ECW Champion Discussion Thread

[My$terio_Fan]

I think Matt Hardy is playing the role of a convincing babyface champ very well. He has enough star power that it makes the belt seem semi important and he is solid in the ring. I think he will be an even better champion wants he starts feuding with good workers like Miz, Morrison, ect. But yeah Hardy isn't a favorite of mine, and I always found he bland as anything, but I say he's one of the better recent champions. I think creative could do more with him but the clean pin on Henry shows alot.

 

[The Undercover Man]

Matt Hardy is doing a good job as champion, he is playing the ultimate babyface and allways gets a huge pop from the crowd because of past achievements with his brother Jeff. Matt is an excellent mat wrestler, he isn't the best technically but he knows how to use the mat to his advantage, he's a decent brawler too and when he wants to, can be a very good highflyer.

His title reign has been good but the title matches at the PPV's have been utterly stupid, how long do they get? Hardly any airtime at all. When was the last time an ECW title match got less time then a Diva's match? It just does'nt make sense.

I think his future title contender will be Evan Bourne or Finlay, with Evan out for a few months i'd place a hot bet on Finlay becoming or challenging for the ECW champion. I hope to God that Mark Henry does'nt get any more title shots, the guys boring and how the hell have they made him a maineventer?

 

[Buzz]

I definitely enjoyed last night's match against Finlay - I think that showed up both of their abilities and skills in the ring and looked to be a truly enjoyable match

Matt Hardy does have some seriously good mat skill and him holding a title (granted it is the ECW one) can give him the chance to prove to creative that they need to make his title reign more credible to bring about a little higher recognition to the belt/brand, as well as reminding some peopel (*cough*ex-boyf*cough*) that he can entertain people without his brother (I nearly slapped that ex after his long anti-everyone tirade!)

I am hoping that they keep Mark Henry away from the title matches for a while - it's not wanted and not helping anything - he really does just come across as being there for his appearance alone - it's slowly becoming a farce!

 

[RadioGaGa]

Yeah it was a very good match against Finlay the other night but other than that I've been bored stiff by Hardy's reign. I enjoyed his match against Bourne at the No Mercy but his never ending feud with Mark Henry was shit from the start. Please move this guy on to a feud with Finlay so maybe ECW can have a good match or two on PPV.

 

[klunderbunker]

Matt is a very good champion so far. He's beaten the top heel on the show in Henry convincingly and is now taking on a lot of people yet never really feuding with them. TO me that makes him look like fighting champion rather than someone that wrestles like twice a month. It also doesn't get stale and allows for him to have a small foundation for a lot of people to pick from for whatever his next feud turns out to be. I'm very satisfied with his reign so far and it doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon. Matt has never had the big title reign and this might be it. Either way, I'm definitely enjoying it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I agree with....Tina? Matt has probably been one of the better ECW champions of the past few years. Not many wrestlers have got quality matches out of Mark Henry, but he did. They were hardly anything spectacular, but a happy medium is the best you can expect with Henry. It's not like anybody else has got anything from him in the past 12 years.

It's just a shame that it looks like Hardy's reign will end because of Koslov. He'll get beaten, and easily I imagine. It's also a shame that he's not on a show that's watched by more people. Hopefully, if WWE insist on having a Money In The Bank match, he's rewarded with the victory.

 

[Crush1]

At first i was doubtfull but Matt Hardy has exceeded my expectations. He was destined by man people including me to fail but now i really enjoy seeing Hardy's work. It's true that his moveset hasn't changed and he still does the same shit over and over again but, he is entertaining no matter how he wrestles. Face it for a guy that keeps doing the same stuff he always get's mad pops from the crowd.

And i also agree with Y2Jake that Hardy managed to work succesfully with a deadbeat washed up people like Mark Henry. I'm intrested in to seeing who Hardy's contender will be since (thank god) his feud with Henry has finished. I expect Swagger to be it but there are numurous posibilities so you can expect a lot of good entertainement from ECW in 2009

 

[Brizziville]

I would like to disagree with all of this. Matt Hardy is boring. His matches with Mark Henry were not good. Yeah, I'll give you that Hardy used to be sweet, but he is a bum now. What does he do? He is only popular now because Jeff is his brother. He gets beat on all match and then hits a Twist of Fate and maybe a Side Effect, just like Jeff has been doing. This is perfect for Matt, but it doesn't work for a world champion (if you want to call the ECW Title a world championship). Jeff needs to stop jobbing and winning by count out, and Matt needs to stop winning. I love Jack Swagger. He's great in the ring and good on the mic (minus the lisp). I'm not sure if he is ready to carry an entire brand, but if he wins the title, I'll be happy that Matt dropped it. Morrison is the best guy they have, and he hasn't had the belt in a while. Give it to him, he's a great champion. I like the pushing new guys, so Swagger could work. Just anyone, but Hardy or Finley.

