ECW tidbit from the Observer

[justcoz 0]

The word going around on 6/27 once again Heyman's power waned. Dreamer has had zero power for some time and it's now joked that it's less than zero.

 

Heyman's current role is as the head writer for ECW, where he presents the show to Vince, Stephanie and the agents and communicates the ideas to talent. After he presents his script, they will liberally change things as happened on that show. Heyman's power loss and the idea of this happening were obvious to anyone who looked at this project with any eye to history.

 

The news that Dave Lagana was moved to ECW was a sign that they were maybe not expecting Heyman to be gone but preparing for it in case it were to happen. According to one person close to the situation, what hurt Heyman this time was the crowd reaction at the Philadelphia house show. Heyman was blamed for creating that fan base that won't accept any changes in the product and the fact that Heyman himself couldn't completely win the crowd back over in his promo. This was seen by management as a sign that he wasn't as important to the project as many claimed he was.

 

One of the writers who was at the Philadelphia show reported to the McMahons about the crowd reaction.

 

Vinc McMahon told RVD and the agents that he believes there are about 3,000 ECW fans left. 1500 in Philadelphia and 1500 in New York.

 

So let's get this straight. They intentionally make their product differ from the old ECW and it's Heyman's fault that the product he created in the 90's has a passionate fan base that believe those letters represent something that WWE's version doesn't.

 

They book a typical WWE house show for ECW's homecoming in Philadelphia, knowing full well the ECW faithful that paid $25-$35 a ticket would shit on it? And then because Paul Heyman can't convince them to accept the product or change their negative mood towards the show this means he's not all that important of a name to the project. Despite the fact that he created it?

 

And there is someone from creative reporting to the McMahons that they are chanting 'this show sucks' to Heyman when he more than likely had little to do with what they were rebelling against? Likely a member of creative who never created one superstar, money generating angle or any crowd heat or pop. Then they wonder why the original ECW fans aren't coming out to the shows when the company completely knows that they aren't giving them an alternative product they want? I mean, look at the tv show they gave Philadelphia!

 

This is a publicly traded company and it's run like a high school cafeteria table.

[benn 0]

Its when I read things like this that I realise how glad I am not to own shares in WWE.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

There are more than 3,000 ECW Fans left..they should know that by the DVD Sales..duh..but I doubt there are even 300 that would continue to sit through the crap they keep putting out under the ECW label now.

[Enigma 0]

Yeah Vince. That's why Rise & Fall of ECW is the best selling DVD in WWE history and not any of the WrestleManias.

[AmazingRen 0]

Vince is about crowd reactions? LOL!!! Then I wish he would explain the lack of crowd reaction the DX skits and Kelly Kelly have been getting plus the push of Chris Masters (before the roids). That hasn't stopped him before so why is the crowd so important to him now?

[Enigma 0]

For those of you wondering, Paul Heyman signed a 6-month extension earlier in the year that expires in September.

[Guest droptoehold]

I can't imagine someone as successfull as Vince

see's the world this way and yet continues to still

make a boatload of money.

 

People with money and control spin things to make

themselfs come out to look like they are in control

at all times. His "idea" is backfiring and he keeps

digging his hole deeper and spinning the story more

and more. I just want to know who the first person

who questions his sanity to his face.

[Scroby 0]

Vince is blind and a idiot. If he honestly believe its Heyman's fault for the ECW fanbase shitting on the new ECW, he's a complete idiot.

[Scroby 0]

For those of you wondering, Paul Heyman signed a 6-month extension earlier in the year that expires in September.

Actually thats very intresting. Here's a few reasons why.

 

1. Since Heyman's contract expires again in Sept, maybe Vince doesn't want Heyman doing anything that would screw over Vince or the WWE and is waiting till after Heyman re-signs until they give him full control over ECW. (thats a long shot I know)

 

2. If Vince or anyone else sees ECW as a failure, they kill off ECW and release Heyman as well.

 

3. If ECW isn't renewed after the summer on Sci-fi (or any other channel for that matter), Heyman might be out of a job.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I Feel bad for Sci Fi because they'll probably even keep ECW if it keeps up like a 1.0 or so..but honestly..I just hope that at the end of 12 weeks they kill it off.

