hello everybody, I have returned. sorry I’ve been gone for a while, had some stoof I needed to take care of. it’s all good now, though, so I shall be returning to my normal routine of doing my reviews each week. again, I apologize for my absense.

This week’s show opened up with a promo hyping the main event of Bobby Lashley against Rob Van Dam for the ECW title. I thought it was pretty well made, covered that RVD is a former champ trying to get it back and that Bobby is the current champ trying to keep it. though, this is wwe, and it’s Lashley’s first title defense aside from the rematch clause so, yeah, we all know what happens.

Next up we have test doing an in-ring promo as well as showing clips of last week’s main event, where he beat sabu and RVD in a match, then it was revealed that RVD would be facing Lashley this week. Test basically said it was crap and that he deserved to be wrestling for the title, wether the fans liked him or not.

Appropriately following this was a match between Test and Sabu. this is an obvious sign that either Vince is still mad at Sabu for slacking off when it came to doing things such as photo shoots and falling asleep backstage, or that Vince is mad at sabu becaue he’s still doing it. either way, Sabu got little opportunity to show his skill in this match, and jobbed out to Test. sorry to ruin the ending, but it wasn’t that great.

main highlights:

-Test had an interesting combp with two backbreakers and a sidewalk slam

-Test also wisely did a bearhug submission hold on Sabu, since one of the ways to face Sabu is to slow him down

-Sabu did a springboard tornado ddt

-Test did his finisher, the torture rack neckbreaker, and got the three count

After this we are shown footage of RVD getting ready backstage for his match, he looked pumped.

They gave Sandman a nice clip-promo after this, I liked it. had some cool highlights and showed what the character of the Sandman was all about, except for the Metallica song since Vince is a cheap bastard and because Metallica would’ve way overcharged to have them use their song.

Elijah Burke is then shown doing an in-ring promo alongside Sylvester Terkai. he said that the only question there was whenever they got in the ring was not wether or not they would win, it would be wether they won by KO or tap out.

Again, appropriately following an in-ring promo, there was a match between Sylvester Terkai and Elijah Burke versus the FBI (this is, btw, a good system to use for a one hour show). this match was alright, though, we all know what happens since FBI have not won a single match since joining the new ECW.

main highlights:

-Little Guido did a nice crucifix on Burke

-Burke did an impressive flying double knee press to Guido in the corner

-I also liked a combo Burke did with a verticle suplex then backdrop

-Burke attempted a top rope move while Guido was on the ground, Guido countered by putting up his boot, but Burke stopped before the boot hit his face and went for an elbow drop, but Guido was able to get up and out of the way before it could hit him

-Terkai basically picked up Malmaluke by the back of the neck, then slammed him back down face first, followd by that kneeling armlock he does for the win

We were then shown footage of Bobby Lashley getting ready backstage, he seemed very ready and focused.

After that, they advertised a match between CM Punk and Hardcore Holly next week, followed by a promo from Matt Stryker. Stryker showed on his chalkboard that “Punk’s anaconda vice + 3 [minutes he had during his last match with Holly]

Those of you who saw Raw last night will have noticed that ECW’s The Great Khali appeard on Raw and has indeed been moved over to the brand.

The decision to move the Great Khali from ECW to Raw was reportadley made in the last twenty-four hours following Triple H’s injury.

Khali is scheduled to make a final appearance on ECW tomorrow night, by wrestling Tommy Dreamer,

Various websites have suggested the original plan for Khali was to challenge Lashley for the ECW World Title at WrestleMania.  which should conclude their feud.

As for Daivari, he did not appear on Raw tonight, so that may be an indication that he is staying with ECW.

this week’s show opened up with a recap of last week’s main event. it was RVD vs. Bobbly Lashley for the ECW world title that ended up in a double knockout. they then announced that the rematch would occur tonght.

 

following this, with brad armstrong at ringside, was our first match of the night, CM Punk against Hardcore Holly. this match, though it was alright, I feel was a little bland for Punk’s potential to carry a match, but hey, there’s only so much that one man can do! this match was alright, I guess.

main highlights:

-Punk did a dropkick to the back of the head and neck of Holly, looking almost like a less powerful, reverse shining wizard

-Punk attempted a suicide dive to Holly, but Holly was able to step out of the way in time

-Holly got Punk tied up in the ropes and delivered a few cross-body strikes

-Holly suprizingly delivered a second rope leg drop to Punk

-Holly, after sending Punk into the steel post, gave him a spinning Alabama Slam, and got the three count on Punk for the win

 

after this, a referee went backstage to tell Test that his match was up next. Test replied saying that he felt overlooked, and that he should be in the ECW world title picture. he said that because of this, he refused to participate in his schedueled match tonight.

