dalegendkilla
06-09-2006, 06:06 PM
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/wrestling/14775757.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_wrestling
Promoter Paul Heyman insists Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) will re-emerge as a new breed unleashed on the pro wrestling scene.
ECW was a trend setter the first time around. WCW and WWE borrowed ideas and talent from ECW.
The new ECW, under the WWE checkbook, starts 8 p.m. [EST] Sunday, June 11 at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view and continues into the company's return to network television on the Sci-Fi Channel live at 10 p.m. [EST] Tuesday, June 13.
After last year's successful One Night Stand PPV at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Heyman was adamant about not making ECW return as a full-time brand under WWE.
Heyman turned his attention to one of WWE's feeder groups -- Ohio Valley Wrestling -- in Louisville, KY. Taking over for Jim Cornette, Heyman received rave reviews for rejuvenating the territory.
Coupling the never-say-never mentality of the wrestling business with other outside factors brought Heyman on board for the new ECW brand.
''It was going to happen with me or without me,'' said Heyman, who made relative unknown misfits into superstars and helped run a company which revolutionized the business throughout the 1990s until its bankruptcy in 2001.
``I figured I might as well be involved and have some influence on it. I still have the same concerns today as I did then, and I've addressed those concerns. I don't want it to be a nostalgia show, and it's not going to be a nostalgia show. On that aspect my concerns are assured.
``It can't be a nostalgia show because if it's a nostalgia show, it's doomed right off the bat. It's going to be a progressively thinking promotion. It's going to have the most contemporary music. It's going to have the most riveting and compelling characters. It's going to be able to reach out and create new stars and not have to rely on the guys that were hot five, six or seven years ago. With that in mind I'm very excited about it.''
In addition to past ECW hardcore legends like Sabu and Terry Funk making their return to the promotion, WWE superstars Kurt Angle and the Big Show will get a chance to build their reputations in a new environment and excel in front of a different audience.
''The most motivated bunch of guys you've ever seen in your life,'' said Heyman. ``It's amazing to see the difference in Rob Van Dam. It's amazing to feel in one night how the Big Show's life has changed, and he'll tell you that. Here's a guy, call a spade, a spade, 7-feet tall and 500 pounds. He's not 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, and we claim he's 7-feet tall, 500 pounds.
``Here he is now motivated because you tell me the best they can do with him on Raw is what you've seen. It's been horrible, and he knows that. Now he has the opportunity to be himself. A legitimate giant, the world's largest athlete, and that is how we're going to promote him, use him and write for him.''
ECW anew with its Big Show will air on the Sci-Fi Channel.
There was speculation the network asked for science fiction elements to accommodate their audience including the creation of alien or vampire-like characters and storylines.
According to Heyman, this is not the case.
Similar to what made ECW a popular cultural renaissance when it first debuted, it's Heyman once again putting his finger on the pulse of what's popular in society.
''It's taken out of context,'' said Heyman. 'Here's the funniest thing, everyone is so up in arms saying, `Oh, there has to be a vampire group.' There doesn't have to be anything. There has been discussion about a vampire group, but that discussion came from our end as much as their end because there is a real culture out there today among ages 19-24.
``They're called bite clubs, and it is kids, kind of like the Gothic scene now. It's a real culture that's out there, and it's very popular, and it's very hot. Anybody that follows the New York or Los Angeles club scene will find out there are a lot of kids into this right now.
``It's where Rob Zombie draws a lot of his audience right now. It's where Marilyn Manson draws a lot of his audience. Are we supposed to deny the cultural influence? I don't care if I'm on Sci-Fi [Channel] or the Food Network or if I'm on USA [Network]. I don't care what channel I'm on.
``If I'm going to do a progressively thinking promotion one of the influences we're gong to have is what's hot with kids today, and what's hot with kids today is vampires. That is something I would do with the right people and with the right storyline.
'Everybody is so up in arms saying, `Sci-Fi [Channel] is making us do this.' Nobody is making us do anything. This is something I find to be very interesting because kids are into it.''
• It's more than hardcore.
ECW was known for implementing a variety of styles, with technical marvels like Chris Benoit and Lance Storm to hardcore innovators Sabu and the Sandman.
For Heyman, in this case, the new ECW is not so different.
''It's going to be a balance like it was before,'' said Heyman. ``The Public Enemy was never really based on pure wrestling science. This won't be based on pure wrestling science. Although, we have the best in the world in Kurt Angle.
