Outlaw, can I join?

At 7/4/06 10:41 PM, DeadAlmighty wrote: Outlaw, can I join?

Outlaw88 isn't online right now. If you want to join the Wrestling club, Tell us who your favourite wrestler is and tell us why you like him/her. Then tell us what your favourite finishing move is and you're in.

At 7/4/06 10:47 PM, LordKooler wrote:

At 7/4/06 10:41 PM, DeadAlmighty wrote: Outlaw, can I join?

Outlaw88 isn't online right now. If you want to join the Wrestling club, Tell us who your favourite wrestler is and tell us why you like him/her. Then tell us what your favourite finishing move is and you're in.

Dude! CM Punk actually showed up on ECW and to make it even better he still has his Straight Edge gimmick I expected him to be given a dumb gimmick now all we need is to see him wrestle.

It almost makes sense... RVD's punishment is he loses both titles but doesn't get fired or suspended but Big Show as the ECW champ... no just no.

By the way anyone else notice that when they were throwing stuff in the ring I think a beer can or something hit Heyman right in the face.

At 7/4/06 06:41 PM, XxXDamienXxX wrote: but yeah I'd love to join

post again and the answer will be yes. but since we are on the subject: DeadAlmighty you are # 216. Welcome!

Wait, did I just read that right? Big Show is the ECW champ now? WTF?! No!, Just no.. Why couldn't they have given it to another original ECW wrestler. Dreamer, Credible, Hell even Sandman would have been better choices than that.

At 7/4/06 11:17 PM, Outlaw88 wrote:
Wait, did I just read that right? Big Show is the ECW champ now? WTF?! No!, Just no.. Why couldn't they have given it to another original ECW wrestler. Dreamer, Credible, Hell even Sandman would have been better choices than that.

I don''t know why they gave it to Big Show but I understand why RVD lost it. You should also know Heyman turned his back on RVD and he made the three count so that Big Show won.

At 7/4/06 11:23 PM, The_Redangleprince wrote: ECW "EXTREME" REVIEW!

I have a problem with your review... You didn't put Fuck the faces, Huzzah for Heels at the end that was a dissapointment... just like ECW was tonight. I knew it wasn't a good show when the highlight of the night (for me at least) was just seeing CM Punk cut a promo and he didn't even wrestle. Why Big Show? that's my question. Why the hell does it have to be the Big Slow? How is he supposed to drop the belt? I know Tommy Dreamer can take the title from him but that won't happen because Dreamer is actually one of the ECW originals.

And one more thing.. Test is using steroids I'm not starting rumors its a fact Test got juiced.

Sorry for the double post but this would be RVD's punishment

The following is from ECW.com:

Moments after screwing Rob Van Dam out of the ECW Championship, Paul Heyman gave the following statement to ECW.com:

"As of this moment, Rob Van Dam has been suspended for 30 days."

Well my favorite wrestler would probally have to be between Jeff Hardy or Low Ki aka "Senshi". And my favorite finisher would have to be the Canadian Destroyer, i just get so excited everytime i see it

*camera pans in on avie with an Endless Crew ball cap and an ECW shirt on, standing in front of the ECW logo tarped in the background*

My name is aview...no, you know what, this is supposed to be a shoot. This is supposed to be real. So my fucking name is Keith Weilamann, I'm an ECW fan, I was a fan of ECW from 1999 till it's death in 2001, I attended a total of three events during those years, two live house shows, and one PPV. I watched ECW as it lost some of it's biggest acts, and eventually disintegrated and died in the middle of nowhere. I promoted last year's One Night Stand for no other reason then my enduring love for ECW, and my desire to see those performers have one last moment in the sun, to say good bye, and at best, to get what we're getting now...a revived ECW product. I am in many ways responsible for many people in this group here watching ECW, and supporting the product currently, and before it's ressurection. I am extremely proud of that accomplishment, and am extremely thankful that everyone here was open to a new product, and a new way of seeing the wrestling business.

But what I'm now seeing, is people who did NOT watch the initial ECW product, folks who are going on the opinions, and the stories, and the history, that has been given to them by a mark (and that is exactly what I damn well am in many many respects when it comes to ECW) and they have not only seemed to take this as gospel without checking other resources (and they are out there). I see people who are looking at a revived ECW product, and finding all sorts of reasons to declare the new ECW still born, to declare it dead, to declare it garbage, yadda yadda yadda, to say that it's demeaning to what ECW was. Folks, some of you just aren't fucking qualified to sit here and tell me, or tell other fans what ECW was.

