ECW on SyFy
Rockford, IL
September 8th 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!
The Hurricane v. Paul Burchill w/ Katie Lea
Hurricane comes out with an extra introduction monologue from the voice in the sky. Burchill makes his way to the ring in his typical rugged leather jacket and sister in tow. Each of these wrestlers hold a victory over the other, so who will emerge the victor tonight? Is Gregory Helms really The Hurricane? A lot of questions and controversy surrounding this match tonight.
The two lock up and Helms hits a crossbody from the second rope. Burchill uses his strength to send Hurricane down to the mat. Hurricane uses his speed to get back into things and Hurricane locks on The Octopus. Burchill powers out and drops Hurricane to the mat. Paul hits a back suplex and goes for the cover, but Hurricane kicks out.
The crowd is strongly behind the masked crusader as he tries to get to his feet. Burchill is having none of this and connects with a rough clothesline. Paul goes for the cover but only gets a two count. Hurricane gets to his feet but Burchill leaps and connects with two knees to knock all of the wind out of the Hurricane. Paul has the gleam of victory in his eye as he hits a backbreaker and soaks it all in.
Burchill goes for a submission, but Hurricane busts out and hits a roll-up, but only for a two count. Hurricane is hit again and Paul goes for a cover, but only gets two. Burchill charges at Hurricane, but Hurricane moves out of the way and Burchill lands on the floor. Hurricane senses the chance to fly and connects with a huge crossbody. Not to be undone, Burchill gets to his feet and hits a summersault back kick!
****Commercial****
We come back to Hurricane escaping from a headlock. Burchill angrily charges at him and Hurricane moves at the last possible second as Paul goes shoulder first into the steel post. Hurricane hits a backbreaker and goes for the cover, but Burchill somehow kicks out. Hurricane mounts the top turnbuckle and connects with a crossbody! He goes for the cover and this match is ove-
No! Burchill kicks out. Burchill is in the corner and Hurricane charges at him only to be met in the face with a boot. Burchill sits on the top turnbuckle and Hurricane comes over perhaps for a hurricarana, but instead Burchill picks him up for a Bam Bam Slam. The cover and Hurricane somehow kicks out!
Hurricane finds the wherewithal to head to the turnbuckle and hits a very nice Hurricarana. Burchill kicks out. The Hurricane looks to go for a Shining Wizard, but Burchill blocks and then Hurricane is distracted by Katie Lea. Paul looks to capitalize on the situation but as he moves to Hurricane, the masked avenger throws him at his sister! The Hurricane pulls him back and hits Eye of the Hurricane! This is match is over!
Winner via Eye of the Hurricane: Hurricane
In the back we are introduced to a new backstage interviewer named Savannah. She acknowledges Christian and Dreamer who put over both the ECW Championship as well as their match later tonight against Kozlov & Jackson. Christian says they are taking a stand, and they are ready for a fight.
****Commercial****
Shelton Benjamin & Sheamus v. Yoshi Tatsu & Goldust
Shelton and Goldust are the first two to lock up in the middle of the ring. After a brief tie up Goldust connects with a shoulder block followed by an arm drag counter into an arm drag of his own. Shelton looks as though he wants to grapple but instead kicks Goldust in the stomach. Dust is whipped into the ropes but drops to the mat and connects with a punch to Shelton’s face. Benjamin is able to back him into the corner and tags in Sheamus.
Sheamus does not get much action in on Goldust as the veteran tags in Yoshi Tatsu. Yoshi comes charging in with a lot of enthusiasm but gets distracted by Shelton and thus punted in the gut by Sheamus. The Celtic Warrior drags Yoshi to the corner and tags in Shelton. Tatsu escapes and goes for a sunset flip, but Shelton kicks out. Yoshi is trying to go for a tag in the corner but Shelton keeps him from reaching. Yoshi rolls through and sends Benjamin out of the ring. Before he can get the tag, Shelton pulls Goldust off the apron!
Back in the ring Shelton tags in Sheamus who comes into the ring and goes after Yoshi. Tatsu manages to tag in Goldust who hits a couple of fast punches. They are in the corner and Shelton sneaks a tag comes in and gets the quick pin!
Winners via Shelton Tagging Himself In Much To Sheamus? Chagrin: Shelton & Sheamus
After the match Sheamus is very unhappy with Shelton. Sheamus gets so fed up he punches Shelton in the face! The two begin to brawl and roll to the outside of the ring. A slew of referees come out to separate the two as we had to commercial.
****Commercial****
Zack Ryder v. Rory Fargo
?Zack Ryder can?t wait for the release the next Backstreet Boys album? – I didn?t make that up, it was shown as a subtitle during his entrance.
Zack hits a couple of kicks, and Fargo actually goes for a Schoolboy, no pin. Zack hits a couple of punches and then throws Rory head first into the second turnbuckle. Zack hits a Samoa Joe style running kick. He follows this up with the Zack Attack and this match is over!
Winner via Zack Attack: Zack Ryder
In the back we see Tiffany flirting with Tyler Reks. Regal enters with his roundtable and puts down Christian and Dreamer for their actions with the Kendo stick last week.
