The Week In Hardcore 7.29.06

Posted by Sam Caplan on 07.29.2006

Analysis of this week's episode of ECW On Sci-Fi, backstage news, and thoughts on Paul Heyman's recent interview with the UK Sun in this week's edition of the column about the Extreme Third Brand!

ECW On Sci-Fi Results: 7/25/2006 (2.4 Rating)

-Sandman defeated Mike Knox by DQ (1:15)

-Fertig pinned Little Guido (2:22)

-Justin Credible defeated Balls Mahoney by DQ (6:10)

-ECW Champion Big Show pinned Kane in an Extreme Rules Match (15:21)

Thanks to Larry Csonka for match times.

Storyline Developments

-Mike Knox tells Kelly Kelly that he would never abandon her, and that last week he rushed to the back to get help for her after the Sandman hit her with his cane. He wanted a rematch with Sandman to show him how he'll treat a guy who does that to his girlfriend. Test attacked Sandman to draw the DQ, then leaves with Knox and Kelly. Knox and Test appear to have formed an alliance, but are attacked in the back by an incensed Tommy Dreamer.

-Sabu wants a match with the Big Show for the ECW Title, but Paul Heyman won't allow it, and tells Sabu to take the night off. As Heyman leaves the room, he thinks he hears Little Guido mutter something under his breath, so he has his security force beat him up and send him to the ring right away for his match with Fertig.

-CM Punk is still coming, and this week Maria finally give up the BALLOON KNOT! THE BALLOON KNOT!!! Now, satisfied with his conquest, Punk is ready to ruin my weekly gag and make his in-ring debut next week.

-Speaking of people who have been coming every week, the lack of an AJ Styles or Gregory Helms to come with has demoralized Shannon Moore. Feeling rejected, he decides to turn it into his gimmick, and "The Reject" Shannon Moore is coming...alone!

-After the main event, Big Show gets ready to attack Kane once more, but Sabu runs in and lays out Big Show with a chair, then stands in the aisle and taunts Show.

ECW Top Five (As voted by...ME!)

All rankings are based on what happens on TV. House shows do not count. If it didn't happen on TV, it didn't happen.

ECW Champion:

1)Test: Still undefeated, and now has formed an alliance with fellow Top Fiver Mike Knox. Looks to be continuing his feud with Tommy Dreamer over the coming weeks.

2)Sabu: Slowly inching back to the top spot, and may get there soon to build to his eventual showdown with the Big Show.

3)Mike Knox: DQ loss to the Sandman drops him down to #3, but has yet to be pinned or made to submit. Alliance with Test may aid him in his ongoing battle with the Sandman.

4)Fertig: Looked impressive in his debut this week, keep your eyes on this guy.

5)Justin Credible: Has beaten both Sabu and Balls Mahoney. Yes, they were both by DQ, but a win is a win, and those two victories are enough to push him back into the Top Five yet again. Could he keep up his streak and move even further up the list in such an improbable way?

Hardcore Backstage News

An ECW house show has been scheduled for 9/24 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This is the site of the final show for the original ECW. [pwinsider.com]

Not really major news, but people find it interesting for some reason, so there it is.

The Bashams were Paul Heyman's masked security agents on this week's episode of ECW On Sci-Fi.

I'll be honest, I never really got the Bashams. I heard they did some great stuff in OVW, but never got to see it, and pretty much my only exposure to them was when they had the S&M thing going with Shaniqua. So I can't say I'm terrible excited about the prospect of their impending ECW debut the way I am about CM Punk (of whom I am a huge fan), but time will tell if they're able to showcase the stuff they can supposedly do.

ECW is running a huge lineup for their TV debut in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Big Show will defend the ECW Title against Batista in the main event, and the show will also feature the return of Kurt Angle and TV debut of CM Punk.

I live in the NYC area and still haven't decided whether I'm going or not, but I'm leaning towards yes because a)it's shaping up to be a pretty stacked show, and b)I've been in NYC crowds many times before and can't wait to see what kind of reaction ECW (and specifically Batista and Show) get when ECW returns to the Big Apple.

Ponderings Of A Stu-Man

Paul Heyman gave a great interview to the UK Sun this past week discussing the new ECW. I want to talk about the top points, as culled from Ashish's news posting:

On the disappointing debut of ECW On Sci-Fi: We were all disappointed with how the first TV show went. But that was to be expected going in. We were taking a concept that revolutionised the entire industry in the 1990s and had achieved the status of urban myth. Now you're bringing ECW fast-forward into 2006, with only two shows since its collapse at the beginning of 2001 and the rebirth in June 2006. So that's five and a half years with only two shows and not enough time for anyone to adjust to the new concepts and direction of ECW. This is beyond the old expressions of "growing pains" or "a work in progress", this was a dramatically different concept. Of course coming out of the gate we were going to stumble on that first night, because even those with a clear vision of it had so much baggage attached it makes things very difficult. Any other television show would take a year just to put a pilot on the air. And we went from being an Internet concept to a big television show in under two months. So we lacked that time to adjust.

