After reading about it on dirt sheets for weeks, it was confirmed on last night's TNA broadcast that the company will be putting on an ECW-themed pay-per-view with past stars from the company appearing in matches. This will occur at TNA's next PPV, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand. The blueprint for the event is similar to the one WWE had when they put on One Night Stand back in 2005. Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley, Stevie Richards, Raven, and Rhyno each appeared last night to make the announcement, so it looks like they are confirmed for the show right now.
So many mixed feelings.
Growing up, I was a big fan of Extreme Championship Wrestling. I, like millions of other wrestling fans, was drawn to the edgy nature of the product. There was violence you didn't see in WWE and WCW, the other two companies around at the time. There were Jerry Springer storylines. The roster was full of wrestlers who gave the fans everything they had night in an night out, whether it was a pay-per-view or a random show at Freeport High School, or some other non-glamorous venue. Wrestling shows are scripted, but when you watched an ECW event, you thought twice about that, if just for a brief moment. In plain English, ECW gave you a show.
While the memories of that time are fond ones, I think doing a show like this is a terrible idea.
Number one, it's been done already. WWE not only put together an ECW reunion show, they brought back the entire promotion and made it part of the company's brand extension in which a certain portion of the roster wrestled exclusively on that show, similar to Raw and Smackdown. The results were poor, with WWE making their version of ECW a glorified B-show. As far as what TNA is planning, I don't understand how it will be any different. What are they going to do that hasn't already been done? It's an unoriginal idea that I feel will yield little results creatively.
Speaking of the creative side of things, TNA already has a show it puts on. The writers and bookers have spent months developing storylines. In fact, Impact has become an entertaining wrestling show as of late . Breaking away from that to do this show kills any momentum the company has been building.
Finally, ECW is the past. Once upon a time, the ECW wrestlers were the fresh new faces of this business, and fans liked them for it. Fans were just as interested in tracking their climb up the ladder as they were in seeing them work shows. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and the like were the evil old-timers who drew heat from the fans because they were clinging to the past, refusing to give up their spots to the younger talent. The ECW guys have now become what Hogan and Flair were years ago. They are the old-timers now, selfishly holding onto the past glory from ECW's heyday. This is what I really find upsetting. It's their blindness. There is a new group of talent wearing the shoes that the ECW guys filled years ago. If those old guys really love the wrestling business like they always talk about, they should let go of the past and allow the young talent to grow.
For what it's worth, during the segment on Impact last night, the fans went nuts when they saw these five guys. Their segment drew a phenomenal pop from the crowd. Additionally, the crowd hung on Dreamer's every word when he gave his shoot promo on how he was upset with WWE's version of the the product and wanted closure in terms of ECW being defunct. It's possible I have no idea what I'm talking about, and fans still want to see this kind of show.
We'll see what happens.
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