ECW TV - review thread, now 11pm thursdays, 10pm saturdays

Mwahahaha. One episode in, and while I wouldn't go as far as PWinsider ("the worst hour of wrestling TV in years"), that wasn't exactly 'extreme' or the 'new breed unleashed' was it?

Heyman, RVD, Edge and Cena took part in a very WWE style angle to open the show, the one thing I liked was RVD holding two belts. Not for long, methinks.

The Zombie? I was too busy laughing to rue what this ECW is going to be like. Mercifully, Sandman killed him in 30 seconds, though thanks to Sky's 9am timeslot I didn't see the cane shots.

Kurt Angle vs Justin Credible swiftly established one of the last ECW World Champions as a jobber. Way to go there. Angle looked good, of course.

Then, they couldn't write one hour's material, so we had a full recap of the opening angle. Why??? Or is this a substituite for something else they couldn't show at 9am?

Finally, a battle royal? I could understand it on the WWE vs ECW show, but battle royals on ECW TV to win a spot on a Raw PPV? Way to make ECW look inferior. At least Sabu won, upsetting Big Show at the end. Also, Trinity with the FBI was good.

I'm not sure what to say on how weird it looked having ECW in the big arena, as much as they tried to hide it. I'm not totally against it, for now at least.

Can it get any worse?

Hmmm caught the late night showing,and Sky still pulled the cane shots on Zombie and any of the recaps from "One Night Stand".Why have the warning at the beginning and then show f'all.

The Big Arena doesnt work, considering most of the roster has only been seen as jobbers,the live crowd are going to struggle to root for anyone

LMAO at the stripper ladies wardrobe malfunction

Is Trinity the bird wearing very little? If so if only Mickie James could wear something like that . .

So less than an hour long and a total filler of a show,hardest job is going to be establishing any bona fide stars within the time and roster they have.Although Sabu is getting a push of sorts . . lets see where it goes

And no it cant get any worse,at least I hope not.

Just finished watching the late night showing.

WTF was all that about?


The Big Arena is not a good look. Where were the crazy chanting ECW fans!?

The Zombie. Ok, it was kind of funny when he was groaning on the mic but jesus christ, come on....it's not what I wanna see in the New ECW.

Justin Credible now looks like a jobber. Yeah, good one.

Why did we have to see the entire Tazz vs. Lawler match from ONS? Why!?

Kelli. Yeah she is fit and I def would but I would of rather we saw some actual wrestling instead...and anyway, it wasnt as if we knew the girl....it might of made more sense if say it was Lita/Trish or Mickie doing it....???

RVD with the two belts.

Edge. He just rules everything at the mo....

Angle. Killed Credible but of course looked great as usual....loved his headbutt too. Looked nasty! Thats what I wanna see in ECW!

Trinity. Yummy.

Battle Royal was ok...but like Gadge said it really does make ECW look inferior to WWE...

Big Show and Sabu looking great at the mo.....


Very disappointed overall. Was expecting MUCH better things then that....It has to get better.....right!?

Well, still not great but a hell of a lot better then last weeks effort!

Sabu vs Tony Mamaluke. Excellent start to the show, loved it when Sabu blocked the splash off the top by tossing a chair into Mamaluke's face. Very nice spot! Trinity also was looking hot again!

Macho Libre. I have to admit, that was funny. Ohhh yeah dig it! Sandman better not get stuff like this every week though!

Show/Dreamer was alright.

Main Event was decent enough. You could clearly see Orton picked up a injury. He was clutching his arm for the most part of it which was a shame as it def affected the match from being great to good.


Test to ECW!?


Who was the guy who covered up Kelly from showing her goods?

Hopefully continued improvement on next weeks show.

Given up watching it,late night showing is censored ffs,you would think that showing it at midnight would stop SKY cutting it. Plus cant avoid spoilers for a full week

Shame you given up watching it seraphym. It does suck that it's censored tho and i agree it is very difficult avoiding spoilers for a whole week. Sky need to sort it out and put it on earliar. Like on a Thursday evening or something. That way we would get everything in order and would make sense.....

Its not the show as such,I am still caught up in the ECW "buzz", its Skys shocking treatment of it and the WWE television as a whole.
The next Saturday Night Main event will air on Sky before the ECW show ffs.
Currently only have Sky to watch the wrestling ie WWE and the occasional TNA show,so a bit of an expensive pasttime.
This weeks ECW show seemed far better than last weeks, plus Trinity is loverly (not Mickie James loverly)
Cant understand why Sky just dont air it earlier,like you suggested. Or even after late night Smackdown.

ECW would fit perfectly after the replay of Raw on a thursday night.

As for this week's TV - it was a decent hour of TV if you judge it as a third WWE brand, with two good matches in Sabu/Mamaluke and the main event tag - but with the main event especially, it was exactly like a third WWE brand. It certainly isn't ECW, though I'll continue to watch it.

Speaking of Sky being expensive, another £1 per month increase

S.O.B right thats getting cancelled

A later then usual showing of ECW this week. (The late night viewing was shown at 12.00am) we actually got to see the Sandmans cane shots this week. Apparently, after reading spoilers of the show the only thing we didnt get to see was Kelly stripping again....oh well.....


Sabu vs. Roadkill. Very good start to the show. I've not seen much of Roadkills stuff before but I was really impressed with him. For a big guy, he can move and has some cool looking moves. Sabu was great as usual.

Mike Knox (w/Kelly) vs. Danny Doering. Short but not too bad. What it did do well was add a little bit more to this kelly storyline. That shove that Knox gave to that "fan" looked nasty too!

The Sandman vs. Greased-up Stripper Guy. Anyone else notice that the stripper was the same guy who danced around for Vince McMahon on last week's Raw in the DX angle? Again, this was funny. But please, give Sandman something else now.

Kurt Angle's Promo. Quality.

Non-Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Kurt Angle. I thought this was really, really good. Gave them just enough time to show their stuff. Was suprised RVD got the clean pin tho it was nice to see. Again it wasnt quite "ECW" more "WWE" but hey it was a really decent match so you cant complain much. Edge doing his thing as well ended the show pretty well I thought.

MUCH better this week then.....

The quality is definetly creeping up,but still feels like Attitude Era RAW then ECW . .
but now worth watching.See how they cope with an injured Angle . .

Wasnt too bad this week,and they have covered the RVD suspension pretty well:
Paul Heyman plus the Riot Police,shame the crowd didnt try and bottle him like last week,would of been better otherwise a strong promo;
Balls Promo,they should of been runing these mini intros every week,good way of making the roster of "jobbers" recognisable;
Sabu,hes still being pushed loss or not.Be interesting to see what he does at SNME;
Sandman,still think he should of caned Kelly for being the worlds most uncomfortable looking exhibitionist;
Big Show vs Flair,quite a surprise,nice and bloody match plus thumbtacks
Test,and hes not on the juice?
Vampire cobblers,although the Tarot lady was nice should of got Gangrel,he had one of the coolest intros;

Doh, seraphym!!!!!!!

I thought those thoughts were from the previous show shown over here only the other day. Not last nights show in the US! I was thinking to myself, hang on...I dont remember any of that....did it get cut that much!? lol...

Spoiler warning next time please....

Thanks.

Uh, yeah, seconded.

Sorry fellas will do

Next time you do it, don't do it again.

Assuming you're really going to cancel your sky subscription, will you be downloading/whatever instead? Because we'd miss your input, this place is like a ghost town..

Will still post, I have been recommended somewhere to get hold of ECW uncut and about 3 hours after it airs. So apologies for that post again.
Just a bit fed up of Sky at the mo thats all . .

SPOILERS














Nice tag match with Sandman/Dreamer vs Test/Knox;
CM Punk vs JC was a good little wrestling match;
Angles return although low key,was nice to see him back,lets hope he can keep healthy;
Sabu,he speaks! Hes got to be the next ECW champ?

Big Show vs Batista,oof.The lowest point so far in the Big Shows reign . .

Its definetly getting better to watch.

Not quite as entertaining as last week with the genuine ECW crowd, and no Extreme Rules matches, but some good stuff this week.

We got to see most of the stuff they edited out of the Tommy Dreamer angle from the end of last week's tag team match, so what was the point in editing it in the bloody first place?

Dreamer vs Knox was alright, but in the old ECW they wouldn't have needed the not extreme rules angle, Heyman's men would have run in regardless of whether the referee was watching or not and Dreamer being denied his win would have got as much heat as the lame Heyman-distracts-the-ref bit.

