Wednesday, August 30, 2006

ECW Gets Extension!

Okay, now let's get this thing rolling...
ECW re-upps with Sci Fi

^^^^^

On Kurt Angle, I'm just glad that he's gonna HAVE to get his shit straightened out now, and hopefully he won't be the next Dynamite Kid, or worse, Eddy Guerrero.

^^^^^

Good show last night. I think they panicked a little and went over the top where they didn't need to -- and I think Shannon Moore's either being intentionally corny or needs some new lines -- but another solid hour of wrestling TV...

Thursday, August 24, 2006

On the 'New' Additions

It's been a while since I've posted here -- what can I say, life's busy! -- but I thought I'd chime in with some quick-n-dirty thoughts on some of the "new breed" Paul Heyman & Co. has introduced to ECW, providing a pretty good mix of newbies and "ECW Originals" to round out the roster...



Ariel - The Tarot Card reader gimmick was short-lived, but she's got a sexy look to her that can definitely be classified as 'extreme' as far as I'm concerned. I like the gimmick of her and Thorn, so now it's just a matter at seeing what she can bring to the table as his valet, or if she's just around to be eye-candy.

Basham Brothers - As the anonymous and mute elite guard charged with protecting Paul Heyman (and beating down anyone who gets in his way), they seem to be working out just fine. One thing I've noticed, however, is how much the masks/helmets are getting in their way each week. In fact, during the latest beat-down (was it Angle?), I kept focusing on one of them holding his helmet on with one hand while beating up Heyman's opponent with the other. It's better to keep them masked for now -- if it's revealed that they are indeed Doug and Danny, fans will just think they are just another set of WWE jobbers being pushed down our throats -- but eventually the masks have to go or become less cumbersome, and I'm hoping we start seeing some tag action from them again (FBI, Dreamer & Sandman and Roadkill & Doring are three teams of "ECW Originals" that make sense off the top of my head) soon.

Big Show - I give this guy an A+ for stepping in, being The Giant that he knows he has to be, and not being afraid to go up against quite a few mis-matches in the ring. Would I prefer seeing RVD and Sabu battling it out on top? Sure. But those guys made their own bed by getting arrested, and ECW seems to have stumbled into a great storyline here. Whoever beats the unstoppable monster will surely get over huge with the ECW faithful.

CM Punk - And no, it shouldn't be Punk to be the one to topple the giant. Too bad Sci Fi is only giving them an hour a week* (although really, there's only so much wrestling the market can handle, and I think this week alone there will be 10 hours of WWE wrestling on TV and PPV, including the two hours on MSG Network), because Punk should be TV Champion by now. The kid gets a star reaction whenever he makes his ring entrance, he has a great look, indie & Internet credibility, and cuts a pretty good promo. I can't wait to see what he can do with the Angles, RVDs and Sabus on the roster. I'm turning into a huge mark for this guy.

Hardcore Holly - Consider me on the bandwagon: this is the perfect spot for Bob Holly. He's been gone for around a year. He just recovered from a life-threatening injury. He has a reputation of being tough. He's a veteran who can really help these young guys learn how to work. And the fans REACT to him, face or heel. Him and RVD are gonna beat the CRAP out of each other in this feud.

Kelly Kelly - I don't wanna kill her, 'cause she's only 19 and really been thrown to the wolves, but as hot as she is to look at, she just doesn't seem to have 'it' yet. Plus, if she doesn't get completely naked on the next ECW PPV, what really is the pay-off here?

Kevin Thorn - As I said above about Ariel, I like this pairing, and Fertig seems to have really improved since his short stint as Mordecai on Smackdown. I really like his finishing move, and their ring entrance is going to turn these two into babyfaces very quickly. I wouldn't have put him over Mahoney yet (while I have NO PROBLEM using Richards, Snow, Credible, Doring, Anderson or Roadkill as jobbers, it seemed like they were protecting Balls, but c'est la vie), but can you say Sandman vs. Thorn at December to Dismember?

Kurt Angle - Getting very close to becoming my favorite wrestler of all time, but the man's insane. I'm glad he injured his groin, because really there's no way the previous 30 days off was enough to give this man's battered body the rest it really needs. That being said, they're using him well, and have interestingly alligned him on the side of the "ECW Originals" in the Paul Heyman feud. Or is that just a swerve?

Matt Striker - Too soon to tell, but I liked his work in his mini-feud with Angle back before the teacher gimmick, and he's probably the most under-rated/under-utilized talker on any of the WWE rosters right now. He gets an "incomplete" on this report card.

Mike Knox - Another one where I think it's too early to tell. Yes, he's a big man, but I don't hold that against him. Heyman must have seen something in him, no? If he can work, then I'm 100% for him being part of ECW. If not, then at least he's getting huge crowd heat ... for now.

Rene Dupree - Repeating something I read elsewhere in the IWC, unless they let him do his little French dance, I'm completely ignoring him.

Shannon Moore - This gimmick can be good or really, really corny. Right now I'm on the fence, leaning toward the latter, but I'm curious to see how the crowd reacts to him once he finally debuts.

Test - This guy has been INTENSE and I love him as one of Heyman's goons. Once that angle is over, though...

Trinity - Been injured, so it's really hard to say. She's smoking hot in female wrestler terms, and has a history as a stuntwoman, so I have a feeling her, and the FBI, will be getting plenty of airtime once she returns.

So, all-in-all, not a BAD crop of 'new' talent brought into ECW by World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The show's gotten a lot better over the past few weeks (really, since the awesome Hammerstein event), and seems to be hitting its stride. It seems like Sci Fi will be picking the show up (it's getting huge ratings, so it would be foolish not to in my opinion), so with things continuing, my money's on a Team Heyman vs. Team ECW Originals match-up at Survivor Series, with a lot of these storylines -- particularly "who can beat the Big Show?" -- coming to a head at the December PPV... should be fun!

*My next post will be my thoughts on how ECW can get more time per week without adding another hour on Sci Fi.