*OFFICIAL* ECW Aftermath, Review, and Ratings Thread.

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'take' on Tuesday Night E.C.W.: May 13th, 2008

Opening Segment: The show opens with Delaney and Estrada, with Estrada explaining to Delaney that he doesn't realize how lucky he is to have won last week. He presented Delaney with the contract and asked if Colin had any second thoughts. Naturally thats a no, as Delaney signs.

Estrada says that Delaney has an even bigger target on his chest now that hes officially a Superstar, and hes going to prove it. He makes Colin's first official match, against Knox for later tonight.

The Matches:

1. C.M. Punk v. The Miz: In the first of the double Main Event, Miz and Punk open the show with a solid match. What can I say that likely hasn't been said already? When Punk is up against wrestlers with talent, they make him look good. When Punk is asked to carry the match, he flops worse than a fish outta water.

Now I'm not by any leaps and bounds saying The Miz is the next coming of Mr. Perfect, but I will say The Miz has shown a great improvement in his craft, while the current MITB holder is apparently being lost in the ranks of a barely above water Tag Team division.

Miz picks up the victory, after he counters out of a G.T.S. into the Reality Check neckbreaker. Sadly, this is what people aren't willing to see for themselves. The MITB holder, just lost to a guy that likely couldn't lace a real World Champion's boots.

2. Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly & Cherry v. Natalya, Layla & Victoria: Diva Feva, as Adamle calls it. Not much I can say about this match, other than your typical wrestling divas looking foolish against your diva-divas.

Natalya & Victoria are floundering in this worthless part of the division, while thankfully on Raw they've done something right with the Triple Threat match coming up at Backlash. But thats another discussion for another thread.

Cherry picked up the victory in this 6-diva match, after she rolled up Victoria in the face corner. Upon doing this, I noticed something thats kinda rough to me. Cherry has a rather broad ass. I mean, Natalya is built like her Father that much is obvious, but Cherry is just borderlining fat in general. The girl wears sweatpants as well. And when she rolled Victoria up, the one thing I couldn't NOT focus on, was the way those sweats just vacuumed up into her butt and crotch. I got nothing against fat girls, but I just think its time for an outfit change for Cherry.

3. Colin Delaney v. Mike Knox: Delaney has theme music! Thats about roughly the only positive for him during this segment, as Knox straight up squashed him in this match.

And whats the lesson learned today? Whether you get lucky and win a contract or not, if you've been losing by squashes in the multi-chances you've had before.. one win, doesn't turn you into a Superstar.

4. Colin Delaney v. Armando Estrada: Estrada makes his way to the ringside area, telling Knox "Good job" on the way by.. then explains that Delaney just had his first match as a contracted Superstar, and hes about to have his second match, against the newest Superstar... Armando Estrada.

Estrada explains that he gave himself a very expensive contract, then proceeds to attack Colin. He drills him with what looked to be an Inverted Reverse D.D.T. (Goldust's old finisher) then picked up the easy victory. Delaney was busted open on the nose, which could've ended up being a broken nose?

Segments/Promos:

Shelton Benjamin/Kofi Kingston: Benjamin is interviewed in the back about losing 2 straight to Kofi. Benjamin says Kofi is one of the luckiest guys in E.C.W. and must have a lucky horseshoe stuffed where the sun don't shine. He says that Kofi won't win the next time they meet.

This brings Kofi in from behind, as he says if thats the case he wants to be the first to wish Benjamin luck. This causes Benjamin to get upset that Kofi is cutting in on Benjamin's rarely given interview time, and that turns into a brawl between the two, until Kofi drills Benjamin into a loading door. Kofi walks off, as Benjamin looks outraged.

Main Event: Kane v. John Morrison: Very solid Main Event between the current E.C.W. Champion, and a former E.C.W. Champion. Morrison pretty much took up Chavo Guerrero's role of working over the knees, as Miz comes to ringside to helpout with the "moral support." Miz works over Kane's legs, which leads to Punk coming out to steal some spotlight and we take a break.

Upon returning, Kane is back in control of the match, until Morrison went back to the legs. As the end came near, Kane hit a leaping clothesline and called for a Chokeslam. This lead Miz to get on the apron, only for Punk to involve himself. For the second time tonight, Miz owns Punk against the steal steps, which causes Kane and the official to turn their attention away from Morrison, who makes Kane pay with a Championship shot to the face.. then a spinning kick off the ropes to the chest of Kane, as Morrison picks up the victory!!!!

Overall Thoughts: Not a bad night of action, and sadly a lot better than Raw the night prior. Miz/Punk to open the show was very solid, and unfortunately Punk is still drowning as its apparently noone knows what to do with him.

The Delaney storyline is becoming just about as confusing as the HBK/Injured/Not Injured storyline. Delaney won his contract after monthes of fighting for it. And in his first match, he gets squashed as if he accomplished NOTHING last week. So whats the point of having him fight so hard to win, when in the end, the result of his matches are still him being owned in seconds?!

Estrada becomes a wrestler?! Seriously. First Regal becomes King of the Ring and remains GM, now Estrada becomes a wrestler and likely will remain GM. Does this mean Estrada v. Kane will end up becoming a match sooner than later?

Kofi is electric but they need to do something with him soon, otherwise he'll become stale. His matches with Benjamin are money, but once again.. they're pretty much the only thing keeping Benjamin remotely kept on television, when guys like Elijah Burke can step up to become the next challenger to Kingston.

Morrison picking up a victory over the World Champion SHOULD shut his critics up. Likely won't, but it should. I'm waiting for the first moron to say "He only won because he cheated." (Uhm, duh? Because hes a heel and its what they do?! Maybe, just BigWill's crazy wrestling logic.. forget it)

Unfortunately, all Miz & Morrison's single's victories mean for tonight.. is they'll likely end up dropping the Tag Team Championships Sunday. Which is honestly pointless considering Kane doesn't need to be stuck in any type of team with a guy thats more vanilla than the ice cream.

All in all, great show. Top quality matches for the talent they have, and a beautiful way to spend an hour. Which is more than I can say for the 2 I wasted on Raw last night.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 05/13/08:

A video recap of Colin Delaney earning an ECW contract by pinning GM Armando Estrada on last week’s 100th episode aired then backstage Estrada asked Colin if he realizes how lucky he is. Estrada warned Colin he’s now an even bigger target than before. Delaney took his sweet time signing the contract. Estrada announced Mike Knox, a man who’s beaten him before, would be Colin’s first opponent as an active member of the ECW roster later in the night.

Short and to the point opening segment. Wow, we had a contract signing and no one was sent through a table! I thought Estrada would somehow screw Delaney out of his contract. I’m glad he finally got it, but a swerve would have made the storyline more exciting. Still, Estrada’s clearly on a mission to make Colin’s life more miserable than before...like no one saw that coming.

Match #1 CM Punk vs. The Miz: Miz returned the favor from last Friday night, dismissing John Morrison during his entrance. In a rematch from last month maybe, but more likely as a warm-up for Judgment Day, these two gave us another good match that was given decent time (just under 6 minutes). Again Miz dominated Punk, however this time he came away with the win after countering the GTS with the Reality Check. He and Morrison celebrated on the ramp afterwards. And yet another loss for Mr. MITB…tsk tsk.

Match #2 Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, & Cherry vs. Layla, Natalya, & Victoria: Decent albeit short (under 4 minutes) 6-woman tag match, featuring what we’ve seen recently from Natalya, Victoria, McCool, and Cherry over on Smackdown. Sweet springboard somersault leg drop by Victoria, and I just loved that little wiggle she did before the standing moonsault. When Victoria distracted herself with Kelly and McCool on the apron, Cherry scored another quick roll-up win. That's going to get old very soon as well. Interesting this was ECW yet neither ECW diva saw any ring time.

Backstage: Lena Yada reminded Shelton Benjamin that Kofi’s beaten him twice now. Shelton reiterated that Kofi is the luckiest man alive, saying he has a horseshoe stuck where the sun doesn’t shine and he’s going to pull it out. Oh my! That sounds painful. He asserted he’s going to give Kofi his first loss when they next meet (which btw is advertised for next week’s show). Kofi walked up and wished him luck. Shelton told Kofi to get out of his interview time. We all know how much Shelton really needs the interview time. Kofi tackled Shelton into the steel door then walked away, leaving Shelton lying and looking very determined.

Match #3 Colin Delaney vs. Mike Knox: Colin came out with entrance music finally, but it didn’t sound like anything special. Knox racked up another easy win with his ‘Knox Out’ finisher in this 1-minute squash.

Estrada came down to the ring and said he just signed himself a hefty contract. He demanded the ref ring the bell to begin his first match as the newest member of the ECW roster against Colin.

Match #4 GM Armando Estrada vs. Colin Delaney: 30-second squash by Estrada on an already beaten Delaney. Like last week, Estrada started slapping Delaney around and talking smack. His finisher looks impressive but a little awkward setting it up; I don’t see him getting a big man up like that. Colin’s nose was bleeding after the match.

So Estrada’s a full-fledged wrestler now yet he’s also out to prove his authority as the ECW General Manager. I guess he's not familiar with the term 'conflict of interest'. He’s had it in for Dreamer and Delaney in recent weeks, so I predict we’ll see Dreamer/Delaney vs. Estrada/Knox sometime in the next week or so.

Match #5 (Main Event) John Morrison (w/The Miz) vs. Kane (w/CM Punk): Decent match with a slower pace than I like and it lasted longer than really necessary (just shy of 16 minutes). We didn’t really see any signature Morrison moves; his offense consisted of kicks, leg holds, punches, and dropkicks. He definitely showed he can adjust his style according to his opponent. For the majority of the match, Morrison really worked over Kane’s injured knee. Seriously, how much longer is he going to sell that knee injury? It’s getting old. There was one sweet spot where Kane held Morrison up back to back by the throat then dropped him facedown on the mat.

Just before the commercial break, Miz grabbed Kane’s bad leg, which prompted Punk to join his Judgment Day tag partner at ringside. Later in the match, while Miz was taking care of Punk on the outside, Morrison hit Kane with his tag belt then his springboard spinning kick to score the pin. After the match, Morrison and Miz continued to beat down Kane and Punk and left them lying in the ring as they celebrated on the ramp to close the show.

With Miz/Morrison looking so strong here, does this mean they are dropping those belts come Sunday? Seriously, no one is going to care any more or less about Punk (or Kane for that matter) if they start throwing more hardware on the guys.

Overall Thoughts: At least, there was no dancing this week! Nothing truly memorable or exciting – just a decent show with two good matches that built towards Morrison/Miz vs. Kane/Punk for the tag straps this Sunday at Judgment Day. The other matches/segments, while nothing great, served to further those storylines. I guess they’ve completely forgotten about Stevie Richards and Elijah Burke. Dreamer and Chavo were absent as well. For what it’s worth, Mike Adamle was noticeably better. I don’t know if he was being fed lines or had things written down, but it sounded like he came prepared (referencing things that happened on the last Raw and Smackdown). Have mercy - he even called a chinlock and a clothesline!

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'take' on Tuesday Night E.C.W. - May 20th, 2008

Opening Segment: Estrada is in the ring and surrounded by Punk, Morrison, Guerrero & Dreamer. Estrada announces that at One Night Stand, the four men in the ring will compete in a Fatal Four Way, all for themselves, singapore cane match. The winner will face Kane, for the E.C.W. Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions.

Estrada quickly wastes no time in allowing the four to get to know each other, as he announces the Main Event will be a Tag Team contest. Faces v. Heels.

The Matches:

1. Kane v. The Miz: Miz comes out first and cuts a promo about how he has a headache, a sore neck and a back ache, all after retaining the Tag Team Championships from Sunday. He said its a result of Kane chokeslamming him outside the ring. Miz says just like Sunday, hes going to defeat Kane again tonight.

Kane controls 90% of the match, with Miz only getting more or less his signature corner clothesline in on Kane. The match finishes up, after Miz fights out of an attempted chokeslam, only for Kane to hang Miz upside down in the corner and get himself Disqualified after choking Miz from the outside of the ring.

Kane isn't happy, and as a result grabs a chair and attempts to break Miz's neck. Morrison comes to the rescue, only to pull Miz out of the ring, and then celebrate his victory over Kane.

2. Shelton Benjamin v. Kofi Kingston: Shelton, just like in the previous two matches prior controls most of the match. Early on, Benjamin takes Kingston and drops him very ackwardly, knees first, across the top ropes. This sets the stage for most of the match, as Kofi played the injury to his knees off.

Benjamin countered practically every regular move Kofi tried throwing at him. Including when Kofi went for his "boom, boom, boom" leg drop, Benjamin countered it into a pinfall roll-up attempt, where my eye might of accidentally caught some of Kingston's "ball, ball, balls."

The finish came when Benjamin ducked the roundhouse kick finisher of Kingston's, then connected with the "Paydirt." Benjamin finally capitalized on doing what he said he would, and defeated the undefeated Kofi Kingston. Eh, what can you say.. Kingston had a pretty Cool Running with it.. but you can't stay undefeated forever.

3. Colin Delaney & Kelly Kelly v. Mike Knox & Layla: The first thing I'm going to say, right off the bat. Kelly Kelly goes through men quicker than Tacos or Burritos. What is this now, like her 4th-5th different guy?

When the best talent on your Tag Team, is Kelly squared.. you might wanna go back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, Grizzley Adams, otherwise known as Mike Knox is content as none other than to destroy Delaney at any chance he gets.

The entire match was a glorified Kelly Kelly v. Layla match-up, as Kelly picked up the win for her team, with her finishing rockerdropper. I think Adamle called it the "K2." After the match, Knox laid out Delaney.. which lead to.......

4. Armando Estrada v. Colin Delaney: Since Estrada repeated exactly what he did to Delaney last week, which was came out, called for the bell, hit his reverse suplex/reverse ddt finisher..