Funny how it isn't Enter Sandman but his new music is still getting Sandman a pop.

The former Mordecai just might make a success out of this vampire angle purely on the basis that Ariel is pretty damned good (as she was as Shelley in OVW). I don't know why Al Snow bothers any more though.

I liked that CM Punk got to push his second match in the same way as he pushed the first, and hopefully he'll still get a good reaction from a more mixed WWE crowd.

I also liked that Balls Mahoney got another vignette, at least it's a push.

On the other hand, Rene freaking Dupree? Come on...

Sabu talking is damned weird. Unless you're bloodywolf, I guess.

The main event was really good. One of the best matches of the new ECW so far. Nice to see RVD back at the end, and having him attack both men was very Stone Cold-esque in the "going to kick anyone's ass" kind of way, but you'd have thought he'd have gone after Heyman or Big Show really.

Looking forward to the pre-Summerslam episode to see what they do for an ECW match at the PPV.

Unfortunately, after ECW my Sky+ f*cked up so I have to wait until Thursday night to watch Raw.

Bloody hell, how all over the place, ECW style and flat out damned cool was that ladder match last week (pre-Summerslam) until the Big Slow-terference?

This ECW TV malarkey is getting kind of fun, isn't it?

I read that the hot shotting of Hayman vs Sabu was done in WWE's panic that Raw being on a different channel would mean a drop in ECW's rating due to lack of push from the previous night. While that's a ridiculous reason for booking such a match, the end result delivered a lot of heat for future TV.

RVD vs Hardcore Holly was shockingly good. Again, I was surprised to see it happen this soon, but it's not like ECW has a PPV to build to in the short term.

I guess Mike Knox is going to feud with Balls Mahoney next? That's in keeping with the fairly successful ECW originals vs new extremists idea that seems to be doing pretty well.

Speaking of which, how good are The Sandman's pops considering the lack of Enter Sandman? After finishing the Dreamer/Sandman vs Knox/Test feud with a fun six person match last week, Sandman trying to get to Matt Striker while the teacher uses his brainpower should be mindless entertainment.

CM Punk is looking great, and Stevie Richards put in a great effort against him here.

The whole final segment was great. Blatant use of extreme rules resulted in a lot of heel heat for a beatdown that worked better than the similar in style beatdown of DX at Summerslam. The comebacks were better timed though, and Hardcore Holly getting his heat back on RVD made everything make sense. This is now a product with an obvious direction. I like it.

BTW, did you notice that Heyman's security is the Bashams?

Part 2 of WWE's awesome last week's TV was the UK thursday night debut of ECW.

RVD and Sabu's tag match was even better than the main event of Raw. It was like something ripped out of ECW circa 1998, and with matches like this, even Test and Mike Knox can get over. Crazy spots, raw feel, and proper extreme rules.

I'm liking the progression of Striker vs Sandman, as Sandman finally creaming Striker will get a huge pop.

CM Punk completely punking out Shannon Moore in that segment was awesome. Shannon Moore is *awful* and I hope he doesn't drag Punk down a level. What would make me happy... would be for Shannon to become part of a Punk-led stable ala Raven's groups in ECW and WCW back in the day, where Moore is basically Punk's bitch. Yes.

I don't remember much of Balls Mahoney vs Stevie Richards, except for Ariel giving Joey Styles a lapdance and TAFKA Mordecai costing Balls the match. I did like Stevie seeeming ecstatic at winning.

Finally... DX came to ECW. That was weird. Then Paul Heyman, who is playing the evil messiah of ECW to perfection, took out the extreme rules stip. I didn't like that. Still, the action they then served up was pretty good, and bodes well for Hell in a Cell. The end was fine though Hardcore Holly still looks like a midcard guy doing runins with that level of talent.

Can't wait for this week.

The opening tag match was without a doubt the greatest match we have seen in this "New" ECW era. It was indeed like I had gone back in time and was watching episodes of the "Old" ECW on the Bravo channel. I loved the 4 man table spot, insane! This is exactly what it should be all about week in week out. Even the "Smackdown" fans were going nuts for this. Bloody brilliant was this.

