Managing the extreme brand of ECW....

It's turning out that being a general manager in the WWE isn't easy. We have GMs quitting, under probation, or just not doing an even remotely standout job. It's even come to the point where we have hosts instead of GMs instead, which isn't a bad idea at all. The question is: what do you do when you run out of decent surprise guests? You go back to the drawing board, I suppose. But, in this day of WWE going all out with shock value, even if it means bringing up old ideas that they have done within a span of 4 years, or even 4 months, the drawing board might be chalk full of erasures. What does this all have to do with ECW? Well, ECW is the brand that, although, isn't fully wrought with GM problems, it has a big one in the fact that its current GM, Tiffany, is well, just an interim GM. That means they are still up in the air as to whether or not a permanent GM is in the future. Well, I have a few ideas in mind. In fact, I have 2, and a possible 3. But, before I do, I'm going to take you on a look back on the GM position in ECW, from 2006 to now.

When the word was passed to bring back ECW in 2006, the first GM of this brand was one of ECW's original brainchildren, Paul Heyman. He openly stated that instead of a draft, he would get two big draft picks along with RVD and the other ECW originals that signed on to wrestle. He chose Kurt Angle and the Big Show for Angle's wrestling ability (and troubles backstage if you want to break kayfabe), and for Big Show's amazing size and ability, which was something that amazed Paul Heyman, even to this day. Under Heyman's watch, this was to be the "New Breed Unleashed" of ECW, blending the old school with the new school in mentality, ability, and wrestling talent. Under Heyman's watch, we got to see C.M. Punk's debut and slow rise to stardom, the revival of some ECW originals that we know and love, WWE stars looking to re-invent themselves in a winning or losing effort, new wrestlers looking to belong, as well as some hard-hitting, well-fought matches. We also bore witness to two ECW atrocities, which include the "South Philly Screw-job" and the debacle that was the PPV known as "December to Dismember 2006". For the former, we saw Heyman go heel, as he cost RVD the ECW title to, of all people, the Big Show. This was a move that was frowned upon greatly by many ECW enthusiasts as Big Show was, in no way, connected to ECW in any way, and was seen as a WWE move to devalue the ECW title. The latter was a creative disaster, where a laundry list of problems ensued: only 2 matches were publicized, the remaining matches were just rehashed matches from ECW television, the originals were booked to look virtually foolish, if not failures, and the main event Elimination Chamber match was wrought with all kinds of issues, including Sabu's removal from the match, Punk and RVD's early exits in the match, the inclusion of Hardcore Holly, and lastly, Lashley winning the ECW title, which was met with much disdain. To top it off, the PPV only lasted 2 hours and 12 minutes instead of the standard 2 hours and 45 minutes or more, due to Heyman's mis-timing the event and continued struggles to creatively book ECW under Vince's relentless scrutiny. It was scrutiny that would alter ECW's content on a weekly basis. This incident led to Heyman's departure as ECW GM, as well as his removal from all creative duties in ECW. He spent his last few days in the WWE collecting checks and keeping his mouth shut, until his departure.

Come the start of 2007, there was no one at the helm of GM. Instead, we were treated to Vince McMahon governing ECW to his own twisted whims in an attempt to torture Lashley, the then ECW champion for causing Vince to lose his hair at Wrestlemania. Vince's actions ultimately caused Umaga's handler, Armando Alejandro Estrada, to be injured at Lashley's hands, but it also landed Vince McMahon a short reign as ECW champion, a move to definitively devalue the ECW title to a horrendous extent. Once Lashley reclaimed the title from Vince, he vacated it during the WWE draft, which was then fought for in a tournament. A few months later, ECW received a GM in the form of Armando Estrada, fresh off the injuries, and healthy as a horse. Under his reign as GM, we got the following: a running feud with down-on-his-luck wrestler, Colin Delaney, who got beat up every week in an attempt to secure an ECW contract, a talent exchange with Raw and Smackdown that put ECW stars on those shows for further exposure of themselves and of ECW, and a replay of ECW exclusively on WWE.com, in case someone misses the episode, and in case ECW was canceled. We also got Mike Adamle as the new main commentator, ending Joey Styles' career as a commentator, effective immediately. It was a nightmare.

In June of 2008, Theodore Long replaced Estrada as the new GM, placing Estrada as a wrestler who had to wrestle for his contract, just like Colin Delaney had to. Just like Delaney, he succeeded in doing so, and, just like Delaney, he was fired subsequently. Also, a slew of new and returning superstars came to ECW that either succeeded (Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, Christian) or failed (Gavin Spears, Braden Walker, the Boogeyman). ECW changed time slots for a while as well, probably to increase ratings, and a few new matches came about. We also bore witness to some of the worst quality television we could see on WWE television (Theodore Long as Ron Burgundy = FAIL). On the plus side, a few top stars from ECW traveled to other brands to maintain their star status, allowing new stars to become stars and current stars to continue their rise, like the Miz and Morrison.

