The return of ECW has seen the return of the old promotion's diehard fans. They have put on their ECW colors and have voiced their opinions on the new brand that WWE has produced on Sci Fi. A lot of these voices are dark and negative. Crying that this isn't ECW after all. It's WWE's vision of what ECW was or could be. Well...yes. It is, and I think the sooner we all realize this fact, the sooner we can get past it. The new ECW is under the umbrella of WWE. It isn't going to be the same. Reactions from wrestling fans have been a little volatile towards WWE's third brand. In fact, some of these reactions haven't come from the old ECW faithful but from new fans who simply believe the new brand, whether truly ECW or not, is just no good. I strongly disagree. Here, I will compile much of what has been said against the new ECW and respond to it as best I can.
The sci-fi stuff is wrestlecrap. Why are there zombies and vampires on ECW?
The new ECW has seen a vampire, a zombie and a tarot card reader. In order to conform to Sci Fi's station standards, ECW is supposed to have a science fiction/horror/fantasy element here and there. Science fiction fans were screaming bloody murder when ECW's television deal was announced. Sci Fi has certain expectations about their channel. There must be that element. Otherwise, I assume they believe, it will go the way of MTV, being only somewhat about music. This isn't the first time Sci Fi did something like this. When Mystery Science Theater 3000 was given new life on their channel, the creators said time and again that there was a new rule that came with the deal. Only sci-fi/horror/fantasy movies could be played during MST3K. ECW has a better deal. Just a little sci-fi element to ease everyone's minds.
ECW has done a great job of taking this mandate, spinning it how they want and turning it into a positive. When the zombie made his debut (and only apperance) on the first show, he was met by the Sandman who promptly caned him in the head and squashed him. This was management's way of saying that wrestling will come first in ECW, and that while they had to accept Sci Fi's unique requirement, they didn't have to like it and they are fighting it tooth and nail. The most recent episode had a three-second glimpse at the vampire, played by Kevin Fertig of Mordecai fame, and that was it. In all likelihood, to satisfy Sci Fi, ECW will make the vampire a regular wrestler. However, that is a small price to pay.
ECW has done the best they could with Sci Fi. Professional wrestling isn't hot anymore. It hasn't been since the late 90's. Networks aren't exactly scrambling for their own wrestling shows. TNA's numbers have been disappointing lately and they have been losing millions. WWE isn't what it once was. When McMahon tried to sell the networks on ECW, only two had any interest: Bravo and Sci Fi. Bravo wasn't all that gung-ho about it, so they went with Sci Fi. This meant doing things Sci Fi's way sometimes. It is a small compromise for WWE to get a third brand. Originally, McMahon expected ECW to be an internet show for a while. Isn't this a lot better?
Why are ECW and Raw practically the same brand? It feels like ECW is Raw's third hour!
The third brand has just been born. It only lasts an hour. It is on a more obscure channel. WWE can't risk Sci Fi not getting the numbers they want and pulling ECW after its twelve-week committment. I think it is clear that the decision was made to have Raw wrestlers in ECW to help the new brand. The side effect of this is that ECW is also a part of Raw. The old fans who tuned into see the new ECW can also tune in to watch Raw for more. The symbiosis of the two brands can help both. The other reason is that Rob Van Dam, in the minds of many it seems, needed to win the WWE Championship at ECW One Night Stand to help make the third brand look strong. That means RVD, as WWE Champion, shows up on ECW and Raw, and RVD's Raw challengers show up on ECW.
Personally, I hope this ends soon. I prefer each brand having its own top champion. Not ECW holding two and Raw (technically) with nothing. In all likelihood, the ECW/Raw relationship won't last much longer. ECW's ratings are good enough that the brand can one day stand on its own. Also, Raw is going to need its own champion in the coming months or it will start to look bad in comparison. For now, in the short term, the two brands working as one seems to make sense from a marketing standpoint. At the end of Raw, something is done to make the viewers think it's a "To be continued..." scenario in which they must watch ECW the following night to see what happens. It's smart. It can't last, but for now, it really does seem logical.
Now that Paul Heyman is getting pushed out of power by Vince, ECW is going to be even more like Raw.
Yeah. Probably. As a general rule, Paul Heyman doesn't get along with management. He didn't in WCW. He didn't when he was head of Smackdown. He probably doesn't right now that he's a major force in the new ECW. It was only a matter of time before someone else took over. It's a shame. I admit that. However, it shouldn't be a surprise. Even if Heyman worked well with the rest of the ECW creative team, he still wants the brand a certain way. Different from the rest of WWE. McMahon thinks he knows what he's doing better than Heyman. He has decades of evidence to back him up. In this case, I think Heyman would work better as a brand's head, but this project is too important to McMahon. All reports say this is his big focus right now. Making this work. He's going to get involved. If the latest from Meltzer and PWInsider are any indication, Heyman is now pretty much out of power with McMahon running ECW.
Is this such a terrible thing? Will there be too much male ass on ECW? Not enough wrestling? I think the brand will be fine but only time will tell. What I do think is that we can't be so quick to think ECW will be terrible without Paul Heyman booking it. In my mind, the bigger hit to ECW is Kurt Angle taking some time off. Not Heyman having less say in creative decisions. Again, with the news breaking on this just a few days ago, we'll have to wait and see.
The ECW wrestlers aren't being used well. Only the WWE wrestlers.
Let's get one thing straight. They are all WWE wrestlers. From Rob Van Dam to Big Show to Balls Mahoney. Every last one of them. This isn't an ECW reunion show. This is an ECW rebirth under the WWE flag. I think that ECW's renegade history has led us to believe that this isn't really a WWE brand. It is. It mostly definitely is. Everyone in the new ECW is a WWE wrestler.
A lot of hardcore fans want as few wrestlers in ECW as possible who weren't in the old promotion. That doesn't work. A lot of ECW's old roster can't go anymore. To satisfy the old fans as much as possible, WWE brought Al Snow and Tommy Dreamer out of relative retirement. Some of the old ECW wrestlers aren't even in good enough shape to compete on a regular basis. The new ECW needs some wrestlers who are...well...new. Two reasons. First, Kurt Angle is a bigger draw and a bigger name than Danny Doring, Road Kill, Stevie Richards, Tony Mamaluke, Jazz, Mahoney and the others -- combined. Sorry but it is what it is. Second, nostalgia acts don't work in extended periods in time. Take Shane Douglas' Hardcore Homecoming. The first show did well. The tour that followed did not. The reunion gets tired. This can't be that. It needs to be a new brand. There are so many reasons to give the new ECW some new blood and not nearly enough to leave it almost exactly as it was in the 90's. This is something new. Not something old. It is time we accept that.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to e-mail me after this is over at trophar@lycos.com and give me your reaction to my reaction to their reaction.