 

[chidodger]

How much you wanna bet he'll win the belt(I'm guessing wrestlemania), retire on the spot, setting up a tournament for the vacant ECW belt, and then shocking everyone by being named the NEW ECW GM.(replacing the only guy that makes mike adamle look good, teddy long). what do you think?

 

[Joker ' Ferreira]

How much you wanna bet he'll win the belt(I'm guessing wrestlemania), retire on the spot, setting up a tournament for the vacant ECW belt, and then shocking everyone by being named the NEW ECW GM.(replacing the only guy that makes mike adamle look good, teddy long). what do you think?

I tought about that and could lead to some interesting storylines lets see if its Dreamer vs. Matt Hardy what I believe wouldn't draw, or Dreamer vs. Swagger or someone else with some kind of stipulations.

After all Dreamer needs definitely a title reign on ECW after all he has done for the company in this 3 years, he is the only original left, and if he is able to retire with the championship I think its fair, give him the shot to be the first man defeating Swagger at Wrestlemania, it will only help Swagger.

But after Dreamer is gone I think ECW needs RVD back to draw some new fans or old fans back to the show, he is in my honest opinion the best high-flyer inside the ring considering his size and flexibility but I don't think he would like to stay at this new ECW...

 

[chidodger]

Dude, RVD coming back to ECW is like a Cubs Worlds series ring, your never gonna see it. Maybe he'll come back as "special surprise guest" or something along those lines, but never full-time. I think Dreamer as the GM will give ECW more credability, as well as more entertainment. I hope they give him a Ric Flair type send-off is he's going to retire and be taken off TV, since he is literally THE LAST tie to the origional days of ECW. Hopefully that won't be the case, though. I do like the Swagger win, though. I'm all four new talent getting a shot, and it's not like Matt Hardy is HHH, he's had the belt for quite some time, so I think everyone felt a change was due. (maybe overdue).

 

[klunderbunker]

I like it. We had three face champions going into last night and something had to be changed. While it's possible that could all change in less than two weeks, total face dominance rarely if ever works. Swagger with the title is perfect as it allows Matt to graduate to SD after having had a run with a title and gives him more credibility to feud with the likes of Edge and Christian in big matches. I'm not saying he'll be WWE Champion in a month, but it's an upgrade. As for Swagger, he seems like a great choice for the belt. He's arrogant as hell, has the name, the moves, everything that you could want as a heel champion. Great choice, not sure if there could have been a better one.

 

[mauihaole69]

I'm really surprised how things went down on ECW. I'm not surprised that Matt lost the belt, as that was likely coming so that he could head to SD. The ECW title was more to see if he could be a strong and credible champion, which I believe he proved. I'm more surprised about who he lost to and when. After the last PPV, it seemed like they were going to give Kozlov a shot at the title. However, after that PPV, Kozlov pretty much disappeared. And then all of a sudden, Swagger gets a title shot on TV (not surprising considering he's been asking for one for weeks) and WINS. I would have expected this match to end in a DQ or something so that they could drag it on to the RR and have the title change hands there. Its just a little surprising considering the short time he has been on TV. I'm not 100% certain but I don't believe Swagger has even been in a PPV match up to this point and he already has the title thrown on him. I agree that it was about time for a change, I just think Kozlov would have been a more suitable champion at this point.

 

[chidodger]

I'm just glad it wasn't Mark Henry or Chavo. I'd LOVE to see The Miz and Morrison start a fued with Swagger(with Swagger as the heel and miz/morrison as a kind of DX-like). I origionally thought it would be Ricky Ortiz getting the big "new talent push" when he first got on TV a few months ago, but I agree that he's a little dull in the ring, and Swagger has looked far better so far in the ring. I'm guessing swagger over hardy in the rematch, then maybe Swagger fueding with Finlay or Ortiz while Dreamer fueds with Mark Henry, or possibly paul burchill, and the eventual outcome of all of it will be wrestlemania with Dreamer vs. Swagger with the ECW Belt as well as Dreamers career on the line. ALSO, if memory serves me correctly, I remember reading a while back (I think on wrestlezone) that Shane McMahon actually wanted to make Dreamer the ECW GM back when Teddy long was given the job, but WWE decided to hold off on that angle until Dreamer was officially done in the ring. All in all, I think making Swagger a much hated champion will make a surging Tommy Dreamer the star of ECW once again, and after that, Dreamer as the GM of ECW would give me another reason to watch each week.
ALSO-Who likes a Tommy Dreamer Royal Rumble win where he picks the ECW belt at Wrestlemania? Hey, it's better than Rey Mysterio or John Cena winning it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's an odd time for somebody like Jack Swagger to get the ECW title. You'd assume it would be defended on the biggest show of the year. But the fact is that Jack Swagger isn't a WrestleMania necessity. If he's not on the show people wouldn't notice, and to leave the belt off the show would make ECW look even more inferior than usual.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