Doing the first episode of a new version of anything with any kind of history is going to create certain expectations, and no matter what people steel themselves against going in, they're invariably going to be disappointed. I compare the first episode of ECW On Sci-Fi to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. People were already familiar with the concept, but failed to realize going into the new movie that Episode I was basically there to set up the next five (or eight, depending on who you ask) movies, and to establish the characters and backstory to the stuff that would develop later on. I guess that would make the Zombie ECW's Jar Jar Binks? But seriously, it was the same problem with the first episode of ECW on Sci-Fi, everybody expected everything the first night, which would be fine if One Night Stand really WAS a One Night Stand, but if they gave it to them, where do they go from there? It would be like Anakin becoming Darth Vader 15 minutes into Phantom Menace and then having to pad out the next 2 7/8 movies with filler. You have to build to the good stuff.

On the new vision for ECW: I think the new vision of ECW is culturally the same as it used to be. We want to be ahead of the curve. We want to have the most compelling and realistic characters. By way of example, CM Punk is someone whose debut is so highly anticipated, based on the fact that the interviews we've aired are so real, articulate and intelligent. They're not over the top, 1980s, "I'm going to kick your ass, brother" kind of promos. Shannon Moore and even The Vampire also represent huge audiences out there that are into those concepts and lifestyles. Another thing is we don't deny the influence of Mixed Martial Arts, which is huge on a worldwide basis but is different to anything on Raw or Smackdown right now. The cruiserweights on Smackdown have been tempered - but in ECW we're going to go all out with them. So the difference in ECW to the 1990s is simply recognising where that cultural shift is and playing to it.

Paul seems to be saying that ECW is going to be a great place for the young talent like the CM Punks and the Shannon Moores and Kevin Fertigs to make a name for themselves while getting national TV exposure. One thing that Paul didn't mention, which I will mention right now, is that another aspect of the original ECW was that it wasn't really what people wanted their final destination to be. It was a great place to make a name before hopefully moving up to WCW or the WWF. ECW seems to be in a similar situation now, except it's an in-house project for WWE instead of a shopping mall. Make no mistake, if CM Punk gets really huge, develops a big following, and sells tons of t-shirts, he WILL get pulled up to Raw or Smackdown, but for now he's a great example of the great new extra step between OVW and the main brands.

On the current ECW roster: I don't think we have enough cruiserweights in ECW and I have been having discussions with cruiserweights around the world about bringing them in. They include some of the best wrestlers people have ever, or never, seen before. We are picking our spot to debut them at the right time and in the right place. I am a huge fan of Dragon Gate in Japan, but I am not limited to just their tapes. I am looking at guys from all over the place. I can't give you any names because I know Raw and Smackdown will steal them away - it's a corporate culture of sharks in that writers' room!

Honestly, I think they'd be better off just moving the Cruiserweight Title from Smackdown to ECW where it will likely be handled a little better, and would probably be a better asset for ECW to have than a straight up secondary title like an IC or US Title. As for Raw and Smackdown stealing all the cruiserweights...well, let's just hope that Paul can convince Vinnie Mac that he'll get more bang for his buck with the cruiserweights in ECW.

Extremist Of The Week: Big Show

Big Show continues on his tear this week, taking out another non-ECW guy to help establish the new title, albeit by questionable means. This week he will defend against Batista and, unless somebody in power really lost their mind, Show's going to beat him, too. After Big Show beats all these Raw and Smackdown guys, it's going to make whoever does end up taking the title from him look really good.

Extreme Outlook

Next week's episode of ECW On Sci-Fi is going to be a bit of a breath of fresh air, as we're going to get the debut of newcomer CM Punk. Not to belabor it, but I've seen his work on the indies and he really is something special. Will he be allowed to show how special he is once making it to the bigtime?

Also freshening things up next week is going to be the return of Kurt Angle after serving a 30 day suspension. I loved the new shooter aspect of his character before the suspension, and his in-ring work had been really entertaining. I can't wait to see who his first victim is going to be when he returns next week.

Test and Mike Knox have formed an alliance, and they're going to be two tough men to beat. Will they continue to concentrate on their individual battles with the Sandman and Tommy Dreamer, or will Dreamer and Sandman band together once again to battle Knox and Test as a team?

Sabu has made it known that he wants a shot at the ECW Title currently held by the Big Show, but Paul Heyman is unwilling to give him that opportunity. Despite being denied his chance, Sabu has shown that he is perfectly willing to be a thorn in Show's side by sneak attacking him until he gets a title shot. When will Sabu's inevitable title shot occur, and will it be successful, or will Sabu suffer his first pinfall loss at the hands of the ECW Champion?

Banging Out

Before I go, I want to give a special plug to Michael Weyer, who summed up in one article everything I grew to think about former IWC great Scott Keith. It's a terrific read that I agree 100% with, and it just goes to show what a shame it is that a guy like Scott who influenced and inspired so many people (myself included) with his writing just totally crashed the way he did. Anyone remember when people felt sorry for him when Sean Shannon became a bitter curmudgeon, fell to pieces, and disappeared? No? Never mind.

See you all next week when we do it all again! Take care.

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