ECW on SyFy
Phoenix, AZ
August 25th 2009
Commentators: Josh Mathews & Matt Striker
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!
A video package airs showcasing Christian’s record breaking 8 second victory over William Regal to retain the ECW Championship at Summerslam. The intro plays and away we go!
Regal’s music hits and he walks down to the ring wearing a suit, accompanied by Kozlov and Jackson in their ring attire. Regal tells us that we are looking at the reason for why ECW will never be the same again. Regal says that the countdown clock on Christian’s Title reign is about to hit zero. Christian’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Christian points out that despite all of Regal’s talk, he neglected to mention his 8 second loss to Christian just two days prior.
Regal starts to complain about sportsmanship and how Christian knew he wasn?t ready. Christian just keeps saying 8 seconds over and over again much to Regal’s chagrin. William demands a rematch. Christian starts to address him, asking if he can call him ?Bill?. Regal says no, but Christian does it anyway. William say’s ?don?t call me Bill?, ?Bill? is the name of a commoner. Christian says that he wants to move on to another competitor, one he hasn?t beat in 8 seconds.
Tiffany hits the entrance ramp and says that it’s time to end the talking, and get to the action. Tiffany acknowledges that Christian did take advantage of Regal. As such, she says that if Regal can earn it, he will have his rematch. Tonight Christian and Regal will square off in a non-title matchup. If Regal wins, he will get his rematch!
****Commercial****
Sheamus v. Goldust
Sheamus chucks Goldust to the mat, but Dust is quick to get back to his feet. Sheamus backs him into a corner and then Dust throws him to the ground laying in the punches. Sheamus is whipped into the turnbuckle and then finds the back of his neck met with Goldust’s forearm. Sheamus is able to switch the momentum with a couple of punches and a series of standing elbow drops. Sheamus hooks the leg, but Dust kicks out.
Sheamus plants his knee into Dust’s back for a mat based variant on the abdominal stretch. Goldust breaks free and connects with a huge right arm. Dust bounces off the ropes and hits a nice clothesline. He follows this up by dropping to the mat and punching Sheamus in the face. Dust goes for a cover, but Sheamus kicks out. Both men get to their feet, and Goldust hits the Flatliner! The pin is coming and the count is dwindling, but Sheamus kicks out at the last second!
Sheamus rolls out of the ring and Dust follows after. The two start brawling outside of the ring. Each man is taking a beating and referee begins to countdown. Goldust whips Sheamus into the steel steps as the ref hits 10. The Referee calls for a double count out!
Winner: DRAW
****Commercial****
In the back we see Shelton with the Bella Twins. They beg him to do a Louis Armstrong impression. He begins to sing ?Wonderful World?. Ryder comes up and starts making fun of him. Before Shelton can beat him up, Tiffany emerges. She tells them they?ll be tagging together later against Tyler Rex and Yoshi Tats!
We then cut to Courtney Taylor who is with Paul Burchill and Katie Lea. He puts over his match against The Hurricane, excuse me ?Gregory Helms, this week on WWE Superstars!
****Commercial****
During the commercial we saw the 7-11 commercial featuring Kelly Kelly. Sigh, I miss her on ECW.
Zack Ryder & Shelton Benjamin v. Tyler Rex & Yoshi Tatsu
Rex and Shelton are the first two to start things off. Shelton gets Rex to the ground and looks to tag in Zack, but he is busy fixing his ring gear. Rex goes for a quick roll up, but Shelton kicks out. Benjamin gets back to his feet and Ryder decides to tag himself in to the match.
Ryder locks on a rear headlock and applies the agony. Shelton gets the tag and then applies a similar method. Rex is able to break free and gets to his feet for a hot tag to Yoshi Tatsu! The crowd explodes as the Japanese superstar bounces in to the ring. Yoshi hits swift kicks and heads to the top rope. Shelton throws him off and Yoshi flops down to the ring. Ryder gets tagged in when Shelton angrily grabs him and flips him in. Ryder throws Yoshi into the ropes which ends up knocking Benjamin to the ground. Ryder goes for the Zack Attack, but Yoshi counters with a kick to the face! Yoshi gets the pin!
Winners via Face Kick: Tyler Rex & Yoshi Tatsu
****Commercial****
Christian v. William Regal w/ Kozlov & Jackson
The two make their entrances and then begin to square off in the ring. They exchange a series of punches and takedowns with neither really having the upper hand. Christian manages to get Regal to the outside. Christian heads to the apron and looks to jump out, but notices the cavalry and second guesses himself as we head to commercial.
