Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 12:06 AM EST

Ok. I went through ECW. And to be honest, I wasn't too badly disappointed. Yeah, the ending bothered me, but hell, I guess it had to be expected. Let's talk.

Hardcore Holly vs. CM Punk. This is the type of program I like. Two guys who don't talk a whole lot, come out, and try their best to beat the living crap out of each other. And they did. Did I like the fact that Holly dealt Punk his first loss? Not in the least, but the fact is, Punk looked very good in the loss, and Holly looked exceptional in the win. It was a terrific opening contest. No complaints whatsoever.

Test's little promo in the interim was his usual whiny, crybaby, bullish stuff, which I found obnoxious, pompous, and irritating. In other words, the typical heel. I should've seen this coming, but at the time, I didn't. My mistake. I'll tell you why in a little bit.

Out comes Burke without Terkay. Burke can talk the talk, and I have not found out yet, by not seeing him in long term matches if he can walk the walk. But, I give Elijah the credit for staying toe to toe with the Sandman. Sandman was in rare form tonight, bloody as hell, and hitting Burke from almost every damn angle. Is it me, or did Burke look legitimately pissed off from being caned a few times where he probably should not have been? A typical Sandman segment. But, not a terrible one, because Burke can provide the talent that Matt Striker doesn't possess. And to show you how behind I am in watching this show, the last true segment of Sandman's I watched was with Striker.

Next was the puzzle. Dreamer vs. Khali, extreme rules. It's obvious Khali is done in ECW, he's going to Raw. But, this match wasn't a match, it was Khali knocking Dreamer down, and Dreamer struggling back to his feet. Is this the way to end the feud between these two guys? I know trying to get a "win" for Dreamer against Khali is virtually impossible because it kills the aura of the character, but I just felt this whole segment was very odd because there didn't seem to be any sort of closure. Well, outside of the fact that Tommy Dreamer can stop buying stock in back braces for the amount of times that he's been planted by this freak of nature. Let's move on.

Kelly returns next week. Kelly is goregous, no question about it. But, after that, what's next? Ah well. Let her manage Punk. Why? Why not?

Thorn vs. Moore. Thorn has really grown in to the vampire gimmick. I know, I know, I don't like gimmicks, and I don't, but this one doesn't bother me. It's not offensive, it's not distasteful, it's done as fantasy, and it's done well, to be honest in my humble opinion. Moore's haircut is abyssmal. Next. Thorn has the potential to be a player in ECW for as long as it remains affluent. Who knows how long that's going to be. Was it technically sound? Hell, no, but did you expect it to be?

Lashley vs. RVD. I know Lashley is not prepared to be a world champion, but he's got the gold, and he's learning trial by fire. I think Lashley will be fine. His athleticism more than makes up for his lack of mike skills. His complete package is a perfect fit for ECW. Should RVD get the belt back? Yeah, I won't lie to you, I'd like to see it, but the world should know it will never happen. RVD has not enamored himself with the WWE powers that be, and I can guarantee you they habe memories like steel traps. They remember what happened when Van Dam held the gold, and I can guarantee you, he may get a ton of shots, but if he ever crashes the glass ceiling again under the ECW banner, it will be a damn miracle in this person's eyes.

With that being said, I was praying for a clean win in this match, and this one was terrific to watch. Again, not the most technically sound, but raw with emotion and intensity. Both men left it all out there. I thought for sure Van Dam blew his knee out when he crashed and burned on the announce table. It is a major league testament to his conditioning that he was able to walk and complete the match. I have to believe that WWE was sucking some major wind seeing that spot go down 48 hours after losing the Game over on Monday Nights.

Like I said before, I should've expected this ending to happen, but I didn't. I don't like it, but I understand it. Lashley needs an opponent eventually when he gets past Van Dam, and Test is obviously going to be it. Test personally has no business going for the World title in any facet, but the deal is, not many others are ready to take the next step. Sabu, Sandman, Dreamer, Big Show, Khali, Thorn, Punk, Balls. They're all either not available, not prepared creatively, or just disappeared entirely. Who's left to challenge for the belt? Not many. Test obviously will get the next shot by process of elimination.

Honestly, I'll love seeing the video of Lashley spearing Test in half like a piece of rotted fruit.

I was not disappointed with this show. Yeah, I could've seen better, but when you come down to it, this was more with wrestling than anything else, with the exception of the one backstage vignette with Test. I was pleased. I don't think Styles & Tazz like the Brad Armstrong addition, and honestly, neither do I. All of them seemed to be falling on top of each other verbally trying to get the collective point across. Hopefully, in time, it will mesh better, but I don't understand why WWE thinks a 3 man booth will work for a one hour program, when it obviously did not work for a two hour flagship program back in the day.

Anyway, that's it for now. The last chapter of this week of wrestling for me is thursday night for Impact leading in to Final Resolution. Let's see where the chips fall there, ladies and gentlemen. Till then, I am humbly your friendly neighborhood fan with funky fingers and a forum.

Man, that was really corny.

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