How ECW can reclaim its "Bragging Rights"

So, it looks like Cyber Sunday, which was formerly Taboo Tuesday, is now a memory, as the WWE has changed this PPV event to WWE Bragging Rights. The theme: a slew of Raw and Smackdown superstars square off against each other in a "Raw vs. SD" showdown of sorts. The point: well, not just to get over yet another themed PPV, but to also plug and support the upcoming Smackdown vs. Raw videogame, aptly named Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, as if it were a John Madden football game. This seems like a great idea to push new stars, see some stars from each show in dream matches against each other, and generally show some pride for each brand. I can think of at least 2 things wrong with this motif. One: no one really cares which show is better. It's safe to say that active Raw viewers watch Smackdown when they can, and vice versa. So, why would they care which show is better? In fact, by doing this, your forcing the fans to decide which show is worth watching, which can cause the fans to ultimately stop watching the alternative. Problem two is this: why is this just subject to Raw and Smackdown? Where's ECW? Yea, you can use the video game's title as an excuse to leave ECW out, but even ECW is represented in that game. It's almost as if ECW is a "dirty little secret" that the WWE doesn't want to share with anyone. Yet, it deserves to be shared, honored, and at least respected on some levels.

ECW was, without a doubt, one of the most controversial, unorthodox, and generally, ground-breaking organizations in the U.S. I could go on and on about what was done there and how it changed wrestling, but odds are, if you're reading this, you are like me, and you know that story already. When it was re-introduced by the WWE in 2006 as a brand, it was treated as if it was an infected sore that needed to be treated the WWE way, but was still infecting thanks to Paul Heyman's involvement. Once Heyman was gone, it was treated, but then its value was non-existent. Who would care about a 1-hour show that had as much to do with the original ECW as Vince McMahon had to do with changing professional football? The ECW originals didn't care, the original fans didn't care, the new fans didn't care, the pundits didn't care, no one cared. So, ECW existed as a place to hold matches with stars that couldn't hack it on the other brands, as well as new stars that couldn't find a place on those brands to start without getting lost in the shuffle. It was in this light that ECW found its niche and deserves to be respected.

Ever since the word went out that ECW was to become the haven for new stars that weren't quite ready for Raw or Smackdown, amazing things happened. We were treated to stars that re-focused their energy on re-inventing themselves, and new stars that were focused on becoming the new generation of wrestling stars that we see today. The results: six superstars have emerged from this version of ECW and have become the stars that we have always seen them to be, with accolades that are very noteworthy. John Morrison became John Morrison after securing the ECW title for the first time as Johnny Nitro. He then became the charismatic, somewhat obscure, "Shaman of Sexy" and "Weekday Night Delight", walking away with about 3 Intercontinental title reigns, a long standing WWE Tag Title reign with the Miz, a World Tag Title reign with the Miz, two Slammy Awards for his tag work and his web show, "The Dirt Sheet", and he's poised to become a top star on SmackDown. Speaking of the Miz, he pretty much did exactly what Morrison did, except for win the ECW title and instead of the IC title, he won the U.S. title once. He is also poised to be a star, but on Raw. Evan Bourne electrified crowds all over the world on ECW with his high-flying abilities. Because of this, he made his way to Raw and forged a great following there. Kofi Kingston had an amazing undefeated streak on ECW before being added to the Raw roster where he would become a World Tag Champion, an IC champ, and a U.S. champ, to say the least. His amazing wrestling style makes him an instant hit with the fans. Jack Swagger established excellence and dominance with an decent streak going on ECW as well as 2 ECW title reigns. This was enough to merit him a spot on Raw in the U.S. title hunt. Lastly, the biggest success story out of ECW has to be C.M. Punk, who went undefeated for the rest of 2006, captured the ECW title on a number of occasions, then became a 3 time World Champion, an IC champion, and a World Tag champion while on Raw and then Smackdown, becoming the fastest superstar to the fabled "Triple Crown". These 6 superstars are living proof of the effectiveness of ECW. That's plenty to be arrogant about. And yet, ECW is still given the shaft, but not to the extreme that I've seen recently.

ECW has given Raw and Smackdown six excellent superstars in the Miz, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne and C.M. Punk. These men have made Raw and Smackdown a haven for new and different wrestling for new and old fans alike. So, you'd think for a PPV like Bragging Rights that every group would have something to fight for. Instead, ECW gets frozen out of this PPV. In fact, ECW got frozen out of the Hell in a Cell PPV as well. In other words, ECW has been completely neglected for the month of October. Does that stink or what? ECW doesn't get a chance to brag, get involved in any inter-brand battles, or even have matches of their own. Also, and I have noticed this, when it comes to mentioning the history of those aforementioned six stars, there's barely any mention of their success in ECW. It's like, the WWE doesn't even want to acknowledge their history before the brands they are on. So much for ECW's bragging rights. I guess my "dirty little secret" theory is proving to be right.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that this iteration of ECW is great. It is missing a lot of things that can make it great. One major thing is the fact that it has little or no connection to the original ECW at all, in its matches, promos, etc. It doesn't have that feel in almost any way. But, you know something? Despite all that, it has done some things right. It gave us those stars I mentioned. It's going to give us more stars in Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, Sheamus, Paul Burchill and even veterans re-focused and rejuveneated like William Regal and Christian. It's still very qualitative in those sorts and cases. Still, the schema of ECW being a low-level brand and an "unwelcome guest" in the eyes of the WWE through many facets still exists and it's stronger than ever. However, I think ECW could have made a bit of an impact in this case, even with only a few weeks removed from the PPV at hand. The move to make: do what ECW is good at doing in the WWE: INVADE!