Do you know what ECW was? At it's core? ECW was a wrestling promotion that tapped into the collective religious center of it's audience. ECW was great wrestling, and terrible wrestling. ECW was smoke and mirrors, ECW was truth and lies, and sometimes the truth within lies, lies within the truth, that's what wrestling is about as a whole.

Let's address some of your concerns right now, and then we'll compare this was some things the original ECW did:

"Exhibitionist Kelly is stupid, and ECW would have never had a stripper character": Oh really? They wouldn't? I guess you guys aren't familiar with Kimona Wannalaya. Kimona was an asian girl who would go on to work in WCW as a manager for Rick Steiner and someone else (called herself miss pussy cat or something I think). Kimona was there for one reason, and one reason only: Kimona was fucking stupid hot, and was willing to take her clothes off if you asked her to...does that sound familiar to anyone? Now granted, she was not given a weekly segment in which to strip, to my knowledge there was only one instance of her stripping in ECW, because the ring broke before the main event of a show at the ECW Arena, and they needed something to keep the crowd entertained. BUT, while Kimona may not have had taking her clothes off a feature, the incident I'm talking about was recorded, and was sold as a videotape for YEARS by ECW. Sold from the time of the incident ('96 or '97) until the company's closing. Yes, I will grant, it was sold as part of aforementioned show (packaged as "Extreme Warfare volume 1") so you got some great damn wrestling on that show as well, but Kimona's strip tease was marketed as a FOCAL POINT of the video. It was mentioned in EVERY AD for the video. Don't tell me ECW never had a stripper character, or a girl who just stood around and looked good. That's not to say I'm enamored with the Kelly character, because I'm not. But to say ECW would have never done something like that is completely untrue.

"Big Show, Test, Mike Knox, Fertig, are terrible workers, ECW would have never taken in such guys, and certainly wouldn't have really pushed them if they did": BULLSHIT!! I'm sorry...but this is one of the biggest myths about ECW that's still going today. Let's go down the list of bad workers ECW took in, and got over, and even gave big pushes to:

Public Enemy: ECW's first marketable homegrown act, 3 time ECW tag champs, which made them the most prolific for awhile. Failed everywhere else because they frankly weren't the best in the ring, Grunge in fact was fricking terrible, and that's why Rocco Rock did most of the work, and all of the jobs. Mad respect for what they did for ECW early on, but we need to be honest about what they were.

Mikey Whipwreck: Kid could barely take a fucking BUMP right when he started. That's right, he did not know how to properly fall, yet he was among the first ECW Triple Crown Winner's in the company's history, dumb lucking into championships. The fans loved Mikey to death, but for his first couple of years, he didn't do ANY offense in a match because he had no idea how!

911: Could chokeslam, nothing else.

Sandman: Can take sick abuse, became a company mascot, but seriously, the man is a bad bad worker, Paul E. actually asked Todd Gordon for permission to fire him once, FIRE THE MAN!!! Why? Because he couldn't do anything for him. Couple ECW tag title reigns, 5 ECW world title wins.

Mike Awesome: ECW loved to talk about how Mike Awesome was a great big man champion, but have you ever noticed that the only matches that get commercially released with him in them are bouts with Masato Tanaka, and one with Spike Dudley, which is more about Spike then Awesome? I'll tell you why: Awesome sucked as champ. Sure, he was agile for a big guy, and he could do some flying stuff, but he was still a big man, prone to the weaknesses of a big man. Not to mention he had the charisma of a block of fucking wood while in ECW. ECW title reign after beating out Taz and Tanaka.

Sid: Yes, Sid was in ECW, for about 6 months in '99. Six months sporadically, I shit you not. Go look it up.

So um, would someone like to tell me again how ECW was the land of nothing but great workers, and they'd never push someone who sucked? Anyone at all?

I actually know who Kimona is because a video of her stripping during her ECW days misteriously ended on my computer.

Second all cool way of posting your opinion making it seem like an actual promo.

Third: I know New jack and Sandman are horrible wrestlers but they didn't jump from the WWE to ECW. I've seen New jack and without weapons he ain't shit.

I'm not gonna say I know more about ECW than you Keith because I don't hell if I want to know something about ECW I rather ask you than look it up on the internet.

I'm not saying naything bad about Knox because he's not great but he looks better than a lot of guys I've seen but like I said... Mikey Whipwreck, 911, Sandman for the most part they were all about ECW (except for Awesome who was in WCW and WWE) my problem is with WWE "Superstars" or former superstars like Test and Show coming over to ECW and taking time away from guys like Dreamer and Amish Roadkill and CW Anderson.

