Tazz Blasts Vince Over ECW Axing

[nightrain]

VINCE MCMAHON'S version of Extreme Championship Wrestling will be axed at the end of the month, leaving former stars furious.

The WWE boss confirmed the news last night and immediately came under fire from a host of grapplers who made their name with the brand formerly owned by Paul Heyman.

Under the stewardship of maverick promoter Heyman, ECW became the most exciting wrestling organisation in the world during its mid 1990s heyday.

But after filing for bankruptcy in April 2001, McMahon stripped the company of its assets and signed the promotion's biggest stars to WWE.

However, fans criticised the WWE supremo for stripping away the ****, innovative style of wrestling that had made the original ECW such a huge hit.

Wrestlers like Tazz, Tommy Dreamer and Jerry Lynn were given poor storylines and became increasingly frustrated with the direction the rebranded ECW took under the WWE umbrella.

And Tazz — who parted company with WWE last April — blasted McMahon for failing to acknowledge the role of Heyman and the original talent roster in creating the first incarnation of the promotion.

The grappler roared: "So, WWE are ending their 'vision' of ECW — thank God!

"Did any original ECW wrestlers get a thanks? How about Paul Heyman — did he get a thanks? Classy move!"

McMahon did not thank any individuals during his brief announcement. He simply thanked the producers and agents, production staff and wrestlers for helping build the new ECW brand.

ECW's slot on the SyFy network will be replaced with a new programme called 'NXT', which insiders say will represent the "next generation" of wrestling.

The final ECW event will be screened on February 23 with NXT first airing the following week.

It is understood executives at the SyFy network had become increasingly disappointed with ECW's plummeting ratings and put pressure on McMahon to scrap it.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/2837389/Taz-has-hit-out-as-Vince-McMahon-announces-the-end-of-ECW.html#ixzz0eUvZNSAU

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Any comparisons to the original ECW are pointless at this stage IMO. They haven't pushed it as being anything like the original for a long time now. The only thing that connects them is the name. When people say "it's not like the original ECW", it's like... duh.

I guess maybe it's better that they're changing the name but in the end, it's the product that's most important, not the name.

[Hammy]

The way the article reads, you'd think Jerry Lynn was booked badly on the show.  He was never on the friggin' thing!

[Izzy]

Can't wait for the next abomination - Thunder, Heat, what's NXT?