ECW returning....for good?!?!

Fozzy

Haha, I just went to Stevie Richards MySpace page to see what he's up to, and he's obviously a CM Punk fan! His display pic is him and Punk, and he's got his entrance music playin aswell. I'd just rather Punk didn't join the bWo..

http://www.myspace.com/steviecorp

Vince135792003

Its official, from Reuters:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sci Fi Channel is getting into the ring with wrestling.

The cable network is following its NBC Universal sibling USA Network into a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment for a weekly series devoted to a WWE spinoff league, Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Beginning June 13, the yet-to-be-titled series will air at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on the network through the rest of the summer. Bonnie Hammer, president of USA and Sci Fi, hopes the latter channel gets the same ratings lift that USA has gotten from WWE's "Raw."

"This is going to be a great summer series for us," Hammer said.

She cited research documenting an overlap among Sci Fi's viewers and WWE fans. "It's a huge duplication," she said. "Close to 50% who watch 'Raw' watch Sci Fi as well."

As for how a wrestling franchise fits within the parameters of the Sci Fi brand, Hammer said the series is being developed to match the sensibility of the channel's "stretching the imagination" theme. "It will have a nice little twist that will fit in the brand," she said.

While the ECW is scheduled to run only in the summer, Hammer did not rule out extending its run year-round a la "Raw" if it proved successful.

"ECW on Sci Fi will push the boundaries of sports entertainment in new and unexpected ways," WWE chairman Vince McMahon said.

In recent weeks, WWE has been incorporating ECW into its story lines, positioning it to be a standalone series opposite "Raw" and UPN's "Smackdown," which will continue next season on the CW. The ECW franchise also has been a brisk seller for WWE on DVD and pay-per-view since McMahon acquired the brand in 2003.

gimmick

Is the plan still to have ECW recorded before Smackdown, or was that only assumptions? If it does go ahead like that, it will bomb in the worst way. If it is brought back to the small arenas and basketball halls etc, it should be the success it neevr was before (if you see what I mean).

Vince135792003

It will be taped before Smackdown as a replacement for Velocity. They did n't want to add another day of tapings, basically becasue of the cost. They'll be running time house shows aswell, 2-3 days a week. Also there hoping to do alot of European touring.

Apparently there going to have there own set, and dim the lights etc to give it a different feel to Smackdown. How successful thats going to be, I have my doubts.

gimmick

It will be a disaster IMO. ECW fans, are not WWE fans, and vice versa. WWE fans thinik that ECW was all about high spots, tables and jumping like lunatics. WWE fans dont care for prolonged technical battles the likes of Guerrero and Malenko had. Sure, the WWE has one or two good matches of this type a year, basically when Angle and Benoit faces someone half decent, but it isnt the norm.

ECW fans on the other hand, are wrestling fans, and no Sports Entertainment fans, They dont like long promos, they want action. ECW fans dont like the watered down product that WWE has become, as was evidenced at last years One Night Stand with Reys move set.

Bad move by the wwe.

Dr. X

Some fans like straight wrestling and WWE style wrestling.

I for one am looking forward to the new ECW.

Fozzy

I'm just wondering about what they'll do if it only goes on for the summer, like it says is planned for the moment. They'll probably just release all the ECW talent. Hopefully the better ones would stay though

Since it's being shown Tuesday night, will that meant it will be taped a few hours before, or a week in advance?

I'd imagine that the tickets for the June SD's are already mostly sold, so it will be WWE fans at it, not ECW fans. And if it really does look as bad as gimmick thinks, ECW fans probably won't want to buy tickets for the events after that

So they're doing ECW house shows, and ECW European tours, but they can't afford an extra tv taping? I don't understand that. All they have to do is stick a few guys with cameras at ringside for a house show! That'd hardly cost a fortune, would it?

Vince135792003

Yeah I did n't think it would cost that much either. But apparently Kevin Dunn will be in charge of tv production so the production levels will still be quite high.

I'll look it up later on the newsletter. But adding another days taping costs hundreads of thousands of dollars. That surprised me. As well as that they just don't have the time to do 3 days of tv.

It will be taped an hour before Smackdown. It may even be live.

Smackdown tv shows selling out is not somthing that regularly occurs these days.

Mr.Nice Guy

Are we going to get this over here? I've heard speculation that it won't be shown in Canada...

Fozzy

It'll hardly be live if it's taped an hour before SD, will it? That'd mean SD going on til 1 in the morning

I just read on PWInsider that Sky Sports 3 will be showing ECW instead of Velocity starting from Sunday June 18th. That's 5 days after the American's see it. I hope some of the Velocity guys are used better if they don't go to ECW

Mr.Nice Guy

Yeah just read that now:

Our friends over at WrestleMag.com sent word that the weekly ECW show will air in the United Kingdom via Sky Sports 3. The show will commence on Sunday, June 18 replacing WWE's Velocity show. ECW's One Night Stand PPV and the ECW vs WWE special on USA Network will both be broadcast live via Sky Sports 1.

Good stuff. :cool:

gimmick

Well hopefully Nova will be used properly, and not the silly mule he is acting at the moment.

I have a feeling this is just another Vince ego thing where he buries a creation that isn't his, making it look awful in the process a lá NWO, Lance Storm, Taz, Nova etc etc etc.

Fozzy

I heard that Joel Maximo said in an interview yesterday that the rumours of the SAT signing to ECW are false. But apparently ECW are still interested in them, the Briscoes and Xavier

But the most interesting one I've heard is that they might be interested in Homicide! Supposedly he's not actually under contract to TNA at the moment, and they've really been wasting him. He could do very well for himself in ECW

Vince135792003

Theres also a second ECW pap per view scheduled for the beginning of December, a week or so before Armagedeon.

castagnoli

Homicide is probably the one ROH guy I would like to go to ECW (make that two, Tony ****ing Mamaluke!)
This is because he has achieved just about everything he can in ROH, despite never holding a title. He has been there for 4 years and it could be time for him to move on. I can also see Aries going to ECW eventually, maybe Danielson and Jimmy Rave too.

Fozzy

If Homicide isn't booked on the next TNA ppv, then he definitely should give ECW a go. Maybe he should anyway, seeing as he hasn't even been booked for the ppv yet!