I'll agree with pretty much all you said but let's be honest its not the same to have homegrown ECW people who can't wrestle as it is to have former WWE guys (who by the way had nothing to with ECW back in the day) who can't wrestle in ECW.

"ECW is dead because it's biggest stars RVD and Sabu have been arrested and must be punished, and Kurt Angle is going on sabbatical": AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This right here is where we seperate the real ECW fans from the pretenders who didn't know the product. ECW was CONSTANTLY losing top stars, and big acts the company was built around, and do you know what they did? You know? They built NEW TOP STARS!!! Just like anybody else, but ECW did it BETTER in many ways. Why? Because of what I said before, ECW was a cult, it was a religious experience, ECW was BIGGER then any piece of talent. Sandman bolted for WCW, we survived and thrived for two fucking years till he got fucked over and came back. Raven left, we survived and had one of our best periods ever. Public Enemy left and we were ok. In 1999 along we lost Taz, we lost Shane Douglas, we gained and then lost Raven, we lost The Dudley Boyz, and what the FUCK did we do? Did we shut the doors, did we, the ECW fans, and the people who ran ECW fold up the tent and say "Well, that was fun, but now it's all over for ECW" GOD FUCKING DAMN IT NO WE FUCKING WELL DIDN'T!!! We rallied around what was left, and Paul E. brought in new talent, and got over new stars, and the company survived. RVD was out for most of 2000, and we lived, in fact, we saw the emergence of stars that you can STILL watch on your television to this day (Rhino immediately comes to mind, ditto Tony Mamaluke and CW Anderson). The history of ECW is a history of a company that should have died from stars defecting several times over, and it didn't, because the fans stayed, and the wrestlers stepped up. Now you want to jump because two guys are out for awhile? You want to jump because a guy you don't like had to be elevated into a position where he is going to get tremendous fucking heat from a fan base that dosen't except him because those two stars fucked themselves and fucked us over? Is that what I'm hearing? For real? All of you saying that make me fucking sick. I'm not kissing Big Show's ass, I wasn't doing cartwheels to see him wearing the title that I no lie consider the only belt to have any integrity left in this business, but fact is, WWE needed him to step up, to put himself into a position where he is going to get real legit heat from a hostile crowd, and he stepped up and did it. He earned my respect for that, and he should have yours too. This is not WWE fucking up here, WWE did what they had to do to make their policy have teeth, did what they had to do for their investors, they had to do a fast title switch to an established guy who may draw ratings. I would have prefered it went to an ECW guy sure, but in cold hard fact, I know those guys aren't over with the fans, many of you showed me last week with your recaps these guys aren't over or really known to you, so I can't really fault WWE's decision here. You want to be mad at someone? You wanna get pissed? Put it on who it belongs to: Rob Szatkowski (Rob Van Dam) and Terry Bronk (Sabu), for making a decision that hurt me, that hurt you, and that hurt the ECW product. I may not consider Big Show the best ECW champ ever, but I give the big man his due for stepping up when he was needed, that's class, and that alone makes me able to defend him as our champion.

"ECW wouldn't use WWE guys to get over": Superfly Snuka was the first champion, early ECW shows used past WWF and WCW guys, with a mix of locals to bolster it's shows, same as any other indy, and they did that throughout their existence as I've just proven, so don't be ignorant.

The only other thing I can say is that next week will mark one month of ECW on Sci-Fi. The show has only been on the air for about three or four weeks now, you CAN'T expect a product with a lot of unknown talent, with only an hour of available time to find it's stride and really hit in that time frame, especially with no truly huge shows to build to. It's going to have it's growing pains, and it's going to have to try and find it's footing. TNA wasn't a great show when they started on Spike. The original ECW was garbage when they started, it took them a year or more to really find their footing and true place. In fact, after the first show, Terry Funk came out and addressed the crowd saying "hey look, I know this first show was pretty bad, but give us a chance, let us old veterans teach these young kids a better way, and they will entertain you" and he was right, they did. It took changes, it took hard work, but they did. It's going to take that kind of patience here as well. The old ECW is gone, but I think the new company has great potential, I heard a great crowd in Philly tonight, who were hot for what they saw, the show may not have been the best, but the fans were willing to take it for what it was, and make their own fun, and many of them will probably try it again next week, because they know they need to give this time. Terry Funk asked for our patience one night in 1993, he got it, and a revolution was born. I ask the same of you now, as Paul E. has asked for it at many non-televised, and televised events. I'm willing to give the new ECW the chance to grow and become the product I believe it can be. How about you?