``This is going to be based on a mix. This is going to be everything you loved about the old ECW and thinking into the future. It's going to be based on hot, new, contemporary and riveting characters with contemporary music.
``It's going to be based with the most hard-hitting action and realistic storylines. Hopefully, it will be based on a product Raw and SmackDown! can't compete with, and that's my goals for ECW.''
The ECW program will telecast live after the SmackDown! tapings on Tuesday, which is something Heyman is looking forward to doing.
``We're going live, so SmackDown! is our warm-up #$%#@," said Heyman. ``I won't lie to you. That was a real concern. `Aw man we have to go on at 7 p.m. before SmackDown!. We're just a warm-up act. This sucks.'
``No longer. Now they warm up the crowd for us. We go live at 10 p.m., and that's exciting because it's live television. No safety net there, and that's something else new to us. We did 21 live pay-per-views, but we didn't do live weekly television.
``So now our #$@!% are on the line. That is another reason why I'm excited about this because our #$@!% are on the line, and it's put up or shut up now.''
• While the competitive juices and his passion to succeed are at all-time highs, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) is off Heyman's radar.
TNA is promoting house shows or non-televised events the weekend of One Night Stand including an event dubbed the Hardcore War in New Alhambra Arena, what was formally the ECW Arena, in South Philadelphia.
Incidentally, ECW will run a show June 24 in the same place.
''I don't think TNA is even a consideration,'' said Heyman. ``I don't think TNA is even a consideration to anyone in this industry. I wish that they were, but the problem with TNA is they never branded themselves. They took a bunch of guys, whether they had legitimate gripes in WWE, it doesn't matter.
'They took a bunch of guys, who came on TNA and instead of saying, `This is my opportunity. This is my opportunity to brand TNA. This is my opportunity to create a new style.' All they would say is, `I've been held back. I wasn't given an opportunity. I didn't get this. I didn't get that, and now I'm going to have it.'
``You know, nobody cares if you've been held back or not. People want to be entertained. It's like if Sylvester Stallone doing a Rocky movie and saying, `You know I wanted it to be a different script.'
``Who cares? Screw you, entertain me. What they do in TNA is sit there #%*&*#@& and moan about their WWE experiences, instead of selling you on the TNA experience.
``Another thing they did in TNA wrong, in my opinion, is they didn't brand new stars to be their stars. They didn't make Samoa Joe their star. They didn't make Abyss their lead star. They should have taken these lead guys and branded them so that they are TNA stars.
``Kurt Angle is not going to be the same Kurt Angle in ECW that he was in WWE. We're going to create new stars around Kurt Angle and new stars around the Sandman. They're going to be ECW branded stars, not WWE retreads *$#@%#@# and moaning about the fact that Vince McMahon didn't give them the opportunity that they felt they deserved.''
Despite his feelings on TNA, Heyman is planning on looking everywhere around the world for the best talent he can mold into future superstars.
''It's going to come from Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling [WWE developmental territories],'' said Heyman. ``There are a lot of great prospects in OVW and DSW. We have a great developmental system, and there's a lot of phenomenal talent out there.
``There are guys in Mexico that I have my eyes on, and there are guys in Japan I have my eyes on. There are some guys on the independent scene that are very interesting.
``We're not going to close our eyes to anything. If there is somebody in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMAs), who I think could be a compelling character on the ECW show, I'm certainly not going to turn a blind eye because, `Oh wait, he's into Brazilian Jujitsu. Let's not take him.'
``Baloney, if anybody can entertain our audience, and if anybody is out there that can create public interest I'm going to get them.''
When it's all said and done the outspoken Heyman wants ECW to make waves in the pro wrestling business, much like he did during ECW's first run.
Despite ECW working under the WWE umbrella, Heyman will not let that deter from his future plans for the brand.
''My present goals are to whip Raw and SmackDown!'s $%%#@* creatively,'' said Heyman. ``I want to build a fanbase, creating new characters and expanding the name ECW into a global phenomenon for a second time.
'What I'm going to do differently from last time is I don't' have to be a book-keeper anymore. That pressure is off of me. They've got a lot of bean counters out in that [Stanford] tower there that would love to sit there and handle the books.
``This means I can sit back and handle what I like, which is promoting, presenting, producing, directing and writing for an extraordinary bunch of performers, who are just craving the opportunity to be put out there in the public.''
Again, Paul Heyman is the man! He just described exactly what is wrong with TNA.
When WCW and ECW stars debuted in WWE, they didn't moan about being underutilised. They just became their own star.
