ProWrestlingViews.com

Archive for the ‘ECW’ Category

Anyone wanting to follow the plotline of the ECW title of late had best get travel insurance.

I’m glad CM Punk got the title when Morrison HAD to give it up due to a suspension. But for Punk’s sake, I wish it hadn’t come quite so early on. He’d just been building heat as a title-chaser, and now he’s already champ. Part of building a big superstar is that he is the obvious champ in fans’ hearts LONG before he ever wears gold.

Punk was getting there, he was on the path, but his opportunity came a bit too soon, and now it’s too late to undo. Short of having him job to Morrison soon in an obvious screw-job, Punk is actually hurt by being champ so soon and so suddenly, and he could be put through the wringer by fans.

Let’s hope they find a creative way to put the title back on Morrison and make Punk fans feel he was cheated out of his title. Then keep the belt off him until AT LEAST WrestleMania 24.

Who would have thunk it? I’m actually getting excited about Cyber Sunday.

I bopped over to WWE.com to vote tonight, just because I’d been putting it off for too long, and some of the matches actually look fun. I really want to see Orton take on my Mr. Kennedy, though the vote probably won’t go my way there.

And I’m eager to see C.M. Punk face off with a back-from-suspension John Morrison, and the vote MAY go my way there, since the other two choices are a five-time retread (Big Daddy V) and a comic-relief wrestler in The Mizh.

Most of all, if Stone Cold is voted in as the guest referee for the Smackdown title, the bit of nostalgia will be a fun thing, too. I’m actually potentially excited about a SmackDown brand match in this upcoming PPV, even if it’s only about the guest ref!

And we all know my low opinion of the SmackDown brand. This’ll prove interesting!

ECW’s C.M. Punk would be a great choice if you’re looking for a payoff out of left field. Punk’s image is the exact opposite of the McMahon Family’s, and his revelation as a “bastard” son of Vinnie-Mac could drive storylines forward for years to come.

Trouble is, simply because C.M. Punk is so young, it would be a huge risk to bestow such a title on the kid. After all, what if, like previous highly-promoted wunderkinds like Kurt Angle, he had a falling out over a contract dispute, and switched to another promotion like NWA-TNA? One can only imagine the cannon fodder that would give Vince’s storyline son in real-life, behind-the-scenes negotiations, or that such a wrestler could carry with him when switching to a rival promotion.

No, something like that would be like entrusting your Orlando real estate to Eugene. For that reason, I just can’t imagine a younger superstar like C.M. Punk being awarded this kind of storyline honor.

C.M. Punk, therefore, is unlikely to be Vince’s fictional “bastard child.” Still, the chemistry when they teased this storyline on ECW was fun. Trouble is, I really see this all resolving RAW rather than ECW or SmackDown.

When it was born a couple years ago, ECW One Night Stand was a breath of fresh air among WWE PPV events. It was the world series of ECW events, considering that the promotion had been dead for years, bought out by Vinny Mac.

Sure, everyone knew that ECW was still WWE-owned, but for one night a year fans could see Paul Heyman in control, struggling against the McMahon oligarchy. One could hear RVD given lines more significant than “that’s cool” or “sweet.” For a while, ECW was ECW again.

No more. In this post-WrestleMania calender year, all the WWE PPVs that were single-branded are now multi-brand, including One Night Stand, which isn’t even called ECW One Night Stand anymore.

ECW is swiftly becoming just another generic WWE brand. Rest in peace, ECW fans.

I realize that from a WWE perspective, putting the ECW belt on Vince McMahon was a classic retread of the Stone Cold Steve Austin storyline template: rebellious employee faces off with evil owner. But that formula is wearing a bit thin, carrying the luggage of overuse in recent years, and while WWE’s defenders may say it was all about pushing ECW’s Bobby Lashley as much as possible, the backlash of the move certainly carried with it substantial risks related to alienating ECW lovers.

ECW has been the subject of a McMahon-centric makeover ever since ECW creator Paul Heyman was bounced from WWE last December, but what such a Vince-centric storyline really needed was an opposing force manipulating from behind the scenes who could go toe-to-toe with Vince. That’s right: ECW needs Heyman to really sell this “ECW Originals vs. The New Breed” storyline that has become central to each Tuesday night broadcast on SciFi.

The New Breed has Vince pulling the strings, which is fine, but who is the unmovable object to Vince’s irresistible force? Bringing Heyman back would take this storyline to the next level, and open of the possibility of an “ECW Walkout” in which ECW seems to go independent again, under Heyman’s leadership, even though it would be in storyline only.

Something like that is needed to fix the current ECW, which in the months since Heyman’s ouster has become just another identity-less WWE brand, not distinguishably different from Raw or Smackdown, except that the show’s an hour shorter.

Heck, even One Night Stand has become a multi-brand PPV event. Sure, the belt was put back on Lashley, but anyone who think’s McMahon’s reign is over is fooling only themselves. Yawn.

Even though WWE is doing everything right in terms of promoting their new ECW champion, Bobby Lashley, it has to be said: Lashley as champion is about as exciting as butter on toast.

It’s not Lashley’s fault, per se. He’s just not that electrifying a personality. At least not yet. At the moment, he’s just a generic champion with nothing that makes him stand out. Which makes his championship reign pretty unappetizing. So unappetizing you’d think someone has slipped a dose of Tenuate into your evening meal.

Now, Lashley can wrestle a solid match and his victory at December to Dismember was the capper to a great elimination chamber match. And his ring work has been solid since taking the title. But without a more electrifying personality, he’ll go down in history as one of the less interesting ECW champions ever.

Personally, I think the belt would be far more intriguing wrapped around the waist of C.M. Punk or Elijah Burke. Lashley needs more of an on-screen character to really get over, and having the belt taken out of his hands via nefarious means and having him feud with the new title holder would be a step in the right direction.