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PWINSIDER Q & A: MVP'S FUTURE, LOTTERY MOVEMENT, HARDCORE ECW FANS, WHAT VINCE MCMAHON SR. WOULD THINK AND MORE

In the previous draft lottery two years ago, it was said that the superstars being drafted didn't even know they were going to be until either a little before the show, or even a shorter amount of time. Did the superstars know ahead of time this year or not?

I know that some guys were told in advance and I also know that others found out right before or after it was announced that they were changing shows.  I think it largely depends how far up the totem pole a guy is.

I know that ECW as we know is dead, and that for Joey Styles and Tazz it’s about getting the paychecks. However do they feel any type of bad taste in their mouth when they have to be “excited” to get the Boogeyman coming to ECW. I mean come on. Also what are the plans for ECW, since most of the roster has been decimated and Lashley (BORING) is gone now?

I can't speak for either of them and I wouldn't try to.  I do know how passionate Joey Styles was about his work back in the old ECW but he's also a realist and knows that he isn't in Philly any more.  Anyone who goes to work for WWE realizes that they will do things the McMahon way or they won't be there long.  That is just a given going on and the people that work there accept it.  Tazz and Styles are professionals and have a job to do, and they do it.  Everyone from the old ECW knows that the new one is a WWE brand, and they work accordingly.  As for ECW, the plan is to make it a brand where young guys can cut their chops and learn.  As they mature, expect them to then go to Raw or Smackdown.

Do you see MVP making any real noise; it seems like they are trying to make a ROCK v. 2.0.

I have been really impressed by the work that MVP has put in since his debut.  His program with Chris Benoit was very good and he has worked hard to improve himself.  I don't see a Rock comparison but frankly, Rock is a once in a lifetime performer.  I think if MVP continues to work hard, he will make an impression in WWE and could have a very good career.

What happened to the hardcore ECW audience? Do they still watch wrestling or like the majority of WCW fans just stopped after WWF became top dog?

I think a lot more of them have bailed on the business than are still around.  Keep in mind that when ECW debuted on the now-defunct SportsChannel Philadelphia back in 1993, their purpose was to appeal to the fans who were sick of what the WWF and WCW were doing at the time.  They attracted old time fans, who appreciated hard work and pro wrestling with a present day edge.  Most of those people were not WWF or WCW fans, so when their product went under in 2001, they stopped watching.  When WWE did the first One Night Stand PPV in 2005, it was clear that a lot of the fans came back to see "their" ECW again.  They came back again the following year and even stayed around for the early days of the new ECW TV show.  Once they saw the direction it was going in, they left again.  I think most of them are done with the wrestling business now which is a shame for WWE and the fans because clearly they could have cultivated a third brand but chose instead to push the McMahon way of wrestling down people's throats and ECW has largely failed because of it.

From what I understand, not being nearly old enough to remember the period when Vince McMahon, Sr. was around, the general perception of Vince, Sr. was that he was a compassionate, generous man (and maybe he was the exact opposite but that's all anybody ever said about him). Do you guys think he's spinning in his grave over the mess his son and granddaughter have made of his company today?

If such a thing is possible, he was probably spinning in it years ago, to be honest.  He was said to not be happy that his son took his company national, breaking the territory boundaries that the old time promoters had worked out, back in the 80s.  He certainly wouldn't have enjoyed seeing Mae Young give birth to a hand, Katie Vick, choppy choppy pee or any of the other bizarre angles that Vince Jr. did.  So, if he was going to be spinning in his grave, I think it would have happened long before now.

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