ECW Review : " The Changeover."

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Its hard to believe ECW has managed to come back this far. Its made it 4 months and continues to do new things. Raw's ratings have impacted ECW's but even pulling 1.8's and 1.9's thats higher than what ECW ever pulled at its peak.

The roster has even changed. Guys like CM Punk , Test and Matt Striker are getting over well. Paul Heyman's wacky ECW has done its job wierdly and has saved the careers of Big Show & Bob Holly !

Onto News....

WWE Changes Main Event for No Mercy
Posted by Larry Csonka on 10.03.2006

What is it now?

According to WWE.com, the main event for the No Mercy PPV has been changed from King Booker defending against Bobby Lashley to a fatal four-way match, with King Booker now defending against Bobby Lashley, Batista and Finlay.

Onto E.....C.....W.

The Good

We see Paul Heyman and Bob Holly as they watch the ECW show from last week. Paul's a master and puts over Bob Holly as a legit tough man. This is great follow up booking by Heyman who uses Holly's 24 stitches to sell how hardcore legit Holly is.

Holly wants one thing. He wants Rob Van Dam tonight ! No excuses as Paul tries to tell Bob about lawyers as Holly grabs him nearly ready to KILL. Test however shows up and nails Bob Holly with the chair , thus turning him face. This is smart because its gonna be hard to boo Holly after last weeks iron man effort.

Now its time for the tag match as we see Sandman & Sabu team up to face Big Show & Matt Striker. These 2 make quite a team ( Striker/Big Show) as 2 cocky heels. Great opening match as we see Sabu finally make the hot tag after taking a beating.

Sandman tags in and starts laying into Striker as fans are pleased. He even does the Hiekenrana by god ! I have to say this....THE ECW guys want it ! They want to be the top brand and as Paul Heyman said in May , they have the hearts to do it.

All 4 men are in as Sandman forgets Show is in as he goes for the russian leg sweep on Striker as Show holds him. Then splashes Sandman for the win. Awesome opening match. We can tell this Sandman/Striker fueds not over...yet.

Next up is Kevin Thorne and Ariel vs Tommy Dreamer. As a Dreamer fan I wish he had a fued to do but he's the old hand and he'll get one soon I'm sure. He works a great match against Thorne. I think its the fact Fertig and Dreamer had some time down in OVW.

The 2 have a short decent match that Thorne uses his cane end to help score the win. Him and Ariel celebrate by taunting Joey Styles as usual.

Well the weekly CM Punk destroys someone didn't last long. This weeks victim ? The former ECW alum Danny Doring. Doring loses when CM Punk makes him his b-tch. So now out comes Kelly who wants to do a strip tease for her man.

She starts as Mike "I'm Next " Knox arrives. He wants to fight Punk as CM tells him to come on down as he's ready. Knox backs off though. But we all know Knox/Punk will happen and CM Punk will make Knox , just another victim.

Now....its the Main Event. Last weeks ECW Main Event was Holly/RVD and this week its Test/RVD. By god to top that Rob would have to be a miracle maker. But this is ECW and this is the arena where Rob can brag he is " Mr. Main Event " again.

Test works his ass off here. I mean legit working as he takes table shots. Rob nails a rolling thunder on the f-cking ring steps ! This is getting good. I loved watching Test take that monkey flip thru the table.

This match is rolling along making the fans come alive and out comes Paul Heyman. He has the Security Team try and beatdown Rob Van Dam at times . Fans boo Heyman and now its Rob having to beat Test and the Security Team !

Rob's putting on a showcase for a Main Event as usual and takes out the ST. Then he gets Test on the table and is ready to finish this Extreme Rules classic. Out comes Big Show to pretty much start " Show/RVD " and he puts Rob thru the table as Test nails his finisher.

See if you wanna book someone like a f'n Superman type the genuis at RAW should go to Paul Heyman. Rob kicked out numerous times. Took numerous punishment with chair shots/table spots ect ect. But he lost.....does that make RVD look weak ? Nope....he lost a fair Extreme Rules match but people will go " Rob's the f-ckin man. He could take them all if it was a fair fight . He lost but he's the man. "

The show ends as Test, Heyman and Show celebrate as we know Rob Van Dam will get his revenge. Awesome Main Event again ECW.

