ECW on SyFy
Merry Old England
November 10th 2009
Commentators: Josh Mathews & Byron Saxton
Reported by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it’s time for ECW on SyFy!
The Abraham Washington Show
Tony Atlas delivers the introduction and lets us know that tonight’s guest is none other than Yoshi Tatsu. Abraham starts the show off garnering heat by attacking the English for their funny speech which he blamed the impediment on their poor dental hygiene. Abe welcomes out Yoshi. Tatsu explains that his English is not very good and that he is nervous. He and Abe get into a ?thank you? exchange before Atlas puts an end to it.
Washington asks Yoshi for his expert opinion on who will win the Championship match tonight. Yoshi puts over both competitors but says that Christian shall retain. Abe compares Yoshi to Jackie Chan. Tatsu replies that if he is Jackie Chan then Abraham is ‘stupid Chris Tucker?. Yoshi then begins to laugh with Atlas, much to Abe’s chagrin. Tony closes out the segment as Yoshi bows to the audience instead of waving despite Washington’s instructions. As soon as Abe heads behind the curtain, Yoshi begins to wave to the audience.
****Commercial****
Goldust v. Paul Burchill w/ Katie Lea
The two start with a back and forth exchange which gives Burchill the upper hand. Goldust is beat up on the mat as the Hurricane’s music hits! He comes out and runs around the ring which provides enough distraction for Goldust to hit the Final Cut and get the pinfall!
Winner via Final Cut: Goldust
This Thursday on WWE Superstars will be the rematch between Zack Ryder and Shelton Benjamin
In the back we see Zack Ryder who is approached by Rosa Mendes. He compliments her on her ring announcing job last week and invites her to be in his corner. She says maybe and walks away. Zack slips into a daydream and frolics down the hall with Rosa. Seriously, that was awesome.
****Commercial****
In the back Tiffany is with William Regal and wishes him well in his match tonight. She says that she hopes they have a successful relationship win or lose.
Vance Archer v. Jason Blackwell
Vance throws Jason to the ground and then kicks him in the gut. Vance follows up with a clothesline. Jason manages to sneak in an elbow which gets the crowd going. Vance stifles this reaction by hitting a spinning side slam. Vance lands a couple punches and then hits a belly to belly suplex. Vance Archer hits his finisher the ?Bull’s Eye? (scoop slam inverted DDT).
Winner via Bull’s Eye: Vance Archer
****Commercial****
ECW Championship Match
Christian v. William Regal
A mixed crowd reaction tonight, and Lauren gives us the official introductions for a Championship match. The two lock up and it becomes apparent that William Regal has the strength advantage.
****Commercial****
We come back as the two exchange punches. Christian sends Regal to the mat with a back body drop and then follows up with an inverted neckbreaker. Regal kicks out of the pin attempt. Christian jumps right back on him locking in a rear headlock. Regal escapes and Irish whips Christian HARD into the corner. Regal goes for the pin but Christian kicks out. Regal locks up Christian’s head from the front and then begins to pound his face. Regal sets Christian up on the top rope and looks to be going for a suplex. Christian knocks Regal down and then hits a beautiful crossbody for the pin attempt. Regal kicks out.
Regal tries to get to his feet and instead rests his head on the second rope. Christian takes advantage of this placement by standing on Regal’s neck and applying the pressure down. Christian takes to the turnbuckle again, but Regal jumps up looking to counter. Regal makes it to the second rope and hits a double under hook butterfly suplex!
****Commercial****
We come back to see Christian miss a baseball slide and then get slammed to the ground on the outside of the ring. Regal rolls Christian back into the ring and tries for a pin, but Christian kicks out. Regal hits a series of European Uppercuts and then a kick to the gut. Regal goes for the cover but once again Christian kicks out. Regal locks in an arm bar and the crowd support is still mixed as Christian fights to break free.
Once free Christian hits a couple of punches, but gets drilled to the mat thanks to a Regal thrown shoulder suplex. Regal sets Christian in the corner and lands some punches. Christian tries to go up top again, but gets slammed and caught in a pin. Christian breaks free. Regal grabs Christian’s head and begins hitting some strong forearms to the neck area.
Christian bounces off the ropes for a sunset flip, but Regal sits down on it for a pin attempt of his own. It looks like Regal has the three, but the referee stops the count and points to Regal’s hands which are grasping the ropes for leverage. Christian attempts a quick roll up of his own, but Regal kicks out. Both men are back on their feet, and Christian hits the Killswitch! Regal kicks out!
Both men are on the mat as the referee begins the 10 count. Regal goes for a cover, but Christian kicks out. Christian gets to his feet and hits an elbow drop, but Regal kicks out. Christian heads to the turnbuckle looking for the advantage, but Regal gets to his feet and looks for a counter. Regal shoves Christian off the top rope to the outside!