Heyman makes a lot of sense...
Promoter Paul Heyman insists Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) will re-emerge as a new breed unleashed on the pro wrestling scene.
ECW was a trend setter the first time around. WCW and WWE borrowed ideas and talent from ECW.
The new ECW, under the WWE checkbook, starts 8 p.m. [EST] Sunday, June 11 at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view and continues into the company's return to network television on the Sci-Fi Channel live at 10 p.m. [EST] Tuesday, June 13.
After last year's successful One Night Stand PPV at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Heyman was adamant about not making ECW return as a full-time brand under WWE.
Heyman turned his attention to one of WWE's feeder groups -- Ohio Valley Wrestling -- in Louisville, KY. Taking over for Jim Cornette, Heyman received rave reviews for rejuvenating the territory.
Coupling the never-say-never mentality of the wrestling business with other outside factors brought Heyman on board for the new ECW brand.
''It was going to happen with me or without me,'' said Heyman, who made relative unknown misfits into superstars and helped run a company which revolutionized the business throughout the 1990s until its bankruptcy in 2001.
``I figured I might as well be involved and have some influence on it. I still have the same concerns today as I did then, and I've addressed those concerns. I don't want it to be a nostalgia show, and it's not going to be a nostalgia show. On that aspect my concerns are assured.
``It can't be a nostalgia show because if it's a nostalgia show, it's doomed right off the bat. It's going to be a progressively thinking promotion. It's going to have the most contemporary music. It's going to have the most riveting and compelling characters. It's going to be able to reach out and create new stars and not have to rely on the guys that were hot five, six or seven years ago. With that in mind I'm very excited about it.''
In addition to past ECW hardcore legends like Sabu and Terry Funk making their return to the promotion, WWE superstars Kurt Angle and the Big Show will get a chance to build their reputations in a new environment and excel in front of a different audience.
''The most motivated bunch of guys you've ever seen in your life,'' said Heyman. ``It's amazing to see the difference in Rob Van Dam. It's amazing to feel in one night how the Big Show's life has changed, and he'll tell you that. Here's a guy, call a spade, a spade, 7-feet tall and 500 pounds. He's not 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, and we claim he's 7-feet tall, 500 pounds.
``Here he is now motivated because you tell me the best they can do with him on Raw is what you've seen. It's been horrible, and he knows that. Now he has the opportunity to be himself. A legitimate giant, the world's largest athlete, and that is how we're going to promote him, use him and write for him.''
ECW anew with its Big Show will air on the Sci-Fi Channel.
There was speculation the network asked for science fiction elements to accommodate their audience including the creation of alien or vampire-like characters and storylines.
According to Heyman, this is not the case.
Similar to what made ECW a popular cultural renaissance when it first debuted, it's Heyman once again putting his finger on the pulse of what's popular in society.
''It's taken out of context,'' said Heyman. 'Here's the funniest thing, everyone is so up in arms saying, `Oh, there has to be a vampire group.' There doesn't have to be anything. There has been discussion about a vampire group, but that discussion came from our end as much as their end because there is a real culture out there today among ages 19-24.
``They're called bite clubs, and it is kids, kind of like the Gothic scene now. It's a real culture that's out there, and it's very popular, and it's very hot. Anybody that follows the New York or Los Angeles club scene will find out there are a lot of kids into this right now.
``It's where Rob Zombie draws a lot of his audience right now. It's where Marilyn Manson draws a lot of his audience. Are we supposed to deny the cultural influence? I don't care if I'm on Sci-Fi [Channel] or the Food Network or if I'm on USA [Network]. I don't care what channel I'm on.
``If I'm going to do a progressively thinking promotion one of the influences we're gong to have is what's hot with kids today, and what's hot with kids today is vampires. That is something I would do with the right people and with the right storyline.
'Everybody is so up in arms saying, `Sci-Fi [Channel] is making us do this.' Nobody is making us do anything. This is something I find to be very interesting because kids are into it.''
• It's more than hardcore.
ECW was known for implementing a variety of styles, with technical marvels like Chris Benoit and Lance Storm to hardcore innovators Sabu and the Sandman.
For Heyman, in this case, the new ECW is not so different.
''It's going to be a balance like it was before,'' said Heyman. ``The Public Enemy was never really based on pure wrestling science. This won't be based on pure wrestling science. Although, we have the best in the world in Kurt Angle.
``This is going to be based on a mix. This is going to be everything you loved about the old ECW and thinking into the future. It's going to be based on hot, new, contemporary and riveting characters with contemporary music.
