San Antonio: 3) Taker vs. 14) Awesome
Feb 16, 2008 3:24:27 GMT -5
Post by Lucky on Feb 16, 2008 3:24:27 GMT -5
Styles felt that way. He absolutely 100% did. He had been saying that stuff for years, he repeated it afterwards, and he restated some of it after Awesome died (although in an understandably muted for). You said earlier that Dreamer and Heyman could hate Awesome because ECW was their company. I think you're narrowing you view too much. Joey was there the entire time as well and was as much that company as Dreamer and Heyman were. There were also guys like Guido, Stevie, Nova, and Bubba who were said to bust their asses to make that company work. Sending out catalogues themselves, licking envelopes, handing out fliers, making phone calls, setting up rings. It was an indy company and with indy companies these guys often live and breath it. And with companies like ROH and ECW who gain lives of their own and become something more than an indy? A lot of the ROH guys seem to have the same opinion of that company and deep love that the ECW guys had. Even ones like Joe and Punk who moved on because ROH didn't have anything left for them and got the better financial and business deals. Because abandoning ROH and ECW wasn't a betrayal when they all realized those companies were limited and the time had come.
Lets remember that Awesome DIDN'T get the title to WCW because Heyman stopped him. But if he had and if he had trashed it would that have hurt ECW? I dunno. People certainly feel Douglas was the nail in the coffin for NWA, but of course that was a different situation where NWA was already pretty well dead and they put their hopes on Douglas, Heyman, Gordon, and ECW. ECW was in bad ways when Awesome left but maybe not on that death bed. Or maybe it was with the way it was losing money, hemorrhaging talent, and rejected by TNN.
Could attention and controversy have helped ECW? Maybe. Could disrespecting the title and promotion hurt it? Bischoff certainly thought so when he did it with Madusa and Douglas thought so. I think there's something to be said for the image of a company being important. Look at TNA that gets SHIT on by the vast majority of the internet, that is disregarded as bush league and filled with WWE rejects. Many feel that TNA is inferior because its not WWE. Many basically dismiss Angle, Christian, and Booker months after they were main eventers (or close) and hot commodities in WWE. In many ways perception IS reality it seems. The biggest hurdle for TNA APPEARS to be the image and basic disrespect that the WWE fanbase has for it. And it doesn't help that ROH and indie fans also have hated it for much of its run.
But also don't forget, we're talking about emotional responses. Joey bled ECW. Awesome betraying ECW pissed him off. Dev LOVES ECW. Awesome betraying it pissed him off. Those are not logical or rational responses. They are emotional. ECW was a copy that garnered (and still does) a LOT of emotional responses.
Lets remember that Awesome DIDN'T get the title to WCW because Heyman stopped him. But if he had and if he had trashed it would that have hurt ECW? I dunno. People certainly feel Douglas was the nail in the coffin for NWA, but of course that was a different situation where NWA was already pretty well dead and they put their hopes on Douglas, Heyman, Gordon, and ECW. ECW was in bad ways when Awesome left but maybe not on that death bed. Or maybe it was with the way it was losing money, hemorrhaging talent, and rejected by TNN.
Could attention and controversy have helped ECW? Maybe. Could disrespecting the title and promotion hurt it? Bischoff certainly thought so when he did it with Madusa and Douglas thought so. I think there's something to be said for the image of a company being important. Look at TNA that gets SHIT on by the vast majority of the internet, that is disregarded as bush league and filled with WWE rejects. Many feel that TNA is inferior because its not WWE. Many basically dismiss Angle, Christian, and Booker months after they were main eventers (or close) and hot commodities in WWE. In many ways perception IS reality it seems. The biggest hurdle for TNA APPEARS to be the image and basic disrespect that the WWE fanbase has for it. And it doesn't help that ROH and indie fans also have hated it for much of its run.
But also don't forget, we're talking about emotional responses. Joey bled ECW. Awesome betraying ECW pissed him off. Dev LOVES ECW. Awesome betraying it pissed him off. Those are not logical or rational responses. They are emotional. ECW was a copy that garnered (and still does) a LOT of emotional responses.