The Bad

Not into the Extreme Poker Challenge. Sorry , if that gets a better rating than UFC then Dana White needs to call Vince McMahon and beg him to start promoting his cable show on Spike TV. Because if Shamerock & Ortiz fall to a bunch of Diva's stripping then....wow.


OVERALL: **** Outta 5. 2 Great matches in the hour and a general wrestling night. Not many vignettes or anything. Its like this show was geared towards pleasing ECW fans more or less and a " Lets do lots of action before next weeks fluff show ".

[master of read]

good show tonight. test really is starting to fit with ecw. the rolling thunder on the steps was just pure ecw goodness. yummy.

[DWEarhart]

Good main event, and I actually liked the finish. Yes, THAT is how you build up a Superman/Jesus type figure. Beat him down, let him kick out, and beat him some more. Let him lose. Show that he's human.

I don't care. Ariel's all kinds of goody goth goodnes. I'm just a pushover when it comes to brunettes.

Matt Striker. He was cool as hell tonight. Decent tag match with him and The Big Show against Sandman and Sabu.

My suggestion for an alternate title for this week's review: "Did You Say Yam-Bags?"

[Royal]

If you look at the Fight Night Card (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=3750189&postcount=384), you'll see that the "power" of the show is heavy on Ortiz/Kenny Sham. All the rest is what you'd probably call "squashes". The real action of the show seems to be in the dark. If Dana wants to really blow WWECW away, he's gotta hope Shammy/Tito goes more then one round. Sadly, I don't see this happening. If I did put money down on a fight to at least get a spike. I'd put it on Kendal and "The Exorcist" Chris Price. I've first hand knowledge of Price and can say he'll definatly go past one round.

Anyways, so far, it looks like the ball is in WWECW's court for now.

BTW, feel free to stop by the MMA thread and field some questions. We'd love to have ya.

[titanfan]

Great show tonight. It actually seemed way longer than one hour, mainly because several of the matches were so good and really dramatic.

You know next week is going to get ECW's highest rating ever. Ugh. There's two possible endings right:

1. When Kelly Kelly is about to strip naked, Mike Knox will suddenly run in and crash the party.

2. The rumors are true and WWE really plans on showing some boobies next week....Mae Young's.

[Royal]

Oh god. Now I'm definatly rooting for The Exorcist.

[Arune Singh]

It's my first ECW ever, and I've only seen to the end of the Striker match, but I'm sold. This is awesome stuff.

[Royal]

btw, can anyone give me a progress report on Punk? They still playing him as Mr. Vale Tudo?

[SUPERECWFAN1]

btw, can anyone give me a progress report on Punk? They still playing him as Mr. Vale Tudo?

They brag his skills and all. So I suppose their still going forward with it. The crowd eats it up though so it hit a HR with them. The offense he uses is new so I suspect that helps.

[DWEarhart]

btw, can anyone give me a progress report on Punk? They still playing him as Mr. Vale Tudo?

Wish I could, but I actually tend to skip his matches. I'm waiting until he goes at it with Mike Knox, maybe see something else out of him besides the usual stuff. I feel the same way about RVD, unless he's main eventing, like tonight.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

It's my first ECW ever, and I've only seen to the end of the Striker match, but I'm sold. This is awesome stuff.

I recommend you go and watch ( rent/buy) ECW: The Rise & Fall of ECW and ECW: Bloodsport. Both volumes feature what made ECW awesome. Trust me...ECW's 90's period is better than what you saw here.

[Royal]

They brag his skills and all. So I suppose their still going forward with it. The crowd eats it up though so it hit a HR with them. The offense he uses is new so I suspect that helps.

A bit more realistic I suppose? Bit more of the strong style striking?

[Royal]

I recommend you go and watch ( rent/buy) ECW: The Rise & Fall of ECW and ECW: Bloodsport. Both volumes feature what made ECW awesome. Trust me...ECW's 90's period is better than what you saw here.

If you do ebay, look for Heatwave '98. One of the major highlights of the disc is RVD/Sabu vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi)/Hayabusa.

Awesome match.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

A bit more realistic I suppose? Bit more of the strong style striking?

