Which ECW original had the best chance to make it big?

[CCS]

By making it big I mean being a world champion in WWF or WCW. I really think that there was a lot of talent in the original ECW. So for the sake of a good argument PLEASE DO NOT SAY ROB VAN DAM



I'm going to go with Raven. If you watch any of his ECW stuff you'll see that he was great. He had a great look, a great gimmick, and he had great feuds with every wrestler he ever worked with. I think that if he was brought into WCW or with his ECW gimmick it could have done wonders for the company. Just imagine Ravens weird cult like character in WCW feuding with some of the all time greats. He had the wrestling ability to put on good matches with just about anyone, and more importantly he had a great mind for coming up with entertaining television. He was behind some of the most memorable moments in ECW and I really think he could have created some of those great moments in WCW or WWF. In his prime I think Raven was easily good enough to be a mainevent star in one of the big two companys.

 

[Jane]

I for one really liked Sabu. I don't know why, but he always struck me as a good wrestler. I think it would of been good for him to make it big outside of ECW. I didn't really watch alot of the original ECW, so I don't know alot of guys, but for his stint in the WWE, I liked him. I'm not entirely sure about his personal life... was he kinda like Sandman, aka not a very, uhh, reliable guy? No idea. I just wish he would have gotten his chance. The problem with him was he was an extreme guy, and I think we all know their is no room for extreme in the WWE. Oh well, I think he's pretty much done, so we'll never know. Just wish he woulda stuck around a bit longer.

 

[klunderbunker]

I would say either Credible or Awesome. Both men had cheesy yet cool ring names and were good to decent on the mic. Awesome was what, 6'7 and could fly fairly well. Credible had a good look and could wrestle pretty well in the ring. Neither were going to be main eventing a big show or anything, but Awesome could have been an excellent monster heel and Credible could have been a solid cocky heel. A smaller guy doing a big man's move like the tombstone is always fun to see, so why not? Neither would have been locks but I'd think they were better suited than most on the roster.

 

[Crush1]

I agree with Klunderbunker to go with Justin Credible. This guy was really good back in the old days of ECW. He knew how to wrestle and cut promo's and most importantly he knew how to entertain. I always felt that Crebible was one of the better guys of the ECW roster back in the old school days. Too bad when he came back things didn't work out for him and he kinda stayed under the radar. Even though he was with other promotions I felt that he didn't have the level he used to have at ECW.

 

[Father:_Polley]

Raven was given the most chances so by definition it could easily be him. However I'm assuming the thread starter meant which Original failed to live up to their potential, and for that I'm going with Awesome.

ECW legend, to fat girl thriller and That 70s Guy, to Invasion starter... he sorta went downhill a little and I don't think that was overly fair on the guy. All you have to do it watch the match against Tanaka (I think that's right) at ONS and you could see he still had what it took. From memory, didn't Foley describe that match as him 'redeeming' himself from the tarnished career he had post ECW.

I'm going to be controversial and say Raven wasn't good enough. Now, I watch you all sit back and gasp at this. 'But he was a psychological genius, he, but, but'. Big deal, Raven's gimmick was the same over and over and over and over again. Act creepy, brainwash a load of mid-card and use them as your army, fight with one of them, change company and repeat. A trained chimp could have done it as well.
He was good, but he's not the god he's made out to be. If he was so good, he'd have made it to a decent spot outside ECW... but he didn't.

Now, you'll say neither did Awesome so your argument is invalid. Awesome was doing something different and they were awful gimmicks. Raven was doing the same thing that apparently made him amazing in ECW, so it's not the same.

 

[NSL]

I would say either Credible or Awesome. Both men had cheesy yet cool ring names and were good to decent on the mic. Awesome was what, 6'7 and could fly fairly well. Credible had a good look and could wrestle pretty well in the ring. Neither were going to be main eventing a big show or anything, but Awesome could have been an excellent monster heel and Credible could have been a solid cocky heel. A smaller guy doing a big man's move like the tombstone is always fun to see, so why not? Neither would have been locks but I'd think they were better suited than most on the roster.

I agree with your assessment of Credible, but I don't agree that he had a chance at succeeding in the new ECW, unless they kept him the same as he was in the original company. He had been with the WWE before, and never did anything noteworthy. If they kept him as "Justin Credible", and even paired him with Storm as the Impact Players, it would work. He was always one of my favorite guys to hate in ECW.

