ECW being brought back full time?

[#BROKEN Hasney]

WWE has made the decision to bring back Extreme Championship Wrestling as a full time entity and has begun talking with former ECW talent about returning to work for the new version of the legendary promotion. As of right now, WWE is targeting a September return for the promotion. No decision has been made as to exactly how the company will be brought back yet. It's possible that it will take over the present OVW territory, that it will be a promotion that gets matches on the Raw and/or Smackdown promotions or possibly in some other manner. Sources have told us that Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer will be booking ECW when it starts up.



WWE has already contacted a number of ECW wrestlers and contracts will be sent out to them this week. The talents are being offered three year deals which consist of a series of one year contracts, with rollover clauses. A number of wrestlers have been contacts so far. We can confirm that WWE has talked with The Sandman, Francine and Balls Mahoney and will be sending contracts out to them this week.
We will have more information on this story later today or tomorrow.


Credit: http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=17630&p=1


Woah, pretty weird. They're not even sure how it will happen yet though so it's all up in the air but if they get enough talent, it will just be awesome.

[The One]

...after 5 years, I dont know why, but I am still shocked people think WWE is bringing back ECW.

[Nark Order]

This will suck.

[CharismaInjection]

It would be pretty funny if this were true and all the ECW loyalists in TNA all left for this. TNA would be pretty much screwed...

[6to1]

tna fans do not like wwe or vince run company, so no the tna fans will not flock to fake ecw.

[The One]

Team 3D, Raven, Rhino, Sabu, Lynn...history has shown Raven and Lynn won't work with WWE again in any way shape or form, and let's be honest Sabu is a come and go guy in TNA, Rhino is over but in no way a major player, the only real lose would be Team 3D...which as "tragic" as losing those 3 guys could be, TNA would move on eith ease without them.

No they would not be screwed. Say what you will about TNA, but has done a great job of creating a lot of their own stars.

[loopydate]

I don't believe it.

And not in the "I don't believe it, this is so cool" sense. More in the "I don't believe it, because I doubt it's true" sense.

[Mr. JL]

So they're creating an entire company in order to give RVD a main event spot? :roll:

[The One]

Also as 6to1 pointed out, most die-hard TNA fans are fans of TNA only because it's not WWE...if ECW flew under the WWE banner it would be...eh...

[6to1]

i don't see 3d going back to vince anytime soon after the trademark thing.

[The One]

I don't think they are going back to Vince, but seeing as how I had no proof if that they would or wouldn't work with McMahon Inc. I didn't want to make assuming statements.

[Loose Cannon]

well I would say this is crap, but Scherer posted it, so I dunno. we'll see.

[94 SVT Cobra]

This, could really work...but it also....could really suck

[94 SVT Cobra]

oh and btw.....if it is true...some part of it is defnitaly desgined to try and rob TNAs locker room, not sayin itll work but if vinnie can really jsut not be involved with the ECW thing in terms of inner workings (at least, to thje point were wrestlers who despise him dont have to see him, and paul heymen would really be there boss) maybe it will

[Xero]

If they do do it, my guess would be that they'll replace the SmackDown! brand with it.

They can use it to get wrestlers over, especially if Heyman were booking. Not everyone from ECW has to be in the new ECW.

[PullMyFinger]

I hope this is a joke. ECW is done for. This re-make will only be seen as Vinny Mac's version of ECW. The original ECW had a glorious run, and the time was right for it..not anymore, the landscape of wrestling is different and new in today's time.

I wonder if this is just a reason to keep Heyman signed with WWE and to keep other talent from TNA or have people like Sabu defect???

[Mr. JL]

Even if they do this then they'll have 3, maybe 4 months to create new young stars before people get bored of the same old characters, fighting the same old people, over the same old angles.

[Kane Knight]

OMG! THIS IS PHENOMENAL! AND THE SAME THING THAT WAS SAID LAST YEAR! DOES ANYBODY EVER LEARN?

