EC3

[0.0] "I have no idea why ec3 is so confident that he has a lot of fans, he was a failure and not only that but his behavior does not belong in the wrestling world, he can't go arround attacking wrestlers through podcast to stay relevant. I had high hopes for this guy. I remember seeing him for the first time and saying he's a future world champion. His attitude ruined his career and continues doing so, he's really stuck up."

[6.0] "This guy was popping in 2016. Had huge potential. Weird his gimmick and his character were messed up when he went to wwe, despite having a fairly simple basic character."

[3.0] "Current-day EC3 is a cautionary tale about letting failure after failure take over your professional wrestling career and then having one bright spot giving you this giant ego. EC3 was basically a jobber in WWE in his first run before going to TNA where he found the most success, Multi-year winning streak, multiple titles and he went on to go to WWE again for a god-awful run, Left. Became an absolute dork and started CYN, it failed. Went to NWA, took super roids, got a roid gut, lost muscle, can't wrestle like he used to, Thinks he is a giant part of wrestling. Tried to start a watered down CYN in NWA and now runs a NWA-affiliated promotion called NWA Exodus. Failed. His NWA run. Failed. His TNA comeback? Failed. Now he's swarming the low tier indies!"

[6.0] "Great Mic work. At this point I think EC3's in ring time has passed. He can get through a match but he does look like he has trouble moving and is certainly not as agile as he was in years past. EC3 would be a great GM for TNA wrestling."

[7.0] "Sometimes, all you need to be loved by fans is: good enough in-ring work, comically large charisma, and a theme that just fuckin' slaps. I still listen to that NXT theme 'cause of how good it is."

[8.0] "WWE absolutely WASTED this guy. Had all the tools to be a top heel in the company. Looks like a million bucks, great promo, natural charisma; What more could you want?"

[7.0] "Derrick Bateman, better known as EC3, has a weird legacy in the business. Very entertaining during both of his runs in NXT and in TNA, he also flopped on the WWE main roster and created one of the most despised companies of all-time, Create Your Narrative. Never a workhorse, he could still hold his own between the ropes. But most of his appeal came from what happens around the matches, and I'd say he was mostly good at it, even if at times his vision was not very appealing."

[4.0] "Too boring, Just could not connect with the crowd to be honest. Lacked charisma. He can't carry big moments and doesn't have the charisma to make the audience truly care. Even with opportunity, he struggles to make matches memorable or exciting. Raw presence is okay, but overall he just doesn't deliver and feels flat most of the time."

[5.0] "EC3 has always been so boring as a character or in the mic even when everyone praised his mic work earlier I have always found him unwatchable. In the ring he is the complete embodiment of the word average"

[3.0] "Ec3 created control your narrative and said the super kick, suicide dive, and the Canadian destroyer were over used. But he forgot about the clothesline, moonsault, powerbomb, ddt, chop, elbow drops, legbrops, headbutt, Samoa drop, German suplex, back suplex, vertical suplex, snap suplex, exploder suplex, snake eyes, dropkick, shoulder block, sharpshooter, figure-four, Boston crab, single leg Boston crab, forearm, crossbody, power slam, uranage, do I need to keep going or do you get my point. He picked 3 moves he can't even do and said they are over used. Hey ec3, wrestling has been around for over 100 years. Every move is over used. You tried to do something special, it just wasn't special in the slightest. He was actually a really good wrestler. He also had some good mic skills. But it didn't work out in WWE. That doesn't mean you try and take a shot at Indy wrestlers."

[7.0] "It's a shame he's fallen off the radar as fast as he has. In TNA and NXT he had everything needed to be a successful main event star. I don't pretend to know what happened on the main roster but considering who was in charge it was probably sour grapes from when he left the first time. I watched a couple of the CYN events and they weren't that bad but also not very good eitehr. I appreciate the attempt to do something different. His match with Matt Cardona is what led to Cardona's current gimmick so it worked on that level. His run as NWA champion helped restore some prestige to that belt but it'll never be what it was."

[5.0] "Unfortunately EC3 stuck out like a sore thumb in NXT. He joined among the Gargano/Cole/Black/Ciampa era in which he was levels below anyone in the ring. I never felt he had much going for him, and his character didn't appeal to me that much. Maybe I need to watch some of his other stuff, but I was not impressed. He was fine, don't get me wrong, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more from him in NXT."