Currently, Long is the GM of Smackdown...again...and is under watch by Vince McMahon, leaving ECW in the hands of his former assistant, Tiffany, a WWE Diva Search hopeful that failed. What's her claim to fame as GM? What's her big draw? How about....well, nothing? Ok, yes, she's a woman, who looks beautiful and the WWE Divas are now being stated as "Smart, sexy, and powerful". The unfortunate part about that aspect is how untrue most of it seems. Powerful? What's so powerful about not having a presence about you as GM? Every other GM has had a presence. Heyman had his cunning, Bischoff had controversy, Vickie Guerrero had her, well...annoyingly high voice. What does Tiffany bring to the table? Nothing, to be honest. She comes off robotic, bland, and very replaceable, to say the least. Smart? I don't know about you, but if a Triple Threat match is to be wrestled under Extreme Rules, making it a Hardcore match sound pretty redundant, if not ridiculous. Also, if I were a GM, I'd think long and hard about the trades that were just made, if you were to suspend logic and think along the lines of teams, clubs, and pro sports. You trade your top prospects to other shows for the unusable Goldust, the practically useless Bella Twins since there's only one other diva on this show other than them, and Shelton Benjamin and William Regal to further destroy their careers as they build up new stars? Wouldn't it have been a smarter move to trade for higher prospects? Think about that. As for sexy, well, I've seen better, especially since, even with her theme song, she's supposed to be the new "Torrie Wilson". The thing is, Torrie was sexier, and had more personality. To put it short, Tiffany has no presence, no personality, and no business being a GM. She's like one of the many Barbie dolls the WWE tries to make every year through talentless divas. The only problem here is that Tiffany has no "gimmick" to her, as many Barbie dolls have. (Why am I talking about Barbie?)

Now, I do have some ideas as to who can do a much better job as a full-time GM for ECW and I'll try to be brief. One such candidate is the newest ECW talk-show host, Abraham Washington. However, he would only work if he stuck with his FCW gimmick (he'll get his analysis a little later on to explain that). Another possibility is Matt Striker. He's been a manager, a failed teacher, and he's currently doing commentary. He knows what it feels like to be an administrator of sorts as he was a former teacher. Also, his knowledge of wrestling can make him a hand at making decent matches. My third and final choice, which is my banking point, is.....wait for it.....Mike Adamle. I better put my flame shields on now. Say what you want about his commentary, but I actually liked his GM approach. He didn't swing towards faces or heels, but instead, took a more "laid back" approach. He let the wrestlers hammer out their own problems physically and if it got out of hand, he'd step in and fix things. For the Raw brand, he brought the "Championship Scramble" match back for the first time in nearly a decade. It was done before with the Hardcore title, and everyone was in the match all at once (Look up a match between Test, Crash Holly, Funaki, Steve Blackman, and Perry Saturn to see what I mean). So, technically, he didn't bring it back, but brought it up for the first time. Even if it did look silly that he'd read speeches and such with his reading glasses from a clipboard, he had a presence about him. You at least knew that he was coming out to talk or do business. When Tiffany comes out, I get the impression she's about to flub a bunch of lines getting simple stuff across. She even feels a bit robotic when she talks. Lastly, Mike Adamle would be perfect for ECW for his personality, since it does have some value to it. It would definitely help to get ECW better face time. Why not have a personality you hate so darn much, like a Vickie Guerrero or Bischoff, run your show since it gets much more attention? So, my request: get whatever money you have lying around and find something creative to do for Adamle by making him permanent ECW GM.

Quite honestly, I don't think getting a permanent GM for ECW is at all going to be easy. There aren't many people around they can hire, and they are going to be looking to do that, since Tiffany just doesn't fit the bill. Re-hiring Adamle might not be the best idea, but it's an idea. If you're going to employ little care in ECW, why bother with caring if it's someone like Adamle running the show? Or better yet, do away with all GMs, just have one person oversee everything, and maybe bring all the shows together. I don't know. I just think that if you are trying to take each brand seriously, you should have the necessary components in place to make it seem remotely plausible as a brand. But, running the ECW machine isn't easy. You have to contend with low ratings, little to no matches on a PPV, and also a general level of disrespect from every other brand around. It's an uphill battle, but the right GM can handle it. GMs like Heyman, Estrada, and even Long can do it. GMs like Tiffany have to worry about looking good for the camera, unfortunately, making me long for GMs like Adamle. If you're going to have a go-nowhere position in mind, at least make the go-nowhere person something remotely interesting. Adamle's more interesting than Tiffany? Yes, because he at least has a sliver of personality and a presence of order about him. Sadly, you have to consider it on that level and that level alone. It's pretty hard coming up with the best types of subject matter when you're full of Chinese food, hot, and very tired. I'm also tired of seeing the same nonsense unfold on Tuesday nights. Anyone with half a working mind can manage ECW? On that note, anyone want to send in any suggestions on what you'd do if you were ECW GM? Come on! Don't be shy. I'm sure all of you have had your thoughts as to how to book a wrestling show, let alone run it. And, quite honestly, you can do no worse than what we're seeing every Tuesday.