ECW on Sci-Fi
Jacksonville, FL
March 10th 2009
Commentators: Todd Grisham & Matt Striker
Report by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart because it’s time for ECW!
Well I am from taking an exam so I?m pumped and ready to get this show on the road. The WWE intro promises us a great main event, and if you have any doubts ? tonight’s main event is a Tri-Branded Battle Royal to Qualify for the Money in the Bank Match at Wrestlemania 25!
The Miz w/ John Morrison v. Primo w/ Carlito & Bella Twins
Carlito and John Morrison join the commentary team for the match. The Miz and Primo kick off ECW by locking up in the center of the ring. Primo gets behind Miz, and Miz uses the ropes to break the hold. The Miz then locks on a side headlock but Primo reverses it into a headlock of his own. Primo sends Miz off the ropes and dodges a strike and then hits a quick leg sweep followed up by a double leg drop. The Miz is back on his feet and is sent to one corner after another, with his head bouncing off the turnbuckles.
The Miz sends Primo to the corner. Primo counters a splash with a kick and then bounces out to the apron. Primo goes for a shoulder block through the ropes but Miz kicks him down to the floor! Did I mention that Friday on Smackdown these two teams will go head to head for the World Tag Team Titles? The action continues after the break.
****Commercial****
We come back and The Miz has a rear headlock applied to Primo. Carlito’s partner uses a couple of elbows to escape and then scales the turnbuckles. Primo launches into the air and hits a beautiful crossbody from the top rope! The Miz quickly kicks out. Primo is bouncing off the ropes and attempts a standing splash but he gets nothing but air and slides out of the ring. Miz follows up and rolls Primo back into the ring.
The Miz is relentlessly kicking Primo in the back right between the shoulders, trust me that move hurts. Miz sends a hard kick to the face and then locks on a double arm bar from the rear. Primo is writhing in pain and the beads of sweat are visibly pouring across his face. The excruciating pain is finally relented when Primo breaks free of the hold. Primo is launched into the corner and Miz drives his shoulder into Primo’s sternum.
The Miz lifts Primo to the top turnbuckle and looks to be going for a backdrop of sorts. Primo flips down almost as if going for Sliced Bread but instead lifts Miz up for an Electric Chair Drop! Always a devastating move to witness. The action is flying in the ring as Primo continuously sends Miz to the mat with a pair of clothesline and a dropkick. Primo heads to the apron and hits a springboard dropkick, but Miz kicks out of the pin attempt.
The Miz finds the quick advantage and seems to hit an inverted spinning neckbreaker of sorts. The two exchange quick rollup attempts before Primo springs off the second rope with a crossbody attempt which Miz counters into a body slam and pin attempt! Primo kicks out. Primo is in the corner and Miz goes for a splash but Primo dodges and hits the Backstabber!
Winner via Backstabber: Primo
Following the match, Morrison hops into the ring to help out the Miz and the two teams stare each other down
In the back The Great Khali is babbling and Striker decides to ad hoc translate stating that the Punjabi master is putting over John Cena’s Movie ? 12 Rounds. Hey, what do I know? That could have been what he was saying.
****Commercial****
Tyson Kidd w/ Natalya v. DJ Gabriel w/ Alicia Fox
I absolutely love the fact that Tyson Kidd and Natalya are wearing pink as a tribute to their Hart heritage. Not to be left out, DJ has some crazy disco themed tights on. Enough about their outfits let’s get them locked up and the action started. Tyson hits some hard quick punches and then DJ hits a couple of swift uppercuts and a nice back body drop. Tyson is whipped hard into the corner, but trips DJ into the bottom turnbuckle. Both participants are outside the ring and Tyson kicks DJ hard in the face. Kidd tries for a quick kick but DJ kicks out.
Tyson follows this up with two very fierce kicks and another pin attempt but to no avail. Kidd locks on a rear headlock, but DJ literally throws him to the ground. Tyson hits two hard kicks but gets caught in a wheelbarrow slam! Both men are on the mat and Gabriel tries for a cover, but Kidd kicks out. DJ lifts Tyson by the tights and actually applies a bearhug! Tyson is able to work his way down and out of the hug. DJ lifts Tyson high into the air for a sustained vertical suplex. Kidd uses his momentum to slide towards the rope and catch DJ’s neck on the top rope to escape the suplex attempt!
