Sunday, November 30, 2008

ECW Progress Report: What happened to my ECW?

If you've been actively following this new version of ECW, you would have noticed that the format of the show has been changing over the past 2 years. There have been many gimmicks, angles, and even match-ups that have come and gone since the rebirth in June of 2006. We've seen stripteases, dance routines, factional warfare, talking segments, backstage shenanigans, inter-promotional warfare, and even vignettes that prep us for the next big superstar to show up. Now, the quality was not exactly the best of the best, but when it came to critics and their opinions, ECW had some good reviews coming to them. In fact, there was a time where ECW flat-out had better ratings than SmackDown. A one-hour television show flaunting the rebirth of a fallen organization topples the next generation of WWE television in the ratings. That's impressive. So, what happened? Why is that no longer the case now than it was then?

Let's start out first with what the critics had to say. First, you had J.R. or Jim Ross, former WWE Talent Relations VP and legendary commentator. Now, I've mentioned that J.R. has an eye for talent and for quality (see the Mike Knox analysis from 11/9). His first assessment of the new ECW was that it was a pretty good show because they skimped on the talking, and fully utilized the action. More bang for your buck, without that much talking behind it. Pretty good, yes? In fact, that was the common conception amongst most old-school pundits who watched this and other shows like WSX where there was less talk and promos, and more action and wrestling. They liked it this way, because it had a certain level of substance to it. The action told the story, like it did back in the days of old. And you know what? ECW did that well. There was hard-hitting action, innovative moves, and unique characters to boot. Paul Heyman had a good thing going there. It was his take on the independent wrestling federations that we see each day, if we are that dedicated. So what went wrong?

The first stumbling block was the removal of Paul Heyman. He made some key mistakes that cost him his job, but we'll forgive him, because the mistakes he made were things the loyal ECW fans would have supported because it was his way of thinking outside of the WWE box. First, he tried to make ECW a brand that didn't rely heavily on the WWE way of doing things. That was a problem when your boss is the owner of the WWE and had the final say on everything. Because this was the case, a lot of Heyman's ideas were flushed down the pipe and we were treated to a lot of WWE style booking that did not suit ECW. This led to his second mistake: trying to book a PPV with this kind of pressure. In the end, we were treated to the abomination of that which is ECW December to Dismember 2006. The matches were low quality because you have either seen them on ECW already, or because there was too much of a WWE feel to them. The main event lost its only credible ECW champions within the first few minutes with C.M. Punk and RVD being eliminated first. Lastly, the show ended in 2 hours and 12 minutes, when a regular ppv at least makes it to the 2 hours and 40 minute mark before ending. Vince was not pleased. Paul had done his best to appease everyone, but that was the result. In the end, there would be no more ECW singular ppvs and Heyman would no longer be a writer for the show. This spelled the beginning of the end of the quality ECW stuff.

The next stumbling block came in the form of spare WWE writers writing for the show. They consisted of assistant writers from SmackDown, or even Dusty Rhodes writing for the show. Why was this a problem? All of Heyman's work was going to be undone. Now, we would get a full-fledged WWE-style show with the ECW name on it. This meant the following: more talk, more pointless filler, the de-pushing of Heyman-supported wrestlers like Punk and Elijah Burke, and the pushing of WWE castaways like Test (who would be fired shortly) and Hardcore Holly (who would disappear from ECW to end up on the bench of Smackdown). How did the viewers react? They reacted with a lack of viewership. Slowly and surely, people stopped watching. The ratings slipped. The people cared even less about the show now then they did when Heyman was around. This being because the show had even less of a connotation to the original ECW than before.

The last stumbling block was the re-assessment of ECW through numerous ideas. One such idea was to allow ECW to be showcased on WWE.com as a replay without commercials. This didn't leave anyone any reason to watch it live when they could just tune into WWE.com and see it then. Why do this? It was out of fear that Sci-Fi would cancel the show due to its low ratings. In truth, the ratings were much better than any Sci-Fi channel show ever put on. So, no worries. Another idea is the WWE talent exchange. This allowed ECW wrestlers to wrestle on SmackDown, and now currently, on SmackDown and Raw. Why? To get ECW wrestlers over as a way to get people to watch ECW more. Think of it as an out-of-town preview of sorts. This is a double-edged sword as now people who are watching ECW for their fave stars can just wait for them to appear on a show that they watch regularly to see them there. Why wait until Tuesday to see The Miz and John Morrison when they can just wait until Monday night to see them or Friday? The latest and most influential idea is the re-assessment of ECW's direction. The idea was passed down that ECW was to be considered a brand where the new and different stars of the WWE can begin their t.v. careers. If they get rave reviews, they get sent to one of the two main shows. So far, C.M. Punk, Kofi Kingston, and Mike Knox have cashed in on this and are on Raw and on their way to some more exposure. There are others, but I don't remember them either because it was a long time ago, or because they didn't make any significant impact as the aforementioned three are. Why this move? This is so they have some fresh blood walking into a main show without having to thrust them out there as a green wrestler. Give them some experience and let them fly later. This is a bit of a problem because the best, quality wrestlers on ECW are now being shipped off to a better show, leaving the scraps to fend for themselves. So, then, why watch ECW if the best stars aren't even on their anymore?

Fast-forward to now, and how did ECW progress? Well, it didn't. Instead of having at least 4 matches on a show within a 10 minute frame or so, we get about 2 5-minute squash matches, a 15 to 25 minute main match at the beginning or end of the show, and all the filler to squeeze the life out of you. Things like promos, recaps, etc. are just swallowing up the quality of the show. I, for one, think this is a big no-no. Why? Because instead of making ECW a distinct brand where it is separated from Raw and SD, it's exactly like them, but it's only one hour long. So, now instead of being slightly better than WWE Heat, it's exactly like WWE Heat. Great. The quality of ECW has dwindled and is continuing to dwindle. The stars are not as qualitative as the days of old or of late (check out what I mean on 12/7's analysis), the matches lose quality because the stars are of low quality. This is very counter-productive. In fact, it's downright lame. I liked this new ECW because it was different from the other shows. Now, it's exactly the same. And, you know what? The ratings haven't even improved because of it. In fact, they spiraled downward and rest comfortable at the 1.0 range.

One can only hope that ECW will progress the next time I have another progress report analysis. However, can we really be sure? I mean, if ECW is still the highest rated show on Sci-Fi, despite the low quality, should it really be an issue? Not if you're the WWE. However, it should when the fans you are competing for might be looking to change the channel when the situation presents itself, like say, during a playoff game or an American Idol episode. Can ECW regain its quality? It could, but, it's like I always have thought to myself and said to myself ever since its rebirth. People have to actually care about the show for it to succeed. Sadly, no writer, booker, or even fan cares enough to see it flourish. I mean, sure, some fans do. But does everyone? Not really. I think this ECW can be a quality show wrestling-wise if they cut out the crap and showcase the talent. But, alas, this is not a perfect world, and ECW is a less-than-perfect brand. Oh well. There's always hope, right?

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