"The Professor's ECW report card"
Hello folks, and welcome to the first edition of my weekly report card on the land of the Extreme. Unlike past and present guys to hold the gimmick of a professor, I am neither a pompous annoying jackass. Nor am I an old man trying to get a pop from fans based on what I did in the past, and pissing on the "competition" now.
But enough about that, let's talk about the report card and what it contains:
Simply put, this is both a review of the weekly ECW on SciFi television show, and thusly, since it is the ONLY currently televised ECW programming, it will also be a grading on how the brand is doing overall. This is a purely subjective analysis, based on what I feel is the good, the bad, and the stuff that needs to be worked on. Your mileage may vary.
ECW on Sci-Fi Report Card:
Kelly Expose: Mike Knox became my hero for about 30 seconds there when he said Kelly will never take her clothes off again. I also like that they actually followed up something from the week before, and had that lead us into a match with meaning, rather then just another "look ma, ECW match!". Although we did have to watch Kelly try to strip for a minute or two. Overall Grade: B
Sandman Vs. Mike Knox: Wow, Sandman is actually wrestling this week? Great! Too bad the match wasn't. I did like that Knox made a total scumbag of himself here on two levels (letting Kelly get nailed, kicking Sandman in the balls). It was also obvious this is far from over, our first feud? I think so. Overall Grade: C
Shannon Moore promo: Just a reminder that he's coming in. Looks like he'll be an "actions speak louder then words type" I'm interested. Grade: B
Dreamer Paul E. segment: Paul E. cuts great promos, no doubt. Tommy did a hell of a job here as the man speaking for the locker room and the fans. Having Test mow Tommy down works for me here as it actually builds a decent feud, and gives the impression Test's role will be as Paul E.'s enforcer. Still not enamored to see Test, but I do like that we have another identifiable storyline on the show, and it will play to Tommy's strengths. I do wish they explained a bit more why Paul E. gave Tommy that kiss though (a kiss of death for those wondering). Grade: A-
Sabu vs. Stevie Richards: Great match, and I like that they gave this a logical reason for not having this under extreme rules. Sabu and Stevie had a great wrestling match, and I think Sabu shut up any remaining critics he may have had that he can't work without furniture. I didn't mind the lack of weapons one bit, but obviously some of the fans did. Please, please give us more matches like this! Grade: A
Balls Mahoney promo: Looks like they're going to push Balls, coolness, Balls is a very solid worker, which a lot of people forget because of his reliance on chairs, and he's one of the better ECW originals to showcase because of the fact he can work, but that he also knows how to connect with the people who just come for violence. Grade: A
CM Punk promo: Punk cuts a good promo, and I continue to hear how good he is in the ring. I like that he put over ECW as the place where the best compete as well as putting over himself. He should be a strong babyface when he finally debuts. Grade: A
Fertig promo: Fertig speaks...and it's...pretty damn good actually. Cryptic sure, but the delivery was good, and I think Ariel adds an interesting dimension to the gimmick. Now as long as Fertig isn't completely worthless in the ring, this could be a suprisingly successful gimmick. I'm intrigued, so they got the job done here. Grade: B
Big Show vs. Undertaker: Taker and Show had a good big man's match. Some like that, some hate it, I liked what I saw, as I think both men made a very good accounting of themselves here. But I certainly did not like the finish, as it not only did nothing to really help Show or ECW out here. Hell, the closing image of the show was Great Khali standing alone over a downed Taker. I understand that in this case WWE was more worried about pushing the Bash over anything else really but, goddamn I just think it's always a bad idea to end a show with something that is not going to benefit that show in any future situation. Grade: C
ECW overall:
Character development: It seems to me they are finally starting to focus in and get these guys's names out there for people. Nobody on the show tonight felt like "a random face" and the backstage promos are also helping to make these guys become actual characters for people to get behind. It's going to take time, but WWE is on the right track in this regard. Grade: B
Storyline development: After weeks of spinning it's wheels without a really clear direction or indication that any match meant anything beyond who won it or lost it, this week's show brought us the beginnings of at least two feuds, and a rematch of an earlier bout with a twist. If ECW is to succeed and hold an audience, they've got to begin building storylines up, and giving fans a reason to come back each week beyond "it's ECW, it's a wrestling show...wrestling!!! Yay!!!". They are certainly well on their way with two established storylines to use, and they've freed up some time by seemingly listening to the cries to get the repetitive segments off the show. Grade: B
Title development: Yet we are still well behind in this area. The ECW title is all well and good, and they are doing a good job of making Big Show seem like a monster, but I'm still wanting to see other ECW titles put on the show, so we don't have to rely on a Big Show title defense to be a match every week. RAW and SD! are both tag team deficient, it seems to me introducing a set of tag belts for ECW, with matches utilizing the four teams they now have in residence, would be a great way for ECW to take advantage of a weakness in the other shows. Hell, even bringing back the TV Title would do a lot to help take the pressure off the World title, which can then only be defended as a special attraction. Having a fighting champ is great, but you can't claim that when he's the ONLY champ the brand has. Grade: F
That's all for this week. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on ECW, and the Report Card in general.