If I've offended anybody with this rant, um, I really don't care. It needed to be said, and some of you need to drop the pomposity I think. If anyone wants to have me removed from this club for being pretty scathing with my statements here, that's damn sure you're right, and I'd accept that. This isn't solely my playground, but I feel I needed to say this stuff, and it needed to come from the heart, unscripted and uncensored. Thanks for listening.

At 7/5/06 01:00 AM, pepeatumi wrote:

I'm not saying naything bad about Knox because he's not great but he looks better than a lot of guys I've seen but like I said... Mikey Whipwreck, 911, Sandman for the most part they were all about ECW (except for Awesome who was in WCW and WWE) my problem is with WWE "Superstars" or former superstars like Test and Show coming over to ECW and taking time away from guys like Dreamer and Amish Roadkill and CW Anderson.

Sure, but let's face it, Dreamer is not going to be pushed as a top guy, it goes against his character, and he's too beat up. A lot of the ECW vets are pretty broken from the ring wars, and they're here to help add something to this product. This isn't a nostalgia brand, it's trying to get established and move forward, which is what it should do. I agree Anderson is a future star, he is somebody to really push for the company...Roadkill is to me still a bit of an unkown commodity, I don't think perhaps ECW used him to his full abilities. But some of these guys have hit a point where they're glory days are done, and it's just about getting a good check for the time they have left.

I'll agree with pretty much all you said but let's be honest its not the same to have homegrown ECW people who can't wrestle as it is to have former WWE guys (who by the way had nothing to with ECW back in the day) who can't wrestle in ECW.

Many of them didn't, and like I say, I'm not doing jumping jacks having Test or Big Show over there getting good pushes over more talented guys, but it happens all over. If they can truly bring some new viewers in (and I think they can) then they're something of a positive then. Look, I never liked Hulk Hogan, or The Rock, but I certainly like that they're popularity drew in enough fans so guys I DID like could make money, and get their talents recognized. You have to take the good with the bad is all I'm saying.

First things first.. I'll admit some of the things that you said I could have taken personal but I'm not going to do that nor do I want you to leave this club because you know about wrestling and that fact that you were honest doesn't piss me off as a matter of fact my respect for you is even more because of it. At first I said it was too early to put the nail in ECW's coffin but when in a span of 7 days your 3 biggest names... (Angle, RVD and Sabu) all either go on sabbatical or get suspended that's reason to worry at least a bit.

The only reason I'm giving it a chance is because I truly believe guys like Cm Punk and even Knox can make a name for themselves and attract fans to ECW. ABout ECW being garbage I'll give you that because the same thing happened to TNA and now they're getting more fans week in and week out.

I would love to reading and hearing your rants or thoughts or opinions in fact you should be this honest more often but the way I see it ECW had a chance to be great again and it seems like almost everything that could go wrong for the company has.

I would like nothing better than for ECW to prove me wrong and be the great brand ot can be but at the moment they're far from that.

At 7/5/06 01:23 AM, pepeatumi wrote: First things first.. I'll admit some of the things that you said I could have taken personal but I'm not going to do that nor do I want you to leave this club because you know about wrestling and that fact that you were honest doesn't piss me off as a matter of fact my respect for you is even more because of it. At first I said it was too early to put the nail in ECW's coffin but when in a span of 7 days your 3 biggest names... (Angle, RVD and Sabu) all either go on sabbatical or get suspended that's reason to worry at least a bit.

Absolutely, it's a terrible blow, I'm not saying it isn't. They have had their booking get completely fucked up because of this stuff, but I try to see the bright side, and I think this is the moment where you're going to see talents step up, and you're going to maybe see WWE put some new faces onto TV to get them over the hump, and maybe they'll step it up. We've all been watching this business long enough to know that sometimes when it seems darkest, somebody is going to get a shot, and go beyond anything anyone thought they could ever do. That was what ECW was all about, and I also have the advantage of knowing what many of the guys on this roster are capable of doing.

The only reason I'm giving it a chance is because I truly believe guys like Cm Punk and even Knox can make a name for themselves and attract fans to ECW. ABout ECW being garbage I'll give you that because the same thing happened to TNA and now they're getting more fans week in and week out.

Right, hey, look, I think every single one of us is completely guilty of expecting this thing to come out of the blocks and be huge. I think we all expected it to just kill and be worlds better then anything WWE has on TV now. We have two options, adjust our expectations and give it a chance, or just flush it and give up. To me? I've seen more good then bad on this show so far, and I really badly want it to succeed, so I'm in it for the long haul right now. I really think the show, and many of these workers are going to hit their stride, and get over this hump.

