Toshiaki Koala 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 I don't know why Heyman is putting up with this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 What have they said on PWInsider hotline today? Hints about major changes being made to ECW and a main eventer taking some time off. From PWInsider: -On the topic of Orlando Jordan, the guy in the pictures is indeed the guy that got OJ fired and it's still rumored (more than a rumor really), that the guy with OJ was/is indeed underage, and THAT'S why they fired him, along with him not telling anyone that he was bringing him backstage and all of that, not just because he's gay. -There was a meeting between Vince, Dunn, and Heyman about ECW and changes being made. The decision has been made to move away from ALL of the old ECW concepts, characters, fans, and everything else and instead to simply 100% form ECW as just another brand for WWE, simply with the ECW name. In Vince's eyes, the old ECW fan base is dead and largely gone and he's going to go forward with things with that in mind. -This week Heyman put the show together, but when they actually got to the show Vince and the rest of WWE creative tore apart Heyman's ideas, and as a result we got the show that we saw. Heyman did book the Sabu segment, as well as the RVD/Angle segment, but the rest of the show (you know, the entire middle part that everyone hated) was because of Vince and the rest of creative. -Paul Heyman was not at the gorilla position last night, and Vince was the guy running around running things. Paul kept mainly to himself over on the sidelines, and when someone would come up to him and ask him for feedback or whatever he was open and gave his opinion, but other than that it was more obvious than ever that he is no longer the "mad genius behind ECW". -They spoke to a lot of people, just people who work for RAW and SD, and they are like "It's not ECW, it's just a continuation of RAW and SD. This isn't good for the ECW wrestlers, and it's not good for the fans." Even people that were not involved in ECW back in the day are ticked that this is what ECW has become now, because they were also hoping for a more old school ECW style of program, in hopes that it would have flooded over and then have allowed workers on RAW and SD to finally go outside of the box more often with their style. -Another question they've asked people in WWECW was about what happens to guys that have been "Paul Heyman projects", like Mike Knox and CM Punk. The response to that was that they still want Heyman to try and develop characters, but he has been told to change his style to go more along with the WWE style of character creation/development. -Another thing asked as about if Paul Heyman loses power if Dreamer has anything to gain, and that's not the case. Tommy Dreamer no longer has any control over anything at all and he's now just another wrestler, just like he's always been on TV in WWE. It's been said that the reality has set in for Tommy now, and part of his passion that he had for ECW coming back has now died out a bit. It has hurt him a great deal. -There was a lot of former ECW people who were not at the show last night. Pretty much the people you saw on TV last night who were former ECW people is the ECW people who were actually at the show. They don't know if this means anything other than they didn't have anything to use them for on TV this week. -The view right now by many in power in WWE is "why do we need a Danny Doring, Justin Credible, Steven DeAngelis, the refs, etc... when we have fifty workers in OVW, DSW, etc...?" -The reason for all of this is because when this project first started up, Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer had a ton of power, and the plan was for them to really be the main creative bookers and they planned to used all of the former ECW guys in big ways. Now that Paul Heyman is really nothing more than a symbolic head writer (since Vince and WWE creative go through his work and destroy most of it) and Tommy Dreamer has no power at all anymore, creative just doesn't see the need for most of the former ECW guys. -Already, most of the ECW refs are on the way out. -Kurt Angle will be taking time off very soon. As of late, Kurt Angle has been walking around like "the walking dead". People say that he's hurting all over all the time, but being injured isn't what he's taking time off for, and instead it's because of some sort of personal issue. -Kurt Angle stayed totally to himself at the last ECW show Tuesday night and hasn't been sociable at all with anyone in ECW. He also showed up very late for the ECW show at the ECW Arena. They speculate that Kurt Angle is now looking at everything like this just isn't worth his time anymore (being in ECW that is). -They talked to a number of people in the company about the "male stripper". As reported before, he is a member of creative, and he's one of the most hated guys in the company. People backstage were actually cheering Sandman doing that, and were actually wishing that he was a lot stiffer on the guy. Many people who weren't Sandman fans before last night, are now. -When the SD guys showed up for the house show Saturday night, guys were pulled to the side for drug tests, the first time it's happened at a house show. It really shocked a bunch of the workers. -Gunner Scott has been told that he's not working out right now, and he'll be going back to OVW for now. He'll more than likely be brought back, but for now he's being demoted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Chaos 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Randy Orton's shoulder is said to be sore at this point. He did not dislocate it like previously reported. After injuring it last week at the 6/20 ECW taping, Orton iced his shoulder down. He then attended a promotional event in the U.K. later in the week. I reckon he'll probably work through the pain. He's just got back after all. Although Im pretty sure he himself has said it was dislocated.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dips 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Thanks for that Downhome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fro 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Well, there goes ECW. Hopefully Heyman can get Brent Albright into ECW if he's really getting sent down. Dude could be a cornerstone of the new ECW if it ever gets booked right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Wow, reading this kind of shit about ECW really makes my head want to fucking explode. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Thanks for screwing up a money making idea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest droptoehold Report post Posted June 28, 2006 There was a meeting between Vince, Dunn, and Heyman about ECW and changes being made. The decision has been made to move away from ALL of the old ECW concepts, characters, fans, and everything else and instead to simply 100% form ECW as just another brand for WWE, simply with the ECW name. In Vince's eyes, the old ECW fan base is dead and largely gone and he's going to go forward with things with that in mind. I hope the same people that chanted you screwed matt and the same fans who boo john cena for his stale character and limited moveset take to booing every minute of ECW that is not up to par. I sympathise for the workers but this would be best for all. Let the fans take credit for killing wwecw ahead of schedule! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubq 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 There was a meeting between Vince, Dunn, and Heyman about ECW and changes being made. The decision has been made to move away from ALL of the old ECW concepts, characters, fans, and everything else and instead to simply 100% form ECW as just another brand for WWE, simply with the ECW name. In Vince's eyes, the old ECW fan base is dead and largely gone and he's going to go forward with things with that in mind. I hope the same people that chanted you screwed matt and the same fans who boo john cena for his stale character and limited moveset take to booing every minute of ECW that is not up to par. I sympathise for the workers but this would be best for all. Let the fans take credit for killing wwecw ahead of schedule! That wouldn't matter. They'd still be turning a profit from these fans buying tickets. If anything, the best way to make an impact is to act as if it doesn't exist. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Kobe24KGold Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Has it ever occurred to Vince that the reason for the poor reception at the ECW arena and lagging ticket sales for the Wachovia show, is, perhaps, because it's been WWE-ized? What is Vince's solution? Let's make it a 3rd WWE brand!!!! What a FUCKING idiot. I'm shocked he's gotten this far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scroby 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 You know, the whole lead booker of ECW is going to change between Heyman and Vince all the time. Next week, Heyman will probably have the book. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted June 28, 2006 Well, it started off with Vince, then to Heyman, then back to Vince. So far, that's how it's going. Like someone mentioned in the last ECW on SciFi thread, they are more than likely changing their minds on all of this shit daily, so you shouldn't take any of this as 100%, written in stone, fact. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nokia Report post Posted June 29, 2006 Reports attributed to the Naigai Times claim a Vince McMahon vs. Japanese legend Antonio Inoki may be in the works. The source has gone as far as to point to New Japan’s 9/1 Budokan show as a possible locale for the match between pro wrestling icons. Apparently Simon Inoki, the President of New Japan, has talked about trying to book WWE and CMLL talent for the 9/1 date. source: puroresufan.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benn 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 -Gunner Scott has been told that he's not working out right now, and he'll be going back to OVW for now. He'll more than likely be brought back, but for now he's being demoted. The fuck? The guy has been improving every week on SD to the point where he's looking like a credible upper-midcarder already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wildpegasus Report post Posted June 29, 2006 http://youtube.com/watch?v=eQzcbnjtPpE&search=Rocky%20Balboa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryankeast 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 This whole ECW situation is a F-A-R-C-E. It has been back...what? Three weeks (four including One Night Stand). Jesus Vince, how about actually looking at the long term here, instead of panicking and pulling the trigger on the whole proper ECW Give Paul Heyman the book and let him do what he needs to do to differentiate the ECW brand from RAW\SMACKDOWN. The WWE does not need another C show to go along with the A and B. This was always going to happen when you run the ECW show in a crowd that is mostly WWE (Smackdown fans) and Vince is too fucking stubborn to allow ANYONE a slight break and is a total control freak. The brand and tapings should have been reborn at the ECW arena that would attract the demographic and fans that they obviously were trying to appeal to when Vince had this brain spark to revive. If they were not fully confident on the ECW guys getting the new promotion over then I’m sure the ECW fans would be won over by Big Show and Kurt Angle as long as they had their working boots on. Straight from the bat this was always going to fall flat on it’s arse. (That is if the stories don’t change again tomorrow). Vince was never going to allow Heyman create/resurrect a new ECW in Heyman’s vision. Bet he wished he just stayed at OVW. As for the Gunner Scott deal that is also bullshit. The guy has ton of potential. It just seems the WWE are terrified of letting wrestlers be just ……..wrestlers. Case 1 – Scott. Case 2 – Burchall and turning him into a pirate. Give him some interview time and an angle to run with. A Scott feud with Regal and Finlay would be sound. Actually have Regal/Finley get the tag straps then feud with Birchall and Scott over the title – would produce some top matches. Have Benoit return a bit early to manage the face team. Over time the team of Scott and Birchall get a bit big for their boots and say they no longer need Benoit’s tutelage – then bang you have another feud which will produce top matches. Not Rocker Science. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 If the ECW fans are really so enraged about all this, maybe one of them will take matters into their own hands the next time Vince McMahon appears in the ring... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slickster 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestlefreak 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 I'm still not into ECW yet. I think it's the worst of the three brands(Smackdown is easily the best!) Week 2 of ECW was only mildly better than the first, IMO(purely because of the main- event). I haven't seen week 3 yet, but it'll probably be crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricMM 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 So that begs the question of whether or not ECW was brought back to try to cater to the audience that bought ONS and the DVD, or to provide a TNA-killer type program that was "something else" Either way, either way, this step is a step in the wrong direction. You cannot support a third brand if its entirely the same as the first two, there have been grumblings about TWO brands for years now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slickster 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Overworked Report post Posted June 29, 2006 I don't know if this has been reported yet, but it certainly didn't warrent a thread but a discussion.. Source: f4wonline.com The WWE creative team told the recently released Mikey Batts to learn a British accent for a "Harry Potter" gimmick they came up with. The five foot tall wrestler refused. His refusal obviously didn't bode well with management and he was released a short while later. The official reason Batts was cut from his developmental contract was that he had a horrible attitude. In regards to specific reasons for his release, he was said to be in poor shape, had little desire to improve, was rude and not popular amongst his peers, milked injuries & sat out of wrestling practice, wrestled in "indy style" instead of "WWE style," threw bad punches, and lastly, he had a bad haircut. But that Harry Potter gimmick is still out there, waiting for some lucky wrestler to get waylayed by lack of push for them to put him in some nickers and a school boy's uniform. magic and mystery... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 Yes, because YOU DEMANDED IT! A wrestling Harry Potter! I'm glad WWE has their fingers directly on the pulse of their fans, so that they can come up with such, fresh, cutting edge gimmicks that take advantage of popular trends at the heights of their popularity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scroby 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 It has been back...what? Three weeks (four including One Night Stand). Sorry to nit-pick, but ECW has only been around for 3 weeks. One night stand and the first show was in the same week. 2 days apart doesn't add a extra week. Again, sorry to nit-pick, that just bugged me a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryankeast 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 Again, sorry to nit-pick, that just bugged me a bit. No worries. Thanks for the correction. Harry Potter?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 From the latest PWInsider audio: -From what the guys have been told, the Kane angle is 100% over, at least for now. It's yet another case of thinking that a young talent that they've pushed in a prominent role, then after they start with the angle they then decide that the young guy needs more training, the same thing that recently happened with Gunner Scott. With how WWE books, never really doing anything long terms, they think it's possible that they'll change their mind, but as of right now, the angle is dead and done. No matter what you thought of the Kane/Kane angle, this is absolute bullshit to me. The angle has been building for about two months now. After so many teases, the "Kane" debuted, and made life a living hell for Kane, getting the upper hand pretty much every time. Then, on PPV, they have "Kane" beat Kane in a very convincing way. Then on RAW, for seemingly end the angle with Kane just chokeslamming "Kane" a few times, then removing the mask and tossing him out the back door of the arena. It's just bullshit, and I hate when they just end angles like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Downhome 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 From WWE.com: Johnny Parisi Released June 29, 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment has come to an agreement on the release of Johnny Parisi. WWE wishes Johnny the best in all future endeavors. I know that it doesn't really matter since they never did anything with the guy, but this is just another example of the WWE bullshit that I just don't understand. I always liked this guy, and I just don't see how creative can't think of something to do with someone like this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryankeast 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 I know that it doesn't really matter since they never did anything with the guy, but this is just another example of the WWE bullshit that I just don't understand. I always liked this guy, and I just don't see how creative can't think of something to do with someone like this. Never been huge on the guy myself, however again going back to the whole if Heyman had the book for ECW I'm sure a Swinger/Simon Diamond reunion would have been pretty cool. What with TNA telling Diamond he is pretty much done with the company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scroby 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 From WWE.com: Johnny Parisi Released June 29, 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment has come to an agreement on the release of Johnny Parisi. WWE wishes Johnny the best in all future endeavors. I know that it doesn't really matter since they never did anything with the guy, but this is just another example of the WWE bullshit that I just don't understand. I always liked this guy, and I just don't see how creative can't think of something to do with someone like this. Why not just send him over to ECW and let him be Johnny Swinger? See this is the problem with WWE, if they can't figure out some cheesy gimmick for you or can't put you in some stupid angle, you have no future with them. Again another reason why ECW just needs to be considered as a 2nd promoted, not just another brand Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dobbs 3K 0 Report post Posted June 29, 2006 From the latest PWInsider audio: -From what the guys have been told, the Kane angle is 100% over, at least for now. It's yet another case of thinking that a young talent that they've pushed in a prominent role, then after they start with the angle they then decide that the young guy needs more training, the same thing that recently happened with Gunner Scott. With how WWE books, never really doing anything long terms, they think it's possible that they'll change their mind, but as of right now, the angle is dead and done. No matter what you thought of the Kane/Kane angle, this is absolute bullshit to me. The angle has been building for about two months now. After so many teases, the "Kane" debuted, and made life a living hell for Kane, getting the upper hand pretty much every time. Then, on PPV, they have "Kane" beat Kane in a very convincing way. Then on RAW, for seemingly end the angle with Kane just chokeslamming "Kane" a few times, then removing the mask and tossing him out the back door of the arena. It's just bullshit, and I hate when they just end angles like this. The question is, how can we punish WWE for their continued incompetence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites