ECW is the real "A" Show

[Suneeboy]

I don't mean in terms of talent, marketing, production, and focus by the WWE. Of course we know RAW is A, Smackdown is B, and ECW is C in the WWE.

Now when it comes to heart, energy, determination, and the pure drive to entertain the crowd and keep things fresh and interesting, ECW is hands down #1 in my book across the board in all aspects. I enjoy ECW more than Smackdown or RAW every week. Let me tell you why this is the real "A" Show.

1. Youth & Development: Many of the younger stars are in ECW and they have a fire lit under them that pushes them to want to improve and be the best. Therefore every week in the ring they are giving it 110% in everything they do. ECW is more fun to watch, just like College Sports is more fun to watch then pro sports for many many people.

2. Matches: In ECW, Tyson Kidd can get a 15 minute match so that he can show off his ring psychology and his move set. On Smackdown or RAW he would get 5 minutes because Santino needs to say some corny jokes, or Edge or Jericho would have to cut 5-10 minute promos. The matches on ECW are always good to watch, even the squashes, because they showcase the talent and give everyone a chance to show what they can do.

Did anyone see Tyson Kidd vs. Christian or Paul Burchill vs. Dreamer this past week? Now of COURSE they are not WM Headline matches or MOTY candidates but they are GREAT for what they are, because I got to see Burchill and Kidd like I haven't seen them before, and they did a damn good job.

3. Announce Team: Striker is hands down the best color analyst in the WWE. Josh Matthews is better than Grisham who is a tool and is worse than Michael Cole who is a tool, so that makes Josh Matthews the best PBP guy in the WWE (JR does color on SD! doesn't he? If he doesn't the Matthews is 2nd best).

4. They are the future: Many of the future main eventers who we are predicting to rise came from ECW, which has become a nice developmental show. Since the "new" ECW came into play they've given us The Miz, Morrison, CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston (I know he was on the other shows before, but ECW gave him his swagger) and more are soon to follow.

5. Heart: These guys actually look like they care about not only their matches or segments, but the whole show. Everyone is giving it 100% every night that I see it. When guys are hungry for a promotion they go all out. No one half asses anything. No, not even Mark Henry who has had two pretty entertaining matches with Evan Bourne, starting a pretty good feud.

ECW is the "A" show because they have the formula that I think works. They don't have any of the random buffoonery going on that RAW and Smackdown! sometimes provide because its only an hour. Take the ECW formula, copy and paste it over RAW with RAW's top tier talent and ratings will skyrocket again. ECW is "C" talent wise, but it is the "A" show because it has all of the things that I am looking for in a wrestling show, and is giving me what Smackdown and RAW don't.

ECW is now my favorite brand of the 3.

 

[Mjolnir]

Great post. I find myself thining along these lines just about every week. It really goes to show how there are some preconcieved notions in the WWE. I am routinely disappointed by RAW (especially). I come into each Monday night with high hopes of something cool happening with Legacy, some kind of twist in the Main Event scene, etc... anything... and for the most part I am disappointed.

I come into Tuesday nights with low expectations, and get usually 2 out of 3 matches in the hour being some of the better matches of the week. There is usually one squash or run-in kind of deal, but just think what we might get if we could get rid of the RAW rewind! The fueds are pretty straight forward, the matches are usually well thought out, and I have to say that I have been pretty impressed as of late with the "c-show talent".

The Main Event scene is currently the best of the three shows, the Hart Dynasty faction has the potential to be a lot more interesting than Legacy, and there are a few good potential fueds with big guys like Koslov (still waiting for a fued) and Ezekiel (soon to debut, I hope), and technicians like Bourne, Kidd, even Finlay...

It seems to me that the WWE really makes the most of the hour format, as I have found Superstars to be quite good as well (especially in terms of the matches themselves)...

 

[klunderbunker]

I'd call it the B+ show, but to me Smackdown is higher up on the ladder. To me, the hour hurts it. There's more filler on SD, but sometimes that's a good thing. On ECW every match has a storyline or something like that around it. The problem with that is there's no chance to catch your breath with something pointless. It's a problem that plagues a lot of PPVs: you have all of the important matches at the end and the fans are burnt out. It's that issue on a smaller scale.

As for the talent, it's there but the big time superstars need to be there to carry the weight of the show. CHristian is a star, but not a mega star. That's what holds ECW down from being the A show in my eyes: it'ps virtually a midcard title at best in the grand scheme of things, so while it's interesting, it doesn't matter by comparison. It's a close second, but not #1.

 

[JerKash]

Of course ECW is the A show. I also agree with the college sports comparison...too bad ECW can't get that type of fan fare though. Look if the brand didn't have the ECW name...then it wouldn't get bashed. Its not ECW and everyone knows that so we need to stop comparing it to the original product. Look at the talent on the roster...Christian, Swagger(matches have been stellar as of late), The Hearts, The Burchills, Matt Striker(minus the nude photos this man is a genius), Finlay(one of the last remaining "old school" grapplers in WWE), Evan Bourne, Tommy Dreamer(I know not all people will agree but I enjoy his style and respect him for his dedication to the sport). So, the talent is very good and they have a hybrid of new and old talents which often has resulted in excellent matches such as Christian vs Swagger. If they only gave it a new name....

 

[RVDgurl]

I don't MyNetworkTV, so I can't really give an honest opinion on SD! (expect for I would really like to be able to watch it). Between RAW and ECW, I do prefer ECW on a more regular basis. It's more wrestling driven, which is always my preference. And I'm a huge fan of both Christian and Jack Swagger; other than Ted DiBiase, I can't say that there is really anyone on RAW that I get overly excited to watch.

In addition to the in ring talent, the ECW annouce team is really the wild card for me. Striker, in my opinion, is the best announcer out there. Period. He and Matthews have better chemistry than Lawler and Cole. They are simply more appealing to listen to.

 

[Blade]

ECW is a great show right now. Christian is doing a great job being the top guy there, and the young guys are putting on good matches. I think right now it is the B show though, it is nowhere near being the A show.

The fact that they're the future and they're so young is part of the reason why they're not the future. On SD, we've got guys in their prime, who do 9 times out of 10 put on better matches than you see on ECW. Albeit not all matches on SD are great, but as I said, 9 times out of 10 they are very good matches.
The young guys are good but looking at where they are now, they simply can't compete with Edge, Jericho, Punk etc.
If, as a hypothetical situation, in 2015, ECW had the same roster it has now then I would think it would be the A show. Christian putting over young guys while have great matches with them, Hart Legacy (or whatever it's called) in full force, Swagger hitting his prime... What I'm saying is, all the guys on ECW right now are gonna go on to have great careers. And I'm gonna be keeping a close eye on them. But as I said, they're not on the level of the SD wrestlers right now.