I figured since we went through this a week ago, I'd show you what Estrada did before breaking into the wrestling business. ENJOY...

[youtube]Vaw-9WElAjc[/youtube]


Main Event: Chavo Guerrero & John Morrison v. C.M. Punk & Tommy Dreamer: Not the greatest Main Event, but it certainly sets up for the Fatal Four Way at the Pay Per View. All four men got a great deal of showcasing their talent, including Dreamer.

The finish came when Dreamer set Morrison up in the corner and hit a Tree of Woe, only for Chavo to tag Morrison out, then drop Dreamer and connect with a Frog Splash. Chavo Guerrero picks up the victory for his team.

While the Tag match was average, it wasn't until after the match was over the real fun began. Apparently Estrade forgot a former E.C.W. Champion, as the Big Show came out, delivered Show-Stoppers to Guerrero, Punk & Dreamer, then flung Morrison half way across the ring, to deliver his statement.

Overall Thoughts: Kingston's loss was the biggest shock of the night, especially coming at the hands of Benjamin. It looks like they're giving Benjamin yet another mid-sized push, with allowing him to go over Kofi (only took 3 tries) and who knows where to next. Meanwhile, while being undefeated in any manner is impressive.. the truth is, you really gotta step back and look at it.

Was Kofi truly impressively undefeated? No, not like Mr. No Personality Kozlov is on Smackdown. Kofi has had very competitive matches, not exactly statements like Kozlov.. so Kingston's streak coming to an end, shouldn't be shocking to anyone.

Morrison did the worst possible thing by saving Miz from getting his neck broke. Had Morrison of not saved Miz, I might actually see this as their chance to push Morrison back as a strong single's wrestler and it'd give him every rightful chance to shine against Kane, in gaining revenge for his partner. However, since Morrison DID save Miz.. it doesn't look like their Tag run is over yet.

Where is the Delaney/Estrada storyline leading? A one-on-one match, without Delaney being knocked out before the bell rings? I mean, seriously, did the 100th episode match between the two of them really show creative that its the type of feud that could have serious potential to go on??

Finally, Punk being involved in the Fatal Four Way is nice and all, but if he doesn't win (which I doubt he will, especially with Show being in it) then its just further hurting him for anything. Honestly, they should've let Punk v. Morrison, Miz, Benjamin, or even Guerrero happened for the MITB case.. and had Punk pick up the victory. At least then, it would've gave him a minor victory, instead of the constant loses they've been having him rack up.

Meanwhile, Big Show coming out to end E.C.W., it wasn't officially confirmed on the show that he'll be added, however from seeing wwe.com, its official there. So next week I imagine a 4 on 1 handicap match, with Big Show dominating all four of his One Night Stand opponents.

Not a bad show, could've been better. Where the hell is Elijah Burke?! I haven't seen him used, even in a losing effort, in a couple weeks. Has he truly dropped so low, that they can't even find a way to use him? I give this show a 6 outta 10.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 05/20/08:

Opening Segment: Already in the ring, ECW General Manager Armando Estrada was surrounded by 4 former ECW Champions: CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer, Chavo Guerrero, and John Morrison. He announced a Fatal Fourway Singapore Cane Match at One Night Stand in 2 weeks and the winner will be the No. 1 contender for the ECW title. Estrada said we would get a ONS preview in the night’s tag-team main event: Punk and Dreamer versus Morrison and Guerrero.

Miz Promo: Following video of Miz and Morrison’s tag match against Kane and Punk at Judgment Day, Miz said he suffered a concussion after Kane chokeslammed him on the floor, and despite the headaches, stiff neck, and sore back he emerged one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions. He said above all he’s a competitor and tonight he would do what his partner will do after ONS – beat Kane.

I’m still adjusting to Miz’s new ‘do’. His previous style had just grown on me and now he has this mohawk thing going on. Short and to the point promo, but I just didn’t get that heelish vibe he has brought on guest commentary. Still it’s always nice to hear guys that usually don’t get much mic time. Miz also said was that he is the co-star of the top-rated show on WWE.com ‘The Dirt Sheet.’ Are there other shows on WWE.com? I rarely visit the website; I feel so out of the loop now.

Match #1 The Miz vs. Kane (non-title): Nice opening 4-minute match. At the bell, Kane went on the offensive. A minute in and on the outside, Miz momentarily got the upperhand, ramming Kane’s back into the steel post. Back in the ring, interspersed with brief spurts of offense from The Miz, Kane hit most of his signature moves. When Miz countered the chokeslam, Kane placed Miz in a tree of woe then pulled back on his neck from outside the ring. Kane refused to break the ref’s 5-count and was disqualified. After the match, Kane was intent on further hurting the Miz. He delivered a chokeslam then arranged the Miz’s neck in a steel chair. John Morrison rushed out and pulled his partner from a certain painful fate.

I liked seeing the ‘face’ Kane on the attack early on and showing a vicious side at the end of the match. I also enjoyed not seeing Kane gimp around the ring like every match he’s had for the last 2 months. The Miz hung well with Kane. He’s really improved in the last year. Why is it that I have the feeling we’re in store for a re-match between these two next week?

Match #2 Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin: Prior to the bell, video aired of their previous two encounters and the announcers questioned whether Kofi could keep his winning streak alive tonight. After 30-seconds of tentatively feeling each other out, Shelton went on the offensive. Turning point of the match came about a minute in when Shelton dropped Kofi’s knee onto the top turnbuckle (scary looking spot). He continued working on Kofi’s knee and Kofi did a nice job selling the injury. When Kofi was able to connect with an aerial move like a huge dropkick, it only aggravated his knee further. Shelton did a good job countering Kofi’s offense. He avoided the Trouble in Paradise kick and hit his Paydirt finisher to pick up the win and deliver Kofi’s first loss.

This was Kofi and Shelton’s third and best TV match yet, showcasing each man’s athleticism. Match of the night IMHO that was deserving of more than a mere 4 minutes. So the score is 2-1 Kofi. I’d like to see their feud continue a little longer. I’m interest to see how Kofi comes back after his first loss. Maybe this win is the beginning of a renewed push for Benjamin? Hey, a girl can hope.

Match #3 Colin Delaney & Kelly Kelly vs. Mike Knox & Layla: The divas briefly exchanged words then Layla went on the offensive with a kick to the stomach and forearm shots to the back before tossing Kelly Kelly over the top rope. Kelly held on and brought Layla to the floor via a head scissors. Back in the ring, Kelly landed a nice flying cross body. Knox broke up the cover then sent Colin flying over the top rope to the floor. Kelly hit her finisher (The Adamle called it K2) on Layla for the win. After the match, Knox laid out Delaney with his Knox Out finisher then Estrada came down and told the ref to ring the bell for his match against Delaney.

This mixed tag-team match was decent at best, boring at worst, and little more than a 1-minute ‘divas’ squash in disguise. I’m really tired of seeing Kelly vs. Layla every other week in some fashion. It’s beyond old. They need to do something new and different with these two ASAP, or I’ll be forced to start fast-forwarding through their segments/matches. I’m at that point where I just don’t care about them anymore.

Moreover, I think Kelly has had a mixed tag match with almost everyone on the ECW roster now. During their entrance, Colin looked really happy to be teaming with Kelly and she held his hand. She looked concerned and checked on Colin after both Knox and Estrada took him out. Kelly’s had a few “relationships” on the show as well. So might she and Colin have a budding romance starting up soon?

Match #4 GM Armando Estrada vs. Colin Delaney: Estrada picked up an already beaten Delaney and hit his nameless finisher for another easy, punishing win over Colin.

Since everyone else’s finisher is getting named recently, maybe Estrada’s will be named soon. They are doing a nice job with his dual roles as GM and wrestler. He made a good match for ONS earlier, pleasing the fans, and later drew heat for himself and pity for Colin by making good on his promise to make Colin’s life miserable in this record-time (15 seconds) squash. While it’s refreshing to have a wrestling Estrada, I can’t help but wish he’d keep his shirt on. The veins in his arms creep me out.

Colin’s going to get very stale soon if they don’t do more with him. Estrada and Knox’s squashes over him will become more boring than Kozlov’s entrance.

Match #5 (Main Event) CM Punk & Tommy Dreamer vs. John Morrison & Chavo Guerrero: Solid 12-minute tag match well-worked by all four men. At the start, nice face-plant by Dreamer on Morrison who then got great height on an armdrag takedown. Chavo and Punk tagged in. There was a slight miscommunication between Morrison and Chavo for their first tag of the night, but it wasn’t a factor in the match. Who was Punk trying to impress with that delayed vertical suplex? Seriously, Chavo might weigh 200 lbs. Chavo and Morrison took turns working on Punk. Morrison caught Punk on the apron and gave him a nice Electric Chair onto the floor to take us to commercial break. Once back, Morrison and Chavo continued wearing Punk down with frequent tags. Late in the match, Punk finally rallied with a series of kicks, running corner high knee, and bulldog on Morrison. Dreamer got the ‘hot’ tag and two nearfalls following a pump handle suplex and spike DDT. In the tree of woe, Morrison avoided Dreamer’s running low dropkick. Chavo tagged in and hit the frogsplash on Dreamer for the win.

Punk spent the majority of this match getting worked over by Morrison and Chavo. I don’t think this is what they mean by looking strong in defeat. At least Mr. MITB didn’t suffer the pinfall for his team yet I remain confused about his booking post-Mania.

Big Show Promo: After the match, Show’s music hit and he proceeded to take out Chavo then Punk then Morrison. He said that GM Estrada forgot about him so he is inserting himself into the No. 1 contender Singapore Cane match at ONS. He reminded us he is a former ECW champion and asserted he will be the future ECW champion. He dropped the mic, acted like he was helping Dreamer up then chokeslammed him too.

Is it me or can they not decide whether Show is a face, heel, or tweener? His actions have been a little sketchy since his return. Also he’s been getting pretty good pops since his return, but tonight’s crowd didn’t really react to his announcement. I’m not very excited about Show being the next ECW champ. I see this as just a way to get Show on the next PPV and maybe begin a feud with Kane over the summer, which might be good.

Overall Thoughts: Solid show with a surprise ending. No complaints other than no Stevie Richards or Elijah Burke again this week. The Adamle continues to have his good and bad moments…like so many things on ECW, he's a work in progress.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 05/27/08:

Match #1 Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer: All Show in this 2-minute opening squash. Dreamer’s total offense consisted of a low dropkick and boot to the face. Show chokeslammed Dreamer for the win.

Honestly, this was nothing more than an extended version of their squash from 2½ weeks ago on Smackdown. Did we really need to revisit these two? Was there ever any doubt as to the winner? And how exactly is this match supposed to make anyone take Dreamer seriously for the upcoming One Night Stand PPV?

Video Segment: Big Show with Paul Heyman’s help defeated RVD July 4, 2006 for the ECW Championship.

Match #2 Kofi Kingston vs. Mike Knox: Shelton Benjamin sat in on commentary for the match. Somebody took their bland pills today. He bragged about his game plan that enabled him to end Kofi’s winning streak last week. Neither he nor the announcers mentioned his tag team loss this past Friday night. I guess what happens on Smackdown stays on Smackdown...

Knox dominated the first 2 of this 3-minute decent match until Kofi with the crowd’s support rallied with a couple hard forearms to the face, legitimately opening up Knox’s left eye area. He landed the Trouble in Paradise kick out of nowhere for the win. After the match, Shelton attacked Kofi from behind.

Just as Kofi gained control, Knox laid him out with his Knox Out finisher. Knox has more hair on his face than his head now. The bloody face intensified Knox’s crazed mountain man look at the end. Kofi got the better of Sheltonin that post-match brawl. Their feud continues as does Kofi’s push. At first, I had hopes but now I just don’t see how any good can come out of this feud for Shelton.

Video Segment: CM Punk defeated John Morrison September 4, 2007 for the ECW title.

Video Segment: Chavo Guerrero defeated CM Punk January 22, 2008 for the ECW title.

Match #3 Chavo Guerrero vs. CM Punk: Nice back and forth action the first few minutes. Back from commercial break, Neely pulled down the top rope sending Punk to the floor. Chavo gained control of the match and worked Punk over a few minutes. Punk countered Chavo’s third Amigo and went for the GTS, but Chavo reversed that with a sweet hurricanrana. Chavo then avoided Punk’s corner high knee and rolled him up for the pinfall.

Match was good albeit sloppy at times (mostly on Punk’s part). Overall, it was simply boring and not deserving of so much TV time (almost 12 minutes). After all, it was only a few short months ago that Chavo versus Punk was the ME for weeks on end. Their matches weren’t anything great before and that fact hasn’t changed with the passage of time.

And I have lost count and now am beyond concerned with how many losses Mr. MITB has racked up since WM24. I fully expect the ‘Punk treatment’ to continue at ONS and until he’s drafted in a month.

Video Segment: Tommy Dreamer delivered an emotional speech after defeating Tazz April 22, 2000 for the ECW Championship.

Backstage Interview: Following the RAW Rebound, Lena Yada asked Colin Delaney his thoughts on Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar giveaway and the upcoming draft. Of the cash contest, Delaney said it’s an amazing idea and the WWE is always giving back to the fans. He pondered the possibility of an entirely new set of opponents then said he wants to stay on ECW but hopes Armando Estrada goes away.

I like Colin and he’s decent on the mic, but that interview didn’t do anything for him. Moreover, I’ve tried to have an open mind when it comes to Lena Yada, but she flat-out sucks as a backstage interviewer.

Video Segment: John Morrison defeated CM Punk and won the vacant ECW Championship June 24, 2007.

I liked the mini-trip down memory lane of the ECW title, but wouldn't it have made more sense if those video segments appeared in some sort chronological order?

