A BADSTREET PERSPECTIVE: MOURNS THE DEATH OF ECW
- 07/05/2006 (1:58:08 pm)
- Dave Whitaker
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A Badstreet Perspective Mourns the Death of ECW
By: Dave Whitaker
When I did my first column talking about the return of ECW, I had little hope of it being an entertaining product. Not because I expected it to be as it once was, but because I had no faith in Vince McMahon making an "ECW" worth watching. But as the announcer used to say on the 60's Batman TV shows, the worst was yet to come. ECW may be on TV. You can tune in next week and see "ECW" on Sci-Fi. But in my mind, in my heart, ECW is truly, unequivocally dead.
So why is ECW dead? Well, when you consider the man who made the company great, Paul Heyman, was turned into an afterthought last week, that's a start. Heyman's knack for booking great wrestling TV is as known as his inability to balance a checkbook. But now, he's no more than a figurehead like Eric Bischoff was for Raw. How can there be an ECW when the man who knew what worked isn't in charge?
That leads me into the actual use of wrestlers and talent on the show. How many actual original ECW wrestlers besides RVD and Sabu have gotten any semblance of a rub? They're being used as enhancement talent for guys like Mike Knox. Mike Knox? He fits in ECW about as well as the Dixie Chicks would at a GOP rally. The Big Slow is big, he's bad, heck you could say he's like 911. The difference is Heyman knew 911 couldn't work so he used him in limited doses. Big Slow is being portrayed as an actual serious wrestler.
The music is another thing wrong. No, it's not just because of "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. ECW music helped fans connect with the wrestlers. One of the things that made the FBI so entertaining was seeing Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich trying to dance to that rap version of "Staying Alive." The true version of Man In The Box made Tommy Dreamer seem like the pain-loving, violence reaping psycho we knew and loved. And who didn't love singing along to "Big Balls" by AC/DC for Balls Mahoney. The "music" for ECW is 99 percent WWE pre-produced crap.
Last but not least, the recent stupid actions of Rob Van Dam and Sabu are the final nails in the coffin for the company. As mentioned earlier, they were the only two ECW original wrestlers who'd been getting any semblance of a rub. Because of some dumb choices , now both men's futures are in doubt. This will cause Vince McMahon to either kill off the brand after the summer run, or bastardize it even further by putting in WWE talents to help "save" the company.
Yes, ECW is dead. Sadly it seems WWE has not only exhumed the body of the once-great company, they have also defiled it. Shouldn't be a surprise though, this is the company that did an angle involving necrophilia.
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