ECW on SyFy
Rochester, New York
October 27th 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!
Abraham Washington Show
Tony Atlas is out first to introduce Abraham Washington and announce that tonight’s guest is none other than the ECW General Manager, Tiffany! Abe comes out on the critically acclaimed talk show to introduce himself to the crowd. Washington tells us that he is going to stop running his mouth ? to which Tony Atlas emits a belly roaring laugh, much to Washington’s chagrin.
Tiffany makes her entrance and both Abraham and Tony compliment her on her fantastic appearance. Abraham asks Tiffany about the lack of ECW at Bragging Rights, and that the brand didn?t have an impact. Tiffany runs down a list of competitors that got their break on ECW to make the case that ECW did have a big impact. Washington asks about a current ECW Superstar, Sheamus, and his decision to leave. Tiffany says that she doesn?t want people on the show that don?t want to be, and as such after one last match, Sheamus will be gone from ECW (As we learned last night, he is headed to RAW).
Abraham starts to ask Tiffany about her arm, before she can give a full answer William Regal’s music hits. Regal asks once again for an ECW Championship match. Tiffany once again tells him no, not tonight and maybe not even in the near future. Before Regal can respond she thanks the fans for coming and her music hits.
Once Tiffany leaves the stage Abraham starts to close up, but Regal is in a fury and starts flipping furniture! He looks as though he is about to have an aneurism as he begins yelling like an ape.
We head to the commentator’s booth were Josh Mathews is joined by the newest member of the ECW broadcast team, Byron Saxton. They did not specifically give a reason, but I?m going to make an educated guess that Matt Striker has been moved to the Smackdown announce team to replace Jim Ross during his absence due to a Bell’s Palsy attack and subsequent diagnosis results. Either way, best of luck to JR’s health and a warm welcome to Mr. Saxton!
****Commercial****
Sheamus v. Shelton Benjamin
During Sheamus? entrance, Savannah interviews Shelton in the back and he says that he is sending a message to Sheamus tonight that the Gold Standard is back!
Shelton makes his entrance and two square off in the ring. They exchange a series of punches and Sheamus slides out of the ring. Sheamus enters again but gets hit by a strong slew of punches and then throws Sheamus to the outside. Shelton stands on the apron and hits a split legged spring board moonsault!
****Commercial****
We come back and both men are dishing it out in the ring. They head to the outside where Sheamus is able to throw Shelton back first into a steel post. Back in the ring, Sheamus counters a kick into a slam. Pin attempt, but Shelton kicks out. Shelton is on his stomach while Sheamus begins kicking and punching at his head. Sheamus then locks in a camel clutch. The crowd is behind Shelton Benjamin as he gets to his feet. Sheamus is able to use his strength to pull Shelton back down to the mat in a headlock. Shelton punches his way out, then counters a Sheamus shoulder block into a throw away slam.
Both men manage to get to their feet and being punching back and forth. Shelton is Irish Whipped to the corner, but jumps up to the turnbuckle and hits a crossbody! Benjamin then sets Sheamus up in the corner and connects with a big splash! Sheamus goes for a punch, but Shelton ducks and connects with a German Suplex. Shelton bridges for the pin, but Sheamus kicks out! Both men get to their feet and Sheamus connects with a big boot for the win!
Winner via Big Boot: Sheamus
Still to come tonight: Christian v. Yoshi Tatsu for the ECW Championship!
****Commercial****
In the back Rosa Mendes is with Gregory Helms talking about how excited she is to be on ECW. She starts to go on and on about shopping etc. before stopping to see what it was he wanted to ask her. Helms says that he just said ?hello?. Burchill and Katie Lea walk up and Burchill tells Helms to let Hurricane know that this thing is ending next week in the ring.
Savannah is in the back and is interviewing Christian. The Captain of Charisma says that Yoshi will be a future star, but not tonight. Christian is going to show the new member of the roster how a champion fights.
****Commercial****
ECW Championship
Christian v. Yoshi Tatsu
The match starts with the two feeling each other out and exchanging a series of arm bars and basic submission attempts. Christian dodges a shoulder block and slams Yoshi head first into the mat. Christian connects with a sunset flip, but Yoshi kicks out. Yoshi knocks Christian down and then connects with a running somersault. Yoshi goes for a quick roll up, but Christian kicks out. Christian throws Yoshi out of the ring ? or at least he thinks he does, as Yoshi rolls right back in with a School Boy. Christian barely kicks out!
****Commercial****
We come back with Christian taking to the second rope, nothing happens directly off of this as Yoshi is able to knock Christian to the outside. Yoshi goes for a slingshot crossbody, but Christian moves out of the way. Christian heads back to the ring and then jumps to the outside with a springboard crossbody! Back in the ring Yoshi is able to kick out of the pin attempt. Christian locks him up in a headlock. Christian hits a neck breaker and then goes for the cover. Yoshi kicks out. Christian immediately goes back to work on the neck with a head lock.
Yoshi attempts a couple of right hands, but finds his head implanted on the turnbuckle. Christian grabs him and goes for the tornado DDT, but Yoshi counters and flips Christian into the ring! Yoshi heads to the top with a spinning heel kick! Yoshi goes for the cover, but Christian somehow kicks out!