 

Then they can have some sort of Dallas-esque RVD dream sequence where its revealed everything over the last 3 months was just a drug induced hallucination or something.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Then they can have some sort of Dallas-esque RVD dream sequence where its revealed everything over the last 3 months was just a drug induced hallucination or something.

 

On a sidenote, some booker (Russo maybe?) wanted to do this in WCW.

[Timmy8271 0]

Isn't this one of the highest rated shows on Sci Fi? I doubt they are really upset.

 

I can't wait until a couple years when Heyman does a shoot interview totally crapping on the mcmahons. That should be funny. Heyman will be gone in september.

[benn 0]

Then they can have some sort of Dallas-esque RVD dream sequence where its revealed everything over the last 3 months was just a drug induced hallucination or something.

That would be awesome. The first ever WWE retcon.

[Guest Kobe24KGold]

Isn't this one of the highest rated shows on Sci Fi? I doubt they are really upset.

 

I can't wait until a couple years when Heyman does a shoot interview totally crapping on the mcmahons. That should be funny. Heyman will be gone in september.

 

I hope Heyman goes to TNA and makes them a viable competitor to WWE.

 

The first few things he must do, however, is change the name of the company. "Total Nonstop Action" is utter malarkey and "TNA" sounds like a porn production, more than it does a wrestling company. Secondly, he must eradicate the atrocity and silliness that is the 6-sided hexashit and go back to a traditional 4-sided ring.

[JHawk 0]

So the second thing TNA needs is to lose what makes them different from WWE?

 

Are you sure you're not a McMahon.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

So, Vince, there's 3000 ECW fans left but the fans in Philly were shitting on your version of ECW enough that you got upset about it? Which is it?

 

BTW Vince, you forgt the thousands of ECW fans outside the traditional ECW strongholds. I'm sure there are plenty of people here in Texas who would've loved to have gone to an oldschool ECW card. We just never got a chance to until the company was in it's death throes. Admit you were wrong, give Heyman a 2 or 3 year deal, give him creative control, sign the checks, and get out of his way. With the WWE marketing machine he'd make you money on the deal. You'd just have to be prepared for the occasional set of ruffled feathers (Steph, Legana, etc.) because chances are they'd try to get in on it when it takes off.

 

Maybe I'm just an ECW mutant, but that's my feelings.

[Bruce Blank 0]

I love how they present something that's so NOT ECW and then use that to "prove" that there are no more ECW fans.

 

That's like fucking with Coke, then when people spurn it like it was shit flavored water use it to say "There are no more Coke drinkers"

 

I'm sorry but is Vince THAT deluded? (what am I saying of course he is)

[The Robfather 0]

The way ECW is being recieved is Vince's fault and Vince's fault alone.

[justcoz 0]

Another note from Observer regarding the DVD sales:

 

Where people got mad is some talent was told that the reason the first DVD did so well (more than 200,000 units sold) and the PPV did good numbers last year is because the vast majority of the buys were the regular WWE Raw audience that learned about ECW over the past five years through WWE's marketing of the brand and its encouragement of ECW chants at the tv tapings.

 

Yes... that and Vince Russo never watched the ECW product and it was no inspiration whatsoever to the Attitude WWF era.

[Guest nokia]

Did Vince steal Rvd's stash and smoke a few?

 

This is what happens when you surround yourself with ONLY "yes people" (People that never disagrees with you)

[CanadianChris 0]

Did Vince steal Rvd's stash and smoke a few?

No, you'd need some serious hallucinogens to delude yourself that much.

 

Vince is a moron.

[Dark Age 0]

Did Vince steal Rvd's stash and smoke a few?

 

This is what happens when you surround yourself with ONLY "yes people" (People that never disagrees with you)

 

Gee, I was wondering what "yes people" were then, so I'm glad you cleared it up. Thanks.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Reading (and seeing the final product) about Vince's decision making process is so damn frusturating. Even Randy Orton knows why ECW is dying . . . again.

[justcoz 0]

Did Vince steal Rvd's stash and smoke a few?

 

This is what happens when you surround yourself with ONLY "yes people" (People that never disagrees with you)

 

Gee, I was wondering what "yes people" were then, so I'm glad you cleared it up. Thanks.

