Analysis revisited: Tale of the Tape, Part 3: The new ECW vs ROH (Ring of Honor)

Here it is: the final tale of the tape. Once again, there's cutting and pasting, but that's because the ideas haven' t changed. Enjoy:

I have spent the last few months watching both ROH and the new ECW. Both shows give a different look or have been trying to give the wrestling fan a different look at the world of professional wrestling.

ECW was once an upstart wrestling organization situated in Philadelphia. For seven years (1993 – early 2001), they have been a source of some of the most violent, innovative, and cutting edge forms of professional wrestling to date. ECW provided fans with a different style of wrestling as well as a different batch of wrestlers that some said were not ready for the major organizations. However, due to monetary problems, the organization had to fold and sell its wares to their competitor, the WWE. However, as of June 13th 2006, the ECW brand of wrestling has returned to television under the auspices of Vincent K. McMahon, owner of the WWE. ECW can be now found on prime time television for one hour on Tuesday nights. It is billed as "a new breed unleashed", touting a new generation of ECW wrestlers for the new generation of fans.

ROH (Ring of Honor) is a 6-year old wrestling organization formed in February of 2002 by former ECW employee, Rob Feinstein. In an attempt to capitalize off of the void left by ECW as well as the complete distaste for the WWE from some wrestling fans after the wrestling wars, he created this organization for the "smart" wrestling fan. That is, the fan that wasn't going to be swayed by bad booking, stupid gimmicks, bad finishes, and many other ideas that the WWE flaunted on a nightly basis. There was going to be more realistic finishes, good wrestling, great stories told by such, and no one would have their intelligence insulted. Time had passed since its inception and many things have changed and remained the same in ROH. Rob Feinstein was forced to leave due to a scandal of a sexual nature and the company was later handled by Cary Silkin, the president of ROH, and Gabe Sapolsky, former protege of Paul Heyman during the ECW days. Also, the matches were changed to give off more of a standard wrestling feel to make it more accessible to those who are not quite high on the match or story stylings that don't resemble that of what you might have seen during the years of wrestling's peak. The match quality of this organization has received many rave reviews as many organizations seeked to copy or at least benefit from some of the talent in ROH. To this day, some of the five-star matches amongst wrestling pundits through the past few years have come from ROH. Basically, if you can impress a wrestling mind like Dave Meltzer, you've got potential. In that case, ROH has lots of it. From talented superstars, to logical booking, to excellent matches, ROH is one of wrestling's best kept secrets, just waiting for a full discovery.

Now, since ROH and ECW have co-existed, a few questions have come up. Which has a better showing as an television show? Who would win if they were put head-to-head against each other? To date, ROH does not have a television show, but they do have pay-per-view. Also, they have had a handful of their stars come to this new ECW in some ways. Still, a question or two can be brought up as to who has the edge if they were to be placed head-to-head, or if they were just compared? Is the new ECW better? Is ROH better?

I decided that in order to make this fair, I broke down the competitive analysis into 4 categories: Presentation, Ratings, Talent, and Wrestling Ability. It will be along these lines that the two groups will be compared and contrasted. So, with all that said, here we go!

