2.9 Million viewers can't be wrong...

Right?

From PWInsider:

ECW on Sci Fi did a 2.4 cable rating. The show did a 4 share. That equated to just over 2 million households and almost 2.9 million viewers. The rating was bumped up a tenth of a point by the overrun. The actual hour from 10 to 11 p.m. did a 2.3 rating, with quarter hours of 2.2, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.5. The overrun shot up to a 3.0, which I believe is the second best quarter hour in the history of the show.

And of course word is that WWE is confident that the show will get picked up after the summer run... so while I still hate that only SOME matches are held under "ECW Rules" (ugh), and am dissappointed that RVD should be the fighting champion rather than the Big Show, this is pretty good news and I'm overall optimistic. I wasn't a few weeks ago (can't you tell by the fact I haven't been posting?), but with CM Punk debuting and Angle returning next week (in NEW YORK - crowd should be very interesting), Shannon Moore, Fertig and The Bashams recently/about to be introduced to the roster, and ECW "originals" like Sandman, Sabu and Balls Mahoney getting legit pushes, I'm actually looking forward to seeing where things are heading. (I even like Test and Knox pairing up as kind of the anti-ECW team on the show... go figure.)

If only The Zombie would come back...

Mike Johnson Comes Around

PWInsider has been ultra-negative on the new ECW for weeks now, which is why I found the below opinion piece by Mike Johnson so refreshing:

EXTREMELY OVERLOOKED

While many fans still have their arms up in air about the new ECW product (and count me as among those who were disappointed by the brand's direction), I do feel there are fans who are overlooking that some of the same work ethic that was loved by fans of the original company is there...even if it's not on Sci Fi in every match of every broadcast.

Take a moment to read over any of the recent ECW house show reports. While fans are unison in rejecting the likes of Test and The Big Show (and let's face it, those same fans would reject them on a WWE house show), for the most part, all of the ECW reports seem to be that the shows are entertaining and fans are getting their money's worth out of the new ECW.

There are good things coming out of the new ECW so far. Sabu has been awesome in his WWE run, minus Saturday Night's Main Event. There are talents who were languishing on the indy scene with regular paychecks that are no longer worried that their payodds will be there upon arrival at the show. There are the WWE's misfit toys, such as the Bashams and Shannon Moore, who have a place to go and work now. There's even an aura of appreciation for someone like Tommy Dreamer, who gets to be the bridge between the old and the new, sort of a Terry Funk like grizzled veteran who wants to stand up for ECW.

There are more positives on the horizon as well. Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam will be returning soon, providing a chance to see them working in intimate atmospheres that you would never, ever see otherwise from a WWE produced event. If they can remain healthy and free of problems outside the ring, it will be even more of a chance for house shows to feature something special and unique.

ECW as a company has moved forward from the past, good and bad. Some fans are disgusted by that (and I do believe WWE owes the city of Philadelphia one hell of a make good show after the two events Philly has been presented thus far), but for the most part, the new fans ECW has attracted as well as older fans who understand the reality of the situation, have walked out of ECW shows happy.

That's a positive that's been extremely overlooked thus far in this brand's short run. The old ECW is long gone and will never be back. That's a shame, but it would also be a shame to dismiss the quality of the live events, thus far, just based on bitterness of failing to let the past go.

I'm hoping to get to a live ECW show during this run -- and I'm sure the more intimate venues are better for the brand -- but the key point Johnson makes is this: the NEW ECW is giving more pro wrestlers paychecks. Not only are guys like Balls, Sandman, etc., now employed, but they also have a relatively strict "wellness program" to follow, including heart monitoring. It's WWE's game, and you take the good with the bad, but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons (and really, last week's show, particularly the main event, was pretty good).

The Zombie Speaks!

This is great, and available all over the net. I took this from Meltzer, but the interview itself can be found at InYourHeadOnline.com. And yes. The Zombie has a MySpace account!

The ECW Zombie from the debut show on Sci-Fi Network Tim Arson was the 2nd guest this week on www.inyourheadonline.com with your hosts Jack, Barbie Richards and OneInchBiceps. IYH can be heard live every Wednesday at 6:00 PM Eastern, and all our archived interviews free at http://www.inyourheadonline.com.

