Is ROH the next ECW?

[bigHEADinc]

Just thinking about it off the top of my head, is ROH the next ECW?

I mean, TNA seems to be scooping up exclusivity deals with ROH mainstays (Samoa Joe, Homicide) effectively pulling them from ROH shows, alongside their interest in several other ROHers (AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Alex Shelley, Austin Starr/Aries, Jay Lethal). WWE has shown continued interest in ROH veterans (Kendrick, London, CM Punk, Jamie Noble, Claudio, Jimmy Yang), so the question remains...

Is ROH is the next ECW?

I mean, they have their Tommy Dreamer (Bryan Danielson)... They have their ridiculously loyal fanbase (the ROHbots)... They have their token fans (Green Lantern Guy)... And they're known for, above all else, really good wrestling.

I'm afraid for ROH, because they seem to be breeding these stars for WWE and TNA. Also, with TNA now pulling the exclusivity thing (something they didn't do before), ROH seems to be losing their stars. Yes, ROH has always been about making new stars (Something ECW also did), but what happens when they lose ALL their big stars?

[JMA]

I don't see Danielson as Dreamer. Dreamer was more like Dusty Rhodes while Danielson is more like Ric Flair. I'd say that ROH's Dreamer is Homicide.

[heyguesswhatidid]

The lucky thing about ROH is that they're viewed as an Indy still so there fan base doesn't mind when talent changes and understands when wrestler moved on. If Samoa Joe was in ECW and announced he was leaving he would be booed out of the building though on Friday night he was still cheered and people were happy that he was moving on in his career.

Plus they're constantly making new people to put in the main event, like Jimmy Rave, BJ Whitmer and Nigel Mcguiness, those 3 can take the place of Homicide and Joe and the show's will still be super entertaining.

[bigHEADinc]

jma said:

I don't see Danielson as Dreamer. Dreamer was more like Dusty Rhodes while Danielson is more like Ric Flair. I'd say that ROH's Dreamer is Homicide.

The only reason I made that comparison is because Danielson seems to be one of the most well thought of wrestlers who hasn't been signed to either the 'E or TNA... Like his dedication to ROH is holding him back, know what I mean?

I just figure that if ROH were ever to go under, Danielson would be the last one in that ring...

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

I think ROH is trying to shed its position as a breeding ground through the relationships with NOAH and Dragon Gate. I'm curious as to how Nigel McGuinness's combined ROH/NOAH pay compares to your average TNA worker (since obviously nothing can compete with WWE).

[hollywood]

I think ROH/ECW is a fair comparison. Fortunately, I think they'll survive much longer.

[samachine]

Don't inflate Gabe's ego more.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

samachine said:

Don't inflate Gabe's ego more.

Too late. He's already made a statement that ROH is more ECWish than WWECW.

Yeah, it was pretty tacky.

[heyguesswhatidid]

Another thing I think that sets them apart is story lines, ECW's were more involved and hid peoples flaws, like Sandman and Raven or Dreamer and Raven, Dreamer and Sandman aren't the 2 best wrestlers going but the story telling of ECW made them seem amazing.

ROH's writing is very basic, more wrestler A doesn't like Wrestler B type stuff. The stories aren't bad but they're nothing super compelling.

[maxx420]

hardcorehick said:

I think ROH is trying to shed its position as a breeding ground through the relationships with NOAH and Dragon Gate. I'm curious as to how Nigel McGuinness's combined ROH/NOAH pay compares to your average TNA worker (since obviously nothing can compete with WWE).

Nigel's probably better off than your average WWE wrestler not named Triple H or Shawn Michaels
Didn't Raven say that he earned more money from Indy bookings than he did while he was working for Vince?

[bigHEADinc]

Oh yeah, it's definitely more rewarding financially to be in the Indies than in a lower position of the 'E totem pole, but you need to be big enough to be booked enough on Indy dates... I think Raven's involvement in ECW, WCW, and WWE propelled him to a much higher pay base than, say, Jimmy Jacobs... It's all about people being able to print "[Fed Name] Superstar Appearing!"...