DJ Gabriel bounces hard into the center of the ring and is flat on his back. Tyson Kidd jumps up on the apron and sees his opportunity. He leaps off the rope in a springboard and hits his patented Elbow Drop! Tyson Kidd gets the pinfall!
Winner via Springboard Elbow: Tyson Kidd
Later Tonight – Tri-Branded Battle Royal to Qualify for the Money in the Bank Match at Wrestlemania 25!
****Commercial****
Evan Bourne Returns NEXT week on ECW!!
RAW Rebound ? Orton/HHH feud
The participants for tonight’s main event start to make their way down to the ring
****Commercial
Money in the Bank Qualifying ?Battle Royal?
Shad v. JTG v. Koslov v. Christian v. William Regal w/ Layla v. The Great Khali v. Chavo Guerrero v. Paul Burchill v. Ricky Ortiz v. Kung Fu Naki v. Jimmy Wang Yang v. Goldust v. Charlie Haas v. Dolph Ziggler v. Tommy Dreamer v. R-Truth
All hell breaks loose as this match kicks off. Right at the start Khali sends Ricky Ortiz to the floor.
Ricky Ortiz has been eliminated
Kung Fu Naki makes the mistake of going after Koslov, which quickly ends his Wrestlemania bid.
Kung Fu Naki has been eliminated
Koslov and Khali stare each other down. Koslov is the first of the big men to act raising his foot to attempt a boot but Khali catches the kick and sends Koslov reeling to the floor.
Koslov has been eliminated
The Khali starts to celebrate but EVERY SINGLE superstar gangs up and pushes him out of the ring.
The Great Khali has been eliminated
Jimmy Wang Yang has his moment of glory working the middle of the mat, but Charlie Haas and Dolph Ziggler put a stop to any potential momentum.
Jimmy Wang Yang has been eliminated
The Haas ? Ziggler connection continues as Goldust meets his maker.
Goldust has been eliminated
The connection is short lived however as Cryme Tyme takes the advantage and sends them both to the floor.
Charlie Haas and Dolph Ziggler have been eliminated
There is a bit more room to breathe in the ring, and it seems that Cryme Tyme is going to try their luck using team work as they eliminate Paul Burchill.
Paul Burchill has been eliminated
Cryme Tyme start a celebration dance, but JTG decides it’s time to go all or nothing for his chance at the Money-Money (Yeah-Yeah) in the Bank Ladder Match, and eliminates his own partner!
Shad has been eliminated
****Commercial****
JTG was eliminated during the break
We come back and R-Truth is caught up in the tree and woe with Christian attempting to suplex Chavo Guerrero from the top turnbuckle from above R-Truth! Truth flips his body up to catch Christian and William Regal grabs Christian for a powerbomb and this Tower of Doom ECW v2009 takes flight. Dreamer is caught by Chavo’s legs and the only man standing in the ring is William Regal! Tommy Dreamer springs to his feet and catches Regal with a snap DDT! Regal is giving him deadweight and manages to send Dreamer over the ropes instead.
Tommy Dreamer has been eliminated
And then there were 4: Christian, R-Truth, William Regal & Chavo. R-Truth begins some quick punches and a hard clothesline on Christian. Truth is backed into the corner but bounces out and goes for a kick on Christian but catches himself on the second rope. Chavo jumps up and sends Truth over the top rope!
R-truth has been eliminated
Chavo starts working on Christian and the Canadian superstar is barely hanging on, but somehow manages to slip under the ropes and back into the ring. Christian tries for the Unprettier on Chavo, but Regal interrupts it. Regal lifts Chavo up for a snap suplex and catches Christian with Chavo’s feet! Regal looks to make quick work of Christian and sends him over the top rope ? but Christian lands on the apron! Regal charges, and Christian uses his shoulder to catapult Regal out of the ring.
