The Fallout (shelter?) of the big move...

So, ECW has finally moved. They made it to 9:00 P.M. on Tuesday nights. It was their first outing at the new timeslot. One hour ahead so the kiddies can watch before bedtime. And how did the big move do?


The final ratings: 1.2



1.2???

1.2???!!!

Are you kidding me? This was supposed to be the big move that would perpetuate ratings. This was supposed to grab new type of viewers that the WWE is looking for: young and impressionable. What happened? The same million viewers that watched the week prior watched this episode. Wow! Am I surprised? No. Am I shocked? No way. Do I have an idea as to why this was the case? Probably.

You see, the amount of commercials and advertisement that went into promoting the new time for ECW was....2. When was this on? Raw, the night before. Now, compare this to the amount of times we saw a SmackDown commerical stating the move to MyNetwork TV, and the ratio is astronomical. Why would this be the case, though? Why would the same amount of fans watch? Why would 1.2 be the highest this show did, which, suffice to say was better than a Foley-driven episode of TNA? There's only two reasons I can think of: 1) the fans don't care and 2) the WWE doesn't care. Does this seem too harsh? It might, if it weren't so darn true.

Let's see it from the fan's perspective. Sure, ECW is touting a lot of new stars, like Evan Bourne, that are interesting. Well, actually, Evan Bourne at this time is the only interesting new superstar on ECW. Yes, I said it. If it wasn't the case, then "Air Bourne" wouldn't be landing on Raw permanently in the future (I'll save that for 10/26's analysis). Sure, Evan is there. But, when you have a talent exchange with Raw and SD that allows for Evan to have matches there, why wait for ECW when the better match will most likely be on the better show? The same can be said about Morrison and the Miz against Cryme Tyme. Sadly, they are the only 3 people on ECW worth watching other than the champ, Matt Hardy. Well, that's not to take away from the talent of other ECW stars like Knox and the like, but, really, do people want to see him run through someone week after week? Jack Swagger? Well, he's talented, as I know and will talk about soon (see the 10/19 analysis for that), but have him start something big with some upper-card talent on ECW or something to get him over big, like say, against an undefeated Ricky Ortiz. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but it does make you think.

Now for the WWE. You know, for a company that is going through so much trouble to keep ECW on the air by renewing its contract, moving it up an hour for more fans to watch, and even putting its talent on other shows so people can catch a glimpse of ECW stars as bait to lure them in, they sure know how to undercut the brand. Don't you think that if you wanted new fans, you'd put more matches on, or at least interesting ones? Instead, we get two squash matches, and a six-man tag match that although stretched over 2 commercial breaks, ended pretty much squashing the likes of Bourne in a matter of seconds. That's what I call protecting your new talent, right? Sure. And what is up with the announcements? Don't you care enough for the new talent you're pushing to at least have more commercials on this? I guess not.

Here's the real truth, unfortunately. I, myself, am not guilty of this, as I am one of the million or so same viewers who will still watch ECW for the new stars that I do support and the current ones as well. However, for the many people who were not watching, the truth is that there is no emotional attachment to ECW. There's no passion for the show, no fire to support it, no real need to watch it. If you're an older fan and are aware of spoilers, you probably saw them already and knew the show might not have been worth watching, although the spoilers this week got the main event finish wrong (Henry, Miz and Morrison won, not the other way around). Even so, they probably still read them knowing that there was no need to watch it on t.v. In fact, the WWE even posts the show in full effect on WWE.com for those of us with the internet. So, why waste a tuesday night, when you can just go on a computer and shave off 45 minutes of your time by watching the show some other time? Throw in the other mishaps on the show during its 2-year, 100+ episode longevity (burial of original stars, Vince as ECW champ), and you've got a slew of fans who just don't care.

On the WWE side of things, they never had an emotional attachment to ECW. They still don't to this day. It's just an extra show to drop off stars with no big future plans elsewhere and a place to springboard some new stars worth springboarding. Why give a crap about a show that they have had no investment in since day one? It's just a gift to all those people begging for a return to the "Extreme". It's not the WWE's property. Yet, the WWE still touts it as their property. It's a misnomer, really. It's really confusing. So confusing that I'm too lazy to try and explain it or delve into its confusing nature, as well as too disgusted.

To sum it up, the new ECW time for the new ECW did not do much for its ratings. I can only imagine what will happen when the real competition starts to kick in, and those same loyal fans start to wander around a bit, channel-wise. Who does the WWE blame then for the drop in ratings? Do they blame the MLB or the NBA for having great games? Do they blame American Idol for having the same old stupidity that's taking away their fans? Maybe they blame themselves...nah! They can't blame themselves. Why? It's because they don't care. Sadly, other fans don't either. So much for moving day. It was veritably unapposed, and, nothing...

Maybe they will do better this week. That's what I keep telling myself. Then again, I keep telling myself it will be canceled soon....