ECW on SyFy
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
August 18th 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 the ECW on SyFy!
Hurricane v. Paul Burchill w/ Katie Lea
The two lock up and Hurricane starts things off with a quick arm drag. Hurricane continues his speed usage to slip under an arm but gets backed into the corner and pounded on by Burchill. Paul whips him hard into the turnbuckle, taunting him as he goes. The Hurricane gets back to the middle and looks for the chokeslam, but Burchill counters to break out. Hurricane uses his speed for a slam and then does a pose for the crowd. Burchill charges at Hurricane, but topples to the outside! Hurricane goes to the top rope and flies! Beautiful crossbody to the floor! Can Paul Burchill regain control, or will the masked hero be victorious? We?ll find out after the break.
****Commercial****
We come back and Burchill has Hurricane smack dab in the middle of the ring, headlock applied. The crowd support is behind the masked avenger as Paul uses his strength to keep him down. Hurricane almost finds the strength to escape, but gets pounded down to the ring. Burchill goes for the cover, and Hurricane kicks out. Paul locks on another headlock, this time clasping Hurricane’s arm inside.
Burchill whips Hurricane into the corner and then goes charging, leaping to connect knee first on the hero. Hurricane manages to kick out of the pin. Burchill goes right back to work on the head and neck of Hurricane, eventually locking in another headlock. Hurricane is really hurting and needs to get in some offense before his opportunities are depleted. Burchill sets him up on the turnbuckle and goes up for a Superplex. Hurricane counters, sending Burchill down to the mat. Hurricane leaps up for a huge crossbody!
Both men are down and Burchill is the first to get to his feet. Hurricane counters a punch with several of his own, followed by an uppercut. Burchill gets sent to the corner then down to the mat via a clothesline from Hurricane. Burchill kicks out of the cover. Hurricane is sent to the corner and then Burchill hits a pel? kick out of nowhere! Paul goes for the cover, but Hurricane kicks out. Hurricane is able to hit a hurricarana, but Burchill kicks out! Paul struggles to his feet as Hurricane come in for a shining wizard. Burchill blocks, senses a weakness and goes for his finisher, but Hurricane counter into his own! Eye of the Hurricane for the win!
Winner via Eye of the Hurricane: Hurricane
In the back Courtney Taylor (new interviewer apparently) introduces Tommy Dreamer to ask him about teaming up with Christian tonight on ECW. Tommy talks once again about he and Christian are BFFs for life. Regal walks up and Dreamer goes over to talk to him. Kozlov comes up from behind and attacks Dreamer! Regal gets in on the action encouraging Kozlov and then hitting a hard boot of his own.
****Commercial****
Christian is in the back with several officials who are attending to Tommy Dreamer.
We head out to the ramp and it is time for the ?critically acclaimed? Abraham Washington Show!
Abraham Washington Show
Abe enjoys the boos thanking everyone in attendance. He welcomes everyone in the audience to the show. Washington says that the mixed reaction in the audience clearly shows that the audience is illiterate as they can?t read the giant sign that says ?APPLAUSE?. He encourages the crowd to get ?Hooked on Phonics?. We are less than a week away from Summerslam as he welcomes this week’s guest: Goldust!
The ever unique superstar joins the set and shakes Abe’s hand. Washington asks Goldust to explain why he has had confrontations with Sheamus. Goldie starts to talk but is suffering from his ?ticks?. Washington starts looking around for Ashton Kutcher, assuming that he is being ?Punk?d?. Goldust gives a recap of how he was electrocuted and thus has the ticks. Washington continues to berate Goldust making fun of his condition, and then introduces Sheamus out to the set!
Sheamus comes out to join Dust and Washington, and declines the offer to sit and stays standing. Sheamus says that Dust got lucky last week, and their feud isn?t over by a long shot. They stare down before Goldust has a spasm. Washington notes that things have gotten a bit awkward, and says thanks for coming out.
End of Abraham Washington Show
In the back Tiffany is with Courtney Taylor (yup definitely a new backstage interviewer). She explains that Dreamer will not be able to compete in the main event tonight, but Christian has free reign to choose his replacement partner.
****Commercial*****
Zack Ryder v. Yoshi Tatsu
Zack whips Yoshi into the ropes and Tatsu leaps over him, slides under him, then hits an arm drag. Zack heads to the corner and Yoshi comes over heading up as well. Zack yanks down on his arm sending him down to the mat. Yoshi’s arm appears to be tender and Zack is focusing his attack. Ryder goes down to the mat for an arm bar.
The crowd is once again strongly behind the Japanese superstar. He uses his speed to counter into an arm bar of his own. Zack is able to stand and knock Yoshi out of the ring. Yoshi comes back in, connecting with a couple of kicks. Yoshi flips through with a neck roll and then hits a rolling Senton! Yoshi is on the apron and leaps up for a springboard elbow. Ryder gets his feet up to counter and rolls Tatsu up for the win.