I would love to reading and hearing your rants or thoughts or opinions in fact you should be this honest more often but the way I see it ECW had a chance to be great again and it seems like almost everything that could go wrong for the company has.

Yep, but honestly? That's something ECW has always had to struggle with : ). Like I was pointing out earlier, ECW was perenially behind the 8 ball, and they made it work, with way less money and talent then they have access to now, if Vince is willing to commit, and try his hardest to make this work, I think he can. Like I say, I still feel like it's far too early to say the ship is sinking.

I would like nothing better than for ECW to prove me wrong and be the great brand ot can be but at the moment they're far from that.

Again, no arguements from the peanut gallery here. My point was not to say everything is rosey and anybody who thinks the brand is having problems and not the best of starts is crazy, you aren't, it's obvious that's the case. But I think everybody who is throwing in the towel on it and saying it's fucking screwed or dead in the water is overreacting. Like I said, not a great show this week, and a lot of the fan chants were negative, but to me they still showed emotion, if they sat on their hands or chanted "this show sucks" or "this is bullshit" I'd be worried, but I didn't hear any chants like that. It's still growing, and I think it can get much better with time, but the fans need to stay with it, and the wrestlers and creative need to step up.

This is from ECW.com:

Moments after screwing Rob Van Dam out of the ECW Championship, Paul Heyman gave the following statement to ECW.com:

“As of this moment, Rob Van Dam has been suspended for 30 days.”

I approached Heyman immediately as he came backstage following the match to ask him why he screwed Van Dam. Heyman only smiled and offered the above statement. I followed him to ask him why RVD was suspended and why he was screwed out of the ECW Championship…but he only walked faster. When I finally got to his office door, Heyman slammed the door in my face.

Unfortunately, what should have been RVD’s holiday weekend homecoming went from bad to worse to downright horrible. On Monday morning, everything seemed cool as RVD walked into the Wachovia Center as both the ECW and WWE Champion; Tuesday night, however, he left the building with no gold and no job for a month.

After losing the WWE Championship to Edge in a Triple Threat Match on RAW, RVD also lost his ECW Championship to Big Show live on ECW on Sci Fi Tuesday night. With the referee down, Van Dam seemingly had the match won after a Five-Star Frog Splash. Paul Heyman went to count the pinfall like he did at One Night Stand…but before he got to three, Heyman stopped and stared at RVD.

Van Dam looked like he had just lost his best friend, and as he and Heyman did some jaw jacking, Big Show recovered. He spun Rob around and nailed him with a chair, and after a vicious chokeslam on that same chair, ECW had a new champion.

And now, with the suspension levied by Heyman, it looks like RVD won’t have a chance to right the wrong he has been handed.

A 30 day suspension is I believe the penalty WWE usually levies for any drug related offenses, I believe Sabu will either silently or publicly be put onto a similar suspension as well.

hmm...sucks that I don't get ECW here in Australia...

Oh well, the high flyers can get high for 30 whole days.

I'm sure that this is only an example the WWE is setting and they will return and be Main Eventers soon.

At 7/4/06 06:36 PM, redface wrote: jeez I wish you guys would quote me more often, so that way I can know if you're talking to me of not, redangle_prince

I pulled this off the WWE website, it's further investigates the charges against RVD and Sabu.

also on WWE.com, It says that this week on Smackdown!, there will be a #1 Contender Battle Royale for Heavyweight tilte match at The Great American Bash. I've heard that the winner of this Battle Royale will be Mark Henry, who will go on to winn the Belt at GAB. Gawd, I hope not.

Well...SD! is running out of talents anyway. Do not worry, even if Mark Henry wins at GAB, he will be no more than a transitional champion. Batista will destroy him at Summer Slam. I guarantee.

This sucks... There were atually a lot of good matches yesterday but we didn't get to see any of them..

Tony Mamaluke vs. Roadkill
CM Punk vs. CW Anderson
Sabu vs. Stevie Richards
Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer

These were the dark matches.. Instead of having Punk cut a 2 minute promo they should have shown that match Anderson vs Punk was probably a stiff hard-hitting match which would have come great on TV.

As for Sabu, I guess he had a dark match as part of his punishment or otherwise that probably would have started the show.

Now I'm a huge RVD fan but this is just stupid...

After Big Show left the ring before his and RVD's match started, the crowd chanted 'You Smoke Pot'. RVD laughed and made a toking gesture. Yeah, you lost both of your belts in two nights. Hilarious. There were many variations on the chant throughout the match. A funny sign in the crowd read that RVD and Sabu Are the Real Highlanders.

