That's what I thought.

"Break the wall down" indeed.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley: "Don't make me learn your name." (Heat, April 16) Steph as the Corporate Bitch. I approve.

STAMPEDED: I got one right. ONE. And it was the one I wanted to be wrong on more than any of the others. Scott Steiner, who's done literally nothing since winning the U.S. belt in a tournament final at Spring Stampede last year, does it again under the same circumstances? Who booked this crap?

ALSO: Nobody wrote in with the answer, but the question was this: During Scott Steiner's interview on the April 10 Nitro, he said of the WWF's champions, "except for one, they all came from here." Who was the "one" (three, actually) he was referring to?

I'm assuming most of you knew the answer: Hardcore champion Crash Holly, and Tag Team champions Edge and Christian. All the marks probably thought "Triple H" when they heard that. Bzzzt! Thanks for playing.

So let me see if I'm following this. Two weeks ago, Mike Awesome was the ECW World Champion. The following Monday, he was on WCW Monday Nitro bashing Kevin Nash over the head with his own crutches. That Thursday, at an ECW house show in Indianapolis, Tazz came out and beat him for the title. Awesome then went on to WCW's Spring Stampede PPV on Sunday and won a match in the U.S. Title Tournament, while Tazz brought the ECW belt to WWF TV this week. ECW's holding Cyberslam 2000 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia (the same city where SmackDown! originated from this week), where Tazz is almost certain to drop the strap.

But to who?

Who currently active in ECW is worthy of becoming the next Big Two mid-carder... er, I mean ECW World Champion? (Don't believe me? Check the names in the lineage.)

TOMMY DREAMER: Given what happened during the Awesome match, and then what happened on SmackDown!, Dreamer would appear to be the easiest choice. He is ECW to a lot of its most loyal fans, and he's never held the World title. It'll look a little weird around his waist at first, but it's different, which is something the company needs right now, as well as a better time slot on TNN.

Plus, Dreamer as champ would actually give him a new direction: he can evolve from being the constantly dumped-on whipping boy who's always being taken advantage of (see also: Sting, Kane) into the kind of "underdog" champion that fans want to cheer for. Play it up as something he's always wanted, a la Mick Foley in the WWF.

RAVEN: The opposite situation as Dreamer. Raven as champ wouldn't be as foreign a concept, since Raven is a two-time ECW world champ (and former WCW mid-carder). But it would seem like a pointless setup, since Raven had no issue with Tazz when he left (and I actually don't think these two guys ever feuded in ECW. I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong), and anything that happens now would seem too manufactured. I'm also not sure what this would do for Raven's motivation, as he seems to think that there's a spot for him in the WWF when summer rolls around and the no-compete clause in his WCW release runs out.

LANCE STORM: Lance is a good enough wrestler that very few fans would have a problem seeing him win the belt, since it wouldn't appear to be a "hot-shot" title switch. But not only is he currently tied up with Justin Credible and the tag straps, there's also his future with the company to consider. Paul E. hasn't been able to sign him to a long-term deal that I know of, and the word on the street is that WCW's targeting him next. (Possible future Big Two mid-carder. See, it all makes sense.)

SANDMAN: The beer-guzzling, kendo stick-toting, four-time ECW World champion (and former WCW mid-carder - no, wait, he was in the Hardcore division, which makes him a former WCW jobber) is still so insanely popular with ECW fans, he almost doesn't need the belt. But his current role as the No. 3 face against The Network (behind Rob Van Dam and Super Crazy) isn't doing much for him. Put the World title on him and he becomes important again.

So there you go, for starters. Four guys who could do a lot for the belt, and vice versa. But in my own damned opinion, the best choice, the choice that would play right into ECW's best angle, is...

Rhino.

Stay with me, I beg you.

The Network angle is the best thing ECW has going right now, with a nice blend of killer promos and hot in-ring action. Its main focus so far has been gaining control of the TV title. But now that Tajiri has it, it's time for The Network to broaden its horizons, and the World title, currently mired in chaos, is the obvious next step.

Rhino's been pushed so far as a Tazz-like, destructive, unstoppable force, but it's time for him to make a move up. Put him in the ring with Tazz and you've got a bull fight on your hands. Don't do a Team Network run-in here, as it doesn't make Rhino look any better; let him pin Tazz (or whoever) clean for the World title.

The reason this works is because of the man whose injury jump-started the Network angle (and set off a chain of events that led to a slew of other problems for ECW) in the first place - former TV champ Rob Van Dam. If you'll recall, Van Dam was on his way to a four-way feud with Awesome, Sabu, and Masato Tanaka for the World title. Then he got hurt, Sabu flirted with WCW and ended up leaving for the indy circuit, Tanaka went back to Japan, and we all know what happened to Awesome.

Ever since he was forced to give up the TV belt, Van Dam and The Network have been at each other's throats. We've already seen Rob and Rhino square off during run-in brawls. And since the master plan was to give RVD the World title eventually anyway, have the blow-off be built around him getting revenge on the Network.

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