The following is from Patrick
I like the thought of bringing back the New Talent Initiative on ECW. It gives the fans a chance to see first-hand the potential stars of tomorrow who are going to carry the WWE in the future. At some point in time, you have to have new stars come in not just to freshen things up, but to take some of the pressure off the established stars who are not getting any younger. ECW just needs to be careful to not over-expose these new young stars and not to push them too quickly. A good blend of new blood with established veterans is a good thing if properly done. And remember, without this New Talent Initiative, how long would it have been before we saw Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger on TV?
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The following is from Slaughter
A lot of people seem to be down on the new talents that were introduced to ECW this past Tuesday but I personally think it’s a much needed step in the right direction.
Yoshi Tatsu – ECW started off by introducing us to Yoshi Tatsu who was facing off against Shelton Benjamin who ridiculed Yoshi’s Japanese heritage until Shelton took a swift kick to the head for a quick 1-2-3. I think this was a fine introduction for Yoshi Tatsu and a feud with Shelton Benjamin could do nothing but help him. (On a side note, this could also do wonders for Shelton who has NEVER garnered such a reaction from the fans as he elicited Tuesday night) Still too early to judge him.
Abraham Washington – His jokes sucked. BUT that isn’t necessarily his fault as even Chris Rock would’ve bombed with that material… Also the negative charisma of the Bella’s didn’t help his début one bit. On the bright side, however he is still one of the better talkers and I think that he’s a natural heel and could have great feuds once he gets his character more clearly defined. Too early to judge him off of one appearance.
Sheamus – Strong debut. He could be big once he gets a feud going. I love his finisher and his high impact moveset. I think he should keep his “glow” though, even though it’s blinding, it’s unique especially compared to the spray on tans of Trips and Jericho.
Tyler Recks – For some reason his gimmick reminds me of RVD and depending on his match on Superstars he could be a decent baby face. I liked his interaction with Ryder but like the other 3 it’s still too early to judge.
Personally I truly enjoyed ECW last week as I found it refreshing to see so many new faces on my television screen. Sooner or later, some of these guys will have to carry the company in a few years time so I find it fun to try and pick out who the next big star could be. ECW is NOT the HEAT, it is however also NOT Smackdown or Raw and that’s ok with me.
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The following is from Nick
While watching ECW on Tuesday night, I heard news I didn’t expect (from a general manager who has worse mic skills than Mike Adamle….altho she has a clue about what she is talking about), the new superstar initiative was going to start again. To be honest… I didn’t know it ended from when Teddy started it.
In my opinion I find the superstar initiative exciting. I get to see some new faces, see how they act with the crowd, and thier wrestling style. At the end of the match I usually say something like “i’d give him another try” “He is not going to make it” “He’s a future champ!”. But on Tuesday I didn’t really see a guy that I could say “He is a future champ!”. They all were just OK. I look forward to the future of the initiative.
Now this is my FAVORITE part about seeing new stars. I love to see thier finishing moves. You can always tell if a wrestler has a big chance to make it, just on his finisher. If that finisher doesn’t make the crowd go “OH!” then its a failure. Also, if the crowd really doesn’t react to the move (because they think its just a move, not a finisher) then just go back to the drawling board, and don’t ever use it again. If a new superstar has a good finishing move, then im standing right behind him and sticking with him for awhile, and so will the crowd.
I could go on and on but im not. Those are some of my many thoughts on the new superstar initiative.
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The following is from Scott
I think that the New Talent Initiative is one of the best things going in the WWE right now. One of my biggest complaints about Raw, and occasionally SmackDown, is that it’s nothing but the same people in the same matches week after week. With the 15-Superstar Trade, as well as this new talent, to me ECW is now more interesting to watch than the other 2 shows. Yoshi Tatsu(although his in-ring time was limited) and Sheamus both look like they have good potential, however if Abraham Washington is just going to have a “talk show”, they need to drop him and pull someone like Ricky Ortiz back up from FCW. Wrestling shows should be about wrestling, not sitting there talking for no reason while the fans behind you are visibly bored and yelling “What?!” the entire time you are in-ring.
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The following is from Matt
I think it’s great that WWE are calling some of these guys up. Personally, it was exciting to see Sheamus O’Shaunessy wrestle on Tuesday night because he’s been someone I’ve followed pretty closely over the years and I really wanted him to get his break.
I’ve heard that these guys don’t have a guaranteed spot on the roster just yet, and that they’re going to have to prove that they’re capable of being on the main roster like that. One thing I didn’t like was WWE just squashing Shelton Benjamin like they did on Tuesday. The guy’s a good in-ring worker, and I believe I speak for 99.9% of the Internet Wrestling Community with that sentiment. However I am willing to give that Japanese guy a chance to impress – one kick doesn’t do it for me, personally.
I wish these guys luck with their chance at the big one – I hope they make it.
By the way, it was nice to see William Regal in a main event. I’d love to see a Dreamer/Regal program culminate with a title win for Regal. He deserves it – another guy underused by the company.
All in all, good show this week. I’m not rushing judgment on the whole New Talent Initiative just yet.
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The following is from Colm
I must say i am a big fan of the Talent Initiative as it is always
good to see new faces now and again. In my opinion out of all the
talent that debuted, Sheamus has got to be my favourite as i think he
made the biggest impact out of everyone, I mean hes got the unique
look, The mic skills, and the Wrestling ability. I see a very bright
future in WWE for this young man and i believe he has all the talent
in the world to become a main event caliber superstar.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