[Vietnamese Crippler]

If this is true, they should use this as a springboard for talent coming from OVW, but aren't ready for a full time run on RAW/Smackdown!

[YOUR Hero]

it would suck

[The Ravishing One]

If this was true, whos to say they have to bring back all the old ECW stars??

Couldn't Heymen just do what he done back in the day and bring in new talent?

[Xero]

OMG! THIS IS PHENOMENAL! AND THE SAME THING THAT WAS SAID LAST YEAR! DOES ANYBODY EVER LEARN?
Difference is that this is coming from a legit source.

[Kane Knight]

Right. And last time it came from Rajah, who nicked it from PWI, but this time, it's legit and last time it wasn't.

Weird doublethink material.

[Schoenauer]

ECW's Revival is MAKE IT OR BREAK IT for TNA

[Londoner]

If this does happen, I wonder if RVD would still be part of the Raw brand or of the ECW brand, he's meant to be getting a WWE title push soon, and i want him to be a success on Raw.I can't imagine this happening for that reason alone.As others have said, ECW has had its time.

[The Ravishing One]

Yeah its had its time. But if Vince can make money on it, he'll bleed it dry.

[Xero]

Right. And last time it came from Rajah, who nicked it from PWI, but this time, it's legit and last time it wasn't.

Weird doublethink material.
It was never on PWI last time...

[Savio]

I dunno I might be possible (that WWE will remake it) who knows.

[TerranRich]

Right. And last time it came from Rajah, who nicked it from PWI, but this time, it's legit and last time it wasn't.

Weird doublethink material.
If this turns out to be true, people will SO gloat about it to you. ;)

I don't believe it or disbelieve it. I'm just open to hear what happens next. I never watched ECW and was mildly entertained by One Night Stand.

[Fox]

It won't work.

The reason ECW was the way it was is because of the fans. Those north-eastern fans are insane, and they were obsessed with the wrestlers, and they were hardcore when the word hadn't become pop culture yet.

An ECW under WWE is going to alienate all the old ECW fans. Sure it might be an "ECW" show, and it might have some of the wrestlers from the old ECW, but will it be the same thing? No way.

It's like throwing a party at your house while the parents are gone. Paul Heyman and all the Extreme Championship Wrestling fans were throwing a huge party while Vince McMahon and Ted Turner were out of town. They were having a blast and McMahon and Turner frowned upon them.

This is the equivalent of the parents allowing you to throw the party as long as it's kept under their watchful eye. It's just not the same thing.

ECW is dead. Let it RIP.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

There's one way this will be good, one way this will work, and one way that they MIGHT be able to get the people to sign who "refuse" to work for WWE. ANd that's if, and only if, this line is true, and stays true.

" Sources have told us that Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer will be booking ECW when it starts up. "

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Another thing. Ignoring how "ECW" like it really is compared to old, we have to remember something else.

It's another "brand" IE, a chance for guys who wouldn't get over normally to get over. Even if the product is only slightly better than WWE, if guys like RVD, CM Punk ( I could see him going there), Nunzio, Dreamer, etc, can shine there, and do more than WWE would ever allow them to do, is it really a bad thign?

[Londoner]

Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer booking it is the only positive thing in this news.

Also, look at the key word in that sentence which was 'when' not 'if'...:shifty:

[Bad Company]

Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer booking it is the only positive thing in this news.
Yeah, nail on the head.

[The Ravishing One]

:y:

Id watch it.

[The Icon of Elisim]

The way it sounds to me is that the WWE are trying to create a small scale brand to get guys over and are using the ECW name to market it. Basically they are renaming OVW ECW and then trying to bring in some old ECW guys to make it more marketable while keeping the OVW roster as the centerpiece.

Another thought, they've always been talking about a wrestling channel in North America. I don't know the status of that plan but maybe this is a move to get more programing on there.

[YOUR Hero]

If this was true, whos to say they have to bring back all the old ECW stars??

Couldn't Heymen just do what he done back in the day and bring in new talent?

winner.

