WWE Wrestling Discussion thread...

[Jeremy]

Tobal, I didn't even notice the barricades. ECW guys will be using their WWE themes, although I hope they get the rights to all of the covers that ECW had made for their CDs. They were good, and should be easier to get ahold of than the originals. I'm giving the show a little grace period since WWE has to quickly hype up the Raw PPV, but after that, I expect the show to improve tremendously. F4W said that we'll probably see some major changes next week given the overwhelmingly negative response to the show. Xeno, there might be some Impact Players matches, but Storm isn't coming out of retirement full-time for ECW.

[TobalRox]

Go buy all the ECW DVDs if you haven't already (the Pioneer releases). That's some of the best wrestling you'll ever see on American soil. But sadly the only way to ever truly experience ECW was to be at a live show (PPV or house, didn't matter). Seeing them at the little shithole music hall they played regularly around here was some of the best times I've ever had at a sporting event/concert.

I have all the Pioneer DVDs, as well as the WWE Rise and Fall DVD, I also went to a live PPV in Danbury, CT (the one that had Corino vs. Dusty.. unfortunately, that's the only match I remember there). I'm just saying at the time I hadn't had a lot of exposure outside of a few PPVs I watched at a buddy's house.

[Dolemite]

F4W said that we'll probably see some major changes next week given the overwhelmingly negative response to the show.

That's good news, hopefully.

But it'll probably still suck.

[Tommy Tallarico]

Remember when ECW on TNN debuted with a full PPV match of RVD vs Jerry Lynn? Yeah, that ruled.

[TobalRox]

Remember when ECW on TNN debuted with a full PPV match of RVD vs Jerry Lynn? Yeah, that ruled.

Remember when that was mentioned 2 or 3 times already in this thread?

[Jeremy]

I thought I made my mention of it pretty clear, too.

WO news for Wednesday -

--You can read the feedback on last night's show. There were some Nitros and Thunders worse when WCW was in its spiralling into destruction period, but there were huge problems with that show. Watching ECW really felt like watching Superastros years ago. Guys totally out of their element in front of fans that couldn't wait for it to end so they could see "the real wrestlers." I know many internally realized it was a disaster, but we've also heard people telling Vince that it was a success. The rating should be great by Sci-Fi standards. But they need a completely different product in week two.

--WWE cut Goldust today. No other details are available.

[Dolemite]

The show was taped earlier tonight as Sci Fi execs (and NBC Universal higher-ups) were concerned with the crowd chants and the overall content of Sunday's PPV. Joey Styles told the crowd before the taping began to watch their chants because families were in the crowd.

LOL @ the new "family-friendly" ECW.

[Advocate]

LOL @ the new "family-friendly" ECW.

I'll still watch, but I expect this brand to die very soon.

Paul Heyman wrote the script for ECW's TV debut on Sci Fi last night. According to reports, both Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn fought heavily with Heyman on several elements of the show and won out in the end. Boy, if that is the ECW product that McMahon and Dunn have a vision for, then this new "relaunch" has been doomed from the start already.

WWE announcer Justin Roberts ended up calling ECW's TV debut on Sci Fi last night despite ECW ring announcer Steven DeAngelis being brought in to work the show. DeAngelis was told on Tuesday afternoon by WWE that he wasn't going to be used and was then sent home. Some have already joked that DeAngelis was lucky to be sent home so he wasn't part of that train wreck of a show last night. However, not having his voice for the show killed even more aspects of the ECW we use to know.

Former NWA & ECW star Jack Victory was backstage last night at the TV taping in Trenton, NJ. Also backstage was former ROH Champion Xavier.

More:

For those wondering, ECW's TV debut on Sci Fi last night was written by Paul Heyman and then tweaked by WWE creative. This process pretty much put an end to those given the impression that Heyman would have full creative control of the brand. It is very clear to wrestling fans right now that this new ECW brand is a Vince McMahon production after that show last night. According to those backstage, Heyman wrote the show to meet McMahon's expectations and visions for the new ECW.

Speaking of Paul Heyman, those who were backstage at the TV taping last night in Trenton said Heyman made it very obvious that he thought the show was an utter train wreck. Others who were involved with the show also had the same feelings as well. The general opinion of the event among many, if not all, in the company was that it was a complete disaster.

The reason the Tazz vs. Jerry "The King" Lawler match from the ECW One Night Stand PPV was added to the show was because it ran very short and WWE needed to fill time for the full 60-63 minute timeslot. The company also missed a few cues during the "Extreme Battle Royal" and production was forced to fix the mistakes in the 90 minute window they had before the show aired on the Sci Fi Channel.

More:

The Wrestling Observer is reporting that the 6/13 debut edition of ECW on Sci Fi drew a final 2.8 cable rating with a 4 share last night.

Despite the negative reviews from wrestling fans about the show (and rightfully so) and considering the show debuted on a non-wrestling network, this has to be considered a huge success for WWE right now.

As we noted earlier, it will be interesting to see what kind of a rating the show garners next week given that the debut edition didn't quite win over wrestling fans with the "new vision" of ECW.

Its dead.

[Jeremy]

WITH A 2.8?! It isn't dead - not by a long shot. Changes can be made, and since last night's show was such a disaster, and Vince wants this to work - changes will be made. They might be slow, but they'll happen.

[Advocate]

WITH A 2.8?! It isn't dead - not by a long shot. Changes can be made, and since last night's show was such a disaster, and Vince wants this to work - changes will be made. They might be slow, but they'll happen.

NO no no. I meant its dead with Vince running the show. Its dead. If he wants this to survive he best REKONIZE, Heyman should run it.