Matt Striker and The Sandman going on's i'm not so sure about. Time will tell with this one I guess....


Balls Mahoney vs. Steven Richards was forgettable but Ariel certainly wasn't!!! With Kevin Thorne now not looking too shabby in the ring and Ariel by his side (Or is that in his neck!? heh) these two are so going to get over with the crowd. They are "different" which is what you want right!? They so need to add more titles to this new brand. If they did, Kevon Thorne might have some gold around his waist....Nice to see Stevie win too, can't remember the last time that happened!?

CM Punk rules and I liked how he punked out Shannon Moore. Strange yet amusing segment.

Main Event was alright. Getting a little bit tired of DX TBH now, they need a new member (I'm hearing X-Pac might be returning, wouldnt be a bad move imo if only it's for the short term mind) You see, DX over-coming the odds everyweek it seems is staring to take the piss a little bit....anyway, wasnt it strange seeing them on ECW televison. I did find it exciting when they first came out I must say.

Oh Heyman needs a slap too, starting to bore me a little bit with his rants.

Going in the right direction then, probably the best ECW TV show yet. Thanks to the fantastic opening tag-match. Hopefully because many of the fans would of been aware that DX were going to be on ECW they tuned in to watch this show and caugh that opening match and saw what really being "extreme" is all about it....

Look forward to this weeks. Remember folks, it's on Thursday Nights now!!!!!

I hope ECW never gets taped with Raw again. It gives WWE time to add in sound sweetening, which was particularly obvious in the main event this week.

The Madison Square Garden debut of ECW was pretty good until the main event though.

Paul Heyman's opening segment was good stuff and gave him a 'moment' as ECW debuted in the Garden that he probably deserved. Sleaze is a Heyman speciality, isn't it?

RVD vs Hardcore Holly wasn't up to their match from a couple of weeks ago, but it was reasonable. The post-match shenanigans kept everyone happy, as I realised when they came out one after another that I now associate Mike Knox with ECW as much as Stevie Richards. I laughed when they showed a replay of Sandman's music hitting that didn't actually show anyone doing anything.

CM Punk got to squash Shannon Moore that made my day, and he made Moore look like a midget in the process. Punk seemed to get genuine, non-sweetened crowd reaction for most of his stuff too (though the setup Rock Bottom type thing to the Anaconda Vice had a big overdubbed cheer).

Punk then got backstage shenanigans too. I fear Mike Knox would make him look a midget in turn, but at least I think Punk could still win that one. Also, Kelly Kelly is 19?!?

I'm kinda liking this Kevin Thorne and Ariel gimmick. It is a bad sign that Thorne isn't getting any TV ring time though. Rene Dupree did really well, seeing as how his new role is clearly meant to be the un-extreme ECW wrestler. The bottom rope elbow was funny and I cracked up at Tazz remembering the French Tickler from his Smackdown days. Poor Balls Mahoney can;t get a win for anything though

Matt Striker's little promo was fantastically delivered, and the fact the show was from NYC tied in nicely.

Then there was the main event. I thought I was watching in slow motion, and when they started to go for weapon spots everything looked really horribly contrived. Terrible finish to the show, a million miles away from their non-Extreme Rules match that was actually a million times better.

Still, apart from the main event, this week's gets a

Yeah, I know I haven't done Raw thoughts...

Better than Raw again this week, but still not *that* special.

Jim Ross in ECW? Anything for a cheap pop. Nice to see JR used without him being humiliated, though.

RVD vs Hardcore Holly was really, really dull before the table suplex that lead to the ad break, and Hardcore Holly getting 20-odd stitches. After the break was like a different match though, as both men put in a hell of an effort. RVD getting the clean win should push him on to a new obstacle in what I assume is the slow build to a PPV title shot in December.

Kelly Kelly likes CM Punk? Blah. Still, feuding (and defeating?) the larger Mike Knox would be a step up from squashes and Shannon Moore for Punk.

Nice to see Francine, and Ariel is great at her gimmick, but extreme cat fights? With no pinfall?

The main event was an alright Big Show match with excessive cane swinging that made everything one dimensional, yet mindless fun. Sandman is soooo going to get Matt Striker and beat him to a pulp in the end, though. That should be good.

Here's hoping for Smackdown and that announced six man to save the week.