[The Ravishing One]

:D

[ClockShot]

Paul Heyman booking and running the show so far is a plus. His bringing up of new talent is a plus. But if this is also designed to dip into the TNA locker room to bring back wrestlers, who would you get? The One already stated that Jerry Lynn and Raven won't come back. Team 3D would be 50/50 since Paul Heyman sorta burned bridges on the tradmark situation. There's also the timeslot. I heard that Vince wants to bump RAW AM to a night slot and put ECW there. But like the millions of people who post here, "I'll believe it when I see it."

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Paul Heyman didn't burn any bridges in regards to trademarking.

Paul Heyman, when THe Dudleys left ECW, gave them/allowed them the use of the name. They never copyrighted it. THey went to WWE, and Vince then copyrighted it. Paul gave it to them, they fucked up.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

NoDQ.com (http://nodq.com/) > WWE (http://nodq.com/wwe/) > More Major News On ECW's Full-Time Return
Posted by Andy Steven (Andy@RingsideMAYHEM.com) on 04/23/2006 at 06:00 PM

In a follow-up to the story that we posted earlier about ECW returning full-time, the plan was said to be finalized in the last week or so.

WWE is not looking to add a third day to their television schedule. It is believed this will be a mix of both former ECW wrestlers and new WWE developmental wrestlers who have been working house shows under Paul Heyman.

Speaking of Heyman, he will be in charge of the ECW brand. The plan is to run house shows and some form of weekly television as well.

Dave Meltzer reports that it would likely be handled similar to the Superastros deal in the late 90s, with weekly matches taped before either the Raw or SmackDown tapings.

[weather vane]

If it happens I am all for it.

Sounds good.

[Kane Knight]

If this turns out to be true, people will SO gloat about it to you. ;)

Then they're idiots. :D

Seriously, pointing out that these same assertions were "reported" before doesn't even come close to a claim that it'll never happen. A sliht reality check is all. :p

[Xero]

If they do it my bet is that they'll take the Morning AM RAW spot, move it to a later spot (probably 10 or 11PM) and make it the ECW show.

[Kane Knight]

Don't worry so much about that, as whether they could afford to really work it.

[Blue Demon]

Never say never in this buisiness, as they say. Who would've thought that Bret Hart would be in the HOF?

[Xero]

Never say never in this buisiness, as they say. Who would've thought that Bret Hart would be in the HOF?
Bret, for one.

[Batsu]

If it's 100% "ECW" (i.e. no WWE Creative touching the matches, a 100% Heyman controlled entity)...with more money attributed to it, then it'll work.

I don't even know -why- WWE would go so far as to resurrect that brand outside of PPVs and DVDs but....taking some of the new OVW guys and ECW-ing them up would kick ass.

[Volchok]

Sounds pretty sweet.

[Kane Knight]

They won't ressurect the brand. It'll either be WWE with an ECW sticker on it, or it'll be some lame nostalgia show.

If WWE brought back the brand, it'd be promoting the former competition. Vince doesn't even push the former competition's talent.

[NeanderCarl]

I can see deluded old Vince thinking that he CAN make more money from reviving ECW.

But an ECW, taped in the same tarted-up arenas as Raw and SmackDown? With the big-screens, lighting and probably thousands of live fans who don't particularly care about the product?

An ECW that doesn't operate out of Philly, in front of the same rabid hard-core fans every week? That almost definitely won't be allowed to showcase any amazing wrestling matches or wild, bloody brawls, in case they outshine the WWE stars on their own flagship show later that same night???

It just won't work. All they would be doing is glorifying the dark matches by calling them "ECW matches".

[NeanderCarl]

And they could forget about the One Night Stand PPVs once they have labelled a new second-fiddle show "ECW".

I mean, would anyone pay to watch a Velocity PPV?

(Actually, you guys probably WOULD!)

[Kane Knight]

I can see deluded old Vince thinking that he CAN make more money from reviving ECW.

But an ECW, taped in the same tarted-up arenas as Raw and SmackDown? With the big-screens, lighting and probably thousands of live fans who don't particularly care about the product?

