A Suitable WWE Alternative: The McMahon Plan to Put TNA Out of Business

CM Punk is a World Heavyweight Champion. Regardless of what brand he is a champion of or the circumstances surrounding his win, at the end of the day CM Punk has a World Heavyweight Title around his waist.

Is that enough to satiate the ever-critical Internet Wrestling Community? Likely not.

Is it enough to get more fans watching the ECW brand? Probably still likely not.

Much like Samoa Joe, CM Punk lost the payoff match that would have made his title reign significant. Due to a wellness policy suspension, he is afforded the luxury of keeping the belt warm for the impending return of John Morrison. This makes him a glorified Ronnie Garvin in the annals of wrestling history.

Punk's title win came at a TV taping, and was spoiled on WWE.com before it aired on the poorly rated ECW on Sci-Fi.

The WWECW experiment has been an interesting one to say the least. Beginning with Rob Van Dam's title run, the brand has experienced nothing but issues. It's hard to determine what WWE's actual plans were for the brand, as additions of RVD, Kurt Angle, and the Big Show imply that they expected the brand to draw on it's own.

All three of those aforementioned wrestlers are gone. Bobby Lashley took the ball, but when he ran with it, he often ended up on the Raw brand. Lashley was removed from ECW and stripped of the World title, but fans kept hope with the announcement that Chris Benoit would be putting on fantastic matches with young athletic workers. We obviously all know how that turned out.

Outside of Morrison and Punk, the supporting cast of ECW wrestlers is a veritable who's who of wrestling jobbers as ECW originals Balls Mahoney, Nunzio, and Tommy Dreamer haven't won a match in recent memory. Wrestlers receiving half-pushes like Stevie Richards, Kevin Thorn, The Miz, and Big Daddy V are hardly anything to get excited about.

This leads to the ECW World Heavyweight title having a feeling of being more on par with Raw's Intercontinental title or Smackdown's United States title.

TNA on the other hand has somehow been able to keep the big belt feel around their World Heavyweight Title. Kurt Angle, Sting, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe and others have all been built to be legit title contenders.

Despite the fact that the logic of having Kurt Angle lose clean to Jay Lethal to return and defeat Abyss is seriously flawed, the belt itself only moderately suffers. The main argument of most wrestling fans would be that Lethal should now be considered the number one contender. I agree, but would rather personally not see Angle squash Black Machismo to get his heat back.

Still, TNA has it's own fatal flaw. TNA's purpose in the wrestling game is to provide an alternative to the WWE. When I started watching wrestling in 1989, the NWA/WCW provided a suitable alternative with a different and often superior in-ring product.

Years later, when WCW acquired Hulk Hogan and other former WWE stars and looked, sounded, and felt more like their competitor, Extreme Championship Wrestling stepped up and truly did something unique in the world of wrestling, blending world class grapplers, unique high flyers, and hardcore wrestling.

Since the original ECW folded, many have come and tried to rekindle the magic. XPW and CZW have appealed to a specific type of fan, but they have been unable to capture the imaginations of America the way ECW did. One might suggest that they're overboard tactics and sort of lower class, if not dirty, feel has a lot to do with their lack of mainstream marketability. If ECW was comparable to edgy magazine Playboy, XPW and CZW are BSDM specialty mags.

Undoubtedly, pro wrestling fans have been looking for something new and different. For some fans, this is found in Ring of Honor. To make another analogy, if WWE were beer, ECW is WWE Lite, and TNA is WWE Ultra Lite. Ring of Honor is Natty Light. Cheaper, but at least it tastes a bit different. Fans are looking for a Miller to compete with their Bud, and have been since the dissolution of WCW and the original ECW years ago.

With TNA shoving VKM, Black Reign, Rhino, Team 3D, and various other WWE rejects down the collective throats of their fans, it has appeared at times that they might get rid of the X Division entirely. Obviously the TNA brass doesn't understand what brought them to the dance.

So why doesn't a millionaire-wrestling mogul like Vince McMahon understand that there is a demographic he is not reaching? After all, there is a great deal more money to be made.

Jim Ross has recently stated in his Barbeque Blog that "ECW is still a work in progress and the final form it eventually takes could be termed as ‘still to be determined.' I am not a major fan of a weekly hardcore or extreme rules match because they cease being special if one sees them every week and these matches increase the odds of a wrestlers getting injured. With the overall lack of quality depth available, injuries should be avoided when they can."

While many fans cannot accept this, I am perfectly fine with it. I grew tired of WWE style hardcore matches, and I detested watching bums attempt to recreate and outdo them on the Indy circuit. I don't want anyone to get seriously injured for my dollar. That is not why I am a wrestling fan.

So what can the WWE do to reinvigorate the ECW brand and provide the alternative that TNA is failing to be, essentially shutting them out of the market entirely?

