Hi Scott,
I was re-watching the first two ECW One Night Stand pay per views over the weekend, and I couldn’t help but think that capitalizing on that buzz and that excitement at the time was a wasted opportunity. If I had been Vince McMahon I think I would have booked the Manhattan Centre for a full year and aired every show from there like they did with RAW. I don’t think all the ECW originals, WWE defectors and rising upstarts at the time were quite ready to support ECW’s own road schedule right away (which is probably why it ended up touring with Smackdown or RAW). But I think cultivating that fan base using the TV show to get them exposure and just having that SUPER hot NYC crowd to put guys over every week would have done wonders for the brand. Then, after having been established they could have moved to the bigger venues and tours. But that intense yet intimate atmosphere is what I thought made ECW feel fresh and different. Now ECW is just like the other shows, just with guys I don't really know.
Having said that, I doubt that weekly wild and bloody brawls could have lasted forever, and the WWE-style may have prevailed anyway… so maybe the NYC crowd would have soured over time. And sure ECW as it is today is a useful tool in getting developmental guys some TV time. But I don’t think anyone could deny the spark that could be felt at ONS 2006 when ECW was going to “rise from the ashes”, even a whole year removed from the 2005 tribute show. It’s also too bad RVD smoked himself out of his spot as the face of ECW. It's probably when everything changed.
Just wondering what your thoughts are about the ECW brand and its evolution into today’s product.
I don’t even think the more toned-down product would have mattered, because the Manhattan Center is such a naturally hot venue that even crap like the early 93 shows are addictively great as a result. Plus I was never a huge fan of the original product in the first place, so it didn’t really offend me when they changed it up.
In fact I’m pretty much for any proposal that involves shooting live in the Manhattan Center every week again.
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