OAO ECW on Sci-Fi Thread for 7/11 (Week 5)

[Downhome 0]

From PWInsider:

 

Wrestling promoter/tape-DVD dealer Rob Feinstein was backstage at the June 24th ECW show at the ECW Arena. I was told that he was asked to leave by security. He reportedly claimed that he was there as an invited guest of Tommy Dreamer but that didn't matter to security.

 

The word going around at the show last night was that Sci Fi liked the broadcast, especially the main event. They were said to really like the blood and thumbtacks in the Ric Flair-Big Show match and liked the ECW feel.

 

I heard from a source in WWE merchandising that they will be discontinuing the EC F'N Shirt soon. The shirt, which was a huge seller for ECW back in the nineties and was patterned by Paul Heyman after a very popular Guns N Roses shirt from time period, was the best selling shirt in ECW history. From what I was told, Vince McMahon reportedly feels that the shirt is too crass (which is really humorous when you think about it) and will turn off potential advertisers.

 

For those wondering, Paul Heyman did not wear his trademark hat on TV last night because the hat is part of his babyface persona while last night's look is how he works as an "in charge" heel. I had forgotten that from when he was the GM on Smackdown.

 

BOLD: That's great news in my opinion, since I really loved the show last night for the most part. Since WWE seems like they want to please SciFi, perhaps they'll go more in this direction from now on?

[Taker666 0]

From PWInsider:

 

Wrestling promoter/tape-DVD dealer Rob Feinstein was backstage at the June 24th ECW show at the ECW Arena. I was told that he was asked to leave by security. He reportedly claimed that he was there as an invited guest of Tommy Dreamer but that didn't matter to security.

 

The word going around at the show last night was that Sci Fi liked the broadcast, especially the main event. They were said to really like the blood and thumbtacks in the Ric Flair-Big Show match and liked the ECW feel.

 

I heard from a source in WWE merchandising that they will be discontinuing the EC F'N Shirt soon. The shirt, which was a huge seller for ECW back in the nineties and was patterned by Paul Heyman after a very popular Guns N Roses shirt from time period, was the best selling shirt in ECW history. From what I was told, Vince McMahon reportedly feels that the shirt is too crass (which is really humorous when you think about it) and will turn off potential advertisers.

 

For those wondering, Paul Heyman did not wear his trademark hat on TV last night because the hat is part of his babyface persona while last night's look is how he works as an "in charge" heel. I had forgotten that from when he was the GM on Smackdown.

 

BOLD: That's great news in my opinion, since I really loved the show last night for the most part. Since WWE seems like they want to please SciFi, perhaps they'll go more in this direction from now on?

 

Yeah, ECW needs more RIC FLAIR!

[EricMM 0]

Discontinuing that shirt is an awful decision.

 

Doesn't the new DX shirt have butts on it?

[Guest NYankees]

So EC fn W is bad but Get the F out is okay? You have got to love WWE Logic.

[Downhome 0]

From PWInsider:

 

-Joey Styles is back in Vince's "dog house". After the show last night Vince had a long talk with Joey, telling him that he's once again not happy with how he's calling the shows. After the meeting, Joey was in a very down mood and one person described it as he "looked like his dog died", and that's how down he was. Vince just doesn't like Joey's style of calling matches, in that Joey tries to call it like an athletic contest. Vince, as we all know, wants him to call the match by "telling stories".

 

(Yes, that's total bullshit since all of that was part of the angle of when Joey left RAW for ECW.)

 

-Many people in the company thought that when ECW started up, they were getting ECW again, and not what we have now. They thought Joey would be back to where he could call "wrestling" instead of being forced into "telling stories".

 

-Some have said that Joey really doesn't help himself in all of this, since he's just unwilling to adjust and really go along with what Vince wants for the most part.

 

-Yesterday, Vince was telling agents that he realizes that his product is what it is, and that it's going to turn off a lot of the old ECW fans, but his goal is that he wants ECW to be a major national brand that can turn a profit for him. He thinks in order for it to be a huge success, it's got to be like this.