[5.0] "I never understood the hype that surrounded him. Granted, that hype was around his promo and character work, which is outside the scope of what I deal with in my ratings. As a worker, mediocrity is the best he can do. Hes not outright bad, but wrestlers like him are a dime a dozen."

[8.0] "Over all of his career (which is so much longer than I ever thought) EC3 has had more good than bad. His tenure in TNA/Impact made him an absolute star that they pushed and treated incredibly well. He could wrestle, cut a promo, carry segments and matches, keep up with the best. He seemed like he was bred for WWE. But upon his debut there in NXT, it was clear that he wasn't so much a workhorse type. Now there's nothing wrong with that, as he still had good matches, but it made him the least skilled worker on a roster packed full of the best wrestlers in the world. He quickly fell to the background yet was called up to RAW, where he should have succeed. But for SOME reason, they wouldn't let him talk. And he was done. Years of miserable nothinginess. His tenure after WWE was off to a rocky start with the whole Narrative thing, but since then he has really rehabilitated his image. He was the best part about the horrible NWA, and helped promotions like OVW and others reach more prominence. He seems to really care about elevating the business, and that should be commended."

[4.0] "This guy was on a roll in TNA. Really did feel like he was reaching his potential, but the minute he went to WWE is where it all went downhill. Can't exactly put all the blame on him for the booking, especially when they didn't portray him as a star. Let alone give him the opportunity on the mic to prove he was as good as he was in TNA. Ever since going to WWE his career has gone downhill."

[4.0] "He just isn't what he used to be. The man seems in pain when he moves and I feel bad watching him wrestle. I thought he was incredible in NXT but those days are clearly behind him. I did not enjoy watching his match with Matt Cardona as much as I hoped for."

[3.0] "TNA EC3? Good, because it was on the nose. His run around the era where Bubba puts Dixie through the table is pretty good. The in-ring was solid, and he was a fun promo. Then he went to NXT Black and Gold aka PWG/NXT, and he didn't have the workrate to come through. Yeah yeah, NA belt ladder match. Lars Sullivan was in that match. That means f*** all. He had the looks that would make Vince coom in his knickers, but he all of a sudden really regressed when he hit WWE. Then, the main roster call up where he was dicked immediately and wasn't allowed to talk. Then, released. Then, Control Your Narrative, where he wouldn't shut up and really shows how much of a mark he is for himself. Goes on to try to bury multiple people he shared an NXT locker room with (VD deserved it, though), showing he's petty and not willing to work with anyone really. Now, he's in NWA, a laughing stock, and will be remembered for the f****** brainrot that is his NWA title match with Tyrus. 20+ years in the business, btw. If he was as good as he said he is, I'd say he wouldn't be finding himself in the situations in which he has over the past several years."

[3.0] "EC3 fucking sucks, sorry not sorry. He initially got some cred from his days in NXT Season 4, that lawless wasteland where everyone on that show just did whatever they wanted because nobody, not even Vince McMahon, watched the show by that point. Then he actually did some great work with his initial TNA stuff as Ethan Carter III. After that.... oof. Absolute nose dive. This dude got so far up his own ass he could look at his lunch from yesterday. He is simply not nearly as good as he thinks he is, and the pretentious arrogance of it all is totally insufferable. His second WWE/NXT looked promising but that fizzled out almost as soon as it started, because EC3 doesn't actually have anything worthwhile or substantial to contribute to wrestling. Case in point: CYN, one of the biggest embarrassments in pro wrestling of the last decade, which is saying a fucking lot. Pretentious, unwatchable garbage. And now he's the top guy of the absolute worst major indie fed in America, and somehow has done less to elevate the brand than fucking TYRUS did. Dude's got a great physique (even if he's obviously juicing) and can cut a great promo in the right circumstances, and AFAIK he's never injured anyone in the ring. Other than that? Just a slow, boring wrestler with a bland moveset and a tenuous grasp on psychology, who's only getting worse as the years go by. 2.5 rounded up because I'm in a good mood."

[6.0] "Great stuff in TNA and NXT. His later work sours my opinion of him. The CYN stuff was just awful. He should just go back to his original gimmick."

[8.0] "I always thought that EC3 is a really good wrestler who never had that chance.He is very well spoken and gifted in ring. He is not the greatest speaker or a Bryan Danielson in ring but he is still really solid. Unfortunately he will always be a second tier wrestler because current powerhouse promotions are far better talentwise compared to NWA. I still think he can work with a major promotions mid card title like current WWE US or AEW International/TNT title."

