Be Careful What You Wish For

I’m a professional wrestling fan. I know it sounds like an AA speech and in some ways it’s a fair comparison. Even though I like to think of myself as a pseudo intellectual and can discuss everything from Locke on Lost to Locke the philosopher, deep down I’d be just as happy to discuss the Monday Night Wars from the late 90s when WCW and WWE went toe to toe in the ratings. This is not a column about my ill advised fascination with watching a bunch of muscle bound, scantily clad men grapple with each other while involved with storylines that would make Days of our Lives look normal, no this is a column about fandom.

Back in the wrestling boom of the 90s there was WWE (which most of us grew up on), WCW (which was owned by Ted Turner and featured many past WWE stars) and a little promotion based out of Philly called ECW. ECW or Extreme Championship Wrestling carved itself a nice place on the map by featuring some of the most violent matches a US audience had ever seen while also featuring some of the best technical wrestlers around. At a time when the other two companies spent more time developing characters, ECW made a commitment to in ring action. They were the first semi national promotion to feature the Mexican lucha libre style and they also introduced new types of matches such as the three way dance.

Now like I said ECW did not have the bankroll of WWE or WCW so their exposure was limited but being the wrestling nut I was, I soon devoured as much ECW as I could find. One thing that caught my eye instantly was the passion by both the wrestlers and the fans. ECW was based out of a bingo hall in South Philly that only held a couple thousand fans but each night there was a big fight atmosphere. Also they were no little kids in the crowd so the presentation and wrestling seemed aimed more at an adult audience. The end result was a very knowledgeable fan base that wouldn’t tolerate crap in their ring and wasn’t afraid to share their feelings with the wrestlers.

Unfortunately being a small fish in a pond full of multi million dollar corporations finally caught up to ECW in 2001 and after years of talent raids, failed national TV deals, and mismanagement ECW folded. However, even after it went out of business ECW still maintained a rabid fan base. ECW chants were still heard when a match in WWE got particularly “extreme” or when you’d see old sparks from one of the many ECW alumni such as the Dudley Brothers, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Rob Van Dam. When the face of ECW, creative genius Paul Heyman eventually went to work for WWE and Vince McMahon, you felt like ECW would always live on in thanks to the impact it made on the wrestling scene. In 2004, WWE paid tribute by releasing a 2 disc DVD set on the history of ECW that featured some of the all time great matches as well as some honest revelations from all involved in the phenomenon that was ECW. It became the best selling wrestling DVD of all time and to this day is the best wrestling DVD I’ve ever seen.

The tremendous response to the DVD opened the WWE’s eyes to the cash cow staring them in the face. In 2005 WWE announced it was bringing back ECW for one night only on pay per view. WWE went out and signed a few ECW former stars as well as the alumni already on their roster and turned control of the show over to Paul Heyman. The ECW fans, myself included, were all abuzz. Would this be a true representation of ECW that would allow us to salute the wrestlers and give a proper goodbye to the organization we loved or would it be a bastardized WWE version that tarnished our memories? In the end it was 3 hours of entertainment that stayed true to ECW for the most part and featured some moments that brought tears to this old softie. The buy rates on the pay per view were huge and you knew that with the prospect of cashing in further WWE might try this again.

Sure enough, in 2006 WWE did just that when they announced a second ECW pay per view. I was a little less excited this time mainly because I wasn’t sure how they’d top the previous one. Sure there were some dream matches out there but for the most part the 2005 show had given us ECW fans closure. Of course as the show got closer I threw rational thought out the window and began to get excited. A yearly tribute show could only last so long as many ECW alumni were getting a bit long in the tooth so I figured I should shut up and enjoy the ride. Little did I know the ride was about to take an unexpected turn.

About a month before the June 2006 show I was on one of the pro wrestling web sites I frequent and came across a shocking headline: ECW to come back fulltime. I’ve got to say my initial reaction was shock and that quickly lead to excitement. WWE was going to launch ECW as a third brand to compliment their existing shows. Initial reports were that Paul Heyman would be the creative guy in charge and that while different from the old ECW, the new version would honor the tradition. Obviously this meant ECW would be on a bigger stage and in my naïve mind I thought this was the greatest news ever.

The June 2006 pay per view was to be the launching pad for the new ECW. Once again I plunked down my $34.95 and sat in front of the old boob tube. The show was not as good as the previous one, watching the crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York was almost worth the price. While I sat in my living room in America’s heartland I watched people who shared the same passion for ECW cheer and boo like no other audience in pro wrestling. By the time the evening was over I was super jazzed for the premiere of the new ECW on the Sci-Fi network.

A month has now passed and I am a broken fan. The new ECW is not even a bastardized version; it is a separate beast altogether that just happens to have the same initials. The loyal fan in me wanted to believe but the rational part knew this would happen. Vince McMahon loves him some him and his ego would not allow Heyman or any of the ECW alumni to truly shine in a ring or show that he’s footing the bill for. As a wrestling fan I’ll still probably check on it once in a while but the whole experience has left me disappointed not only in the product but also in myself for allowing my love for ECW get the better of me. When we lose a show or product that is dear to us, we often wish for it to come back but the truth is, it will never be the same and that is the toughest part of being a fan.