On Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 11:35 PM EST ECW on Sci Fi
September 25, 2007
Indianapolis, IN
Commentators: Joey Styles & Tazz
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
Chase to the Title-- Triple Threat
Kevin Thorn v. Elijah Burke v. Tommy Dreamer
All three went at it from the start and Dreamer’s the first dumped from the ring so it’s Thorn-Burke for now. Thorn dominated early with some power stuff before Elijah sneaked through his legs and hit a hip toss for a one count. Dreamer sat out on the outside while the two heels killed each other before the heels realized what was up and came after him.
Thorn got beat to the punch by Dreamer who decked him and slid into the ring and began tossing Burke around the ring. He cut Thorn off before scoop slamming Burke only to get bum rushed to the corner by Thorn. Thorn pummeled him in the corner before getting quickly rolled up by Burke for another near fall.
Burke hit a forearm on Thorn and chased him to the corner but was quickly punched back out of there by Thorn who dumped him to the ring. Dreamer cold cocked Burke to the outside before Thorn dumped him shoulder first into the ring post. Thorn hit a kick to the gut and slammed Dreamer and put the boots to him for a little while before Thorn went for a cover attempt.
Burke snuck back into the ring and cold cocked Thorn with a drop kick before almost getting rolled up by Tommy Dreamer. Thorn pounced and caught the off balance Burke before Dreamer returned the favor to him. Roll ups galore for a little while longer before Dreamer and Burke rolled up Thorn but couldn’t keep him down.
Three way stare down time as we go to our first break.
****Commercial****
Burke missed Dreamer flat out and flew over the top rope and plopped on the floor as we returned. Thorne bullied Dreamer and the two brawled around the ring for a little while before Dreamer decked Thorn with a right hand and planted him with a bulldog for a two count.
Tommy hit five shots at Thorn’s face before Thorn tossed him super hard to the canvas and covered him for a two count. Thorn relentlessly stomped away at Dreamer before slapping on a rear chin lock in the middle of the ring. Dreamer used the crowd support to to rally him and eventually fought out, hit a go behind and an inverted DDT. Dreamer was so banged up though, that he couldn’t capitalize. Eventually he made the cover, but only for a one and a half.
Dreamer hit a baseball slide drop kick on Thorn and sent him into the barricade before Burke caught him on the apron and press slammed him to the floor. Thorn cut HIM off with a forearm before tossing him back into the ring and getting a two count. Thorn again went for the cover and got a two count before hammering away on Burke on the mat.
Burke was picked up by the big man before Thorn dropped out with a NASTY Canadian back breaker. The cover attempt got a two and a half while Burke writhed in pain on the mat. Thorn talked some trash but missed a boot and got hit with the KO uppercut and a STO. Dreamer cut off Burke and put him in the tree of Woe before hitting his usual drop kick.
Dreamer pumped up the crowd only to get planted with a Thorn jaw breaker for a two count. Burke KO’d Thorn with four knuckles upside your head before heading for the top rope. Dreamer cut him off and it looks like we’re headed for a repeat spot of last week. Thorn got the power bomb, oh no, he didn’t. Dreamer wiggled out of the bomb and hit a nasty neck breaker before Burke bounded off with a roll up. Dreamer rolled through and slapped on a Texas cloverleaf before eating a Thorn big boot.
Thorn went for a big Shoulder back breaker again but Dreamer boot him in the gut and nailed him with the DDT. Burke seized the opportunity and dumped Dreamer and picked the bones for the win.
Winner: Elijah Burke via pin fall
Kevin Thorn is ELIMINATED from the elimination chase
Next week it’ll be Dreamer-Burke for the #1 contender’s spot.
CM Punk was walking around the back before running across Big Daddy V and Striker. Striker said even though Punk won the title, he could better himself and go to school. Punk said he loved school and never missed a day, even getting to touch some of the teachers. Striker said V was his star pupil. Punk laughed at him a bit before staring down V and walking off. V did some good grunting here.
****Commercial****
Nunzio v. Mike Knox
Knox opened the match planting Nunzio with a shoulder block. Knox easily powered out of a go behind and tossed Nunzio right back to the outside of the ring. Knox took Nunzio down once he got back into the ring and started clubbing away at Nunzio’s back.
Nunzio hit some punches to the guts before getting decked with an elbow and killed with a back breaker. Nunzio held the hold looking for a submission before Nunzio freed himself with a knee to Knox’s head. Knox recovered quickly though and hit another back breaker for a two count. Knox hit another leg drop for a two count before KO’ing our favorite member of the Italian community with a right hand.