[4.0] "EC3 is competent but utterly boring. Vanilla and cookie-cutter but attempted to start something new, where wrestlers could control their narrative. The major flaw his vision of controlling ones narrative has was the several guidelines. You can be different, as long as you wrestle how EC3 wants you to wrestle and act how EC3 wants you to act."

"what he is doing rn in this stage of his career is great he is the nwa worlds heavyweight champion the ovw national heavyweight champ his ring work and character work have improved and i cant wait for his deathmatch vs matt Cardona"

[4.0] "has a good level of charisma but in the other level he had only the fisique. i didn't remembera good match of EC3 and his run of unbeatble in TNA was unecessary"

[6.0] "Outside of one great run in TNA he has always seemed kind of average to me. His EC3 run in TNA was phenomenal but his run in NXT and WWE was forgettable. In ROH was alright and CYN was just bad. Now he is in the NWA and is one of their more promising stars. On the mic when given the opportunity he has shined but in the ring he has always been average to me."

[4.0] "Being generic is a generic thing. Generically, generic wrestlers have generic offence, generic speed, generic looks and generic moves. That is only if the generic case is generic. This generic wrestler is generic and when you have a generic wrestler, you have to give a generic rating"

[6.0] "EC3 Really went downhill he Totally reinvented himself with the TOP one percent gimmick and became a superstar then joined WWE again and it all went wrong. He needs to drop the CYN shit he just sounds insane and he hasn't done anything new or interesting since 2020"

[4.0] "It certain circles, it has become really fashionable to shit on EC3 but if it wasn't for all his work post TNA then I would still have terrible insomnia."

[4.0] "I think it's safe to say that between 2018-2022 EC3 has been one of the most boring wrestlers on the planet. But before that EC3 was one of the coolest and that can't be ignored. Gets 3 points for his TNA run and one for his OG NXT run. Chicks and America."

[10.0] "Even tho underwhelming run in RAW, I still give him 10, man like, I absolutely loved his work in TNA, ROH, NXT, he was truly Top One Percent, or either Trouble maker, now, as Control Your Narrative, I don't watch it, I don't have any opinion about it, so I rate his work from my experience of watching EC3 to year 2021"

[4.0] "Never before has a wrestler screamed bland. Good look, medicore promo skills and bland in the ring. He was pushed as a maineventer in TNA purely because everyone else had left."

[3.0] "comes off as someone who thinks they're super clever but they really aren't, horrendous gimmick and now running a joke promotion. Combine that with being a very bland promo and meh worker and its a wrestler that's to care about"

[3.0] "I never understood the hype of EC3. He wasn't great in the ring. He was less good Bobby Rodde. His 2 runs in WWE were awful. He was way too overwhelmed at Impact Wrestling. His charisma on the other hand was quite correct."

[8.0] "I am giving him an 8 based on what I believe he could have become. His work in his first tna run was top-notch, he really had become one of the main reasons to watch tna at that time. His promo work is pretty good, he has an intimidating presence and a good physique. His in ring skills are not something special but if you give him a good storyline, time on the mic and put him in the ring with someone that can carry him to a good match.. then I believe that can be an asset for any promotion that he works for."

[4.0] "His current gimmick is really awful and his second time in WWE/NXT might as well never have happened, but he had a great run in IMPACT and in the old version of NXT that I remember fondly. Now he seems broken down and bent on shedding any charisma he once had."

[4.0] "His matches are rapidly approaching becoming unwatchable, which is a shame because he certainly had a lot of talent. He is just too banged up from years of injuries to be able to do much in the ring any longer. He has a good demeanor when delivering promos though I do not think they are as clever or groundbreaking as he thinks they are."

[4.0] "His first run in NXT as Derrick Bateman and his work in IMPACT as EC3 were really good, as he had a great grasp on character and comedy. In the ring, though, he's really dull and he's traded in the charm he once had for a self-serious gimmick instead."

[4.0] "His impact work was ok and he had a nice minor run there when they needed him to but overall he's just not that great. He's a good promo has charisma but not much else. And none of that translates in the ring where his charisma seems to disappear. He's not bad in the ring but not great either and largely forgettable. He's a solid promo in the mid card but, even in Impact, he's not a main event guy."

[4.0] "Good mic skills, decent character development skills and nothing else... in the ring he's really boring."