The hosts welcome The Zombie to the show. Tim does the Zombie roar.

Tim talks about how the gimmick came to be. He says Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman were backstage looking for the Martian, who was originally going to be used for the Sandman caning angle. They couldn't find the Martian, so Paul said "let's do a Zombie" and asked who they could use for it. Tommy Dreamer suggested Tim Arson, who was there for a Heat match vs Matt Striker. Heyman stood 5 feet from Tim and told him "show me the Zombie". Tim put his arms out to the sides and growled. Paul told him to open his eyes a little more, and gave Tim more of a pep talk to show him the Zombie. Next thing, they had Tim in the make up chair, they cut up his jeans. A guy was sent outside to get real dirt for his pockets and clothes. Tim really puts over the make up girl.

Tim was then taken for final approval. Tim was taken to Vince McMcmahon's office. Tim compares it to the Darren Drozdov "he's going to puke" scene from Beyond the Mat with Vince demanding him to do the Zombie character in front of Vince. So Tim did the Zombie pose and growl, and Vince was hysterical and said "that's f'n brilliant".

Tim says it was really fun. Tim is friends with Sandman, they had wrestled together in Puerto Rico. OIB asks about the cane shots. Tim says they were brutal, Sandman was fired up that night. Tim says Sandman isn't drinking anymore, so it was even worse. Sandman is a better aim while drunk. One of the cane shots caught him right in the nose.

Jack asks if everyone was happy backstage. Tim says everyone was, and Paul Heyman told him he did great for the business. Tim talks about talking with Paul London, who had already came up with 15 story lines for the Zombie.

Jack asks if he will come back as the Zombie. Tim says if he is back as The Zombie that's great, if he comes back to ECW as Tim Arson it's even better. Tim isn't sure about ECW, he thinks it needs some help. Jack mentions Terry Funk earlier on In Your Head, mentioned he thought The Zombie was one of the highlights of the ECW show. Tim feels honored.

Jack asks if Tim can use the Zombie name on Indy's. Tim says yes, he got a poor man's copyright for "The ECW Zombie". Tim will be working for some guys with the gimmick. Jack says he should take advantage of it. Tim is really surprised how many people enjoyed the gimmick.

OIB asks if anyone recognizes Tim as the Zombie. Tim says he has, he thinks it was the most over of the Sandman caning opponents.

Tim mentions he is working Carlos Colon right now for the WWC as one half of the tag team champions with Rico Suave in Puerto Rico. Fro more information please visit www.wwcpro.com. He also asks for his fans to come visit his myspace www.myspace.com/worldchamparson. Where he has some pictures from the latest Bruiser Brody Memorial tournament including him being choked by Abdullah the Butcher with a shovel.

Jack asks if Tim has ever been to Abby's House of Ribs. Tim hasn't, Jack closes the show by inviting the Zombie out for ribs.

We were also joined by the one and only Terry Funk. To hear both the Zombie and the 50 minute Terry Funk interviews please visit http://www.inyourheadonline.com. And join us next week for TNA Knockout So-cal Val at http://www.inyourheadonline.com starting at 6:00 PM Eastern.

The Wrestling Blog on ECW

http://www.thewrestlingblog.com/index.php?tag=ecw

Some good stuff there recently...

Well, that explains a lot...

A couple of notes:

Some newsbits have recently come to light which explain quite a bit...

Now that the Big Show is the ONLY person to have ever held the WWE, WCW AND ECW World Heavyweight Championships, do we think that will stick? Or is CB right, and will Jericho come back to ECW to show Show who's the man?

Finally, if you look at the WWE/ECW.com "live events" page, it lists some new wrestlers that will be debuting soon for ECW (at least at house shows): Fertig (the vampire, formerly Seven in OVW and Mordecai on Smackdown), Doug Basham (remember him?), Derrick Neikirk (current Deep South Champion) and Ryan O'Reilly (also in DSW). So that's 11 "new" members of the ECW roster if you include Big Show, Kurt Angle, CM Punk, Test, Mike Knox, Kelly and Trinity. With the jury still out on Test and Knox, I'd still have to say that those aren't BAD additions. I'm still interested anyway...