As far as who I'll add to the discussion, I'll ignore the ones that had success in WWE. Rob Van Dam, Raven (and his many WWF gimmicks), Mick Foley, Al Snow, Rey, Jericho, and many others, are all out. I'll even leave out Sandman and Tommy Dreamer, as they all had/have a long run in the WWE, and did nothing with it (Dreamer's angle hasn;t run it's course, so let's leave it out).

I'm saying that Mikey Whipwreck would have the best shot at succeeding in the new ECW. He was insanely over with the crowd in ECW, and could work great as a jobber, or as a champion. WWE tried this with Colin Delaney, and it fell flat on it's face. Anyone who watched at least a month of EC-Dub, knew exactly what they were doing. Whipwreck had "it" to succeed. He was much better in the ring than a lot of people I know gave him credit for, and people loved to work with him in the ring. Yeah, his finisher would need tweaking (the Whippersnapper was just a cool Stunner), but he had enough of a quality offense to pick something else as his finisher.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I can't honestly believe people have begun talking in this thread, and haven't yet brought up arguably the best technical Wrestler to ever enter into E.C.W. and make a name for himself.

Lance Storm: Here is an individual that if W.C.W. would've been around a year longer.. he would've become their Heavyweight Champion. I'm sure of it. He was a Television Champion and Tag Team Champion in E.C.W., he was apart of Triple Threat, and he was also apart of the dying breed of E.C.W. stars, as one-half of the Impact Players.

Lance Storm had everything. He had the talent to show off inside the ring, and the skills to be a decent heel on the microphone. The only reason Lance Storm got a bad rep. in W.W.E. in my opinion was because Steve Austin helped push the gimmick of him being "boring". Which if anything, was complete bullshit.

Storm was incredible in W.C.W. as a heel. He had the Canadian gimmick down to a "Tee" and was the second greatest Canadian, next to Bret Hart to ever get such a Country's following. He also won practically ever Championship there was to win in W.C.W., all within a single month. You wanna talk about amazing. You need to discuss Lance Storm.

In the W.W.E.'s E.C.W. he would've been that much greater. Storm was never a great flux wrestler for being involved in the "extreme" part of the original company, but he was definately right up the alley (so to speak) for the W.W.E.'s wrestling talent over anything else, brand.

 

[NSL]

Hailing from "Calgary...Alberta...Canada..." was the only non-boring thing Storm ever did. I agree he was a great wrestler, and did everything there was to do in ECW and WCW, but I don't think he would've ever worked in WWE. He didn't need anyone to push the "boring angle". He had it already.

He failed in WWE, for the same reason Credible did. He wasn't himself. He was able to keep the gimmick, and not change his promos, but whatever it was that made him excel in the other companies, wasn't there. I'd say lack of charisma, but that sure as hell wasn't a problem everywhere else.

He was a great wrestler, and should have succeeded, especially if they used the Impact Players, but he didn't, and doesn't stand a chance.

 

[Mr. TM]

Mike Awesome- The guy had some great talent, and was pretty good overall as a performer. He did have little success outside of the ECW, but he should have been a lot better than what he was. If anything, he could have joined the WWE in the Attitude Era and put on a good feud with a few of the midcarders of the time. Even when ECW reformed, he could have joined up as an ECW original.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Hailing from "Calgary...Alberta...Canada..." was the only non-boring thing Storm ever did.

From a small point of view, sure. But the fact is he was apart of major angles and storylines, that allowed him to be anything but boring.

Impact Players = not boring.
Triple Threat = not boring.
Team Canada = not boring.
Feuds w/ Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn, Chris Candido, Mike Awesome, and several others = not boring.

In the W.W.E., Lance Storm was apart of one of the biggest heel groups of the early 2000's. The UN-Americans were HUGE, and that was a large part due to Lance Storm being one half of the two beginning that group.

I agree he was a great wrestler, and did everything there was to do in ECW and WCW, but I don't think he would've ever worked in WWE.

