BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) THE WOMEN
ECW has a different kind of “diva”. I don’t want to be crud and say they were “sluttier” because the WWF and WCW was putting on string bikinis and having HLA. ECW divas were just more seductive. They had that stripper vibe to them where they were part of the hustle. They were putting on a show so much as showing off in character. At the same time, these women were also just as exposes in the promo area. Characters like Francine, Dawn Marie, Miss Congeniality, Tammy Sytch, Jazz, Kimona, and of course Beulah were made important parts of the show. Everyone was utilized in cool ways and I think the women of ECW are slept on. Yeah, they were hot and “slutty”, but they carried their own.
(THREE) THE PROMOS
I did like the fact they cussed more and “shot” on each other and things. The words they said felt more genuine than the WWF stuff. They could get away with more and they took advantage of that. The odd and interesting characters were fun to hear from. The storylines got all deep and personal like a wrestling show should, but it felt contemporary and less staged. I remember people being worked to the point where they’d say “is ECW real?” at some points. You laugh at them, but then you see New Jack pick up a microphone and things got “real” real quick.
(TWO) THE THREE WAY DANCES
No other company did Three Way Dances like ECW. It’s a match that rarely works out well. They’re hard to pull off right and when it’s done it’s awesome. ECW cracked the equation before anyone else. The trick is to make it an Elimination Match. It adds another level to the match and it’s just more decisive and impactful. The original “The Night the Line Was Crossed” match between Funk, Sabu, and Douglas was the shit, but the rematch is one of my favorites of all time. The three way headlock and some of the spots in that match would be replicated thousands of times afterwards by everyone from Stone Cold Steve Austin to the worst local wrestler in the worst local fed. This something that ECW just did right.
(ONE) “REAL” ENTRANCE MUSIC
ECW was a low budget production that wasn’t too far ahead of a really rich indepedent fed. One of the aspects of the indies is the lack of original music. People have to pick their favorite songs or a song that works for their persona and use THAT as their enterence music. No musican gets paid and it’s all done on the low-key for the live crowd. On DVDs, most feds will cut that part or at least should because they could and should get sued for it. It’s a tricky area because it also provides A LOT of promotion for the bands. I recently had someone text me with the most random question I’ve ever been texted. “How did that simon says song from ECW?” I knew exactly what he was talking about. My brain dusted off an old file cabinet and within a few miliseconds I was typing back “I think it was Drain STH”. That’s a band I know nothing about and have not thought of in years. But dammit, ECW’s music was so important that it’s in my brain. Who was the 28th president? No idea. Who did the remake version of RVD’s entrance “Walk” by Pantera? Kilgore. What is the periodic symbol of Platinium? No idea. What are the lyrics to New Jack’s theme song “Natural Born Killers”? I could. Don’t test me.
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