What’s up wrestling fans? I’m back once again with a look at WWE’s ECW on Sci-Fi. A good blend of in ring wrestling and fun storytelling made last night’s editon a success in my book.
We started the old grapplin’ show off with tag team action featuring the team of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne vs Shelton Benjamin and Mike Knox. This was a great opening match showcasing the aerial skills of Kingston, Bourne and Benjamin. Knox was the obvious wild card on this matchup but he worked well with Kofi and Evan. I see a great future for Bourne. To begin with, his name is great, and he has a great in ring charisma. The crowd is already taking to him and he’s a mere two weeks old in WWE. If this kid continues to shine in the ring like he did tonight he could be a huge player within a year. Out of a possible 9 stars, I will give this opening bout 6 stars.
We then head to the back where Armando Estrada meets Teddy Long’s assistant Tiffany for the first time. He is confronted by Long seconds later and will have to compete later in the evening against Finlay is he wants to earn a WWE contract. I like this angle. Clearly Long is now going to put Estrada through what Colin Delaney had to go through to get his WWE contract. It’s not only an interestingly ironic angle, but it also allows Estrada to become an active wrestler on the roster which I think is a smart move. He is obviously talented on the mic, and now we will get to see him incorporate his mic skills with what appear to be good in ring skills. I look forward to Estrada’s wrestling future.
Next up we have Diva’s action with Kelly Kelly taking on Victoria. Kelly is improving, albeit slowly, as an in ring performer. This match was a bit slow, mostly due to Kelly not being able to keep up with the abilities of Victoria, but saw a couple nice spots from both ladies in a pretty competitive match. The ending saw Victoria pick up the win after she chucked Kelly out of the ring with a hard push. Great looking spot, but why couldn’t Kelly just put her legs down to break the fall? 4 Stars.
Back from commercial and it’s time for the Cuban-Irish clash of Finlay vs Estrada. This was a really fun segment, and I guess I spoke too soon when I said Estrada may have a bright future as a wrestler. This was basically a squash match that saw Finlay pick-up the victory after a few power moves. But it wasn’t over yet. Teddy Long then announced that Estrada would have to face Colin Delaney in a second match that started immediately. After a shot in the leg by Finlay, Delaney stormed into the ring and laid Estrada out with a nasty DDT for the 1,2,3. But it wasn’t over yet. Third time’s a charm as now Estrada has to go one-on-one with Hornswoggle. Horny hits a quick tadpole splash and again Estrada is defeated. But if that wasn’t enough, Finlay got one last laugh in by taking out Delaney with the Shillelagh. I like that although Finlay is a face he still remains on his own side. Although this wasn’t much of a “match,” it was a well put together segment and I anticipate where this will go with Estrada. 4.5 Stars.
It’s now time for Mark Henry to hit the ring and run his mouth about how he’s really big and strong and deserves a title shot and wants to face the Big Show and blah blah blah. He fails to mention that he never wins in big match situations and should just quit while he’s not ahead. I have no desire to see Big Show vs Henry, but it seems that is the direction WWE is going in whether show beats Kane or not.
Quick commercial break and a package reminding us that Raw was a waste of two hours on Monday night and it’s now time for our main event, Kane and CM Punk vs The Tag Team Champions Miz and Morrison. The gold is on the line here and this was a great main event. A very physical, fast -paced match that saw the tag team champions retain their belts after Morrison got the pin over CM Punk. I like the combo of Miz and Morrison more and more every week, and for my money they make very good champions. All four guys looked impressive in this main event, although I’d like to see an actual tag team feud with Miz and Morrison. Guys like Kendrick and London, or possibly the debut of a new team could have a longterm program with the champs that could lead to some great matches as well as help put over the contenders. As it stands right now, I don’t see Punk and Kane ever actually winning the gold as they have too much going on as singles competitors. 7 Stars.
Overall, I thought this was a really solid edition of ECW, but more importantly, it was a breath of fresh air from the stinkfest that was Monday Night Raw. We saw a wrestling show, not a televised raffle. Simplicity is the key to a good wrestling program in my opinion. Solid wrestling plus creative storytelling. Put those together, and the fans will pay you to watch. You won’t have to pay them. I give tonight’s ECW broadcast 6 out of 9 Stars.
Nick’s Notes:
-Kelly is slowly improving. But one thing that gets better rapidly is her looks. She is the hottest Diva on the roster in my opinion. She’s slow in the ring, but that just gives me more time to stare.
-Did The Adamle say he used to play with Barbie dolls? Do you think he ever knew their names?
-Mark Henry needs to disappear. Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty go away, so it can be done to Henry too, and he’s bigger. He seems totally unnecessary at this point.
-Why is shillelagh spelled shillelagh?
Thanks as always for reading, and be sure to send all feedback to WZNick@hotmail.com