Presentation
ECW
The new ECW is, without a doubt, not the original ECW. There is no question about that. However, in the presentation aspect, those in charge have taken it upon themselves to make it completely different from the original ECW. This not only alienates the real, die-hard ECW fans, but it also kills the credibility of the product. When people hear "ECW", they look forward to what the original brand offers: professional wrestling, cutting edge promos, hardcore matches, and innovative moves and wrestlers. The new ECW has veritably none of that. Instead, we are given one hour of WWE style matches, where the ECW originals (RVD, Sabu, etc.), lose to wrestlers that they would never lose to in the original ECW. Also, we get silly gimmicks and happenings like Kelly's Striptease, Macho Libre, and, of course, interpromotional matches with wrestlers that have no business being in an ECW ring. As for hardcore matches, don't bother. They aren't implied, they are stipulated. This means that all matches aren't hardcore. For the first time in ECW history, there are disqualifications. If you were looking for anything close to the original ECW, look elsewhere. This is WWECW. Since its inception, things have changed. Now, instead of just getting what I mentioned earlier, we get one original losing to everyone in Tommy Dreamer, no more stupid gimmicks or strip-teases, interpromotional matches with Raw and SD, to the point where they just have Raw or SD stars wrestle on the show to take up time, veterans trying to retain some semblance of importance wrestling on the show, and a great place for the young and new talents of the WWE to showcase their skills. The last point made seems to be the major selling point for ECW at this point in time, and is now the major focus.
ROH
ROH's presentation is simple: ROH is wrestling. Day in, day out, week in, week out, match in, match out, ROH strives to tell its fans and those looking to be fans that they are a wrestling organization first, and a form of "sports entertainment" second. The entertainment is not found in long promos, silly gimmicks, nonsensical booking, or predictable matches. The entertainment is found is hard-fought matches by each and every wrestler on the card, as they are given carte-blanche to exercise their wrestling prowess to the fullest. There are no boundaries preventing good talent from executing other moves that make other wrestlers look bad or lazy. If there are politics, it's not as glaring as what you see in other places. Compared to ECW, it doesn't strive to be what it is not. It is what it is: wrestling at its finest.


Winner: ROH for the simple fact that the organization is not trying to be a re-tread of a dead organization. It tries to be the new face and the new flame of the sport of professional wrestling.



Ratings
ECW
ECW is on Tuesday nights at 10 P.M. That's just 24 hours from the second hour of WWE RAW. Smart move. ECW gives a back-to-back wrestling feel with the timeslot choice, allowing WWE fans to keep watching wrestling twice in a row. Also, that's the main part of ECW's ratings. The WWE fans are watching the show, knowing full well that a former WWE star they liked, a current WWE star they like, or an ECW star that made a killing in the WWE is on ECW. So, when the ratings come in, you know who's been watching: the WWE fan or mark, not the die-hard ECW fan. Currently, the die-hard ECW fans are few and far between, while the WWE marks are in full effect. ECW will be moving to 9 P.M. on 9/30/08. Since its inception, ECW went from a high of 2.7 to a low of 1.2, just recently. As for the new timeslot, it still got a 1.2.
ROH
It's simple: ROH is not on television. There is no t.v. show for ROH in the U.S. at least, nor are there any conclusive ways to measure the ratings to compare it to ECW. No, not even with PPV.


