Last week I wasn’t able to talk about Smackdown because I did the New Years Revolution predictions. And I felt bad because last week’s show was just off the charts with so many solid matches. I was totally in love with the show. Now last night we still got excellent matches, yet I think with a few of the stars not on such as Booker, Kane, and just a few seconds of Batista backstage the show dragged a little bit. By no means was this show bad, and compared to Monday’s Raw you had a perfect Smackdown. So without going into the show I would like to make today’s column about ECW. And because my thoughts on Raw this past Tuesday were so negative I didn’t want to pop out another downer, but I guess since I’ve waited a few days it’s okay to vent now about ECW.
First let me say when I first read that ECW was coming back I was thinking COOL, they are brining the ECW regulars back. But quickly I discovered that ECW wasn’t the ECW that most of us knew but after a shaky couple of weeks this version of ECW was coming along very well. Sure I wasn’t thrilled about Test in there, or this guy Mike Knox, yet teamed up they did a good job. Kelly Kelly started out really bad with not being able to move in time with her music but after a while she turned out okay. You had RVD has champion and Sabu working some very good matches. The Sandman along with Tommy Dreamer worked well together against Knox and Test. Kevin Thorn and Ariel proved Vampires can come through for the ECW fans. And let’s not forget how Big Show really stepped up and did an excellent job as the ECW champion for many months. And then we had CM Punk giving us promos week after week. He was so smooth and because of his relaxed manner he was able to win the fans over immediately. And by the time we got to see his wrestling skills this man was OVER and over big. Week after week we were given good matches, and an hour of pure entertainment.
Of course Paul Heyman really added to the shows. It started when Heyman brought the house down at One Night Stand in June with one hell of a promo. This man has always been OUSTANDING on the mic and each week in ECW he came through. Everyone that I just mentioned and so many others helped to make ECW a show that I look so forward to each week. But unfortunately paradise had to end. And it’s been coming to an end since December to Dismember. Well a little before that. Like when they brought Matt Striker in and he was defeating guys like Sandman and Balls Mahoney. That hurt a lot. But at December to Dismember CM Punk was one of the first eliminated in the Extreme Elimination Chamber match. And ever since that lovely match CM Punk the guy that was so OVER and had some damn good matches with Mike Knox and a few others is going down. This guy that could make so much money for WWE and could be such a huge fan favorite is nothing more now than a jobber for Bob Holly.
In fact Punk’s first ECW loss this past Tuesday was to Holly. I could have lived with the loss but it was the way CM was used. He didn’t stand out; he was just there to give Holly the win. I saw such great things for Punk and now it’s like the guy each week is going down even more. ECW I’m afraid will be losing me very soon. I feel like I’m watching a bad edition of Heat. I’m talking about Test getting pushed to the hilt. Striker just being there, and Shannon Moore nothing more than a guy they pay to show up, lose and then leave. RVD from all I’ve read is basically done as far as Vince McMahon is concerned since the drug arrest back in June. Sabu supposedly sealed his fate by showing up late for work and showing a lack of interest in his job. Maybe the lack of interest came from Sabu wondering what the hell is going on around him. The pattern with ECW seems to be that all WWE guys that were moved there get the win and the ECW or OVW guy’s job to them, and all of this infuriates me.
You know I always had this bad feeling that Heyman could make ECW so good that it would make Raw and Smackdown come in second and third. And that kind of thinking made me believe no way would Vince McMahon allow that. And sure enough after the December pay per view Heyman was released of his duties and things just fell apart. I complained for how long about Impact being hard to watch because of certain wrestlers, and now ECW is headed in that category. I will give it maybe two more weeks, but if this miserable trend continues with lower mid carders “ruling” the show, then I’m done and will give it up very easily.
I’m sorry that this has been a week of such negative columns, but maybe Monday’s Raw will be 100 per cent better than what we got this past week. The rumor is that Vince realized just how BAD the Rosie/Trump crap was so hopefully he’ll find a way to get things back on track. I will leave you with a request and I’ll be back on Tuesday. One of my readers would like to know what song they play on the TNA explosion commercial. It is the same song that they use on the fight network. You can email him at landon_hang@hotmail.com.
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