[hollywood]

hardcorehick said:

samachine said:

Don't inflate Gabe's ego more.

Too late. He's already made a statement that ROH is more ECWish than WWECW.

Yeah, it was pretty tacky.

...and WWECW isn't tacky?

[heyguesswhatidid]

I'm sure someone like Nigel makes the bulk of his money in Japan.

Well, I'm not actually super sure, since i've never spoke finacially with the guy.

[Jeff]

samachine said:

Don't inflate Gabe's ego more.

Yes I hate Gabe, he is a cocky son of a bitch.

[maxx420]

bigheadinc said:

Oh yeah, it's definitely more rewarding financially to be in the Indies than in a lower position of the 'E totem pole, but you need to be big enough to be booked enough on Indy dates... I think Raven's involvement in ECW, WCW, and WWE propelled him to a much higher pay base than, say, Jimmy Jacobs... It's all about people being able to print "[Fed Name] Superstar Appearing!"...

Yeah, but Johnny Parisi can be advertised as a WWE, ECW & TNA "Superstar". Only in two of those promotions did he acheive anything (& most of that was due to Simon Diamond's awesomeness). Mind you, if you just advertise that a WWE, ECW & TNA Superstar is appearing when you've booked Johnny Parisi then people MIGHT think you've got Kurt Angle appearing. Hence HUGE ticket sales followed by you being pummeled to a bloody pulp by the punters.

[heyguesswhatidid]

maxx420 said:

bigheadinc said:

Oh yeah, it's definitely more rewarding financially to be in the Indies than in a lower position of the 'E totem pole, but you need to be big enough to be booked enough on Indy dates... I think Raven's involvement in ECW, WCW, and WWE propelled him to a much higher pay base than, say, Jimmy Jacobs... It's all about people being able to print "[Fed Name] Superstar Appearing!"...

Yeah, but Johnny Parisi can be advertised as a WWE, ECW & TNA "Superstar". Only in two of those promotions did he acheive anything (& most of that was due to Simon Diamond's awesomeness). Mind you, if you just advertise that a WWE, ECW & TNA Superstar is appearing when you've booked Johnny Parisi then people MIGHT think you've got Kurt Angle appearing. Hence HUGE ticket sales followed by you being pummeled to a bloody pulp by the punters.

Parisi was also in WCW, he's been everywhere and achieved nothing.

[bigHEADinc]

heyguesswhatidid said:

maxx420 said:

Yeah, but Johnny Parisi can be advertised as a WWE, ECW & TNA "Superstar". Only in two of those promotions did he acheive anything (& most of that was due to Simon Diamond's awesomeness). Mind you, if you just advertise that a WWE, ECW & TNA Superstar is appearing when you've booked Johnny Parisi then people MIGHT think you've got Kurt Angle appearing. Hence HUGE ticket sales followed by you being pummeled to a bloody pulp by the punters.

Parisi was also in WCW, he's been everywhere and achieved nothing.

Who?

[maxx420]

That's sort of the point. A low tier WWE or TNA wrestler wouldn't be as able to make as much of a living from indy dates as a guy like Nigel McGuinness or even the aforementioned Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs is probably in higher demand than Justin Credible, for example.

[bigHEADinc]

I'd like to dispute that a little bit. Justin Credible, while doing absolutely jack and s*** since ECW has folded is still a recognized "ECW" name. That simple little marquee "Former ECW Star" will automatically make people who wouldn't normally be interested go "Really? Justin Credible? Holy crap, I should go.", but then again, it's more about the fan hearing about who's going to be there.

[maxx420]

bigheadinc said:

I'd like to dispute that a little bit. Justin Credible, while doing absolutely jack and s*** since ECW has folded is still a recognized "ECW" name. That simple little marquee "Former ECW Star" will automatically make people who wouldn't normally be interested go "Really? Justin Credible? Holy crap, I should go.", but then again, it's more about the fan hearing about who's going to be there.

It could also be put down to a fan's preference.
It's probable that more fans have heard of Justin Credible than Bryan Danielson. So there might be some fans who are "lured in" by the promise of an appearance by Justin Credible who couldn't give a crap that AmDrag is on the same card.