``It's going to be based with the most hard-hitting action and realistic storylines. Hopefully, it will be based on a product Raw and SmackDown! can't compete with, and that's my goals for ECW.''
The ECW program will telecast live after the SmackDown! tapings on Tuesday, which is something Heyman is looking forward to doing.
``We're going live, so SmackDown! is our warm-up #$%#@," said Heyman. ``I won't lie to you. That was a real concern. `Aw man we have to go on at 7 p.m. before SmackDown!. We're just a warm-up act. This sucks.'
``No longer. Now they warm up the crowd for us. We go live at 10 p.m., and that's exciting because it's live television. No safety net there, and that's something else new to us. We did 21 live pay-per-views, but we didn't do live weekly television.
``So now our #$@!% are on the line. That is another reason why I'm excited about this because our #$@!% are on the line, and it's put up or shut up now.''
• While the competitive juices and his passion to succeed are at all-time highs, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) is off Heyman's radar.
TNA is promoting house shows or non-televised events the weekend of One Night Stand including an event dubbed the Hardcore War in New Alhambra Arena, what was formally the ECW Arena, in South Philadelphia.
Incidentally, ECW will run a show June 24 in the same place.
''I don't think TNA is even a consideration,'' said Heyman. ``I don't think TNA is even a consideration to anyone in this industry. I wish that they were, but the problem with TNA is they never branded themselves. They took a bunch of guys, whether they had legitimate gripes in WWE, it doesn't matter.
'They took a bunch of guys, who came on TNA and instead of saying, `This is my opportunity. This is my opportunity to brand TNA. This is my opportunity to create a new style.' All they would say is, `I've been held back. I wasn't given an opportunity. I didn't get this. I didn't get that, and now I'm going to have it.'
``You know, nobody cares if you've been held back or not. People want to be entertained. It's like if Sylvester Stallone doing a Rocky movie and saying, `You know I wanted it to be a different script.'
``Who cares? Screw you, entertain me. What they do in TNA is sit there #%*&*#@& and moan about their WWE experiences, instead of selling you on the TNA experience.
``Another thing they did in TNA wrong, in my opinion, is they didn't brand new stars to be their stars. They didn't make Samoa Joe their star. They didn't make Abyss their lead star. They should have taken these lead guys and branded them so that they are TNA stars.
``Kurt Angle is not going to be the same Kurt Angle in ECW that he was in WWE. We're going to create new stars around Kurt Angle and new stars around the Sandman. They're going to be ECW branded stars, not WWE retreads *$#@%#@# and moaning about the fact that Vince McMahon didn't give them the opportunity that they felt they deserved.''
Despite his feelings on TNA, Heyman is planning on looking everywhere around the world for the best talent he can mold into future superstars.
''It's going to come from Ohio Valley Wrestling and Deep South Wrestling [WWE developmental territories],'' said Heyman. ``There are a lot of great prospects in OVW and DSW. We have a great developmental system, and there's a lot of phenomenal talent out there.
``There are guys in Mexico that I have my eyes on, and there are guys in Japan I have my eyes on. There are some guys on the independent scene that are very interesting.
``We're not going to close our eyes to anything. If there is somebody in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMAs), who I think could be a compelling character on the ECW show, I'm certainly not going to turn a blind eye because, `Oh wait, he's into Brazilian Jujitsu. Let's not take him.'
``Baloney, if anybody can entertain our audience, and if anybody is out there that can create public interest I'm going to get them.''
When it's all said and done the outspoken Heyman wants ECW to make waves in the pro wrestling business, much like he did during ECW's first run.
Despite ECW working under the WWE umbrella, Heyman will not let that deter from his future plans for the brand.
''My present goals are to whip Raw and SmackDown!'s $%%#@* creatively,'' said Heyman. ``I want to build a fanbase, creating new characters and expanding the name ECW into a global phenomenon for a second time.
'What I'm going to do differently from last time is I don't' have to be a book-keeper anymore. That pressure is off of me. They've got a lot of bean counters out in that [Stanford] tower there that would love to sit there and handle the books.
``This means I can sit back and handle what I like, which is promoting, presenting, producing, directing and writing for an extraordinary bunch of performers, who are just craving the opportunity to be put out there in the public.''
Again, Paul Heyman is the man! He just described exactly what is wrong with TNA.
When WCW and ECW stars debuted in WWE, they didn't moan about being underutilised. They just became their own star.
Heyman makes a lot of sense...