****Commercial****
Kozlov & Jackson w/ William Regal v. Tommy Dreamer & Christian
Christian and Kozlov start things off with Christian locking on a side headlock. Kozlov breaks free and hits a strong shoulder block to send Christian to the ground. Kozlov comes towards him and Christian punches him straight in the face. Kozlov is actually taken aback and tags in Jackson. Christian also tags in his partner so now we have Dreamer and Jackson squaring off.
Jackson throws Dreamer to the ground and then energetically flexes for all of us. Dreamer is able to dodge a couple moves and ends up sending Jackson straight out of the ring. Christian is tagged in and hits a baseball slide to keep Jackson on the outside. Christian runs over to the other corner to knock Kozlov down for good measure. Christian attempts a slingshot crossbody, but Jackson catches him! Dreamer is on the apron and jumps out to knock Jackson to the ground.
****Commercial****
We come back as Tommy Dreamer hits an elbow drop on Jackson. Ezekiel rakes his eyes and then connects with a shoulder block. Jackson decides it would be in his best interest to tag in Kozlov. The Russian comes in and has his way by liberally applying his head all over the forefather of extreme. Dreamer is able to connect with a boot to the face and then heads to the turnbuckle. Dreamer goes from the second rope for a flying clothesline. Dreamer tags in Christian.
Christian runs in full of energy and heads to the second turnbuckle for a missile dropkick. The Russian still hasn?t fallen so Christian heads all the way to the top for another missile dropkick which finally levels the Soviet Weapon of Mass Destruction. Christian goes for the cover, but Kozlov kicks out. Kozlov is able to get the corner and tag in Jackson. Zeke comes into the ring to apply a couple of power moves, and then tags Kozlov back into the match.
Kozlov slams Christian to the mat and goes for a cover, but Christian kicks out. Kozlov lifts Christian high into the air for a shoulder submission, but Christian eventually breaks free and tries to get the tag, but Kozlov stops him and hits an overhead slam to send him back to the other side of the ring. Kozlov tags Jackson back into the ring.
Jackson comes in and after a slam goes for a pin, but Christian kicks out. Christian struggles before he is finally able to get the tag. Dreamer comes barreling into the ring and has incredible difficulty in knocking down Zeke. It takes a crossbody for him to fall. Dreamer heads to the top rope and connects with a Frog Splash! Kozlov runs in to save the match. Christian runs into Kozlov and they both go tumbling out of the ring. Dreamer looks for a DDT, but Regal pulls on his leg while the referee’s back is turned. That momentary reprieve is all that Jackson need as he hits his finisher on Dreamer to end the match.
Winners via Regal pulling Dreamer’s leg: Kozlov & Jackson
After the match Regal applies the Regal Stretch to Dreamer and kicks Christian in the head as we go off the air.
ECW Thoughts
I really cannot downplay how impressed I was by tonight’s opening match. I was honestly just expecting a fun little way to jerk the curtain, but these two brought everything they had. The Hurricane understandably wants to reestablish himself with this comeback to the ring. So far he is doing an outstanding job. Burchill has been cruising along, and while not doing anything that particularly stands out in my mind he has been in a couple good programs. So hats off to both of these two tonight.
I wonder, am I the only one that cringes nearly every time that someone goes shoulder first into the steel post? That move hurts me every time I see it.
The tag match was fun, but of course what sticks out is the altercation which followed the match. Personally, I?m a fan of the fact that Sheamus was having none of the cockiness of Benjamin and slapped the smile off of his face. Great way to get another feud moving forward. I?m even more of a fan since it is a realistic scenario for a fight to be started over. It will be enjoyable to watch them fight.
It has taken me over a year, but I think I?m finally coming to terms with accepting the loss of Kelly Kelly from ECW. The reason? Tiffany.
Speaking of ECW Divas, I loved the eye shadow craziness that Katie Lea had going on tonight. As for our new backstage interviewer, I?m not even going to say anything about her because we just had a new one and not only have we not seen her in a couple weeks, I can?t even remember her name.
The Title match is tough to predict going into Breaking Point. As of right now I think I?m going to pull for Christian, but I wouldn?t be surprised if Regal wins and really shakes things up on Tuesday nights. His ?roundtable? as Striker calls them, is a dominant force. For Christian to really win he will probably need more help than just Tommy Dreamer and a pair of kendo sticks.
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.
June 9th ? September 8th 2009
1. Christian ? 58 pts. [l.w. 1]2. Tommy Dreamer ? 40 pts. [l.w. 2]3. Kozlov ? 31 pts. [l.w. 3]4. Shelton Benjamin – 24 pts. [l.w. 8]5. Ezekiel Jackson – 23 pts. [l.w. 5]6. Sheamus – 22 pts. [l.w. 6]7. Zach Ryder – 21 pts. [l.w. 4]7. Yoshi Tatsu – 21 pts. [l.w. 6]
9. Paul Burchill ? 15 pts. [l.w. 9]
10. Tyler Reks – 14 pts. [l.w. 10]
Look for ?That’s a Wrap? on WrestleView Thursday!
Join up on Facebook to get special access to features I don?t have space for here on WrestleView. This is the best way to interact with me as well as stay on top of the latest news regarding the Institute for Wrapping Things up, including our LIVE Video shows Wednesdays @ 10pm EST.
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.
Follow WrestleView.com on Twitter: twitter.com/wrestleview
Send us news/results: click here