All I want for Christmas

Hey, readers. It's time for the holidays. Yes, those holidays: Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and the ever-popular Christmas. We all know Christmas, right? A big guy named Santa Claus comes down into our house and leaves presents under our tree. To make sure we get what we want, we have to tell Santa what it is we want in one of many different ways, like sitting on his lap and telling him. This can only work if you've been good, though, so don't be a bad person. Now, I know some of you either don't believe in Santa, never believed in Santa, or do believe in Santa and his mysterious ways. This blog isn't about your beliefs or lack thereof. It's about ECW and this golden opportunity. Let's say you were Teddy Long, the ECW general manager, or someone else holding a high position in the WWE. Let's say that Santa does listen and will put your wishes to use if you've been good. So, here you are, ready to tell Santa what you want for Christmas along the lines of ECW. You've waited on line long enough, and the moment has arrived. Now, what do you ask for? Whether you do or don't know, I think I have an idea as to what I'd want this year for the new ECW. I say this year, because I have posed this thought for the past 2 years doing this for my own enjoyment. It's changed here and there, and not all my wishes were fulfilled. Well, actually, I think none of my wishes were. Still I've got some wishes in me that I hope Santa and yourself will enjoy reading. So, here's my ECW Christmas Wish List:

1. Talent
Man cannot live on Evan Bourne alone. This goes also for whomever is severely talented on ECW. I mean, seriously, why is it that only a handful of people on ECW are watchable? For a new breed unleashed, they sure lost a lot of their steam. You either have regulars like the Miz and John Morrison moonlighting on other shows to get the show's ratings up and guys from other brands that are here because they have no other place to go to find success. Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, Finlay and Chavo are all good wrestlers, but watching them here is no different than watching them when they were on Raw and Smackdown, which we still end up doing anyway. How about some fresh talent like Evan Bourne that captivates the crowd at every turn? You can afford to check the independent circuit and find some new talent. Why not use talent like that and do what your competitors are doing only to show them up? Show the world that this new breed is worth unleashing. Yes, I know Jack Swagger and DJ Gabriel are also stars here that stand out, but not as over as Evan.

2. An extra hour
Raw is 2 hours. Smackdown is two hours. Why not give us more bang for our buck with another hour? I'm seeing the same stuff I'm used to seeing on the aforementioned shows pop up on ECW. With just one hour to go on, there's not enough time for wrestling. Also, I'm starting to get a little tired of watching the same people wrestle each other over and over again, with unresolved results. How about allowing the other guys to show up once in a while? With another hour, you can have the best of both worlds.

3. The ECW Television title
I think it's a good thing to have with that extra hour. An extra title to reward those who have worked hard at becoming main-event players, or are not yet main-event players but very good anyway is something I can go for. It also stands as a way of showing us fans who's next in line for a match for the ECW title. That was exactly what the Intercontinental title used to do. I think this would also add some depth to the ECW brand as well. You've got to love depth, right?

4. The removal of the fluff
What happened to ECW being about lots of hard-hitting action, and less talk? Those days are sadly fading. Why am I seeing all this wasted foolishness on an 1-hour wrestling show that was once heralded for its direct and to-the-point approach with their wrestling? If you make it more about action, and let the matches and little things tell the story instead of endless backstage or front stage caperings, I'm sure the show will be interesting again. There's no need to spend time watching Teddy Long look like Ron Burgundy. Seriously. If the crowd isn't laughing, neither are the viewers at home.

5. A better play-by-play man
Why in the heck should ECW get the Slammy for Best Announce Team of 2008, when a) Matt Striker is carrying the team as the analyst, b) the majority of this year was predicated with Joey Styles and Tazz doing the play-by-play, and c) Mike Adamle was the main focus of the announcer situation, as well as ECW's main stories? Striker is a good analyst, as a man of knowledge who knows his wrestlers. Sadly, he has to rewrite history as ordered, but he does a good job at being an analyst, which is more than I can say for his partner, Todd Grisham, doing play-by-play. He sounds bland like a white Jonathan Coachman, which made listening to WWE HEAT confusing. He has no sense of charisma, he has no sense for wrestling or even getting news across, and he's like a D-version of Michael Cole, who already sucks at announcing. Please remedy this in one of 2 ways: get a better commentator, like, say Josh Matthews who knows his wrestling like Matt Striker, or.......................BRING BACK JOEY STYLES!!!! Convince him to come out of retirement or something.

6. Respect
When you only have just one match at a pay-per-view regularly, that just goes to show how much attention is being payed to you. No one cares for ECW administratively. Come on, people. ECW helped change wrestling over time, be it minuscule or massive. It gave the major players the motivation to be "cutting edge". Now, no one even wants to give it a second glance, or even acknowledge its champion as a major player by putting the champ's match first and not near the end. Wow. That's really respectful. ECW doesn't have to be a third-rate side show with midgets and boogeymen. It can be more, if you just give it the right amount of respect.

Lastly, there's this:

7. A big fat pink slip
If all else fails, pull the plug. If you aren't going to at least make the show watchable with these wishes, then I wish for an end to this show. It's running out of steam and novelty, and it's also very cumbersome when it comes to scheduling. Why not stop this charade and cancel the show? Because the ratings are good? Because you have no place for these stars? If the WWE is good at anything, it's making big mistakes and trying to assess the damage and control it. How about you avoid the damage and just destroy it? You'll be thanked for it. Trust me


Now, I'm not sure how many of you have had these wishes or have different wishes altogether. I just wanted to point out what I'd probably ask for this year from Santa if I was running ECW. I'm sure you all have better ideas for wishes, whether they have to deal with ECW or not, like world peace, lots of money, etc. If I were you, I'd ask for those. However, if you were running the show with a chance to ask for a handful of gifts for ECW this year, what would you ask for?

You might need some fruitcake to digest this idea, or some eggnog to dull the pain.

Have a happy holiday season!