Yeah it looks like that. I can see fans thinking " That guys legit whuppin his ass ! " lol.

The whole offense looks brutal. People complained of Rob';s work when he 1st came to the WWE. CM Punk makes me wince at times. ;)

[SUPERECWFAN1]

If you do ebay, look for Heatwave '98. One of the major highlights of the disc is RVD/Sabu vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi)/Hayabusa.

Awesome match.

If he can find it. The WWE's done a hell of a job cracking down on the ECW Pioneer DVD releases. But he could find " Deep Impact " " Hardcore History " at video stores on DVD release. Plus he could find the Pioneer " Cactus Jack " DVD on E-Bay. If he's real lucky he could find the " ECW Dudley Boys DVD " Pioneer put out with Cactus Jack's. Of course that one had an error on it....good luck finding it.

[Pól Rua]

If you do ebay, look for Heatwave '98. One of the major highlights of the disc is RVD/Sabu vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (Hakushi)/Hayabusa.

Awesome match.

Contains inadequate levels of Hayabusa.

[Pól Rua]

If he can find it. The WWE's done a hell of a job cracking down on the ECW Pioneer DVD releases. But he could find " Deep Impact " " Hardcore History " at video stores on DVD release. Plus he could find the Pioneer " Cactus Jack " DVD on E-Bay. If he's real lucky he could find the " ECW Dudley Boys DVD " Pioneer put out with Cactus Jack's. Of course that one had an error on it....good luck finding it.

Managed to score about half a dozen of those, including the Cactus one.
Some incredible stuff on them.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

you can get heatwave 98 and alot of other ECW on netflix.

[Forefinger]

ECW was great last night. I can't think of a thing to complain about. RVD and Test had an awesome match. People are going to go apeshit for face Holly.

[Kiriyama]

Test AND Hardcore Holly over?

Never thought i would see it, but wow.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Test AND Hardcore Holly over?

Never thought i would see it, but wow.

Paul Heyman is a master. They now can fued Test/Holly and get something from both men . I can't wait to see Bob come back all mean & angry next week.

[Super Sonic]

I haven't finished watching yet, but the crowd are amazing, they were this loud during RAW, ECW is usually the quieter one, it's good to hear big cheers for ECW. =D

[Jared]

Probably the best ECW show so far. I've only missed on or two of them since the reboot. Match-wise, my only complaint is that I just didn't buy the finish to the tag match. Somehow...Sandman doesn't notice the f'ing Big Show standing right there holding onto the guy he's trying to White Russian? Okaaaay....

RVD vs. Test was excellent, and a superb way to follow up last week's main event. Great to see Paul being allowed to go with the flow after last week, and turn Holly face.

[SnowTrooper]

ECW was awesome, RVD can put on a helluva match, especially an extreme rules match. The Chair throwing in the main event was freaking sweet. Test is a huge guy but he is surprisingly quick and agile.

I hope that next week CM Punk kicks the shit out of Knox, then Test comes out to help Knox, then RVD comes out to get revenge on Test, leading up to a CM Punk/RVD vs Test/Knox match for the week after.

[clayholio]

I love that RVD is getting time to put on good matches. 6 minutes of RVD isn't going to do anyone much good, but now that he's getting more time to wrestle lately he's gotten (probably) career-best matches out of Hardcore Holly and Test in consecutive weeks.

I'm also glad to see Matt Striker doing well in ECW. As much as I don't like the teacher gimmick, I think people really want to see him get his ass kicked. That's pretty much the definition of a good heel right there.

[Super Sonic]

I hope that next week CM Punk kicks the shit out of Knox, then Test comes out to help Knox, then RVD comes out to get revenge on Test, leading up to a CM Punk/RVD vs Test/Knox match for the week after.

....and then have "Straight Edge" CM Punk turn on RVD.






You know why. ;)

[Erisu Kimu]

The new ECW is finally picking up and drastically improving, but for new fans, you should start with the original ECW first.

I still have four PPV video tapes, but I recommend them.