We get it RVD.. You smoke weed. But you're without a job and pay for 30 days and you've lost both your titles. I would have expected him not to do anything stupid but, he did.

At 7/5/06 10:36 AM, pepeatumi wrote: We get it RVD.. You smoke weed. But you're without a job and pay for 30 days and you've lost both your titles. I would have expected him not to do anything stupid but, he did.

Reminds me of Ricky Williams. It's tough being a dolphins fan sometimes.

wow avie came with guns a-blazing didn't he? It's a shame I can't watch ECW. i know I have been saying that to death, over and over but I mean it. Even after the shows that made others scream that is it is not the ECW of old, or that the show was bad, I still want to watch. I still belive that ECW has a fighting chance, it faced worse before.

So what am I really getting at? I'll tell you. I was not fortunate enough to have seen ECW in it's original form when it was on the air. I saw a few things here and there but not enough to know what it is, what it stood for, and what it was all about. I have since seems much more on it thanks to the DVD's that have come out, but it was not just those alone that made me a fan of ECW. It was those crazy fans. Their undying support for this fed. Their interaction with the wrestlers, and so on.

So why an I am ECW fan? Because other fans, like yourself Avie, helped me to understand what ECW really was. For that I thank you. I am not about to let ECW die again. Was I upset about the RVD/Sabu situation? Hell yes. They should know better. Was I ticked that of all people Show got the belt? Sure. But I am willing to give him a chance to prove his worth. My feeling on some of the other things that are pissing people off (like Knox) will eventually either go away on it's own when wwe realizes people don't like it, or it will improve enough to become watchable.

Can I be considered a true ECW fan? Probably not, like I said, I missed the glory days and have only gone on what I have read here , and the dvd's I've seen. but damn if I will let that get in the way of things. I want ECW to keep going. And you know there are going to be lousy shows and good ones. There is no avoiding it so just take the bad along with the good.

Owie, It turns out from my fight last week, I hit my shin on a rock, and it chipped meh bone, so they have to replace it with metal so I have to get surgery, So I won't be doing a recap for a few weeks, but I'll still try to post.

Man, those were some strong words from Aview last night. Perhaps I should listen to him about this, cuz some of what he is saying is the real deal. I won't stop watching ECW just because RVD and Sabu are gone. They screwed up by smoking the reefer and they got what they deserve.

In general, I expected I lot from ECW. I took what Aview said, from what I saw on both ONS 2005 and the Most Violent Matches DVD, and used that as the standard. I realize that they're just starting out again. And, the fact that it's only an hour on TV, and that's not alot of time for getting talent on the air. Kind of like TNA, they will (hopefully) get better over time.

Now that was said, could someone post a link to where I can see SD!'s spoilers? Thanks.

First things first this is the punihsment for RVD and Sabu.

From WWE.com:

World Wrestling Entertainment earlier this week announced it was investigating five violations, including drug possession, levied against Rob Van Dam and Sabu by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. WWE announced today that based on information gathered over the past few days, Van Dam has been suspended without pay for 30 days and Sabu has been fined $1000. These actions are consistent with the Wellness Policy at WWE.

I take it since Sabu wasn't champ he avoided a suspension.

And StevensA here's to the link to Smackdown's spoilers.

http://www.wrestlezo..?articleid=153997925

holy shit ECW was bad yesterday.

It was the most boring, pointless hour of my life that I'll never get back.

I have to give a spur-of-the-moment REDFACE BRIGHTEST STAR OF THE NIGHT AWARD to CM Punk who really brightened up the entire show, even though all he did was cut a promo.

RVD vs. Big Show was also un-eventful, as it was mostly about Show Getting kicked and Rob get slapped/pushed off things. And That Beer Can thing at the end? call me crazy, but I've a gut feeling that that was actually a work.

For the love of all that is Holy and Pure, Vince, End this shit while everyone still has their dignity.

Here's some more news about the RVD/Sabu situation.

Partial Source: PWInsider.com

It's been said that Rob Van Dam and Sabu are taking their punishments very well. They are not complaining at all since they know it's their fault. Neither man will be fired over the incident. After this month, all parties will be moving forward as if it never happened.

Rob Van Dam will be gone for 30 days, however, he's in line for a huge push when he returns next month. Also, Sabu's push will continue and it doesn't appear that he will be suspended. Vince McMahon likes Sabu so much that it appears as though that he doesn't have anything to worry about in terms of getting fired or being de-pushed. McMahon loves his old-school wildman character, as well as his in-ring work.

