Consider the following few points:

1) No Paul Heyman. Look, it’s a tried and true fact, proven over and over, if this guy is not at the helm of ECW creative at the very least, ECW will not work. Unless he turns out to be one of a zillion “surprises” that keep getting teased every week by Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett, this thing ain’t gonna pan out in a good way.

2) It’s being held in Orlando. Not in ECW home bases/fan dwellings like the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York (capacity 4000 approximately), nor the ECW Arena in Philadelphia (capacity 1600 approximately); no, the rarely touring TNA believes that the best place to hold an “Extreme” PPV is in one the most geographically removed arenas from those original ECW digs, and even farther away from the rabid ECW fans that are at least 50% of the true ECW experience; yes TNA believes that the Impact! Zone (capacity 1400 approximately) nestled in cushy Universal Studios, Florida, is the best place to re-release all hell in the form of extreme wrestling once again. Somewhere amongst seasonal vacationers taking their kids on Shrek and Harry Potter rides, there is supposed to be a full arena amount of blood-thirsty ECW fans itching to buy tickets to see ECW ride again.

3) TNA does not command a sizeable or comparable audience to WWE and there’s no way their PPV buys for the event will come close to being profitable. Impact! Is lucky to rate in the 1.0 bracket of Nielsen ratings week after week on TV, how could they possibly reach enough people on a weekly basis and convince them all to buy a PPV that would even put up ballpark figures to what WWE’s ECW PPV’s did?

4) (Unlikely we’ll see real) ECW fans. There’s no way we’re going to see real ECW fans in the audience, and there’s no chance we’re going to hear real ECW fan chants from the crowd. Without that x-factor of the ECW fans playing judge, jury, and executioner of every match and star, this will be just another wrestling show, despite the overkill efforts that the performers will likely contribute.

5) WWE did it better than TNA will do it. Again, all SyFy days aside, the One Night Stand PPV’s were incredible. Sandman’s entrance in 2005 with the whole crowd singing “Enter Sandman”, RVD beating Cena for the title in ’06, Mike Awesome powerbombing Masato Tanaka from the ring to the floor via a table, and even Joey Styles’ show of emotion at the top of the show; I mean, I really think those guys left it all on the table especially at that first event, and even in the second. Even though there are some big names at this incarnation, they’re still not all there, and honestly, I just don’t think they’ll have the gas to give again what they already have.

Here’s the thing: Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley, Rob Van Dam, Team 3D, Raven, Rhino, Stevie Richards, Simon Diamond, Al Snow, Axl Rotten, Johnny Swinger, Sabu, 2 Cold Scorpio, and whomever shows up unannounced (I know this is a pseudo ECW tradition not to reveal everyone who will be there, but they really should announce the full card if they want the amount of attention they need), are all going to work their balls off and give an unforgettable effort. Unfortunately in the end though, the crowd won’t respond the way they need to in live reaction, nor with their wallets in PPV buys, and ultimately, this whole ECW rehash will end up where it was, and needs to be, back on the shelf. We all enjoyed what ECW was, but now we’re getting into legacy tarnishing territory. No matter how many tears Tommy Dreamer cries for you on TV, we just all gotta respect the past, reflect on our nostalgia, but truly move on before ECW is degraded anymore than it was when it last left off.