An ECW that doesn't operate out of Philly, in front of the same rabid hard-core fans every week? That almost definitely won't be allowed to showcase any amazing wrestling matches or wild, bloody brawls, in case they outshine the WWE stars on their own flagship show later that same night???

It just won't work. All they would be doing is glorifying the dark matches by calling them "ECW matches".

Yeah. Even worse, they would probably be nothing but Hardcore matches borderlined on garbage wrestling.

I'm not going to bash what they did in ECW, but hardcore really was only a portion of what made ECW what it was, and I'm just picturing them totally blowing this, the way they've been marketing ECW.

[Indifferent Clox]

I would love it if they gave full reign of story to Heyman and Dreamer, with vince's Ideas on production, contracts, and buisness. HEyman could do anything on PPVs and if they had a 10-11 or 12 time slot they could get away with a hell of a lot on tv these days.

[Corkscrewed]

I can't see any real good coming out of it, simply because the WWE has been known to screw things up in the past.

Plus it's pretty damn unbelievable.

So wait and see, I suppose. The cynick in me remains extremely wary (pun not intended)

[Blitz]

There is a 15% chance this could be good, and an 85% chance that it will be unbelievably awful.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

ECW was a product of its time. Let it go.

[Kane Knight]

I would love it if they gave full reign of story to Heyman and Dreamer, with vince's Ideas on production, contracts, and buisness. HEyman could do anything on PPVs and if they had a 10-11 or 12 time slot they could get away with a hell of a lot on tv these days.

You really think that a country that's fining everyone and their mother for beinf offensive on TV is going to let ECW get away with that?

You think WWE, who lost several hours of programming due to lack of interest, is going to be able to get ANY two hour slot?

[Pinnacle Charisma]

It would only be good if they got rid of Smackdown.


I also find it hard to believe that Heyman will be in compleate control. He didnt have a say over the whole smackdown/raw vs ecw thing last year and that was just a ppv this will be a whole show.

[Kane Knight]

He was guaranteed complete control before though, so the fact that that's the plan so far is unsurprising.

[Blitz]

Little more from Observer:

Just a note that next week's Observer has a huge story on the return of ECW. We've got tons of details on how it happened and what the plans are. One note is that WWE's arena booking department today started calling smaller arenas to run "ECW" brand house shows for July, so that is the timetable. TV will be taped similar to how WWE did the Superastros show in the 90s, as prelim matches similar to or replacing Heat/Velocity on the Raw and/or Smackdown nights. They are right now attempting to put together a roster. Many of the wrestlers brought in for One Night Stand, but not all, will be offered a series of three one-year contracts (basically WWE offers one year, but if WWE wants or keeps it going, it has the option for two more years). From a news standpoint, with all that has taken place in the past week as well as other major news, it's going to be a big issue.

[Xero]

Holy shit, I'm most likely going to the Survivor Series this year and it's in Philly. Something's got to go down.

[St. Jimmy]

Honestly this could be a big break.
If WWE sat down, and cut the roster,
Sent those wrestlers to ECW,
They could combine and make a Really Good WWE roster,
maybe just cut down to 1 Weekly Live Show,
and give ECW a TV time slot later down the road.

Instead of Smackdown have Raw on monday, and the have SNME,
and give ECW a thursday timeslot to just kill off what's left of TNA.

it could be a really good solution to this wasted talent bussiness.

[Xero]

I bet that RVD is winning the title, then proclaiming it the ECW Championship.

I had a whole scenerio that started with Heyman coming in and managing RVD and having RVD win the title. They go on to bring in more and more ECW wrestlers and finally get "spots" on RAW and SmackDown!. They split the two shows and end it at Survivor Series with ECW taking one show and WWE the other.

That's probably what's going to happen, wish I could go find that, but it was from at least a year ago.