ECW gets Punk'd

Listen, RVD "dug his own grave" or "made his own bed" or something like that. The guy's been busting his ass in the ring, and been very entertaining since Mania, but this arrest can't be ignored, and he was punished. Let's hope after a month (my guess at his pretty much necessary suspension) he's back on ECW TV and the new WWE brand hasn't faltered too much due to his and Sabu's arrest/stupidity.

That being said, they did a pretty good job getting the belt(s) off of him, and I'm FINE with Big Show: New ECW Champion. ECW had NO full-fledged heels, and with the hardcore ECW fans are de facto booing all of the "WWE-bred" wrestlers on the show, the best thing they could have done was to figure out a way to add a top "bad guy" to the brand. With Heyman (who really wants to cheer him anyway?) the REASON for RVD's loss, and the awesome visual of Philly fans pelting Paul E. and Show with garbage to close tonight's show, I'm actually fine with the way they took the belt off of Van Dam. (Could they have put the belt on Sandman or a newcomer? I guess...)

Now let's talk a bit about the future. Test is a great heel to add to the list of Big Show and Mike Knox -- all three non-ECW originals, and all three of which play their roles very, very well. We finally get to see if Fertig (the vampire) has improved in the ring next week; Al Snow made an in-ring appearance; and -- oh yeah -- we got the beginning of what very well can end up being the push of a certain former ROH Champ's career...


Photo Credit: CMPunk.com, Mary-Kate Grosso

...as if there was ever a better time to be straightedge.

What to do...

As GRUT over at IP reported, the legal ramifications of RVD and Sabu's arrests aren't too bad. It's really more about the wrestling ramifications right now. And the first bit of punishment has happened: RVD jobbed the WWE Title to Edge last night on RAW, and rightfully so.

But now what?

I think WWE has three options, and really with Kurt Angle out and the ECW project NEEDING top stars in order to stay viable, the options are limited:

- Job RVD right away to a "new" face -- i.e., someone like CM Punk (who by the way is straightedge and drug-free by all accounts, and has a huge cult following);

- Bring Edge or another WWE name over to ECW as a mega-heel and give them the ECW Title while you take RVD off of TV for a while as 'punishment' for his legal situation;

- Leave it as it is, post something on WWE.com saying that he's either been fined or is wrestling without pay as punishment, but that there was no proof he DID the drugs, was just in possession of them, and that's a criminal matter not a WWE Wellness Policy one. Of course, the Wellness Policy says that arrest/possession can be cause for immediate termination, but it doesn't say that it WILL result in termination.

Whatever happens, if ECW fails right now, it's all on Rob and Sabu; and no - firing them, especially RVD, isn't an option. Whatever you want to say about Vince, his "vision" or any "glass ceiling" that Van Dam had in his way for the five+ years he's been on the WWE roster, Vince wants to make money - period - and RVD was no doubt given a huge chance here to be the key money-maker of the new ECW brand -- and RVD very well may have blown it. Time will tell...

Breaking news: PWInsider reports RVD and Sabu arrested on drug charges

So much for what I said about RVD and Sabu gaining momentum.

Dave Scherer over at www.pwinsider.com reported that RVD and Sabu were arrested in Ohio for drug possession.

The full story is here: http://pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=18912&p=1

Ugh.

Will Vince ruin ECW like Stephanie did?

Rumor has it that Vince wants to have more of a hands-on approach with the new ECW program. I actually thought last week's show took some small but important steps in the right direction, Kelly's Expose notwithstanding. At least they started with an ECW match for once, and Sabu definitely is still fun to watch, since we don't know which spots he'll hit and which spots he'll miss.

I think Heyman's character has been horrendously weak, but RVD is definitely building momentum. And I'd like Sandman to have some matches against actual ECW wrestlers, not members of WWE's Creative Team who are reminiscent of Naked Mideon.