With ECW's complete lack of presence at WM, and the Variety talk of it being rebranded, does anyone else get the feeling that the draft will see some major changes to Tuesday nights?
Given the on-off talk of a Diva special, i'm beginning to think that they're toying with moving all the women and turning it into an all Divas brand. I'd be cool with that. But would Sci-Fi?
With the way the show's already been reconfigured as a step between the developmental territory and the "real" shows RAW and Smackdown, rebranding at this point makes perfect sense. It's also not unreasonable to move the ECW guys off of the major PPVs, especially when you've got guys on the regular roster who could use the payday. Personally, as long as they don't tinker too much with the format of the show (three fairly long matches and one or two angle-building segments) and they keep bringing up interesting guys from development, I don't care what they do aesthetically.
I'm surprized that Jack Swagger has been all but absent from TV since the build up for Wrestlemania. Lord knows, I'd rather see his title up for grabs as well...though I'd be one to guess he may be in the pre-show dark match.
I know CRZ hates fantasy booking so i'll try not to so much. I think at this point they should let Tommy Dreamer win the ECW Title and then retire the brand. Re-launch the Sci-Fi (SyFi?) show with Divas matches from both brands and fill the rest with the stuff that is currently web content( the Dirt sheet, Santinos Casa, from the vault etc...)it would kind of be like the WWE's version on Maxim magazine on tv.
Source-wise, the rebranding was on the Observer and Powell's website a couple of weeks ago, and contained quotes from WWE regarding it. The rest is speculative, based on ECW's dropping visibility and the constant on-off all-Divas special talk.
Originally posted by oldschoolheroWith ECW's complete lack of presence at WM, and the Variety talk of it being rebranded, does anyone else get the feeling that the draft will see some major changes to Tuesday nights?
Given the on-off talk of a Diva special, i'm beginning to think that they're toying with moving all the women and turning it into an all Divas brand. I'd be cool with that. But would Sci-Fi?
It seems like TNA could produce a better Womens show than WWE, at least by looking at the 2 rosters. Hate to say it, but I am not sure I would be interested in either. Kind of like Women's Basketball, and there is a team from my city in the Final 4.
The magazine type show would interest me more, Confidential definitely had it's moments back in those days.
"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
With ECW's complete lack of presence at WM, and the Variety talk of it being rebranded, does anyone else get the feeling that the draft will see some major changes to Tuesday nights?
No. It's still going to be the psuedo-developmental show - it gets them a rating they're content with, and they've got focuses elsewhere. They're not going to take wrestling off that show or do anything to damage that slot in case they need it later, but the draft is going to be about making RAW more interesting (same as it is every year.)
That they've blown off doing just one hour of an All Divas show two weeks in a row seems to indicate the concept is not something that's important to them.
I think the all-divas concept was always going to be a one time thing, so I doubt they're going to go in that direction on a permament basis. The talk of ECW being a sort of developmental show gave me a idea. I wrote in my WM perdictions that JBL would retire because he sick of having to deal with the WWE and will try to develop his own brand of wrestling with wrestlers from OVW (which he actually purchased last month). Maybe instead, what if they make it so that his 'big announcement' is that he was able to aquire ECW from the McMahons and use the talent from OVW or other territories that the WWE owns to create his own show? And since he is the 'owner', he can host the show, commentate, or get involved in storylines like Vince does/used to. Seems like a good fit to me.
I'm surprized that Jack Swagger has been all but absent from TV since the build up for Wrestlemania. Lord knows, I'd rather see his title up for grabs as well...though I'd be one to guess he may be in the pre-show dark match.
The guy is/was over as a heel. His house show appearance in February drew great, great audience reactions. It's a shame he didn't get a MITB slot to keep him in the minds of fans.
"To be the man, you gotta beat demands." -- The Lovely Mrs. Tracker
PWinsider, for whatever they're worth, said that Swagger didn't get a Wrestlemania match because Vince, while still high on him, decided based on his match with Finlay at No Way Out that he should only wrestle in taped matches at this point.
Which is a shame, because, like, did they see his match with Christian? When Christian got put in Money in the Bank and the Evan Bourne vignettes said he'd be coming back before Wrestlemania, I thought for sure it dovetailed that way to set up Swagger/Bourne as the best possible ECW match for Mania. It's too bad, because if 1) Bourne isn't in the title match and 2) they didn't hold off his return until after WM, then why isn't he in Money in the Bank as the guy to make that match?
The history of the ECW title at Wrestlemania is not a storied one.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroPWinsider, for whatever they're worth, said that Swagger didn't get a Wrestlemania match because Vince, while still high on him, decided based on his match with Finlay at No Way Out that he should only wrestle in taped matches at this point.
Which is funny because I didn't think his match with Finlay at NWO was that bad actually.
Originally posted by kentishIt seems like TNA could produce a better Womens show than WWE, at least by looking at the 2 rosters.