CyberSlam '99 <-- Fresh-faced Tajiri without the black pants and the goatee/beard. Must see.
Anarchy Rulz '99 <-- Justin Credible vs. Sabu. Awesome hardcore match.
HeatWave '98 <-- Arguably the best ECW PPV.
Wrestlepalooza '97 <-- this one features both Taz and Shane Douglas with two matches each, plus Raven's last match in ECW before jumping to WCW.

Oh yeah, and be sure to check out the "The Rise + Fall of ECW" DVD. That one pretty much explains the history (although a lot is still missing).

I say both ONS PPVs are worth getting, but personally, I'd definitely get the second one just to see Taz take care of Lawler. I still miss Taz (as a wrestler).

[Super Sonic]

I've only not seen two of those PPV's mentioned (Wrestlepalooza and Cyberslam), I've seen everything else mentioned......aren't I adequate? ;)

[Legato]

I have The Rise + Fall of ECW and the Shane Douglas promo he made when he threw down the NWA title and proclaimed himself as the ECW heavyweight champion was the highlight of the entire DVD.

[Super Sonic]

I have The Rise + Fall of ECW and the Shane Douglas promo he made when he threw down the NWA title and proclaimed himself as the ECW heavyweight champion was the highlight of the entire DVD.

My favourite was the tale of Barely Legal or the Raven/Sandman fued ( +crucifiction angle).

[SUPERECWFAN1]

People should go to Youtube.com and watch Raven,Sandman and Douglas talk about their past ECW moments as those mentioned. Its on the Forever Hardcore documentry.

[Super Sonic]

People should go to Youtube.com and watch Raven,Sandman and Douglas talk about their past ECW moments as those mentioned. Its on the Forever Hardcore documentry.


....and Raven & Sandman's ROH Straight Shootin' series of DVD's, and the Straight Shoot with Terry FUnk & Shane DOuglas, both great listens.

[Pól Rua]

Test AND Hardcore Holly over?

Never thought i would see it, but wow.

It's easy.
You just have to convince people that a wrestler can be interesting even if they're not dressed as a clown, or a transvestite, or a bizarre national/racial stereotype.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

It's easy.
You just have to convince people that a wrestler can be interesting even if they're not dressed as a clown, or a transvestite, or a bizarre national/racial stereotype.

and a big bloody gash in your back seems to do wonders.

[Scott Evil]

RVD still sold me as all kinds of awesome taking the Super Elbow Drop w/ the chair assist.. Not a lot of give for that move. Digging the amounts of the "throw chair at opponent's face" they've been doing. Always wondered why they haven't done that..

[JohnPopa]

and a big bloody gash in your back seems to do wonders.

The big bloody gash was the most over part of that match!

[marshal99]

The big bloody gash was the most over part of that match!

Can the big bloody gash do micwork ? He could have a future in the business. ;)

[Forefinger]

It's easy.
You just have to convince people that a wrestler can be interesting even if they're not dressed as a clown, or a transvestite, or a bizarre national/racial stereotype.
Phht, that's umpossible! Or at least Vince thinks so.

[Forefinger]

RVD still sold me as all kinds of awesome taking the Super Elbow Drop w/ the chair assist.. Not a lot of give for that move. Digging the amounts of the "throw chair at opponent's face" they've been doing. Always wondered why they haven't done that..
Sabu has done that for awhile. I guess they saw that people dig it when Sabu does it and decided on more of it.

[Scott Evil]

Sabu has done that for awhile. I guess they saw that people dig it when Sabu does it and decided on more of it.
I guess they're all out of Mr. Fuji's "blinding powder" to throw, so just throw chairs.. There's an abundance of them ring side, makes loud noises, and you can keep using them. Makes sense to me!

[lboinyamouf4sho]

The big bloody gash was the most over part of that match!


he better hope that gash doesn't heal.

[marshal99]

Hopefully , with the last 2 weeks of good ECW programming , good word of mouth will pull their ratings back up as it has been sliding down recently. (Not helped by all the cross brand promotion going on as ECW becomes a sublet of RAW)

[lboinyamouf4sho]

Hopefully , with the last 2 weeks of good ECW programming , good word of mouth will pull their ratings back up as it has been sliding down recently. (Not helped by all the cross brand promotion going on as ECW becomes a sublet of RAW)

seems like the better the show the worse the ratings these days.:(