[7.0] "Was a big fixture in helping TNA get back on the map somewhat alongside Matt Hardy and the stable talent they had at the time, with good promo work and character building. The "rich arrogant heel" gimmick is long overused by this point but he put a good spin on it and really got into the character, being able to make convincing feuds that built to decent matches. He's not.... fantastic in the ring by any means and just isn't that great when it comes to match quality, but what he can do looks solid and at times, very convincing. Ultimately his WWE work hit a dead end once they realised they don't actually need him on the main roster when they have better heels, so alas he wasn't used as much if at all. He's doing decent even if his current gimmick isn't really well established and just seems to devolve into worthless word babble. He's not getting any younger either, so I don't see him being a big deal in a major company, but regardless he'll always be regarded as a example of a guy who shone with the right booking and character work."

"EC3 is someone I believe will be looked back on fondly for his character work and charisma, no matter the quality of his "workrate". After a frankly insignificant WWE tenure in the early 2010's he managed to become one of the best parts of TNA/Impact Wrestling. Skip forward to the last few years and it feels a bit déjà vu. His 2nd NXT run wasn't poor but he was still relegated and confined to the creative direction of WWE, where very few are selected to succeed and everyone else becomes a role player, lucky to get a shot in the main event if they ever gain overwhelming support (Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston). Now that he has returned to TNA, he once again "controls his narrative" and winds up one of the best parts of pro wrestling during the pandemic. Love him or hate him, he's proving for a second time that you don't need to compromise and go to WWE; sometimes the best move to make is your own."

[4.0] "Very boring, below average worker, bad promo guy, very bad character, can't see anything good in him"

[6.0] "I've been saying it since he was in TNA and it seems like people are finally starting to see what I meant. EC3 is a decent wrestler who simply seemed way better than he was due to his booking."

[6.0] "EC3 is a good example of how much the booking of a wrestler plays into how people perceive them. In TNA, EC3 was great. A wonderful character, EC3 was the best character that TNA had developed in years. As Derrick Bateman in WWE, he was just a goof & destined to fail. As he is now back in WWE, it's still mostly a mystery why Vince has decided to burry him so far under the earth. He had potential, but I don't think it can be saved at this point. Personally, I'd like to see Aunt Dixie come in to rescue him at some point, but I just don't think Vince likes the guy & he will suffer because of that."

[8.0] "One of the few heels able to generate real hate from a crowd. He plays the arrogant rich boy to perfection and has the physique to match. His ground wrestling is limited, but he knows that and uses heel tactics and dirty strikes to enhance his matches. The most entertaining wrestler doesn't have to have a range of holds, suplexes and mat skills if he knows how to work a match and EC3 has proven time and again that he can main event every week. He brings out the best in his opponents, bringing in the crowd and must go down as one of the great heels of the current era. [EDIT for 2019] A shame that the WWE card is so stacked that he has been reduced to the joke he is today."

[4.0] "EC3 has a great look, but that's about all he has going for him. Well, that and a decent head of hair. Beyond that, nothing about EC3 is even remotely outstanding, and once the bell rings, it's painfully clear, with each passing second, that he's barely acceptable in the ring."

[4.0] "I honestly have never seen the appeal of this guy. Since his TNA debut he's always been built as a "special" wrestler. He is mediocre in the ring at best and it showed at the UK Tournament and at TakeOver New Orleans. He feels out of place. The EC3, Ethan Carter III gimmick is terrible. Being "the third" just makes it feel like he's supposed to be more special but he isn't. The Top 1% gimmick is cringy to watch and to even hear him say "top 1%" just leaves a disgusting look on my face. His mic skills aren't there either. I will say that he has improved since the Derrick Bateman gimmick, but that's all I can really say about him. I can see him maybe winning the United States Championship but that's about it"

[3.0] "I fail to understand why I am supposed to like EC3, his promos are good but they are not good enough to cover for how mediocre he is in the ring. I am not a MOVEZ guy but his offence is genuinely terrible, nothing he does is remotely impressive or even looks like it hurts! His selling is average and his character does not translate to his in-ring at work. His match with Velveteen was the worst TakeOver match in a looong while."

[10.0] "This guy is main roster ready. Great wrestler, great promo guy, over with the fans, and knows exactly who his character is. Nuff said."

[7.0] "Good in the ring and great on the mic. He has been playing the one per-center gimmick well and he continues to do that in NXT. I honestly don't see him being in NXT for very long. Looking forward to see what the main roster holds for EC3."

[7.0] "His was pretty funny in his original NXT run. When he went to TNA, I actually though he sucked but he worked his ass over to improve himself and became one of their best characters. He still kind of sucks in the ring though."