Yoshi gets to his feet and starts with buzz saw kicks and follows up with a strong dropkick. Christian knocks him into the corner, but Yoshi dodges a splash. Tatsu hits a spinning elbow! Christian kicks out. Christian knocks Yoshi in the head and then goes for the Killswitch, Yoshi is able to counter, but gets set up on the bottom rope. Christian applies his feet to Yoshi’s neck which is pressed into the rope. Christian heads to the second turnbuckle and connects with a missile dropkick. Christian then heads to the top rope to hit it again, but Yoshi counters and goes for a pin! Incredibly close kick out!
Christian hits Yoshi and then follows up with the Flash Point, Yoshi barely kicks out. Christian then attempts a sunset flip, but Yoshi has it scouted and goes for a roll up, and barely does the Champion escape. Christian is able to his Yoshi with the see-saw kick and then follows up with a flying elbow from the second rope. Christian struggles to his feet, and finally hits the Killswitch. WOW ? What a match!
Winner via Killswitch: Christian
After the match Christian heads over to help Yoshi to his feet. Before he gets the chance, Kozlov and Jackson enter the ring. Together they demolish Christian and throw Yoshi to the outside. Regal finally enters and picks the ECW Championship up off of the mat. He holds it in front of Christian and poses with the belt as we go off the air.
ECW Thoughts
First of all, I would be remiss not to mention the signing of Hulk Hogan to TNA Wrestling. (The deal is also said to include Eric Bischoff). I know that a lot of the guys in the Internet Wrestling Community are complaining (to put it nicely), but I?m actually very optimistic. To those that watch or are interested in TNA, give it a chance. Take stock of TNA today and TNA a month from now to see if the impact of Hogan’s name, and Bischoff’s genius is felt in a positive matter.
That main event was absolutely insane. I take pride in my work, but my recap surely could not do it justice. Please go watch the match for yourself. Even though I knew going in with 99% certainty that Christian would retain, it was still a heck of a match. This is one time when knowing the result won?t spoil the joy of watching.
Having Regal come out following the match was perfect. We hit a point where he realized he wasn?t going to get his way from the General Manager. Honestly, to his credit Regal waited patiently and asked each and every week. There was no other avenue for him to go, so in many ways this rage is a result of Tiffany forcing his hand. We are seeing a side of Regal that we didn?t last time he challenged for the belt. Keeping that in mind, I?d really like to see him win the Title and have a hellacious reign over the roster.
The show tonight started out with the Abraham Washington Show, something I?m very happy about! It has been three weeks since Tony Atlas’s roaring laughs and Abe’s stale jokes graced our Television sets. I have to say that tonight is one of the first times that the show succeeded with a lackluster guest. No offense to Tiffany, but she certainly doesn?t hold the charisma of a guest like Christian. Atlas went a long way to helping out the segment. They made a case for ECW’s involvement at a Bragging Point and then filled in the viewer on Sheamus? decision to head to RAW.
Regal’s entrance and request once again for the Title shot would eventually end up reaching culmination following the main event. I will say that watching Regal go ape $#!% (literally, he was acting like an ape) undoubtedly showed his determination to grasp the Title and control of the show.
We had a new broadcaster tonight to replace Matt Striker by the name of Byron Saxton. As I said, this is most likely due to Striker filling in for Jim Ross. I have to say that I?ve been pretty tough on the announce team of ECW lately, but only because their potential was so great. I have been a fan of Josh Mathews for a long time, and I don?t think he is as weak as others portray him. The quality of his voice has always been enjoyable. I?m not really going to comment on Byron much tonight because I want to give him time both the settle into the job, and get comfortable with Mathews. I am very optimistic concerning this pairing.
The Sheamus/Shelton feud reached completion tonight, and I do think that both competitors came out of it stronger than they went into it. Whether or not Sheamus is ready for RAW is one thing, but I enjoyed the time he wrestled on the brand. I will say that I?m looking forward to the newly explosive Shelton Benjamin if he keeps the energy going. Benjamin was busting out a lot of things in the ring that I haven?t seen from him in a long time, proving how enjoyable he can be to watch.
Speaking of feuds that are ending, it seems as though we may be seeing an end to the Hurricane/Burchill story line next week. If nothing else, these guys have kept each other relevant so it will be interesting to see what the culmination of the feud turns out to be. If we end up right where we started then I would be displeased, but if creative can find an intriguing resolution good things may happen. Apparently optimism is the word tonight, because once again I?m staying positive.
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 ? 55 pts. [l.w. 1]2. William Regal ? 37 [l.w. 2]3. Kozlov ? 31 pts. [l.w. 3]3. Yoshi Tatsu – 31 pts. [l.w. 6]
5. Zach Ryder – 30 pts. [l.w. 3]5. Ezekiel Jackson – 30 pts. [l.w. 5]7. Sheamus – 25 pts. [l.w. 7]8. Paul Burchill ? 22 pts. [l.w. 8]
8. Shelton Benjamin – 22 pts. [l.w. 9]10. Goldust ? 19 pts. [l.w. 10]
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