If they simply would've let him do what he got over by doing, he would've been huge. Lance Storm was very similar to Bret Hart, only a better heel than a face. Storm as a Team Canada leader could've been huge on W.W.E., and the closest they got was the Un-Americans. Which ended once Test and Christian had issues with cutting their hair. (Not Storm's fault)

He didn't need anyone to push the "boring angle". He had it already.

Only because W.W.E. fans are the worst type of fans known to Wrestling. They only care about gimmicks, more than actual talent.

Lance Storm truly had both, but because he had plain red tights, and nothing flashy about him.. "boring" chants got started. Oddly enough, it was this very same thing that re-got Lance Storm over, after Austin backed him and he turned face. But in doing so.. Storm killed himself, because he accepted people's opinions of him being "Boring".

He failed in WWE, for the same reason Credible did. He wasn't himself.

That's just it. Justin Credible wasn't the E.C.W. character he was, because Vince McMahon doesn't like pushing talent that made a name for themselves elsewhere.

Credible was Aldo Montoya (sp) in the W.W.F. He literally went from wearing a jock on his head.. to becoming a credible Heavyweight Champion, in one of E.C.W's last crowning achievements.

Lance Storm, on the other hand, failed because he wasn't ever pushed for being a true Canadian. (outside of one slight storyline, that WORKED)

He was able to keep the gimmick, and not change his promos, but whatever it was that made him excel in the other companies, wasn't there.

That "thing" that he didn't have in W.W.E., that made him excel in the other companies.. is properly called "the W.W.E.'s glass ceiling". Storm wasn't a McMahon original. Thus, why put him over all your original names?

I'd say lack of charisma, but that sure as hell wasn't a problem everywhere else.

Likely because he never had a lack of charisma problem. He just had to intentionally bury it. You can't tell me that if he could've been the heel he was becoming in W.C.W., in W.W.E. or especially the new E.C.W., that he wouldn't of gotten over.

He was a top attraction in W.C.W. toward the end.

He was a great wrestler, and should have succeeded, especially if they used the Impact Players, but he didn't, and doesn't stand a chance.

Ultimately, not even as a Tag Team would the Impact Players of made it in the W.W.E.. because the Impact Players were extreme and on a whole other level than the W.W.E. attitude era could even attempt matching.

Storm could've been huge if he was just allowed to keep the "I'm Canadian and thus better than you" gimmick.

 

[Mr. Slave]

Justin Credable. I think the man was suppose to win the ECW title again, but forced WWE to fire him, I personally think he's alright. I don't really think anyone else is as good as Credable, other than Lance Storm.

 

[RVDgurl]

Shane Douglas. Shane was the total package. He had a good look, great mic skills and was solid as a rock in the ring. In my opinion, Shane was the best heel ever in this business. The downside to Shane is that he couldn't keep his big mouth shut. Both WCW and the WWE signed this guy multiple times, but Shane was responsible for the death of his own career. Shane has a well documented hatred for Ric Flair and Vince McMahon. Had he been able to keep his opinions to himself, I believe that Shane Douglas would have been HUGE during the Monday Night Wars. He would have been an important member of the NWO or DX in the mid '90's.

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

While there was alot of good talent in the old ECW. RVD was hands down the most marketable of them all but for the sake of arguement Im going to go with TAZZ.

Eventhough the guy was small he could flat out wrestle and he cut some of the best promos the company had to offer at the time. If it wern't for injuries i could see him as WWE champion way before edge, jeff hardy, john cena ect.

Consider the fact that the guy was SOOO over when he got to WWE. he had the crowd in the palm of his hand and was the 1st person to beat Kurt Angle it couldnt've gotten any better for TAZZ at the beginning but WWE dropped the ball.

Had he had a better push and non career ending injuries I think TAZZ could've been the best thing to come out of ECW

 

[Original Sin]

Shane Douglas. Shane was the total package. He had a good look, great mic skills and was solid as a rock in the ring. In my opinion, Shane was the best heel ever in this business. The downside to Shane is that he couldn't keep his big mouth shut. Both WCW and the WWE signed this guy multiple times, but Shane was responsible for the death of his own career. Shane has a well documented hatred for Ric Flair and Vince McMahon. Had he been able to keep his opinions to himself, I believe that Shane Douglas would have been HUGE during the Monday Night Wars. He would have been an important member of the NWO or DX in the mid '90's.