 

(Again, this is bullshit since he never even gave a more old school ECW a chance, since he switched things up even by the first show.)

 

-Vince is putting in a lot of work for ECW, like what you're seeing or not. He's been working on ECW more than just about anything else lately.

 

-The Miz is in danger of killing his chances in WWE. He fucked up his lines at SD just like he did on RAW, and they're going to have to do a lot of editing to make it presentable for this Friday's show. After he screwed up again, many people backstage were rolling their eyes at the guy when he screwed up, again. Many are wondering how he's even getting a push since he can't remember his lines or cut a decent promo.

 

-Many people in WWE loved Mick Foley's promo. Many were saying that it's amazing how good a promo can be when a guy can write his own material instead of having to go by a script word for word.

 

-That said, many people in WWE creative hated Foley's promo.

 

-More on Kelly Kelly (holy shit I feel stuipd for having to say that name twice) - Everyone backstage notices that Kelly is horrible and has no natural talent at all in terms of looking sexy, dancing and everything else. That is, no natural talent for doing her JOB. Many people commented saying that this was especially obvious in her segment with Candice, and that she looked like a "little girl" trying to do a "big girl" thing. Having them two together opened a lot of eyes to the fact that she just doesn't belong on TV at all, since Candice looked like a pro. in comparison.

[Downhome 0]

Yeah, ECW needs more RIC FLAIR!

 

I don't have a problem with that at all. Just like I said when I first heard that ECW was coming back, I still say that Ric Flair should be the "Terry Funk" of this version of ECW. I wouldn't even mind him winning the title. Afterall, in the old ECW they gave the Funkster the ECW title on what was their most important PPV of all time. I think Flair could be a huge help in putting over this new ECW group. I wouldn't do that right away, but down the line it's really something I'd think about.

[EricMM 0]

Wait, is PWInsider the rumor mill or a reputable source?

 

Because if this is true its very irritating. But it sounds like smarkbait.

[Angle-plex 0]

I'd definetly put Flair in ECW. Flair's a guy that's been around for so long that everyone respects him now regardless, including old ECW fans. Plus he has looked like nothing but a lower midcarder on RAW lately and garbage matches don't expose him nearly as much as regular ones do.

[Downhome 0]

I'd definetly put Flair in ECW. Flair's a guy that's been around for so long that everyone respects him now regardless, including old ECW fans. Plus he has looked like nothing but a lower midcarder on RAW lately and garbage matches don't expose him nearly as much as regular ones do.

 

Having him in "extreme rules" matches covers up a lot for him. His TLC match with Edge was great, and so was this match with TBS. I can only see it as a total win-win situation. Not only is it tossing the Flair fans a bone, but it gives Ric Flair his final shot at a world title, and for WWE it's allowing it all to be done without giving Flair one of the "major" world straps. It also helps ECW by giving them a major player to help draw on their shows, especially for the PPV in December. Not to mention that it helps give the ECW title more prestige. The Flair/TBS match alone made the title seem important since they were going so far to win the match.

 

He's also very believable in matches like these, since he'll do anything he can to win, and he has a reputation for getting "extreme" anyway. Hell, Flair is famous for his color.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

A Flair/Corino bloodbath would be scary.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

If Ric Flair ended up staying in ECW for a bit, you can find Shane Douglas on top of a 30 story building's edge screaming "I'LL DO IT!"

 

And I'm all for Flair vs. Corino. That would be amazing stuff.

[Downhome 0]

There's never been any sort of Flair/Corino bout anywhere before? That seems like a match that just "needs" to happen before it's too late. I see the following listed, but that's all:

 

-August 9, 2001 - Brian Pillman Memorial Show: Steve Corino defeated David Flair

 

[justcoz 0]

From PWInsider:

 

-Yesterday, Vince was telling agents that he realizes that his product is what it is, and that it's going to turn off a lot of the old ECW fans, but his goal is that he wants ECW to be a major national brand that can turn a profit for him. He thinks in order for it to be a huge success, it's got to be like this.