I see them setting up the title situation as such, if they take over SmackDown!:

World Heavyweight: ECW Championship
US Title: TV Championship
Tag Titles: Tag Titles (duh)
Cruiserweight: Cruiserweight, as "ECW" will probably be full of cruiserweights anyway, although they can also just scrap it (but they won't).

Have Tazz and Styles commentate and you're peachy for a while at least.

[rob11]

Holy shit, I'm most likely going to the Survivor Series this year and it's in Philly. Something's got to go down.
I am trying to go down there too since I live in Philly and all. I think something will happen.

[Mr. Nerfect]

This could be really awesome. Don't make it ECW like ECW was, but ECW with a dark setting with Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer writing, Joey Styles doing commentary and wrestlers having the limits taken off them.

This could be the perfect way for the WWE to get back into form. Have Paul Heyman somehow get the rights to ECW back (in storyline terms), and have him recruit talent from the WWE.

Chris Benoit, Rob Van Dam and Sabu (assuming he appears on WWE TV between now and then) all except. The big surprise comes from Shawn Michaels, sick and tired of Vince's bullshit he goes off to the new promotion.

Heyman also sends invitations to the former ECW guys in the mid-card. Super Crazy, Kid Kash, Nunzio, Vito and Simon Dean all except. Some other talent are invited by Paul Heyman, as well. Nick Dinsmore appears on ECW TV and cuts a shoot promo on the WWE and the "Eugene" character. Rob Conway appears there, as do Doug Basham and The Damaja. Brent Albright shows up, as does Matt Hardy, MNM, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, Charlie Haas, Jamie Noble, Scott Taylor (dropping the Scotty 2 Hotty gimmick), Funaki, pretty much any other cruiserweight, etc.

This can loosen up the WWE roster, allowing the draft to end and for the WWE to run WWE on RAW and SmackDown!, whilst ECW gets Heat, Velocity, AM RAW and another internet exclusive show.

RVD takes the World Heavyweight Championship to ECW, calls it the ECW World Championship, and it has the history of the old Championship up until Rhino in 2001, as well as the WHT history from 2002-2006. The OVW Heavyweight Championship becomes the "ECW State Championship" (just for something different). Maybe have someone revive the ECW Television Championship, and have the ECW State Champion feud with them.

Have the Cruiserweight Championship either become the ECW Cruiserweight Championship, or have it unified with a Heavyweight Title. I would like to see what Heyman and Dreamer could do with it, though.

Basically have them do house shows, where titles change hands and storylines develop. Have Heat and Velocity tell a two-part story, and have AM RAW used for matches. Always have at least one title match, and maybe get a superstar to sit in and do guest commentary, furthering stories at a quicker pace. Give them PPVs, as well. Take October where the WWE runs both Unforgiven and Cyber Sunday. Get rid of Unforgiven and let ECW have a run. The WWE will also be able to part-ways with New Year's Revolution. That's three PPVs a year. With the WWE adding even more next year (well, rumoured to be adding more), give them all to ECW.

This could really work, especially if they just make it a wrestling-based program with more viciousness and ability playing a major role in where guys end up.

Randy Orton could be sent there when his suspension is up (have the WWE and Orton "part ways" over it), and have Orton eventually realise he can't handle it, and he goes back. Guys like Rob Conway, Doug Basham and Danny Basham could move on. CM Punk could move up, as could Kid Kash (selling out ECW for WWE) and Brent Albright. Don't have superstars leave too frequently, but giving Nunzio a test run in the WWE for a few weeks after leaving ECW may be a great way to get guys more exposure.

Presuming the WWE doesn't fuck this up, ECW could be just what the WWE needs to get their production line moving.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

What's going to be the key factor in this is talent. If Vince is thinking he can grab up old ECW talent and make this work, he's wrong.

If this is going to work, he needs to let Heyman go out there, and book new and upcoming talent. It may not be as big of an initial hit using a bunch of new talent as opposed to the old ECW guys, but in the long run, for this to work, the "New" ECW is going to need "New" ECW faces.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

With that said, I am wondering what this means for ROH :(

[Mr. Monday Morning]

I can't think of many ROH guys with ties to ECW, really. Excepting Gabe. But I doubt that would be a problem.