 

next up was Elijah Burke in the middle of the ring issuing an open challenge, saying that he would knockout any of the wrestlers backstage or anyone in the crowd. Sandman answered this challenged, and ended up caning Burke a few times. Burke then fled the ring.

 

they then went into a video clip promo for The Great Khali. the promo made him look dominant and destructive, as wwe is good with making such promos, even though in reality Khali sucks and should be taken out of wrestling before he kills someone else. that’s right, someone ELSE.

 

appropriately following was a match with The Great Khali against Tommy Dreamer. while this match was eh as it was, the stipulation of this being extreme rules could’ve been used a bit more. Dreamer did come out with a road sign, but that’s one weapon out of many that could’ve been used but weren’t. vince doesn’t know shit about ECW hardcore.

main highlights:

-Khali steps on the road sign that Dreamer brought in basically as the match began, giving Dreamer no opportunity to use it

-Khali put a foot choke onto Dreamer while Dreamer was downed in the turnbuckle, Khali’s foot and Dremer’s head ending up against the apron

-Dreamer regained hold of his sign and started hiting both Khali and Daivari with it

-Khali punched Dreamer through the sign, chokebombed him, then got the three count with one foot on Dreamer’s chest

 

RVD then had an interview backstage. he said that other people seemed to think that he was too calm about things and that it showed that he didn’t care about anything. he, of course, said that this wasn’t true, and that he cared deeply about ECW and about regaining the title. no idea where he heard that rumor from, so I guess this was just an excuse for Rob to have a promo.

 

next up was a match between Kevin Thorn and Shannon Moore. Moore has been jobbing out every week in ECW, and this week was no different. at least when he jobbed in TNA, they let him show a little talent while he did it, not to mention he actually WON A MATCH when he was teamed up with Samoa Joe. anyways, I digress, this match was alright, with Thorn given the opportunity to show of some of his true skill.

main highlights:

-Thorn gave Moore some cross body strikes

-Moore countered a move Thorn tried to do running at him in a corner with an elbow; this would end up as Moore’s only offensive, or defensive for that matter, move the entire match

-Thorn grabbed Moore by the back of his pants and the back of his mohawk while Moore was on the second turnbuckle, and flipped him over, causing Moore to land in the middle of the ring, flat on his face

-Thorn did his normal finisher, a stunner while his opponent’s legs hung onto the top rope, this time staring deep into Moore’s eyes before he did it and Joey Styles announcing that Thorn called it the “Dark Kiss”; Thorn then got the three count for the victory

 

we were then shown a clip of Lashley getting ready backstage. again, he looked pumped and ready.

 

they then did a video clip promo for KellyKelly, announcing she would “return” to ECW next week. I never really noticed that she was signifigantly “gone” at all, but I just hope this doesn’t result in another striptease wasting all of our time.

 

finally, we come to our main event, the rematch for the ECW world title between Rob Van Dam and Bobby Lashley. this match was highly entertaining and had plenty of good highlights to it, and so it thusly gets my approval for seal of the night, despite the fact that the endings for ECW main events seem to be tending to get a bit predictable, another screwjob.

main highlights:

-Lashley had a spear to RVD delivered early on in the match, completely mowing RVD over

-RVD did a STANDING 450 leg drop! even though it missed, that’s still pretty damn cool!

-Lashley gave RVD a running shoulberblock while RVD wsa on the apron, sending RVD into the crowd

-RVD set up Lashley on the announce table, much like he did last week, and went for his signature spinning leg drop form the apron, but Lashley got out of the way in time and RVD hit the bottom of his leg against the edge of the announce table, and it looked like it HURT!

-eventually, Test interrupted with a chair and hit both Lashley and RVD, resulting in a no contest finish with Lashley still champion

 

final thought:

this week’s episode of ECW was alright, better than last week. the biggest dissapointment, really, had to be that we finally got to see a hardcore match back on the show, but it really wasn’t that hardcore. also, yet another main event on ECW ends in yet another screwjob, it seems to be getting a little reduntant now. still, an alright show with the main event finally getting match of the night.

WWE.com has posted news about several releases today, it’s being dubbed as “Black Thursday” amongst many of the Internet Community. 

Sylvester Terkay
The most suprising to many, the ECW newcomer and former three-time All-American will no longer be appearing on WWE tv.

Christopher W. Anderson
The ECW orginal, who has only had limited TV time has been released.

Jazz
Another ECW original, who was reported to be likely to debut with her husband Rodney Mack, won’t be!

