Slickster

ECW was more valuable dead than alive. At least with it being dead you could talk about how great it was and fans would mark out when even a little bit of the old ECW was referenced. Remember when even saying the ECW name on WWE TV was a remarkable thing? Now that they've brought the brand back full-time, this raises the expectations of the fanbase to an unrealistic level and renders commonplace that which was once remarkable and impossible.

This decision is emblematic of the conundrum Vince created by promoting WWE and the WWE Style as the be-all, end-all of the wrestling world. When you condition your audience to accept your company's product as the only one that matters, it's hard to make them care about a brand specifically promoted as the opposite of that WWE template. Also, I think it's clear that Vince is right in the regard that the original ECW fanbase is indeed dead. The company was out of business for 5 years, which means a vast segment of today's wrestling fans were too young to watch or remember the original ECW. The ECW fans connected with Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman due largely to years of storylines and character development, not due to pure wrestling ability. That's the predominant reason why Dreamer and Sandman have generated little crowd reaction outside of ONS. The idea of reviving ECW is comparable to reviving 'Saved by the Bell' today: the talent's too old to pull off the characters, 90% of fans don't know what the backstories are, and the resulting product would be unsatisfactory to the 10% of hardcore SBTB fans because it isn't exactly the same as the glory days.

Bear in mind, next week's show will be taped in front of ~3000 people and they'll return to Hammerstein on 8/1. If they don't get that they need to tape in front of smaller crowds by 8/1 then they never will.

Hey, it's the guy who stripped for Vince McMahon last week. Cue Sandman in 3...2...

They must've gotten this Pussycat Dolls track on the cheap to use it so darn much. Where did Mike Knox go?

Mike Knox has scary teeth.

#2, then #3. Kurt Angle has had pretty good luck with shirts, I'd say.

Though he didn't figure out how to dance until the build to the Eddie match 3 months later. And he didn't learn how to love until Kurt Angle entered his life...

Yeah, I bet King listens to Eighteen Visions at home...

Hey, the new ECW belt has a red logo on it instead of the old purple one.

Vince's face at the end was priceless, like he was going to make his own contribution to the crap he was buried in.

Yeah, I guess that IS dog food.

So I guess we'll see 'Stand Back' used again in 2011? Baked beans, I think.

The 1987 Slammys.

****1/2

That's more of a Bushwhacker strut, I think.

Could Hulk Hogan even take the RKO?

I like how Lita has a homemade 'Sex & Violence' tank top.

I was wondering how they'd have Sugar Bear Harris wrestle considering he's gotta be pushing 60 and not in active competition.

OK, put Kamala in the next WWE video game stat. Kim Chee appears to be wearing a Dr. X mask with the nose blacked in.

Why is Kamala still wrestling? KIM CHEEEEEEEEEE

I like how military personnel get in free ONLY if they come in uniform. Gee, that wouldn't be so you can take pictures of them, would it? UMAGAAAAAAAAA

What a loaded show tonight. Are they trying to win the quarter hour from Nitro this week?

MegaBlackMetall would like to join the chat, if possible.

From the pictures, it appears RVD only carried the ECW Title.