Heyman's strength has always been playing up guys strengths and hiding their weaknesses, which is why letting him work with newer talent is a good idea.

But having them tape before the regular shows just isn't going to work, IMO. Do you really think they'll pull off some wild crazy brawl, tables, fire or whatever, and then go straight into the curtain jerk for Raw? It just won't work in front of a crowd, esp. a WWE-centric crowd.

[Cuzziebro]

(Of Topic) I think TPWW.net could create its own brand because we have some of the greatest ideas, we would be pulling way better numbers than any show run by Vince.

[Triple A]

If they tape the matches before WWE tapings that would be awful. One of the best parts about ECW was the crowd and it would be a WWE crowd watching ECW matches.

[The One]

"The fans were just a much a part of the show as the wrestlers were."

ECW was a local indy company who had a vision. The vision went nation wide, but in a nut shell it remained a very indy type company. If WWE took ECW to LA, to Denver, to Atlanta, to Houston...it wouldn't be the same. If Vince is going to do it he expects money to be made. ECW could pull in better money then TNA, but not that much more. Plus with Vince McMahon backing it, suddenly the very concept of anti-establishment, new age, the underdog fighting the big corperate machine...it's all lost. Ask yourself something, do you want Joey Styles to talk about being rebellious and then have to say, "Use Castrol" or "Hungrey? Why wait. Grab a Snickers" every week? Do you want to see a "USA Network" logo on the set? I don't.

Here's the final question...do you want to see legendary ECW icons such as the Sandman, Sabu, and Rob Van Dam be forced to put over guys who are nothing more then soon to be WWE midcarders? When WWE wants to use "Wrestler X" on their roster, do you think Vince wants him to lay down before he comes up...Or do you think Vince McMahon might ask as the owner of ECW that Paul Heyman book him to go over the "ECW World Champ" in a non-title match just before he goes? Both are extremes, but what do you think they will lean towards?

I think if done, 100% correctly, and if done very delicately, it could be done. I think there is money in the name ECW, but I DO NOT think that it could or even SHOULD be the same as it was before. ECW was, as Taz even said, "The Land of the Misfit Toys". They were filled with people who didn't "look" like wrestlers. Do you think Vince McMahon would have ever picked up and paid for someone like Rotten Brothers? Do you think Vince will allow Paul to hire guys like that? No. NOR SHOULD HE!

If this is going to happen it is going to be ECW done the Vince McMahon way! Face it. ECW done Paul Heyman style went backrupt. It died. If Vince McMahon wants to invest into bringing it back on name value alone, then he can. And if it makes money, from his stand point, he should. He should also treat it like a breeding gorund, since that is what it will be. You want a new age ECW? I submit the only way the NEW ECW can survive is by literally basing the company off the idea of the runt or middle child. It will need to establish it is neither SmackDown nor RAW and it doesn't want to be. It can't be Anti-Establishment anymore, it needs to find something else.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Going back to my comment about ROH.

I'm not worried about ECW alumni in ROH, because there aren't any.

I'm worried about WWE hijacking ROH talent for this "ECW"

ROH, while greatly different, is the ECW of the current era. Of course, ROH isn't about being anti-establishment and extreme, but it's about a return to pro-wrestling, and working away from campy sports entertainment for the most part.

With that said, if WWE doesn't bastardize ECW by making it all extreme matches, but instead try to go back to the ECW STYLE of competitive matches, there are a decent amount of guys ROH has who WWE could be interested. People like Jimmy Jacobs, Jack Evans, etc, who aren't really associated with TNA, who don't have contracts, who could bring in a new style. Likewise, they could take Jimmy Yang back, etc.

Obviously ROH guys who are contracted TNA guys are safe (IE, they won't be stealing Daniels, AJ, Joe, Aries, Strong, etc.). But much like WCW and WWE used to steal ECW talent, I wouldn't be surprised to see WWE, under the guise of ECW, raid some ROH talent.