It's an odd time for somebody like Jack Swagger to get the ECW title. You'd assume it would be defended on the biggest show of the year. But the fact is that Jack Swagger isn't a WrestleMania necessity. If he's not on the show people wouldn't notice, and to leave the belt off the show would make ECW look even more inferior than usual.

I think you're under-crediting the overall fan appeal that is becoming Jack Swagger. He's currently the most attractive thing within the E.C.W. brand, and he's become the top heel to boot.

While he's still a very big rookie, the fact is so was Brock Lesnar when he went on a tear and became the W.W.E. Champion over The Rock. Who did Lesnar defeat leading up to that Championship victory? Al Snow? The Hardys? The King of the Ring tournament. Shit, he barely defeated Rob Van Dam a month prior to winning the title.

Jack Swagger has done nothing different than Brock Lesnar, with exception to not winning some type of "major" tournament and not hiring a manager to be his mouth piece.

I think the W.W.E. made the right decision here. Matt Hardy was (at present time) the best face they could've gotten off that brand to hold the title, yet he lacked what it truly took to lead into WrestleMania wearing the title. Hardy is more of a Money in the Bank-er. Swagger's future is still unwritten, and he has the ability to make you remember him within the next few monthes. I honestly believe if anyone is going to save this Brand, it's Swagger.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I think you're under-crediting the overall fan appeal that is becoming Jack Swagger. He's currently the most attractive thing within the E.C.W. brand, and he's become the top heel to boot.

While he's still a very big rookie, the fact is so was Brock Lesnar when he went on a tear and became the W.W.E. Champion over The Rock. Who did Lesnar defeat leading up to that Championship victory? Al Snow? The Hardys? The King of the Ring tournament. Shit, he barely defeated Rob Van Dam a month prior to winning the title.

Jack Swagger has done nothing different than Brock Lesnar, with exception to not winning some type of "major" tournament and not hiring a manager to be his mouth piece.

I think the W.W.E. made the right decision here. Matt Hardy was (at present time) the best face they could've gotten off that brand to hold the title, yet he lacked what it truly took to lead into WrestleMania wearing the title. Hardy is more of a Money in the Bank-er. Swagger's future is still unwritten, and he has the ability to make you remember him within the next few monthes. I honestly believe if anyone is going to save this Brand, it's Swagger.

You are joking Will? Now I haven't seen much of Swagger, and I'm sure he's over and is getting a solid push. But Lesnar got more than that. Swagger is on the third brand, while Lesnar was on the number 1 brand.

There pushes are totally different. They were always going to make Lesnar into a star, it was obvious from the beginning. Most people had heard of him even before he'd made his debut.

Swagger at this moment is of the same stature as somebody like The Miz, Morrison, Finaly. He's there to make up numbers in the Rumble, fill a spot in an Elimination Chamber/MITB match. He's not somebody who has to get on a PPV, if he's on then fine. But he's not missed if he's not involved. Certainly not yet.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

You are joking Will? Now I haven't seen much of Swagger, and I'm sure he's over and is getting a solid push. But Lesnar got more than that. Swagger is on the third brand, while Lesnar was on the number 1 brand.

There pushes are totally different. They were always going to make Lesnar into a star, it was obvious from the beginning. Most people had heard of him even before he'd made his debut.

In several ways, their pushes are the same though. Both were undefeated going into the Main Event picture for their division. While Lesnar was heading up the charts of a vastly more improved and important roster, Swagger is still being thrust up the roster of E.C.W.. and remaining undefeated, doing it.

The new underlining story right now isn't exactly when, but instead "who" is going to defeat Jack Swagger to be the first to beat him.. because in all likelyhood, whomever does it, will become the next Champion.

Swagger at this moment is of the same stature as somebody like The Miz, Morrison, Finaly. He's there to make up numbers in the Rumble, fill a spot in an Elimination Chamber/MITB match. He's not somebody who has to get on a PPV, if he's on then fine. But he's not missed if he's not involved. Certainly not yet.