Match #4 (2-on-1 Handicap Main Event) John Morrison & The Miz vs. Kane: Early on, the tag champs looked set to take control in this handicap match with quick tags, however Kane leveled Morrison on the apron twice and went after Miz. Kane attempted a double chokeslam, but Morrison and Miz double teamed Kane to the point the ref disqualified both men. Punk then Chavo then Dreamer hit the ring to even out the heels to faces ratio. Then Show’s music hit and he came down. He and Kane eliminated all the others and the show ended with the two big men staring at one another.

This 2-minute sham of a match could have been better if only the announcers played off the fact that Kane had a ‘score’ to settle with both men. I mean, two weeks ago Morrison beat Kane 1-on-1 and Miz picked up a DQ victory last week. This match did nothing more than setup an opportunity to get all the participants of the ONS Singapore Cane match in the ring together again and again Big Show dominated all. Is that supposed to make me psyched for the PPV? Swell job WWE…way to make your former ECW champions and roster look like complete crap. Instead of that crap ME, I'd have much preferred a little promo time for each of the Singapore Cane match participants.

Overall Thoughts: All-around a pretty disappointing show as the last one before ONS. The show summed up in one word: BORING. The match-ups were unoriginal and irrelevant when it seems we’re building toward Kane-Show. While that may turn into a good feud, they’re putting the cart before the horse. We have to get through the ONS No. 1 Contender match first and the show failed to get me excited about the ECW match this Sunday.

 

[Deathvalley]

First off, I'm new so I will start by saying that everything I say is my own opinion.

ECW is not worth a shit. To me it is nothing more than a shadow of what it was before it went to shit. Back when the only way you could watch ECW was to order it, there may not have been any good wrestling, but at least the matches were interesting to watch. Now you might see a good match every now and then, but chances of that are very rare.
Good superstars in ECW are few and far between. The rest are either held back or not good anyway. Vince made ECW horrible in a way undescribable. They should just drop Ecw and and split the good superstars between Raw and SD. The rest should be dropped for TNA to pick-up. How they is of no concern to me.
Well here ends my first post. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[chasingamy]

First off, I'm new so I will start by saying that everything I say is my own opinion.

ECW is not worth a shit. To me it is nothing more than a shadow of what it was before it went to shit. Back when the only way you could watch ECW was to order it, there may not have been any good wrestling, but at least the matches were interesting to watch. Now you might see a good match every now and then, but chances of that are very rare.
Good superstars in ECW are few and far between. The rest are either held back or not good anyway. Vince made ECW horrible in a way undescribable. They should just drop Ecw and and split the good superstars between Raw and SD. The rest should be dropped for TNA to pick-up. How they is of no concern to me.
Well here ends my first post. Hope you enjoyed it.

First let me say welcome to the forums Deathvalley. Second, it's sounds like you're an old-school ECW fan. Third, while I agree with a lot of what you had to say, I'm just not sure this was the right place for your post on what I'll call the "State of ECW". This thread is to:

Review and preview the weekly ECW show in here.

If you have not done so yet, you might want to check out the Wrestlezone Forum Rules. Happy posting!

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 06/03/08:

Backstage: Armando Estrada interrupted two men removing things from his office. They told him they were doing what the General Manager ordered. Estrada exclaimed he is the GM. Teddy Long walked in and proclaimed “Not anymore playa!”

Wow, a shocker at the show’s open! I was under the impression that Raw and Smackdown were in need of new General Managers – not ECW. I certainly didn’t expect that…it’s nice that WWE can surprise us every once in a while.

Match #1 Fatal Fourway: CM Punk vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. John Morrison: At the bell, Punk and Chavo paired off as did Dreamer and Morrison. Punk suplexed Chavo onto Morrison and Dreamer broke up the cover. The faces then paired off as did the heels. Nice moment with all four taking each other out on the outside. Back in the ring, each man displayed some nice offense: Morrison landed his springboard spin kick on Punk, again Dreamer busted out the Texas Cloverleaf on Morrison, Chavo executed the Three Amigos on Dreamer, Dreamer hit the running low dropkick on Morrison hung up in the tree of woe. The finish saw Dreamer take a springboard clothesline from Punk and frog splash by Chavo then Punk hit the GTS on Chavo for the win.

This was a re-match from One Night Stand minus the #1 contender spot being up for grabs, Singapore Canes, and Big Show who suffered a nasty cut that required eight stitches and a possible cracked orbital bone. This was a fun, fast paced, opening 5-minute match and close second for match on the night IMHO.

Wow, Punk picks up another win and it’s over Chavo who has gotten the better of Punk in their recent meetings. So it looks like they have stopped giving Mr. MITB the ‘Punk treatment’ and are slowly, finally, beginning to push him again.

During the introductions, we were told the winner would face Kane in a non-title match later in the night. Now not to take anything away from the match or the hard work by all four guys, but where is the incentive for anyone of them to bust their hump only 2 days post-ONS for a NON-title match against a fresh Kane?

Backstage: Estrada read a letter from the Board of Directors naming Teddy Long the new GM. Long pointed out the bright side – Estrada’s still a highly paid ECW superstar. In fact, Long said Estrada’s being paid way too much. Estrada begged Teddy to work with him so Long put him in a match with his good friend from Smackdown, the US Champion, Matt Hardy.

Match #2 Shelton Benjamin vs. Matt Sydal: Wow, second surprise of the night – Matt Sydal from FCW made his TV debut! I hadn’t seen him in action before and had heard little (although it was all positive); he’s a lot smaller than I expected and for a second there I thought it was Alex Shelley in the ring. The little offense he landed was impressive. With his look and style, he’d fit perfectly in TNA’s X-division.

Throughout this 3-minute match, Shelton exchanged frequent stares with Kofi Kingston who sat in on commentary for the match and was his usual laid-back self. The finish saw Sydal tossed to the outside, picked up, and powerbombed into Kofi. Shelton dominated here and won via countout. After the match, Kofi returned the favor from last week and attacked Shelton, however he quickly rolled out of the ring and got the better of Kofi (for a change), sending him hard into the steel steps.

Match #3 US Champion Matt Hardy vs. Armando Estrada (Non-Title): All Hardy in this 1-minute squash. He won via pinfall following the Twist of Fate.

As Matt began to celebrate, Teddy Long interrupted. He asked Matt and the ref to stick around. He said he was giving Armando one more chance to prove his worth and booked him in a match with Colin Delaney.

Match #4 Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada: Delaney raced to the ring and went for a quick roll-up on the emotionally and physically shaken Estrada even before the ref could ring the bell. Armando fought back and set Colin up for his finisher, but Delaney countered and rolled up Estrada for the win in this 30-second squash.

And just like that Estrada went from a badass in the ring to #1 chump in the span of a week. While the victory does nothing for Hardy, it gives Colin his second singles win and furthers the storyline with Estrada.

Backstage: Estrada told Long he couldn’t fire him. Long pointed out he just lost two matches in a row. Estrada pleaded with Teddy to keep him around until the draft. Long agreed to let Estrada wrestle each week but not as a contracted superstar. Instead, he’s going to make Estrada earn his contract just like Colin had to do! Long said “What goes around comes around.” He left Estrada with one last word of wisdom…delivered only as Ron Simmons can.

So the Delaney-Estrada angle comes full circle. Estrada gets his comeuppance for his treatment of Colin both before and after earning his contract. Now he too must fight to earn a contract. I don’t have any major issues with the GM change or reversal of the Delaney/Estrada storyline other than the timing. It’s only been three weeks since Colin won his contract and Estrada was just getting started with tormenting Delaney. I’d have liked that to continue another couple weeks, really building Estrada as a cruel, relentless, all-powerful heel GM, then go in this direction. It just feels a little rushed to me.

Match #5 (Main Event) Kane vs. CM Punk: Nice back forth action the first few minutes then Kane gained control. He landed on his feet after Punk clotheslined him to the outside then drug Punk to the floor and delivered an uppercut. Kane picked Punk up and held him by the throat in a back-to-back position (that move really needs a name). Back from commercial break, Kane locked in an abdominal stretch then applied a body scissors. Punk fought back with punches and kicks and scored a near fall with a sunset flip. Kane went back to the body scissors. Later Punk hit three corner high knees and a bulldog for another near fall. Kane came back with a side slam and top rope clothesline for a near fall of his own. Again Punk fought back, landing a springboard clothesline and positioning Kane for the GTS. Kane countered with the chokeslam for the pinfall.

I may be wrong, but I don’t remember a 1-on-1 match-up between these two before so this was a nice ‘first time’ treat. They put on a good match - indeed the match of the night. And Punk getting Kane up for the GTS was a wow moment. Although he lost, at least Punk looked really strong this time, going 14 minutes with the ECW Champ and bear in mind he wrestled earlier in the evening.

After the match, Miz and Morrison attacked Kane. I’m still not sure exactly what purpose that served. If they wanted to make the tag team champions look strong, wouldn’t it make more sense if they competed against an actual tag team? I’m just not that impressed with a 2-on-1 attack on an already physically taxed guy. Moreover, I just don’t see this thing with Kane and the tag champs going anywhere meaningful.

Overall Thoughts: All-around solid show this week, much improved from last week. We had two nice surprises (Long as the new ECW GM and Sydal’s TV debut). The Shelton-Kofi and Delaney-Estrada storylines continue chugging nicely along. We were spared any divas dancing or wrestling again. The only thing that ‘hurt’ the post-ONS episode was Show’s absence.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Here's my impression of last night.

1. Punk is not nearly as over as all the ROH honks like to say he is. In fact, every offensive move was met with boos in the Kane match. That and he was late reacting to some moves and totally fucked up a sunset flip. I've been saying he's sloppy, and feel justified. That being said, Kane carried Punk to a nice match. Kane played the heel, dominating the action, but received cheers. Kane is super-over, and once the draft comes, should be given a push on one of the real shows. I was happy to see Punk not bore me to tears. He reminds me of the Spurs, usually. He is fundamentally good, just boring as hell.

2. I agree with Amy in that the Delaney/Estrada had the correct conclusion, it's just that it came too soon. Estrada was being built to a point where he could have existed outside of being the heel GM. It was cool to see Matt Hardy try to teach Colin how to celebrate.

3. Chavo is being wasted. He has talent, and he knows how to be a heel. He's the one who should be using Vickie (in a different manner than Edge) to get title shots. Even if he doesn't win, he can carry his end of a feud with anyone.

 

[xRob13x]

I thought the show was pretty good. For one, it was nice to see Tommy Dreamer NOT get pinned in a match. Matt Sydal I have seen in a couple matches before in TNA and one match in that MTV wrestling show that they tried to do. The name escapes me. Also I was thoroughly entertained by the main event, and I think that if Kane can keep his game going like that, then he might not have the 'bore factor' that alot of people say he has. And admittedly, until this match he hasn't really shined much. (Did anyone else get a kick out of his running dropkick to Punk's face? That was awesome.) Also it was kinda nice seeing Matt Hardy squash someone, but that's just me. Overall the show had me very entertained, but I've also always prefered the 'b-shows' to the Cena-Hunter fest on Raw.

 

[Sargonian]

Also I was thoroughly entertained by the main event, and I think that if Kane can keep his game going like that, then he might not have the 'bore factor' that alot of people say he has. And admittedly, until this match he hasn't really shined much. (Did anyone else get a kick out of his running dropkick to Punk's face? That was awesome.) Also it was kinda nice seeing Matt Hardy squash someone, but that's just me. Overall the show had me very entertained, but I've also always prefered the 'b-shows' to the Cena-Hunter fest on Raw.

Yea, I've been watching more Smackdown/ECW lately. Raw has been in a bit of a slump lately.

The Kane vs CM Punk match was really good in my opinion. To be honest, I still think Kane isn't entertaining. It all depends on who he is working with. When he is facing the likes of Morrison/Punk, then expect a good outing. A Kane v.s Bigshow match wouldn't even be half the quality.

 

[xRob13x]

I've stated this in a couple other threads, but I seem to remember the Kane/Show match from a ways back with Show as the champ on ECW TV being pretty good. I'll just continue to hope that they'll kick it up a notch and surprise us all.

 

[MisterRob]

I thought ECW was great this week. It wasn't crowded with backstage segments or promos, there were no Extreme Exposes or unwatchable Kelly Kelly's, but there was an emphasis on the wrestling and I think it really worked. The 4 Man match at the beginning was really solid and gave people something to stay tuned and look forward to (those who would be interested in Punk competing against Kane), although I do agree it would've been better to have had the title on the line if Punk was going to lose. The Shelton Benjamin and Matt Sydal match was great too, and even though it was shorter then the others I think it was exciting, we some some great moves from both men in the ring (Sydal's flying knee drops off the top rope were very impressive) and it did a really good job of continuing the feud between Benajmin and Kingston. I especially liked Sydal being powerbombed and thrown at Kingston. Also, Benjamin won by count out in a very believable way, which also prevented Sydal from being pinned.. I thought that was a nice way to actually push Sydal under the surface as well.

Punk looked strong going into the main event and he and Kane got 14 minutes for their match, and I think they put on a great match. The crowd was definitely into it and I think Kane's really been able to shine since coming to ECW and becoming the champion, I definitely think it was a good move in the long run compared to what he was doing on Smackdown. I do think they should move towards turning Punk heel. I also really think both Morrison and the Miz need new finishing moves...

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 06/10/08:

Match #1 Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne (formerly Matt Sydal) vs. Mike Knox & Shelton Benjamin: Before the bell, they showed a Bourne promo from earlier in the day. He said he’s wanted to be a wrestler his whole life, he’s wrestled all over the world and that has prepared him to live his dream of wrestling in the WWE. He sounded about 15 and doesn’t look much older.

Bourne landed a nice kick on Knox who tagged to Shelton, then Bourne uniquely countered being thrown into the ropes and tagged in Kofi. Shelton, wanting none of Kofi, tagged out to Knox. Kofi jumped on Knox in the corner, landed a series of punches and dropkicks, then went after Shelton on the outside. He took a mean clothesline from Knox as he re-entered the ring. With Kofi down, Benjamin tagged in, suplexed then grounded Kofi with a chinlock. Kofi fought back and tagged in Bourne who executed more kicks, a sweet hurricanrana, and dropkick before being knocked to the floor by Knox. Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise kick out of nowhere on Knox then was clotheslined by Shelton. Bourne hit a double stomp and scored the pinfall.

