Columns
Morning Glory RCC: What
Happened To The ECW Guys?
2001 was notable not only for
the death of WCW, but also for the death of ECW. Many wrestling fans considered WWE, WCW
and ECW to be the ‘big three’. Not me. As far as I was concerned, ECW was merely
a larger indy fed with more talent than other indys. For every Rob Van Dam there was an
Amish Roadkill, for every Rhyno there was a New Jack. So unlike the situation in WCW,
where Vince McMahon bought out the whole company, with ECW he merely took the talent he
wanted. The talent was what most thought the best ECW had to offer. First the WWE took Justin
Credible, Rhyno, Spike Dudley, Jerry Lynn and Tajiri. Rob
Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer also arrived later in the year. I’m now going to
look at each of these wrestlers, and consider how they’ve done since joining the WWE,
and why.
Justin Credible
-in ECW: Credible was shoved down the fans throats as ECW champion in early 2000.
His title reign lost ECW both money, ratings and fans, as his matches pretty much sucked,
and so did his character. Credible finally dropped the title to Jerry Lynn in November of
2000, but remained at the main event level until ECW finally died in January.
-the WWE debut: Credible debuted in the WWE in February of 2001, helping his clique
buddy X-Pac in a match against Chris Jericho. Credible continued to be X-Pac’s
‘run in guy’, until both men joined up with Albert to make the
‘X-Factor’ stable.
-what happened then?: The X-Factor stable was very poorly received (like fans will
buy X-PAC leading a STABLE!) and when the WCW Invasion began, Credible jumped to the ECW
part of the Alliance. There, he basically did nothing, very rarely getting onto RAW or
Smackdown. It’s been downhill from there for Justin, as he’s slipped off TV and
is basically a jobber to anyone now. Last I heard, he was jobbing to newcomer Shelton
Benjamin.
-so why the hard times for Justin?: In a word, he sucks. Credible was never
actually good enough to be on the level he was in ECW, and Paul Heyman obviously saw
something the rest of us didn’t. Credible never got over in the WWE, probably due to
him looking like a tramp or a weak Steve Austin, and sounding like a weak Triple H. Unlike
Tazz, and others, Credible hasn’t even been defended or his treatment bitched about
by ECW fans. Why? Because they were sick of the guy too.
Rhyno
-in ECW: Rhyno was built as a monster, and ran roughshod over most of his
opposition, including Jim ‘Sandman’ Fullington, and others. He enjoyed a huge
push, and was well over with the fans as a monster. Heyman saw Rhyno as the future of ECW,
which certainly shone through when on ECW’s final show, he was given the ECW World
title, and unified it with the TV Title.
-the WWE debut: Rhyno debuted in the WWE as a friend of Edge and Christian, which
would make sense since he wrestled with them as they made their way to the WWE. He was
used as a run in man for E&C, most notably at Wrestlemania X-7 in the TLC match, where
his interference actually managed to win the team the tag titles. Rhyno then enjoyed a big
push of his own, winning the Hardcore title and running over opposition such as Test,
Raven and the Big Show. Although he was originally booked as a heel, Rhyno began to get
face pops as the badass type, and was near enough a face when the Invasion began.
-what happened then?: Like Credible, Rhyno joined the Alliance as part of the ECW
stable. Unlike Credible, Rhyno actually played a part in the stable, being pushed to the
upper reaches of it, even competing in the main event of the InVasion PPV. He was then
given a major feud against Chris Jericho, and even pinned The Rock on RAW. Just as Rhyno
was breaking through as a major star, he suffered a neck injury, which has sidelined him
since November 2001. I’m not sure when he will return.
-so, what will happen when he does?: Rhyno should get a Benoit-style push, starting
off slowly, but eventually rising quickly up the card, until he reaches the main event
status he was close to. In ECW, Rhyno was a diamond in the rough, but in the WWE the
diamond has been exposed. Rhyno can work a good match, and is comfortable playing both
face and heel. Although he has never played face for an extended period of time, he is
just one of the guys fans want to cheer (witness his huge face pops when he was
‘suspended’ from the Alliance). Rhyno has been forgotten by many fans in the
wake of Brock Lesnar’s huge push, but upon his return, I wouldn’t mind seeing
Rhyno become the man to take Lesnar down.
Spike Dudley
-in ECW: Spike was the ‘estranged Dudley’ in ECW, until the Dudleys
jumped to the WWF in late 1999. Spike was then used as a bump machine for bigger wrestlers
such as Mike Awesome.