Winner: ECW by a landslide



Talent
ECW
The talent roster of ECW is a slim one. Not only are they short many wrestlers, but the wrestlers they do showcase probably have no place in any ECW-related program. The Big Show is the best example, as he has always had the WWE or WCW feel to him. He just doesn't fit in with the ECW feel. It takes away from the product. He is not the only one, either. Wrestlers that have failed to excel on Raw or SD! have found solace here. These include Rene Dupree, Matt Striker, and Hardcore Holly. Test and Shannon Moore are just examples of wrestlers that were recently re-hired but won't be overly utilized on a Raw or SD! event b/c of their bad track record on Raw or SD! Mike Knox is a new blood from the WWE farm systems that looks more like a Raw/SD! guy than an ECW guy. As for the ECW originals, only the ones that matter (Sandman, Dreamer, Sabu, Mahoney, RVD) are utilized, and job out at times to the new guys. The others (FBI, Stevie Richards, C.W. Anderson, Jazz) are not even necessary, so, they are kept home. The only exception to the new talent rule is CM Punk, who fits in on any show and can give a great showing as a wrestling talent. He's just in ECW so the RAW/SD! guys don't look bad compared to him. Currently, a lot of changes have been made. Most, if not all of the aforementioned wrestlers were either fired, died, moved to another brand, or even downgraded to announcing (That's you, Striker). The talent roster once again slimmed down, but, the quality has improved. Apparently, they took the example of C.M. Punk and started to add talent that was either in need of retooling or new to the game with a lot of potential. The Miz and John Morrison make up two very entertaining and talented heels after some stints on Raw and SD. Mark Henry, Matt Hardy, and Finlay, and Chavo Guerrero are some veterans added to bring some depth to the young roster as well as help them work a little better in the ring. Mike Knox has re-surfaced as a top talent and a threat. Lastly, the new stars that are coming through make up the best and brightest from WWE's farm systems, or at least those that have been around and ready to go. Evan Bourne, Gavin Spears, Ricky Ortiz, and Jack Swagger are the talents, and they bring a lot to the table.
ROH
The talent pool of ROH is full to the brim with the wrestlers of the future, and the wrestlers who have made the independent wrestling scene something to talk about. Why is this so? It's so because a number of talents from ROH have moonlighted on TNA to the point where they got full contracts. Others have been in WWE dark matches, while some ROH alumni are currently tops in the wrestling world, including in the new ECW. Evan Bourne, Scotty Goldman, and C.M. Punk are three fine examples. Other than these guys, ROH is full of wrestlers who would, if they could, set the wrestling world on fire with what they bring to the table. Wrestlers like Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Davey Richards, Delirious, Kevin Steen, El Generico, Roderick Strong, and even international stars like Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, Go Shiozaki, and more. Heck, even the women can wrestle pretty darn good. It all comes from years of experience, good teaching, positive reinforcement, and artistic freedom. Something the stars of the new ECW might not have


Winner: ROH by a lot. As I said, Evan Bourne came from ROH to be in ECW. If one Evan Bourne match for about ten minutes can get people to stand up and cheer, can you imagine what the matches that current ROH stars can do?



Wrestling Ability
ECW
There are only very few ECW stars with wrestling ability. This is the ability to make a match interesting along the lines of pro-wrestling. The ECW originals that do have this ability are not very polished at it (except RVD). This is mostly due to the fact that they specialize in hardcore matches that has degenerated their bodies and their wrestling efficiency. As for the new blood, only CM Punk and Matt Striker fit the bill when it comes to wrestling. The others are too cliched from the WWE style of things. Their matches look clunky, rushed, and sometimes silly. This, of course, is all in good fortune for "sports entertainment", which is something that ECW hasn't majored in since its inception. Currently, ECW has improved in the wrestling ability aspect and dramatically. Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Chavo are excellent wrestlers. Morrison and Miz also have some severe credibility. Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger are also great talents to have as wrestlers with their great skill along with a better utilized Bam Neely and Mike Knox. So, the overall wrestling ability has improved, albeit slightly.
ROH
These guys have all the wrestling ability that's fit to print. They can execute moves well, they can tell stories well with their matches, and they can show you some moves you've never even seen before. There's little or no limit to what they can do in the ring because they are allowed to show you what you want to see: wrestling at its finest. Compared to the wrestlers on the scene in the new ECW, ROH beats it by leaps and bounds. ROH's wrestlers aren't wet behind the ears at all. They are accomplished wrestlers with a vast library of wrestling know-how that they bring to the table. While some of the new guys in ECW have promise, these guys have all the potential needed to give their fans what they want: wrestling at its finest

Winner: ROH

In truth, ROH is better than the new ECW in many of the ideas and facets I mentioned here. In fact, Paul Heyman was using ROH as an example as to how he wanted the new ECW patterned. It was too bad that Heyman was relieved of his duties in late 2006 before we could get a good feel of that. This was due to various creative differences. Still, on paper, ROH is better than the new ECW. But, that's just it. It's on paper, or in this case, on computer. Only time will tell as to whether or not ROH can hang with this version of ECW. Only time will tell. Until then, if you haven't done so already, look into ROH and see for yourself.


That's what I think. What do you think?