Wednesday, July 19, 2006
W.W.E.C.Dub
It's been a while since I've updated this blog, but sometimes it's difficult to find
inspiration when the WWE product is so mediocre. So it has to count as good news when Vince finally decides to shake up the product. Enter, from stage left, ECW.
By Vince's own admissions (or by Dave Meltzer's leaked admissions), the booking had become lethargic, unspiring and methodically lazy. Of course, that only covers half the story - you could say what you want about the sick Guerrero angles they've run this year, but you sure couldn't call them cliched. But McMahon clearly needed something new to try, and has become addicted to running live TV on a Monday night (which explains why Smackdown is so second-rate now). So, taking into account the huge success of last year's One Night Stand, plus all the books/DVDs sold, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and ressurrect ECW. Trouble is, the iron has cooled considerably in the past 12 months. Last June, "E C Dub" was the prevalent chant. Now it's "Cena", "Cena Sucks", "619" or "Eddie". Whether you're a child cheering on Cena and Mysterio, or a stalwart of the Attitude Era paying to see DX, if you're at a WWE event in 2006, chances are you're not an ECW fan.
Which leaves us with the surreal scene of ECW tapings being held in a Smackdown arena. Airy, air conditioned, 10,000 seater sports stadiums. You can hardly move for 12-yr-olds with Mexican masks, yet WWE seem to have the crazed notion that ECW fans are prepared to sit through Smackdown, and vice versa. In addition, Sci Fi airs the show live, so there's no time to pipe in fake noise to drown out the near-silence of a Smackdown taping. It couldn't be simpler - all Vince had to do was book a third night of taping in an ECW-sized venue. The crowds would come out in force (as they have done at the house shows, albeit with variable success), and would create a cauldron of noise synonamous with the ECW of the 1990's. if he's so worried about the costs, he could combine RAW and Smackdown into double tapings, as they regularly do. Heck, he could move ECW to the RAW tapings. I've said all along that the RAW fans are totally different from the Smackdown followers (Cena started getting booed the month after he was traded, which can hardly be a coincidence), and there's far more chance of the old ECW crew turning up at a live RAW than a soulless, child orientated Smackdown headlined by Mysterio, King Booker and Lashley. But Vince seems to have ignored common sense for years. Basically since the moment he let Austin turn heel at WrestleMania X-7.
So ECW got off to a bad start, to put things bluntly. A poor first show was headlined by an awful Battle Royal, and the product looked a millions miles removed from the old ECW, or even the rabid PPV's at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I'm not quite sure why everyone reacted so badly to it, though. Meltzer called it 'the worst American wrestling show in many years', and the fans' reaction on his website was typically hysterical. To be honest, the product hasn't changed in the slightest since that night, yet people seem to like the shows more now. I guess they just got used to it. The show basically has the same formula every week - Sabu match, Kelly Kelly strip interrupted by Mike Knox, Test squashes ECW guy, Sandman canes freak, RAW guy enters arena through fans, good main event. I'm not sure that'll stay novel for long, as I'm sure I've seen the same show five times now. But remarkably, it seems to have held up in the ratings.
There are a few good reasons for this. The Monday to Tuesday dynamic is really good, and the various angles on RAW have helped build interest for the next night's main event. Joey Styles and Tazz are exemplar commentators, and the show is immediately improved by their authenticity and, pardon the pun, styles. Paul Heyman is one of the greatest promos in wrestling history, and adds to the show with his mere presence. Sabu has really impressed management with his workrate and entertaining spots, and has continued to receive a push despite his questionable actions on the road. The show really suffers from a lack of RVD and Kurt Angle, but when they return the show should become more stable again. Angle just needs to tone down on the 4-nights-a-week schedule, and fast. Big Show has, in my opinion, always been under-rated in terms of believability and presence, and since Heyman always books his character to perfection, this summer should be no expection. And at the end of the day, people will always pop for chairs and tables. It may be lazy booking, but if they want to beat TNA, the ressurrection of ECW goes a long way to doing that.
Heyman: Presence
For me, the big problem is Vince's booking. Or not so much his booking, but the old ECW fans' rejection of it. The sooner they realise that the ECW of 1996 is dead and buried, the better. Frankly, they should be glad they've even got a watered down version now. They may not agree with Vince's idealogy (and the Kelly Kelly segments are some of the most pointless I've ever seen), but his vision of a successful wrestling company does not correlate with the old ECW, simple as that. And since he beat Heyman convincingly, and beat Bischoff even more convincingly, he has the right to book whatever show he wants. Sci Fi are ecstatic at the ratings, so it looks like the show will be around for a while. And if Heyman ain't down with that, Vince has two word for him - bounced cheques.
inspiration when the WWE product is so mediocre. So it has to count as good news when Vince finally decides to shake up the product. Enter, from stage left, ECW.