[Fox]

Isn't ROH a subsidiary of WWE? I thought I heard that somewhere.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Isn't ROH a subsidiary of WWE? I thought I heard that somewhere.

No.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Valid concern I guess, but I dunno. They all seem to buy in to the ROH way of doing things, I can't think of anyone who would be significantly better off under a WWE-owned ECW.

I mean, is Vince really going to splash out and give these guys big time deals? Cause I'm skeptical that they would be able to afford paying them more than they can earn themselves by working for various indys. And make no mistake, they would be tied down to ECW and ECW alone.

As far as I'm aware AmDrag isn't under contract, but I sure as hell don't see him going anywhere. And Jack Evans probably wouldn't be in Dragon Gate right now if it wasn't for the working relationship between them and RoH. Little things like that...I dunno, I think RoH will be pretty safe right now.

[Kane Knight]

Isn't ROH a subsidiary of WWE? I thought I heard that somewhere.

Yes. Like TNA and CZW. :roll:

Perhaps you're thinking of OVW?

[St. Jimmy]

After close thinking... all i could think of was:

Styles: "Oh My God! Doug Bashem has WON the ECW World Heavyweight Title!"
Alienoid: "OMFGMARKTHEFUCKOUT"
Everyone Else: :wtf:

[Mr. Nerfect]

I really think they should just put OVW on TV, though. They can really make it take off.

Rob Conway, Nick Dinsmore, Doug Basham and Danny Basham return there. As much as any of you hate me for my love for these guys, they led an era in OVW, perhaps the brightest it has ever seen.

Throw in the guys doing double duty. Ken Doane, Johnny Jeter, Mike Mondo, Nick Mitchell & Nick Nemeth (all under their own personalities). Throw in Paul Burchill, Armando Alejando Estrada, Brent Albright, William Regal and other superstars doing guest appearances. Have Rene Dupree and Val Venis return there. Recently re-hired guys like Mark Jindrak and Chuck Palumbo can do appearances there as well (hopefully Sean O'Haire will join them).

When they return from suspension/injury, Randy Orton and The Boogeyman can serve terms down there. That's a fair bit of name power.

Give Heyman free reign of booking, and just have him do what he usually does. I think it would work better than reviving the ECW name. That leaves us with the problem of what to do with the ECW stars signed to contracts. Apparently Balls Mahoney can wrestle, so throwing him on one of the main brans wouldn't be a bad idea. Bringing back The Sandman once in a blue moon for a hardcore match (ala Mick Foley) isn't a bad idea. Francine can serve as a manager, Sabu can feud with either JBL or RVD. An RVD/Sabu tag team wouldn't be too bad for a short period, either. If Lance Storm re-signs, and we all hope he does, a Kurt Angle vs. Lance Storm feud would be seven shades of awesome. Storm being a trainer these days, could then either go back down to OVW or DSW.

[Juan]

from Rajah:

There are plans to have a WWE vs. ECW "Head to Head" special on the USA Network the week of the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view. The special will likely be taped on 6/7 in Dayton, Ohio, which at one point was scheduled to be a Smackdown taping. There is no confirmed word on when the special would air.

On the WWE websit, the Dayton show is listed as a "RAW Live" event. There are no SmackDown tapings listed for the week, so it seems as WWE is still trying to finalized the plans for that week. Tickets for the Dayton event go on sale on 5/6.



To update you on Henry’s earlier report, the USA Network’s schedule for Wednesday, June 7th lists the 9 pm – 11 pm timeslot as “To Be Announced.” Speculation has arose that will be the time that the ECW vs. WWE Head to Head special will air, making it a two hour special. Whether the show will be live or on tape delay remains to be seen.

It is worth nothing that the 2 am replay slot of AM RAW is now also listed as “To Be Announced” on the USA Network’s website for all of June, which looks like that WWE maybe considering putting ECW in that timeslot. Nothing has been confirmed at this point.

