The rumors keep flying around about ECW's money woes. There are even rumors of at least two workers who are being forced to sit on a couple weeks worth of paychecks. These guys are not currently being used. While I do not have all the exact financial disclosures of the company there seems to be a few individuals in the company who always seem to receive their paychecks and that can also cash them with no problem. I am sure that this is a great moral booster in the locker room.
Another rumor is that Heyman may have found himself a new money mark. This is no way is going to help the down trodden ECW. ECW has had money injections in the past only to squander away not only the money but also the benefactor. ECW's financial problems are not a secret in the industry. So getting new talent will also have to be a major concern as who in their right mind would go work for a company who does not have the consistent funds to pay their workers on a consistent basis?
Phil Varlese said on the Strictly ECW message board that it is time that Paul let's go some of the higher paid talent and develop the less expensive talent that he has there now. I have been saying for years that ECW had gotten away from how they were built in the beginning. ECW took a lot of no name talent and built a promotion into a dynasty. During that time they intermixed larger name talent to draw in some fans but also to teach the younger guys what the business was about. Why Paul Heyman got away from that is beyond my comprehension. Well, not completely.
It wasn't Heyman who was running things in the beginning was it? There were names like Eddie Gilbert, Terry Funk, Ed Zohn and others who helped forge ECW into the monster that it was. Heyman after taking over slowly became the anchor around the feet eventually almost drowning ECW. Why? Because Heyman went where his strengths did not lie. Heyman is a great motivator and a creative genius but his accounting skills are the equivolent of a popped zit meaning he doesn't have a clue.
Some are saying that ECW's money problems are because they went from a house show company to a pay per view company. This may have something to do with it but if ECW's product was half of what they claim it to be then the buyrate for their product would be a lot larger. But it is not. There have been far more bad ECW ppv's as opposed to good ppv's. This has nothing to do with the money at all, this has to do with the actual product that ECW puts out during these events.
The current ECW fan is amazed at what they see. They cannot believe the matches and highspots that ECW puts out. As I said two years ago, Heyman was capatalizing on the fact that a lot of people had never had the chance to see ECW so to them it was all fresh and new. To those of us who have watched it for years, it is pretty mundane and boring. In fact I have to say that the current ECW is probably the most watered down version of itself I have ever seen. If the fans think that ECW is hardcore then they do not know what hardcore is. I suggest picking up the whole year of 1995 television and house show tapes and watching them from January to December and learn what true ECW "Extreme" really is.
I can only hope that ECW can work out their money problems for the workers sake. ECW is becoming a "workers beware" atmosphere as you do not know whether or not your going to get paid. With all things considered I guess Paul Heyman is now the new Damien Kane on the scene.
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