As the title of this particular article suggests the ECW brand is walking with a new Swagger. Their new champion is of course The All American American who is very American Jack Swagger. This topic will of course be the majority of this article. Two clear schools of thought emerge on the title change.The first one is that it's a great thing for ECW as a brand because the championship changed hands on free TV and it furthers the anything can happen vibe, and Matt Hardy didn't do Jack with the belt. The second, is that this was a wasted title change when both guys could have had a great match and more exposure at the Rumble.
I have absolutely no problem with Jackie Boy being the new ECW Champion. I do think that with that the Ricky Ortiz/Jack Swagger confrontation from weeks ago should have been billed as a #1 contender match to give both guys some sort of rub. Now, it's too late for that, so this isn't going to be a recap really, more of an opinionated article. Except it's from both ends of the spectrum.
Having the Swag go over on Hardy for the ECW Championship on free television was brilliant. It harkens back to the Attitude Era when anything could happen at anytime. It's free TV it's the brands most meaningful championship and it's changing hands on a random Tuesday night. With that you just gotta know what's happening each week.
ECW has been on the right track for over a year. It's been the best wrestling show on television (unless you're one of nine that still watch TNA) for a really long time, and that decision further solidifies it as such. Having Swagger do it in heel fashion over the huge babyface champ was brilliant. Firing on all cylinders people.
Not only did Swagger get the belt, but now he has Tommy Dreamer hot on his heels, and Dreamer has laid down the gauntlet. If he isn't ECW Champ by June he's out of here. He's given himself six months, and he's set up a good old fashion title chase. God I love ECW.
Bob Seger said it best. Turn the page. We're flipping gears and going with the other school of thought now.
Having Jack Swagger defeat Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship on free TV was dumb. They wasted the title change. Why trivialize the title and Matt Hardy's reign, and Jack Swaggers win by giving it all away on a TV show that gets a 1.4 on a really good week.
Why not do this on PPV when people pay for it, and will actually see it. The thing with ECW is that it's championship doesn't mean much anyway. The champion there doesn't accomplish much, and considering his belt is what the old European belt was, you really don't care.
So to add a little prestige, and get a few people to notice this is something that should have happened at the Royal Rumble, not on a Tuesday night when CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC, and even TNT are going to out-rate you 10:1. See where I'm going with this? It's rediculous. It was uncalled for, and Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger will pay for it, not reap the benifits.
Take from that article what you will. You decide, choose a side, or create your own.
Quick Results...
*DJ Gabriel w/Alicia Fox def. Paul Burchill w/Katie Lea
*Boogeyman squash match
*Jack Swagger def. Matt Hardy to become new ECW Champion
5 comments: on "Tha A List Analysis: ECW's New Swagger"
It was a good match, Matt Hardy done all he could with the belt while he had it, now off to SmackDown he should go or a good vacation to heal up... not even a rematch.
No issue with putting the belt on him, that title doesn't define the show anyways. Matt Hardy is over much more than the title he held.
I'm hoping Boogeyman is next on the list for at least a shot and no I don't care about his workrate.
One thing to note is that American Idol started this week, and will be on every tuesday from 8-10. With that being the most popular show in the states (not sure if its on in Canada). Maybe this was an idea that had to do with that.
A lot of people who watch ECW pretty regularly may have switched the channel this week to watch Idol. The idea of a title switch this week could have been for the purpose of making people who missed this weeks show regret it, and not let it happen again.
I remember this working on me during the attitude era, when I felt like I couldn't miss one second of WWE programing, or I might be lost the next day in school when everyone was talking about it, or be lost the next week when I didnt know what was going on. Of course, this was also before youtube.
With that being said, I do like that they're finally using the ECW belt the way they intended to. It's basically slowly becoming the FCW A team belt, and it will be great to see how some of these guys from developmental get over as champ on national TV before giving them one of the "belts that matter." My prediction is that Swagger won't get over, but now at least he has the opportunity to prove people like me wrong.
On a side note, sorry about your Panthers. I definitely wasn't rooting for them but I still feel your pain.
I looovvvveeee Jack Swagger. Great match, great choice, and even better storyline with Dreamer. Swagger's first big win on ECW was over Dreamer so to it would be awesome for Dreamer to come full circle and meet Swagger again, but for the title. I predict Swagger keeping it for a while till the confrontation with Dreamer.
It would have been buried on PPV. Doesn't the ECW match usually curtain-jerk? Also, no one buys the PPV for the ECW title match anyway, especially not something so heavily hyped and gimmicked as the Rumble. Hell, no one bought an actual ECW-specific PPV to see an ECW title match (December to...something something...)! Besides, the free TV audience is much larger than a PPV audience, and the people that tune in to ECW do so to specifically watch ECW, so the percentage of people that may actually care or tell their friends to watch is even that much more significant. They need to keep the show strong and hold on to the audience's attention. The PVs come and go, but the show has to continue week to week. Doing a title switch at the Rumble, particularly one involving a relative unknown like Swagger, would be a waste, since he'd be one of the least important guys on the card. If anything, the title win might buy him an extra couple minutes of face time in the Rumble match itself. Seeing it occur on ECW TV, where he's the bigger fish in a smaller pond, makes HIM seem more significant without being in the shadows of Cena, HHH, etc., even if the title doesn't mean a whole lot in the bigger picture.
Is it just me or doesn't using an uncovered turnbuckle count as an illegal weapon. Now I don't mind swagger winning that way but surely the ref should have been lookin in the opposite direction when Hardy hit it.
Instead he made a sign like 'oh my god that must hurt'
WHAT!! I mean really!!
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