Well, the first step is to get a deal for ECW to move to a different network. ECW is handcuffed by their Sci-Fi affiliation, as characters like The Boogeyman and Kevin Thorn must be there to grab any type of crossover audience from the network itself.

If ECW could score a deal with FSN, FX, or another network with a more general theme and a larger audience, it would benefit them greatly. I personally am unable to watch ECW on the television in my room, because we only get digital cable on one TV in the household.

The second move would be straight to Thursday nights to compete directly with Total Nonstop Action Impact! What is a bigger slap in the face than to send your third and lesser brand into direct competition with your rival? Writers and wrestlers would both be expected to step up their performance.

The next step is to introduce a Women's Championship to Smackdown. This will undoubtedly be the most controversial point. However, Victoria is on the brand, and she is undoubtedly the most talented wrestling diva in the company. She would like to see a belt there, and I would like to be her unconditional love slave. Therefore, what Victoria wants, Victoria gets.

Plus, this opens up the option of taking the Cruiserweight title off of Smackdown and moving it to ECW. Along with the title, any wrestler from any brand who is considered a cruiserweight should be moved as well. This would place Daivari, Santino Marella, Super Crazy, Funaki, Chavo Guerrero, Shannon Moore, and Jamie Noble all on the ECW brand.

Cruiserweight title matches would be contested under a highflying, hard-hitting cruiserweight style. One huge difference between WWE and TNA is TNA lets their X Division separate itself from the rest of the program, while WWE essentially has smaller guys working a heavyweight style for a cruiserweight title.

Other wrestlers who might be considered for movement to the ECW brand depending on their storyline involvement on their respective brands would be the Hardyz, Rey Mysterio, and Kenny Dykstra. These men would be ECW World Title contenders.

The ECW World Heavyweight title would only be contested under extreme rules, which can mean as much or as little as the performers involved want it to mean. There was a great difference between Jerry Lynn/RVD matches and Tommy Dreamer/Raven matches in the old ECW. Still, it gives wrestlers the option of pushing the envelope in matches where it would be worthwhile to do so, i.e. World Heavyweight title matches.

Now that pay-per-views are tri-branded again, the ECW brand would actually be set apart and provide one or two unique and exciting matches for each.

All members of the ECW roster should wrestle with a hardcore mentality. This does not necessarily mean Extreme Rules. Kurt Angle's intensity upon joining the ECW brand, and Big Show's attempt to work a different style and use a new move set while in ECW were fantastic examples of what I mean. Hardcore doesn't necessarily mean going through a table. It's about wrestlers pushing themselves to the limit.

It's likely that a reworked ECW could destroy TNA's market share, as WWE would provide a suitable alternative themselves. If done correctly and given a more legit feel, it may also attract some of the ever-growing MMA audience.

Without a doubt, it would increase ratings, increase merchandise sales, and give fans a reason to once again chant ECW, ECW, ECW!

More on This Story...

Project 161 Reveals itself

Credit Photo: jbennett from the F4wonline.com message board:

Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, and Necro Butcher do some damage!



After the Briscoe's win what is being called the best ladder match ever, they are attacked by the men behind Project 161. They hang Jay by his feet from the hook where the Tag Belts were being suspended above the ring and while Jay's blood dripped to the mat, Jacobs stood under him and cut a promo while Jay's blood covered Jacobs white coat. And to drive the point home Jacob's opened his mouth as Jay's blood dripped into it!

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Possible ROH TV Deal

ROH On Versus?

There is a rumor going around that Ring Of Honor has secured a pilot deal of 18 shows on the network Versus. This has not been confirmed by any ROH official but I feel this will be announced very soon.

More on This Story...

Well, that's retarded...

Believe it or not, Eugene being released from the WWE may just have been the best thing to happen to his career. Why, you say? Well were was his career prior to this? When was the last time Eugene challenged for a singles title? When was the last time he got a PPV Payday? It's sad because Nick Dinsmore was one of the most talented prospects to come out of OVW. Chris Benoit went down to work a match with him, and after Dinsmore held his own and then some with the Rabid Wolverine, Benoit told Danny Davis he was every bit as good as he said he was. The sky was the limit for him, and he eventually got called up for the opportunity of a lifetime…

As Uncle Eric's retarded nephew…

I questioned the logic of this first. In all fairness, this seemed like a logical choice in the beginning. It was something different. It was something fun. It was something the kids could enjoy just as much as adults. But once the new car scent wore off, what else was there to do with him? He couldn't be a main event player or a serious singles champion under this gimmick. He was cursed with the gimmick of a simpleton with no way out. Many had been in this rough of a spot before and survived, but for him there was no going back. He was stuck with "The Eugene Curse."

What's funny is CM Punk almost suffered the same fate under the "Eugene Curse," as he was slated to debut with a gimmick where he was a deaf wrestler. Had this happened, he most likely would not be your ECW Champion today . He'd be pretty hot for about a month or two, then go from jobbing on heat to getting an honorable mention on WWE.com wishing him the best in his future endeavors.