-the WWE debut: Spike’s debut in the WWE came as a complete surprise, as
nobody knew he’d signed with the WWE. He ran in during a Dudleys/Edge and Christian
match, costing E&C the titles. Spike took some huge bumps in the TLC match at
Wrestlemania X-7, then teamed with his brothers against X-Factor.
-what happened then?: Spike began a relationship with Molly Holly, and the
‘cute, non-sexual’ style attitude from him got him way over as a face. The
Dudleyz turned on him, and began to feud with him in a Romeo and Juliet type angle, but
this was not the only major angle for Spike in mid 2001. Spike unexpectedly found himself
on the brink of a main event push against Steve Austin, when he ripped up Austin’s
petition after the champ called Molly a bimbo. Shortly after, Spike broke his leg. This
took him out of action for a while, and he didn’t really participate in any major
angles until near the end of the year, when his ‘underdog’ team with Tazz earned
him the WWE tag titles for around 3 months. However, since the disillusion of that team,
Spike hasn’t really done much than be a bump machine for guys like Chris Benoit.
-what’s next for Spike?: Not much, probably. Spike will likely never get as
over as he was in mid 2001, and will be used much like he was in ECW, as a bump machine
for bigger guys. Spike can work a match, and he can get over, as has been proven, but his
weak look and small stature mean that he will never really be taken seriously. If he was
30 pounds heavier, and a foot taller, he could easily do very well. But then, he just
wouldn’t be Little Spike Dudley.
Jerry Lynn
-in ECW: Jerry was always a favourite with the ‘Meltzer Marks’ while in
ECW, as his workrate is very good. His feud with Rob Van Dam became something of legend,
although in my opinion the matches were way overrated, and he was usually slated as the
man who carried the feud inside the ring. Lynn won the ECW world title in November 2000,
cementing his main event status with the company.
-the WWE debut: Lynn debuted on the edition of Heat before Backlash 2001, where he
won the WWE cruiserweight title from Crash Holly. Lynn was nowhere near over, due to his
lack of character, but at the start it looked like the WWE were going to run an Eddie
Guerrero-esque ‘cheat to win’ angle with him. This never materialized, and after
going on a tirade against JR at Judgment Day, he disappeared from WWE TV.
-what happened next?: Jerry didn’t re-surface on TV until August, where he
popped up in a match on Heat against Rob Van Dam, which was very enjoyable. He didn’t
join the ECW stable surprisingly, and was released from the federation shortly after.
-why didn’t Lynn succeed?: Jerry Lynn was never the most charismatic wrestler.
He was over in ECW for his ring skills only, and as Dean Malenko and others found out in
the WWE, WWE fans tend to appreciate the more charismatic wrestlers. Lynn’s size was
also a problem, as he was very small, and therefore not very threatening. ECW marks may
protest that the WWE misused Lynn. This would be highly wrong, as Lynn didn’t really
fit in with the WWE crowd, and would never have gotten over due to being too bland. In
NWA:TNA now, he is doing pretty well in the more wrestling-orientated X-Division.
Tajiri
-in ECW: Tajiri was at first presented as a bland Japanese wrestler. After a heel
turn in 1999, he became the ‘Japanese Buzzsaw’ and got over with his mix of
martial arts and heel tactics reminiscent of the Great Muta. Tajiri had one main event run
against Tazz in 1999, but tended to remain at TV title level.
-the WWE debut: Tajiri debuted as a ‘butler’ type character for the then
commissioner William Regal. He got well over with this character, and it looked likely
that a feud with Regal lay ahead. Tajiri’s unorthodox ring work also made his matches
some of the most entertaining on TV, and the fans responded to suit.
-what happened next?: The InVasion happened, and by being WWE loyal, this turned
William Regal face by default. Tajiri’s main future feud was put on hold, as the
Buzzsaw enjoyed a good push, winning the Cruiserweight title and the US title along the
way. Tajiri gained Torrie Wilson as a valet, and although the long awaited feud with Regal
was disappointing, he remained over going into 2002. Tajiri then turned heel over his
jealousy of Billy Kidman, and has been in the cruiserweight division ever since.
-the future?: Now the WWE cruiserweight division is enjoying some exposure, so is
Tajiri. He is on Smackdown nearly every week, and has had some good matches lately with
Kidman, Hurricane and Rey Mysterio. I don’t see Tajiri getting any higher up the card
due to his lack of mic skills, but a major spot in the cruiserweight division should suit
him well.
