Jim Ross Posts The Greatest Blog Ever On The End Of The ECW Brand

And all this time, I thought they hated each other!

Coming just 24 hours after Joey Styles posted an emotional blog on WWE Universe (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/346438-joey-styles-breaks-wwe-tradition-posts-powerful-blog-on-end-of-ecw) about WWE's decision to replace the ECW brand on SyFi with the new NXT concept, "Good Ol' JR" Jim Ross has posted his own blog about the former Extreme promotion on the J.R. BBQ Website.

You can read Ross' entire blog here: http://www.jrsbarbq.com/blog/tuesday-updateecwrvdufc-ppvgeno-auriemma-wrestling-managerfree-shipping-line-orders

Ross speaks quite highly of the original ECW promotion, and delivers enormous praise for Paul Heyman that leaves no doubt he respects Heyman and admires his genius.

Having watched these two battle each other, sometimes viciously and personally on the air since their days in WCW circa 1989, I am amazed at the level of respect Ross displays for Heyman. I remember being a kid and watching Heyman, then known as Paul E. Dangerously, co-host WCW New York with Ross. "Paul E" played it perfectly, the desperate New Yorker trying to be the hero in his hometown, but couldn't hide the fact he was an asshole. Ross, the Oklahoma good ol' boy, never insulting New York, but defending his own home turf, and being the humble but authoritative babyface. Their dynamic was unique and it worked.

When they were the WWE Monday Night Raw broadcast team in 2001, the tension seemed even greater. WWE Owner Vince McMahon, who loves to take shots at Ross at every turn, must have been scratching his head when Heyman, in his final broadcast as Raw color commentator, dove over the announce table and got pummeled by Ross.

So, when Heyman left WWE in December, 2006 after his major falling out with Vince and Stephanie over the direction of the ECW brand, and the disastrous ECW December To Dismember pay per view, you'd think Ross was rid of his former thorn in the side forever.

Check out some of these quotes by Ross from his blog:

Tonight is the last night that ECW will air on TV which signals the end of a unique and memorable era within the business. The underfunded, attitudinal, and overachieving original ECW was fun to watch on TV although I have to reluctantly admit that I never attended a live, ECW event in South Philly. I think that re-branding the Tuesday night time slot on Sy Fy is timely as the letters "ECW" always conjured up a different image than I saw on my TV screen. Mid South Wrestling was "extreme" before ECW took the term to a different level and I know how I would feel if someone would attempt to replicate Mid South or even UWF for that matter. The original versions of both ECW and Mid South Wrestling were relevant in a different era, with a distinctively different talent roster, and a different mindset as it relates to the genre. The days of blood and guts in wrestling are largely over due to health issues and political correctness which is simply what it is and not a hill that I choose to die upon.

I have always saluted Paul Heyman's creation and his ability to motivate his team to an "us versus the world" mentality that worked and kept the ship afloat even when financial woes plagued ECW.

Many viable stars were created in ECW and Heyman had the gift that many decision makers before him possessed in the territory days and that was throughly understanding his wrestlers and hiding their weaknesses to the TV viewer while exploiting those individual's strengths. 

ECW made unique and significant contributions to the pro wrestling world and their alumni should feel a source of pride for their accumulative accomplishments. I will enjoy watching old episodes of the "Original" for years to come when the opportunity presents itself. No one can tell the ECW story in today's marketplace better than their one and only voice, Joey Styles. 

A simply shocking tribute, in so many ways. I have to give Ross so much credit to portray ECW as the logical successor to the Mid South style, and to heap such praise on Heyman, especially because I never knew these two didn't hate each other!

Ross's blog, as well as Styles's, gets 5 stars and the highest recommendation I can give.