and PPV under the TNA banner. ROH guys do have the choice in choosing whether to work for WWE or TNA and up until now it's been pretty cut and try why they would prefer TNA. For many it's because there is little interest from WWE because they don't fit the Randy Orton and Chris Masters mold. For others it's WWE's track record with the misuse of indie guys like Paul London and Brian Kendrick. That whole scenario could change with ECW and Heyman/Dreamer having booking duties. Yeah, you will have your retread "former ECW superstars" in the picture but if Heyman and Dreamer have say in the talent called into or used in ECW then the whole scope of the business is going to change. So saying WWE would have first "dibs" on ROH's talent was kind of wrong since the choice is pretty much up to the individual talent. But if WWECW showcases the strengths of someone like a Paul London, Jamie Noble or CM Punk - like I believe Heyman can do booking wise - you will see WWECW use Gabe and ROH as a feeder system just like TNA has done.

A partnership with ROH or talent exchange wouldn't be a bad idea either. TNA are pretty much using ROH as a development territory of sorts (although not officially but they tend to get a bulk of their young talent from ROH). A WWE-run ECW would need first dibs on talent from ROH before TNA. Roster wise, here's who I see working with ECW. Obviously all of these names wouldn't be necessary but I see these being the most likely names working with an ECW brand. Old ECW Names: Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Lance Storm, Justin Credible, Balls and Axl, New Jack, Francine, Jerry Lynn (reportedly not signed to TNA) Current WWE Names: Stevie Richards, Nova, Super Crazy, Psychosis, Jamie Noble, Charlie Haas, Brent Albright, Kid Kash, Nunzio, Maria, Spirit Squad (unlikely due to their role on Raw but I like how Heyman uses them in OVW), Paul London and Brian Kendrick OVW: CM Punk Unsigned: Teddy Hart, Frankie Kazarian ROH: Brian Danielson, Briscoe Brothers, Jimmy Yang, Colt Cabana

I agree that I believe fans are disgusted with Eddie's name and memory being mentioned constantly. I also believe how he was booked leading into Mania turned people off. He was stupid and lost his title shot to Randy Orton. He was then given his shot back without really doing nothing to earn it. He was jobbed out to Angle and Orton. Randy Orton was constantly mentioning that Rey didn't deserve to be in the match and was a charity case and he never did anything to prove that theory wrong leading in Mania. I think they wanted to create this underdog thing going into Mania but they instead just made him look like a little dumb loser milking the memory of his best friend. His over-done ring entrance probably didn't help matters much with the Chicago crowd.

No, I really don't expect Vince to allow any of that. Nor would I expect HHH to job to RVD and never get his win back. I still think it would be an intriguing idea. I know ECW as it was is dead it wouldn't be the same ECW but it would be WWE's chance to make up for the invasion disaster, continue banking off of the ECW brand name and give that particular fanbase a product geared towards them. Heyman can still develop talent like he has in OVW only to feed them to WWE later. I just think it would be one hell of an angle. They could bill it as the ECW Screwjob or something. It's also playing off of ECW history given the fact that it's indenticle to Shane Douglas pitching the NWA championship. It makes sense for RVD to be the main guy as he's really all that's left in terms of marketable original ECW talent signed to WWE. The broadcast could get blackened out and cut off as RVD's shoot gets more heated. The next night on RAW, they can just have HHH come to the ring with the WWE title and pretend like nothing ever happened, doing an interview building towards his next title defense. Joey Styles could say something about HHH really losing the championship to RVD the previous night, commenting that he's being told in his headset not to talk about it but it was a historic night in wrestling and needs to be talked about. This leads to Jim Ross mysteriously sitting in the booth after the commercial break and calling the rest of Raw. Later in the night, RVD and Paul Heyman could appear in the crowd during HHH's WWE title match only to be escorted out to police. Heyman comments that he has 'a proposition for Vince and needs to talk to Vince' only to be taken out of the building. On Smackdown that week, the cruisers grow frustrated about not being left off the show and quit only to be caught on camera getting into a limo with Heyman and RVD. I don't know, I'm bored at work in case you can't tell. ECW is dead, I know.

I know everyone despises talk about bringing ECW back and it's very stereotyped smarkish of me but this would be a golden opportunity for WWE to put a spark to their product for the summer months. RVD beats HHH for the WWE title at the ECW PPV and throws the tosses the title to the floor, Paul Heyman brings an ECW championship belt to the ring and presents it to RVD. RVD does a shoot saying the ECW title means more to him than the WWE championship and now that he broken through the glass ceiling World Wrestling Entertainment means nothing to him. Negotiate a late night deal for an additional hour of tv time on USA. Give Heyman the book for that hour of television. Tape once month from the Hammerstein Ballroom. McMahon can fire Joey Styles from the Raw announce team, prompting Styles to go to the ECW show and Jim Ross to come back to Raw. The entire cruiserweight division can go to ECW along with underutilized Raw and Smackdown guys like Steve Regal, Steve Richards, etc. Could it really be that bad?????

I'm kind of glad that they did a low rating. Pulling in a strong rating would only be encouragement for their current product. I know this rating will not force change within the creative direction of the company but I hope it's at least a glimpse of the writing on the wall if no changes are made. Stephanie and company have had six years and have yet to really make any new stars or one money producing angle. This is the weakest Wrestlemania I think I've ever seen in all of my years watching. There isn't one intriguing scenario in the entire card, minus a Bret Hart appearance based on a 1997 storyline. If there was any night for WWE to go balls to the wall their first night back on prime-time Big Time network television (NBC is a different animal than UPN) should have been that night. There is no reason that some familiar names like Hogan, Ventura, Mean Gene, Heenan or Piper couldn't have been added to the mix. This was the night to not just build to Wrestlemania but also celebrate all the characters that make wrestling what it is. Old and new. I would have totally marked for Hogan on SNME. It would have been fitting and they could have even did a Austin-Hogan WM tease to pull in some last minute buyrates. No... WWE is a formula and they don't break that. The show looked and felt like any other Raw or Smackdown. The pattern was the same. We had two real wrestling matches. No old school backstage interviews. No classic SNME flashbacks. Just the same old shit.