 

Well, they are also people who tell you things because they think it's what you want to hear - even if they don't necessarily believe them to be true. Dave Lagana was an ECW Arena fan. I'm sure he knows what appealed him to the product and what their fan base enjoyed. However, to secure his position in the company, appeal to Stephanie and not ruffle the feathers of anyone else on creative, he probably tells them, Vince included, what they think Vince wants to hear. He joins in on picking on the outsider of the bunch - Paul Heyman. It's the cafeteria lunch table mentality again. When you enjoyed hanging out with someone but others harass them so you ultimately join in and cut on that person right along with them, knowing you (and they) are wrong.

 

If ECW is renewed and they are still phasing Paul Heyman out of the creative process by that time - Heyman really needs to get in McMahon's face and express himself. What does he have to lose? He supposedly had projects outside of wrestling that he wanted to sink his teeth in and he could easily help TNA, ROH or start his own wrestling promotion with some backing.

 

I understand there is a sense of gratitude towards Vince for financially backing ECW prior the bankruptcy but Vince has a history of only responding and changing his philosophies when challenged. Eric Bischoff did that. Vince Russo got in Vince's ear and told him that the product sucked and together they pulled influences from both Bischoff and Heyman's ECW to change the course. Vince is living in a bubble right now and being surrounded by YES-MEN is a primary reason for that.

 

Heyman and Dreamer said ECW needed their own tapings from day one. Vince does what he wants and then says there are no ECW fans left because they aren't showing up at Smackdown tapings? Then when the ECW fan base does show up for the Philly shows it's almost like they go out of their way to display a product that they will hate and that's Heyman's fault? He has to play damage control and bring them back on ECW's side? This whole thing just baffles me. The rest of the bunch in creative, threatened by Heyman, are getting exactly what they wanted from this project and Vince is going along right with it. You can't tell me that someone isn't in Vince's ear feeding him a lot of these beliefs. I just get the vision of Kevin Dunn or someone standing in control center saying, "Listen, Vince, there are no ECW chants, these are all Smackdown fans, does ECW even have a fan base left?"

 

It's just like I don't understand the big man fixation when Vince has made money from guys like Benoit, Guerrerro, Mysterio, Jericho, HBK, etc. Someone doesn't challenge the over 6'2 250 lbs talent requirement?

[Black Lushus 0]

I find it humerous that most of you actually thought Vince was going to come through with this whole ECW revival thing to begin with. Of course, now, you're all getting pissy over how it's being run. The minute it was announced that Angle was going to be a part of it, you guys shoulda called it a day...no, check that, the minute the rumors of ECW coming back first started, you guys should have called it a day.

[Guest Overworked]

What? the Raw Audience? They are the reason why the DVD's did so well for ECW? Isn't Raw audience just....WWE fans? Exactly how much different are Raw fans to Smackdown fans? Just people starving to actually see some god damn wrestling.

 

you take a product like ECW and revitalize it, but then you push out those elements that actually make it fuction abd think you yourself can make it good, or even better, and when it fails you blame those elements you pushed out to begin with?

[Black Lushus 0]

well the Raw audience does and always did outweigh the ECW audience...

[justcoz 0]

well the Raw audience does and always did outweigh the ECW audience...

 

 

Well, of course it will but within that and Smackdown's audience are likely people, like myself, that watch out of habit and because it's the only wrestling on a national scale that they have. I've been enjoying Smackdown lately but that's not the point. There are people that would have gladly welcomed an alternative built on many (not all) of the same principals of ECW. And when news of the new ECW officially hit things did seem promising. It was going to be like the AAA league to WWE. Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer would be in control of creative. Shane McMahon was going to be involved at one point as he was an ECW fan. And then Vince McMahon entered the picture and with him came his yes-men, Johnny Ace and WWE creative. And I didn't lose hope when Kurt Angle was brought it. Angle fit the ECW mold so that made sense. Big Show on the other hand.... well, that's when it first hit me but I figured at least we had Heyman and Dreamer on creative and maybe Heyman could make Show 2006's 911. And then... well, we all get the point. Things just keep going through the downward spiral - but I'm still watching with interest - it's just more like looking at a car wreck and hoping they pull a survivor or two from it.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Vince is a moron, but so are those of you believed that "this time it'll be different than the last 50 times VInce and WWE fucked a major storyline up!"

 

same old shit as always, its impossible to get outraged, since its been happening nonstop for almost 5 years now.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I find it baffling that Vince thinks the old ECW is outdated yet he loves Sabu.