 

(Again, this is bullshit since he never even gave a more old school ECW a chance, since he switched things up even by the first show.)

 

-Vince is putting in a lot of work for ECW, like what you're seeing or not. He's been working on ECW more than just about anything else lately.

 

Dave also made mention that Vince looks at TNA - a product that he feels caters towards internet fans - and recognizes their lack of growth in ratings, PPV buys, etc. This is why he feels that he has to WWE'ize ECW to make it profitible.

 

I don't necessarily agree with this. I think the reason for TNA's lack of growth isn't due to that part of their product that caters towards to the internet fans but rather the part of their product that reeks of WWE-like booking and feels like an episode of WCW. I still think there is an opening for ECW to present an alternative product and simply do it better than TNA does with the right booking and workers. You can't necessarily say that Vince is wrong though, he does have a point, I just disagree with it.

[Downhome 0]

Thanks for picking up the slack. I knew I forgot to include something.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Vince is just trying to play it safe w/ ECW . . . which should be an oxymoron on multiple levels.

[Enigma 0]

Wait, is PWInsider the rumor mill or a reputable source?

 

Because if this is true its very irritating. But it sounds like smarkbait.

PWInsider Elite Hotline

[CBright7831 0]

-Vince is putting in a lot of work for ECW, like what you're seeing or not. He's been working on ECW more than just about anything else lately.

That's just great. Then why doesn't he mention it on-air instead of worrying about two guys having a mid-life crisis (as someone put it awhile back)?

[cabbageboy 0]

The Styles stuff is silly. I mean I can't remotely see Vince canning Joey right now. If they got rid of Styles from the ECW show then people would be really, really pissed.

[Enigma 0]

Joey Styles should just quit.

 

I think it's absolutely pathetic how WWE called and begged Joey Styles to bail them out when Mike Goldberg wouldn't fuck over UFC, and have done nothing but yell at him for the way he does his job.

 

Joey should tell them to fuck off.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

After last night, I've totally bought into the idea of Ric Flair being the "Terry Funk" of the new ECW, the legend who can still hang with the young guys by pulling out every trick in the book. He's got the respect factor, can work an excellent hardcore match that allows him to hide his weaknesses and lends an air of credibility. I don't see any harm in booking him as a focal point of the promotion for 6-12 months.

[UZI Suicide 0]

I know it's been harped on but it must be said again - the Extreme Rules crap is a TOTAL joke and is really ruining the brand for me so far. Most of the roster is useless if they aren't able to wrestle hardcore matches.

[strummer 0]

Meltzer:

 

ECW was way up to a 2.4 rating, second best ever last night.

 

This will only convince Vince to keep going in his own direction

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Meltzer:

 

ECW was way up to a 2.4 rating, second best ever last night.

 

This will only convince Vince to keep going in his own direction

 

Good. Last night's show was the first entire wrestling program I've made it though in almost two years.

[Downhome 0]

Wow, that's a really solid number. Is that the highest it's been since the debut?

[NoCalMike 0]

I think the rating could be heavily attributed to the way the Main event was setup. Whether you like the Big Show and Flair as your main event or not, you have to say that their segment on Raw(including the Foley promo which might have given people the impression he was showing up) was very well done, and then the match itself exceeded all expectations, well at least all expectations that I had for it.

 

The thing is, thus far the one consistent thing on ECW TV has been the main event match, unlike Raw where every main event match goes to a no decision because they are so afraid of over-protecting the "chosen" talent, on ECW we are getting good matches with clean wins that help put over talent and build people.

 

Lets hope Vince sees this as an indication that people want their ECW product more on the authentic side.

 

I really do hope this somehow leads Foley returning to "ECW" as Cactus Jack. Of course it probably won't happen since all the promos are taking place on Raw and not ECW, but it would be nice to see the match on an ECW PPV. Maybe Foley's next promo could be to challenge Flair to an "exteme rules" match.