Shane Douglas was my first pick as well. Its a shame his mouth brought him down. I still enjoyed him as a backstage announcer in TNA though.

 

[Azamuth]

A lot of ECW wrestlers had talent and I think either Shane Douglas, or Jerry Lynn could have been big. I do think guys like Chris Candido, Lance Storm, Taz and a few others could have made it but I just don't know how Vince would have used/destroyed them.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

I'm going to go with RVD. I believe he was the most marketable and had the best chance to go all the way to the top. I don't know what happened with his booking later down the road, but the man was phenomenal, long before there was an AJ Styles...

He could carry a crowd, carry a match, and awe anybody who watched him wrestle. I think there was a lot of wasted potential in RVD. I blame booking for dropping the ball with him...

 

[Age of Orton]

Sandman I always thought could of done something WWE's version of ECW.. once he was drafted to RAW it's was more the gimmick then his talent.. in general Van Dam is/was the only one who had that unique feel to him all the others didn't have the right look.. Raven had the talent but not the look.. check his wwf run multi time Hardcore Champion.. I always thought he could of went for IC Belt at best with his look back in 2000/2001

 

[Frank White]

While there was alot of good talent in the old ECW. RVD was hands down the most marketable of them all but for the sake of arguement Im going to go with TAZZ.

Eventhough the guy was small he could flat out wrestle and he cut some of the best promos the company had to offer at the time. If it wern't for injuries i could see him as WWE champion way before edge, jeff hardy, john cena ect.

Consider the fact that the guy was SOOO over when he got to WWE. he had the crowd in the palm of his hand and was the 1st person to beat Kurt Angle it couldnt've gotten any better for TAZZ at the beginning but WWE dropped the ball.

Had he had a better push and non career ending injuries I think TAZZ could've been the best thing to come out of ECW

Thank You. besides the likes of RVD, Tazz was it. Short but stocky, the human suplex machine and the rear naked choke. sound familar? TNA turned samoa joe into a boring version of Tazz.

I will also go on a limb and say Bubba ray Dudley, laugh all u want but think about all the skills. i believe if he wasnt as husky hed of been a contender

OG ECW had many greats come through the door. They Gave Mick Foley the mic ( and he cut some of the best promos in history) before that he was jobbing onsaturday might and winning tag titles wit fucking maxx payne. ECW jump started Ms Foleys little boys career. Sound familar? yeah Steve Austin did the same.

To the OG point

Shane Douglas was flat out boring in the ring, from WCW were he teamed with Steamboat to the WWE were he followed around leaping lenny poffo aka macho mans brother aka the genius aka the first guy i ever seen damien crawl on lol. ECW tried to make Shane into a champ cause his face was well know he had beef with Flair and dubcdub thats it. point blank end of story. Even if shane kept his mouth shut and blew flair and vince 5 times a day he would of never worn the strap in either company. think of the time frame were he was i his so called prime. theres no way he'd of made shit but a transistional mid card type IC or tag champ. case in point he held the ic title for all of 10 minutes WOW

Sandman wasnt a wrestler he was an entertainer simply for his entrance an kendo stick as soon as stone cold cracked his first beer Sandman became a cheap version of him even though Sandman had the gimmick first

Sabu is an amazing performer but in no way would he ever of won a title for one hes not the smartest business man and for 2 people enjoy him simply for hsi gimmick matchs cause flat out dudes crazy as shit. Sabu is a guy u can put in a no rope barbwire match once a year and sell out an arena what good is that hes a as flair would say glorified stunt man or one trick pony

Justin Credible?? wow dude was a cruiserweight who never bulked up like Eddie Chris Rey Rey etc etc. he sucked in wwf even though his OG gimmick was horrid, but if he turned some heads he could of gotten repacked. point blank JC was awesome for OG ECW and i respect him in that environment to the fullest and would love to see him stop cooking at the olive garden in Jersey and wrestle again on the ecw brand but hell never win a big strap

Awesome was just that, he had a following in japan and instant credibility in ecw. shit i remember when him and tanaka dismantled taz in seconds Joey Styles commentary was priceless. But he went to the wrong company. Vince loves his style big strong can fly, Bischoff brought him in had a program with Nash then destroyed his career. IF AWESOME WENT TO WWE HE MAY HAVE CHALLENGED FOR THE STRAP AND WON