****Commercial****
We come back and the competitors are back in the ring. Regal hits a snap suplex, but it doesn?t do much to Christian. Christian gets to his feet and dodges a Knee Trembler, and then kicks Regal in the stomach. Regal rolls out of the ring to catch his breath. Christian goes out to the apron and Regal flips him off to land hard on the outside! The referee begins the count out, but Christian slips in at 9.
Back in the ring, Regal is bringing on the strong strikes. Regal whips Christian into the corner and charges after, but gets met with a boot to the face. Both men collide and Christian falls to the mat. Regal goes for the cover, but Christian kicks out. Regal locks on a side headlock. Christian is struggling to get to his feet and the crowd is cheering for him. Regal connects with a punch and takes the collective breaths from Christian and the crowd.
Regal sets Christian up on the top turnbuckle and looks to mount him, but Christian knocks him down. Christian leaps and connects with a huge crossbody! Christian goes for the cover but Regal kicks out. Both men get to their feet and exchange punches one after the other. Christian gets Regal to the ground and then heads to the top rope. Christian leaps for a missile dropkick and connects. Christian doesn?t miss a beat as he heads up and hits another! Christian goes for the cover, but Regal kicks out!
Regal gets up and knocks Christian onto the apron. Christian scales the turnbuckle and connects with a whirlwind DDT. Christian goes for the cover, but Regal barely kicks out. Christian gets slammed to the ground and Regal goes for a cover, but Christian kicks out on 2. Christian slides to the outside of the ring and sees Kozlov. Christian slaps him hard in the face and then rolls back into the ring. Christian looks to engage the Killswitch, but Regal is able to push him off. The ref’s back is turned and Christian finds himself absolutely mauled by a Kozlov head butt. Regal hits the Knee Trembler, and this match is over!
Winner via Knee Trembler: William Regal
ECW Thoughts
Well, well, well, that was a heck of a main event. Regal and Christian absolutely mauled each other in the ring. This showing was what most were expecting to see from the two at Summerslam, but instead Christian had other plans. I know that the vast majority of ?wrestling pundits? are knocking what happened at the biggest party of the summer, but I was actually a fan. Hear me out before you send me the destined angry e-mails.
Christian came back to the WWE after his tenure in TNA with a refreshed sense of vigor. It has been exciting to see his run thus far, and he has really made ECW his own. I?d like to say that not only did Christian come back refreshed, but more intelligent. He was able to study some new styles present in TNA that no doubt have increased his ability. This is readily evident in his innovate ring work since returning.
Now, place yourself in Christian’s shoes for a second. Here is a man clutching the silver title with one goal on his mind, victory. In the opposite corner is a fierce competitor William Regal. A man who grew up fighting in the streets and is a hailed shooter. Flanking Regal are two beasts of men that would make most men quake in their boots, myself included.
If you are Christian and you see yourself confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds, what do you do? You capitalize on the situation the second you see it, and then you hightail it out of the ring. That is exactly what Captain Charisma did, and I back his decision 100%. Sure it wasn?t the most honorable method, I?d even admit that it was a bit underhanded, but I don?t blame the man. It was the smart move for Christian. I for one am not going to complain about an intelligent wrestler capitalizing on a perilious situation. Quite frankly I?d do the same, and a little birdie is telling me most of you would too.
Now then back to the state of ECW. I really am impressed by how many legitimate storylines there seem to be on the brand. Almost everybody seems to be involved with something, a fact that really makes me excited. Matches aren?t being fought just for the sake of filling TV time. As a result it is a more entertaining product. The future looks bright my friends. Stop questioning your heart and enjoy, because the time of glory is upon us. Or, you know, just enjoy the show!
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.
May 26th ?August 25th 2009
1. Christian ? 68 pts. [l.w. 1]2. Tommy Dreamer ? 52 pts. [l.w. 2]3. Kozlov ? 28 pts. [l.w. 3]4. Zach Ryder – 19 pts. [l.w. 4]4. Yoshi Tatsu – 19 pts. [l.w. 5]
6. Shelton Benjamin – 18 pts. [l.w. 5]7. Ezekiel Jackson – 17 pts. [l.w. 8]8. Sheamus – 16 pts. [l.w. 8]9. Paul Burchill ? 14 pts. [l.w. 7]
9. Tyler Reks – 14 pts. [l.w. NA]
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