[St. Jimmy]

you could leave storm as a trainer, but honestly if you push him in the main event and give him a title run, he'd go for it. Storm in ECW was/is gold.

Speaking of this... Did they ever find Axl Rotten?

[rob11]

HELL FUCKING YES!!!!!!!!!!!
From PWINSIDER

For ECW fans, the impossible dream may be about to become a reality. WWE has entered negotiations to book the former ECW Arena on Saturday 6/24 for an Extreme Championship Wrestling house show in Philadelphia, PA. The venue, which has been remodeled since the company shut down operations in 2001, is now known as the New Alhambra Arena.

During ECW's legendary run, the former Bingo Hall was the base of operations for ECW during its rise into a cult phenomenon in 1993, hosting major ECW events every few weeks. It was also the site of the company's first PPV, Barely Legal, in April 1997.

With the reputation of having the best ECW shows, the Arena was a throwback to the legendary old "smoky arenas" where the in-ring action was so intimate that you could end up with the ECW stars landing in your lap, diving over (or past you) into the third row onto their opponents, or even decimating your entire section of seating during bloody brawl. The venue quickly evolved into a special destination point for hardcore fans to converge from all over the globe for major events. Many of the fan chants and antics that have become synonymous with ECW over time were born in the venue, which was considered at the time to have the greatest of any ECW venue for atmosphere.

The last official Extreme Championship Wrestling event held in the building was December 23, 2000, headlined by then-ECW World champion Steve Corino defeating Justin Credible and the Sandman in a Three-Way Dance that saw fans throw dozens of chairs into the ring. The undercard featured Mikey Whipwreck and Yoshihiro Tajiri defeating the FBI in a best of Three Falls bout, Jerry Lynn defeating Spike Dudley, CW Anderson defeating Super Crazy, EZ Money defeating Nova (now known as Simon Dean), and a six man tag featuring EZ Money & Julio Dinero & Chris Hamrick defeating Tommy Dreamer & Christian York & Joey Matthews (now known as MNM's Joey Mercury). Other stars who appeared included the final ECW World Tag Team champions Danny Doring and Roadkill, Da Baldies, Rhino, The Blue Meanie, Chilly Willy, Bilvis Wesley, Balls Mahoney, Joey Styles, Joel Gertner, and Cyrus.

Since ECW shut down operations, the venue has become a haven for independent wrestling promoters. Hardcore Homecoming has run several successful events in the venue, shattering it's all time gate record last June for their debut event. Other companies past and present that have run the venue since ECW closed it's doors include Combat Zone Wrestling, JAPW, Pro Wrestling Unplugged, XPW, CHIKARA, IWA Mid-South, Ring of Honor, MLW, MECW, Women's Extreme Wrestling, among many others.

TNA is slated to make their debut in the Arena on Friday 6/9, with a show titled "Hardcore War" that will be headlined by AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels for the X-Division championship.




I never got to go downtown to the ECW arena and may get another chance! This just better not be watered down crap.

[McLegend]

ECW arena is the biggest piece of crap in the world.

Pretty cool though. I guess:-\

[rob11]

ECW arena is the biggest piece of crap in the world.

Pretty cool though. I guess:-\
Thats why it's so great.

[McLegend]

Yeah I know

[weather vane]

Credit: WrestlingObserver.com

As noted, WWE has entered negotiations to book the former ECW Arena on Saturday 6/24 for an Extreme Championship Wrestling house show in Philadelphia, PA.

WWE is not only looking to book the ECW Arena for a 6/24 ECW show, they are looking to book almost all the former ECW venues for shows. Cities being included are Detroit, Chicago, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo, Cleveland, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Long Island, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

According to several sources, Paul Heyman is not in Louisville, KY tonight for the OVW tapings. Heyman wrote the television show, but Al Snow is in charge of tonight's show as for the former ECW boss is currently in ECW meetings. Al told the wrestlers this morning at the meeting that Paul would be back next week.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I wish they'd air OVW on their website.