I found this last part surprising... Vince actually likes Sabu's in-ring work, that means that Vince actually likes someone with talent. Maybe the old man hasn't completely lost it yet.

At 7/5/06 10:32 PM, pepeatumi wrote: Here's some more news about the RVD/Sabu situation.

Partial Source: PWInsider.com

It's been said that Rob Van Dam and Sabu are taking their punishments very well. They are not complaining at all since they know it's their fault. Neither man will be fired over the incident. After this month, all parties will be moving forward as if it never happened.

Rob Van Dam will be gone for 30 days, however, he's in line for a huge push when he returns next month. Also, Sabu's push will continue and it doesn't appear that he will be suspended. Vince McMahon likes Sabu so much that it appears as though that he doesn't have anything to worry about in terms of getting fired or being de-pushed. McMahon loves his old-school wildman character, as well as his in-ring work.

I found this last part surprising... Vince actually likes Sabu's in-ring work, that means that Vince actually likes someone with talent. Maybe the old man hasn't completely lost it yet.

Well, that is a surprise indeed. It's also in a way good news. RVD gets a huge push when he gets back and Sabu isn't getting fired or de-pushed. That's good news, but still, they did the reefer. And that is bad. (or in the words of Carlito, "That's not cool!")

Btw, thanks for the link. Since I don't get the SmackDown channel, that spoiler got my hopes up of wanting to get it now. Batista's coming back, and that is gonna help SD's ratings for sure.

well that is a bit of good news then. Glad that they are taking the punishment well and that they are still in favor with wwe.

At 7/5/06 08:22 AM, The_Redangleprince wrote: Professor, you made some good points but also alot of lousy ones. I think your loved has blinded you. You don't have to tell me about the talent or lack thereof in the old ECW. Every promotion has a a few guys that simply cannot work. We all know that. The difference, however, between ECW and WWECW is that ECW had talented wrestlers to carry them over as well as sick bumps that overode any keylock or suplex. WWECW does not have that. They have a roster full of ECW jobbers and WWE developmental talent.

So Sabu is a jobber now? RVD is a jobber? Sandman is a jobber? I admit many ECW talents aren't being pushed. But RVD and Sabu were, and will be. In fact Sabu is only eating a 1,000 dollar fine, and will continue his push unabated, and will hopefully take the strap off of Show very soon. The developmental guys? Yeah, Knox is rough, but I think he'll get better, I think he has potential. CM Punk is getting great reviews everywhere, there are still things to like and be optimistic about on this show. Not to mention, it's still early yet in the show's run, and I think that with time, and obvious title additions (you don't really think it'll just be the heavyweight belt forever do you?) you're going to see more guys getting the pushes they deserve as more oppurtunities open up.

Sick bumps, I still see Sabu taking some of those. Look, everybody knew there'd be less blood, less sickness, less risk. These guys got older, and the ECW style in the old days practically killed them. I didn't watch ECW for blood and guts anyway, I watched it for good wrestling, and guys who gave a shit about giving me the best show possible, and were approachable and genuinely appreciative of my support. I still see guys on my TV that have that, so I still support the show those guys are on, despite the problems, and the things I don't like so much.

I'm not knocking the Big Show either. I know what they're doing, they're selling the ECW name with a an established WWE guy. I get that. I don't mind him being the top guy right now, he's the best big wrestler out there bar Taker and possibly Abyss. Aside from that, he's the one guy they can rely on to carry the fledgling brand right now. My gripe is this. Don't tell me Big Show is going extreme. Big Show isn't changing by coming to ECW. He's got a new finisher and thats about it. Now I hope they prove me wrong and let him wrestle. It's been too long since I seen the Biggest Moonsault.

I agree, Show needs to change some of his style and show more of an "edge" I think they were trying to slowly establish that, but now it's going to have to go into overdrive if it's going to work. No arguements from me on that one.

Now, you say the ECW didn't die when they lost talent. Thats absolutely right. They built new stars. But heres the thing, WWECW's new stars are Knox, Fertig, and Test. CM Punk is the saving grace in that group, and thats assuming he doesn't get watered down. With this in mind, and looking at the talent, wouldn't you say this is more WWE's type of talent? The Big men with slams?

Sure, this is a WWE production. There's absolutely no escaping that. This is NOT the old ECW, it can't be, it won't be, so you have to judge it for what it is at current. I agree I'm not enamored with some of what I'm seeing thus far, but I'd also like to point out that we've still got guys like CW Andersson who have not made their debuts yet, we can hope ECW gets Super Crazy, Psichosis, or both after their done with their feud at the GAB (you think it's going longer then that?). Like I say, Knox has potential, Test is Test, there's no doubt he's not a good edition. Ditto Fertig. But like I say, there's still talents to enjoy on the show, and I'd rather focus on that then a bunch of negatives and things I don't like.

