Quick hits on ECW
• The Abraham Washington Show, which was “guest-hosted” by Santino Marella and featured Vladimir Kozlov, was one of the worst segments I have seen on a wrestling show in a while. The crowd let them know it, too, first by their apathy, and then by their booing. I am usually entertained by Marella, but he really wasn’t that funny in this segment, and Kozlov was just plain awful. He is supposed to be a Great Khali-type lovable monster now, but the crowd either hasn’t figured that out or doesn’t care. Even Tony Atlas – whose exaggerated laugh always gets a chuckle out of me – seemed off his game. After sitting through this excruciating segment, I wonder if people now have a greater appreciation for Washington’s talent. I know I do.
• Marella did get in one funny line, although only insider fans would have gotten it. He said that Washington had come down with a case of Gastro-Laurinaitis. For those who don’t know, John Laurinaitis is WWE’s executive vice president of talent relations.
• Christian and William Regal had a good match, which was no surprise, but neither was the result – Christian won by disqualification due to interference by Ezekiel Jackson.
• I wonder if the confrontation between Zack Ryder and The Hurricane that also involved Rosa Mendes and ring announcer Savannah is going to lead to some mixed tag matches. Savannah, whose real name is Angela Fong, is actually a trained wrestler, and from what I have read, she’s a decent worker.
• The match that saw Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft defeat Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust was OK, but I thought it dragged a bit.







Comments
Wow actual wrestling stuff. Maybe more wrestlers need to slap someone for saying something that they didnt agree with so we can get more of this.
Posted by: mrejr8234 | January 20, 2010 5:34 PM
I agree, Kevin. I can't tell if they are trying to get Kozlov over, and more importantly, why? He hasn't done anything... literally... He's like Mark Sanchez. He only really does two things. Roars, and then gets pinned. (Sanchez hands off the ball and cheers like he's a member of the Spirit Squad) Kozlov had potential at one point. He's a judo champion, but I can't tell that from his matches. He's 37, and they kinda just gave up on him after the HHH run. So, haven't we?
Posted by: Jam Allan | January 20, 2010 7:02 PM
Kev, what is your opinion on wrestling as it is today?
With WWE not recognizing its younger talent, ECW being what is going from a C show to and F show and TNA looking up but then falling flat with the booking of Hogan and the older stars; it seems that we are in a dyre time with wrestling.
Certainly it is hard to top the original Monday Night Wars and The Attitude era, but I am personally starting to lose interest.
RESPONSE FROM KE: The most disappointing thing to me is what is going on in TNA. I was really excited about the company after Bound for Glory. Now, not so much.
Posted by: Keir | January 20, 2010 9:01 PM
Savannah was also the "Queen of FCW" (as Angela Fong). She's no Hamada, but she's a better worker than most women in the WWE. And as an aside, she's a lot nicer to look at than most of the Divas, in my humble opinion.
Here's a pretty decent match she had with Alicia Fox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvr13dPc32Q
Posted by: Michael in Virginia | January 20, 2010 9:20 PM
Is it me or did you just give Abraham Washington a compliment?
If I recall correctly you bashed him pretty well in the past. I still think Washington is horrible on the mic and his show is just not funny or entertaining at all.
I know that Santino segment was pretty bad, but I'd just rather have superstars hosting their own segments like Christian's Peep Show, Jericho's Highlight Reel, Edge's Cutting Edge, or even Carlito's Cabana. At least they don't laugh at their own jokes or make racist remarks like Abraham Washington.
RESPONSE FROM KE: I did criticize Washington when he first started in WWE, but then he started to grow on me. This is not the first time that I have said that I think he has talent. Just last week I said that I thought he would make a good heel commentator. Some of the Abraham Washington segments have been funny -- although Tony Atlas has a lot to do with that.
Posted by: MitZi | January 20, 2010 11:38 PM
Goldust - most over person on the ECW roster behind Christian.
Posted by: PJ | January 21, 2010 12:08 AM
"Goldust - most over person on the ECW roster behind Christian."
That has to rub the WWE higher ups the wrong way. They basically threw him on ECW because they don't have jack for him to do on the other brands and he ends up being over as hell. I wonder if it all started out of a misplaced attempt at irony?
Posted by: Loco | January 21, 2010 2:50 AM
Am I the only one that was hoping for a cat fight between Savannah and Rosa? Oh, yeah - PG-13. [sigh]
Posted by: Marko50 | January 21, 2010 3:27 AM
ECW doesn't need to exist anymore. That show is so horrible ever since they completely gutted the roster.
They either need to cut it or bring back guys like Bourne, Swagger, and the Hart dynasty who have done nothing since leaving the brand.
Posted by: Elevation | January 21, 2010 11:12 AM
"That has to rub the WWE higher ups the wrong way. They basically threw him on ECW because they don't have jack for him to do on the other brands and he ends up being over as hell. I wonder if it all started out of a misplaced attempt at irony?"
they could turn him into his heel stalker persona from when he first entered WWF put him in a title feud with Christian and he would still be massively over.
Posted by: PJ | January 21, 2010 5:06 PM
Is it me or is Byron Saxton trying to hard to be a heel announcer? He simply comes off as annoying.
Posted by: eee | January 21, 2010 6:46 PM
I always liked Goldust, loved his old entrance with Terri and how he would do things in the ring to totally boggle the minds of the guys he was wrestling. He's gotten himself into decent shape too, if you recall how he looked in that Santino Marella thing of ex-champions like Honky-Tonk man and all, Goldie looked like he was about to bust through his seams. Not anymore. He looks pretty trim and he's a good wrestler.
Before he left WWE he was cutting all these promos dressed all in black with white face paint; almost like a darker Undertaker, (Can't recall the name he was going to use) but when he made that debut he bowed out of the WWE and said he didn't know what he was doing anymore, that the Goldust character basically killed his career.
Might make for an interesting angle if Cody and Ted split for Goldust to come back as Dustin Reynolds?
Posted by: The Mythical One | January 24, 2010 8:53 AM
"I wonder if people now have a greater appreciation for Washington’s talent. I know I do."
__________________________________
Sure, just like I appreciate the talent of a cat whose tail gets caught in a rocking chair. Abe has the perfect voice to be a mime. He really missed his calling.
Posted by: Christopher | January 26, 2010 12:52 AM
The most disappointing thing to me is what is going on in TNA. I was really excited about the company after Bound for Glory. Now, not so much.
Hmmm, that statement does a lot to characterize the difference between WCW and TNA. Eric Bischoff has a statement on "The Monday Night War" DVD where he says he made a loud noise to get all the WWF viewers to look over, and then they shifted to watching the product.
TNA made a loud noise on Jan. 4th to get the looks, but is there anything for people to shift their viewing habits? It seems like most just went back to watching what is in front of them (WWE).
Perhaps an article outlining the difference between WCW and TNA would be an interesting read.
Posted by: Mr. Sarcasm | January 26, 2010 3:46 PM