Knox leaned in on Nunzio with a knee before missing a splash attempt in the corner. Nunzio tried to chop him down with some knees and a pair of drop kicks. He got a one count but on the kick out, got tossed to the apron. Knox hit a knee lift and then the running boot for a three count.
Winner: Mike Knox via pin fall
Extreme Expose and the Miz are on their way to the ring.
****Commercial****
The Miz v. Silas Young
Young grabbed a hammer lock before Miz easily backed him into the corner and hit a back elbow. Miz dropped him on the top rope before stalking him around the ring and hitting a back elbow to floor the jobber. Miz put the boots to Young in the corner before putting the boots to him and clocking him with a few right hands.
Miz hit a side Russian leg sweep before gathering his opponent and whipping him to the corner and hitting a running clothesline. Miz set up the reality check and connected for the win.
Winner: The Miz via pin fall
Balls came out to the ring and came up to Kelly and asked her again if she’d go out on a date with him. She paused with a big smile on her face but before she could respond, Miz cut her off. Miz said Kelly would give him and answer before braining him with a mic shot to the head. Kelly tended to Balls before the Expose girls yanked her away and they headed to the back with Miz.
It’s CM Punk v. Matt Striker next.
****Commercial****
A promo piece for the debut of the Condemned on DVD aired with Steve Austin and fans.
Elijah Burke confronted Tommy Dreamer in the back. He said he didn’t think Dreamer had a chance because he had all the skills in the world. Dreamer said he had something Burke lacked and that was heart. We’ll see who the better man is next week.
****Commercial****
CM Punk v. Matt Striker
Punk grabbed a headlock before flat backing Striker with a shoulder block. Punk decked Striker before planting him with a body slam and going for a quick cover attempt.
Striker fought back with a hard right slap to the face and a chop to the chest. Striker whipped Punk only to get back dropped to the floor and laid out with a plancha. Punk got distracted by V before Striker smashed his hand off the ring steps and hitting a running kick to it up against the steps.
Back in the ring, Striker went right at the hand and began laying the boots to it in a big way. Striker wrapped it around the ropes and punched away at it before whipping Punk into the ropes. Punk hit a sunset flip, but couldn’t hold Striker down with one hand.
Striker immediately went back on the offense, slapping on a top wrist lock and wrenching back on it. Punk used the crowd to rally him and hit some shots to Striker’s gut. Striker cut Punk off with a standing drop kick for a one count before heading right back to the wrist lock.
Punk fought back with the hand that works and some kicks but again, Striker cut him off with some kicks to the hand before KO-ing Punk with a stiff knee to the head. Striker went right back to the hand before spiking it off the mat. Moment of the night is Striker stretching Punk’s hand into a V, showing V and telling him Punk was a fan of his.
Punk fought back with a boot to the head before loading up Striker for the Welcome to Chicago back breaker and the knee-bulldog combo out of the corner. Punk hit his springboard lariat before looking for Go 2 Sleep. Punk connected with it and got the cover for the win.
Winner: Cm Punk via pin fall
Big Daddy V jumped Punk cold cocking him with a lariat. V hit a big fall away slam afterwards and stood over a very dead Punk as we went off the air. ECW Round UpShow Thoughts-- This was a fairly decent offering this week, despite not being as good as last week’s episode.
The opening triple threat was pretty good and I’m liking how ECW in general is going about doing their multi man matches. Even though tonight’s match did some of the ‘dump a guy, the other two go at it’ thing, there was still a lot more stuff where all three guys were in the ring at once than normal. In fact, it’s really old school ECW-ish and offers some nice continuity there.
The match itself was ok, but there were a few blown spots here and there and points where Thorn and Burke especially, got a little too robotic. If there’s any criticism I have of the newer guys on the brand, it’s the fact that they tend to get a little too ‘hit the move, go to the next thing’ which isn’t a knock on them as it’s something more symptomatic of young wrestlers in general. Dreamer did a great job building a few high spots though and bringing some personality to the match. It wasn’t last week’s four way, but still decent action.
The two squashes in the middle were pretty bleh, but I’m especially perplexed as to what WWE wants to do with Mike Knox. Knox has a pretty big upside to him, but no one in the back seems to be on the same page as to how to push him. If he’s going to be a monster, he can’t be getting pinned by Balls Mahoney one week and then squashing jobbers the next. The match tonight was exceptionally crappy to boot.