 

Oh and lets discuss the stupidity of "exteme rules" My biggest beef is of course like the rest of you, that every ECW match should just be "extreme rules" I mean in the old ECW, every match was technically extreme rules and it didn't necessarily turn every match into a blood bath, it would just allow for the little things, like allow RVD to use the VanDaminator, or for someone to simply use a chair shot or a low blow during the course of the match, or the best part, there were no stupid countouts, which allowed for brawling in the crowd and stuff. The thing that makes it stupid is that when they advertise "extreme rules" for a WWE match it makes the assumption that all ECW matches are like that, and then when you tune into ECW you find out that they aren't .

[Downhome 0]

Well, the Flair/TBS segment on RAW was the highest rated segment on that entire show other than the overrun, so I don't think that we should be shocked about this.

 

The thing is, thus far the one consistent thing on ECW TV has been the main event match, unlike Raw where every main event match goes to a no decision because they are so afraid of over-protecting the "chosen" talent, on ECW we are getting good matches with clean wins that help put over talent and build people.

 

Yep, that's very true.

 

Week One - The Main event put over TBS in a big way.

 

Week Two - We saw RVD/Angle go over Orton/Edge.

 

Week Three - RVD once again went over, this time defeating Kurt Angle...clean.

 

Week Four - Once again, TBS went over huge, beating RVD for the ECW World Title.

 

Week Five - They put TBS over that much more, beating a legend in Ric Flair, clean.

 

The main events have been giving a nice chunk of time as well.

[NoCalMike 0]

Well, the Flair/TBS segment on RAW was the highest rated segment on that entire show other than the overrun, so I don't think that we should be shocked about this.

 

The thing is, thus far the one consistent thing on ECW TV has been the main event match, unlike Raw where every main event match goes to a no decision because they are so afraid of over-protecting the "chosen" talent, on ECW we are getting good matches with clean wins that help put over talent and build people.

 

Yep, that's very true.

 

Week One - The Main event put over TBS in a big way.

 

Week Two - We saw RVD/Sabu go over Orton/Edge.

 

Week Three - RVD once again went over, this time defeating Kurt Angle...clean.

 

Week Four - Once again, TBS went over huge, beating RVD for the ECW World Title.

 

Week Five - They put TBS over that much more, beating a legend in Ric Flair, clean.

 

The main events have been giving a nice chunk of time as well.

 

Right, not to mention the fact that the original plan for Week 4 was for RVD to beat Edge.....CLEAN, which would have been another good main event with a clean finish.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Well, the Flair/TBS segment on RAW was the highest rated segment on that entire show other than the overrun, so I don't think that we should be shocked about this.

 

The thing is, thus far the one consistent thing on ECW TV has been the main event match, unlike Raw where every main event match goes to a no decision because they are so afraid of over-protecting the "chosen" talent, on ECW we are getting good matches with clean wins that help put over talent and build people.

 

Yep, that's very true.

 

Week Two - We saw RVD/Sabu go over Orton/Edge.

Slight correction:

 

It was RVD/Angle, not RVD/Sabu.

 

I think Sabu beat Mamaluke that week.

[Downhome 0]

D'oh, thanks for pointing that out. I guess I'm so damn used to typing RVD/Sabu together after all of these years.

 

Chris, oh if only Edge wasn't champ and someone from WCW was. Your sig would be like a parade of WCW champs.

[NoCalMike 0]

From PWInsider:

 

The word going around at the show last night was that Sci Fi liked the broadcast, especially the main event. They were said to really like the blood and thumbtacks in the Ric Flair-Big Show match and liked the ECW feel.

 

 

I don't know if this tidbit is just smark-bait or what, but if it is true this could be the best news thus far to come out of the Sci-Fi television deal. If there is anyone Vince will listen to it is the Network. I am just weary of this because of the part about "The ECW feel" I mean, is this trying to elude to Sci-Fi network execs being familiar with the original ECW product?