High Road/Low Road 05.11.07: Vince McMahon as the ECW Champion
Posted by Chad Nevett on 05.11.2007
At Backlash, Vince McMahon won the ECW champion. Is it a good idea to put the title on Vince McMahon or is it a bad idea? You decide in this week's High Road/Low Road.
Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road! A brief explanation of the column: Uncle Trunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related "stuff" while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).
The Results for the Fatal Four Way at Backlash:
High Road: 64%
Low Road: 18%
Both Roads: 18%
E-Mails:
We received no e-mails this week. I guess that means nobody had an opinion on the fatal four way at Backlash. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be included in next week's column.
This week's High Road/Low Road featuring...
Vince McMahon as the ECW champion
High Road:
Vince McMahon had to get revenge on Bobby Lashley for what happened at WrestleMania. Vince can't shave Bobby Lashley's head, so he has to take the thing that is most important to Bobby Lashley and that is the ECW title.
Low Road:
Vince McMahon had to attempt revenge in the storyline for things to make sense, I agree. However putting the ECW title on Vince himself was not the right way to go about demonstrating that revenge. What it does is hammers another nail into the coffin of a dying brand and urinates on the legacy of the original ECW at the same time.
High Road:
The match at Backlash was a three on one handicap, so Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, & Umaga better have won the match. I can understand one guy beating two guys because one guy could get thrown outside and the other guy could get beat, but for two guys to be thrown outside and for the last guy to be beat is a near miracle. So Vince's team had to win and out of three options, Vince McMahon was the best option to win.
Low Road:
How on earth is giving the win to a non-wrestler the "best option"? Umaga, while not being the greatest wrestler to hold a world title, is at least a credible threat and an active wrestler. Putting the belt on him would have elevated him to main event level in ECW and advanced his career. As it is, we get a non wrestler as champion. That is certainly not the best option they had going for them.
High Road:
So, it comes out that Bobby Lashley is injured and he could potentially need surgery. So, the title has to change hands. There is heel on the ECW roster that is deserving of being the ECW champion. That brings the option of who can win the title, down to three guys. The reason Umaga can't win will be explain in the next High Road. Shane McMahon would have been a great option, but it wouldn't have worked because he is rarely on TV and I don't think that he has the desire to be on TV for an extended amount of time. That's why Vince McMahon had to become the new ECW champion.
Low Road:
Or perhaps as an alternative, they could put the belt on a wrestler? One of the many that are hanging around on ECW, trying to get noticed, trying to catch a break as a wrestler on a wrestling show? I can think of a fair few that would be a good shout for the ECW title, both inside and outside ECW. C M Punk; perhaps a little early, but they could see if he can live up to his growing reputation. Or perhaps someone like Snitsky, who they are building up as a monster. There is no reason for Vince to have to be the champion just because Shane couldn't.
High Road:
I have heard the argument that Umaga should have won the ECW title because he is the actual wrestler of the three. That would have made sense, but there are two problems with that. First, it would not have worked because Umaga is a RAW wrestler. Vince McMahon is the owner of the WWE, so it makes sense for him to be on any show. And I know that everyone has been saying that the brand extension is dead, but for the most part, the WWE has kept the wrestlers feuds contained to one brand. The second reason is that let's assume that Umaga had won the title. That would have meant that he would have had to come to ECW to defend the title. There really is not a whole lot that Umaga can do because ECW already has its resident monster.
Low Road:
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the brand split means less by the week. Umaga being a Raw wrestler technically is no obstacle at all these days to him winning the ECW title; all they have to do is change his entry to ECW on wwe.com. A brand can have more than one monster; the two could form a super stable which protects the belt, so that when the belt finally changes hands, it's a big deal.
High Road:
Vince McMahon as the ECW champion is going to piss off all of the ECW originals. With Vince McMahon as the ECW champion, it creates a new feud on ECW. It seems like the ECW versus New Breed feud is over and with Bobby Lashley hurt; it puts the Vince McMahon/Bobby Bobby Lashley feud into question. So, ECW needs a new feud and the best option is Vince McMahon versus the Originals.
Low Road:
No, the best option involves wrestlers wrestling each other. Vince is an entertaining character but he doesn't need the ECW title and to put it on him does more harm than good to the brand as it's struggling to live with the enormous weight of expectation those three initials carry. The more they pull screwy stunts like this, the greater the contrast between the old ECW and this version will be.
High Road:
Vince McMahon has done a great job as the ECW champion. I would go as far and say that he has done a better job than Bobby Lashley. First, Vince has shown more charisma in a week than Bobby Lashley showed in his entire run. Vince McMahon has also shown why he is one of the best characters of all time by really going over the top with his character. This was expected because Vince has a huge ego and it is likely that it would get inflated by becoming ECW champion. Vince has shown that he can do a great job as the ECW champion.
Low Road:
It may be old fashioned of me, but I don't consider that a champion has done a great job until they've had some great title defenses. Vince has charisma, that is without doubt. But has he held the belt like a great champion, defending it in memorable ways? No, we've had more screwy booking. This situation is a disgrace. Get the belt off him now, before he drops metaphorical turds all over any legacy and credibility ECW had left.
Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?
High Road/Low Road Plugs
No plugs this week because I have a twenty page paper to write.
E-mail us your reasons for taking the High Road or the Low Road and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road at satuncletrunx@gmail.com. Your reply will be included in next week's column.