Winner via The Power of Woo Woo Woo: Zack Ryder
****Commercial****
William Regal & Kozlov v. Christian & Ezekiel Jackson
Christian and Regal are the first to start things off and Regal is close to locking in an arm bar, but Christian counters, flipping Regal onto his back. Christian heads to the second rope and hits a flying European Uppercut. Regal tags in Kozlov. Christian gets in a punch, but then Kozlov uses his power to lift Christian high into the air to use his right shoulder as a pressure point. Christian slips down and topples Kozlov out of the ring. Kozlov comes back in and Christian bounces off the ropes, or would have, but Regal kicks him in the back. Christian is on the outside where Regal touches him up then both roll back into the ring. Regal tags in Kozlov who locks a headlock on Christian.
Jackson is powerless to help and must watch in agony as Christian is demolished. Kozlov tags in Regal, who loses the momentum for his team. Christian slaps Regal in the face, but Regal sends him in to the corner. Regal counters a punch, but gets caught with a sunset flip. Kozlov comes in for the save! Jackson finally comes into the ring and looks to chase after Kozlov, but instead picks up Christian! Jackson slams Christian to the mat with his finisher! Regal gets the pin on Christian for the win.
Winners via Jackson’s Heel Turn: Regal & Kozlov
After the match Kozlov comes in to the ring and hits the Iron Curtain on the slain Champion! Regal encourages Jackson to slam Christian again, which he does. Christian is hurt and Regal, Kozlov & Jackson raise their arms in victory as the show goes off the air.
ECW Thoughts
A very nice ending to a decent show. Heading into Summerslam BOTH of the fighters, Christian and Dreamer, have been demolished by the new faction of Regal, Kozlov and Jackson. An interesting twist that I didn?t quite see coming. It was common sense that Christian would choose Jackson. It was so obvious that I shrugged when Ezekiel came to the ring for the main event. It seems that is exactly what Regal wanted as he ensured Christian would unknowingly choose an enemy. Very cool segment and twist that I look forward to seeing played out. The only downside is that the ECW Title match runs the risk of seeming trivial, but quite frankly there’s a solid chance it will be the curtain jerker anyway, so I?ll keep an optimistic stance on this one.
Zack Ryder and Yoshi had a very quick, but satisfactory match. It gave Ryder a little bit of a boost, and didn?t hurt Tatsu. Yoshi did a solid job of selling his injury and made the finish work. It’s always nice to see an unexpected move lead to a pinfall. Reminds me of the movie ?Kayfabe? in which one of the wrestler taps out to an abdominal stretch. ?NO ONE taps out to an abdominal stretch?. It adds a sense of realism, which is important. Quite frankly if a move didn?t have the potential to end a match or weaken a body part to support a later finish, there would be no reason for a wrestler to do it. That’s my take at least.
I definitely enjoyed the Abraham Washington show tonight. I finally realized is what it is that makes this ?talk show? different than all the others that the WWE has had in the past. We have become accustomed to segments such as the Peep Show, Highlight Reel, Cutting Edge, etc., which serve the primary purpose of promoting their respective host. The Abraham Washington Show is actually designed in the same vein as a late night talk program. It finally clicked tonight and the whole thing now makes a lot more sense. With that perspective I began to appreciate the details and character work Abraham is doing. Keep this in mind next time they air this segment, because it gave me a whole new outlook on the matter.
I?ll tell you that I really love when ECW starts off straight away with a match. It used to be this way for awhile, and then they were having opening segments. The straight to the mat style is more beneficial in setting the tone of the show for ECW. Hurricane made his triumphant return, and it was a nice showing. He teased a lot of his old moves and I?m anticipating seeing him in the future. In that regard I?d have to say mission accomplished, welcome back!
It seems we have a new backstage interviewer. This new lovely lady goes by the name Courtney Taylor. Tonight wasn?t perfect, but hey I?ll give her time before I judge. I will say that I did not like her talking to Tiffany. For whatever reason, whether it is their similar appearance or demeanor, I felt as though Tiffany’s credibility was temporarily diminished. I think it will be best to keep them apart until Taylor can hold her own on the mic.
The Sunday is Summerslam and ECW will be featured with Tommy Dreamer taking on ECW Champion Christian for the belt. I am officially picking Christian for the win as I see no reason to stop him now. Undoubtedly Christian and Dreamer are going to have to fight and then figure out a way to make nice so that they can hold their own against the faction of Regal, Kozlov and Jackson this time next week.
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 19th ?August 18th 2009
1. Christian ? 59 pts. [l.w. 1]2. Tommy Dreamer ? 52 pts. [l.w. 2]3. Kozlov ? 25 pts. [l.w. 3]4. Zach Ryder – 20 pts. [l.w. 4]5. Shelton Benjamin – 16 pts. [l.w. 5]5. Yoshi Tatsu – 16 pts. [l.w. 7]7. Paul Burchill ? 15 pts. [l.w. 6]
8. Sheamus – 14 pts. [l.w. 8]8. Ezekiel Jackson – 14 pts. [l.w. 9]10.Hurricane – 12 pts. [l.w. NA]
Look for ?That’s a Wrap? on WrestleView Thursday!
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