ECW return will work – at least to start
By Mr. Mal Occhio
WRESTLER’S RAMBLINGS wrestling blog
Okay, even Mr. Mal will admit it – Terry Funk really is too damn old to be a ring anymore. He mumbled through his segment with Mick Foley a few weeks back, and stumbled through his run-in (with an overweight Tommy Dreamer in tow) on last night’s RAW. If these are the guys that the WWE and Paul Heyman are looking to put ECW back on the map, it truly looks as though the idea may die on the launching pad.
Luckily, it ain’t. Even the mind of Mr. Mal Occhio is hard-pressed to predict who will emerge to carry the company however – but count on someone doing just that. ECW will work, but performers beyond the former litany of stalwarts (Sabu, Sandman, Rob Van Dam et al) must be found to truly launch the league beyond that of just another fun reunion.
While the reemergence of Extreme Championship Wrestling takes its first steps toward being a full-time brand again at the upcoming One Night Stand pay-per-view, it will be the following six months after that will truly tell the tale as to whether or not the league will be able to revive even a shadow of what it formerly had.
Keep in mind – what is had was essentially a cult following, and one not exactly numbering in the millions.
It will be up to the creative genius of Paul Heyman, along with the forementioned Dreamer, to cull diamonds from the current crop of independent stars and foreign workers not well-known to fans of the more mainstream WWE product. Judging by their history, however, it’s a good bet that task will be accomplished, and then some.
You have to believe ECW right out of the box will be far-more entertaining than the current TNA. For one, they will work in a traditional four-sided squared-circle. That gives them a leg-up already. People know that ring when they see it, they like that ring, they will watch wrestling in that ring (sorry TNA fans, but it ain’t just Mal who feels this way). Two, they will be working with a seriously-thirsty hardcore crowd just itching for some of the high-flying, hard-hitting, insanely-active work rate that ECW became famous for – that helps a ton. Three, they also have a television deal reportedly in place on the Sci-Fi network that will open their brand of action to an entirely new audience – one far beyond that which they enjoyed on the former TNN (where the network, quizzically, refused to air promos for the show outside of during the actual air time). And four? No wrestlers – anywhere – worked as hard as those that called ECW their home turf (for little or no money, as it turned out). Look for more of the same in that department – the hard working, that is. McMahon signing the cheques should bode better for the consistent payouts - and that bodes extremely well for Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Add in a hungry Heyman – who realizes what a chance he is being handed – and there should be nothing lackadaisical about ECW’s comeback. Fans will have another real choice on the dial to satiate their desire for pro wrestling, and the WWE should reap the reward financially (let alone having the option of cross-promoting events and such).
Grab a local independent show soon and maybe you will catch the next big ECW star - then you can say you saw them when. Count on it. ECW will work – will you be watching?
Back in the WWE, do they really have talent in place for their next big run? Can a surge reach the heights wrestling did back in the late 1990s? Is Mr. Mal leaving the gas on again or is the WWE really on the assent, even though ratings haven’t born this out? Find out later this week – only on Wrestler’s Ramblings!
May 26th, 2006 at 9:03 am
I did not really follow ECW back in its first run, so I don’t have that same foaming at the mouth reaction some do. People rail on CZW because for the violence, isn’t ECW just a CZW lite type thing. Is it just to what extent you like your violence as to why people like ECW and think CZW is sick?
For me I can hang with the ladders, flaming tables, kendo sticks and the norm, but once you start bringing cheese graders into the ring, I am not as comfortable with it.
The best I can figure and from the small clips I have watched on youtube, CZW is violence for the sake of violence and ECW is more violence for the sake of wresting and maybe that is the difference.
May 27th, 2006 at 12:41 am
Trust me Gooker - ECW is SO much more than flippin’ cheese graters and stuff like that. Again, this league had THE best WRESTLING I have ever seen - period. Yes, it also had CRAZY hardcore stuff, too. But the workmanship in that ring was simply amazing. I can’t wait for it to come back again. Now, if they can only get a tv deal in Canada, I’d be all set . . .
May 30th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Then maybe it would be better of them to focus on that, than always pushing the extreme part of it. That is all I ever hear or see, so how would one know what type of wrestling they have when all you ever see is Sabu flipping off the top rope with barb wire wrapped around himself?
May 30th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
True, but Sabu flipping off the top rope wrapped in barbed wire is pretty damn cool, no? All’s Mal is saying is to give it a chance - if it is anything like it used to be - I think you will pleasantly surprised. Until I watched it on a consistent basis (namely, every Friday night on TNN and their PPV’s - once they were available in my area) I used to think exactly like you did. I remember first seeing it in a bar, and the Dudley Boys were hitting their opponents with frying pans and I thought, “Who would watch this crap?” Not long after that, that WHO was me. And loving it.
May 31st, 2006 at 7:53 am
I think one of the big missteps the ECW made back in the day was that weekly TNN show, I remember watching and only seeing snipits of matches or not matches at all. At least we know that will change, with Vince pushing it.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Okay this is an old post I know… but I gotta make a comment about ECW. Terry Funk??? The guy cant even walk anymore and he looks retarded. I give him his props in the old days he was the man, but holy crow, he walks around like he has a load in his pants (or should I say his Depends).. Tommy Dreamer and Funk should be happy they get to wrestle 2 stars like Edge and Foley.
June 1st, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Here, here - Funk looks and walks like he’s about 85-years-old now. That being said, I’m sure he’ll still take some wicked bump at the ECW PPV. More importantly . . . welcome back PizzaSteve! The blog ain’t the same without ya! Did’ja finally outrun all of them midgets that were chasin’ ya?!?
June 1st, 2006 at 8:43 pm
My Mom keeps telling me about some stupid show on TV about some midget family. Little People, Big World or something like that.. Thats a definite no way for the Pizzaman! Nightmares baby, nightmares.. It would be terrocious. Okay, bye!