I’m not sure what the name change is all about, but Bourne brought the same quickness, energy, and awesome offense but more of it this week. Fun, fast paced, opening 4½-minute match and this is my pick for match on the night.

Backstage: A Kelly Kelly look alike was in the GM’s office. Estrada entered, introduced himself to Tiffany, and asked where Long was. She said he just stepped out so Estrada got comfy on the couch, telling Tiffany he’s a big ECW superstar now. She said the way she heard it he doesn’t even have a contract anymore. Long returned and advised Estrada not be starting any hanky panky. Estrada said they were merely discussing the hot weather. Long looked at his Assistant Tiffany and said Estrada had no idea how hot it was in there. Long told Estrada he’d give him another chance to earn the contract he wants so badly tonight in a match against the man who loves to fight.

Sure ECW could stand another diva or two and preferably ones that can wrestle, but does the GM of the third rate show really NEED an assistant? Is she just going to straighten up the office, absent-mindedly play with her blackberry, and deliver cringe-worthy ‘hollas’ every week?

• Video recap of McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania on Raw last night.

Ugh, sitting through that once was bad enough. Note to self: re-register, lol.

Match #2 Kelly Kelly vs. Victoria: Despite a somewhat sloppy start on Kelly’s part, Victoria took control of the match. The majority of the match consisted of her working over Kelly’s arm and Kelly trying to fight out of the submission hold. The finish saw Kelly do a handstand into an awkward head scissors on the apron only to be pushed off by Victoria and land hard flat on her face. The ref started counting then just called the match. Post-match Kelly sold the fall well for several minutes.

OK, I’m not a Kelly Kelly fan. She smiles too much for one thing; it makes my face hurt. Plus I thought she had potential and was showing signs of improvements a few months back, but lately she’s looked sloppy and awkward again. If it’s any consolation, she put forth a decent effort here. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kelly get owned by Victoria…is that such a bad thing? Victoria looked good as always; she could put on a good match with one hand tied behind her back and blindfolded. My only complaint was no Widow’s Peak again…it’s been so long, I think I’m going into withdrawal.

Match #3 Finlay (w/ Hornswoggle) vs. Armando Estrada: Estrada rushed Finlay before the bell. The ref pulled him away and started the match then it was all Finlay in this 50-second squash. He hit the Celtic Cross for the win.

After the match, Teddy Long came out and offered Estrada another chance to prove himself in another match against Colin Delaney. Still in the ring, Finlay hit Estrada in the back of the knee with the shillelagh…ouch!

Match #4 Colin Delaney vs. Armando Estrada: While Estrada was trying to get up and clutching his knee, Delaney hit a DDT and scored the pinfall in just 9 seconds.

Long said Estrada just lost again. Thank you Mr. Obvious. He said the third time’s a charm and offered Estrada on last opportunity in a match against Hornswoggle. No, no, no. Say it ain’t so. It’s bad enough they stink up Smackdown with their antics, why oh why must they further degrade ECW with this crap?

Match #5 Hornswoggle vs. Armando Estrada: With Estrada flat on his back, Horny hit the tadpole splash for the 6-second victory.

Post-match Horny, Delaney, and Finlay celebrated with some dancing. Colin took Horny’s hat and placed it on his head then put it on Finlay who later cold-cocked him upside the head with the shillelagh.

I’m not sure about anyone else, but I think we all needed a DAMN at this point. Finlay is a fine wrestler, so I have no issue with that loss and the loss to Delaney continues that storyline. But Hornswoggle? That’s just wrong, I don’t care who you are. Who the hell did Estrada piss off? I wonder what the record is for the most losses in a single show; Estrada might have a claim to fame after tonight's three losses. And what is the point of Finlay (a face) laying out Delaney (a face who they’ve been pushing for months)? Finlay got a nice pop after hitting Delaney. Whoever booked that ending gets 10 demerits.

Mark Henry/Big Show Promo: Henry called out Show. Henry wanted to be the first to congratulate Show on his upcoming title shot against Kane at Night of Champions. He said if Show wins, he wants to be his first challenger. Henry shook Show’s hand and turned to leave but Show held on. He thanked Mark for his heartfelt words but said if he keeps campaigning for an ass whooping he’ll get elected. LOL. He advised anyone else wanting to wish him luck to save it because he doesn’t need luck. He said it is a fact he’s going in and coming out of Night of Champions the ECW Champion. As Show finished, Kane’s music hit and the two had a brief stare down on the ramp.

Henry and Show’s exchange on last Friday’s Smackdown was somewhat funny and mildly entertaining. Tonight they were boring. What a waste of time segment that was. Henry’s not wrestling these days (why I don’t know or really care) and Show won’t be cleared until the next PPV. Please don’t tell me we’re in store for more of their get-togethers for the next three weeks.

Match #6 (Main Event) Kane & CM Punk vs. The Miz & John Morrison: Before the bell, they aired video from last week of Kane defeating Punk then being attacked by the tag champs. Morrison and Punk started off with nice back and forth action for a minute. Morrison kicked Punk in the ribs several times and tagged in Miz. Punk came back, slingshot Miz to the floor, and took both he and Miz down with a plancha. Back from commercial break, Punk was selling hurt ribs on the apron while Kane was in control of Miz. He grounded Miz then went on to land a big boot, corner clotheslines, and side slam. He went to the top rope but Miz rolled away and tagged in Morrison. After a few kicks and a sleeper, Miz tagged back in with some punches and running corner clothesline before tagging to Morrison again. Morrison executed a nice missile dropkick then another quick tag to Miz. Kane back dropped Miz and tagged to Punk. Morrison tagged in again. Punk got in a kick to the head, scoop slam, knees to the mid-section, and backslide pin attempt, which Miz broke up with a kick to Punk’s ribs. Morrison hit the Moonlight Drive for the win.

Solid 11-minute match, but I can’t quite put my finger on why this just didn’t impress me much. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen this match-up with the same ending before as well as varying singles matches involving the four. I’m actually a little disappointed with the conclusion, as I want Miz and Morrison to drop the titles (granted I’d prefer they lose them to an established team and not two singles wrestlers with nothing to gain) in lieu of singles pushes. Punk took another pinfall. I thought he might be on the rebound starting with last week’s show. So I’m back to wondering what they are doing with him yet beyond caring.

Overall Thoughts: Not a ‘bad’ show but they’re capable of so much better. The opening match and main event were good. Everything else (the divas match, Estrada squashes, and Henry/Show bit) left a lot to be desired. Sadly though, I’d take this episode of ECW over the 2 hours of Raw last night any day of the week.

 

[FOTH 3:16]

Ya know what?Last nights ECW was actually good.I never thought I'd say that.A good storyline(Estrada) being continued,A couple solid tag matches,a great performence in the first tag match,A pretty good divas match.All in all a pretty good show.They could just have 1 three minute match between Estrada and somebody else and I did not need to see a million dollar mania replay(once was bad enough).But it was actually a good show.I could actually sit through it.Not to bad at all.They just need to work on Estrada.But good diva match,tag match and main event.And good promos.Good Job ECW creative.

 

[Myers23]

I too was very entertained by ECW Tuesday night. I think the major suprise is the Kofi Kingston and Golden Standard rivalry. Benjamin may have finally found the rivalry that propels him. His mic skills have improved and seems to have more of an edge. Kofi is another amazing athlete with a pretty cool move-set.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

TheOneBigWill's 'take' on Tuesday Night E.C.W.: June 17th, 2008:

The Matches:

1. Hornswoggle v. Armando Estrada: So we're starting E.C.W. off with comedy hour, apparently. While I unfortunately (said with such pain) missed last week's show, apparently Estrada has taken on the heel role of Colin Delaney.

The match between these two was clearly one sided, and Estrada must of pissed someone off greatly by jobbing to Horny. Marbles, Squirt Guns, and Tab Pole Splashes (oh my) were the recap of this match that lead to Hornswoggle picking up the victory. Finlay played a role, but shockingly Estrada's "downfall" was Finlay's Super-Soaker, as it "stunned" him long enough for Hornswoggle to hit his finisher for the 3-count.

2. Matt Striker v. Evan Bourne: While I won't do it, how pathetic is it when you almost consider a match that has Matt Striker to be a MOTN quality match? The real promise land within this was Evan Bourne, however.

The Alex Shelley looking Superstar shows a great deal of talent, and almost looks as if hes wrestling in rewind. Often throughout this match alone, the guy went backwards more than forward in what he did. Reversing himself up the turnbuckles, suspending himself in mid-air, while attempting Shooting Star/moonsault-isque flips, randomly allowing his feet to go first, while his body follows in connecting with hurricanranas.

In the end, Evan wins after he connects with a Shooting Star Press that was just picture perfect, especially the way he bent his body upside down and backwards. Following the match however, Evan was not a winner. Unless his prize was winning the "I just got my ass handed to me" award, courtesy of Mike Knox.

3. Mike Knox v. Kofi Kingston: Albeit "scheduled" Knox simply awaited in the ring from his previous beat-down of Bourne, for Kingston to make his way to the ring. While it wasn't the greatest match, it went back and forth with Knox displaying his power advantage, while Kingston showed off more of his athletic feet skills.

Half way through the match, after Knox takes a spill to the ringside area, Shelton Benjamin's music erupts as apparently not even a match is stoppin' him now. Benjamin adapts to some old school E.C.W. traits as he blatantly interrupts an on-going match, only to attack Kingston gaining Kofi the DQ victory. In the middle of his attack, Kofi ducks Benjamin's spinning heel kick, as Benjamin connects with Knox, who was coming in from the back door.

Kofi escapes to the outside, as Benjamin is left explaining why Knox shouldn't of been in the ring, dispite him being the guy with the match.. and Benjamin taking his theme music too far.

4. (Main Event) C.M. Punk v. John Morrison: Once again for one more night, these two have won the Match of the Night award. The only sad part of it, is how many more times can these two men face each other, before people get outrageously tired of seeing it, over and over, and over, and over?!

As both men have done before, it was a very evenly paced, high impact contest in which it had some good spots, and some drawn out ones too. In the end, it was Morrison leaping into Punk's G.T.S. which gave Punk one of very far between victories this year.

Promos/Segments:

Tazz/Finlay: After the Hornswoggle match, Tazz expresses noticing Finlay coming from under the ring. He asks Finlay what its like under there, as Finlay explains that there are all kinds of things under the ring. Cables, Cords, Ring Gear, Extra Ropes.. wait, no no.. no that wasn't it, instead, a whole CIVILIZATION apparently lives under that tiny ring. More Leprechauns, both Fat and Skinny people, even Frodo and Sam the LOTR hobbits apparently live underneath W.W.E. rings. (this is very revealing stuff, if you missed it.. you missed a lot, shame on you)

Finlay/Hornswoggle/Long/Miz: You know, I'm more than happy to announce that we can go from one segment that refers to Finlay & Hornswoggle expressing life underneath a wrestling ring.. to going into another segment in which a midget with a green marker is signing a contract to gain a Tag Team Championship match, on a $40.00 pay per view. How I love the vast difference that is the W.W.E.

Miz expresses what most of us feel the same on. How on earth could Finlay (who is deserving) gain a Tag Team Championship match, with his "son" the midget/leprechaun. Finlay answers why with a stiff shot to the head of Miz by his shillelagh. (sp?) (she'll~lay~lee.. just sound it out, you get it.. actually, when you sound it out like that, its rather funny.. because its not very often that Lee gets laid.)

Main Event: Big Show/Kane Confrontation: Both men express why their match is going to be anything important. Big Show explains that Kane & he have been opponents before, partners, Champions, both together and seperate from the past. And at Night of Champions, Kane has something Big Show wants.

Kane merely explains that Big Show has no idea what Kane would do to keep his Championship, and while Big Show may be wrestling's largest athlete (is that in height, or size? Cause I'm sure Khali is taller, and Yoko was wider) and one of the most dominate (anyone can destroy 4 cruiserweights in a single match when you're the Big Show) he won't be Champion.

Big Show explains he feels he does know Kane, and he feels hes sick, twisted and sadistic. But Show explains he also went through hell to gain this match (thats true, 3 cruiserweights, & 1 below average wrestler does equal hell) and he'll put Kane through hell to retain it. Kane explains that hell is standing before him, as both men go face to face.

YAY! Mark Henry is .. wait, why's Mark Henry coming out? Henry explains that if he isn't drafted on Raw in the draft, then hes coming for that Championship. (someone wanna run by me how the guy who is still technically ON Smackdown, claims to come for the E.C.W. Championship, if he isn't moving during the draft? Wouldn't he technically need to move to E.C.W.? Maybe not, who knows) This leads to Show & Kane double chokeslamming Mark Henry, as the show ends with each man returning to their staredown.

Overall Thoughts: When did Evan Bourne suddenly become the next version of Kofi Kingston/Shelton Benjamin to watch? And why are all these guys on E.C.W.? Shouldn't, or better yet, wouldn't they serve better usage on Smackdown competing for the United States Championship? Or even Raw, for the Intercontinental Championship? I mean.. SD is more acceptable, since you don't need to have mic skills to hold the U.S. title. Raw is a bit more advanced. (sometimes)

Knox needs to shave. The guy looks like hes growing a disease week after week. I feel as if I need to get checked out each time I see the guy on television.

