ECW on Sci-Fi
London, England
April 21st 2009
Commentators: Josh Matthews & Matt Striker
Report by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it’s time for ECW!
Tonight: Contract Signing between Christian & Jack Swagger for the ECW Championship at Backlash!
Finlay & Hornswoggle make their way down to the ring. Finlay says that it is ‘swoggles last night on ECW after being drafted to RAW. Wait ? Hornswoggle grabs the mic! He starts to grumble out some ?grubah himkas? but then says ?Me Want to Wrestle!?. Finlay asks that Tiffany put him in a match. Tyson Kidd’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring with Natalya. Tyson says good riddance because with ‘swoggle off the show there will be more time for him. Natayla is on the mic and puts over Tyson’s Hart training and says that he is too good for Hornswoggle. So instead it will be Natalya v. Hornswoggle!
****Commercial****
Hornswoggle v. Natalya
The match starts off with a couple of slaps from Natalya to Hornswoggle. In true leprechaun fashion ‘swoggle runs across the ring and spears Natalya! Tyson Kidd is up on the apron and may be trying to distract the referee. Finlay runs over and pulls Tyson off the apron. Natalya is by the ropes to see what all the commotion is, and Hornswoggle sneaks in a school boy rollup for the pin!
Winner via Schoolboy: Hornswoggle
After the match Hornswoggle and Finlay grab some kids from ringside and dance around the ring to celebrate the victory and Hornswoggle’s last night on ECW.
*****Commercial*****
In the back we see Tiffany sitting and talking to an unnamed talent. Natalya and Tyson walk in to complain about Hornswoggle. They want Hornswoggle fired but Tiffany says that ‘swoggle will be leaving for RAW next week BUT Tyson & Natayla will be wrestling against Finlay & Hornswoggle on Superstars this week!
****Commercial****
We see Evan Bourne’s music hit as he begins his entrance for a match up next!
****Commercial****
Evan Bourne v. Paul Burchill w/ Katie Lea
The match starts off with a power attempt from Burchill but Bourne uses his speed to hit a dropkick. Paul is on the ground and Bourne tries to head up to the top rope, but Katie Lea distracts Bourne allowing Burchill to throw Bourne to the mat. Paul is now in control as he locks in a modified Dragon Sleeper on Bourne. Paul looks to whip Bourne into the ropes but instead pulls him into a clothesline. Bourne is on his side again as Burchill locks in a headlock. As Evan starts to get to his feet Paul hits a Butterfly suplex.
Bourne is in the corner and Burchill is slapping his own thigh and then runs across the ring to leap at Evan nailing him with his knees. Bourne is able to kick out of the cover but it doesn?t look like anything is going well for the high flying superstar. Bourne is hit with another suplex and then locks in a modified rear naked choke. He then converts it into a side headlock. Bourne is really struggling but is finally able to power out and both men are on the mat. The referee begins the ten count as Burchill sends some fists into Bourne’s back.
Bourne leaps to his feet and ducks a clothesline from Burchill and then hits a knee straight to the face! Burchill rolls out of the ring to attempt to catch his breath. Paul gets back in the ring and is met with a spinning heel kick and then another knee from Bourne. Evan hits a clothesline and then goes for a pin but Burchill kicks out. Paul is backed into the corner and Bourne goes for a clothesline but Burchill catches him and slams him to the mat. Bourne tries a nifty looking pin attempt but Burchill kicks out. Burchill catches Bourne up on his shoulder but Bourne converts it into a rear facing hurricarana! Bourne heads up to the top rope and the crowd is on their feet. Bourne leaps and hits the Shooting Star Press!
Winner via Shooting Star Press: Evan Bourne
****Commercial****
Kozlov v. Frankie Sloan
Before the match starts Kozlov grabs the mic and says something in a really heavy accent about being Russian and awesome. Kozlov enters the ring and overpowers the local jobber. He hits a few suplexes and then a headbutt for the win.
Winner via Headbutt: Kozlov
****Commercial***
Contract Signing for Backlash
Christian & Jack Swagger
Swagger and Christian both make their way down to the ring and take their seat at the table which has the contract on it. Christian is the first to act and signs the paper without so much as a word. Swagger grabs the mic and asks Christian why there are no one liners or jabs at Jack’s expensive suits or speech impediment tonight. Swagger signs his contract and then says that while Christian was gone from the WWE for years there was a new class of WWE stars that emerged. At the top of the class is Jack Swagger. Jack says that despite Christian thinking that he can come back and pick up where he left off and win a Title, the bottom-line according to Swagger is that Christian can?t beat him. At this point Christian still hasn?t even picked up the mic or muttered a word.
As Swagger gets up to leave the table Christian grabs the mic and starts to talk. Christian says that he could sit out here and make fun of Swagger’s suit, haircut and speech impediment, but at the end of the day it is not going to do anything for Christian. At the end of the day what would all that actually mean? Christian says that it doesn?t mean anything because this time Swagger can be the one out there running his mouth, but Christian is going to be the one focusing on Sunday and Backlash. Christian will focus on making Swagger the biggest, strongest, fastest ex-ECW Champion in history.
Tiffany says ?Thank-you gentlemen? and leaves the ring. Swagger holds his Title up in front of Christian’s face with a smirk. Swagger then proceeds to throw his Title at Christian knocking him back. Christian stands up and tries to hit a couple of punches but Jack lifts him up and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb through the table!
ECW Thoughts
Alright, did anybody else feel like ECW was a bit odd this week? First of all there is a bit of a continuity issue concerning which stars are on which shows which should all be cleared up after Backlash. If I?m to believe that tonight was Hornswoggle’s last night on ECW then why was Kozlov on the show? Doesn?t really make sense to me but whatever.
So Christian v. Swagger will hopefully be a good match on Sunday. I care less about who wins then I do about Swagger looking good. Apparently Vince isn?t too keen on Jack’s confidence level which is why he was held off of ?mania. He really needs a good showing on Sunday. Actually coupled with the fact that Vince doesn?t care for Christian this could very well turn into a five minute match at Backlash, we?ll have to wait and see.
The Hornswoggle and Natalya segment was silly but fun. It works for me. I?m really going to miss the little guy. Good luck on RAW. Bourne was his usual awesome self, and the crowd ate him up. I do want to throw in a nice word about Burchill because he really looked on tonight.
Tomorrow’s column is a look at what a day would be like if WWE creative was booking my life. Looking for the column on WrestleView tomorrow and join us on Facebook!
Five Words from the WrestleView chat
Kenny_Ozz: Ok. Bourne rules. Natalya’s hot.
Power Rankings
I just edited the rankings to move everyone off of ECW that was drafted to other shows and added the new acquisitions. Needless to say the leader board has been spun on its head.
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.
January 20th 2008 ? April 21st 2009
1. Finlay ? 43 pts. [l.w. 2]
2. Jack Swagger ? 42 pts. [l.w. 1]3. Christian ? 31 pts. [l.w. 4]4. Tommy Dreamer ? 24 pts. [l.w. 6]5. Paul Burchill ? 20 pts. [l.w. 8]6. Tyson Kidd ? 17 pts. [l.w. 10]7. Natalya ? 16 pts. [l.w. NA]8. Evan Bourne ? 14 pts. [l.w. NA]9. Tony Atlas ? 9 pts. [l.w. NA]10. DJ Gabriel ? 8 pts. [l.w. NA]
Look for ?That’s a Wrap? on WrestleView Wednesday!
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.