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CALDWELL BLOG: Day-after TNA Sacrifice thoughts on good wrestling and bad booking, ECW brand at 3 years May 25, 2009 - 2:33:16 PM
-- Last night's TNA Sacrifice PPV was right there in the middle with good wrestling, but terrible booking. Good action, but frustrating finishes. Great Don West, annoying and over-bearing Don West. Matches that mattered and matches that were forgotten the moment they ended.
In other words, it was just a regular TNA PPV where the booking committee tried too hard. Most obvious was the A.J. Styles vs. Booker T match. If you don't have a finish for an I Quit match, then don't book it. Involving the Sharmell-Jenna feud in a semi-main event PPV match was simply unacceptable.
Adding a stipulation to a match for the sake of having a stipulation to create distinguished PPV matches is what gets TNA into trouble on a monthly basis. They end up trying to book around the stips throughout the PPV and end up with more non-clean finishes than clean finishes.
At the end of the day, we're faced with the same ol' TNA PPV story of good wrestling, but the creative effort taking away from the action.
-- Three years ago today, WWE officially announced the addition of a third brand, ECW. This came one year after the awesome ECW One Night Stand PPV when WWE decided to capitalize on the first ECW PPV's success.
Three years later, the cast of characters is completely different from the first episodes of the new ECW TV, with Tommy Dreamer being one of the only remaining wrestlers still on the roster. Those first few episodes featured a special guest each week to go with the main roster of RVD, Sabu, Paul Heyman, and Big Show. The main line-up today includes Jack Swagger, Christian, Hart Foundation, and G.M. Tiffany.
The brand's TV ratings have fluctuated since the initially strong ratings three years ago when fans tuned in out of curiosity to see what the ECW brand would look like under WWE's umbrella. Lately, ratings have dropped against the NBA Playoffs. The show also features a talent roster of up-and-coming stars who aren't "household names" yet, which goes against WWE's formula of pushing stars to the masses.
ECW went from being a nostalgia touring show to a viable third brand, but it's still treated as a nationally televised "developmental territory." So, is the ECW brand better off in 2009 with newer stars who have potential to be PPV main-eventers two-to-three years down the line? Or, is there another way to approach the ECW brand three yeas later? Send your thoughts to pwtorch@gmail.com.
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