Benjamin/Kingston need to have themselves a street fight, or possibly a 20 minute Iron Man match. I'd rather say Street Fight, as they're growing into a violent type of feud, not a skillful type of feud. (albeit they could carry 20 minutes, easily I'm sure)

I'm disgusted plain and simple with Hornswoggle and Finlay gaining a Tag Team Championship match. I'm outraged even more with the fact that they'll likely win, since they're bragging about them becoming the first "Father & Son" Tag Team Champions. Thats more or less the nail in the coffin for Miz & Morrison to drop the belts on p.p.v. then possibly win them back on television just so they can give Finlay/Horny the "title" of making history.

I am honestly excited to see the Kane/Big Show match, but I don't expect it to be anything show stealing. I just believe that if any two big men can carry a match.. its these two. The only stupid part of the match will be when each go for a chokeslam, as they always do, and its a "test of strength" to see who can break the others grip, when in the end, neither will get the move off at that point anyways.

This time next week, the draft will have moved and brought over new talent to the E.C.W. roster. While I couldn't begin to tell you who will definately move away from, or to E.C.W.. I can only hope that its something that won't make the show even worse. This week's show gets a 3 outta 10 simply because Evan Bourne can't carry their show yet, and Morrison/Punk has been done into the ground. Blame Horny even being on the show as to why they didn't get a 4 or higher.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 06/17/08:

Match #1 Hornswoggle vs. Armando Estrada: Finlay’s music hit, but Horny came out alone. Bummer. Instantly, I knew the match would be a total waste of time and utter crap. They aired video of Estrada’s three losses last week to Finlay, Delaney, and Horny.

Horny broke and threw Estrada’s cigar at him then ran out of the ring. Estrada gave chase but landed flat on his back thanks to a bucket of marbles Horny dumped on the floor. Horny hit Estrada with a toy mallet, sprayed him with a water gun, and ran under the ring again. Estrada went after him but pulled Finlay from underneath the ring instead. Finlay surprised him with another water gun and put him back in the ring, just in time to receive a Tadpole Splash. Horny pinned Estrada in 2 minutes.

Post-match Tazz interviewed Finlay about what it’s like under the ring. Finlay said there are all kinds of leprechauns, hobbits, little people, skinny people, fat people, etc. under there. Umm OK. Tazz said he should hang out with Finlay sometime, it’s better than where he’s at now. Was that another shot at The Adamle? I thought we were moving past that finally. Finlay and Horny celebrated in the ring.

So what purpose did that farce of a match serve? The losses and indignities continue for Estrada and clearly they’re building Horny and Finlay up for Night of Champions. Still, that’s three minutes of my life I’ll never get back. Seriously, how can anyone over 12 enjoy watching the antics of Horny and Finlay? And why oh why must they stink up ECW? It’s bad enough we've suffered through them on Raw and Smackdown. One can only hope the rest of the show makes up for that opening match (if you call it that).

• WWE.com Exclusive: A brief video aired of Layla dancing during the commercial break. You can watch it in its entirety at wwe.com. Thanks to whoever spared us that.

Match #2 Matt Striker vs. Evan Bourne: Before the bell, they aired video of last week’s tag match in which Bourne pinned Knox. Bourne used his quickness to avoid Striker in the opening seconds. Striker tossed Bourne over the rope, but he landed on the apron and went for a springboard move. Striker caught him with a sweet swinging neck breaker from the top rope. Striker went for a cover then worked on Bourne’s neck. Bourne fought back with a sweet jumping high knee (makes Punk’s pale in comparison) and a lightning fast hurricanrana. Striker got his knees up to counter Bourne’s standing moonsault. Striker charged Bourne in the corner, but Bourne got his knees up, flipped himself up onto the top rope, and executed a perfect shooting star press…it had amazing height and arch that his hands touched his heels. Bourne pinned Striker in 2½ minutes.

After the match, Knox attacked Bourne and laid him out with his Knox Out finisher. I guess that was payback for last week. Bourne’s high-flying offense continues to impress. We’ll see how he performs against a larger opponent soon, as it looks like his first feud will be with Mike Knox.

Match #3 Mike Knox vs. Kofi Kingston: Knox remained in the ring after attacking Bourne. He must have grown impatient waiting backstage for his match and came out early to start on Bourne. At the bell, Knox took it to Kofi who slowed Knox with several kicks to his legs and a dropkick. Knox caught and threw Kofi head-first into the turnbuckle, momentarily grounding Kofi. He didn’t stay down long, coming back with a high cross-body, another dropkick, and his ‘boom boom boom’ legdrop. Just as Kofi was going for the cover, Shelton’s music hit and he nailed Kofi with a spear. The ref called the match as the two exchanged blows. Shelton T-bone suplexed Kofi, but his spinning heel kick hit Knox instead. Kofi and Shelton stared each other down as Kofi made his way up the ramp.

So the Shelton-Kofi feud continues, but for how much longer? Kofi’s in the lead in the ring, but Shelton’s gotten the better of Kofi in post-match attacks. I’ve enjoyed their feud, but it’s starting to drag. I think it’s time for a deciding match to end the feud…maybe loser leaves ECW?

• Video recap of McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania on Raw last night.

Backstage: Teddy Long presented Finlay and Horny a contract for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions. As Finlay was signing with a fat green marker, Long’s assistant Tiffany pointed out that father and son may be split up in the upcoming draft. Finlay shrugged off the idea and Horny bit Tiffany’s hand. Finlay assured her that Horny likes her…geez, what is the 3rd grade? The Miz interrupted to state his outrage at Long giving Finlay and Horny a shot at he and Morrison’s tag titles. He asked if this is all one big joke. Bingo. Long reminded him he was talking to the GM then Finlay knocked him out with the shillelagh and said they’re serious.

It’s official now – the tag division means absolutely nothing. Just by making such a match, involving the midget, they are tarnishing Miz and Morrison’s run as champions. There goes the momentum Morrison and Miz were building over the last few months. They deserve better than to drop the titles to a circus act. Oh yeah, Morrison-Punk is up next. Three guesses who’s losing tonight, and the first two guesses don’t count…time to start making the tag champs look like chumps.

Match #4 CM Punk vs. John Morrison: Granted there wasn’t much competition, but this was the match of the night and justifiably so. The two got in each other’s faces before the bell then traded slaps and punches for a minute. Morrison leg swept Punk on the apron then dropkicked him to the floor. Morrison took control of the match at the 2-minute mark, targeting Punk’s injured ribs from last week with a series of kicks, shoulder blocks, a submission hold in which he dug his knee into Punk’s side while hooking his leg and arm, and a body scissors. Morrison scored several nearfalls and showed his frustration. Around the 7-minute mark, Punk fought back with punches, a giant swing, and high knee. Morrison countered the bulldog but missed his springboard spin kick. The last minute was a flurry of action. Punk hit a snap slam, Morrison hit a fireman’s carry takeover and side slam, and Punk countered Morrison’s sunset flip attempt from the apron into the GTS for the win in 9½ minutes.

After the match, Miz with a towel on his jaw stated that he and Morrison will defeat Finlay and Horny at NOC and remain tag team champions.

Going in I knew Morrison was taking the loss. Still, I’m upset with the match outcome. Morrison’s dropped two straight to Punk, the guy who’s been losing to everybody and his mama. Sure Punk needs all the wins and building back up he can get at this point, but I can’t agree with it being at Morrison’s expense. On a positive note, Morrison improves his moveset every week. Even when he loses, he shines. He continues to put on great matches, including making Punk look good yet again.

Big Show / Kane Confrontation: In the ring, Teddy Long hyped the Kane-Show match at NOC. He introduced the participants and said this was their opportunity to address each other. Show started saying he and Kane have been opponents, partners, even champions together in the past, but Kane has something he wants and he intends to take it back. Kane told Show he may be the largest athlete and a dominant superstar but he’s not going to be the ECW Champion. Kane reminded Show that he knows what he’s capable of and he’ll soon find out what he’s willing to do to keep his title. Show said he went through hell to get this match and he’ll put Kane through hell to win it. Kane said that hell was standing right in front of him. Mark Henry’s music hit and he came down to advise them to settle down and save their strength because if he’s not drafted next Monday then he’s coming for whoever the champion is after NOC. Kane and Show double chokeslammed Henry then had more words to close the show.

The ending segment was solid but nothing special. They kept it short and hyped the PPV match, so it served its purpose. I enjoyed the Kane-Show verbal exchange, that is until Henry ruined it. Show and Kane can be entertaining both in the ring and on the mic, but Henry just doesn’t do anything for me. I’m not excited for another Kane-Henry or Show-Henry match, which it seems we’re in store for in the near future. In fact, I can see a triple threat match at Great American Bash or Summerslam.

Overall Thoughts: All-around another disappointing show this week. Show started on a downer with a Hornswoggle squash and continued with the tag champs being ‘punked’ (pun intended). Estrada just isn’t as interesting without Delaney’s involvement. The Kofi-Shelton feud is losing steam. And I have no clue what’s become of Stevie Richards. The only bright moments of the night were Bourne and Morrison. The draft can’t come soon enough for ECW. The matches are beyond repetitive and they really need new feuds/storylines.

 

[crazynakedguy]

Hornswoggle vs. Armando Estrada: lady and gentelmen please welcome hornswaggle.....wait wtf hornswaggle? opening the freakin show are you serious im not even gunna write down how horrible and what mindless dribble this was

Matt Striker vs. Evan Bourne: i bet you think im gunna say how good evan bourne is well not yet let me tell you that i liked striker since day one and i knew he wasnt that great but he definetly impress me right here anyways evan bourne is my new favorite wwe wrestle(used to be s2h) if only because he brought back the shooting star press and did it 10 times better then anyone ive ever seen do it, it was beutiful evan picks up his first singles win and celebrates until hes attacked bye mike knox

Mike Knox vs Coffe kingston: mike stays in the ring after the attack for his match but i just think he came out early and didnt like that evan was in the ring anyways kofi continues to impress but ill admit at first i down right hated mike knox but hes grown on me the good match was cut short after the never ending kofi vs shelton fued got more build when shelton speared kofi and giving kofi the win in the process so doesnt that shorta mean shelton helped kofi?

John Morrison vs CM Punk: i dont care if these 2 face off a thousands times they are the only people i would allow to do it its way better then orton vs hhh #80000 cm punk picks up the much needed win


WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO COLIN DELANY?

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 06/24/08:

Show opened with video of the set collapsing on Mr. McMahon last night on Raw following the last Million Dollar Mania winner. In the ring, ECW General Manager Teddy Long said he couldn’t release any medical information out of respect for the McMahon family’s privacy, but everyone on ECW has Vince in their thoughts and wish him a speedy recovery. Long said the one thing Vince would want is for the show to go on and he welcomed ECW’s newest member via last night’s draft - the US Champion Matt Hardy.

I don't know why but they didn't air the normal opening video. I missed hearing the song.

Match #1 Matt Hardy & CM Punk vs. John Morrison & The Miz: Hardy and Morrison started out, exchanged wristlocks, then tagged in their respective partners. Miz and Punk traded kicks then tagged off. Both teams continued with frequent tags followed by a minor offensive move here and there. Indeed, there were a total of seven tag in the first three minutes. Hardy hit the bulldog on Morrison while Punk hit a bulldog on Miz. Morrison sent Punk to floor, taking us to commercial break. Back in the ring, Miz had Punk grounded with a chinlock. Miz and Morrison took turns working over Punk, hitting their forearm face shot/springboard elbow drop double team move and a double gutbuster. Punk eventually got the hot tag to Hardy who exploded on Morrison with clotheslines, a back body drop, diving elbow, and the Side Effect. Miz broke up the cover and Punk clotheslined him to the floor. Moments later, Morrison countered the Twist of Fate and hit the springboard spin kick after Miz tripped up Hardy. Hornswoggle came out from under the ring. Hardy capitalized on the distraction, hitting the Twist of Fate for the win.

This was a nice opening match with a crap ending that I think could have been accomplished in less time. Was 11 minutes really necessary? Punk was traded to Raw, so why is he still wrestling on ECW? I guess we’re in store for a week of inter-promotional match-ups. No way Hardy and Punk were losing tonight given it was Hardy’s ECW debut and Punk still needs all the momentum he can muster heading to Raw. And let’s not miss an opportunity to pimp out the tag champs once more. We’ve got to de-push them as much as possible for Finlay and Hornswoggle at Night of Champions. You’d think two straight, clean losses in the span of 24 hours would be sufficient. I should’ve expected it, but Horny’s shenanigans tonight just seems like overkill.

Match #2 Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston (Extreme Rules): Nice back and forth the first minute. Kofi countered a suplex then landed forearms, a dropkick, and a high cross body to Shelton on the outside. Shelton took over, ramming Kofi back-first into the ring apron, hitting him with a microphone upside the head, and hurling him into the steel steps before littering the ring with two trashcans and a steel chair. Back in the ring, Shelton lifted Kofi high above his head and brought him down for a gutbuster, suplexed him onto a trashcan, and hit a corner splash. The crowd started rallying behind Kofi and he fought back, nailing Shleton with a trashcan lid in the head/face a total of five times. Kofi countered a powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana, sending Shelton headfirst into the trashcan he had set up in the corner, and scored the pinfall via the Trouble in Paradise kick.

Match of the night without a doubt. Another solid, well-worked match from these two that was given good time (just over 8 minutes). Again Shelton dominated Kofi for most of the match and lost cleanly. For those keeping score at home to the best of my calculations, it’s 3-2 Kofi in singles matches and Kofi’s also gotten the better of Shelton in post-match attacks. Unless Shelton gets outright drafted elsewhere, I still say they should wrap up this feud (and it’s about that time) with a loser leaves ECW match.

• Video aired of MVP getting intentionally counted out in his match against Kane on Friday night’s Smackdown and Mark Henry attacking Kane post-match. The announces hyped the night’s main event – Kane versus Henry. Oh boy, I can hardly contain myself.

• The Raw Rebound video aired of last night’s draft on Raw and ended with the caption – The landscape has changed.

• A backstage shot of Kane standing alone and laughing. That’s random.