This is so not ECW. Show, Test, Fertig, Knox, Punk, Kelly, Angle are not ECW. It's not ECW when only certain matches are under "Extreme" rules. It's not ECW when every match besides your main event is a freaking squash. Honestly, have you seen a match on WWECW (bar ONS 2) where you didn't realize the outcome before the bell rang?

In defense of the Test/Snow squash, that match was supposed to be competitive and back and forth, but they wanted more time for the main event, so it turned squash. Again, this is a show with a lot of talent that is unknown to most of it's overall audience, squashes are a neccessary evil, but there's also some definite lazy ass booking going on as well here. But like I say, it's a new thing, and I believe that when the talent is over more, they'll stop the squashes. Punk would have fit in great with ECW, and so would have Angle. Not to mention, it's a new fucking brand Red, it's something they want to work LONG TERM, which means you have to bring in NEW people. You can't freeze the ECW crew in time and stop them from getting older, so complaining about what amounts to "guys who weren't ECW shouldn't be on the show" is insanity.

All of Sabu's matches were predictable, Anything involving Knox was a squash, and the same thing it looks like for Test.

Sabu has had squashes so far, but with RVD out, I think we'll get to see him work more. Knox will eventually be given real opponents to fight, but like I keep pointing out, the majority of this audience I don't think knows who half of these guys are, they have to be established, and then they can move into more competitive situations.

As for the fans...there have been a couple house shows in old ECW venues where the fans did scream from the bottom of their lungs "this show sucks".

Yeah, and there's been a few reports from those venues saying "the shows were actually pretty good, but the fans are demanding the old ECW" it's never gonna happen, so judge these shows for what they are, and stop comparing them to a company that is dead and gone. It isn't fair in my mind.

FACE IT. This is the 3rd brand of WWE. NOT ECW.

Well duh. I know WWE is trading on the ECW name to make a buck, and to me? It still works, and there's still enough of the old alumni in there that I can enjoy each week, and I've still got my old ECW footage. So I'm good.

Vince screwed you out of that Professor. If Heyman was in control, who knows?

It'd probably be different, but even at the end of ECW, the company was hurting in my mind. I'm still willing to give this show a little longer.

From what I heard, Sabu is not getting suspended because of two things:

1) He was not actually in possesion of the weed, merely a pipe for smoking it, and was ONLY cited for paraphenalia. I think it's splitting hairs, but WWE needs to try and salvage as much as they can from this, so I won't argue.

2) He was not actually driving the car. I'd also like to point out that RVD was not cited for DUI, just the possesion.

Also Kurt Angle is on a 30 day suspension as well, no reason has been given, and that is why he was not back last night in any sort of emergency role on the show.

I'm also surprised Vince is so high on Sabu, Sabu in fact believed he would not believe he would be with the new brand very long as of last week, guess he didn't realize how valued he was.

The latest ECW house show report I've read was pretty positive, and it seems like the matches are improving with each show (so far the shows are carbon copies of each other). Also ONS2 was released, packaged with a copy of the first ECW PPV Barely Legal, which seems to have some footage on it that wasn't part of the last time the show was commercially released on DVD (through Pioneer Entertainment). 15 bucks at your local Wal-Mart, worth a buy I think.

Also all matches in ECW are now under WWE rules, unless otherwise stated. First count-out or DQ WWE does, they best just watch how that goes over is all I can say.

Atlas Security has also left the company after a dispute between them and WWE over Atlas getting in the way of WWE camera angles. Bad idea, ECW fans WILL NOT FUCK WITH ATLAS! Atlas was tough, and they'd fucking take you out if you screwed with them. I've known that first hand, the only security at a show that ever hassled me, or made me somewhat afraid. Also the ECW referee crew is done, but with an open invite to work any shows they can when they get back to the northeast.

Oh, and Big Show is the first man to have ever held the WWF, WCW, and ECW heavyweight titles. You may not have loved it, but you watched history last night.

Warning! Spoiler!!! It has been confirmed that Rey will face King Booker at GAB. Meanwhile, Batista is going to be one on one against Mark Henry. The current plan is to have King Booker winning at GAB and continuing to feud with Batista for 2-3 months. Considering that RO is on RAW, the Booker T, Batista feud will be money. ;)