You want to make an impact? Have seven of ECW's stars, despite what they are doing, show up on Raw or SD, and attack one of, if not a few of, the qualified stars for the Raw/SD match. They can start on the week of the Hell in a Cell PPV, and then have it escalate the next week. When ECW's GM, Tiffany, is confronted about this, she states that it was Regal's idea while she was out of the picture with her injury. But, after looking at the big picture, she feels that it was a smart move because ECW has just as much to brag about as does Raw and Smackdown. After conferring with the necessary people, ECW finally gets involved. As for ECW's involvement, it would be limited to just two matches.

Match one is obviously the tag match. Instead of 14, it would be 21, in this case. However, with this many people, it could be rather packed in the ring, so lower the number to 5 guys a team or something. If not, just leave it at 7 and see what happens. As for the teams, well, just assemble the top guys on ECW right now that's not the champion. This would be William Regal (the captain), Vladimir Kozlov, Ezekiel Jackson, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, Tommy Dreamer (Co-captain), and either Sheamus or Shelton Benjamin. This would be a great way of showing how viable ECW is as a brand. If not, it would at least give them a spot for showcasing their talent. Also, you can leave that possibility that ECW can actually win with stars like Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder, and even Shelton or Sheamus doing a great job as athletes on their show.

Match two is my main thesis point in this analysis. Forget a Raw-only main event. Forget a Smackdown-only main event. Instead, bring back the "Champion of Champions" triple threat match. Instead of putting the title or titles on the line, since that has proven to be a bad move only due to the fact that the fans will only vote to one side, just make it a non-title affair, and not make the threat of letting the title change hands, since the titles have been changing hands a lot. This would give Christian the main event importance that he not only deserves, but that ECW can use. However, the idea isn't as solid as one would think it to be.

The possibility of a "Champion of Champions" triple threat would have only worked if we had a certain set of champions in place, instead of the ones we see now. I had hoped that if Christian was to be in this match, the champions would or should be John Cena and C.M. Punk. See, if you put Christian in this match with Randy Orton and Undertaker as the champions of their respective brands, the possibility of Christian winning goes square out the window. No one is expecting him to get the pinfall on Orton or Taker, let alone a submission. It just wouldn't make sense, nor would it seem believable. Now, if it were Cena and C.M. Punk, then you have a level of believability. You can see Punk taking Cena out, but falling to the "Unprettier" (Killswitch Engage? Sorry, that's a rock group, not a finishing move. Try again!) and Christian winning. It would be a good combination of a veteran, a star on the rise, and an established star working as you can see three styles combined to make a good show, with three stars that can hang with big and small guys alike. Truth be told, it would be a decent match to watch. It would keep Raw and Smackdown on the top, and it would validate ECW as a brand with a star that can hang with the best. Believe me, I'd pay to see Christian/Cena/C.M. Punk because it has a chance of being good logically, than Christian/Orton/Undertaker which has a strong chance of being horrible due to its bad logic.

There you have it. ECW can get its bragging rights by taking part in the two Bragging Rights main events. Quite honestly, ECW can use it, and is due for it. They've made six great stars on the rise. They've given us the best of the new when we needed it and the re-focused potential of the old when it counted. They have given a haven to stars who couldn't find a place on Raw or Smackdown to get over. They even prove to be a starting point for new stars from other companies to start their quest to the top of the WWE (not so much for Braden Walker, but very much for C.M. Punk). I think they have just as much a stake in this PPV than the others do. Sure, they won't trump Raw or SD, especially since their best stars are on those shows, nor would they have a great chance of winning in their battles. But, you can't ignore something that has actually done some good for the WWE. If you just want to talk about Raw and SD and who's better, then just use those brands. Get rid of ECW! Destroy it. Do away with it. Just utilize the stars on the shows you have and push them properly instead of throwing them on some extra show that you don't even care about and in truth, which no one will watch. If you want to brag that you have two shows that might have had more episodes than most television shows, that's fine. If you want to brag that you won the big battle of wrestling feds of the 1990s and 2000s with the acquisition of ECW, go ahead as you've done so already. Why not brag about one of those acquisitions actually having the potential to do good stuff for you with creating stars and having quality matches at times?

Oh...that's right.....ECW wasn't Vince's idea, but it succeeded in changing the world of wrestling. You have weight-lifting organizations that do nothing but sell bad supplements, and lousy football leagues that don't do more than stink up the place this side of horrible arena football. I guess it's better to brag about bad ideas and laugh about it later than brag about good ideas that you didn't have, stole from, and can help you even though you don't want it to, since you didn't think of it yourself. Good to see the right priorities intact...