I still love the Miz-Balls-Kelly stuff too. Good way to keep the crowd looking for something more without really doing a whole lot. It’s been fun stuff and the payoff match will probably go along the lines of ‘if Balls wins, he gets a date’ in which I’m hoping we see a Kelly super heel swerve.
The Punk-Striker-Big Daddy V stuff was pretty great too. They worked a fun match around Punk’s hand before Punk made the big comeback and put Striker to sleep pretty easily. The beat down on Punk was good, and I’m hoping they keep building this as an underlying thing as we move forward. It’s the no brainer ‘money’ feud for ECW right now, if it has one.
Overall, in general, I’ve really liked the way WWE’s been putting on their shows. Raw is certainly the sports entertainment show, but it’s improved because they’ve returned to a more episodic format, where the big angles provide the structure for the payoff at the end of the show while the mid card fills in and puts on some entertaining stuff. Not like a few years ago, where it basically went: “Champion does run in, does angle.. Now rest of random show’. Everything flows and is woven into everything /* if need be.
ECW on the other hand, has been good because it just has a TOTALLY different feel to it than Raw and Smackdown. The look, the flow, and even the style of matches are just way different from the other two bigger brands. That and I think WWE’s finally finding a balance between giving it the grainy indy-like feel while stuffing it full of fun, colorful characters that put WWE on the map to begin with. So they’re heading in the right direction with a very unique product in that regard.
Overall, this was another fun hour, but certainly not as good as last week’s offering.
Overall Grade: B-
Quick Results
Elijah Burke def. Tommy Dreamer & Kevin Thorn
Mike Knox def. Nunzio
The Miz def. Silas Young
Cm Punk def. Matt Striker
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. CM Punk
2. Balls Mahoney
Most Heat
1. Elijah Burke
2. Big Daddy V
Match of the night: Elijah Burke v. Kevin Thorn v. Tommy **
ECW Power Rankings
5 Points= Title Win
4 Points= World Title defense/win
3 Points= Singles PPV Win
2 Points= Tag PPV Win
2 Points= TV Singles Win
1 Point= TV Tag Win
0 Points= Loss
ECW World Champion: CM Punk 13-5, 25 pts. (Last Week: ECW World Champion) -- Punk wasn’t really a huge staple of the show tonight, but put on a decent performance tonight, getting over as the resilient and confident champion. Then he got bitch-I-fied by Big Daddy V.
1. Big Daddy V 6-2, 14pts. (Last Week: 1)-- It might be debatable, but I think V, RIGHT NOW, is the most credible monster in the WWE.
2. Elijah Burke 6-9, 11 pts (Last Week: 4)-- I’ve enjoyed this little chase for the title thing, but have a feeling that despite all this, he might end up in some sort of program with Kevin Thorne rather than getting the next title shot. Personally, although the match up is fun and all, I’m a little burnt on Punk-Burke and hope they go with Dreamer for the pay per view if for nothing more than Dreamer’s a pay per view caliber guy who can work the kind of match I think WWE wants Punk involved in. That and it’d be easy to have Big Daddy V crash the party and ruin the fun.
3. The Miz 8-2 15pts. (Last Week: 3)-- Miz is walking proof that good character work is way, way more important than being a good ‘wrestler’. This guy’s uber greeny, but it’s masked well by solid character performances. Everyone’s favorite douche bag.
4. John Morrison 9-5, 24pts. (Last Week: 2)-- Suspension is reality. But so is the fact that he rules this little world. I’m keeping him here. Suck on that.
5. Kevin Thorn 4-5, 7 pts. (Last Week: 5) -- Thorn clings to the five spot again. Dreamer has had a rough go of it in recent months and that 2-11 record ain’t getting him back on here anytime soon. Balls was out of action and Knox, despite winning, looked like dog Sh__ tonight. Boogeyman was out of action and Striker lost, so despite eating a loss, Thorn stays at #5 yet again.
Others
Balls Mahoney 2-4, 6 pts (Last Week: NR)
Tommy Dreamer 2-11, 3 pts.(Last Week: NR)
Matt Striker 1-3, 2pts. (Last Week: NR)
The Boogeyman 6-3, 11pts. (Last Week: NR)
Mike Knox 2-1, 4 pts. (Last Week: NR)
Nunzio 0-4, 0pts. (Last Week: NR)
Stevie Richards 4-4 8pts (Last Week: NR)