Story: After Vince McMahon purchased two of his pro wrestling rivals in WCW and ECW, he would allow both brands to languish after an abysmal invasion angle flopped. But after the success of a documentary on ECW and some “One Night Stand” ECW special attraction events, Vince would attempt to revive ECW and return the extreme promotion to the airwaves. Of course, it would be a flop and was mismanaged in just about all aspects, though the new ECW would last for a short while, with a television show on SyFy and even a pay-per-view event. Was the new ECW doomed before it ever began or could the right person have guided it to newfound success? In this installment of Guest Booker, former Ring of Honor booker Gabe Sapolsky sits down to share his vision of what should have happened.

Entertainment Value: This is an interesting series, so I was curious to see what Gabe had in mind, especially since he had some involvement in the original ECW. I have to be honest, booking the new ECW is no easy task, as it would have been an uphill battle for anyone, but I was quite disappointed with the direction he took here. While I am sure the general match quality would have been better under Sapolsky’s vision, his choice in both roster and storylines left a lot to be desired. I have little to no interest in an ECW pay-per-view headlined by Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton, but that is just one of the questionable choices made here. Sapolsky does have some light background on why he went in that direction, but not enough to make it interesting or appealing, in my opinion.

Some of his other plans were passable, but unremarkable. Throwing some good tag teams into a mix of matches could bee good, but we have seen most of the matches he proposes here countless times, so not a lot of new content. I wouldn’t have minded some of the old school ECW vs. up and coming tag teams of course, since those have some fresh potential, but seeing high profile WWE tag teams run long series against each other? Pass. Sapolsky’s vision is realistic for sure, but it feels like the WWE version of ECW, just without the zombies or vampires. I expected some creative decisions and surprising picks, but this was as dull as dishwater, to be kind. If you’re curious, this is worth a look, but it is not one of the better Guest Booker releases.

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