Lamenting the Death of the (Original) ECW

by Alfonso Colasuonno

Last night, instead of watching Smackdown and seeing more of the same old tired John Cena - Edge feud, I watched a couple of YouTube clips of the old ECW. One was of Shane Douglas during his feud with Brian Pillman (who never actually wrestled a match in ECW). The other was of Raven and Stevie Richards building up their feud with Luna Vachon and Tommy Dreamer. Stevie had a hilarious spot where he talked about Kevin Sullivan's height, Florida Championship Wrestling, and Beulah's fishy smell. It made me think that wrestling today needs a true alternative.

Why was ECW so successful as an alternative to the WWE and WCW? Because it didn't aim for a 14 and under audience. When was the WWE at its best? During the Attitude phase when Stone Cold and The Rock were the pinnacle of the company and edginess was not only allowed but encouraged. The promotion of John Cena has disneyfied the WWE. There is no extreme left. Furthermore, the storylines are tired. Randy Orton feuding with the McMahon brood. Edge and John Cena fighting for the 100th time. Chris Jericho wasting his talent in a feud with has-beens.

TNA? Well, I think the problem with TNA is when it does go on a limb and try to be edgy, it's done is such a piss poor way that it's laughable rather than credible. Samoa Joe threatening Scott Steiner with a hunting knife is a case in point. I don't know whether that whole Nation of Violence angle is disturbing or humorous in its absurdity. TNA tries at times, but the fact is that a large portion of their wrestlers are completely washed-up (i.e. Kevin Nash and Mick Foley would both be better served replacing the awful commentators on Impact rather than wrestling on it.)

Why was ECW so great before it was co-opted by the McMahons? Because it was a wrestling program designed for adults. The violence was extreme. The angles were edgy. The wrestlers gave it their all every night of the week. Where else could you see Raven and Tommy Dreamer nailing each other over their heads with frying pans on the same card as a Dean Malenko - Eddy Guerrero technical masterpiece. ECW was the best federation to ever grace a television set. Perhaps ROH, which has the best action I've ever seen, can step in to the role of ECW, but without a television presence, stars like Necro Butcher, Tyler Black, and Bryan Danielson won't become household names until they go to the big leagues. The fact is that wrestling fans are made as kids in most cases, but when they grow up, they require something a little bit different, a little bit more mature, to keep them enamored of their favorite sport. Here's hoping another alternative can arise.