But haven't you even said yourself that if the company wants the E.C.W. brand to become anything, they need to start having the title defended on Pay per view? And that they need to start focusing on their top talent, or more importantly whomever they wish to be the top stars of the brand?

So why wouldn't Jack Swagger suddenly become "The Next Big Thing" for E.C.W.? It's entirely possible, especially with the lack-luster roster that they have now.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

In several ways, their pushes are the same though. Both were undefeated going into the Main Event picture for their division. While Lesnar was heading up the charts of a vastly more improved and important roster, Swagger is still being thrust up the roster of E.C.W.. and remaining undefeated, doing it.

Right, but Lesnar was going over the super over Hardys in handicap matches, super over RVD & Uber over Rock. Swagger has beat Matt Hardy & a couple of others.

Kozlov's push resembles Lesnars more, and his push is wank.

The new underlining story right now isn't exactly when, but instead "who" is going to defeat Jack Swagger to be the first to beat him.. because in all likelyhood, whomever does it, will become the next Champion.

Well, he lost on Smackdown this week.

But haven't you even said yourself that if the company wants the E.C.W. brand to become anything, they need to start having the title defended on Pay per view? And that they need to start focusing on their top talent, or more importantly whomever they wish to be the top stars of the brand?

I'm on about Swagger before last Tuesday. Now as the champion he needs to be on PPV. But before then he wasn't a necessity.

So why wouldn't Jack Swagger suddenly become "The Next Big Thing" for E.C.W.? It's entirely possible, especially with the lack-luster roster that they have now.

As a Punk detractor I thought you'd know that being the next big thing for ECW doesn't mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Right, but Lesnar was going over the super over Hardys in handicap matches, super over RVD & Uber over Rock. Swagger has beat Matt Hardy & a couple of others.

Again, it's not 100% comparable, it's more like a fraction. Lesnar was being groomed to become the new leader of the overall company. Swagger is being groomed to become the new leader of a defunked third Brand, that's all but been lost for dead since 2001.

Swagger has done everything Lesnar would've, if they were to be compared. Swagger defeated Finlay, who was the brawler of the Brand. He defeated Tommy Dreamer in a feud that ended in a Hardcore match. He defeated the only other (at that time) undefeated Wrestler considered for a title shot, in Ricky Ortiz.. then he defeated Matt Hardy, convincingly.

Kozlov's push resembles Lesnars more, and his push is wank.

I certainly hope not. Because if that were true, then you unofficially just called Lesnar push.. boring, and uneasy to watch.

Swagger is already more interesting and entertaining than Kozlov, for a multitude of reasons.. none bigger than he isn't squashing jobbers for 3-4 monthes straight, only to be thrust into a title shot on a major Pay per view and bore the hell out of everyone.

Swagger is riding the proverbial "wave of momentum". He's defeated everyone in his path, without wasting time going through jobber after jobber for longer than he needed to. He's capitalized on his first-ever Heavyweight title opportunity, and hopefully he'll become a worthy (if not thus far best) Champion that Brand's had.

Well, he lost on Smackdown this week.

You're shitting me? In a single's match? If he lost 3 days later, in a single's match.. directly after winning the E.C.W. Championship then that's completely fucking ******ed.

I don't get Smackdown. Who beat him?

I'm on about Swagger before last Tuesday. Now as the champion he needs to be on PPV. But before then he wasn't a necessity.

So we're in agreement that as of now, since he IS the Champion.. he needs to become an important individual, in helping to attempt making the brand succeed.

As a Punk detractor I thought you'd know that being the next big thing for ECW doesn't mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't want Jack Swagger to leave E.C.W. I never once said anything about wanting Swagger to leave the 3rd tier brand. He's great for E.C.W., because it's a brand for rookies. And in all honesty, Swagger is leaps and bounds above every rookie, and even some Superstars that have a couple years on them.

But Swagger shouldn't be thinking about jumping to another Brand, because he's definately NOT ready for the challenge of guys like Triple H., Shawn Michaels, John Cena, or The Undertaker.

I want him becoming the proper face of Extreme. Well, as "extreme" as the W.W.E. gets these days. Nothing more, not for a while anyways. (like say, a year or two.) If Swagger dominately carries the E.C.W. Brand for over a solid year, he might be capable of a mid-card division title on one of the other brands..

And by carries, I don't mean holds the title for a solid year, I mean stays in the Main picture of the brand. (ie. contender, defender, or overall main storyline focus)

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Again, it's not 100% comparable, it's more like a fraction. Lesnar was being groomed to become the new leader of the overall company. Swagger is being groomed to become the new leader of a defunked third Brand, that's all but been lost for dead since 2001.