Match #3 Mike Knox vs. Evan Bourne: Prior to the bell, they aired video of Bourne defeating Matt Striker and getting Knoxed-Out post-match last week. Bourne looks like he should be attending a high school dance and Knox officially has more hair on his face than his head now. If they ever do a sequel to Deliverance, this guy gets my vote on looks alone. Hey let’s all start a collection to buy Knox a Schick Quattro.

Onto the match, Bourne’s single leg takedown attempt was met with forearm shots to the back. Bourne displayed his quickness and cunning, baseball sliding out of the ring and drawing Knox out after him. Bourne landed kicks to Knox’s leg as he reentered the ring. Knox hit a huge clothesline, repeatedly drove his knee into Bourne’s midsection, and applied an abdominal stretch hooking the leg and arm. Bourne fought back and went back to Knox’s leg with a chopblock and more kicks. He landed a sweet missile dropkick and a hurricanrana then went for a spinning back kick. Knox caught him mid-air and delivered a sick-looking backbreaker then his Knox Out finisher for the win.

This was another good, albeit short match (under 4 minutes). It looks the Knox-Bourne feud has begun. Maybe this feud will last longer than three matches for Knox (unlike all his other feuds).

• A backstage shot of Mark Henry on his way to the ring and smiling.

Match #4 ECW Champion Kane vs. Mark Henry (Main Event; Non-title): Following a collar and elbow tie-up, the two exchanged punches for the first minute. Henry locked in a bear hug, but Kane fought back, landing a big boot, uppercuts, and an enziguiri for a near fall. Kane went to top rope but allowed himself to be distracted by the Big Show at the announce table. Henry delivered the World’s Strongest Slam for the win.

It was already the top of the hour when this match begun, so clearly we were in store for a short, crap match and that’s exactly what this was. On the bright side, they kept it short. I can only take Henry in short doses as the most exciting thing about him is his entrance music. Unfortunately, the clean loss and being slammed twice in a four day span by Henry makes Kane look incredibly weak going into NOC. Show’s commentary wasn’t anything special. He rooted for Henry so Kane would be weakened for him on Sunday. I’m still undecided as to what side of the fence Show is on; I guess he’s a tweener at the moment, but I foresee a full-fledged heel turn in the near future.

Overall Thoughts: A much improved show this week. Other than the main event, we got three quality matches out of the night. The show did an okay job building towards Miz and Morrison’s match against Finlay and Horny and Kane versus Show for NOC on Sunday. I assume they’ll build Hardy-Chavo on Friday night’s Smackdown. No Dreamer, Delaney, Estrada, or divas tonight. It looks like the Estrada-Delaney storyline has been abandoned. For me, the bright spot of the night was the scrolling announcement at the bottom of the screen during the main event that there will be a supplemental draft forthcoming. There’s still hope for ECW to gain some picks and for Benjamin and Burke to move onto better things on other shows.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 07/01/08:

Following a video recap of Mark Henry winning the ECW title match at Night of Champions, ring announcer Justin Roberts welcomed the new ECW Champion to the ring.

Opening segment: Mark Henry reminded us that Kane is a monster and Show is a giant, but he is the World’s Strongest Man. He said they were going to take the ECW title to another show, but he brought it back to ECW where it belongs, which makes him the savior of ECW. When Henry said he is the epitome of a champion, Dreamer’s music hit. He and Delaney came to the ring. Henry said that he appreciated them coming out to congratulate him, but Dreamer came out to be the first challenger for the ECW title.

Henry told Dreamer he’s the past while Henry is the future then told him and Delaney to step. Dreamer said Colin is the truest representative of ECW in that no matter how many times or how badly he’s beaten, he always gets up and comes back for more. He asked Henry if he even knew the legacy of the ECW title. He pointed out that Tazz broke his neck for ECW. Dreamer said the belt symbolizes all the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of the superstars that held it. Henry told Dreamer he’d get a shot only if Delaney can beat him later tonight. Colin bravely accepted.

At the promo’s start, Henry sounded a little unsure of himself and was breathing heavily. Ugh, there’s a reason he doesn’t get much mic time. He settled down and got through it though. Dreamer was solid on the mic and really put over the original ECW. It’s too bad he and maybe Tazz are probably the only ones that care anymore. And Colin Delaney in the main event taking on the ECW Champion so Dreamer can get a title shot is the second most illogical event in the last 24 hours. If he can beat Henry on his own, why wouldn’t he get his own title shot? After last night’s Raw, I guess this week’s theme is anything is possible.

Match #1 Matt Hardy, Finlay, & Hornswoggle vs. Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison, & The Miz: Hardy and Miz started off, exchanging hammerlocks and armdrags. Hardy hit the bulldog then brought Finlay in. Miz backed him into the corner and tagged in Morrison. Finlay executed an atomic drop, Irish Whip, seated senton sequence. Morrison tagged in Chavo and the tag champs got a few cheap shots in behind the ref’s back. Chavo went for a baseball slide, but Finlay pulled the ring skirt. Miz and Morrison came over to help, but Finlay took them out with Horny.

Back from commercial break, Chavo grounded Hardy with a reverse chinlock then tagged to Miz. He hit a snap suplex then tagged to Morrison. They landed their springboard elbow drop/knee bridge double team move. Morrison and Miz continued working over Hardy. Late in the match, Hardy fought back and hit the Side Effect on Morrison. Finlay and Chavo tagged in. Finlay exploded with a backdrop, clotheslines, and the Finlay roll. Morrison broke up the cover and Hardy took him out with the Twist of Fate. Horny hit the Tadpole Splash behind the ref’s back while Finlay clubbed Bam Neely with the shillelagh. Finlay finished off Chavo with the Celtic Cross.

It was a decent yet forgettable and long opening match. It sure felt longer and wasn’t deserving of 11½ minutes; that’s PPV-quality time. Everyone got in a little offense and ring time, but the match wasn’t the best showcase of anyone’s talents, especially not ECW’s newest member Matt Hardy. Of all the brands, ECW really over does it with 6-man tag matches.

• NOC video recap.

• Raw Rebound of ECW alumnus CM Punk's win.

Backstage: Dreamer tried to stop Delaney from facing Henry. Delaney said he wanted to do it after all that Tommy’s done to help him and because he knows how much the ECW title means to him. Colin said he might not have much of a chance, but anything is possible.

Say it ain't so. They wouldn't put the ECW title on Delaney.

Backstage: Armanda Estrada interrupted GM Teddy Long, his assistant Tiffany, and a Carlito-lookalike, demanding to know the status of his contract. Long warned Estrada he can’t just bust up in his office and said his contract remains under review. He announced the Superstar Initiative to bring in new talent and introduced the first acquisition. Atlas Ortiz offered Estrada his hand. Estrada scoffed and wanted to know what Ortiz has that he doesn’t. Teddy said we’d find out and booked their match.

Tiffany continues to contribute zero to the program in her role as Long's assistant. And Estrada is fast becoming the Jamie Noble of ECW, drawing the GM's ire and talking himself into matches.

Match #2 Armando Estrada vs. Atlas Ortiz: I thought Ortiz showed promise with a go behind and single leg takedown at the start then he grounded Estrada with a series of shoulder blocks and side headlocks. His facial expressions killed it for me though. It was like he didn’t know whether to smile or look fierce, so he just alternated between the two at really inappropriate times throughout the match. He missed a corner charge and went shoulder-first into the ring post. Estrada seized the moment, hit a single arm DDT then worked over Ortiz’s left arm for a good three minutes all the while talking smack and playing to the crowd. Ortiz was doing a decent job selling the injured arm until he ‘Hulked up’ late in the match. He landed a backdrop and decent dropkick and picked up the win via the backslide.

For starters, Ortiz’s entrances was one of the cheesiest of all-time. His look didn’t do anything for me; in addition to the Carlito-like hair, he wore sneakers and red jogging pants. He looked slow and sloppy, and my 7-year could deliver more believable kicks and punches than his. Exactly how long did he spend in developmental? If this horrible 6-minute match made it on TV, I’d hate to see the night’s dark match. I’d rather have watched the 100th divas dance-off instead.

Match #3 (Main Event) Mark Henry vs. Colin Delaney (w/ Tommy Dreamer): Delaney got in a couple punches then Henry tossed him about like a ragdoll. Henry missed an elbow drop and Delaney landed a dropkick. Hnery overpowered Delaney with a clothesline, headbutt, gorilla press, and World’s Strongest Slam.

It was a 2½-minute squash. The push to restore Henry’s ‘monster’ status has officially begun. That is all.

Overall Thoughts: A pitiful excuse for a show this week. Continuing Raw’s trend, they gave us another night with few matches and unspectacular in-ring action. They started with a long, boring Henry promo then a long, mediocre 6-man tag match and things really went downhill from there. I can’t think of a single positive thing to say about tonight’s episode other than I’m glad it’s over.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 07/08/08:

After the standard opening video, the announcers plugged the night’s main event: Mark Henry versus Tommy Dreamer.

Considering Colin Delaney lost last week to Henry, tonight’s main event makes little sense. And nothing against Dreamer, but no one views him as a serious or worthy challenger to Mark Henry and the ECW title at this point in his career. The landscape may have changed, but ECW’s main event scene went from bad to downright abysmal post-draft.

Opening segment: John Morrison and The Miz made their ring entrance. Miz cracked that the Baton Rouge fans aren’t used to seeing Hollywood stars unless they’re boarding up after a hurricane. Miz told the ladies to calm themselves. Morrison said they’d rather have their bodies than their words, introduced himself as the Tuesday Night Delight, and said they don’t do hurricane charity repair at the Palace of Wisdom. Miz introduced himself as the Grand Mizard of Lust and the Chick Magnet. Together they said be jealous. Miz said they’ve beaten all who came their way and Morrison asked for somebody to please step up to challenge them. Miz put over their in-ring talent as well as WWE.com’s #1 show The Dirt Sheet.

Finlay’s mucic hit and he came out on the stage. He said the people didn’t come to hear them run their mouths but they’d enjoy him coming down to shut them up. Morrison joked Finlay doesn’t know what the people want seeing as the only person he hangs with is his loser troll son. Finlay started down the ramp as Horny snuck up behind the tag champions. Finlay said Horny doesn’t always hide under the ring. Morrison and Miz turned around and Horny sprayed them with a water gun. Morrison and Miz chased Horny around the ring. Finlay hit Morrison with the shillelagh and the tag champs backed up the ramp.

A cringeworthy opening segment. Now I’m not one to begrudge mic time for guys that rarely get any, but Miz, Morrison, and Finlay were awful. In fairness, Miz wasn’t half-bad and his charisma and confidence are evident. Morrison sounded phony, like he’s trying too hard, and he has a girl’s laugh that’s annoying. Finlay isn’t Mr. Personality either and he stumbled over his words.

Match #1 The Miz vs. Finlay: Back from commercial break, the match was already in progress. Finlay had Miz grounded with a side headlock. He tossed Miz to the floor and drove his lower back into the apron. Miz took his time getting back in the ring and was met with a chinlock, atomic drop, powerslam, and headlock for a cover. Miz drove Finlay’s head into the turnbuckle and sent him to the outside. Finlay caught Miz up in the ring skirt when he went for a baseball slide. Morrison distracted Finlay, allowing Miz to kick Finlay in the head and take control of the match.

Miz spent the next couple minutes working over Finlay’s left arm. Each time Finlay tried to fight back, Miz went back the armbar and even employed the ropes at one point. Late in the match, Finlay finally broke the hold by backing Miz into the corner and hitting a backdrop and clotheslines. While the ref pulled Miz aside, Finlay went for the shillelagh. Morrison grabbed it and Horny kicked him in the face. Miz pulled Horny in the ring. Finlay took advantage of the distraction and hit the Celtic Cross for the win.

A decent 7-minute opening and better than their first singles match a few weeks back on Smackdown. I have no problem with Finlay pinning Miz, but just once it’d be nice to see the “face” get the clean win.

Backstage: Tiffany was telling Teddy Long she has an idea for next week’s show when Armando Estrada interrupted. Long pointed out the door is there for a reason and he needs to knock. Estrada said he wants his contract back but Teddy is making him jump through hoops every week. He questioned who his next opponent will be when in walked ECW’s latest acquisition via the New Superstar Initiative Chris Harris from TNA. He used a knock knock joke to introduce himself as Braden Walker and said he’d knock Estrada’s brains out.

Well, it’s about time Harris gets the call. The knock knock joke and knock your brains out lines were lame. And I’ll never understand WWE’s renaming its talent. What’s wrong with the name Chris Harris? It’s the name his mama and daddy gave him and I don’t think TNA owns the rights to that.

· The Raw Rebound of Batista winning last night’s Fatal Fourway and Kane snapping aired.

Match #2 Armando Estrada vs. Braden Walker: At the start, Walker went on the offensive with a fireman’s carry takeover and hip toss. Estrada backed Walker into the corner and delivered a series of punches. Walker elbowed his way out of a reverse chinlock and went for a sunset flip. Estrada landed a few stomps and punches then cinched in a bear hug. Walker countered a front face lock with a suplex. He hit a nice flying clothesline, atomic drop, and full nelson slam for a nearfall. Walker countered Estrada’s finisher with an Irish Whip then went to the top-rope. He landed an ugly crossbody (I think that’s what he was going for) for the win.

Barring the botched crossbody, it was a decent 5-minute match. I can’t wait to see what his finisher will be. Harris looked pudgy but comfortable in the ring. Definitely a better debut match than Ortiz but still underwhelming.

Backstage: Long ran into Hall of Famer Tony Atlas and asked him to be the special guest announcer for the main event. Long said it was a payday and Atlas said he could use one. Mark Henry approached and said he was a fan of Atlas’ growing up. He asked how much he benched back in the day. Atlas said 650 pounds. Henry said that’s not bad for Mr. USA but no match for the World’s Strongest Man. He shrugged off Atlas’ handshake.

