Black Widow
06-06-2009, 08:24 PM
EVAN Bourne has launched an astonishing defence of the new ECW - saying Vince McMahon's TV shows are much better than Paul Heyman's.
Despite billing himself as "a huge fan of the original" - Evan disagrees with other hardcore ECW followers who have turned their back on the toned-down and superstar-starved WWE version.
In an exclusive interview, he told SunSport: "You can't make a direct comparison between the rosters, as we're so different.
"But if you compare ECW now to the old ECW on TNN - we blow that show out of the water.
"Every week we blow it out of the water.
"I have tons of respect for Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Super Crazy and Tajiri - as they were the guys I idolised growing up. I loved ECW.
"So that's why I'm so proud to part of the current ECW, to make sure the name has the same feel and fans feel the same way I did at that age."
Company man Evan added: "The main difference is that the original ECW's events weren't as large as ours.
"They were wrestling in front of 4,000-5,000, whereas WWE's arena shows attract 10,000.
"That makes a huge difference as you have to adapt to your crowd and give them the best show.
"Also ECW had no rules, you could use any language you want. I loved the promo Tazz cut on Steve Corino, where he cursed for 10 minute straight, but we can't do that.
"We're a PG product and I'm proud to be a part of that.
"I love doing it for the kids, but I never want to forget about that 18-24 male demographic that needs ECW to be like EXTREME Championship Wrestling was back in the day.
"Me and Tyson Kid can easily be the Super Crazy/Tajiri or RVD/Jerry Lynn of the new ECW.
"Then there's also the tough guys and the brawlers, so we've got our own diverse roster and we can hold our own compared to the old ECW."
Even falling ratings in recent months don't bother Bourne.
The star, who is back from injury but not competing at this Sunday's Extreme Rules PPV, says: "You have to look at ratings as a long-term picture, but I did notice that the week I made my second debut was one of ECW's highest rated shows.
"And I think we're going to see a slow increase coming up.
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"Ratings are a complicated metric with which to measure things though.
"I measure more by live crowd reaction and how it looks on TV.
"I don't make any money off ad sales, so ratings are nowhere near as important to me as having a good product."
Evan was known as Matt Sydal on the independent scene where he won rave reviews in Ring Of Honor and competed for TNA.
But he says it was always his ambition to wrestle for WWE.
The Golden Robe Award winner told us: "I'd been waiting to perform in front of the WWE Universe for a while.
"I'm so proud to be here."
You'd never have guessed.
The Sun
Despite billing himself as "a huge fan of the original" - Evan disagrees with other hardcore ECW followers who have turned their back on the toned-down and superstar-starved WWE version.
In an exclusive interview, he told SunSport: "You can't make a direct comparison between the rosters, as we're so different.
"But if you compare ECW now to the old ECW on TNN - we blow that show out of the water.
"Every week we blow it out of the water.
"I have tons of respect for Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Super Crazy and Tajiri - as they were the guys I idolised growing up. I loved ECW.
"So that's why I'm so proud to part of the current ECW, to make sure the name has the same feel and fans feel the same way I did at that age."
Company man Evan added: "The main difference is that the original ECW's events weren't as large as ours.
"They were wrestling in front of 4,000-5,000, whereas WWE's arena shows attract 10,000.
"That makes a huge difference as you have to adapt to your crowd and give them the best show.
"Also ECW had no rules, you could use any language you want. I loved the promo Tazz cut on Steve Corino, where he cursed for 10 minute straight, but we can't do that.
"We're a PG product and I'm proud to be a part of that.
"I love doing it for the kids, but I never want to forget about that 18-24 male demographic that needs ECW to be like EXTREME Championship Wrestling was back in the day.
"Me and Tyson Kid can easily be the Super Crazy/Tajiri or RVD/Jerry Lynn of the new ECW.
"Then there's also the tough guys and the brawlers, so we've got our own diverse roster and we can hold our own compared to the old ECW."
Even falling ratings in recent months don't bother Bourne.
The star, who is back from injury but not competing at this Sunday's Extreme Rules PPV, says: "You have to look at ratings as a long-term picture, but I did notice that the week I made my second debut was one of ECW's highest rated shows.
"And I think we're going to see a slow increase coming up.
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"Ratings are a complicated metric with which to measure things though.
"I measure more by live crowd reaction and how it looks on TV.
"I don't make any money off ad sales, so ratings are nowhere near as important to me as having a good product."
Evan was known as Matt Sydal on the independent scene where he won rave reviews in Ring Of Honor and competed for TNA.
But he says it was always his ambition to wrestle for WWE.
The Golden Robe Award winner told us: "I'd been waiting to perform in front of the WWE Universe for a while.
"I'm so proud to be here."
You'd never have guessed.
The Sun