The ECW Alumni: Breaking News and Common Sense

The ECW Alumni. Tommy Dreamer, Steven Richards, Raven, and Rhino. For the past few weeks, these kings of extreme have been showing up on TNA IMPACT, to a rousing chorus of “ECW” chants from the fans. Yes, they show up. And, they do nothing.

We’re all aware of the situation here.

Paul Heyman is supposedly in talks with TNA about coming on board. Or, he’s already been in talks with TNA. Or, something like that.

Actually, depending on who you believe, or what day of the week you’re reading the “breaking news” headline, your information could be just about anything.

The fact is, this news has been “breaking” for about a month now, and since fans caught wind of it, speculation has been running rampant.

Will Heyman come in as the head of creative?

Will he demand full control of the product?

Will the IMPACT Zone be moved to a bingo hall?

In anticipation of Heyman’s perhaps soon to be employment with TNA, the company has decided to pull the trigger and begin featuring some familiar faces in the crowd.

Again, they show up and they do nothing.

To be honest, I’m not really sure what I want to see happen here. Should they come down the ramp, interrupt matches and start bum rushing the TNA wrestlers?

That sounds familiar.

Or, maybe they should gather in the ring and waste valuable air time by getting on the mic and giving us all a history lesson on how the original ECW changed the face of the business.

Okay, yeah, that one is probably going to happen.

Don’t misunderstand me here, I’m not making light of anything these guys accomplished during their ECW days. The promotion that no one expected to make it past the first year did that and then some. ECW turned the industry upside down with blood and guts hardcore. But it also presented some of the best matches on TV, spotlighting some of the best wrestlers to ever step into a ring.

ECW not only made it on TV, they also made it on pay per view. There was an ECW video game, and an ECW magazine. Extreme Championship Wrestling succeeded in spite of the fact that it never should have. And a lot of that is owed not only to Heyman and his passion for the business, but also to the aforementioned Alumni. These guys, along with a handful of others, made it happen.

But that is ancient history.

All those great ECW moments and memories are just that--memories. Trying to relive it or rehash it now just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me and seems pointless.

Of course, tell that to TNA, a company notorious for mishandling talent and storylines.

In its monumental effort at gaining a foothold in the business that Vince McMahon owns, TNA has done everything in its power to get the fans’ attention and loyalty. Attempting to sign Paul Heyman and bring in his old ECW crew with him is just another example.

Perhaps TNA’s move should have been to not bring these guys in until their old boss had signed on the dotted line. Or perhaps they shouldn’t have brought them in at all.

I’m not opposed to TNA loading up on talent, certainly if you’re foolhardy enough to set your sights on the world’s biggest wrestling promotion, then you will need all the help you can get.

But, Tommy Dreamer, Steven Richards, Raven, and Rhino? I mean, at this point, are these guys going to bring anything to the table besides nostalgia?

Okay, so, it’s probably safe to assume that they’re a part of the locker room and all signed to some sort of deal with the company. There’s little point in arguing whether or not they should be there. I get that.

So, since they are there, then let’s get the ball rolling. Get Heyman signed, get it done, and get him on TV. Because this is going nowhere. Fast.

You’re not building suspense by letting the fact that you’re interested in Heyman leak all over the internet. There’s no foreshadowing of a surprise storyline when you bring in four guys who used to wrestle for Heyman on the air once a week since leaking the news.

And this whole “they’re coming” line that Abyss keeps repeating? If indeed the “they” he’s referring to are the ECW Alumni, then it will end up being one of the weakest attempts at a storyline since…well, since the last time TNA tried to be creative.

No one loves a good mystery in a wrestling storyline more than me. But the truth is, there is no mystery here.

The ECW Alumni showing up every week and just standing there, soaking in the adulation of the fans while Taz denies knowledge of anything to Mike Tenay is not working for me. The fact that both Taz and Tenay have to keep stating that they don’t know what’s happening, or why these wrestlers are in attendance, is insulting the fans’ intelligence.

Enough already. TNA, make this happen if it’s going to happen. It’s too late to go back and correct your timing on the angle, so instead focus on right now and somehow get some traction under this idea, before your fans start to get ticked off and change the channel.

And, that’s not “breaking news”. That’s common sense.