I'm not sure that's true anymore, now that WWE has one of TNA's two best wrestlers. Awesome Kong is great and the Beautiful People are a great gimmick, but no one else they have besides Raisha Saeed is any better than Kelly Kelly. WWE has a ton of useless women but they also have
- Gail who's great - Beth, Mickie, and Natalya who are pretty good - Melina who at least used to be - Maryse who's a great character and adequate wrestler - Michelle who's a bland character and adequate wrestler - Katie and Jillian who are decent at carrying green babyface girls
Throw in Kelly just for her "throwin Kelly" backflip and that's ten. It's not as strong as WWE in 2003 but ten is still about four more than I'd even bother with in a women's division (of course, WWE has two, which is overkill).
Originally posted by odessasteps TNA will have Dark Angel at some point. And Daffney is probably at least as good as most Divas.
IF TNA could work out some deal with Prazak to use more SHIMMER talent, it would likely tip the scales their way.
Daffney has actually turned into a very solid worker. If put in WWE she instantly becomes one of their top workers along with Mickie, Beth, Natalya, and Gail.
TNA doesn't need to get any approval from Prazak. If anything it is the other way around, as if TNA ever decided to stop letting their workers take third party bookings he wouldn't get to keep using Kong, Roxx, etc. I remember it was a big deal when Nikki came back after missing a few tapings due to TNA.
The idea though is pretty solid. I remember a while back, when the Knockouts were all the buzz and Scott D'Amore was booking things, there was talk of them doing a 1-hour all woman's show. At that point they could certainly use a lot more of the SHIMMER talent. There is still a huge amount of talent in the promotion that has yet to get a shot with either of the big two. I'd say Mercedes Martinez, Sara Del Rey, MsChif, and Daizee Haze could all step into either of the big two right now, and there's at least 5-10 more who could make the transition with a little more seasoning. Hell, TNA keeps picking from the undercard of shimmer (Bolt, Rayne) and keeping their best pickup under a burqa.
An all Diva's show would be a terrible idea and end up being a train wreck even if it got off to a good start. It would be more enjoyable than the WNBA because of the low grade porn quality and would draw interest from the perv market, but even that doesn't go as far as it used to because we all have the Internet and so do the preteens.
If the WWE really wants to hit a niche market they should try a show that features mostly wrestling matches or they could make the Internet cream itself with a Cruiserweight show.
Better yet leave it like it is. A low budget C show that happens to draw decent ratings without even trying.
It would pretty much have to be a soft-core show about lesbians who have conversations while working out in skimpy outfits, argue in lingerie, and occasionally "fight it out" in the ring with about 5 minutes of ring action per hour.
Originally posted by Guru ZimIt would pretty much have to be a soft-core show about lesbians who have conversations while working out in skimpy outfits, argue in lingerie, and occasionally "fight it out" in the ring with about 5 minutes of ring action per hour.
Also, shower scenes.
Maybe it would work on Cinemax.
It appears that you have given this quite a bit of thought.
Originally posted by Justin ShapiroPWinsider, for whatever they're worth, said that Swagger didn't get a Wrestlemania match because Vince, while still high on him, decided based on his match with Finlay at No Way Out that he should only wrestle in taped matches at this point.
Doesn't the unwillingness to allow a wrestler to perform on the big stage live speak more to a lack of trust rather than to a lack of talent? Just wondering.
Originally posted by supersalvadoranThe talk of ECW being a sort of developmental show gave me a idea. I wrote in my WM predictions that JBL would retire because he sick of having to deal with the WWE and will try to develop his own brand of wrestling with wrestlers from OVW (which he actually purchased last month). Maybe instead, what if they make it so that his 'big announcement' is that he was able to acquire ECW from the McMahons and use the talent from OVW or other territories that the WWE owns to create his own show? And since he is the 'owner', he can host the show, commentate, or get involved in storylines like Vince does/used to. Seems like a good fit to me.
Personally, I like this idea. I think that this scenario would create many interesting storylines, and JBL would do quite well in the role of owner. Extra points if it leads to a broadcast team of JBL and Joey Styles.
"Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." - Isaiah 58:7 (New Living Translation)
Originally posted by supersalvadoranI wrote in my WM perdictions that JBL would retire because he sick of having to deal with the WWE and will try to develop his own brand of wrestling with wrestlers from OVW (which he actually purchased last month).
JBL didn't purchase OVW...he's their primary sponsor right now. He's explained it on his WWE blog (fans.wwe.com)
The JBL idea reminds me of a Raw/Smackdown storyline from the video game. To me, ECW was done after the first One Night Stand. I do think that they might need to do something about the show since right now TNA is getting ratings then they are at this point and I'm sure Vince is not pleased about that. I wouldn't mind a Divas show as long as they have wrestlers and not Divas. To me, TNA needs a top face, because Kong has been a division killer. I just want them to remain the show to something else and add a bit of talent and the show will be fine with me.
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D'Lo was European Champion and fueding with Jarrett, who was Intercontinental Champ. D'Lo actually wound up winning the IC title from Jarrett and was the first Eurocontinental Champion.