Christian makes his way to the ring apron and lands a couple of punches. Christian takes to the turnbuckle and lands two consecutive missile dropkicks! Regal kicks out. Back on his feet, Regal hits a strong forearm, but Christian kicks out. Regal charges for the Knee Trembler, but Christian ducks. Regal connects from the other side! Christian kicks out!
Both men are exhausted and looking for any possible opening. Christian tries to hit the Killswitch, but Regal drops to the mat. Regal then locks in the Regal Stretch! Christian barely escapes the move. Christian hits a running shoulder block and then a flying European Uppercut from the second rope! Christian goes for the Killswitch, but Regal counters. Regal is stalking Christian and looks to be going for the Knee Trembler. Christian dodges the knee, and hits the Killswitch!
Winner & STILL ECW Champion: Christian
ECW Thoughts
You just have to love the Abraham Washington Show. It has really turned into a gem for ECW. It almost always makes me laugh and they have a very solid formula at the moment. In my personal opinion Tony Atlas is the savior of the segment. There is just something about his belly chortling laugh that makes my day. I?m also glad that the WWE took my suggestion and made a Tony Atlas ringtone, that’s just all kinds of awesome. In regards to Yoshi’s performance, I was pleasantly surprised. They did a nice job working his ?bad English? into the mix, and his bowing at the end was clutch.
Burchill and Goldust had a quick match that has left me puzzled for two reasons. The first is the fact that this match even occurred tonight. Burchill/Hurricane has to be the most drawn out ‘short feud? in recent history. The feud was supposedly over a month ago, and then miraculously resurfaced. Last week they announced the mask v. career match in Burchill’s home country, but instead that gets postponed till next week. This match better be epic when it occurs because it has gotten an absurd amount of undeserved build up and anticipation.
My other problem with this match was Goldust. I have been a very vocal supporter of Goldust since his return to the WWE. I think he is wrestling with more athleticism and charisma than he has in years. They did a wonderful job building him up as a ?believable jobber?. Unfortunately, the past month and a half has destroyed his credibility. Once again Goldust is being pushed to the side, which is a shame considering the great things he did with young guys like Sheamus by helping them along the way and giving them a nice rub.
I missed the Rosa/Ryder backstage segment last week so I?m glad I caught this week’s incarnation. That was just fantastic.
Vance Archer (aka Lance Rock (aka Lance Hoyt (aka Dallas (aka Shadow)))) seems to be a fun addition to the show. I?m not so sure I like his hair, but it does fit the gimmick idea that I see him embodying in my mind. That being said I want to officially proclaim that I am naming his finisher the ?Bull’s Eye?. Don?t be surprised if you see that start appearing other places, so I want to cement the fact that I?m coining that move name right now.
The night closed with the ECW Championship match. A lot of people, myself included, were convinced that William Regal would be walking out of the building with the Title tonight. From nearly every angle it seemed the right move to make considering Christian can?t go much further with the belt and Regal was primed to take it in his home country. Now I?m not someone who doesn?t like a match solely because of the ending. Quite frankly I found it asinine that people hated the Cena/Orton Iron match because ?the whole match was great, but the ending sucked?. That’s idiotic logic and I certainly don?t subscribe to such ideologies.
My problem with the match was that it did not seem to showcase either wrestler. It was a slow match up that seemed to just plow through a bunch of spots (ironic I know). For some reason the crowd wasn?t into the match as much as the wrestlers probably thought they would be, which messed up some moments. If the crowd interaction was stronger they could have really had the drama they were going for with ten counts and holds. For whatever reason the crowd’s interest was sporadic and didn?t translate successfully on to the TV.
I like William Regal. I say that to preface my next point because it is in fact true. There is no reason whatsoever that William Regal should get another a Title shot against Christian. The man has lost several matches now regardless of ringside help. This was a clean victory again tonight which has no momentum to carry the feud forward. They portrayed the match up as though Christian was doing Regal a favor to even have the match in the first place, so there is no way Regal should feel entitled to another match. I?m not saying the WWE did the wrong thing, BUT I really don?t see how this helped either competitor.
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.
July 28th ? October 13th 2009
1. Christian ? 60 pts. [l.w. 1]2. William Regal ? 41 [l.w. 2]3. Kozlov ? 31 pts. [l.w. 3]3. Yoshi Tatsu – 31 pts. [l.w. 3]
3. Zach Ryder – 31 pts. [l.w. 5]6. Ezekiel Jackson – 30 pts. [l.w. 5]7. Sheamus – 25 pts. [l.w. 7]8. Paul Burchill ? 24 pts. [l.w. 8]
9. Shelton Benjamin – 22 pts. [l.w. 8]9. Goldust ? 22 pts. [l.w. 10]
Look for ?That’s a Wrap? on WrestleView Thursday!
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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
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