Backstage: Lena Yada stumbled through another interview. She asked Atlas Ortiz about his successful debut last week. He said all his friends and family call him Ricky and that he’s undefeated.

Wow, that was painful. He might’ve changed his name, but his personality still stinks and his mic skills leave a lot to be desired.

· A Matt Hardy video package aired. The point was that it’s time for him to show the world what he can do. So why isn’t he on tonight’s show?

Backstage: Tony Atlas happened upon Tommy Dreamer and a taped-up Colin Delaney. Dreamer introduced Atlas as a mentor during his early days and seemed really excited to see him again.

No offense but Dreamer and Long are probably the only ones who remember or care about Atlas.

Match #3 Nunzio vs. Evan Bourne: Before the bell, a pre-taped Bourne promo aired. He said we’re going to hear his name a lot more and he defies the odds because he defies gravity. Early on, Bourne executed a nice Irish Whip, spinning headscissors takedown, and thrust kick sequence for a nearfall. Nunzio fought back and pulled off a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Bourne kneed his way out of the hold and landed a series of hard kicks to Nunzio’s legs and face. He hit a hurricanrana for a nearfall. Moments later, he performed the Shooting Star Press and picked up the win.

Good 4-minute match. Match of the night IMHO. Bourne is amazing. His Shooting Star Press is a beautiful thing. He showed a little more aggression tonight. I love the knee strike he does. And despite the job, it was nice to see Nunzio get in some offense and not get squashed in 60 seconds by some 300+ pound monster.

Backstage: Henry met up with Atlas again. He just learned Atlas is the special guest ring announcer. He joked Atlas was just like all the oldtimers – always looking for a payday. He offered to let Atlas carry his bags after show. Atlas said he’d think about it.

This smug, funny Henry isn’t really working for me. Wow, Tony Atlas has had more TV time in one night than some guys (Burke for example) have received all year. This had better be leading somewhere or I’m going to be pissed.

Match #4 (Main Event) Mark Henry vs. Colin Delaney (w/ Tommy Dreamer): If Tony Atlas’ slow, hobbling ring entrance is any indication, he won’t be carrying anyone’s bags after the show. He made the introductions. He shouldn’t quit his day job. Dreamer got in a couple punches then collided with Henry who used his power to keep Dreamer down. Colin grabbed Henry’s foot and Henry went after him at ringside. Atlas stepped in, but instead of protecting Delaney he threw him into the announce table. Dreamer made it to the outside to see what Atlas was about and Henry delivered the World’s Strongest Slam. The ref called the match. In the ring, Atlas raised Henry’s arm and announced him the winner.

Despite the double countout ending, the match was nothing more than a 3-minute squash. The push to restore Henry’s ‘monster’ status continues, but the main event squashes are going to get old very fast. Was Atlas’ appearance a onetime thing or are we looking at Henry’s new manager? I don’t think Atlas has the mic skills or personality for such a position.

Overall Thoughts: Wrestling wise, we got a couple decent to good matches and only one squash this week. Otherwise, the show seemed to plod painfully along at times, starting with a long, boring promo and followed with too many backstage segments. All things considered, a slight improvement from last week but still a less than impressive all-around effort.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 07/15/08:

A video recap of last week’s show highlighting Atlas, Henry, Dreamer, and Delaney aired followed by the standard opening video. The Adamle hyped the night’s main event: 6-time world tag team champions Matt and Jeff Hardy versus the current WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison.

Opening Segment: Tazz welcomed the World’s Strongest Champion. Mark Henry with Tony Atlas came to the ring. Tazz reminded us Henry will be defending the ECW title this Sunday at the Great American Bash against Tommy Dreamer. He said Henry and Atlas asked for the opportunity to address the question that’s on everyone’s mind – why Atlas would side with Henry?

Atlas said he’s a legend and Hall of Famer and wouldn’t carry just anyone’s bags, but it’s an honor to carry the World’s Strongest Champion’s. Atlas offered a demonstration of Henry’s strength. A crewman placed a couple of frying pans in the ring. Atlas picked one up and made a big point that the frying pan was legit, bought that day, and hadn’t been tampered with. He asked for a volunteer from the audience. A man tried but couldn’t bend it. Atlas dismissed the fan and handed the frying pan to Henry who bent it. Atlas said only one person can do that – the World’s Strongest Champion.

Tommy Dreamer’s music hit and he came down to the ring. Dreamer said he wasn’t out to fight, he’s saving that for Sunday, but he was so impressed by Henry’s feat of strength he wanted to give it a try. Dreamer said he’s been training really hard. He tried but couldn’t bend a second frying pan...but he did put a big dent in it, smacking Henry in the head with it. Bam bitch went down! Dreamer quickly exited the ring.

Although I saw that frying pan shot to the head coming a mile away, it was still a fun moment, especially with Dreamer shouting ECW on his way up the ramp. Dreamer saved that boring, painful opening segment from being a total crapper. It’s too bad he doesn’t stand a chance Sunday. I know it’s only the second week of the Atlas-Henry duo, and I like to give everyone a fair chance, but The Adamle has better mic skills than this guy.

Backstage Segment: GM Teddy Long told Tommy to calm down. Dreamer shouted “I am calm.” Long gave Tommy the night off to prepare for his match. Long said this isn’t Raw and he won’t tolerate civil unrest. Dreamer asked what he did that was so bad then left upset.

I hope that’s not all the build we get for the Dreamer-Henry ECW title match this Sunday. Poor Tommy, he still doesn’t get that this isn’t his ECW anymore. Hitting people with frying pans isn’t allowed as that might be considered ya know extreme. Long’s line about not allowing the chaos of Raw on his show was well done and really helps get over the storyline of how greatly Raw needs a GM.

Match #1 Mike Knoz vs. Shannon Moore: Following a collar and elbow tie-up, Knox powered Moore into the corner but didn’t break clean. Knox dominated Moore with a backbreaker, shoulder block, stomps, hard clothesline, corner splash, double underhook suplex, and another backbreaker. He missed a knee drop, which allowed Moore to use a series of kicks, low dropkick, and hurricanrana for a nearfall. Knox caught Moore in mid-air for another backbreaker and followed up with his Knox Out finisher for the win.

2½-minute squash that re-established Knox as a powerhouse. I might actually care if he was consistently on TV and they’d give him a feud. Otherwise, he’s ECW’s equivalent of Kozlov.

• The Raw Rebound aired, featuring Shane and Steph pleading for teamwork and JBL looking to add vehicular manslaughter to Raw’s growing list of transgressions.

Match #2 Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) vs. Evan Bourne: Like last week, a pre-taped Bourne promo aired before the bell. He said tonight is his chance to prove he’s on the same level as the former ECW Champion. He said he will defy the odds because he defies gravity. I'm still waiting on that catchphrase to grow on me.

Chavo reversed Bourne’s waistlock into a side headlock. Bourne hit an armdrag takedown, dropkick, thrust kick sequence for a nearfall. Chavo knocked Bourne from the top rope and he took a nasty-looking bump on the apron on the way down. Chavo delivered a mean uppercut then pushed Bourne back in the ring. He hit a belly to belly suplex for a nearfall. Bourne fought back with a series of kicks and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Chavo landed a backbreaker but missed a corner slingshot splash. Bourne hit another perfect Shooting Star Press for the win.

Good 3-minute match. Bourne is simply a joy to watch. I’d like to see him in a feud though. Again Bam did nothing during the match, proving how useless he is. And while Bourne beat former ECW Champion Chavo, that’s hardly any great accomplishment. Tommy Dreamer’s a former ECW champion too and he’s jobbed to everyone.

Backstage: Mark Henry with Atlas excused Tiffany who was talking with Colin Delaney. Atlas assured Colin they knew he had nothing to do with what Tommy did earlier. Henry walked away while Atlas patted Delaney on the back. Henry came back and attacked Colin, locking on a bearhug then dropping him onto a case. Tiffany rushed to check on Delaney.

Henry and Atlas bullying Colin just doesn’t do anything for me. Somehow I see either Delaney or Atlas costing Dreamer the title match on Sunday.

• Another Raw recap video aired, this time featuring Kane and Punk’s match followed by Batista confronting Punk.

Match #3 John Morrison & The Miz vs. Matt & Jeff Hardy (Main Event): Wow, twenty minutes before the top of the hour and we got the introductions for the night’s main event!?! Either this is going to be a really long tag team match or there’s a final segment in store. Why did the Hardys come out to Jeff’s new music instead of their original music? And last week they aired a video of Matt Hardy saying it’s time for him to step away from the Hardy Boys shadow and prove what he can do on his own. Yet tonight he’s back teaming with his brother.

Back from commercial break, the match was already underway. Matt hit a hiptoss and powerslam for the first nearfall of the match. Matt grounded Miz with a side headlock takedown. Jeff tagged in with a springboard dropkick and made the cover. Miz tagged to Morrison who delivered a couple of uppercuts. Jeff fought back and landed the double leg drop for a nearfall. He tagged to Matt and the two performed a nice double suplex on Morrison who kicked out. Matt took a shot at Miz on the apron. Morrison backed Matt into his corner. Miz tagged himself in and took Matt down with a clothesline then cinched in a reverse chinlock. Morrison tagged in and worked over Matt with stomps and punches for another nearfall. Matt hit a Russian leg sweep and made the tag to Jeff. Miz also got the tag. They exchanged stereo clotheslines. Jeff hit a lariat and corner low dropkick then went top rope, but Morrison pulled Miz from the ring.

Back from commercial, Morrison had Jeff grounded with a reverse chinlock and knee into the back. They showed Miz sending Jeff into the security wall during the break. Morrison and Miz took turns working over Jeff by isolating him in their corner and making quick tags the next few minutes. Late in the match, Miz placed Jeff in the tree of woe then pulled back on his chin from outside the ring. From the top rope, Jeff fought off Miz and landed the Whisper in the Wind.

Matt and Morrison got the hot tags. Matt hit a backdrop and clothesline for a nearfall then delivered a bulldog/clothesline combo to Morrison and Miz respectively. Morrison countered the Twist of Fate, dropping Matt throat-first across the top rope then went top rope. Matt caught him with a sweet crucifix powerbomb then hit the Side Effect on The Miz. Morrison whipped off the Moonlight Drive and made the cover, but the ref was busy getting Miz out of the ring. Jeff hit the Swanton on Morrison. Matt turned him over and the ref got back in position for the 1, 2, 3.

Good tag team matches that go longer than 4 minutes truly are few and far between these days. Last week Miz and Morrison asked for some real competition and tonight they received it in this exciting, fast-paced, well-worked, 17-minute match. And I have no problems with the tag champs taking the loss against one of the best teams ever unlike their recent losses to the Finlay/Hornswoggle circus act.

Overall Thoughts: My only complaint is Atlas’ mic work in the opening segment. From the moment Dreamer’s music hit to the closing seconds, the show got better and better. The two backstage segments were short and did a so-so job building toward the Henry-Dreamer PPV match. We got three solid, entertaining matches. A MUCH improved show this week.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 07/22/08:

The opening video aired and The Adamle welcomed us then plugged the night’s main event – a Fatal Fourway between Finlay, Matt Hardy, John Morrison, and The Miz to determine the No. 1 Contender for Mark Henry’s ECW title.

Opening Segment: In the ring, Teddy Long welcomed us and introduced a new ECW Championship belt in honor of Mark Henry’s first successful title defense. This brought out Henry and Tony Atlas who were all smiles and smugness. Henry picked up the belt, showed it off, and slung it over his shoulder. Atlas took the mic (Oh noes! Not again. Tista, quick mute him.) Atlas said they were happy to receive the title and noted tonight’s ECW was being held in Philly where it all started. He said the new belt will give the ECW Championship prestige and credibility. Atlas said those who cling to the old ECW will be squashed and left behind, but those like Colin Delaney who embrace the new ECW will be rewarded.

This brought out Delaney. He took the mic and said everyone has been asking why he turned his back on his friend and mentor Tommy Dreamer. Delaney said aligning with Dreamer got him nothing but repeated ass kickings. He said he finally achieved his dream of becoming a WWE superstar only to be a laughingstock. Delaney said at the Bash he realized Dreamer’s a washed-up loser who can’t do anything to help anyone including himself. Colin said Dreamer is the past and Henry and Atlas are the future. He told them he was on board and offered his help.

Long cut Delaney off and said they had some business to discuss. Long informed him Dreamer wasn’t the past but the present, put Colin in a match against Tommy, and called for a referee to get it started. Dreamer made his entrance and Delaney looked petrified. He turned to Henry and Atlas for their support. Atlas told Colin he was on his own, wished him luck, and made his exit with Henry.

Did Vince and Creative hold a meeting to see how they can further degrade ECW? The new belt is quite plain looking; it’s black and silver (not gold like the previous belt and the other two “world” titles) with the letters ECW over an eagle. It’s the male equivalent of the new Smackdown Divas belt.

A boring, painful opening segment just like last week. I guess they’re running with Punk’s idea of try it until you get it right. Atlas shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a microphone. He mumbles, stumbles, and rambles. Henry doesn’t have superb mic skill,s but I’d prefer he did the talking. His first and only promo since becoming ECW Champion was solid.

Delaney was decent on the stick, just not believable. The little jobber I could take that’ll go down as a ‘never was’ running down the jobber who’s still one of the most over members on ECW. Hilarious. The promo had the same tone and delivery and Colin had the same scared look as when he was a face. And they have Delaney cut a promo about turning on Dreamer yet didn’t replay the GAB video. That would have helped get over Colin’s heel turn. Then Henry and Atlas bailed on him and he got another ass kicking. So what purpose, if any, did the heel turn serve?