Ironically enough, I essentially was doing the Eugene gimmick in Pro Wrestling Xpress about 6 months before Eugene showed up on WWE TV. Because I wasn't wrestling on a National stage, it just made me look like a copycat. But the difference was I was acting goofy, picking fights with wet floor signs, and carrying around a Bob The Builder backpack because I took too many chairshots and got a concussion every show. I simply stopped taking so many shots to the head and returned to normal. With Mr Dinsmore, it was genetics.

Sure, the Eugene character has filled us with some unforgettable moments over the years. Who could forget WWE Musical Chairs during his brief tenure as General Manager of RAW? Plus, without him we never would have learned that Matt Stryker loves poop.

Luckily for him, the sky is once again the limit. He's a talented performer with name value. He can make a pretty decent living just working the Indies. I just hope that he's smart about it…

What he should do...

- Get involved in the NWA Title Picture. Since the NWA broke away from TNA, they've gotten their hands on two of the biggest named Independent Contractors in Bryan Danielson and Brent Albright to try to get their World Title some credibility. While I'm sure Adam Pearce is talented and worthy of being the NWA's Top Titleholder (although I'm not familiar with his work at all) I don't think he's exactly the household name you want to be promoting as your World Champion. The NWA World Title needs recognizable names to go along with it. Mr. Dinsmore could be one of them.

- Open up a training school. Why the hell not? He was responsible for training so many of the OVW names that went on to the WWE. While some of them may no longer be employed, he's still responsible for training some talented workers.

Here is what he should not do...

- Sign with TNA. Even if they are getting a second hour for Impact, their roster is already overcrowded with former WWE names who have lashed out against their former employer and burned their bridges. The sad part is though, that half of them pretty much recreated their old WWE gimmicks (Team 3D, Platinumdust or whatever he is called) and it just seems like a cheap parody. The last thing we need is a 2nd rate Eugene gimmick. Then again he could join the other half that shoot on their old gimmicks and try to be themselves. This wouldn't be so bad, but he's just going to get lost in the TNA shuffle.

- Work for Ring of Honor… or any other promotion that runs in the Philly area. Those fans are brutal and will completely boo him out of the building. Remember Jeff Hardy's ROH run? Probably not, and there's a reason why.

Regardless of what happens, Nick Dinsmore is out of gimmick purgatory and has a chance to re-establish himself as a legitimate wrestler. Who knows, maybe we'll see him get resigned in the future and become the major player that he was destined to be…

Or he could go back to being Eugene, showing us all what a retard he truly is... More on This Story...

It's All About the Wrestling: Cutting Ties, Gimmicks and the Frankensteiner

I know that's a mouthful up there but I didn't have a catchy title for this little bit.

TNA has severed ties with the popular independent promotion Ring of Honor, as well as other indy promotions. Many are taken aback by the decision to sever the ties as many top name stars have wrestled on the indy circuit in the past. A scheduled return of Samoa Joe to ROH had to be canceled. While I understand the fans being upset, I also totally understand the business side of it, and TNA could not with any sense of growing their business allow their stars to continue to perform in ROH.

Ring of Honor recently announced that they were going to start PPV services as well as video on demand. Would Vince allow Triple H and HBK show up at an Impact PPV? Hell no. So why should TNA be expected to allow their stars to perform on a competing promotions PPV? They shouldn't. While we as fans want to be entertained and given the best possible product for our money, TNA, ROH and WWE are all still businesses out to take a piece of the pro-wrestling money pie.

Speaking of money, as some of you know I bought the Lockdown PPV. The whole PPV is a giant gimmick, every match takes place inside the six sides of steel, so why do we need to pile gimmicks on top of gimmicks? Electrified cage, blindfolds? Who needs this crap. Team 3D and LAX did not think the match was going to work and guess what? They were right. It might have worked in 1987 but not in 2007. So after an entire PPV filled with gimmicks we return to normal at the Sacrifice PPV right? Well not entirely. Sacrifice is going to feature not one, not two, but three triple threat matches (a triple threat of triple threat matches) as well as a Texas Death Match (whatever the hell that is).

One of those triple threat matches at Sacrifice will feature Scott Steiner and his new tag team partner Tomko. Since Steiner returned from his short hiatus I have been very impressed with his in ring work and partnered with Tomko he has actually strung together a few really good promos. Not only that but at the Lockdown PPV he busted out the Frankensteiner and he says its out of retirement. This turn of workmanship is a good thing for TNA and hopefully he will keep it up.

One last thing before I close out for the week. I only caught the last 10 or 11 minutes of Impact this week but what I saw (The Angle/Sting vs. Cage/Styles match) was very good. Cage and Styles work very well together and I still think that the plan is once Christian drops the belt to team the two of them together as a tag team and make a run at bolstering that division. Overall it was just good old school wrestling which is what TNA does best. More on This Story...