Great post. Jack Swagger the greatest thing ever, Tommy Dreamer the worst thing ever. Unfortunetly I bet HHH has got Swagger on his radar if you know what I mean.

Well i didnt get to see matt vs swagger. The Matt vs Jeff thing, yes i would love to see it. i grew up cheering them both on, so them agaist eachother would be great. then again Christian vs Jeff would be good too. Ive been a fan of Christian and Edge from a young age too. Same time around when i started to love the hardys, so either way Hardy vs Hardy or Jeff vs Christian. Hell Edge and Christian vs Hardyz would be great to see again.. its all up to the wwe and where they wanna take this stuff

I agree with you completly Kevin, Swagger is looking great, he deserves a huge push. And it works well, swagger needs a championship to show is talent, Noone doubts matt hardys talent (apart from eric bischoff, but supose thats why he lost the monday night war) and it frees up for a hardy boyz feud, or even at first an edge and christian vs hardy boyz feud, but I think soon these two teams will impload, I hope anyway, Hope creative reads this! lol

It looks like with Dreamer they are going to have him truiamphly fight for the championship just before his end of contract, but lose and this will be his retirement, looks like WWE will make a big deal out of it, simular to Ric Flair.

Yeah the boogeyman gimmick is so bad now, so old, stale and cringing. I honestly the the days of gimmicks like that have gone, even Undertaker looks out of place now but we look over his gimmick as he is a legend.

Agree 100% about last night --- Although I'm not that crazy about Swagger's personality --- I can't deny he's good ---- but the match quality was really good and should have been pay-per-view. While I like both the Hardy's, I was really hoping since they were both champions, you and others would be wrong regarding possible feud between the two, but after Matt's loss last night, I now foresee that happening.

Also re: Tommy Dreamer --- I guess his main wrestling was before I really started watching, so he's never done anything for me - so his possible retirement means nothing to me.

And I do enjoy Alicia and her partner and their win over the Burchhills was great (since I can't stand Paul and Katie Lea).

The Boogeyman (and Umaga) could both be released from their contracts with WWE as far as I'm concerned - they do nothing for me.

Have to disagree with you about holding out for a Matt Vs. Jeff feud. I'm not sure that is a good thing for either man. The few matches they have had in the past have been poor - from that evidence, they don't work well together.

From a box office point of view, Matt Vs. Jeff could be good, but why waste its potential at Mania when the match will get lost in the shuffle. Why not make it Christian, have Matt allign with Jeff but then turn on him at Mania. Then they can have a feud leading to a Summerslam match. Just a thought...

Keep up the great work, your blogs are the best around!

Is it just me or is the fact that Tommy is gonna retire on June 6 if he doesn't win the title and the fact that the very next day is WWE One Night Stand where WWE goes EXTREME just a bit coincidental?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: No coincidence at all.

Kevin sorry about the spoiler but down here in OC went to ravens party last night didnt see match. Swagger will make a good champion but remember give some credit to the man that prepares them for being champion, Finlay. I hope Swagger has a better run as champion then Lasshley did, Swaggers wrestling background make him an Ideal champion.

Hey. 2 Questions:
1) In the spirit of your recent interview, have you ever thought of introducing yourself as Misteeeeeeer Eck!.....Eck!?
2) As someone as familiar with the biz as you are, do you know how far in advance a change in hands of titles are planned? For example, would Hardy have known for a while that he was going to lose the title last night, or do you think he was told the night of the show?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK:

1. No! ......No!
2. It varies. Sometimes the plans are mapped out ahead of time, and other times they are decided on short notice.

I'll have to agree to disagree with you on the Tommy Dreamer storyline, Kevin.