Poor Lance Storm he had more ability in his finger than most the guys that ever walked through ECWs doors. JC and he made a good team but he wasnt marketable IMO, now if i were WCW or WWE I personally would have put the IC/US strap on him (cause we all know the person that holds that belt is suppose to be the best technical dude) sent him to acting classes and worked on his character promo skills. Vince took the high road and played off what he was already good at and thats being boring. We see were that got him

Did someone seriouslly say Mickey Whipwreck? WOOOOOOW dont get me wrong dude could take a beating but thats about it im still laughing sorry Mickey i was a fan and was sad when u thought PE was going to kill u but a premium champ????? nah

 

[pyrusane]

For pete's sake people, read the parameters of the thread before you post!

Here, I will put it here for you again, just to make it easy.

By making it big I mean being a world champion in WWF or WCW. I really think that there was a lot of talent in the original ECW. So for the sake of a good argument PLEASE DO NOT SAY ROB VAN DAM

PLEASE DO NOT SAY ROB VAN DAM

Besides, its hard to say he didn't make it big since CCS defined that as winning a world title and RVD beat John Cena for the title at ONS. Remember, this was the very angle they used to start the current version of ECW.

I'm going to go with Raven. If you watch any of his ECW stuff you'll see that he was great. He had a great look, a great gimmick, and he had great feuds with every wrestler he ever worked with. I think that if he was brought into WCW or with his ECW gimmick it could have done wonders for the company. Just imagine Ravens weird cult like character in WCW feuding with some of the all time greats. He had the wrestling ability to put on good matches with just about anyone, and more importantly he had a great mind for coming up with entertaining television. He was behind some of the most memorable moments in ECW and I really think he could have created some of those great moments in WCW or WWF. In his prime I think Raven was easily good enough to be a mainevent star in one of the big two companys.

Raven had pretty much the exact same gimmick in WCW. Remember the Flock? Pretty much got ruined around the time they all got jobbed out to Goldberg.

I for one really liked Sabu. I don't know why, but he always struck me as a good wrestler.

Sabu was pure crap. He did a lot of crazy stuff, and sure he put his body on the line, but he was as dangerous to himself as he was to his opponent. The man couldn't have a decent match that didn't involve a table or a chair.

Personally, my pick would be Dean Malenko. The man was pure excellence in the ring, was an innovator like no other, and was only one good push away from the main event.

 

[Ryanhitman316]

What about Lance Storm? he is almost similar to Jericho

 

[simon.singers]

rob van dam for sure he was the greatest ecw star of all time go RVD

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Oh man. If he wouldnt have been saddled with insanely ******ed gimmicks. Mike Awesome could have been an Impact Player. He had a great look. Decent in ring skills, and decent mic skills. He needed a little push to become excellent though. But if saddled with the right person he could have gone far. He just needed a push in the right direction.

 

[Starchild]

Well they've all been stated, but three stand out to me.

Raven obviously had probably more shots than anyone that didn't get over in the other companies. Now this could be attributed to his character being altered and making his look and gimmick a bit too strange. Had he used the same one he did in ECW it could have worked. There weren't too many guys around that time that were playing the mind games card and he did it as good as anyone, so had he been pushed, he could have gotten over at least into the midcard picture.

Taz was a great wrestler in his heyday and one of the first guys I think of when thinking of the original ECW. It seemed he was going to get a shot as he was being pushed when he first came to WWE. Unfortunately injuries, and changes in his gimmick, etc. didn't allow him to develop too much in WWE and show what he could do against the top guys so he was put in the hardcore division before retiring and getting behind the announcer's table.

"The Franchise" Shane Douglas in my opinion had the best shot. How he was not a world champion in WCW or WWE is beyond me. He had a great look, great mic skills, solid in the ring, and I absolutely loved his gimmick. He was the poster boy of ECW in the beginning and had later success as well after his return. He did have brief runs with the midcard titles in the other promotions and it appeared he was headed for success in WCW with the Revolution stable before the rest of them left for WWE...but he never did hit the big time anywhere else. Had he gone to WWE after WCW and been allowed to use the Franchise gimmick in I think he might have flourished.