Torch Feedback ECW Reax #1: "The quality of ECW is taking a horrendous nosedive and WWE seems oblivious."
May 7, 2008 - 4:41:16 AM
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO BOOKMARK US & VISIT US DAILY
Shane McKinley of Danville, Calif. (0.5): Best Match: Main Event. Worst Match: Opening. What a mess. Just sad. The downward spiral for ECW started somewhere back a month ago. Used to be a time where Raw and ECW were reliable shows. Now they are just duds and the pendlum has swung towards Smackdown and Impact (help me) as shows I look forward to. There is a "yin/yang" in wrestling, in that for every excellent moment, there are abysmal ones. They call these times "The Lean Times," when fans are strugg-a-ling trying to stay emotionally involved, the feuds are barely lukewarm, and watching shows seem more like a test of endurance. At first I gave "Bad Mic" Mike Adalme a chance. Some hiccups, but maybe he could grow. I thought that on Raw showing him as a joke would be the nail in the coffin. I gave him a month, and after a month (especially after the last Raw), I thought, "Well, he's gone." So when ECW opened up with the "voice of ECW" Adalme bathering on about how he announced football games and American Gladiators, well, whoopee doo. Adalme is not a wrestling announcer. Mick Foley is light years ahead of Adalme. Nothing against Adalme, but alone he makes ECW not at all fun to watch anymore. During this opening I was expecting Sandman to pop up and cane him silly. But I guess I'm supposed to take him seriously. I would rather not spend my Tuesday nights listening to wrestlers mocking their announcer (boy, that's really productive for your show). The quality of ECW is taking a horrendous nosedive and WWE seems oblivious. Listening to this show was bad. This was comedy hour, but it was sad that it was trying to be respectable. The most remarkable thing of the night was when they showed a video package of RVD vs. Hardcore Holly, with all of the pain, injury, and blood. Then right after that "up next is Kofi Kingston vs. Matt Striker!" Right. I gave up and started to watch ECW on mute, which I'm thinking of doing when I watch this show now. I guess ECW nowadays is good for if you want to do voice-overs in your living room.
Eric Gall of Bridgeport, Conn. (7.0): Best Match: Colin Delaney vs. Estrada, Dreamer vs. Knox. Worst Match: Nothing to speak of. The story of underdog Colin Delaney is infinitely more watchable than supermen main-eventers destroying the rest of the card. The pre-match scene with the locker room encouraging Colin was a great moment. It might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but this is my wrestling TV moment of the year - a five-foot-nothing, one-hundred-and-nothing "Rudy" who's fighting just to get a spot on the roster. For a one-hour program, there seemed to be something for everyone on the roster. Nobody was buried, storylines were advanced, and nothing made me want to kick in the screen of the TV. It's these little things that ECW does that still makes it my favorite WWE show. I know it's the trendy thing to do to diss ECW, but because it's mostly left to itself to put on a wrestling show and not to force storylines and "superstars" down our throats, but I still say it's the best show coming out of Titan Tower these days.
Terrie Neilson of Las Vegas, Nev. (7.0): Best: Tommy Dreamer vs. Mike Knox; Colin Delaney post-match Worst: Chuck Palumbo promo ECW did all right for Number 100. The replays from the vaults will probably want fans to want RVD, Sabu, and the other Originals back, but that's not likely gonna happen. Kofi-Striker moved along the Kofi-Shelton feud without the two going a full match, Shelton did well cn commentary, too; works better with others versus going alone. Speaking of commentary, who knew Stevie Richards could do so well? He helped to put over the opening Extreme Rules match and Dreamer's ECW experience very well. Colin finally got his win, and it was received by the crowd as a big enough deal, but WWE didn't give it the treatment it deserved. Armando Estrada looked very good in there body-wise, but didn't bring much to the table in terms of repertoire (but it fits his character). Colin put over his big-deal win like a pro. There's a starstruck quality to his promo which really added a nce touch. Kelly's Expose was repetitve in moves, but unlike the other dance-offs, there were smooth transitions between "look at me... no, look at me." The brawl that followed was nicely done. Those two should go to Smackdown as there really is no one else there to move them along. Lena Yada, however, should be sent away as she couldn't put two words together, which badly effected Palumbo's promo. The fact there was no followup didn't help, either. The main event was blah, but furthered something along that everyone so failed to look at as performance. More proof that "Mike Adamle" is a work after Raw last night is the very stiff delivery of his promo. In character he's been under serious pressure and this promo showed it. No further explanation was given to his losing his cool, but that may come into play soon enough. In the opening match, with Stevie Richards at commentary, Adamle was much more relaxed and less prone to make mistakes. In the main event, Miz and Morrison were at the comm, and Adamle was summarily trashed and buried throughout the match. Tazz did clearly try to support Mike, but got caught up a little. Am I the only one seeing a Tim White-esque or "gone postal" storyline on the horizon?
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "ECW Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on ECW, click here.
THE TORCH REACHES MORE COMBAT ENTERTAINMENT FANS THAN ANY OTHER SOURCE
PWTorch editor Wade Keller has covered pro wrestling full time since 1987 starting with the Pro Wrestling Torch print newsletter. PWTorch.com launched in 1999 and the PWTorch Apps launched in 2008.
He has conducted "Torch Talk" insider interviews with Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Jesse Ventura, Lou Thesz, Jerry Lawler, Mick Foley, Jim Ross, Paul Heyman, Bruno Sammartino, Goldberg, more.
He has interviewed big-name players in person incluiding Vince McMahon (at WWE Headquarters), Dana White (in Las Vegas), Eric Bischoff (at the first Nitro at Mall of America), Brock Lesnar (after his first UFC win).
He hosted the weekly Pro Wrestling Focus radio show on KFAN in the early 1990s and hosted the Ultimate Insiders DVD series distributed in retail stories internationally in the mid-2000s including interviews filmed in Los Angeles with Vince Russo & Ed Ferrara and Matt & Jeff Hardy. He currently hosts the most listened to pro wrestling audio show in the world, (the PWTorch Livecast, top ranked in iTunes)
REACHING 1 MILLION+ UNIQUE USERS PER MONTH
500 MILLION CLICKS & LISTENS PER YEAR
MILLIONS OF PWTORCH NEWSLETTERS SOLD
PWTorch offers a VIP membership for $10 a month (or less with an annual sub). It includes nearly 25 years worth of archives from our coverage of pro wrestling dating back to PWTorch Newsletters from the late-'80s filled with insider secrets from every era that are available to VIPers in digital PDF format and Keller's radio show from the early 1990s.
Also, new exclusive top-shelf content every day including a new VIP-exclusive weekly 16 page digital magazine-style (PC and iPad compatible) PDF newsletter packed with exclusive articles and news.
The following features come with a VIP membership which tens of thousands of fans worldwide have enjoyed for many years...
-New Digital PWTorch Newsletter every week
-3 New Digital PDF Back Issues from 5, 10, 20 years ago
-Over 60 new VIP Audio Shows each week
-Ad-free access to all PWTorch.com free articles
-VIP Forum access with daily interaction with PWTorch staff and well-informed fellow wrestling fans
-Tons of archived audio and text articles
-Decades of Torch Talk insider interviews in transcript and audio formats with big name stars. **SIGN UP FOR VIP ACCESS HERE**