Rob Van Dam
-in ECW: Van Dam was a megastar in ECW, and was easily the most over man in the
company for about 2 years. His run with the TV title elevated that belt to status above
the ECW World title, and he held the belt for a year. Although he partook in some decent
matches, it was a widely known fact across the net that Van Dam was a ‘spot
machine’. Still, he was the most recognizable ECW star.
-the WWE debut: Van Dam’s WWE debut kicked off the ECW part of the InVasion
angle. He ran in, along with Tommy Dreamer, during a match between Mike Awesome and Lance
Storm vs Chris Jericho and Kane, and beat down Kane and Jericho with the help of Awesome
and Storm. WWE wrestlers ran down to make the save, but revealed the swerve as they were
all ex-ECW stars. They beat down Kane and Jericho, and formed the ECW part of the
Alliance. Van Dam was immediately one of the more popular Alliance members, and his
popularity skyrocketed throughout the summer, enough to gain him a main event shot at
Steve Austin in October.
-what happened next?: Van Dam’s popularity remained incredibly high, and after
the Alliance crashed and burned, RVD became one of the WWE’s top faces. His push
seemed to stall in the early months of 2002, but after winning the Intercontinental title
at Wrestlemania, it seemed to pick up again. After the roster split, RVD is arguably the
#1 face on the RAW brand.
-so is RVD destined to rule the WWE?: The jury is still out. If RVD can remain as
popular as he is now, he’s guaranteed a main event run in the near future. However,
RVD does have problems. One is his significant lack of mic skills and character depth. His
character is basically non-existent unless you count ‘stoner’ as the character.
However, Benoit seems to be doing well without any real mic skills, so it proves that a
top card push without mic skills CAN happen. However, the other problem with RVD is his
repetitive matches. I don’t know whether this is down to him or the bookers, but
every TV match he has (and some on PPV too) are near enough the same, with the same spots
(Rolling Thunder, etc). This doesn’t mean that RVD has bad matches, but he does get
repetitive, and therefore boring sometime. RVD will make main event status…but he
needs to work on his mic skills and more all round matchwork to become a tip-top guy.
Tommy Dreamer
-in ECW: Dreamer was a true hardcore legend. He was mega over with the ECW fans,
even though he had awful wrestling ability, and was near enough a cripple. However,
Dreamer had a lot of heart, so ECW fans loved him for it.
-the WWE debut: See Rob Van Dam, except with one difference. While RVD remained on
TV, got way over with the fans and the like, Dreamer disappeared. His only appearance of
note I can remember was his shocking singing skills on the ‘Austin tribute’ RAW.
-what happened next?: The roster split brought Tommy back on TV, in a classic
angle. He was a ‘jackass ripoff’, and he did things such as eating disgusting
things and puking into buckets. Although most smarks hated it, I found it funny. However,
the WWE audiences didn’t really take to him, and when the monster heel Undertaker
beat the shit out of him, Taker got cheered like crazy. Poor old Tommy kept the gimmick
for one more week, before returning to his ECW ‘Innovator of Violence’ gimmick.
-what’s next?: I can’t see Tommy getting out of the Hardcore division. He
can’t really wrestle, and can’t really get over without being
‘hardcore’. A typical ECW brawler, Dreamer is seemingly only in the WWE on his
reputation. However, I’m glad to see him there, if only for the fact he’s
getting paid, and I respect him a lot as a person.
Well, that’s it. Out of the 7 ECW stars that moved to the WWE, only Rob Van Dam,
Tajiri, and Rhyno look to have any real success in the future. Spike’s done well for
himself, but I don’t see him going any further. Lynn is already gone, and
Tommy’s not exactly in line for a main event push. Do I see any other former ECW guys
jumping? In a word…no. The only others I’d honestly like to see in the WWE are
Simon Diamond and Danny Doring, as I feel their gimmicks could get over huge. However, I
can’t see it happening right now….the WWE is so loaded with talent. What I feel
this column proves is that ECW was not a goldmine for talent. It housed some top notch
wrestlers and some incredible talent, but in order to find that, there was a lot of crap
to sift through first. Another thing it proves, is that you can never know who will get
over in the big leagues of the WWE. Who would have guessed that Spike Dudley, with the
right booking, could be around the #3 face in the WWE for a while? Who would have guessed
that Justin Credible would flop…oh, me actually. Anyway, feedback can head to
scott.newman@ntlworld.com, or catch me on AIM as thesuperstar24.
|
