ECW to end, WWE NXT to begin

According to an announcement on Tuesday night's ECW on SyFy, the ECW brand will officially end in three weeks time. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon appeared on the ramp to let everyone know a new "evolution in television" will take its place at that time, the same time slot ECW currently has. The fans cheered the news, but it will mean the end of a four year run for ECW under WWE.

According to reports for months, ECW was being pressured by SyFy execs to get better ratings. Unfortunately it wasn't able to live up to its bigger brothers in Smackdown and Raw which do well in their current spots. Then again, ECW is more of a show for newer talent, and the new show which replaces it will be even more of that type of showcase. The next show will be named "WWE NXT" and we can supposedly expect to see much more developmental talent on that show. Right now ECW has several FCW stars such as Vance Archer, Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft as well as ring announcer Savannah. The recent member to join CM Punk's Straightedge Society named Serena is also a FCW alum. So expect to see more fresh faces and new stories to come from FCW. Check out the current FCW talent roster here.

Most likely we'll see Christian as the last ECW champion, having successfully defended his belt at the Royal Rumble against Ezekiel Jackson. The belt will probably be retired and Christian may make his move to Smackdown or Raw for bigger championships. Stay tuned as more news comes forth on WWE NXT, which is scheduled to begin airing on SyFy March 2, 2010.

ECW's New Diva Savannah

(Angela Fong debuts as Savannah on ECW)

On the 09/08/09 episode of ECW, Josh Matthews and Matt Striker introduced the latest member of their ECW broadcast team, a new diva named Savannah. Savannah conducted her first official WWE backstage interview when she talked to Tommy Dreamer and Christian prior to their main event match against Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson. See footage of that interview here.

Savannah (Fong) was a former BC Lions Felions Dance Team Cheerleader and also competed in the 2007 WWE Diva Search. Although she didn't win the contest, WWE signed her to a developmental contract. She's worked with Flordia Championship Wrestling (FCW) as a ring announcer and wrestler up until now. Some may have quickly believed that ECW's Courtney Taylor was replaced by Savannah, but Taylor still is on the ECW Superstars page at WWE.com, and is featured in a new divas photo shoot here. She also had an interview she did with William Regal, Kozlov and Jackson after last night's show. Video available at WWE.com.

ECW's New Diva Courtney Taylor

You may have seen the new blond backstage ECW diva Courtney Taylor on the August 18th, 2009 episode of ECW on SyFy. Courtney did her first interview as the newest member of the ECW crew when she spoke to ECW original Tommy Dreamer backstage. Here's a little more information about this new on-air personality for ECW & WWE.

Courtney Taylor's real name is Beverly Mullins and she came from the Florida Championship Wrestling organization. At FCW she was first involved in a series of appearances with another familiar WWE Diva, Tiffany (Taryn Terrell). The two competed in lingerie contest for FCW, until Tiffany eventually was called up and now serves as ECW General Manager.

Courtney Taylor (Beverly Mullins) changed her in ring name to Daisy and became a valet for FCW wrestler Alex Riley. She also began competing at FCW as of March 2008, and went up against the likes of Rosa Mendes, the Bella Twins and Alicia Fox, who are all now a part of the WWE.

In addition to WWE, she's been featured in Playboy Magazine several times. She's a former Hooters girl and was in the Playboy's Women of Hooters 2008 issue in February 2008. She's been featured in a Hooters YouTube pillow fight and claims her idol growing up was Stone Cold Steve Austin.

We wish Courtney Taylor best of luck in her new role as an ECW on-air personality and hope to eventually see her in the ring!

FCW Trains Future WWE Stars

Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) is considered the current "minor league" division or farm system for WWE, with its arena located in Tampa, Florida. Currently FCW has a total of 65 superstars in its promotion who represent 14 different countries. During the past year, 22 wrestlers from this Official Developmental Territory came to WWE. Media website dailycommercial.com has an interesting article which discusses the FCW, its origin and superstars. The article mentions how several of today's WWE Superstars have arrived from the FCW including Kofi Kingston, Tyson Kidd, Evan Bourne, Ricky Ortiz, The Bella Twins, and current ECW Champion, Jack Swagger. A few other superstars you may recognize from the roster: WWE Raw Diva Rosa Mendes, DH Smith, ECW's DJ Gabriel, Alicia Fox, ECW Diva Tiffany and Kizarny from Smackdown.

More from DailyCommercial.com:

Some of the superstars are the sons and daughters of wrestling legends: Colon, son of Carlos Colon Sr.; Smith, son of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and nephew of Bret "Hitman" Hart; DiBiase, son of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase; and Joe Hennig, son of "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

But as the WWE tours the larger cities, FCW travels around to smaller municipalities.

"For some fans, it's probably going to be the closest to the WWE they will ever see," he said. "But it's also their chance to see the next generation of WWE superstars in advance."

On rare occasions, FCW will feature established WWE superstars who come to the territory to rehab from injury, work out or scout potential superstars ready to make the next move. Wrestlers who live within the Tampa area include John Cena, Batista, Chris Jericho, Edge and the Big Show.

The article goes on to discuss an upcoming FCW show, March 13th at Lake Country Fairgrounds in Eustis, Florida. Tickets for the 7:30 PM show cost $8 for kids, $12 for adults, and $20-30 for special ringside seats. Read more about the FCW show here.

View the current FCW talent page here.

Also for those aspiring fans who also may be interested in training for a professional wrestling career, FCW recently started its "Beginners Class" on March 2nd, which runs for about 3 months. The cost of entry is $1200, and students qualify by having a current physical, being over the age of 18 and signing all release forms. The school offers training on Monday and Wednesday nights each week. Email info@fcwwrestling.com for more information.