William Regal has been eliminated
It is down to Christian and Chavo and both men are careful to play their game close to the mat. Chavo hits the three amigos and then heads to the top rope! He goes for the frog splash but Christian dodges. Christian tries again for the Unprettier, but Chavo flips out in a counter. Christian throws Chavo over the top rope, but Chavo lands on the apron. Chavo grabs hold of Christian’s neck and is attempting to suplex the newly acquired ECW talent. Christian slings himself between the top and middle rope and kicks Chavo square in the head. Chavo falls to the floor!
Chavo has been eliminated
Christian Wins! Christian is going to Wrestlemania 25!!
Winner and Qualifier for Money in the Bank: Christian!
ECW Thoughts
Wow, an utterly awesome edition of ECW. I apologize to the delay in this recap being posted this week. I had to take a midterm while the show was on so I had to record and recap after the fact. Your patience is much appreciated, and I hope the wait was worth it and I didn?t disappoint. The best way to tackle this show is probably in reverse so let’s start with the Battle Royal.
As a match, it was quick and fun. Very little argument is going to come on that point, and I always enjoy watching the Tower of Doom. Christian’s victory is bitter sweet. On one hand I?m ecstatic that he will be wrestling at Wrestlemania, on the other hand I REALLY wanted it to be against Jack Swagger for the ECW belt. If I?m to guess that match will probably become Swagger v. Finlay, or maybe even Swagger v. Finlay v. Henry. If this is the last of Christian’s run in ECW then I bid him a sweet adieu. It’s been an honor and I?m rooting for him in the Money in the Bank Match!
The true highlight of the night had to be Tyson Kidd v. DJ Gabriel. Are you kidding me? Where did these two come from? Electricity seemed to be pouring out of the ring during this match. Individually these two have delighted me, but together it was insanity. The quickness and agility made the swift strikes hard and strong. I almost stopped recapping out of awe of the fluidity the two were exhibiting. DJ was of course great, but Tyson Kidd really blew me away. Expanding his moveset from the typical hard kicks did not disappoint. He was the last graduate from the Hart Dungeon and now I know why ? he truly broke the mold. This was without a doubt one of the best 5 minute matches I?ve ever seen.
The Miz v. Primo mat definitely had its moments, but the story was clearly outside of the ring with the feud between their respective tag teams. I?m going to be completely forthcoming and say that I honestly have not seen all that much of Primo’s work. With Smackdown airing on a Friday night I usually have it on but it’s more a of a background element than anything else. I?m curious to see what happens in this feud. Are they going for a unification of the tag belts? I suppose it has its pros and cons, but I?m not going to go into it. If they do decide to have a unification match, I desperately hope that it occurs at the grandest spectacle of them all.
One last quick word ? where was the ECW Champ tonight? I always feel that the show is a bit naked when its belt is absent. With less than a month before the 25th Wrestlemania, it?d be a great time to start building up whatever match ECW is going to have. Oh and if I could ask a favor ? pretty please let it last longer than 14 seconds?
Power Rankings
3 Month Rolling Rankings; ECW Title Win 5, ECW Title Loss 4, ECW Win 3, ECW Loss 2, ECW Appearance 1, PPV Title Win 10, PPV Title Loss 8, PPV Win 6, PPV Loss 4, PPV Appearance 2.
December 9th 2008 ? March 10th 2008
1. Jack Swagger ? 49 pts. [l.w. 1]2. Finlay ? 42 pts. [l.w. 2]3. Mark Henry ? 30 pts. [l.w. 3]4. John Morrison ? 25 pts. [l.w. 4]4. The Miz ? 25 pts. [l.w. 5]6. The Boogeyman ? 19 pts. [l.w. 6]7. Hornswoggle ? 17 pts. [l.w.7]8. Tommy Dreamer ? 18 pts. [l.w. 8]9. Paul Burchill ? 17 pts. [l.w. 9]
10. Christian ? 15 pts. [l.w. NA]
Look for ?That’s a Wrap? on WrestleView Wednesday!
So that’s ECW. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I?m always up for reading your thoughts so send them over to me at jugglernextdoor@gmail.com