Lesnar was being groomed to lead the company. Swagger is leading ECW now. His future is uncertain, just the same as everyone else who's headlined that brand. If Matt Hardy wasn't going to play a large part in the Jeff Hardy/Christian angle then he'd probably still have the belt.

Swagger has done everything Lesnar would've, if they were to be compared. Swagger defeated Finlay, who was the brawler of the Brand. He defeated Tommy Dreamer in a feud that ended in a Hardcore match. He defeated the only other (at that time) undefeated Wrestler considered for a title shot, in Ricky Ortiz.. then he defeated Matt Hardy, convincingly.

Everybody beats Dreamer & Finlay. Ricky Ortiz? What has he done lately.

Hardyz > Dreamer
RVD > Finlay
The Rock > Matt Hardy

Even Test > Ricky Ortiz.

Lesnar went over bigger names, and was just as dominant in the process.

I certainly hope not. Because if that were true, then you unofficially just called Lesnar push.. boring, and uneasy to watch.

I was refering to the fact that Lesnar was allowed to hand with and beat bigger stars.

Swagger is already more interesting and entertaining than Kozlov, for a multitude of reasons.. none bigger than he isn't squashing jobbers for 3-4 monthes straight, only to be thrust into a title shot on a major Pay per view and bore the hell out of everyone.

I don't doubt it. But Kozlov would still make a better ECW champion. Neither is likely to beat Triple H, Jeff Hardy or Edge for the WWE Championship. But if one did, which would be accepted more?

You're shitting me? In a single's match? If he lost 3 days later, in a single's match.. directly after winning the E.C.W. Championship then that's completely fucking ******ed.

I don't get Smackdown. Who beat him?

Tag match. Finlay & Matt Hardy vs. him & Mark Henry. I'm sure it was Swagger he got pinned.

So we're in agreement that as of now, since he IS the Champion.. he needs to become an important individual, in helping to attempt making the brand succeed.

Certainly. If WWE have decided to put him in this position at this time of year it proves they've got real plans for him. But it's still the wrong time. If he's going to fail he's going to do it in front of more viewers as WWE is more popular from January to April. But on the flip side if he's a success there's no better time for him to prove it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't want Jack Swagger to leave E.C.W. I never once said anything about wanting Swagger to leave the 3rd tier brand. He's great for E.C.W., because it's a brand for rookies. And in all honesty, Swagger is leaps and bounds above every rookie, and even some Superstars that have a couple years on them.

He won't be there forever. And the draft often moves people before they're ready.

But Swagger shouldn't be thinking about jumping to another Brand, because he's definately NOT ready for the challenge of guys like Triple H., Shawn Michaels, John Cena, or The Undertaker.

Exactly, which is similar to what happened with Punk.

 

[psykohurricane]

My thought on Jack Swagger being ECW champion is pretty simple, transitional champion. Jack won the title last tuesday because they wanted him to stay undefeated but is first match after is big win, he gets pin by Matt hardy. Sure it was a tag match but Mark Henry could have been the won to lose the match for is team instead of Jack. Now Jack Swagger will defended the ECW title at the royal rumble against MAtt HArdy, i wouldn'T be surprise to see a title change in this match because sure the Jack got great star power but everytime he opens is mouth he practically ruin is persona just by talking. The guy makes Bobby LAshley look like a good promo guy.

In the end Jack Swagger is just another one of those bland rookies that comes out of FCW and after a couple of boring matches, he probably will dissapear like pretty much everybody that came out of the ECW superstar initiative.

 

[chidodger]

Swagger will keep the belt until wrestlemania, when Tommy Dreamer will once again become ECW champion. Soon after will be the draft, where Swagger will be heading to either Raw or Smackdown. Also in the draft, I can see Umaga and possibly MVP heading to ECW. I also think Matt Hardy will be heading back to Raw or Smackdown as well.

 

[Crush1]

I'm really excited about Jack Swaggers run as the new ECW Champion. This guy has it all to carry the brand. He can also feud with anyone of the roster wether it be heel or face. I think Swagger is the perfect guy to bring honor and prestige to the ECW (Midcard) belt. So better tune into ECW to find more about this young new superstar.

 

[wolfpack22]

Simply put Tommy Dreamer should be the ECW champion. I mean he is he only ECW Original left and he always and I mean always jobs to ANYONE. Without a doubt Dreamer has eaarned enough respect to be the next ECW Champion.