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Chapter 5 – How to Better ECW's New Superstar Initiative
Hey everybody. And welcome back to Zach's How To Guide. For those new to the column, welcome! Glad to have you. Basically my gimmick is that every one of my columns is a "How-To" for some part of wrestling. Chapter 1 dealt with Christian, Chapter 2 dealt with ROH, Chapter 3 dealt with refreshing characters, and Chapter 4 dealt with continuing Orton-Priceless. My kudos to everyone who sent me in feedback from last week's column. Several of you said the group should be called "Legacy," and look at last night's RAW. Great job to all those who called the groups name.
This week I shall take a look at one of my favorite things on wrestling television right now…ECW's new superstar initiative. When ECW debuted back in June of 2006, they put on what might live to this day as the worst debut episode in history. I was afraid it would be twelve episodes and done, but after a while, the brand was made over to be kind of like a more publicized OVW/FCW, and made much better for it. CM Punk, Elijah Burke, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, The Miz, and Matt Striker all in the last couple of years improved immensely with their weekly ECW appearances. Every year after the WWE draft though, ECW is ravaged of all their homegrown talent, and room is made for more new superstars to come. Here is how I would rate the newest crop of ECW stars
5 Stars – Jack Swagger: Yes, he's only been out for a couple months now, but what a talent the WWE has here. His moves are crisp and his gimmick actually gets over. Some complain about his lisp, but I believe Bobby Lashley and Kurt Angle had prominent lisps, and they both became champs. So remember that push that Lance Cade was supposed to get in 2009? Say hi to your new owner, Jack Swagger.
4 ½ Stars – Evan Bourne: Another insanely good talent for the brand. I like to think WWE watched TNA, saw AJ Styles, said they want one of him, and pulled up Bourne. His moves are amazing and because he pulls of the SSP so well, the WWE unbanned it, after Kidman basically turned the move into an injury machine. He gets slotted below Swagger due to his lack of promo ability and his quick injury, but those are things he will work on with time.
3 Stars – Ricky Ortiz/Tiffany: Well Ortiz is an original character. He's gotten some wins over some prominent stars and has the towel waving gimmick, but do we really need a 21st century afroed version of the Ultimate Warrior? And Tiffany has a nice gimmick for herself I guess. Please just don't lead her down the Kristal Marshall path with Teddy Long. The man's heart can't take it!
2 Stars – DJ Gabriel/Alicia Fox: Real cool talent, hell of a physique, and a solid finisher, but who the hell thought we needed a new Alex Wright? Couldn't of paired him with Regal or Burchill eh? And Fox is solid eye candy and if booked properly could have a nice stable to build under her wings.
1 Star – Gavin Spears: Like I said, we don't need a new Ultimate Warrior and don't need a new Alex Wright. I would have loved to see a new Lance Storm though, which is what Spears had the chance to be. Bring him back, and let him wrestle. He'll win people over. Even let him keep the 'Crown Jewel' gimmick.
0 Stars – Braden Walker: "Knock knock" "Who's there" "Braden Walker, and I'll be in this company for two weeks." Well if anything, it's a warning sign to TNA talent that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sure he'll bounce back on the indies somewhere.
So with the N.S.I., we need more superstars like Swagger and Bourne and less Ortiz and Walker. So who do we bring up before the end of the year?
Step 1 – Bring in FCW Champ Sheamus O'Shaunessy with vignettes surrounding Finlay. I heard him cut FCW promos saying Finlay loves to fight, but Sheamus loves to win. If he debuts and doesn't feud with Finlay, it would be a bigger travesty than Rodman winning CCW over Todd Bridges.
Step 2 – Bring over Val Venis and Hardcore Holly. Tommy Dreamer shouldn't be the only veteran on the brand helping wean in the new wrestlers. The more vets we can get to help them out, the better they would be.
Step 3 – Ship out Miz and Morrison. Awesome tag team, but they should be on Raw or Smackdown permanently. They've earned it. And with their move, it frees up space on ECW for the NSI to thrive.
Well that's all for now, thanks for reading. Please send any or all feedback to zachlevine86@gmail.com
For next week, Chapter 6 will be about how to craft the perfect WWE/TNA year end show. Please send me ideas of your favorite matches from this past year for what I will try to compile for next week. Thanks everyone!
