QUESTION - Could ECW work as a "niche'd" show? (i.e. devoted to Cruiserweights, etc.)

[Heyman]

Originally Posted by thedamndest One of the things ECW has been able to do is have guys compete with their peers rather than bring in a new guy who would squash jobbers and then get beaten down by The Undertaker or HHH and then finally end up as a jobber himself. It really does bring out the best of the new guys rather than just shove a new guy into the spotlight. It lets them develop naturally. As far as its ratings, it doesn't have the star power of a Raw or Smackdown, but it isn't designed to. That's one of the reasons you couldn't fit all of the new guys on to the main show. There is just too much star power there. They would never get noticed. But when you do get guys coming up to Raw, fans are already familiar with them so they aren't overlooked. They get reactions.

I agree with a lot of what you said, and I definitely see your point of view, but I still think that things can be handled a LOT better. Whether people want to admit it or not, being a World Heavyweight Champion on RAW has 10x more significance than being a World Heavyweight Champion on Smackdown.

Being a World Champion on Smackdown isn't that much more prestigious than what it would have been like to be an Intercontinental Champion 10 years ago.

In the last 5+ years, the WWE hasn't been able to create successful and legitimate main-event superstars. The reason for this, is that NONE OF THESE GUYS have made a main-event impact on the show that matters most: RAW.

Why do think a guy like Ken Kennedy never panned out? Whatever happened to Carlitto's promise? Or Shelton Benjamin's? Why do you think guys like John Morrison never get popped? Does anyone really expect anything to happen with Kofi Kingston (on RAW), with guys like Cena, Orton, HHH, and HBK there?

Has Jack Swagger done ANYTHING of significance on RAW? If not, then wouldn't you agree that him leaving ECW has done ECW more harm than it's done in bolstering RAW?