Rodney Mack
Described as a mentor to the Superstars of tomorrow on WWE.com, will be looking for employment elsewhere.

Tony Mamaluke
ECW original and one half of the FBI tag team has been released.

The Bashams (Danny and Doug)
The Bashams had been “Heymans security”, this was stopped due to an injury, their release doesn’t really come as a surprise.

Al Snow
Is not going to wrestle any more, he will be concentrating on his work in OVW.

Gangrel
Reportedly rehired to take part in the brand, never appeared on ECW due to weight issues.

Thanks to Steven Gerweck for these results:

Backstage, Vince McMahon runs into Marcus Cor Von, whom he calls a breathe of fresh air. He also spots The Sandman reading a newspaper and drinking beer. Vince gets on him about drinking on the job, and pokes fun of his name by singing “Mr. Sandman.” McMahon said changes are in store. Let’s hope so!

(1) CM Punk vs. Matt Striker. Joey Styles notes that Punk lasted 28 minutes in the Royal Rumble. Striker wins a short match by holding the ropes. I guess Punk remains in the dog house.

Backstage, Vince receives a hug from Rebecca (I think), who was talking to Tommy Dreamer. McMahon wonders what people are dreaming about with a name like Dreamer. Vince said he doesn’t deal in dreams, but in reality.

* Tazz and Styles talked about the Royal Rumble, and showed highlights on the battle royal. They noted that Undertaker now must decide which title he’ll challenge for at Wrestlemania. They showed highlights of The Undertaker showing up on Raw.

* They plugged tonight’s Royal Rumble rematch - Lashley vs. Test. Oh boy!

(2) Hardcore Holly vs. Rob Van Dam. Holly went for an early Alabama Slam, but RVD countered it. Fans are solidly behind Van Dam. RVD dived over the top rope onto Holly, as they went to a commercial break. A big leg drop by RVD, but Holly kicked out. As RVD climbed the top rope, Holly pushed him off forcing RVD to crash into the security rail. Holly then slammed RVD into the ring steps. Holly hit an impressive drop kick, but RVD kicked out. Side kick, windmill kill, followed by rolling thunder, but still, Holly kicked out. Five Star Frog Splash, but Holly got out of the way. Holly slammed RVD into the ring post and then hit the Alabama Slam for the victory. A good TV match!

Backstage, Vince counters Sabu. Vince says he thought he was in Texas, but apparently he is in Afghanistan, and implied that Sabu was a member of the Taliban. He tells Sabu to stay away from him.

After a break, Vince runs into Ball Mahoney backstage. Vince said Mahoney is Irish, but he’s not Irish like himself. He said he likes the name Mahoney, but not his first name. Vince said he might just find out if Mahoney has any Balls.

* Expose with Layla, Kelly Kelly and Brooke. Bathroom break time.

As the girls dance, “No Chance in Hell” comes on, and out struts Vince. He tells the girls to leave his ring, and tells his security to leave as well. Vince said this is history, first time he has ever been in an ECW ring. Vince said the ECW originals suck, the old ECW sucks, and fans that like the old ECW suck. Fans chant “you suck.” McMahon said he is going to turn ECW into something special. Vince said his new vision includes Elijah Burke. Burke comes out all dressed up. McMahon said Burke is the future of ECW. Burke said it was his honor to be in the ring with Vince. Burke poses for a picture with Mr. McMahon. Fans started chanting “you suck” at Burke. Burke said the ECW originals were going to feel his wrath and power. Its time for the Elijah experience. Out comes The Sandman. Sandman starts fighting with Burke, followed by Dreamer, Mahoney and Sabu. Balls desks Burke as he is held down. The Sandman then canes Burke as Mr. McMahon looked on outside the ring. Dreamer gives Burke a DDT. Sabu pointed to the sky, and gets a table from under the ring. Dreamer and Mahoney set up the table, and the ECW originals place Burke on the table in the middle of the ring. Sabu jumps off the top rope, crashing them both through the table. Vince is furious, standing and watching on the entrance ramp.

(3) ECW World Heavyweight title match: Bobby Lashley vs. Test. Lashley backdropped Test on the exposed arena floor. Lashley wins via the running powerslam. Hopefully this will be the end of this feud. The lights go out, and The Undertaker’s dong is heard. When the lights come back on, Undertaker stares down Lashley. Test brings a chair into the ring, but Taker stops Test and chokeslams the clown. Undertaker and Lashley continue to stare each other down, and Styles talks as if Taker will now challenge Lashley for the ECW title at Wrestlemania. I wouldn’t count on that Joey.