The Pilediver Report 07.29.10: E-V-2! E-V-2! E-V-2!

Posted by Ronny Sarnecky on 07.29.2010

On August 8th, TNA will present the latest version of an ECW reunion show with TNA Hard Justice: The Last Stand. The Piledriver Report takes a look at whether or not an ECW show in 2010 is a good idea.

ECW! ECW! ECW!



E-V-2! E-V-2! E-V-2! Doesn't exactly have the same ring to it as E-C-W! E-C-W! E-C-W! It doesn't matter, because TNA is going to try it anyways. On Sunday, August 8th, TNA wrestling will be presenting TNA Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand. Nine and a half years after the death of ECW, and a little more then five years after the WWE presented ECW: One Night Stand, TNA tries their hand at hosting an Extreme Championship Wrestling reunion show.

The big question that TNA needs to be asking themselves is "why?" Why in the world should TNA put all of their focus and efforts on presenting a pay per view featuring ECW alumni? Shouldn't TNA worry about their own product? After all, it's not like TNA has such a strong foundation that they could put together a show focusing on a brand that they do not even own the rights to. If they don't get their own house in order, in ten years, other wrestling promotions may be holding TNA reunion shows.

Is now the right time for an ECW show? Probably not. For years, whenever a very hardcore or "violent" moment happened in a match featuring ECW alumni, the audience would chant those three initials that were made famous in a bingo hall in South Philadelphia. You don't hear that chant much anymore. I think the reason for that can be traced back to one man. That man is Vince McMahon.

For years, Vince had to hear "E-C-W! E-C-W! E-C-W!" chanted by fans at his WWE shows. In 2004, Vince created the "Rise and Fall of ECW" DVD. Much to his surprise, the DVD became one of the highest grossing DVDs in professional wrestling history. Riding on the DVD's popularity, and at the urging of Rob Van Dam, Vince McMahon decided to promote an ECW reunion show on pay per view.

One year later, Vince decided to bring back ECW as a third brand. Needless to say, the WWE's vision of ECW was no where close to the innovative, hip, and rebellious Extreme Championship Wrestling that Paul Heyman ran throughout the late nineties. After a few broadcasts, it was evident that the real ECW was officially dead. WWECW was not ECW. Eventually, the fans who would chant "E-C-W!" were finally silenced.

CAN YOU GO HOME AGAIN?



While I was a huge ECW fan, and miss it to this very day, I am not clamoring for the promotion to be brought back. There was a time, from 2001-2005, where I wish that the federation could be revived. If I had a time machine, and could go back to the bingo hall during the prime of ECW, I would easily jump inside of the Delorian in order to relive one of the greatest times to be a professional wrestling fan.

However, after Vince killed ECW with his version of "extreme," I put Extreme Championship Wrestling behind me. I've said good bye to ECW, the real ECW, a long time ago. That doesn't mean that I still don't enjoy ECW. Thanks to the World Wrestling Entertainment's On Demand channel, I can watch the ECW, circa 1995-2001, that I loved back in the day.

Here's the thing though. As much as I loved Shane Douglas, Sabu, Raven, the Sandman, and countless others, do I really want to watch the stars of ECW's glory years trying to relive their past triumphs almost a decade later?

I have the utmost respect for all of the ECW alumni, and am grateful for all of the years that they put their bodies on the line to entertain me and my fellow fans. I'm really happy for these wrestlers that TNA is giving them this platform, so they can earn a living. That's great for them. At the same time, I'm really on the fence as to whether I want to see this show. When I think of the Sandman, I remember Metallica blasting on the P.A. system. The crowd singing "Enter Sandman" in unison, as the Sandman showers them with beer, long before Steve Austin was doing a similar gimmick. I remember Taz as the human suplex machine. Sabu was homicidal, suicidal, and genocidal. Tommy Dreamer was the innovator of violence. Raven was Dreamer's top rival, and also had a killer feud with the Sandman. Shane Douglas was the franchise. This is how I want to remember them.

I'm afraid that we will get a show filled with guys that are way past their prime, who just can't go anymore. As much as I want order the show, I don't want to watch the show and get depressed. I have a bad feeling that most fans will watch the show, and at the and of the night, they will be saddened over what they just witnessed. OK, most of the ECW core groups weren't tremendous workers to begin with. I just fear that with ten years of age catching up to them, the show may be filled with too many "remember when he was awesome" type moments.

Maybe I'll be wrong. After all, look how some wrestlers have long careers, and are still at the top of their game. Edge, Triple H, the Undertaker, and Chris Jericho are all either over or near 40, and they are still going strong. Who's to say ECW's finest can't still go? For every past their prime Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, there may be a Shawn Michaels in the bunch. Although, believe it or not, even Shawn slowed down over the years. Case in point, on WWE On Demand, they are airing an episode of Monday Night RAW from 1996. The main match feature Hunter Hearst Helmsley going up against the WWF World Champion Shawn Michaels. I couldn't believe how quick Shawn moved in that match. I was stunned. The 2002-2010 Shawn Michaels was so awesome, that I forgot how good he was pre-1998 career threatening back injury. It just goes to show that even a guy as awesome as Shawn Michaels has been. Even he slowed down due to age and injury.

POSITIVES



It's not all doom and gloom though for TNA and their ECW show. There are some positives. TNA is in a weird position. No matter what rating they pull in to their TV show, they still maintain the same buy rate on their pay per views. Lately though, even the diehard fans have been avoiding TNA pay per views, as last months event had a record low buy rate for a monthly TNA pay per view. TNA needs to try something new. Anything new. They have tried "celebrities." They brought in Hulk Hogan. Nothing is working. They might as well try the ECW nostalgia route. What's the worst thing that could happened? If it doesn't work, they are no further down then where they were last month.

Another positive is that the angle and upcoming show is getting people talking about TNA. Getting them talking in a positive way, as opposed to the usual "Impact Sucks" reaction. Sure, people are talking about TNA because of a promotion that died almost a decade ago. However, that doesn't matter. There is a saying that states "bad publicity is better then no publicity at all." The ECW angle follows along with this line. It doesn't matter that they are talking about TNA because of ECW. The point is that people are talking about them. That's all TNA could ask for.

In the end, will the ECW Invasion be a good thing for TNA? For a short term boost, the ECW reunion pay per view should give TNA a higher then normal buy rate. That's the good news. The bad news is that the momentum probably will not last. Then again, maybe Dixie Carter finds the Holy Grail and actually gets Paul Heyman to run creative. Then TNA may become what WWECW was never able to become. That would be the next generations ECW.