Yeah, they've probably gotten ahead of themselves with the entire idea. To do a tribute show requires a lot of planning. This seems to have just happened overnight and it's gonna be surprising if we get anything memorable from it for that reason. To make it the best it can be, just like with WWE, they were faced with a choice. Either an Invasion or doing a tribute show featuring matches between solely ECW guys. They chose the latter and this worked for WWE. It was a nice farewell, it kinda make you take a step back and respect Vince for letting it happen, I don't think many thought he would, it certainly never crossed my mind. But as a WWF guy, first watching the product consistently when I got Cable in 1998, I missed the ECW thing. I knew it was hardcore and exciting and obviously knew a lot of the guys like Funk, Sandman, Sabu, Foley, Tazz, The Dudleys and Rhino. I also felt that Paul Heyman was important too but I still didn't 'get' it as much as a true ECW fan. That said, it was great. But then the night after I was just glad to get back to the regular show. That was my world and I knew what to expect.
The following year they tried a different approach and went with the ECW Vs WWE. I know they had Bradshaw and Bischoff leading team WWE into the Hammerstein in the original One Night Stand but this was about WWE Vs ECW in matches. This was better for me and in a way I kind of respected the decision to not repeat the previous years event as that would have made it less special. Although this shared the name, this wasn't so much a tribute as it was an angle. It was also the start of the ECW Brand which was exciting back then, remember that!?
It wasn't that good really. The whole thing was overshadowed by the whole 'If Cena Wins We Riot' crap. It could have been better... lets just leave it there.
Any future WWE Vs ECW match was then tainted by the whole "New Blood" thing with Morrison, Punk and company becoming the stars on the ECW brand and the Originals being phased out and finally the name ECW just meant another show which inevitably led to it's demise. What I wanted was never going to happen. Just as well, I thought, everyone is too old anyway.
So now TNA have the same dilemma WWE had 5 years ago. Tribute or Invasion. With the ECW guys getting a faction name, although there is arguement it is to stop saying ECW... not gonna happen though, it kind of makes me think they'll be working as a team against TNA. I stand by what I said earlier. They're a bit too old now but perhaps that is better. At least young guys could make them have a pretty decent matches. Now, don't get offended, I'm not saying all old ECW guys are bad. No, but most of them are and all it takes is most of them (Eric Cartman - 2007) Also putting Al Snow against Simon Diamond for little reason generates less interest than if you put them in a feud for a week or two prior to the show.
I'm on the side that it be a ECW Vs TNA thing. That way, if they did make a bit of an assumption as to who would come along for the party the damage won't appear so bad.
