– Dave Lagana tried to get Vince McMahon to agree to using Monty Brown’s real name but they eventually went with Marquis Corvon. He was originally to have been put on Raw, as per Brian Gerwitz’s request, but Lagana convinced Vince that Brown had the potential to be a great opponent for Bobby Lashley and, since ECW is seen as lacking in top heels, Vince went with it.
– Lagana was also negative on Bob Holly being pushed as a top heel, but Arn Anderson and Dave Finlay lobbied on Holly’s behalf as they think he is the second best heel on the ECW roster. Vince sided with them on the matter. Holly has been suffering nerve damage in his elbow stemming from a prior surgery and is said to need another operation on it. There is no guarantee that the surgery will fix the problem and his career is said to be in jeapardy because of it.
– Vince McMahon was in a foul mood at the 1/16 tapings. He was already mad about New Year’s Revolution and hated the ECW TV show, saying that there wasn’t one guy on ECW who knew how to work. The perception among the company is that ECW as a concept is dead, only surviving because they have a TV commitment, and that now the only goal is to use the brand to make Lashley seem like a big star so that when it is all over he can be moved to Raw or Smackdown and immediately seem like a threat to their main champion. Vince was particularly upset about the Lashley/Test/RVD match, saying that Lashley had sold far too much. The agent for the match was Arn Anderson and he took the heat for it. Anderson said the problem was Test and RVD insisting on “getting their shit in”, so Lashley was put into a position where he had to sell. Vince said he never wants ECW going out live and was mad all week about the show. He and Stephanie met with Lagana to discuss the brand’s problems and they agreed to put Dusty Rhodes on ECW to help creatively. Rhodes had been credited by many as being pivotal in turning around Smackdown’s fortunes over the summer, although Michael Hayes took most of the credit and has since become ‘inner circle’. This means Hayes will now have to fly solo, which he is not particularly pleased about.
– WWE are trying hard to get RVD to sign a new contract, not because they want to push him but because they don’t want anybody on his level going to TNA. At the same 1/16 tapings Vince and John Laurinaitis made a big speech about Sylvan Grenier being caught speeding to get back to the building. They put in place a new rule that after arriving in the building on TV days you can’t check in, leave, go to the gym and come back. RVD asked, in a mocking tone of voice, “Johnny, can we go to the gym before we come to the building?” as if he was a schoolboy talking back to his teachers before moving to another school.
– C.M. Punk’s push is now said to be completely dead after getting even more heat on himself this week. There have been many complaints put to management about his locker room attitude, as he acts like he is main event material and perceived as talking down to younger wrestlers. The Smackdown veterans are particularly displeased with his behavior.
Credit: Wrestling Observer newsletter (click here for subscription information)