By Vince's own admissions (or by Dave Meltzer's leaked admissions), the booking had become lethargic, unspiring and methodically lazy. Of course, that only covers half the story - you could say what you want about the sick Guerrero angles they've run this year, but you sure couldn't call them cliched. But McMahon clearly needed something new to try, and has become addicted to running live TV on a Monday night (which explains why Smackdown is so second-rate now). So, taking into account the huge success of last year's One Night Stand, plus all the books/DVDs sold, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and ressurrect ECW. Trouble is, the iron has cooled considerably in the past 12 months. Last June, "E C Dub" was the prevalent chant. Now it's "Cena", "Cena Sucks", "619" or "Eddie". Whether you're a child cheering on Cena and Mysterio, or a stalwart of the Attitude Era paying to see DX, if you're at a WWE event in 2006, chances are you're not an ECW fan.
Which leaves us with the surreal scene of ECW tapings being held in a Smackdown arena. Airy, air conditioned, 10,000 seater sports stadiums. You can hardly move for 12-yr-olds with Mexican masks, yet WWE seem to have the crazed notion that ECW fans are prepared to sit through Smackdown, and vice versa. In addition, Sci Fi airs the show live, so there's no time to pipe in fake noise to drown out the near-silence of a Smackdown taping. It couldn't be simpler - all Vince had to do was book a third night of taping in an ECW-sized venue. The crowds would come out in force (as they have done at the house shows, albeit with variable success), and would create a cauldron of noise synonamous with the ECW of the 1990's. if he's so worried about the costs, he could combine RAW and Smackdown into double tapings, as they regularly do. Heck, he could move ECW to the RAW tapings. I've said all along that the RAW fans are totally different from the Smackdown followers (Cena started getting booed the month after he was traded, which can hardly be a coincidence), and there's far more chance of the old ECW crew turning up at a live RAW than a soulless, child orientated Smackdown headlined by Mysterio, King Booker and Lashley. But Vince seems to have ignored common sense for years. Basically since the moment he let Austin turn heel at WrestleMania X-7.
So ECW got off to a bad start, to put things bluntly. A poor first show was headlined by an awful Battle Royal, and the product looked a millions miles removed from the old ECW, or even the rabid PPV's at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I'm not quite sure why everyone reacted so badly to it, though. Meltzer called it 'the worst American wrestling show in many years', and the fans' reaction on his website was typically hysterical. To be honest, the product hasn't changed in the slightest since that night, yet people seem to like the shows more now. I guess they just got used to it. The show basically has the same formula every week - Sabu match, Kelly Kelly strip interrupted by Mike Knox, Test squashes ECW guy, Sandman canes freak, RAW guy enters arena through fans, good main event. I'm not sure that'll stay novel for long, as I'm sure I've seen the same show five times now. But remarkably, it seems to have held up in the ratings.
There are a few good reasons for this. The Monday to Tuesday dynamic is really good, and the various angles on RAW have helped build interest for the next night's main event. Joey Styles and Tazz are exemplar commentators, and the show is immediately improved by their authenticity and, pardon the pun, styles. Paul Heyman is one of the greatest promos in wrestling history, and adds to the show with his mere presence. Sabu has really impressed management with his workrate and entertaining spots, and has continued to receive a push despite his questionable actions on the road. The show really suffers from a lack of RVD and Kurt Angle, but when they return the show should become more stable again. Angle just needs to tone down on the 4-nights-a-week schedule, and fast. Big Show has, in my opinion, always been under-rated in terms of believability and presence, and since Heyman always books his character to perfection, this summer should be no expection. And at the end of the day, people will always pop for chairs and tables. It may be lazy booking, but if they want to beat TNA, the ressurrection of ECW goes a long way to doing that.
Heyman: Presence
For me, the big problem is Vince's booking. Or not so much his booking, but the old ECW fans' rejection of it. The sooner they realise that the ECW of 1996 is dead and buried, the better. Frankly, they should be glad they've even got a watered down version now. They may not agree with Vince's idealogy (and the Kelly Kelly segments are some of the most pointless I've ever seen), but his vision of a successful wrestling company does not correlate with the old ECW, simple as that. And since he beat Heyman convincingly, and beat Bischoff even more convincingly, he has the right to book whatever show he wants. Sci Fi are ecstatic at the ratings, so it looks like the show will be around for a while. And if Heyman ain't down with that, Vince has two word for him - bounced cheques.