Dreamer isn't one of my favorite wrestlers, and like you I admire his passion for the business and the fans (I met him in person once; he was obviously in pain, but he stood outside after an event and signed autographs and took pictures with fans for at least 45 minutes to an hour), but I can't really see him retiring from the WWE without having the ECW title around his waist at least once. I don't see the same thing you see in Swagger, but if an eventual move to RAW or Smackdown is in the cards for him, him losing the title to Dreamer sometime in May or June, it would clear the way for a brief feud between Christian Cage and Dreamer, assuming Matt is the one behind the attacks on Jeff. A Dreamer/Cage match may not be as glamorous as Hogan/Andre or Michaels/Cena, but it is a way for Cage to creep back into the WWE and distance himself from the stench of Russo's creative skills. Also, it could also pan out to be a situation where Dreamer doesn't beat Swagger for the title. Jeff Hardy pinned Edge to win his 1st championship, not HHH. So theoretically, Hardy still hasn't beaten "The Game" for the title.

Hey Kevin, couple of ?s for you. Now I agree completely with you that Swagger is going to be a big star but is it really right to put the title on a guy who has been there a mere 4 months? I also agree with you that Dreamer hasnt been very entertaining since the "real" ECW days, but dont you feel that solely out of respect for being the only original left he deserves one more title run? I mean ECW already isnt the Extreme Wrestling I used to love, but it simply looks like the NCAA of Professinal wrestling.

If Swagger gets drafted to RAW or Smackdown in June I don't see the harm in him dropping the belt to Dreamer if the match is done the right way. Like it not, Dreamer=ECW. He should have one last title before he hangs it up. Besides, remember that Lashley was stripped of the ECW belt when he got drafted to Smackdown. It wouldn't make much sense for Swagger to be drafted if he still has the ECW belt on him.

Too bad for Tommy Dreamer that there is not another Championship Scramble between now and June. That's the only way I would applaud another title win for him.

I really enjoyed Matt Hardy as ECW Champion, but it felt like he was a huge fish in a small pond. I hope WWE wanted to give him a run on top of the minor brand before elevating him on RAW or Smackdown! (as opposed to under-estimating his fanbase when moving him).

With Jack Swagger on top of ECW, it feels more like a level playing field. I expect there will be several good, televised title matches in the coming months on Sci-Fi now.

The episode sounds good, so I'll tape the Canadian broadcast on Friday.

I agree that despite all the Christian rumours the plan has changed (or changed back) to Matt being Jeff's attacker. Otherwise, as you alluded to, Kevin, Matt's title loss at this time is a bit of coincidence.

hey i'm adgreeing with you on the matt haryd bit

however you missed the spot now that matt can enter the royal rumble!

whouldnt be something if he won challenging matt for the title, and along the way we find out it was him who attacked him, leading to a tag team contest at NWO where jeff picks his partner against edge and matt. and it turns out to be christain

on tommey dreamer give the man a break, he is passainte for this businnes as anyone one can be

he bleed for ECW and i bet watching change to a completely different show must of been bad for him

people still like him and it will be sad to see him go, he did bring something to this businness, heart

Who would you like to see win the title from swagger? I would like to see dj gabliel, but won't happen, I am betting on dremer, but holding out hope they will be smart and make borne be the one to beat swagger and make swagger still look good in the process by have swagger beat him a couple of times and then let borne win the title and let swagger get drafted and makes him look credible. I am scared however that he might pull a lashley or leasner, that is the only thing I have agianst this, becase he might think there is nothing left to accomplsih, that is why I am also 50/50 on giving borne the title too, but borne probaly can't go into mma, but I think swagger will stay, becase he looks to have a passsion for wreslting, however koslov, worries me, if they make him wait, then he will stay, but if they give him the title, then he might run off to mma, where he would probaly win the title in no time, just my thoughts. Great post, you. The only real problem I have with swagger is that he played for the sonners in football, HOOK EM HORNS! LOL, just kidding. peace

