ECW Report - Part One
Posted by TWV Guest Columnists
on 01/17/2007
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Guest Column By Derrick Cannon
In the annals of wrestling history, there have been four major eras: the golden age, the Rock 'N Wrestling of the eighties, the Monday Night War, and finally, the post Monday Night War. Companies have come and gone, however, one has finally returned or so it would seem. To me, the new ECW is a lie. What was once a great company has deteriorated into obscurity, but how could such a great idea to bring back the glory days of the Monday Night War be so bad? I'll divide this into three sections to explain what I feel has happened. Should a deceased brand stay deceased?
ECW was about a movement. ECW owner Paul Heyman once stated that the rock music scene had become stale and then along came Nirvana to usher in the era of the grunge band and that destroyed all the hair bands but also changed things in a way people could love and cherish. Paul Heyman wanted ECW to be wrestling's version of Nirvana.
ECW managed to be just that. No longer was wrestling about the big man, no longer was it about the gimmicks; it was about wrestling and characters with a darker, more realistic attitude. ECW made stars that would be denied the freedom to use their full potential in the bigger WCW or WWE. Men like the Singapore Cane wielding Sandman, men like the grunge, almost demonic like, Raven, and even old timers like Terry Funk who had been denied chance after chance all because of their age. ECW was also about a never seen before match style, whether it be hardcore, whether it be cruiserweights, heck it could even be four way matches between four main event heavyweights. ECW invented matches such as the Taipei Death match that made two wrestlers use fists full of glass to their full capacity, matches like the Mexican Deathmatch that had two wrestlers pitted against one another to get a pinfall, however, it had a twist; you couldn't beat a man for just an ordinary three count they had to be totally unable to get up on their feet for ten seconds. ECW elevated men who would be future Hall Of Famers; men like Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, and most notably (by ECW standards anyway) Mick Foley. If you thought the original ECW ended with just singles matches regardless how different they might have been, you thought wrong. ECW revitalized the tag scene; they made stars out of the Impact Players (Lance Storm and Justin Credible), the ever crazy Mikey Whipwreck and Tajiri, the innovative team called the Eliminators (Saturn and Kronus). They even gave the Dudley Boys their first shot at stardom. ECW also created several memorable story lines such as the feud between Raven and Dreamer in which Raven had bullied Dreamer ever since summer camp and now when it matters most, Dreamer just couldn't get that big win. The BWO was another storyline that many people fondly remembered. Big Stevie Cool, Hollywood Nova, and Da Blue Guy, and even a new member every now and again. This was one of the greatest impersonations that wrestling had ever seen, it started as a one time shot, but the fans loved it. The fans reaction gave it an extra boost that helped it last almost a whole year. The NWO probably had no idea what to make out of this.
Unfortunately, the good times had to end; ECW signed what should have been a "trip to the promise land" deal with TNN. Unfortunately, TNN was using ECW for an experiment for what is now the WWE. ECW hardly lasted one more year. TNN cut the unique edginess, the very heart and soul right out of ECW. On April 4 2001, a day that will forever live in infamy, ECW filed for bankruptcy. ECW ended up with a debt of exactly 1,000,000 dollars. On June 13, 2006, ECW was brought back from the ashes by Vince McMahon. Unfortunately, things never turned out the same way. ECW was tarnished, the land of oddities made room for a land of giants, gimmicks over ran the new ECW, the edginess was totally gone. ECW was used as a show to keep fans busy until SmackDown! started in many people's views as it was taped right before. The ECW memory should live on from the ECW that was not it. The original ECW captivated so many members of the wrestling audience that it was just irreplaceable.
WWE should do the right thing and pull the plug on this experiment before they tarnish yet again another great legacy. ECW was for the fans and in many aspects was the fans.
ECW was a feeling, it was a rush, it was so many things to so many different people, but the word that people use to describe ECW so much more then any other is that very word "unique." The new ECW is not without fault. They have made several new stars and have even had one or two memorable moments along the way. To say the new "ECW" has done nothing right is a lie. I can't blame anyone for trying to make money off of what was once successful. Hollywood actors do it, politicians do it, writers do it, and evidently so do wrestling feds. The new ECW may be a symbol of what once was but also what may be. In the Indies, the AWA has had a revival of source and even TNA can be viewed as the resurrection of NWA Wrestling. Online wrestling federations may be doing the exact same thing for every fan of wrestling in the world and that is to provide of with a true alternative. Many techniques ECW uses are still provided by WWE such as never ending losing streaks albeit losing to one particular person. Kane's gimmick may not have even been possible had it not been for ECW. TLC matches, Inferno matches, and definitely the usage of thumbtacks would not have been possible had it not been for ECW. I could go on and say ECW was once a great federation, but while I could say that, I feel there is just one word that captivates the brand so much more. That word is unique. ECW will never ever be forgotten.
In the following days I will go over other factors of why the new ECW had no shot of measuring up to the great legacy of the old ECW. This is just my opinion. ECW has a heart and a soul. All I'm asking for is that you remember it for what it was.
This has been one of the best columns I have written, and I'm happy that that column I wrote could be on one of the most important companies the wrestling world has ever produced.
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derrick_cannon@hotmail.com.
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