Match #1 Colin Delaney vs. Tommy Dreamer: At the start, Dreamer went after Delaney who immediately got to the ropes. But Dreamer wasn’t allowing Delaney a moment’s respite, slamming his head backwards down to the mat, slapping him around, and delivering a hiptoss. Delaney slid out of the ring. Dreamer went out and put him back in. As Dreamer was re-entering the ring, Delaney hit him with a dropkick, stomps, and legdrop for a 1 count. Dreamer regained control with a clothesline and punches. He set Delaney up in the tree of woe then delivered the running low dropkick. Dreamer hit a pump handle suplex then a spike DDT for the win.

We don’t see many jobber versus jobber match-ups. Colin sold well and it’s nice to see Dreamer pick up the win in this 3-minute squash in his old stomping ground. It’d have been nice if they could have made this an Extreme Rules match. Can a girl at least get a chair shot?

Backstage Segment: Morrison labeled the GAB PPV ‘Black Sunday’ and Miz noted they lost their titles without even being pinned. Miz and Morrison looked ahead to the night’s ME and put over each over as the winner. Morrison complemented Miz’s new hat and Miz complemented Morrison’s coat made of farm raised Jackal. They wished each other luck.

Nice segment. They seem as united as ever following their loss. Looks like we’re going to have to wait a little longer for their much anticipated singles pushes. There’s still hope we might see a turn in tonight’s Fatal Fourway.

Match #2 James Curtis vs. Evan Bourne: Chavo Guerrero with Bam Neely joined the announce team for the match and they replayed Bourne’s victory over Chavo from last week. Chavo explained away his loss as having been preoccupied with all the wedding business and talked about being a great cruiserweight competitor. During the match, the Adamle touted Bourne as ‘Evan from Heaven’, ‘Air-Bourne’, and ‘Bourne to be wild’. We finally get him off Jamaican-Me-Crazy and now he’s got a plethora of pet names for Bourne. Just pick ONE and roll with already Mike.

Bourne gained the early advantage with a hammerlock then an armbar. Curtis responded with a knee to the midsection, elbow in the corner, and a snapmare. Bourne hit a standing dropkick and hurricanrana for a cover then went back to the armbar. Moments later, Curtis avoided a monkey flip and hit a back suplex then worked on Bourne’s neck. Bourne rallied with a series of kicks, hurricanrana, dropkick, and another perfect Shooting Star Press for the win. Post-match Bam and Chavo cornered Bourne in the ring. He escaped a 2-on-1 attack and stared down at Chavo from the ramp.

I didn’t know Curtis was still around. He shows up once every few months to do the job. He looked pretty good. They should give him Ortiz’s spot. Good 4½-minute match. Bourne remains on the top reasons you should be watching ECW. Looks like they’re giving him his first feud with Chavo.

Backstage Segment: Finlay told Hornswoggle he’s one step closer to the ECW Championship and ran down his opponents, calling Hardy a warrior. He said he didn’t need luck as he has his trusty shillelagh.

• The Raw Rebound video aired, featuring Batista and Punk’s rematch and the post-match Tista-Cena confrontation.

Backstage Segment: Tiffany told Ricky Ortiz (I think that’s the name they’re going with) she graduated from the University of New Orleans with a marketing degree. Ortiz said he used to party in New Orleans with John Elway. Long entered and Ortiz excitedly talked about his plans for his catchphrases, nickname, hand sign, t-shirt, and action figure. Long said he was rushing things as he’s only had one match. Ortiz said that made him undefeated (thank you Mr. Obvious). Long said Ortiz would be tested in a match next week.

Tiffany and Ortiz still aren’t doing anything for me. One isn’t showing any personality whatsoever while the other is trying way too hard to create one. Long saved that boring, annoying segment. Funny line about having big 70s Ortiz hair before Tiffany was even born.

• The Adamle plugged Mike Knox and a video hyping Knox aired. Hmm, that was random and doesn’t make anyone care any more or less about the guy. It might mean something if they consistently used him and gave an actual feud.

Matt Hardy Promo: Hardy emphatically stated he has a HUGE opportunity tonight like three times. He said this couldn’t come at a better time for him as he’s been down about losing the US title. Hardy said everything happens for a reason and that when one door closes another opens. He said he’s going to Summerslam.

So we’re not getting a Hardy-Benjamin rematch. Bummer. I’d rather see Hardy-Benjamin than Hardy-Henry for the next two months.

Match #3 Fatal Fourway The Miz vs. Finlay vs. John Morrison vs. Matt Hardy (Main Event): Prior to the bell, Miz and Morrison appeared to be discussing their game plan and stood together to face Finlay an Hardy. However when the bell rang, Miz went for the immediate surprise roll-up on Morrison. Morrison and Hardy paired off as did Miz and Finlay. After an exchange of punches by both pairs, Finlay sent Miz to the outside as Hardy did to Morrison. Finlay and Hardy engaged in a collar and elbow tie-up. Finlay back Hardy into the corner. Hardy talked smack out of it. Finlay clotheslined Hardy and dumped him over the top rope. Morrison pulled Hardy off the apron. Back in the ring, Miz and Finlay exchanged offense while Hardy and Morrison went at it. Hardy slammed Morrison then delivered the diving elbow for a nearfall while Finlay slammed then elbow dropped Miz for a nearfall. Moments later, Finlay scored another nearfall on Miz off the hard Irish Whip while Hardy attempted a backslide on Morrison.

Back from commercial break, Miz and Hardy were going at it. Morrison hit a neckbreaker on Hardy who came back with a clothesline. Finlay applied an armbar to Morrison and made the cover as Hardy hit a back suplex and covered Miz, but the ref couldn’t be in two places at once. Moments later, Morrison delivered a dropkick through the ropes to Finlay on the outside. Morrison went after Horny and Finlay drove him into the security wall then clotheslined him into the crowd. Morrison threw water at Finlay and there was water on the camera lens. Miz joined his partner and the two executed the bridge/springboard elbow drop double team move on Finlay on the floor.

Back in the ring, Miz and Morrison hit a double gutbuster on Hardy. Morrison instructed Miz to watch his back then went for the pin behind Miz’s back. The two had words then Morrison accidentally hit Miz instead of Hardy with his springboard spin kick. Hardy delivered the Side Effect to Morrison. All of a sudden, Finlay hit the ring and the Celtic Cross on Hardy for a nearfall. Finlay clotheslined Miz and Hardy then missile dropkicked Morrison. Hardy delivered a bulldog/clothesline to Miz and Morrison respectively. Hardy tossed Morrison out but he landed on the apron. Horny distracted the ref on the apron while Finlay laid Miz out with the shillelagh. Morrison kicked Finlay in the head then went for a springboard move on Hardy who caught him with the Twist of Fate out of nowhere for the win. Post-match Henry and Atlas stared down Hardy from the ramp and Henry mouth “Get ready” to Hardy.

Given the importance of this match (winner gets ECW title shot), it’d have been nice not to have Horny’s distraction and Finlay’s use of the shillelagh yet again. And considering Morrison has the most potential out of Miz and Finlay, I’d have preferred one of them suffer the pinfall. Those issues aside, it was an exciting, fast-paced, well-worked, 17-minute match. It seemed a forgone conclusion Hardy would get the win and he did, but they actually created some momentary suspense as to who would win with all the nearfalls and saves by all four and the last four minutes was a flurry of activity.

Overall Thoughts: Again, my major complaint is Atlas’ mic work in the opening segment. My minor complaint is they could’ve done more considering they were in Philly. This week’s show was on par with last week’s…no better no worse. They kept the backstage segments short and followed up two solid matches with a really entertaining ME.

 

[chasingamy]

Amy’s ‘take’ on ECW 07/29/08:

Following a video recapping last week’s No. 1 Contender Fatal Fourway and the usual opening video, Tazz welcomed us and introduced Todd Grisham as Mike Adamle’s replacement. Nice Adamle dig by Grisham asking if he should call Tazz 'The Tazz'.

Opening Segment: Matt Hardy came to the ring and said he was psyched when drafted to ECW a little over a month ago. He said he’s been in some of the most extreme matches in WWE history so ECW is a natural fit. The biggest opportunity of his life is before him at SS. Mark Henry’s music hit and Henry and Tony Atlas made their way to the ring. Hardy looked like he was expecting to be jumped.

Atlas calmed Hardy and said it was understandable to be intimidated by the World’s Strongest Champion. Atlas pointed out that Henry was drafted at the same time as Hardy and in that time he's beaten both Kane and Big Show to become the ECW Champion. He noted the only thing Hardy’s done since coming to ECW is lose the US title.

Atlas offered another demonstration of Henry’s freakish strength. He presented a 40-inch steel bar and Henry used his leg and stomach to bend the rod then handed it to Hardy. Atlas told Hardy that Henry was going to break him. Matt pointed out that he and Henry aren’t having a bar bending contest, it’s a wrestling match, and unlike inanimate objects he fights back. Hardy said they’d never break his spirit and he will become the next ECW Champion at SS.

Solid opening segment. For a minute, I was worried this was turning into a repeat of the boring, painful opening segments from the previous weeks. Fortunately, they limited Atlas’ mic time this week and Matt was really strong on the stick.

Backstage: Ricky Ortiz was headed out to the ring and looked pumped for his upcoming match. Oh no, not this guy again.

Match #1 Chavo (w/Bam Neely) vs. Ricky Ortiz: Following a collar and elbow tie-up, Ortiz hit a powerslam then struggled to gorilla press drop Chavo. He landed a flying shoulder block for the first nearfall. Chavo hung up Ortiz’s arm on the top rope, kicked the arm, and delivered an uppercut for a nearfall. Chavo grounded Ortiz for a minute’s rest break. Chavo cut Ortiz’s brief rally short with a drop toe-hold then covered Ortiz while Bam held his feet on the rope. The ref saw it and called for the DQ. Post-match Chavo and Bam double teamed Ortiz. Bourne hit the ring and took Chavo and Bam out with dropkicks then escaped back up the ramp unharmed.

A better showing by Ortiz in his second outing in this 4-minute match, but I’m still not digging his look or entrance and I just don’t see much in-ring talent in him yet. The save at the end plants a seed in the Bourne-Chavo feud, which I am looking forward to.

Backstage: Colin Delaney interrupted Henry and Atlas. He asked why they left him hanging last week. Atlas said Delaney had an opportunity to prove himself and disappointed them losing to Dreamer. Atlas told Colin he has to do something really impressive in order to be able to hang with the World’s Strongest Champion. He offered Colin another chance tonight by softening up Matt Hardy and assured him this time they’d be in his corner.

Ugh, Colin’s a whimpy heel in the same storyline, only now he’s trying to prove himself to Henry and Atlas whereas before he was trying to prove he deserved a contract. I’m already bored with it. At least Delaney was semi-interesting/entertaining when aligned with and particularly teaming with Dreamer.

Match #2 Miz & Morrison vs. Finlay & Hornswoggle: Finlay dominated the Miz the first minute. Miz fought back and backed Finlay into his corner for the tag to Morrison. Father and son delivered double butt splashes. Back from commercial break, Finlay had Morrison grounded with a side headlock. He continued to work over Morrison for the next couple minutes and Miz had to break up a pin attempt. Morrison sent Finlay into the ringpost then he and Miz took turns working the arm. Late in the match, Morrison missed a missile dropkick and Finlay hit the Celtic Cross for a nearfall. Finlay was in control of Morrison and went top rope when Horny tagged himself into the match. Morrison reversed the head scissors takedown into a faceplant for the win. Post-match Mike Knox hit the ring and delivered a big boot to Finlay. Knox briefly turned his attention to Horny, delivered another big boot to Finlay, and smiled on his way up the ramp.

Another solid match, albeit a tad on the long side (12 minutes), from these four. Thankfully, there was no shillelagh, green mist, or water gun shenanigans. Still I’m bored with seeing these two teams every other week. This “feud” has drug on for months and needs to end asap.

Backstage: Lena Yada caught up with Mike Knox and asked him to explain his actions. He said Finlay used to be a fighter but now dances with a leprechaun. Knox called Finlay “soft” and said he just took his shot.

Nice to see Knox back on TV and get some mic time. It’s about time they give him a proper feud. Finlay-Knox might be good…if nothing else maybe it’ll give us a break from Horny or better yet get him off TV altogether. Hey, a girl can hope!

Backstage: Braden Walker walked up to Matt Hardy warming up and wished him luck on his BIG match. The two joked about how tough Matt’s opponent Delaney is; Matt called Colin a real wild cat. Braden told Matt not to worry about a thing, he’s got his back, and called him “brother.” Matt asked his name and Walker introduced himself.

Nice segment. I liked the TNA ‘Wild Cat’ Chris Harris reference. Braden sure was chumming up Hardy. What’s with calling him brother? It looks like Walker might be turning heel sometime soon, possibly even costing Hardy the title somehow at SS.

Match #3 Matt Hardy vs. Colin Delaney (Main Event): Henry and Atlas walked onto the stage with Colin, but they watched the match from there. Following a collar and elbow tie-up, Matt overpowered Colin with a clothesline, vertical suplex, couple hard Irish Whips, and powerslam for a nearfall. Hardy missed a corner charge and Delaney landed a missile dropkick for a 1-count. Hardy came back with a side slam, diving elbow, the Side Effect, and the Twist of Fate for the win. Post-match Henry and Atlas came to the ring. Henry gorilla press dropped Colin over the top rope to the floor then he and Hardy exchanged words.

All Hardy in this glorified 3-minute squash. So much for Henry and Atlas being in Colin’s corner. Still I’m sure Delaney will back next week asking for another chance to prove he’s worthy of being in their company.

Overall Thoughts: Wrestling-wise, the show was a bore with a long tag match I felt like I’ve seen a hundred times, a short DQ Ricky Ortiz match, and a glorified squash for the main event. Despite all that, the opening segment was solid and I'm enjoying the Hardy-Henry build to SS more than I thought I would. I’m also curious to see what happens with Knox, Bourne, and Walker in the coming weeks. And despite messing up Morrison’s ‘Shaman of Sexy’ moniker, Todd Grisham did a respectable job on commentary.