Question - Do you think that Matt Hardy losing the belt to a rookie upstart (and the ECW belt, no less) unduly weakens him before the start of a feud with his brother? To me, the most compelling feuds are those in which the heel and the face are evenly matched and their angst come from their inability to top one another. Jeff Hardy is already the WWE champion, ostensibly a higher level championship than the ECW championship, and I'm afraid the Hardy feud path, already fraught with pitfalls, could be compromised by anything that seems like a huge disparity in strength between the two brothers. I know he didn't lose cleanly, exactly, and Matt Striker's stellar commentary did much to put him over. I also know that the loss of the championship could be used as motivation for Matt's turn; however, I don't think that's the way to go. That being said, I am really, REALLY looking forward to seeing Matt Hardy stretch himself as a performer and am phenomenally pleased the company is giving him this opportunity (assuming what we all think is right, of course). Are you thinking the turn will come as quickly as the Royal Rumble? BTW, for the naysayers to the Hardy feud, many citing the short-lived, unsuccessful feud of the past, I would mention that the two are much more experienced and improved performers now. Give it a chance.

I'd like to see something with Dreamer similar to what happened in the "real" ECW ... he finally won the ECW title and was challenged only minutes later by Justin Credible & lost the belt.

Maybe Swagger loses the title to Mark Henry or somebody & Dreamer beats him for the ECW title ... and then loses it immediately in a special challenge match to Jack Swagger.

Oh yeah, I wanted to ask - have you ever done a Yahoo search of yourself?

I have your blog bookmarked on my computer, so I never have to type the address. I was on a different computer & wanted to check your blog out, but I didn't have the address. I typed "Kevin Eck" into the Yahoo searchbar & your blog came up in the first search ... but it wasn't your main page, it sent me to your write-up of a conference call you took part in with Stone Cold Steve Austin from the end of 2007.

Dreamer has never been a mark for titles, so I think he just wants one more chase for the title that would probably culminate in an extreme rules match at ONS. Personally, I think this could work because of the whole retirement angle thing. On a side note, Kevin I was wondering what you thought of the original ECW. Did you ever watch it?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I was a casual fan of ECW. I think Paul Heyman did a great job of creating a niche product on a shoestring budget, and ECW definitely had a major influence on the direction of the industry. However, I had trouble getting past the minor-league feel of the shows and the lack of overall star power.

Not 100% sold on building an entire brand around Swagger yet. I'm also wondering if he will eventually break someone's neck with that finisher. Don't get wrong he has the makings of a great mid card champ but the entire brand???.

My thought it is that it is alway best to put the top title on an individual who can hopefully usher in a new era for the company (with occasional tranisitonal champs to set us up for the upcoming new era). Seems as if the WWE has lost that somewhere.

Matt's loss is surly set up for the the Hardy fued.

Dreamer contract does not realy end in June i was on wikipedia and they said when his "Kafabe" contract expies so I think he will end up beating Swagger who by the way i can't stand.....

As someone that attended MANY original ECW shows in Philly, there is nobody on the WWE roster that I have more respect for than Tommy Dreamer. He LITERALLY broke his back carrying ECW on his back. He's not the flashiest guy, but he gives you everything he's got. If WWE wants to have him beat Swagger, I have no issue with it. Dreamer won't have a long title run, it's not his style, but if he gets the belt for a month, it'll be quite deserved. It's just a shame that it won't get the pop that it should.
And besides, don't worry about Swagger. Losing ONE match to Tommy Dreamer won't hurt him.

We all could use a bit more Swagger! I agree with the Swagger comments Kevin. I am hoping for a Jeff vs Matt match at Wrestlemania since I am lucky enough to attend this year since I live 2 hours from Houston. In my opinion, Tommy Dreamer is such an underappreciated talent in the WWE. He is willing to put over any wrestler on ECW and is looking to do what is best for the company. I hope he does get one last run as ECW champion because he is certainly deserving of the honor. Great posts as always Kevin

I am getting behind Dreamer, the determined underdog. I agree with the comment that Swagger would not be hurt much by a loss to Tommy, for Tommy now has something significant being written for him.