ECW is finally being laid to rest to make way for WWE NXT, a new show that the WWE believe will revolutionize the wrestling industry. Whilst many are still unsure what to expect from the new product, others are wondering what is going to happen to the current ECW roster. It has been announced that all ECW stars will be moving onto one of the bigger brands so where does that leave the 21 stars and what might their future hold for them?
Firstly, let’s discuss some of the out-of-ring talent, starting with the ECW manager herself, Tiffany. Tiffany, has shown that she can work the crowd quite well and she has this quality rarely seen in GM’s (bar Teddy Long) in that she seems to just be a fair manager. Now whilst I don’t expect Tiffany to do anything of importance for a while (unless she starts stepping into the ring), I don’t think Vince is gonna show her the high road too quickly as she could be a good little asset. If and when Raw decide to drop the guest host, Tiff could be used, alternatively, she could be used to manage female wrestlers, whether a singular star or entire division, under the kayfabe supervision of say, Teddy. Of course, she could always be used as an onscreen scout for new talent. The thing is, they have developed Tiffany into a nice character and to throw away someone who could fill a number of different roles would seem a tad too silly. Safe? I’d say so. Keep in mind she is a looker and she has blonde hair, which seems to be a popular trait in the WWE universe, look no further then Kelly Kelly for an example.
Continuing with female personal, let’s discuss Rosa and Savannah. Rosa may be the luckier of the two in this exchange, having Ryder to ride off for a while will undoubtedly help her and her history with Beth Phoenix could also help the female star, if Hayes decides to book the feud that is. I can see Rosa (along with Ryder) moving to Smackdown which could also benefit the young lady given their Hispanic demographic. I’m not entirely done talking about Miss Mendes, but I’ll finish up a bit further down the track when I get to Zack Ryder himself.
As for Savannah. I’m hoping she replaces Chimmal but I wouldn’t be surprised if she stayed on with NXT as their ring announcer. I also wouldn’t be too surprised if Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton also continue as commentators for the new show. If none of the three do continue, then all Savannah will have to cross her pretty fingers and hope WWE realize how annoying Chimmal is and fire his arse. As for Josh and Byron, just hope the WWE do finally get sick of Cole and sack him too.
Finally, Abraham Washington and Tony Atlas. These boys could be in real trouble if they don’t find a superstar to manage quickly. Washington does wrestle but his build as a host has only demeaned him and it is highly unlikely he’ll ever be taken seriously inside the ropes. I expect to see their show make a Raw or Smackdown debut and I don’t expect it to last long either. Washington, you may be in luck if WWE decide to keep you on as a valet (honestly, I wouldn’t waste such an awesome name and mic talent) but Atlas, I believe your release awaits my friend.
Now onto the juicier stars, the actual talent of ECW. Starting of course with ECW Champion, Christian. Given the events that occurred on this weeks Raw, it would be fair to assume that Christian is headed for the brand. Not a particularly great move for the star who will have to contend with the bigger stars of WWE. Me, like many others would love to see Christian return to Smackdown and part of me still hopes that he does because Christian needs to be on the blue brand to truly succeed, otherwise he’ll could drop to jobber status and become a doormat for stars like Sheamus and The Game. On Smackdown however, he has that chance to cement himself as a top tier player, as the show lends itself to promoting more versatile talent, such as Morrison, Punk, Rey, Edge and even the recently gone Jeff Hardy in comparison to the DX, Cena and Randy Candy show. Here’s hoping he does make the blue move, because this move could be detrimental to his ongoing career with the company. However, I have a good feeling about Christian this time round – the way his been treated by WWE as of late and the response he got on this weeks Raw is a good indication that this time round, he may be OK.
Onto another star who I believe will head to Smackdown. Shelton. Whilst his job may be safe, I can see the young star losing his edge once again, unless they decide to have someone accompany him, say a Abraham Washington. Shelton has always been a great talent and his job seems to be secure within the company but the issue regarding his mic skills still remain. Honestly, I don’t expect Shelton to ever go that much further then he is now, but he’ll be around for a while regardless. It’s a shame because he truly is quite wonderful in the ring. In saying that however, I am expecting some nice matches in the future from him and other talent such as McIntyre and Morrison for the IC strap.
Onto the Roundtable of two and their recent defector Kozlov. I expect Regal and Zeke to be moved to Raw where Regal will continue to manage the new Ahmed. Regal will be OK in terms of keeping his job, as like Shelton he seems to be in well enough to secure his position. I believe he’ll take Jackson as far as he can which will result in small feuds with Cena and HHH, but after that, I expect Jackson not to last much longer with the company and Regal to move on as he has in the past. Sadly for Kozlov, without the support of his counterparts, his on the fast track out of WWE. He couldn’t cut the cake the first time round and I expect his to be released within the year.
In the same vain as Big Zeke, I expect Goldust to be moved to Raw where he’ll have just one feud, with his brother of course. He’ll most likely be used a jobber and for comedic backstage moments for a while until he eventually gets released…again.          Unless Cody somehow changes him of course.
Caylen Croft, Trent Barreta and Tyler Reks. Destination – Unknown. Does it matter? – Not Really. All three are highly likely to be dropped back into FCW or released.
Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder and Gregory Helms. Destination – Smackdown. All three will have some future feud in some manner but I can’t see them going much further then their initial feuds. Yoshi will come in a make an impact like he did in ECW but eventually be reduced to Funaki and Jimmy Wang Yang status because his small and Asian. Before taking that the wrong way, I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no issue with Yoshi’s race, I’m just stating a point that the WWE seem to make jokes out of smaller Asain competitors nowadays. As for Ryder, I expect him to have a couple of mid card feuds, have an onscreen fallout with Rosa and then drop to the same jobber status. Why? Because the gimmick, not matter how well it worked in ECW is nothing more then a joke and it won’t go over on the bigger brands seriously. Rosa will part ways and I hope go onto better things with the Smackdown crowd but Zach, I highly doubt it. As for Helms, he’ll continue with The Hurricane story for a bit but once that finishes, he’ll go right back where he started and it’s unlikely he’ll ever make it back up.
Finally, Vance Archer. Archer is an interesting character. He could easily fall into the same trap I’m expecting Croft, Barreta and Reks to, but his character is a simple one that works and generally has heaps of potential. Add to that, his not too bad in the ring and I have a feeling Archer could be alright. His going to have to prove himself for a while as expected but I feel if anyone could be going places after ECW, it may be him.
Of course, all this is a possibility. All of them could get the sack, but then again we could see the future of the WWE. It seems I write about possibility a lot and I try to look on the good side of a situation realistically. However, as I’ve said many times before on countless topics – ‘Only Time Will Tell’.
